Comments on: Samsung Omnia on Verizon Review

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:49:00 +0000

I am currently looking into purchasing this phone, but do not want the outrageous data package. Does anyone know of any way to avoid having to pay 30 dollars a month to even own the phone? my sister has the Samsung Reality and it supposedly required the data play but she got the internet and stuff turned off to avoid the extra bill. Would something like this be able to work with the Omnia?

By: Logan Frye

Logan Frye — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:38:50 +0000

I am really impressed with my omnia! what a great unlocked mobile phones. me and my wife just got ours for our trip! The facebook and games keep us busy when were bored. these unlocked world phones are great for my business too, email and gps help me keep in touch with all my clients. way better than our old unlocked blackberry phones. my daughter got hers for the games and the web browser and camera are great for her pictures and friends. battery life lasts all day too so that’s practical. this phone feels great and the processor is faster too. got our last couple unlocked phones at gsmallover.com 2 thumbs way up

By: bobalicous

bobalicous — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:09:19 +0000

So i have a samsung omnia 900i and there is the 8G of internal memory but i do not seem to be able to move data out if flash and rom to the internal memory or even the memory card.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:05:48 +0000

Hi Lokyto, Hi have the omnia on a prepaid with Optus (Australia).. and i have access to the web as part of that plan. If I pay $50 a month, then i get 500MB of usage included with about $400 or so of credit, which rolls over to the next month if i don’t use it all. I’m sure there are deals around wherever you are, that would suit your needs.. whether prepaid or a plan. Hope this helps :-)

By: lokyto

lokyto — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:36:47 +0000

i wnat to get the omnia but i cant afford to pay for email and web, so i was wondering if i get the omnia with the web package (initially just to get the phone) and then cancel the feature in the future?
could that be possible?
does anyone know?

By: Tanya

Tanya — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:03:31 +0000

I found Garmin XT navigation software for my Samsung Omnia on Ebay.. for only $35 !!!. It works (via Satellite) separately from the mobile phone towers, like a stand-alone-navigator, even if you don’t have the sim card installed, it will work… fantastic, i now have a great phone & a navigator that would normally cost me a few hundred bucks alone.

By: omniamobile

omniamobile — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:16:58 +0000

samsung omnia is the best phone they had, the touch screen is great, windows mobile offers great potential for the software.

By: Chester Lee

Chester Lee — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:14:59 +0000

Verizon doesn’t really offer sim cards for their service.. it’s because verizon uses CDMA and not GSM for their service. You can go with at&t or T-mobile for a sim card.

My crazy idea I have is a workaround with their world edition phone service rate to get a sim card.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:59:12 +0000

[quote comment="57569"]I recieved an Omnia as a gift. It is from Europe and needs a sim card. My Verizon sales person could not activate the phone. Does anyone know what needs to be done to use this as a phone?[/quote]

I have the same problem – But apparently verizon use CDMA which translates to no sim card – I am trying to see if there is a way of using the phone with a sim card…but doesn’t look like it – any info anyone?

By: kristen

kristen — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:20:11 +0000

I recieved an Omnia as a gift. It is from Europe and needs a sim card. My Verizon sales person could not activate the phone. Does anyone know what needs to be done to use this as a phone?

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:50:55 +0000

Interesting how it says “first half of next year. It’s a simple driver. This is, a way for them to stall to see how the class action against them for locking down their phones plays out in court. I know it’s driving me out of the use of Verizon…where I’ve been for the last 6 years.

By: GPB

GPB — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:56:26 +0000

Check it out, they will open the GPS on devices beginning next year (already have done so on some Blackberries)

http://www.unwiredview.com/2008/12/17/verizon-to-open-up-gps-on-devices-next-year/

By: AlP

AlP — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:50:52 +0000

I have had the Omnia for 4 days and can say its really a nice phone plus alot more. The disabled GPS is really #$^% me off. If you return the phone I think Verizon charges a restocking fee. $35 I believe. I would think that after having a reputation for doing things like this in the past they would eventually be out of business. I too am hoping for a hack in the near future. How about unlocking. Would that free up the GPS?

By: dhoff9

dhoff9 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:00:33 +0000

I just bought the omnia knowing that the gps is disabled w/out vz navagator… I hope that either someone will come up with a way to adjust the registry or something (I am not a tech guy, maybe that is impossible) or verizon will get it together and upgrade firmware that solves the problem … am I being naive>

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:17:37 +0000

Potentially great product is really only average. No built in stylus for windows mobil is like having a car without wheels. GPS that says it is searching for your satelite but in reality is disabled is a terrible policy from Verizon. There sales and tech people don’t even know it is intentionally disabled. It’s like selling a compass without a needle. I’ll keep my Omnia but only because Verizon has the best coverage in my area. I can’t wait until others catch up!

