Astrid Amalia: SAMSUNG OMNIA 7

22 August 2011

SAMSUNG OMNIA 7

One day, I borrowed a Samsung Omnia 7 from my friend. It is my first Windows Phone. After the usual mobile phone, Blackberry and Android Phone, this Windows Phone is a nice thing to be tested.

The Samsung Omnia 7 came with the battery and the battery charger.

The design of Samsung Omnia 7 is very good. It is a premium metal body that looks so exclusive!

I found three buttons beneath the screen, offering back, Start and search. The dedicated camera button is on the right side, while the volume keys are on the top left side. The Micro-USB connector is on the top by a sliding cover. One question: why does a sliding cover not cover the camera lens at the back?

As I opened the back-plate, I saw the battery bay and SIM card slot. Where is the slot for external memory? Oh, this phone has the 8GB of internal memory. And that is enough for me! Yeay!

Gladly, I still have that Hotmail account that is used to open the function of this phone, just like Google account to Android Phone. This phone is connected with SkyDrive and Zune accounts, which come as part of the Hotmail and Windows Live account.

The best thing about this Samsung Omnia 7 is a 4-inch AMOLED display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. It is the most striking display. It offers better color rendition, whiter whites and blacker black. The dimensions are slim enough to slip into any pocket at 112.4 x 64.2 x 10.99mm, and weighing 138g.

This phone has 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8250 chipset, HSDPA connectivity, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and sensors such as the accelerometer and proximity sensor. Sadly, its Bluetooth was unable to connect to my Mac for file transfer, but I downloaded that Windows Phone 7 for Mac. So at least, I can still sync my Mac with this phone via data cable.

It also offers an FM radio, and the music should be sync with the Zune player built in.

Around the back of the Omnia 7 is a 5-megapixel autofocus camera. It is supported by an LED flash and offers 720p video capture. I find a range of settings, like macro focus, image effects, a wide dynamic range and anti-shaking options. In my own experience, the camera is awesome! One day, I tried to use the camera while sitting down at a chair. I accidentally pointed the camera to my leg. Surprisingly, I could see my blood veins from the camera. A nice thing to know that the camera is sharp, but it is a bit scary to see what is underneath my skin. LOL!

In terms of battery life, it lasts for half day, because I am so busy to use data. LOL! Yes, I only use the phone for data connection.

The screen is absolutely great. It ran slick and fast on the device. Most apps open quickly. It has not so many settings. Yes, it is a simple phone with a lot of features. The on-screen keyboard is an excellent size for someone who has a big thumb like me. LOL! And the keyboard in landscape is good for typing those emails and new documents. Yes! Its Office is awesome. You can make new document using Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Its Facebook integration at the People Hub is awesome! The email, contact and calendar can be synced with my current accounts: Hotmail, Yahoo, Google, Outlook, etc. It is all about syncing my emails and social media. Using its Marketplace, I can download any apps that I want to. Starting from The Yoga for Beginner, Dalai Lama Quotes, the Art of War, etc. For Twitter, I use Twitter for Windows Phone, MoTwitter, Seesmic and Tweetcaster. For location-based app, I use Gowalla. What I do not use is the Now app that contains weather, news and stocks. No, I never worry about them anyway. LOL!

The Samsung Omnia is a great Windows Phones 7 handset overall with a great feature. Although this phone is a discontinued product, I just hope that this phone can be upgraded to Mango OS, the future OS for Windows Phone.

And last but not least, I hope my friend forget that I borrow the phone. LOL!