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Samsung’s Omnia W is a mid-range entry into the Windows Phone world, offering decent hardware like a 1.4 Ghz processor, 3.7 Inch screen and 8 GB on onboard storage, all at an affordable enough price.
It’s sold in the U.S. as the Samsung Focus Flash on AT&T, and is the latest Samsung AMOLED-equipped offering this year. Worth the price tag though? Read on to know.
The Retail Package:
The Samsung Omnia W ships with the usual retail package contents. You have the charger, microUSB cable, Wired headset (3.5mm) and a Manual & Quick start guide.
The Design:
The Omnia W is a compact little smartphone, with a decently slim-ish 10.9 mm profile, weighing just 115 grams. Considering there’s a metal back cover, it’s pretty light, and thanks to the large screen and tapered edges, it is very comfortable to hold and operate with one hand.
The 3.7 Inch Display is Super AMOLED (but not Super AMOLED Plus) and distinguishes the Omnia W from the other HTC/Dell/LG Windows Phones already out there. The colors are nice and saturated, high contrast, very deep blacks, have great viewing angles, and the screen remains legible in outdoor sunlight as well. The 480×800 pixel resolution screen has a pixel density of 252 ppi. The screen is very comparable to the Nokia Lumia 800, both using PenTile Matrix for the display, which has a slight toll on Sharpness. Images still look sharp enough and clear though, and even fine text is legible enough. But PenTile haters will deffo not like the fact that it’s used here.
Above the Display, is a front facing VGA camera for video calls, and a centrally located earpiece.
Below the Display, are two capacitive ‘back‘ and ‘search‘ keys and a hardware Windows Menu key.
Using a physical key instead of a capacitive home key, means you can use it to wake up the display, instead of the power key only.
Coming to the rest of the device, on the left side of the Omnia W, you have the lone Volume rocker key.
On the right side, you have the Power/Screenlock key and the dedicated camera key.
At the top, you have a 3.5mm Audio Jack which means you can plug in any pair of headphones.
And at the bottom, you have a microUSB port, which is used for charging and data connectivity.
The design overall is pretty much your typical Windows Phone, with the three navigation keys below the front of the screen, the dedicated camera key along with the 5 Megapixel Camera and single LED flash.
The form factor admittedly does look a bit dated, but Samsung’s build quality seems to have improved a lot on the Omnia W, using more metal and premium hard plastics. The phone is pleasant to hold, and comfortable to use thanks to it’s size. Pity it’s not available in more colors though.
The Windows Phone Mango UI:
We’ve already gone into detail on Windows Phone Mango (here) so we wont repeat ourselves again. The Samsung Omnia W has the usual Windows Phone Mango UI, and like most Windows Phones, navigation is quick and flawless. Menus are zippy, and the 1.4 Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM is more than enough to ensure every button and tile you tap on, responds instantly.
You have Multitasking, Super-Deep Social Media Integration, Internet Explorer 9, SkyDrive integration, Bing Search, Bing Maps, Zune Media and the best Microsoft Office experience you can get on a mobile phone.
The Windows Phone Marketplace is growing massively, and the entire look and feel of the OS is refreshingly fresh and minimalistic compared to your usual grid of apps lying around.
Also worth mentioning, is the onscreen keyboard in Windows Phone, which is widely agreed to be one of the best virtual keyboards to type on, right up there with iOS.
The screen is just large enough that is doesnt feel too cramped.
While Windows Phone might not have the app catalog of iOS and Android, the Windows Marketplace is getting more and more apps everyday. But where the Microsoft OS shines, is it’s intense social network integration, pulling in details and albums about your contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, all combined into a ‘People Hub‘ with the ‘Messaging Hub’ being used for Facebook Chat, Windows Live IM, along with Text Messages. There’s linked inboxes where you can choose to combine two or more inboxes of your choice, instead of all in one combined view, and there’s the Music+Videos hub for your media needs.
With only 6.67GB of actual usable memory, and no option to expand it, you’ll have to be a little picky about what tracks and podcasts to sync over to your device from Zune. If you’re a Mac user fret not, since Microsoft have a nifty little Windows Phone Connector app for Mac OS, that does the job great.
Videos look great on the Super AMOLED screen but the Omnia W seemed to struggle just to play a 720p video (audio was lagging behind). There’s also no Xvid or DivX support which limits the multimedia aspect of this phone.
Overall it’s your same, Windows Phone Mango Experience, so do remember to check out our WP Mango Review for more details on this.
There is also some Samsung software pre-loaded on the Omnia W. There’s Samsung’s AllShare which lets you stream media to other devices using DLNA.
There’s Photo Studio, which is a basic image editor, and a nice little RSS Reader app called RSS Times.
