Hands0n
12th January 2011, 09:21 PM
Firstly, let me set my colours out. From there you can get a handle on the angle I am coming from.
I do not like Samsung mobile phones. My experience of them has not been good, even back in the days of 2G only. I also do not like the Windows Mobile 6.2 operating system - the last version of that OS that I ever laid hands on. Three UK I like, quite a lot. I use a Three MiFi on their network with great success. I also have a £10/month SIM-only that I use for "mucking about with phones". So, thats me.
A short while back, the team at Brando contacted me - they who are working with Three on their web relations team running the Three Blog and Twitter channel (@ThreeUK) - to ask if I would like to sample the new Samsung Omnia 7 Windows Mobile 7 smartphone. So you can see that immediately a whole load of conflicts set themselves up in my head. Do or don't I, want to try one of these? Well of course, I did and so I have taken receipt of a demonstrator and these are my first thoughts and impressions.
Will this trial of the Samsung Omnia 7 WP7 smartphone change my mind about Samsung and Windows Mobile? Read on, dear reader. Read on.
Hardware
The Samsung Omnia 7 is a rather anonymous looking device. It consists of a black metal and plastic shell, curved along the long edges, with a flat glass front. Looking at it from the front there is a minimalist Samsung branding label below the earpiece, and a rather obvious Home button (as for the iPhone) with the famous Windows flag on it. Flipping the device over the battery cover is branded with Samsung, Three and Windows Phone logos. Also on the back is the camera, flash and single loudspeaker - that is surprisingly loud.
Looking from the front; on the left side is the volume up and down rocker. On the right side is the power/standby and camera switches.
The top of the handset sports the ubiquitous 2.5mm jack socket for headphones and a microUSB socket with a sliding cover to keep the dirt and pocket fluff out, a nice touch.
The Samsung Omnia 7 comes with 8GB of SD RAM fitted - it is not user changeable, all WP7 devices are constructed to a strict specification laid down by Microsoft that the manufacturers have to adhere to. If anyone thinks Apple wield a totalitarian control over their hardware then you should see this. Microsoft do not make the hardware.
Powering up
The handset arrived fully charged, probably by the previous user. Pressing the on-off switch on the right side gave a rewarding splashscreen stating "Samsung Omnia7" followed shortly by a Three splashscreen and then the WP7 desktop. It probably took longer for you to read that than it took for the handset to start up. All of 20 seconds, flat. I don't think that even dumbphones start up that quickly.
So is this a good sign or is it simply that WP7 is minimal, being the first iteration of the new OS?
The Homescreen and UI
The WP7's user interface is unlike anything before it. It appears to be very simple and minimalist but that belies quite how effective and powerful it is. I would say that it is not entirely intuitive, but it does not take at all long to get used to.
The first thing that greets you are the WP7 tiles. These are, essentially, shortcuts to various apps and features of the new OS. By default, at first start, you get Phone, People, Messaging, Hotmail, Three's home page, Photo Sharing, Now (a news, weather and stocks app), Internet Explorer, XBox Live, Calendar, Pictures, Music & Videos and Marketplace (the Microsoft app store).
On the top right of the screen is an arrow in a circle that flips to a new page containing links to the full set of applications and links such as IE's Favourites bar.
In use, the UI is very slick, fast and extremely responsive. I would put it on a par with iOS as we know it today and definitely streets ahead of Android in these particular terms. There is no lag or hesitation, no jerkiness or missed touches requiring multiple finger prods - Android really gets on my nerves for its poor performance in this respect.
The Apps
Microsoft have Marketplace as their apps store - this must wind Google (Market) up something rotten. You will need to sign in with your Windows Live ID to be able to download any of Marketplace's apps.
As expected Marketplace is not enriched with 500,000+ apps but there are a fair selection of free and pay-for apps in there. I am sure that as the platform gains popularity that the developer community will take it up. It is definitely early days.
The OS and Multitasking
It is my assessment that the WP7 OS is very quick and responsive. It appears to be completely stable, certainly I have not been able to make it crash or seen it misbehave or malfunction.
There is no evidence of multi-tasking on the go here. Apps do not retain their state from one launch to the next. Twitter, for example, loads up each time as it it had never been loaded before. A blank screen greets and then has to load up all of its content, flicking from page to page is the same experience - unlike that of the iOS and Android devices.
