Test of Samsung B7610 OmniaPro

Samsung is a manufacturer with a presence on the market of mobile telephony by offering many models for all categories of users and under several OS. Today we'll focus on the B7610 aka Omnia Pro (codenamed Louvre until his recent release), latest Windows Phone slider from encroaching on the flowerbeds of his counterpart from HTC, the Touch ie Pro2, but with a destination a little more multimedia than its direct competitor

Getting Started

The Omnia Pro is easily in the hand with a reasonable width but quickly lost this advantage because of its weight but still less consequence than the Touch Pro2. The camera is indeed quite heavy in the hand, but this is not dramatic either, and do not forget it has a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Moreover, it was perfectly in my jeans pocket for 2 weeks without deforming them, but I advise against it in a shirt pocket for example
The plastic seems sturdy and the finish is flawless

The Keys

Say it right now, I am very mixed on the keyboard, or rather on the app that manages
Indeed, if the strike as such is very effective and the keys feel very nice, the result on the screen did not at all satisfied
I failed once to take an accent using the physical keyboard, regardless of the input mode in which I was (XT9, ABC, etc ....)
I tried all the tricks known to most other machines (supports long, keystrokes, ALT, etc..) Unsuccessfully
Furthermore, it is backlit, but fortunately it only takes one break of only a few seconds while typing a text so that the backlight turns off, it's much too short

Buttons

The device has hardware buttons to answer / hang up (the latter also used to turn on and off the camera)
This may seem trivial in isolation, but in a current mode to touch everything, it's pretty unusual to report it
Between the buttons is a large key that opens the menu builder by mode in which it is
Indeed, it is possible to set a menu and a menu pro personal with the various programs that we want access to priority under the context in which it is located.

A button is also dedicated to the outbreak of shooting in Camera mode and coexists with the lock button on the touch screen

Finally, the device has two buttons that are the physical volume, which becomes the zoom button in camera mode button and the mode change (W & L for Work & Life)

The touchscreen

The screen of 3.5 "is nice and bright and has a comfortable resolution of 480x800 (WVGA) supported by its 16 million colors. There is still readable in brightly lit environment and even the sun, this is probably due to the AM-OLED technology. However, I found the text display excessive and I do not find the settings allowing me to edit (I note that this is my first test (but not the last) with a device on WM 6.5). Result, part of the display was truncated on the home page.

The lock button can instantly switch into standby mode without waiting the time specified in the corresponding parameters. The standby screen gives indications of date and time, number of unread messages, the pending alarms, etc..

Menus

The purpose of this test does not show you in detail all the menus of Windows Mobile 6.5 but we will help you discover the main developments as minor they may appear, and specific functions of the Pro Omnia. I recall that the model was taken from a model of SFR, there is little evidence to distinguish the basic applications of Windows Mobile 6.5, those added by Samsung specifically for the model or those added by SFR. Here are bulk applications that were available on the mobile test.

It is of course possible to arrange the display icons to his liking but not very practical because it is possible to move that up without selecting the exact location (no drag and drop icons).By pressing the middle button access to menus, we obtain the interface from Samsung that we can arrange at will.
 
Performance

The device is rather swift, it must be said that its processor S3C6410 Korean manufacturer of 800 MHz attended by 256 MB of RAM is for many. I have seen no slowdown even multi task, that is to say, with multiple applications open simultaneously.

Telephony

The Omnia Pro is quad band, that is to say that it supports GSM 850/900/1800 and 1900, it can be used in Europe and the Americas, among other. The reception is good and the earpiece volume is sufficiently powerful to be used in noisy environments. To dial a number, just type the first few digits or characters for the search engine offers contacts directory containing all or part of the search criteria.

The call log can sort by date and time or frequency which can be very useful to remind the people whom we call most often. There are of course the usual methods of normal tone, vibrate or silent accessible from the button of volume control complete with a possibility to activate a feature "break ringtone" very practice to disable all sounds the phone as soon as it is returned. Ideal when you come into a meeting room.
 
