Samsung i8910 Omnia HD Review: It’s a Media Monster

Samsung has its eyes set on the number one mobile handset manufacturer spot. It has been pumping out handsets by the dozen (almost) recently in its bid to get ahead in that race. While it certainly has been gaining more popularity in recent times, it certainly has a long way to go. With the likes of the iPhone 3GS, the HTC Touch Pro2 and the Palm Pre, it is not going to reach the top spot any time soon. Not to mention the slowly emerging Android phones that are really making their presence felt.

Samsung’s latest attempt is the i8910 Omnia HD phone that has a lot of things going for it. It is a rather large phone. I mean it is positively huge when compared to other phones like it. But is also a phone that packs a lot of punch when it comes to media capabilities. You don’t have to take my word for it really, just look at the AMOLED screen and the HD camera that it comes with. Yes, that is an AMOLED screen. So should you expect all the great things you that you have heard about AMOLED? Continue to the other side to find out.

Specifications

Processor: 600Mhz

RAM: 256MB

Internal Memory: 16GB

Expansion: MicroSD

Sensor: Accelometer, Proximity Sensor

Camera: 8MP, LED flash, Video Recording, Video calls

Battery: 1500mAh

Compass: Yes

OS: Symbian v9.4, Series 60 5th Edition

Form Factor: Candy bar

Network: HSDPA (900/1900/2100), GSM Quadband (850/900/1800/1900), Integrated GPS, EDGE Class 12, FM RDS, GPRS

Display: Touch Screen, 360×640, 16 million, OLED

Talk Time: 10 hours

Stand-by time: 430h

Connectivity: USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0, 3.5mm Audio Connector, HDMI out

Build

The build of the Samsung i8910 HD is pretty solid. It feels every bit as tough as it ought to be to take regular abuse. The chassis is a large one and weighs more than your average smartphones. However, at 148g it is not heavy enough to make you feel uncomfortable while using it.

Design
The phone has a simple minimalistic design without any extra graphics or accents. There is a chrome ring around the display and the face is mostly taken up by the large 3.7 AMOLED display. The three buttons on the face have a low profile and also chrome finished. The phone has a shiny black finish and the camera is quite prominently displayed on the back along with the flash.
The expansion slot for microSD cards is on the left side of the phone along with the volume keys. The right side has the lock button, the camera key (activate/shutter) and a micro USB port. The top has a covered 3.5mm headphone out.
Display
The display on the Samsung i8910 is actually one of its strong points. You pay for the AMOLED display with the price and the bulk but it is worth it. The bright and vibrant screen brings images and videos to life. Webpages also look great on the screen. However, despite all the talk about AMOLED being really bright, it does not remain very usable under direct sunlight.
The 3.7inch display is a capacitive touchscreen, so it is free from the hang-ups that resistive touch screens like the ones on the Touch Pro2 and the N97 face. The accelerometer works well and the switch is almost immediate. The proximity sensor locks the phone from accidental inputs when it detects that you are holding the phone very close like when you are on a call. The accelerometer is available withinin all the apps.
UI
The TouchWiz interface that was debuted in the earlier touch phones from Samsung, receives an upgrade in the i8910. There is the same tray on the side that allows you to drag and drop apps to your home screen for quick access. Now however, you have two more panels to work with so that your home screen does not get crowded and cluttered. There are also more apps to choose from thanks to the expansion that Samsung has made to the app catalogue.
There is a permanent toolbar that is positioned at the bottom of the screen. It gives you instant access to the phone app, contacts. Text entry can be done via an onscreen keyboard in the landscape mode or through an alphanumeric one in the portrait mode.
Performance

The  Samsung i8910 Omnia HD is a media centric device. It has an 8-megapixel camera that can record HD video. The camera has six shooting modes, 14 scene settings and 8 resolutions to choose from. There is also ISO and blink detection. You can also record video in one of the four available resolutions. Features like image correction, white balance and Wide Dynamic range are available while shooting both still and video.
The picture quality of the i8910 is rather impressive. The images shot with the phone are extremely sharp and well defined and the colors are accurate. The richness of the colors could’ve been a bit more pronounced. This can be corrected afterwards though.
Video on the i8910 is also pretty good. The videos come out with great clarity and without too much blurring and pixelation. In bright sunlight however, the video may be overexposed.
The built-in media browser makes for an easy way to browse around for the photos and videos that are present on the phone. The accelerometer lets you browse by tilting the phone left or right. You can also upload directly to social networks like Facebook, MySpace, etc. The DLNA standard is also supported for hooking it up with a TV that has DLNA.
The i8910 supports all the common audio and video formats. So you won’t run short of entertainment on the device. With 5.1 surround sound, an equalizer, sound effects and visualizations, this is one great phone for media applications.
Conclusion
If you have the budget for it and want to carry around a full-blown media-playing device with an HD camcorder in it, the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD will work for you.