Photo Studio is much like the Photobooth app on iPad.
Additionally, there’s the Fun Shot app, which can be used to add various funky effects to your photos.
And finally, there’s the ‘Now‘ app which is a combination of Weather, News and Stocks all in one nice little app with it’s very own live tile.
Also worth pointing out is that the Tango Voice calling app is built right in, allowing you to call other Windows Phone users.
Samsung have also added a couple of their own alert tones and ringtones, along with an “extra setting” menu in the settings section what allows you to enable auto display intensity (automatically adjust screen to reduce power consumption), keypress vibration (vibration feedback on the capacitive back, windows and search buttons) and echo cancellation (improves phone voice quality on calls). There’s also a high fidelity position option which users sensor aiding to help with positioning where GPS signals are less accurate and uses the accelerometer and compass to aid in navigation. There’s also support for the GLONASS Satellite system which is a navigation system created by the Russian Space Forces for the Russian government and compliments the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
The Browser:
We also covered the new Internet Explorer 9 browser in our Mango review, which is very smooth thanks to the new JavaScript engine and hardware acceleration. Microsoft’s browser on Windows Mobile was one of the slowest, so it was only natural that they would want to revamp things with Windows Phone, and made the fastest browser on mobile on the platform.
Zooming and panning around is silky smooth, and you can double tap or pinch-to-zoom with text reflow, multiple tabs and everything that you’d expect in a mobile browser these days. One feature I really like about IE9 on WP, is that you can set whether you’d like to view only mobile versions of a website, or view the entire website itself.
There’s no Adobe Flash support, but as the iPhone has proven, that’s not really a problem. Especially since Adobe themselves pulled the plug on Flash in order to focus on HTML5. And IE9 handles HTML5 just fine. For more details, check out our browser comparison between Windows Phone and iOS.
The Connectivity:
The Omnia W boasts a huge variety of connectivity options. There’s Wifi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, an FM Radio with RDS and 14.4 MBPS HSDPA. There’s no HDMI port though and there’s no mass storage mode because Windows Phone prefers you use Zune to sync your media.
You have Bing Maps as your GPS softare, and unlike Nokia’s WP offerings, there’s no free turn-by-turn navigation here.
The Camera:
The 5 Megapixel Camera on the Samsung Omnia W is capable enough, having a single LED flash for night shots, which you can also use as a video light. There’s a sufficient amount of detail in images, with a bit of noise but mostly accurate color levels.
We did notice that objects moving, even the slightest, would turn up blurred but images in broad day light were otherwise quite okay. Take the Omnia W indoors though, and it will have a problem with lighting conditions, with color balance that’s off, and a yellow-ish tint to pictures taken with the flash.
Here’s a couple camera samples from the Samsung Omnia W, just to give you a better idea of what we’re talking about:
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The Omnia W also records HD video at 720p resolution and 30 frames per second. There’s a handful of scene modes and effects that you can apply, but video quality is pretty much what you’d expect. In broad daylight, videos are fluid and have a good amount of exposure with the microphone being able to handle volumes properly. Indoor or low light videos though, have a lot of visual noise in them.
Here’s a couple video samples from the Omnia W to show you.
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Video 2:
The Call Quality:
The Samsung Omnia W doesnt have a secondary microphone, so it doesnt have active noise cancellation. Inspite of that, it’s call quality audio is still pretty good.
Voices are clear and loud, and the earpiece has above average audio quality. Callers on the other end agreed, but said our voice did sound a little digitized.
The Battery Life:
Samsung rates the 1500 mAh battery for 6.5 hours of 3G talktime, and about 380 hours in standby. Pretty decent considering the average smartphone barely lasts half that nowadays.
The Video Overview:
Here’s a video overview of the Samsung Omnia W. Just to give you a better idea.
The Conclusion:
Rating: 
The Samsung Omnia W is a very decent all-round smartphone, especially considering it’s price. It might not have a dual core processor, or any bells or whistles, but the experience is solid. Windows Phone is a fresh new take on the mobile OS scene, and everything is quick and fast, with a quickly growing catalog of apps. The only drawback in our eyes, is the lack of DivX and Xvid media support, and the limited storage space.
There are alternatives though. The HTC Radar is priced similarly but has a 3.8 Inch WVGA screen instead of the Super AMOLED available on the Omnia W. Similarly the Nokia Lumia 710, features a Clearblack LCD display and the same price, but isnt available yet but loses out in comparison to the aforementioned AMOLED screen here. For what it’s worth, the Omnia W also features a gyroscope, which is lacking on other Windows Phones. There’s also Android alternatives like the Galaxy W, or Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray in the same price range, most boasting even more features.