Facebook is a whole lot quicker - more a feature of the app than the OS itself. But there are some real strange inconsistencies. I am not sure if it is the app, the OS or just a poor or weak applications design paradigm. For example, the Facebook app throws up a keyboard to enter status messages and below the spacebar is a pair of soft-buttons for Submit and Cancel. I cannot tell you the number of times that I hit cancel while typing out a FB status message! What a bizarre bit of software design. It is nasty. It is clumsy. It is, frankly, ridiculous! I do not like it at all.
First conclusions
Okay, now for the big question. Did the Omnia 7 win me over to Samsung and WP7?
I will have to say "yes and no".
I liked the hardware. It is a bit 'huge' but that is an illusion caused by its very square corners. The physical buttons are all well placed and effective. The screen is gorgeous to look at and the digitiser is completely accurate and fast
I liked the OS and UI. It is an interesting take on smartphone design - quite effective and somewhat intuitive. I had to consult an on-line guide to check out how to achieve a few things. But once these are understood, and there aren't many, the usability of the smartphone is very effective.
I liked the built-in apps. They are all effective and quite good to look at, eye candy in fact. The Internet Explorer app is interesting - by default it will solicit mobile versions of web pages, but you can set it to retrieve the full-sized pages if you prefer. Now that is a nice idea as some smartphones commit you to the mobile versions only.
I liked the Three network - and the Omnia 7 suits it perfectly. Clarity of voice and speed of use are very good. I suppose you could say that about any smartphone. But Three have made a good choice in the Omnia 7 as their first WP7 handset.
I did not like the placement of the Cancel button directly below the keyboard's spacebar. It is stupidly placed and a constant source of losing messages while preparing them.
Conclusion
The Samsung Omnia 7 Windows Mobile 7 handset has definitely allowed me to modify my views on both. I think WP7 has a little way to go yet and fully accept that it is early days for the new OS. It is light years better than WM 6.5 that preceded it. And so the combination of Samsung hardware and Windows OS have come together nicely to deliver a capable devices.
As long as you have no burning desire for multitasking, don't mind draconian Microsoft controls over hardware and software, and are happy with a locked down smartphone then you'll not have any trouble here. Like iOS devices WP7 smartphones will remain under significant constraints. But if you wan't something more anarchic then you will have to go to Android.
There is a lot that I have not been able to touch upon, and may do so in later posts. But for now, if you're wondering if a WP7 smartphone is worth having then I would give the idea a thumbs up.
I do not like Samsung mobile phones. My experience of them has not been good, even back in the days of 2G only. I also do not like the Windows Mobile 6.2 operating system - the last version of that OS that I ever laid hands on. Three UK I like, quite a lot. I use a Three MiFi on their network with great success. I also have a £10/month SIM-only that I use for "mucking about with phones". So, thats me.
A short while back, the team at Brando contacted me - they who are working with Three on their web relations team running the Three Blog and Twitter channel (@ThreeUK) - to ask if I would like to sample the new Samsung Omnia 7 Windows Mobile 7 smartphone. So you can see that immediately a whole load of conflicts set themselves up in my head. Do or don't I, want to try one of these? Well of course, I did and so I have taken receipt of a demonstrator and these are my first thoughts and impressions.
Will this trial of the Samsung Omnia 7 WP7 smartphone change my mind about Samsung and Windows Mobile? Read on, dear reader. Read on.
Hardware
The Samsung Omnia 7 is a rather anonymous looking device. It consists of a black metal and plastic shell, curved along the long edges, with a flat glass front. Looking at it from the front there is a minimalist Samsung branding label below the earpiece, and a rather obvious Home button (as for the iPhone) with the famous Windows flag on it. Flipping the device over the battery cover is branded with Samsung, Three and Windows Phone logos. Also on the back is the camera, flash and single loudspeaker - that is surprisingly loud.
Looking from the front; on the left side is the volume up and down rocker. On the right side is the power/standby and camera switches.
The top of the handset sports the ubiquitous 2.5mm jack socket for headphones and a microUSB socket with a sliding cover to keep the dirt and pocket fluff out, a nice touch.
The Samsung Omnia 7 comes with 8GB of SD RAM fitted - it is not user changeable, all WP7 devices are constructed to a strict specification laid down by Microsoft that the manufacturers have to adhere to. If anyone thinks Apple wield a totalitarian control over their hardware then you should see this. Microsoft do not make the hardware.
Powering up
The handset arrived fully charged, probably by the previous user. Pressing the on-off switch on the right side gave a rewarding splashscreen stating "Samsung Omnia7" followed shortly by a Three splashscreen and then the WP7 desktop. It probably took longer for you to read that than it took for the handset to start up. All of 20 seconds, flat. I don't think that even dumbphones start up that quickly.
