Samsung i900 Omnia

Media
For hassle-free functionality, but unfortunately without the options of EQ presets, use the integrated Windows player. True, the library interface is tiny but overall it's less painful than using the Touch Player. Oddly enough, audio and video sound much louder when played from the native player rather than the Touch Player. It seem as if Samsung’s touchscreen tech went bonkers when it comes to the Playlist creator. It's an extremely annoying task.

Although the interface looks touch-friendly and simple, it's not. Scrolling though the tracks you want to select is quite difficult, and requires some tact and skill. The only thing is if you're listening to random tracks it's easy to navigate.

Watching video is bliss on the large display. Since the player reads DivX and XviD formats it's as easy as copy and paste. There's plenty of space. The FM radio fared well too. On commutes it wasn’t great but it didn't fill my ears with too much static, and that's a good thing.

Other media options include a voice recorder, Samsung’s Digital Frame feature that would make sense if it had the N96's prop-up stand, a player for Podcasts, a video editor that I could not get to work since it never did find any of the videos on board the card or storage memory, and a TV-out. The usual Bubble Breaker and Solitaire games are also preloaded but since the handset also supports Java, if you can find games to fit this screen, you're good to go.

Connectivity
The Omnia is 3G ready; all we need is for the tech to get here. For now it supports EDGE/GPRS and will automatically ready the handset with the appropriate settings (even BPL) as soon as a new SIM is inserted. Brilliant! Opera Mobile is an alternative to using the native IE browser, even if both are a bit slow. IE is much easier to use but Opera has better features.

Windows mobile devices come loaded with net-oriented features like Windows Live and Messenger and Google Launcher – a simple feature that allows you to search, check your mail, and open Google Maps. The handset is also equipped for Internet sharing and can be used as modem for a PC.

The i900 also has an RSS reader for feeds and a streaming player for viewing videos from sites like YouTube. The Shozu client comes preinstalled, so it's easy to upload media to blogs and download ZuCasts. Other connectivity features include Stereo Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS support.

The Omnia uses Route 66 as the software for navigation, and I must say the interface combined with the large display is superb. There are plenty of options to choose from and it's quite user-friendly.