Hands-On With the Verizon Wireless Omnia

We’ve been following the Samsung Omnia ($499.99) since its Asian birth in Singapore, and had a chance to review the device a few months back as well. We were very pleased with the GSM version, which we ran on AT&T’s network, but were put off that it wouldn’t run on American 3G networks and was extremely expensive without a carrier subsidy. However, Verizon Wireless has picked up the CDMA version of the Omnia, thrown in EV-DO Rev. A data support, and its over-the-deck features. The phone will retail for $249.99 with a two-year contract.

What we loved before and love now:

• The Omnia is loaded up with a host of third party applications, including ShoZu for sending your pics up to the Web.
• Verizon Wireless left the TouchWIZ user-interface overhaul intact. That means you can drag and drop a host of widgets from a Today screen sidebar out onto the desktop when you’re ready to use them. Widgets include a media player, an FM radio control, your Inbox, and more.

• Verizon’s new VZ appZone is available on the Omnia. We haven’t been able to view a list of available applications yet, but we assume it will offer a VCast Music download.
• The Omnia supports Visual Voicemail.
• Offers a 5MP camera with an LED flash and fun features like Panoramic shots.
• It comes with 8GB of onboard storage, and you can add up to 16GB more. .
• The Opera mobile Web browser is still preloaded.
• It comes with an included stylus, but you can also navigate using a fun optical mouse track pad. This feature is also available on AT&T Epix.

What we didn’t like and still don’t like:

• So far, the keyboard doesn’t look like it has changed much. It’s not as accurate at picking up on small pokes. That’s likely due to the display, which isn’t as sensitive as other phones like the T-Mobile G1. Many menu selections go unanswered, and dragging the widgets can be a pain if it doesn’t register your touch.
• Windows Mobile 6.1 is sluggish
• The Omnia doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but at least it comes with an adapter.

The full specs are listed here, but stay tuned for a full review where we’ll visit call quality, and put all of the features we’ve discussed to the test.