So is this a good sign or is it simply that WP7 is minimal, being the first iteration of the new OS?
The Homescreen and UI
The WP7's user interface is unlike anything before it. It appears to be very simple and minimalist but that belies quite how effective and powerful it is. I would say that it is not entirely intuitive, but it does not take at all long to get used to.
The first thing that greets you are the WP7 tiles. These are, essentially, shortcuts to various apps and features of the new OS. By default, at first start, you get Phone, People, Messaging, Hotmail, Three's home page, Photo Sharing, Now (a news, weather and stocks app), Internet Explorer, XBox Live, Calendar, Pictures, Music & Videos and Marketplace (the Microsoft app store).
On the top right of the screen is an arrow in a circle that flips to a new page containing links to the full set of applications and links such as IE's Favourites bar.
In use, the UI is very slick, fast and extremely responsive. I would put it on a par with iOS as we know it today and definitely streets ahead of Android in these particular terms. There is no lag or hesitation, no jerkiness or missed touches requiring multiple finger prods - Android really gets on my nerves for its poor performance in this respect.
The Apps
Microsoft have Marketplace as their apps store - this must wind Google (Market) up something rotten. You will need to sign in with your Windows Live ID to be able to download any of Marketplace's apps.
As expected Marketplace is not enriched with 500,000+ apps but there are a fair selection of free and pay-for apps in there. I am sure that as the platform gains popularity that the developer community will take it up. It is definitely early days.
The OS and Multitasking
It is my assessment that the WP7 OS is very quick and responsive. It appears to be completely stable, certainly I have not been able to make it crash or seen it misbehave or malfunction.
There is no evidence of multi-tasking on the go here. Apps do not retain their state from one launch to the next. Twitter, for example, loads up each time as it it had never been loaded before. A blank screen greets and then has to load up all of its content, flicking from page to page is the same experience - unlike that of the iOS and Android devices.
Facebook is a whole lot quicker - more a feature of the app than the OS itself. But there are some real strange inconsistencies. I am not sure if it is the app, the OS or just a poor or weak applications design paradigm. For example, the Facebook app throws up a keyboard to enter status messages and below the spacebar is a pair of soft-buttons for Submit and Cancel. I cannot tell you the number of times that I hit cancel while typing out a FB status message! What a bizarre bit of software design. It is nasty. It is clumsy. It is, frankly, ridiculous! I do not like it at all.
First conclusions
Okay, now for the big question. Did the Omnia 7 win me over to Samsung and WP7?
I will have to say "yes and no".
I liked the hardware. It is a bit 'huge' but that is an illusion caused by its very square corners. The physical buttons are all well placed and effective. The screen is gorgeous to look at and the digitiser is completely accurate and fast
I liked the OS and UI. It is an interesting take on smartphone design - quite effective and somewhat intuitive. I had to consult an on-line guide to check out how to achieve a few things. But once these are understood, and there aren't many, the usability of the smartphone is very effective.
I liked the built-in apps. They are all effective and quite good to look at, eye candy in fact. The Internet Explorer app is interesting - by default it will solicit mobile versions of web pages, but you can set it to retrieve the full-sized pages if you prefer. Now that is a nice idea as some smartphones commit you to the mobile versions only.
I liked the Three network - and the Omnia 7 suits it perfectly. Clarity of voice and speed of use are very good. I suppose you could say that about any smartphone. But Three have made a good choice in the Omnia 7 as their first WP7 handset.
I did not like the placement of the Cancel button directly below the keyboard's spacebar. It is stupidly placed and a constant source of losing messages while preparing them.
Conclusion
The Samsung Omnia 7 Windows Mobile 7 handset has definitely allowed me to modify my views on both. I think WP7 has a little way to go yet and fully accept that it is early days for the new OS. It is light years better than WM 6.5 that preceded it. And so the combination of Samsung hardware and Windows OS have come together nicely to deliver a capable devices.
As long as you have no burning desire for multitasking, don't mind draconian Microsoft controls over hardware and software, and are happy with a locked down smartphone then you'll not have any trouble here. Like iOS devices WP7 smartphones will remain under significant constraints. But if you wan't something more anarchic then you will have to go to Android.
There is a lot that I have not been able to touch upon, and may do so in later posts. But for now, if you're wondering if a WP7 smartphone is worth having then I would give the idea a thumbs up.