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:54:37 +0000

hey everybody, let’s all email vzw and boycott this stupid data plan rule! i’m doin’ it right now.
peace…..

By: Shawn Brown

Shawn Brown — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:50:29 +0000

[quote comment="56413"]I upgraded to the OMNIA 2 days ago and have spent over 10 hours with it. First of all, I WILL return the phone to Verizon. Second point, I will let them know that I will switch out of their network for the sole reason of locking the GPS feature. It is wrong that they want to squeeze another $10 each month out of their customers. The phone is not cheap to begin with, and I would have gotten it even if it cost another $20-30 more just to be able to use the full built in features. The WIFI works quite well. But a $30-45 fee for data, $40 voice, $10 for VZ Navigator, $5 for 200 messages quickly adds up to highway robbery. Shame on you Verizon.[/quote]

I hear what your saying and could not agree with you more. If the phone has a feature, open it up! Verizon just wants to keep all of their phones locked down and fully controlled. If your going to use GPS don’t look to the Omnia or Verizon unless you have money for subscription fees.

By: Hoss

Hoss — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:47:14 +0000

I upgraded to the OMNIA 2 days ago and have spent over 10 hours with it. First of all, I WILL return the phone to Verizon. Second point, I will let them know that I will switch out of their network for the sole reason of locking the GPS feature. It is wrong that they want to squeeze another $10 each month out of their customers. The phone is not cheap to begin with, and I would have gotten it even if it cost another $20-30 more just to be able to use the full built in features. The WIFI works quite well. But a $30-45 fee for data, $40 voice, $10 for VZ Navigator, $5 for 200 messages quickly adds up to highway robbery. Shame on you Verizon.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:30:11 +0000

I’m confused!!… I got a Samsung Omnia the other day and i’m still learning the many features.. but I can’t get the navigator to work. I downloaded Route66 with Australia maps to try it out. Copied files to the external 8GD storage card.. clicked on the nav.exe file to install it, but it will only run from the storage card (nothing in program files).. AND will not load any maps. Can somebody please advise me on how to install this software???.. I would be happy to buy it, but not if it ain’t gonna work.
Another thing is when i key in my address the GPS tells me I’m about 6km or so from where i actually am situated… can’t work that on out either?
Anyway, so far i love my new phone, but one of the main reasons i purchased it was for the GPS and AGPS features, which i can’t seem to figure out yet.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:52:52 +0000

[quote]

I will probably be returning the phone since it’s wrong that they disable a functional feature of the phone so they can charge me for it.[/quote]

I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve done some invsestigating…

http://www.cyberlaw.pro/docs/verizonbbcomplaint.pdf

Seems like we could be a part of something that changes poor corporate behavior.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:24:10 +0000

I’ve been on the phone for a total of about 4 hours over the last two days regarding the GPS with the Samsung Omnia. It’s clear that the reviews that mention GPS and the Use of Google Maps with the omnia are such that they are “unlocked” and not available for public use. After discussing with two different people with Verizon and finally getting to a director level, it’s clear Verizon has made a choice that if you wish to use the GPS the ONLY way you will have the option of doing so is with VZ Navigator. Google Maps is not an option.
With that said, I want to be clear that I’ve used my Omnia heavily in the last few days and have used it in crowded places, quiet places, as a modem and have had excellent luck with it. I find the engineering solid and useful and the windows interface outstanding.
However, the issue of the GPS being “on-board” was one of the sales points for me. What I am hearing regarding the GPS service is what I’d consider a classic “bait and switch” advertisement. Nowhere in either Verizon’s or Samsung’s information does it say if you want to use the GPS on a window’s Mobile Touch device (including the Omnia) or anything affiliated with GPS while affiliated with Verizon, you must use ONLY the VZ Navigator software and that something as common as Google Maps is not available and as was stated over and over by the initial customer service reps “is not supported as a third party set of software.” I am disappointed with what I’m hearing from Verizon to the point where I believe a good attorney needs to be contacted and a class action started. Anyone else here interested pursuing what to me is a classic abuse of the “buyer beware?”

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:13:47 +0000

[quote comment="55365"]Let me see if i am reading correctly; this is a verizon phone that *does not* disable the internal GPS? Can someone verify whether or not that is a cut & paste from a review of the unlocked GSM version of this phone? If anyone can confirm 100% that the verizon-spec omnia does in fact enable the GPS to be used with 3rd party apps like google maps and live search… you will make me (and many others, I am sure) one very happy individual.[/quote]

I just spoke with someone at Verizon and she verified that “for security purposes” Verizon disables the internal GPS for use with Google Maps, etc and that you need to buy their (ugly piece of crap) VZ Navigator. GPS does work to locate the phone for 911 purposes, but not for the functionality that is built in by Samsung.

I will probably be returning the phone since it’s wrong that they disable a functional feature of the phone so they can charge me for it.

