A Little Diddy for the Samsung Omnia 

As talks of the Android phone are spinning around

And the HTC Diamond is gaining ground

Sammy brought its A-game with this new phone

The Samsung Omnia is the phone to take home 

A Glance at the Samsung i900 Omnia

Thanks to Engadget Mobile, we have some new information on the brand new Samsung Omnia.  It’s jam-packed with speed (although it won’t be on the 3G network!) and its specs are amazing.  Catch this … 7.2Mbps HSDPA 2100, quadband EDGE, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 3.2-inch capacitive WQVGA touchscreen, GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1, WiFi, and 8 or 16GB of Flash with microSD expansion, all wrapped in a tight little brushed metal case.  The Samsung marketing team really put together a package unit for this one as it comes in a carbon fiber-looking case to make it “awe” worthy.  And is it ever.

Specs and Features Galore

Engadget Mobile did a full review and exploration of the Samsung Omnia.  Overall, the consensus was great and the user interface was something that other manufacturers have not tried … no stylus pen is going to be an adjustment for many smartphone users, but Samsung wanted to be different.  And sometimes different needs to be extreme.  Be proud Sammy, because you’ve done good. 

The HTC Diamond is truly a diamond in the haystack.  With its release early this summer, the HTC Diamond is looking for its one millionth sale which is anticipated to take place next week.  Of course, when the men in the pinstripe suits predicted that this phone would hit two million sales before 2009, people chuckled.  But these penguins might be right, and with the HTC Diamond set to release to Sprint and Verizon, I think this goal will be reached.

Specifications of the HTC Diamond

(credit to:  http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=46286)

This phone truly is a beauty.  With its stunning black design matched with high-end features, this phone may just be the diamond you are looking for.

Qualcomm® MSM7201A™ 528 MHz

Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional

ROM: 256 MB

RAM: 192 MB DDR SDRAM

4 GB Internal storage

102 mm (L) X 51 mm (W) X 11.5 mm (T)

110 g (with battery)

2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with VGA resolution

HSDPA/WCDMA:

* Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz

* Up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds

Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

* Europe/Asia: 900/1800/1900 MHz

(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

TouchFLO™ 3D

Touch-sensitive navigation control

GPS and A-GPS ready

Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR

Wi-Fi® IEEE 802.11 b/g

3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus

FM radio with RDS

900 mAh battery

Talk time:

* Up to 270 minutes for WCDMA

* Up to 330 minutes for GSM

Standby time:

* Up to 396 hours for WCDMA

* Up to 285 hours for GSM

Video call time: Up to 145 minutes for WCDMA

Diamond in a Haystack

The HTC Diamond is speculated to release for Sprint in early September and with Verizon shortly after (30 days).  It does have more competition coming its way with the Android, but HTC users will love this phone with its slim, stunning design and innovative features.  For the U.S., we will have to wait to get our hands on this device, but once that happens, it shall be a diamond of a reunion. 

As we eagerly await the release of the new iPhone and a slew of other smartphones, I’m faced with a decision - should I hop on the nearly-button-free, touchscreen bandwagon or do I want a QWERTY keyboard for easy texting and emailing?

Touchscreen Options

While Apple’s latest addition to the touch-screen movement is probably the most buzzed about, many cell phone manufacturers have touchscreen phones on the way for this summer. Blackberry’s Thunder is a much anticipated product, as it ventures away from the typical Blackberry form, but keeps some of the essentials, such as quick-touch buttons for sending and ending calls, browsing the menu, instant camera access, and other often used applications. It has, however, lost the tactile keyboard, leaving the user with only the visual one typical of  touchscreen phones. Also in this category are the LG Dare, Samsung Instinct, and HTC Diamond.

Tactile QWERTY Keyboard Options

The new HP iPAQ 910 has just been released, and packs a punch with its Windows 6.1 Mobile OS and sleek Blackberry-esque look. Another option with a full keyboard is the brand new Blackberry Bold, the first Blackberry with HSDPA networking. LG also has several QWERTY handsets for the mobile messager - the enV2 offers a full keyboard, and some great extras such as a 2MP camera, but leaves much to be desired with its subpar appearance. But for a consumer strongly concerned with ease of texting and emailing, a QWERTY keyboard could be the most important feature.

My Verdict

As far as my bottom line goes, I think my requirements are GPS, a full web browser, a high quality camera and reliable service. As a novice mobile messager, I think I can sacrifice the tactile QWERTY keyboard, but only because I don’t think I’ll be using a keyboard (in any form) much from my smartphone. So right now my frontrunner is the Bold, with its sleek touch screen and easy-access buttons, but I am confident I am not the only one facing this dilemma. As the products are released, and the race unfolds, we’ll see what a smartphone will need to take the lead.