Today at an event in Singapore, Samsung Korea officially launched four new handsets to the market. The flagship of the four phones introduced was the Samsung B7610, a part of Samsung’s Omnia brand of smartphones. The B7610 comes with a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen display (800×480 resolution), a slide-out keyboard, a 5.1-megapixel camera, 1GB of memory, FM tuner, Wi-Fi, TV Out, and GPS, according to Akihabara News. The B7610 will run Windows Mobile and will surely attract crowds of gorgeous Korean chicks to owners everywhere. It was showcased alongside three other equally average smartphones: the 12-megapixel Samsung Pixon 12 M8910, the Samsung Jackie B7320, and the Android powered I7500.

Pic courtesy of Akihabara News.

Also known as the Omnia Pro, the Samsung B7610 Louvre will come with the following specs, courtesy of Soft Sailor:

• 3.5″ WVGA AMOLED resistive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution.
• 5.1MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.
• 3.5mm headset jack.
• Sliding QWERTY keyboard.
• 800MHz processor.
• 1GB of internal memory.
• microSDHC expandable slot for a 32GB card.
• 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and microUSB support.
• TV-Out.
• FM radio.
• H.264/DivX/WMV video support.
• 1500mAh battery.
• Windows Mobile 6.1 (upgradeable to WinMo 6.5 when it becomes available).

ModMyGphone via AC

ModMyGphone via AC

VERIZON WIRELESS ADDS SAMSUNG OMNIA™ TO ITS TOUCH SCREEN LINEUP

Advanced Touch Screen Smartphone Features Samsung’s Innovative TouchWiz™ Technology and the Power of Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and DALLAS – Just in time for the holidays, Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile)1 announced the Samsung Omnia™ will be available for order online at www.verizonwireless.com and in business sales channels beginning Nov. 26. The Samsung Omnia’s advanced touch screen, customizable user interface and Windows Mobile 6.1 capabilities are powered by the nation’s most reliable wireless network ensuring that customers can browse the Web and access their e-mails quickly and reliably. It will be available through all sales channels including Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Dec. 8.

The Samsung Omnia is an all-in-one smartphone with state-of-the-art features, including Samsung’s innovative TouchWiz™ user interface which has specially designed widgets to customize and personalize the way customers use the phone. These bright and colorful icons provide a one-touch access point to customers’ favorite and most commonly used applications and features. The Samsung Omnia also features a full on-screen QWERTY keyboard for fast text messaging, mobile IM and e-mail messages. The haptic feedback on the touch screen provides subtle vibrations to confirm selections; and an optical mouse provides easy navigation with the swipe of a finger. The Samsung Omnia supports Opera 9.5 Mobile Browser for a smooth Web browsing experience.

With Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, customers have access to a powerful personal computing experience in a slim, compact device. Microsoft Outlook Mobile keeps customers connected to e-mail, schedules and contacts; and Office Mobile enhances productivity with the ability to manage Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents – all while on-the-go.

The Samsung Omnia is enhanced by a high-quality 5.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom and power LED flash, camcorder, stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology and Wi-Fi technology that helps customers capture special moments and stay connected to friends and family anytime, anywhere.

Key features and capabilities of the Samsung Omnia from Verizon Wireless include:

Full HTML Web browser with touch navigation
Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Access to multiple e-mail accounts with Microsoft Direct Push for corporate users
Over-the-air synchronization of contacts, calendars and task lists with Microsoft Exchange Server
Supports Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 that provides customers with software distribution capabilities and security-enhanced access to company data while they are away from the office
Access to VZAppZone – downloadable games, ringtones, wallpapers and more
Playback of MP3 files
VZ NavigatorSM capability – get visual and audible directions to thousands of destinations, locate businesses and other points of interest, get maps of a location and share directions with others
Text, picture and video messaging
Mobile IM using AIM®, MSN®, Yahoo!®
Bluetooth profiles supported: headset – mono and stereo, hands-free (car kits), object push for vCard, basic imaging and phonebook access profiles
5.0 megapixel camera and camcorder with flash and zoom
Face Detection – centers on a face when taking a picture
Panorama, split shot and anti-shake camera settings
SmileShot – enables the camera to detect when a person is smiling and automatically takes a picture when in the SmileShot mode
Wi-Fi technology (802.11 b/g)
Support for Divx and Xvid movie files
Personal organizer with calculator, calendar, alarm clock, world clock, stop watch and notepad
Dimensions: 4.41” (l) x 2.24” (w) x 0.52” (d) with standard battery
Weight: approximately 4.34 ounces
Display: 3.2” display
Usage time: up to 346 minutes with standard battery or
Standby time: up to 464 hours with standard battery (subject to environmental and other factors)
Verizon Wireless has priced the Samsung Omnia for $249.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, customers can visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or visit www.verizonwireless.com. Business customers should call 1-800-VZW-4BIZ or contact their Verizon Wireless Business Sales Representative.