By: medken

medken — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:57:26 +0000

I think you all need to take these over the top Omnia reviews with a grain of salt. I bought one several days ago..and let me tell you, its no iphone killer. buggy as hell, difficult to navigate around, hard to send text messages, and schizophrenically split between windows apps and samsung apps so that sometimes you dont know, for example, which media player will pop up. It does have wifi but u do need a data plan per verizon, as others have said. the optical mouse/4 way navigator also has sensitivity issues and the keyboard is not easily accessible. Im thinking of sending this expensive baby back, but will fiddle for another few days to see if Im being overcritical or just right.

By: john

john — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:11:55 +0000

In the review I read “Recording video can be done in MPEG4 format” but i’m not finding this option in the Omnia. Can you tell me how I can record videos in mpeg4?

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:37:40 +0000

I got mine from Verizon on the 1st of december. I have yet to get the GPS to work. From what I’m reading I should have a Extermal GPS icon in the settings and I don’t on my unit. I’m not sure why and I’m looking for the answer still

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:49:07 +0000

I think Verizon online store already offer this samsung omnia already?

By: msh26

msh26 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:47:36 +0000

Has anyone tried this as a modem yet? Do you need additional software as my Treo does? Any information would be appreciated.

By: AlphaOmega

AlphaOmega — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:50:38 +0000

Just FYI……… VZW will require you to maintain a $30.00 minimum data package to even own this device. It seems that even though you have the ability to connect to a WIFI source to connect to the internet, you will still have to pay VZW for the feature. The unlimited data package is still $44.99
and the $29.99 unlimited data package is not available for the Omnia.

With that said, VZW will still force you to pay for a feature (WIFI) that should be considered “part of the device” and free to use without an additional charge. All new PDA devices launched by VZW as of 3 weeks ago will have the same conditions imposed in your contract.

Simple put, if you can afford the minimum ($39.99 +$44.99) $89.00+/- (additional charges my vary, this is what I pay monthly) go for it; otherwise don’t get suckered by VZW just to own a new PDA device. Many older PDA devices have WIFI and are not required to carry the data package. You can get a Samsung i730, i760, etc… off of eBay for a nominal price.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:00:01 +0000

[quote comment="55325"]I have read some reports that this phone is Wi-Fi capable, unlike most Verizon phones. Can anyone confirm? That alone would be the deal-maker for me.[/quote]

Thanks for the confirmation all. This is significant because it represents Verizon finally recognizing Wi-Fi is an option that their customers demand as opposed to their proprietary and over-priced online service. At the same time, it is clear evidence that Verizon understands just how big a mistake it made with the Blackberry Storm and is moving quickly to mitigate their risk and exposure. As a long-time Verizon customer myself due to my geographic location I had been anxiously awaiting the Storm, but after additional post-launch review have decided not to purchase. However, I can no longer wait to get a new phone and the Omnia appears to be the best choice available today.

By: Shawn Brown

Shawn Brown — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:05:18 +0000

[quote comment="55325"]I have read some reports that this phone is Wi-Fi capable, unlike most Verizon phones. Can anyone confirm? That alone would be the deal-maker for me.[/quote]

Yes Wi-Fi is included in this version.

By: smartperson

smartperson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:34:12 +0000

The Samsung OMnia does have wi-fi the Verizon website metions it i think but i know mobileburn.com phonedog.com engadgetmobile.com and cnet.com (plus many more) all metion it having wi-fi.

By: ben

ben — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:15:02 +0000

is that the same phone that received not the kindest of reviews all around europe?
- bad gps/wlan reception
- low screen resolution
- stylus not embedded in phone
- laggy menus
- not enough ram (they directly mapped the task manager to one of the phone buttons *sigh* !)
- …

By: dennis

dennis — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:47:04 +0000

I bought one from a Verizon store in Manhattan (53rd and Lex). It has wi-fi and the wi-fi works.

I haven’t been able to get GPS to work, but I’ve only tried from inside my apartment.

By: john

john — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:33:02 +0000

the verizon website says nothing about wi-fi on the omnia, it does however mention wi-fi on the touch pro so one would have to assume this means no wi-fi :( for the omnia.

By: ed murphy

ed murphy — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:12:37 +0000

Let me see if i am reading correctly; this is a verizon phone that *does not* disable the internal GPS? Can someone verify whether or not that is a cut & paste from a review of the unlocked GSM version of this phone? If anyone can confirm 100% that the verizon-spec omnia does in fact enable the GPS to be used with 3rd party apps like google maps and live search… you will make me (and many others, I am sure) one very happy individual.

By: MIke Brown

MIke Brown — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:07:46 +0000

so this is like the iphone u dont need to pay for internet but u can still use it cuz it has wi fi……….nice

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:07:16 +0000

I have read some reports that this phone is Wi-Fi capable, unlike most Verizon phones. Can anyone confirm? That alone would be the deal-maker for me.