Samsung I8350 Omnia W review: By the playbook

When Windows Phone launched a year ago, we were excited to first see it on the Super AMOLED screen of the Samsung Omnia 7. Twelve months or so later, Samsung are sort of in power-saving mode in the joint venture with Microsoft. Their Omnia W isn’t drawing all attention to itself by blowing the numbers out of proportion.

The Omnia W has shed weight and lost some of its predecessor’s screen estate. What you get in return is an upgraded processor and double the data speeds. The display technology, camera sensor and the general feel haven't changed much.

    
Samsung Omnia W official pictures

Well, yes, some would call it a half-hearted effort. Or maybe, Samsung are simply waiting for the dust to settle from Nokia’s grand entry into Windows Phone. Obviously, they didn’t want – or need – a European flagship along the lines of their US-based Focus S with AT&T. With a single Windows-phone handset on the Old Continent, it may’ve made sense to focus on the midrange instead of making another flagship without a fleet. Bottom line, as long as we remember that it’s not an upgrade of the original Omnia 7, the Omnia W is an easy phone to live with, for all its strengths and shortcomings.