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Motorola’s Droid will be getting some company on the Verizon Wireless network this holiday shopping season, when the carrier releases a new powerhouse on Dec. 2: the Samsung Omnia II.
The newest Samsung smartphone runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS, and in addition to high-speed connectivity on Verizon’s now much-hyped 3G network, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built in as well.
The Omnia II boasts one of the larger displays around: a full-touch 3.7-inch widescreen WVGA AMOLED (which stands for ultra-bright). There’s no physical keyboard, but the on-screen one features Swype technology, which Verizon describes as allowing “customers to input text faster and easier with one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard.”
Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 user interface is included, as is its 3D Cube menu, which is said to be enhanced.
Web browsing comes via an enhanced Opera 9.5 browser, which offers quick access to YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. Microsoft Office Mobile allows users to manage Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the smartphone, and Windows Mobile 6.5 supports both personal and corporate e-mails, including the synchronization of schedules and contacts, as well as instant messaging, SMS and MMS.
As with connectivity, there is no shortage of media options. Users get access – for a fee – to Verizon services such as V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V CAST Video on Demand, as well as Visual Voice Mail and VZ Navigator. There’s also support for Divx and Xvid movie files, and a 5-megapixel camera with flash, auto-focus, on-device editing capabilities, a camcorder and a decorder with DNSe (digital natural sound engine) technology for a high-end audio experience.
Up to 16GB of memory can be popped into the microSD slot, and 8GB of internal memory are included.
It’s the first Samsung device in the United States to offer access to the manufacturer’s Widget Store, which according to Samsung offers hundreds of free widgets that users can download to customize their phones.
The Omnia II will be available in Verizon stores for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year service contract.
In September, Samsung introduced the Omnia Pro B7330 slate-style, which also features Windows Mobile 6.5 and announced that other currently available models in its Omnia lineup will also be upgraded to run 6.5 as well.