First off, someone at Verizon Wireless must have been drunk or asleep at the wheel when they gave the Omnia the green light because it has Wi-Fi. Isn’t Verizon notorious for stripping that feature from every single phone in its lineup? Something tells me the other manufacturers are going to throw a fit over this bit of news.

Quick Version: The Omnia boasts just about every feature you’d want from a smartphone and Verizon, surprisingly, left it exactly the way it leaves the Samsung factory. Sure, they added their VZ Navigator app and the VZAppZone but we’re okay with that because they left the Omnia untouched. For a Windows Mobile device with a decent skin Samsung calls the TouchWiz, the Omnia is the clear choice for Verizon Wireless customers.

Features

• Access to VZAppZone – downloadable games, ringtones, wallpapers and more

• Playback of MP3 files

• VZ NavigatorSM capability – get visual and audible directions to thousands of destinations, locate businesses and other points of interest, get maps of a location and share directions with others

• Text, picture and video messaging

• Mobile IM using AIM®, MSN®, Yahoo!®

• Bluetooth® profiles supported: headset – mono and stereo, hands-free (car kits), object push for vCard, basic imaging, and phonebook access profiles

• 5.0 megapixel camera and camcorder with flash and zoom

o Face Detection – centers on your face when taking a picture

o Panorama, split shot and anti-shake camera settings

o SmileShot – enables the camera to detect when a person is smiling and automatically take a picture when in the “SmileShot” mode

• Wi-Fi technology (802.11 b/g)

• Support for Divx and Xvid movie files

• Personal organizer with calculator, calendar, alarm clock, world clock, stop watch and notepad

• Dimensions: 4.41” (l) x 2.24” (w) x 0.52” (d) with standard battery

• Weight: approximately 4.34 ounces

• Display: 3.2” display

• Usage time: up to 346 minutes with standard battery or

Standby time: up to 464 hours with standard battery (subject to environmental and other factors)

Hardware

Samsung devices are inherently lightweight and rather stylish, but the thin plastic screens will always irritate me to no end. I simply cannot stand them and after seeing the damage inflicted on John’s Instinct some time ago I feel weary about sticking this in my pocket. Because of its weight I wonder whether or not the Omnia will hold up to the rigors of daily use.

The 5-megapixel AF camera is on par with that of Nokia devices and comes with a bevy of editing apps, various scene modes and a wonky panorama mode that works fairly well. Like any other mobile phone camera, you won’t be capturing any action shots, but it works well for still subjects.

Have I mentioned that the Omnia for Verizon Wireless has Wi-Fi? That’s out of left field and one of the best things about this device.

The optical mouse on the Omnia is superb and doesn’t hinder your flow when navigating the device. You can choose between a traditional 4-way D-pad-like setup or use it as if it were a computer mouse. A stylus is included but you’ll have to attach it as a charm on the left hand side of the Omnia. I think Samsung’s market research hasn’t shown that we, Americans, aren’t very big on cell phone charms.

The 3.2-inch touch-screen is relatively bright and crisp but the 240×400 resolution leaves much to be desired. Again, I can’t help but harp on Samsung about these retched plastic screens. Please, please switch to glass screens or a harder plastic and bump up the resolution. A main menu hard button is located on the side of the top right corner saving you from having to tap the lower right corner of the screen.