Surfing / Email

The device has the latest version of Opera Mobile browser as on most Smartphones and PDAPhones the moment. But it is possible to use Internet Explorer Mobile 6, which has undergone some changes including in its menus.The mail client built into Windows Mobile for him has not changed, there is nothing particular to say about it.

SMS / MMS


The keyboard proved formidable input SMS long as they do not need the accents (see my comment on this).
In contrast, the addition of a recipient proves laborious as it must go through 4 or 5 screens before reaching the desired contact state, unless you go through the directory. The display of trade with one corresponding to how chat is very convenient to follow a conversation. Again we can choose the interface between the WM and Samsung.

PIM (Personal Information Manager) - Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes

The synchronization of data can be done via ActiveSync with a PC or server exchange. For those who do not have an account exchange, Microsoft offers in recent months the possibility of hosting the data service through Microsoft MyPhone. This completely free service offers the ability to sync all PIM data but also its SMS, its images, internet favorites, videos and documents in the limit of 200 MB.

When the device is already configured to synchronize with an Exchange account, Microsoft MyPhone detects it and does not synchronize PIM data but other data. The only fault I found with this service, during the synchro-down text messages to another device, they are not arranged in chronological time, the coup in views way sms Chat conversations are anachronistic (answers before questions, etc..)

Office

Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional comes with Office Mobile from Microsoft and Adobe Rader. This suite is compatible with Office documents in 2007 and earlier and allows the creation and editing of Office documents


Connectivities

Infrared aside, the Samsung Omnia Pro has all the connectivity no son is available to date.

Wifi

The WiFi chip in the Omnia Pro is compatible 802.11 b / g and supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), which allows sharing of data between network devices. It is therefore possible to access multimedia content on this pc fixed by his example.

The setup is done through an application called "home connection" which shows graphically representing the circles in which are located network elements according to their proximity (in the manner of a sonar;). Once the setup done, I could view photos on my pc fixed, play music but also video streaming.

Bluetooth

The chip BT 2.0 EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for the Omnia Pro allows the use of a compatible stereo headset, but also the exchange of files between devices equipped with the same technology that is no longer necessary to present

Data

The Omnia Pro supports GPRS, Edge, UMTS and HSDPA Class 5 (3.6 mbps). I have not encountered any problems in receiving data.

GPS

The Omnia Pro is equipped with a chip GPS SiRF III compatible A-GPS. I did not have a software of navigation during the term of the loan, so I have not been able to test the GPS function.

Multimedia

Digital Camera

AFN From Omnia Pro is equipped with a CMOS sensor 5 mega pixels and a dual LED flash. With these features theoretically attractive on paper, one could expect very good picture quality. It is not so, the pictures taken are average, nothing more, and we remain very far from the picture quality of a Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson with a resolution equivalent.

For cons, the unit has a hardware button to the outbreak of shooting at the age of all touch, it's not often emphasized. Several types of shots are available including 2 automatically trigger these.

It is the smile mode that detects when the subject smiles and then starts shooting and panning which triggers when the camera is moved horizontally after the first shot. I have not had the opportunity to see if it worked properly.

Note the presence of an interesting application called Photo Frame, which can turn your Omnia Pro Digital Photo Frame. It is possible to launch a slideshow of photos with background music. While this will not replace your digital photo frame show 7 or 10 "but it might be nice for example desktop.

Camcorder

The Pro Omnia recording video in 3gp format. Unfortunately I lost my video files that I recorded but I can say that they were at the height of the picture, that is to say, very mean.

Music

The Omnia Pro supports audio formats MP3, AMR, AAC, AAC +, e-AAC +, WMA, i-Melody, SMAF, MIDI, SP-MIDI, WAV. The unit has its own Media Player but nothing prevents the use of Microsoft course.

