Will Samsung's Omnia rival Apple's 3G iPhone?
As some see it, Samsung's forthcoming Windows Mobile 6.1-based Omnia smartphone will act as a retort of sorts to Apple's new 3G iPhone. Although the Omnia isn't slated for full rollout until June 17, Samsung prereleased some details today.
Samsung's new Ommia will indeed offer new features not available on Samsung's existing Instinct smartphone. Both the Omnia and Instinct provide digital video and audio recording, along with 3G wireless, an FM radio, and GPS. Unlike the Instinct, though, the Omnia will offer Wi-Fi. Moreover, Samsung has boosted smartphone camera capabilities to 5 megapixels from the 2 megapixel camera in the Instinct.
The Omnia will also be the first smartphone to include Samsung's TouchWiz, a touch user interface for personalizing windows with widgets.
Samsung will preload Microsoft Windows Mobile Professional 6.1, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint onto the smartphone. Opera 9.5 will serve as its Web browser. Other features will include Bluetooth wireless; USB 2.0 MS Office Document Viewer, advanced PIM applications, push e-mail, auto rotation, and TV out.
Measuring 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 millimeters, the platinum-finished, ultra-slim phone will incorporate 8 GB/16 GB flash; an external memory slot; and microSDHC.
Capabilities of the new 5 megapixel camera will include face detection, smile detection, auto focus, image stabilizer, geo-tagging, auto-panorama shot, and wide dynamic range (WDR). It will support video recording in DivX, Xvid, H.263, H.264, WMV, and MP4 formats. Video editing capabilities will include trim video, audio dubbing, live dubbing, add subtitle, and image capture.
Meanwhile, Samsung and Sprint have been demoing the DVR capabilities in the Instinct. "It looks like Samsung and Sprint are going after some of the iPhone market share as they show off their video recording capability on the Samsung Instinct," asked Cory Bohon, on TUAW.COM, The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
"As Apple's competitors are slowly catching up, is it time for Apple to release video recording capabilities for the iPhone? I'm sure that most iPhone users would like to see video recording on the next iteration of the device."
Set for official launch during the CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore on June 17, the Omnia is expected to be available in Southeast Asia that same week, and in Europe starting in July.