I’ve never been a fan of the Windows Mobile touch-screen keyboards and the same goes for Samsung’s TouchWiz keyboards. You’re either going to sit and peck or use the stylus. Both are annoyances.

Software

Snazzy features aside, the Omnia is still just a Windows Mobile device so that in and of itself is major red flag for a number of folks, myself included. The TouchWiz UI immediately draws comparisons to HTC’s TouchFLO 3D UI, which has, in the past, made me forget that I’m fumbling with a WinMo device.

So how doth the Samsung’s TouchWiz compare to HTC’s TouchFLO 3D?

Well, it’s not as pretty and flashy, but it gets the job done. I’d say Samsung and HTC make the best Windows Mobile devices with the latter making the best ‘skin’. However, Samsung has a few tricks up its sleeve to make up for the not so flashy façade.

The reorientation of the screen from portrait to landscape is silky smooth and the sidebar of widgets is super convenient. You can drag widgets from the sidebar to the main screen for a quicker launch. The widgets include a world clock, games, media player, etc.

You can bring up the task manager by swiping up from the bottom, which lowers the aggravation of having to dig down into the Windows Mobile menu system.

The Omnia’s web browser is Opera 9.5 and is much better than the browser the Instinct has, but it’s still a so-so browser compared to the iPhone’s Safari.

If I had to choose between HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface and Samsung’s TouchWiz, I’d have to go with HTC’s Windows Mobile variant.

Application Store

Verizon’s app store doesn’t contain anything worth noting, but I did come across the IM+ client and it’s ridiculously priced at $40. The overall interface of the app store is pretty archaic.

Overall

If you’re in the market for a Windows Mobile device on Verizon then I’d highly suggest the Omnia from Verizon because of the Wi-Fi feature. The HTC Touch Pro is also a superb device on the network, but it lacks Wi-Fi and given the option it’s sort of a no-brainer. The Omnia will be available online starting tomorrow for $250 after a $70 MIR (debit card rebate) and in stores on December 8th.

The most obvious change is in its display – they’ve taken the 400×240 screen and replaced it with the 800×480 (WVGA) Samsung-made screen we’ve seen hit a few other handsets as of late. A bit less obvious, albeit still a nice touch, is the addition of a DMB TV tuner for satellite-based channel surfing. Of course, it hasn’t lost the WiFi, GPS, 7.2 mbps HSDPA, or any of the other stuff which made the original Omnia such a nice piece.

Oh, and no – we have no idea what the “T*” bit in T*Omnia represents, either. We’re guessing T stands for something special (Tasty? Tubular? Ooh! Ooh! Tyrannosaurus!), and they just put the * there to keep it from being the “Tomnia”.

[Via MobileBurn]

Looks like Samsung is sending little exploding paraders as ambassadors for the Omnia. Check out the video over at MobileCrunch >>

(Thanks, David!)

You’ve set the bar high for yourselves, Samsung. If a parade of tiny exploding people doesn’t rain out while I unbox my Omnia, I will be sorely disappointed.

(Thanks, David!)

Read more

IntoMobile is reporting that Samsung Singapore has released the first ROM update for the i900 Omnia Windows Mobile 6.1.

The firmware update fixes some bugs and includes new stuff like widgets for Samsung’s ‘Today’ screen and a new text input method for Chinese characters.

While we’re thrilled about updates and new stuff, don’t get too excited, so far the update is only available for Singaporean users, but hopefully that’s just the first step, and other updates will be available soon.

Dave at MobilityToday rocked out with the Samsung Ominia, a WinMo 6.1 smartphone straight out of Hong Kong. He does a full video review so I won’t spoil it for you but it’s a rare bird and there’s no pricing and availablity for the USA.

I’m over in Singapore, where Samsung has just pulled back the curtains on their Windows Mobile 6.1 touchscreen handset, the Omnia. I got to spend a bit of time with it — check out the full hands on over at MobileCrunch.

This new WinMo 6.1 phone from Samsung comes in both 8- and 16-gigabyte versions and should be available this month – in July for Europe – and has quad-band EDGE and HSDAP support. There is also Wi-Fi and an accelerometer. It is also very pretty… holy cats! I think Steve Jobs just ordered a burrito!