The interface of the Player from Samsung is just a little nicer, but the features are similar as it can create playlists, do a random play or repeat a word, the classic features you would expect of a media player.

The jack to the 3.5mm format can use any headphones. This format is becoming more widespread on most smartphones and PDAPhones last generation and it is a very good thing for those with a headset or headphones of good quality. However, the supplied headphones in the pack is doing well. Soon the end of the mini jack 2.5 mm or more USB ports (HTC) or owners?

Note that the headphone jack also serves as TV output, but this will require the set as such.

Vidéos

L'Omnia Pro supporte les vidéos au format MPEG4, H.263, ASF, WMV, DivX. Rien à dire sur la lecture des vidéos, l'appareil gère tout ça correctement, y-compris en streaming comme précisé dans la section WiFi.

Radio FM

L'appareil dispose d'un tuner FM RDS. Celui-ci ne peut fonctionner que si une casque est connecté car il lui sert alors d'antenne, comme sur la plupart des mobiles qui disposent de la radio. It is possible to record the radio that one is listening. The Omnia Pro then created a file in mp3.

Special Features

Mode Pro / Private

We talked about above, it is possible to configure a home page called Pro (W for Work) or Private (L for Life). This allows you to customize the content of its pages with most relevant information according to its context of activity. The switch between the 2 modes is done very quickly by holding down the button dedicated W & L. It is also possible to activate DiagWiz to benefit from Samsung's Widgets.

Smart Search

The Smart Search feature allows you to search "intelligent" data stored on the mobile from contacts, call logs, media files, schedules, messages and programs as well as on the Web. For local documents (non-web), this requires a prior indexing data. Once the application is launched, simply enter all or part of the data sought to achieve results that meet the criteria tapering gradually to measure the input.

Smart Reader

This feature allows you to photograph business cards to extract information or translate text. However, it should be in optimum conditions of shooting (lighting, possibly a tripod) to get a satisfactory result. I did unfortunately failed despite numerous trials.

Smart Converter

The device has a data converter fairly comprehensive but not necessarily helpful for some of them, such as calculating tips (at least to be in a country where the service is not included and d ' be gaps in mental arithmetic).

The only constraint, except for conversions of various measures is that the data for variables such as currency, it is not possible to update automatically through Internet must manually configure different conversion rates.

Video Editor

The Omnia Pro has a video editor who can make his own arrangements using various media files such as photos, videos and audio files.

Clocks & Alarms

Samsung has added an application to clocks To those basic. You can add multiple international clocks, alarms and many more configurable than the original and a stopwatch and a birthday Management (personally, I use my PIM functionality for the latter).

Miscellaneous Applications

Finally, note the presence of a "game" of dice using the accelerometer (the kind you redundant is not better) and a dictaphone.

MSN Services

The unit came with a slew of MSN services more or less practical like stock, weather, traffic info ...

Microsoft Market Place

We can not talk about a Windows Phone to say nothing of MMP. Currently, there are not plenty of applications, but we bet it will getting better. In contrast, evaluations of applications by users appear to be increasing, indicating that access to the App Store Microsoft is in full rise. It is possible to filter applications to see only free, or pay the new.

Autonomy

The Omnia Pro take a day and a half in normal use (or intensive) data connection with permanently activated and continuous exchange sync, plus a few calls, a little surfing and bottom backlight. It is an honorable performance given the size of the screen, again thank you the AM-OLED technology and high-capacity battery of 1500 mAh.

Conclusion

The Omnia Pro is a good PDAPhone slider firmly oriented multimedia but not forgetting the needs of mobile professional. Do not suffer any delay, he fishes through his party digital camera that is not up to the other qualities of the phone. Luckily he has other assets to attract a demanding clientele for this type of machine, as its keyboard nice to use and an interface to bypass the Microsoft. Launched at € 479 excluding pack operator, is marketed in SFR since September from 199 € with a package.

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