A reader recently asked if the Samsung Omnia 7's Super AMOLED screen is a PenTile Matrix one. I've always suspected it was (I said so in my impressions), as all of Samsung's 480x800 4" AMOLED screen in existence uses PenTile technology (correct me if I am wrong).
PenTile Matrix is subpixel technology and apparently allows Samsung to increase the production yield of OLED displays (blue OLED pixels are difficult to produce). This is because PenTile has two subpixels per pixel where as a traditional RGB stripe has three subpixels per pixel, allowing for 33% less subpixels. Fewer pixels to make = higher yield.
Samsung claims that PenTile does not affect the screen quality but I disagree. Texts looks blurry, especially if viewed with small fonts, due to the unusual subpixel arrangement. Individual pixels are also visible despite the high pixel density of the screen. Dithering is also a common issue I found with viewing AMOLED devices with PenTile subpixels.
Below is a close up of the Samsung Omnia 7's screen. You can clearly see the pixel arrangement and how it may affect the display's legibility.
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If you want high contrast and colour saturation, there is nothing wrong with an AMOLED display. However if your priority is sharpness and colour accuracy, get one with a traditonal LCD (or Super LCD) with RGB stripe. Unfortunately I do not know if there are any 480x800 AMOLED display in production with a traditional RGB stripe.
I have to admit I am not a fan of recording videos, preferring to capture images instead - but videos are all the rage these days. It would be silly not to test the feature on the Samsung Omnia 7.
I took the chance yesterday evening at a Stella Artois World Draught Masters event (more on this later) to test the Omnia 7's 720p video recording. The video capabilities is pretty standard. Options includes 720p or VGA resolution (it defaults to VGA - much to my annoyance), contrast, saturation, sharpness, exposure compensation and white balance. As far as I know, the UI and settings are part of Windows Phone 7 standard.
Videos are recorded in MP4 format. I am not certain what bitrate is used, but I suspect it is variable. A three and a half minute 720p video footage like the one below came up at 158MB. Audio is encoded in AAC.
The video quality looks decent enough for one that is recorded via a mobile phone (though I've seen better), and seems to be better than those captured via my old Canon SX200. Samsung claims that it records in 25fps, but unfortunately it doesn't look like it. Auto focus is continuous as evident from the video below.
Yesterday I wrote about how my first impressions of Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7. It is early days, and I like what I am seeing. Unfortunately I came away disappointed by what's (not) underneath the pretty Metro UI - namely the lack of copy and paste, file manager, tethering, video calling, hot swappable card storage and USB mass storage support - all common features found in competing smartphone OS like Symbian and Android. The device I've been spending time with is the Samsung i8700 Omnia 7 courtesy of the awesome people from Three UK. This is one of the first Windows Phone 7 devices on the market and is available to buy now. It is sleek, powerful and conforms to Microsoft's strict Windows Phone 7 'chassis one' design - minimum of 1Ghz processor (Snapdragon), graphic processor, 480x800 resolution display, 5MP camera and 8GB storage.
So basically a typical smartphone spec for 2010. The Omnia 7 ticks all of this but doesn't go beyond them. It has the same gorgeous 4" Super AMOLED screen from the Galaxy S, 1Ghz Snapdragon QSD8250 processor, 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash with 720p with 25fps video recording, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, Accelerometer, GPS receiver with digital compass, 1500mAh battery and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support. The Omnia 7 is available in both 8GB and 16GB flavors. The front of the Omnia 7 is dominated by by a Super AMOLED screen. Apart for the plastic Windows start key and earpiece, front is covered in glass from edge to edge. The back and search keys are touch sensitive capacitive. I've accidentally toggled Bing unintentionally a couple of times, so that is one area I hope Samsung can improve on with the next version of the Omnia 7. On the top by the earpiece are the ambient light sensor and proximity sensor.
The volume rocker keys are on the left side and can be used to bring up the music control app when in used. Sitting on the right side of the Omnia 7 are the power button and camera shutter. The 3.5mm headphone slot and micro USB port (with a lid) sits on the top. The bottom is bare bar from the microphone.
On the backside you will find the 5MP camera lens and LED flash, a loud speaker and battery door. The SIM card slot is behind the door and the battery has to be removed to access it. In an age of powerful smartphones it is nice to see a large 1500mAh battery there, something HTC has continuously failed to realise is needed (just have a look at the Desire HD's battery spec). What you won't find is an external card slot. A bit of a bummer, but hardly a fault of Samsung.
With the brushed aluminium back and clean looks of the front, the Samsung Omnia 7 looks and feels reassuringly premium. It feels solid and heavy (in a good way) and looks well made. The design is clean, has a professional look to it - conservative and yet stylish. It is quite a departure from curvy Samsung of past. Personally, I like the Omnia 7 design much more than the Galaxy S and Wave. In fact remove the Samsung logo and you could easily mistaken this for a HTC HD 7. Despite its width, it is comfortable to hold and its slimness meant that it could fit inside a jeans pocket.
The 4 inches Super AMOLED screen is lovely. Colours are saturated. In fact, perhaps too over saturated. Pictures looks awesome on it, but are not accurate. On the other hand the use of PenTile subpixel matrix technology meant that small texts looks blurry. For a screen that supposedly have 480x800 resolution, it is rather unusual that I can actually see dots on it. Unfortunately I can't comment on the display's legibility under sunlight - the weather hasn't been great lately.