At the end of the day, all things considering, the Samsung Omnia W is a compact, lightweight, pocketable little smartphone, and if you do happen to pick one up, changes are you’re not going to regret it.
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
i dunno how i came across this site, but it seems quite very well updated on phones, and since its based in india you guys can help me out regarding this dilemma im in.. around 2months back i decided to make an upgrade from my nokia e72 and go for an android phone, since my budget is Rs.22000 i was hoping for samsung to cut down Galaxy R's price, which they have finally ! its 20999 on letsbuy and flipkart, but then 2 weeks back i read a few reviews of the Omnia W and i really liked the UI, its something totally different and i think i like it more than android now. m not really worried about the hardware differences between the two. for me what matters is that the phone runs smoothly has a decent screen and camera. now i know there a lot many positives and negatives in both the phones, the Ws camera is supposed to be bad and lack of apps, R has an SCLCD screen and apparently it gets laggy as you install more and more apps (thats what my friend told me) the main factor for me here is are both the phones futureproof ? enough for atleast 2 years ?? coz the R has a tegra2 chip which has already been said to be outdated ! (though its still dual-core) and with W the rumors of wp8 launching next year or so, would a 1.4 single core processor with half GB of ram hold its own and not get laggy ? what do you guys think ?? and which phone is better off the two in the matter of being futureproof enough..
From what I've read, the specs on Windows phones are "older" than those on Android phones simply because WP 7 is so well optimized that you really do not require that powerful a processor (which also burns your battery life). Another thing to consider is that these WP7 phones are releasing in India around the same time as it is doing worldwide. With Apollo - the next iteration of WP7 - launching in just a few more months, I guess Microsoft knows how this hardware is going to take up the upgraded OS and so it should not lag as much as one may fear. This is unlike, say the iPhones - which launch so late in India that by the time you buy the device, it is already a year since release and so hardware specs are almost on the way out. Also, expect Microsoft to continue with their desktop legacy of backward compatibility and not wash their hands off older customers like Apple does. I feel pretty safe in MS' hands.
hmmm.. even i think microsoft will keep updating all the wp7 devices irrespective of the brand, unlike android who tend to delay it a lot and on some devices the newer version tends to be laggy because of the 'dated' hardware.
Agreed. In terms of 'future proof' devices, I think you'd get more life out of the Nokia Lumia 710 or 800 because Nokia might support them longer in terms of exclusive apps and software updates (but you miss out on a front facing camera). The Omnia W is safe, but I cant vouch for Samsung bringing any exclusive apps of their own. Though, that being said you could always developer unlock your device and install the ported versions of Nokia's apps anyway. Ugh tough choice there.
i know.. Omnia W was the straightforward choice for me just a couple of days back , but then samsung had to go ahead and drop the price on the galaxy Arrr ! and since theyre now in the same price bracket its frigging annoying. il get my hands on the omnia w and decide.. its comin to the samsung showroom here in a couple of days. btw just a couple of more Qs, what about the battery life ? does it last a whole day and is the camera on the W better than the nokia e72 ?
Nice review and nice blog. How would you compare this with Lumia 800? I am having a tough time deciding which of these to buy; especially since Lumia is selling at 10K higher than Omnia W in India.
i had made up my mind on buying the lumia 800, what made me change it was first of all the price, then the screen size, which gets smaller because of the onscreen buttons, no front facing camera and also the camera isnt the best for its price, id rather go for the galaxy s2 if had 8k more.
I cant blame you dude. Infact the Galaxy S2 is actually the same price here in Delhi vs the Lumia 800 (Rs 28,000 vs Rs 29,000), so its hard to recommend the Lumia when you have a dual core smartphone at the same price point.
i know.. one of the best dual-core smartphones in india, its like almost an obvious choice to whoever is planning to buy ~30k phone here. my dad has it and i cant help myself of asking him to exchange ! but m pretty sure he wont :S
The screen on the Lumia is slightly better than the Omnia W. The Windows Phone experience is mostly the same, except that on the Nokia you get Nokia Maps, Mix Radio (not in all countries, not in India yet) and Nokia's Drive Navigation. The Omnia on the other hand has that front facing camera.
Did I not read this thoroughly or did you forget to mention the price at which it's selling in India? Once I know that, I'll try and convince a friend to get it. He's been looking for a new phone as it is.
I dont normally mention the Indian price but I missed out the global price too by mistake ha. It's selling for 20k here in Dehi :o)
What is the use of that lovely super amoled display when pisspoor wp7 os don't have enough HD games....don't support playback of avi/mkv 720p videos...don't support youtube 720p playback....don't support flash in web browser....I can't believe why reputed companies like Samsung wasting their money and resources in making phones with such crippled choppy and crappy os
Is "Internet connection sharing" enabled in this phone under "settings"
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