My Omnia Pro

With almost exactly the same dimensions, weight and features, many of you will be looking at the N900 as a possible alternative to the B7610. In this article I go through the advantages of each device and take a closer look at the photo capabilities.

I have been using the N900 for just under two weeks now and have been very very impressed with the quality of the speed, UI, web experience and integrated support for Skype and instant message networks but there are some key issues with the N900 that need to be considered.

• Price
• Battery life
• Third-party software
• Portrait-mode usage

At 100 Euro more, the N900 is one of the most expensive smartphones on the market and with all that processing power and ease-of-use, killing the battery in just 6-8 hours is all too easy. I’ve been caught out three times now.

Support for portrait mode is also limited to the phone and the image viewer making one-handed use almost impossible. Fortunately this is a software issue that will be fixed soon (say Nokia)

COMPARE BOTH DEVICES ON THE PRODUCT PORTAL.

There are other things to consider too though. Here’s a list of the most significant differences.

Better on the Omnia Pro:

• B7610 looks better in my opinion (When it’s clean.)
• Indoor screen quality is better (outdoor about the same as the N900 although more glossy)
• Portrait mode. (On-screen keyboard, all apps working in portrait mode.)
• One-handed use. (Better due to portrait mode and better OSK in portrait mode)
• MMS support (not available yet on the N900)
• Buttons for phone actions and home screen.
• Compass. (As-yet unused by any application on the Omnia Pro)
• Battery life (possibly because the Omnia Pro is a less powerful device.)
• Price. (Omnia Pro has dropped below 400 Euro. N900 is at 500 Euro)
• Image capture options and speed. When the lens is clean, the B7610 makes a better snapshot camera. See below for image examples and notes.
• BT stack support (DUN is not available in the Nokia N900 yet)
• More 3rd-party software available. (Maemo 5 is still in early stages as an OS and is not likely to build the same developer community as Windows Mobile over the next 12 months)
• On screen keyboard better (word completion. Accuracy.)
• Multi-location sharing (uploading images to web for example.)
• Dual home-screen options. I find the scrolling today screen with side-scrollable sections very easy to use, very informative and very efficient.
• Google maps application available for B7610.
• B7610 is available in some markets today.

Better on the Nokia N900

• Physical keyboard (smaller but more pronounced and less slippery keys)
• Browser speed, accuracy, completeness. Full flash support is also included on the N900.
• Integration of IM and Skype into the contacts and messaging sub-systems makes a big difference to ‘presence.’ (But also negative impact on battery life.)
• Screen touch layer appears to be more rugged on the N900. (Better quality plastics)
• Storage (N900 has 32GB built-in but both have micro SDHC support.)
• Video playback quality (higher bitrates supported on the N900 although some codecs missing in my sample device.)
• Video recording quality (higher resolution and bitrates supported for recording although the current video recording firmware is still not that good on the N900)
• Speakers, Stereo speakers on the N900 are far better than the B7610.
• Integrated map application (but no Google maps and no turn-by-turn navigation applications available yet.)
• Email application is much better on the N900 than on the Omnia Pro (with Windows 6.1)
• Camera lens cover will protect lens from dust, scratches and smudges.
• N900 has an FM transmitter.
• N900 has faster 3G support. (HSPA)
• N900 not available until November (estimated)

Photo comparisons.

What I call ‘internet photography’ is becoming one of the key deciding elements for consuers looking for a smartphone. Here, i’ve taken a closer look at the photo quality and capabilities. Full versions of the images are available in the gallery.

N900 on left appears to have a better contrast and greener greens. Note that both devices have adjustments for white-balance. The Omnia Pro has adjustments for contrast and saturation too. Omnia Pro appears to be more light sensitive which can be a big advantage.

N900 (left) can’t focus as closely as the Omnia Pro in Macro mode.

In a half-shadow image with flash used to fill-in, the N900 results in a much more enjoyable color range. The Omnia Pro flash appears to be stronger (or the sensor is more sensitive.)

These two images taken in daylight room lighting are difficult to tell apart. Looking at the information on the capture it appears that the Omnia Pro might be more sensitive resulting in higher shutter speed where needed.

The Omnia Pro is much much faster to pre-focus and pressing the shutter release results in a near-instantaneous capture. The N900 takes a long time to capture the image and a long time to show the image preview. (New firmware could change this.)  Smile-detect and other features on the Omnia Pro also help to improve snapshot photography. Note that all these advantages are negated if you fail to keep the lens clean which is a major task on the Omnia Pro due to it having no lens cover.

Summary

If we ignore the software issues and focus on the hardware issues it boils down to photography, battery life, indoor screen quality, speakers, price and internal storage.

The N900 is the clear leader where web-browsing and multi-media is concerned and with 32GB is the better media device overall. The Omnia Pro is the better snapshot camera and with longer battery life (in my day-to-day usage) and lower cost and more focus on portrait mode usage and voice it might be the better choice for the average user looking for a slider-type device. It doesn’t lag far behind on media quality and browsing is better than on most other smartphones so as a consumer package, it appears to be better value.