I will be using the Samsung Omnia 7 for two weeks before the big review. If you have any questions about the Omnia 7 or Windows Phone 7, just ask away in the comments section or on twitter.
I've been spending a couple of hours today with the Samsung i8700 Omnia 7 courtesy of Three UK. The Omnia 7 is one of the first Windows Phone 7 devices, based on the new operating system written by scratch by Microsoft. As a once long time Pocket PC and then Windows Mobile user, I can say for certainty that Windows Phone 7 is nothing like its predecessors. The only thing it shares is the Windows brand name.
Windows Phone 7 features completely different UI, not only from Windows Mobile but also from the majority of mobile OSes like iOS, Android and Symbian S60. The launcher is divided into two parts - the front 'home screen' which has live tiles (or widgets) that can be customised by the user, and the program launcher which lists a list of applications installed in alphabetical order. This makes up for the basis of what Microsoft dubs the Metro UI.
The Metro UI is slick, quick, uncluttered, easy to use and designed to operate with fingers. It is inspired by public transport signage and International Swiss typography movement. It is sleek, it is new and it is stylish.
Most of the built-in apps is engineered using a design called hubs. Hubs are basically large panoramic apps. Here you can swipe left and right or tap to go through the different pages within the hub.
The social integration is brilliant. Once I managed to get my contacts on it (I will get back to this), the OS integrates my contacts with those of my Facebook contacts providing easy visual updates on my friends. Now if they only provide integration with Twitter - that would be insane. The Marketplace is good too, with plenty of nice free apps like the Huffington Post (which isn't merely a glorified RSS reader/bookmark like BBC News app). It is dead easy to use too. I downloaded 20 apps in 10 minutes. Why can't Nokia do something like this for the Ovi Store?
Most of the paid games I've seen include trial versions, so there is little harm in downloading and trying out before deciding. The Xbox integration includes Gamerscore and Achievements.
Getting contacts on it was a pain, but do-able. Windows Phone 7 does not sync with Outlook, at least not directly. This is a major fail to me, and I do not understand how and why Microsoft would not support syncing with their own product. Still I managed to get them on, but not without first downloading Outlook Connector, syncing my contacts to a Hotmail account and then finally syncing from there to the phone. If you are an Exchange user, then good for you. Outlook will sync fine without these steps. So dear Microsoft, not everyone wants to use the 'Cloud', especially when there's a perfectly good USB cable in front of me.
Input is via a virtual QWERTY keyboard. There is no haptic feedback, though feedback is provided through audible feedback. Each key presses is different from the last as Windows Phone 7 has eight variations of key press samples played in a loop. It isn't a massive different, but subtle. I find the audible feedback irritating, but have no choice but to leave it on because the keyboard does not support haptic feedback. Auto correction and suggestions can be turned off if needed.
Internet Explorer is a massive improvement over the older versions found on Windows Mobile. Rendering is rather slow, though is accurate. Panning and scrolling is supported, as is pinch zooming and multiple tabs. In addition to saving a site as favourite, it can also be pin to the home screen. Flash and Silverlight is not supported, and there is no text reflow.
Bing Maps is fast and easy to use. Maps can be toggled between vector mapping and aerial (satellite) view. Zooming is via pinching. Step by step directions is supported, though there is no voice guided navigation. It is a good effort, but still lacking behind Google's effort with Maps on Android and Nokia's all you can eat navigation Ovi Maps.
Now for some really bad stuff. No multi-tasking. This is to me, inexcusable. Yes, there is some form of multi-tasking, but really, no more than what you would find in any typical feature phone from the past couple of years. You can listen to music while messaging - nothing new with that - even dumb Sony Ericsson and Nokia S40 phones can do that. But what about tweeting and using last.fm at the same time? Nope can't do that. Casual users migrating from feature phones may be able to put up with that, but I can't imagine plenty of power users will like the idea of a dumbed down experience.
Another is copy and paste. I know some would say that copy and paste is due next year, it's been promised bla bla bla. Well until it does, Windows Phone 7 does not have copy and paste. There is no excuse here not to have copy and paste, absolutely none especially for a 2010 OS. There are also plenty of other dislikes with Microsoft's new mobile OS - the lack of tethering, no Bluetooth file exchange, no video call, no file manager, no USB mass storage, no support for own ringtones etc.
If in 1-2 years time Microsoft can implement those missing features, this can be a killer OS. Right now it isn't ready just yet, at least not for those accustomed to traditional OSes like Windows Mobile, Android or Symbian. The Metro UI and design language is simply stunning, but it would be ashamed if Microsoft doesn't improve on what's underneath it. It deserves better.
I will be keeping the Samsung Omnia 7 for two weeks. If you have any questions about Windows Phone 7, just ask away in the comments section or on twitter.
A reader recently asked if the Samsung Omnia 7's Super AMOLED screen is a PenTile Matrix one. I've always suspected it was (I said so in my impressions), as all of Samsung's 480x800 4" AMOLED screen in existence uses PenTile technology (correct me if I am wrong).
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