We have complained in the past about Samsung's quirks when it comes to announcing its mobile phones and now can only say "here we go again." As we commented in June, the Korean giant seems to have become enamored lately with "three stage" product rollouts. The three stages appear to be as follows:

• Leak product images to the web, perhaps by giving glimpses of the products at industry events, but provide few or no technical specifications or other details
  
• "Announce" the products via a press event and terse press releases, but still fail to disclose processors or many other technical essentials
  
• Hoping for a third bite of the apple (no pun intended), provide pricing and technical specifications later, as devices actually go on sale

Samsung's latest news can mostly be considered a "third stage" announcement, providing added details of its previously unveiled Omnia II, Omnia Pro B7610, and Omnia Lite B7300 Windows phones. (The firm is still reticent about what processors the phones use, which is ironic since Samsung is a major manufacturer of ARM-compatible SoCs [systems on chip].)

Samsung did make clear that the above three phones, originally announced with Windows Mobile 6.1, will ship in October with Windows Mobile 6.5. And, it added a fourth new phone, the Omnia Pro B7330 shown below right.

Omnia Pro B7330

Samsung's Omnia Pro B7330 (Click image to enlarge)

Similar to other messaging-centric Samsung phones -- such as the Omnia Pro B7320 and SGH-i637 "Jack" -- the Omnia Pro B7330 has a non-touchscreen display and a QWERTY keyboard. It runs the Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard operating system, reportedly with some customizations added by Samsung.

Like the Omnia Pro B7320 and the SGH-i637, the Omnia Pro B7330 has GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth. However, its screen is slightly larger, measuring 2.62 inches diagonally and offering a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. Also, the Omnia Pro B7330 comes with an FM receiver, Samsung says.

According to Samsung, the Omnia Pro B7330 comes with 270MB of RAM and a microSD expansion slot. It packs a 1500mAh battery, the company adds, though no information was provided on talk or standby times.

Features and specifications released by Samsung for the Omnia Pro B7330 include the following:

• Processor -- n/s
• Memory -- 270MB RAM
• Display -- 2.6-inch display with 320 x 320 resolution
• Camera -- 3 megapixel
• Keys -- QWERTY keyboard
• Wireless:
  • WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE; compatible with 2Mbps HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access) and HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access
  • LAN -- WiFi (versions n/s)
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
  • GPS
  • FM receiver
• I/O:
  • USB
  • Headphone jack
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Battery -- 1500mAh
• Dimensions -- 4.52 x 2.32 x 0.42 inches (114.9 x 59. x 10.8mm)
• Weight -- 3.77 ounces (107g)

The Omnia II (i8000)

Samsung's Omnia II I8000 (Click image to enlarge)

Samsung confirmed Windows Mobile 6.5 for its previously leaked Omnia II (right) and added a few more technical details. The device has a 3.7-inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display with 800 x 480 resolution, runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, and also includes a TouchWiz 2.0 user interface, according to the company.

Samsung says the Omnia II has HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access) and HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access, WiFi, GPS, and an FM radio. A five megapixel camera offers autofocus, face detection, geotagging, "smile shot" mode, and the ability to record video with a resolution of 720 x 480 pixels, the company adds.

According to Samsung, the Omnia II will be offered with 2GB, 4GB, or 16GB of flash storage, and also includes a microSDHC expansion slot that accepts cards up to 32GB in size. A 1500mAh battery will provide up to 6.5 hours talk time, and up to 470 hours standby, the company says.
Features and specifications released by Samsung for the Omnia II (I8000) include the following:

• Processor -- n/s
• Memory -- 2GB, 8GB, or 16GB
• Display -- 3.7-inch AMOLED display with 800 x 480 resolution
• Camera -- 5 megapixel
• Wireless:
  • WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE, compatible with 2Mbps HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access) and HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access); tri-band (900/ 1900/2100MHz) UMTS
  • LAN -- WiFi (versions n/s)
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
  • GPS
  • FM receiver
• I/O:
  • USB
  • Headphone jack
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Battery -- 1500mAh
• Dimensions -- 4.64 x 2.34 x 0.48 inches (118 x 59.6 x 12.3mm)
• Weight -- n/s

OmniaPro B7610

Samsung's OmniaPro B7610 (Click image to enlarge)

Samsung's Omnia Pro B7610 -- also previously announced, but now detailed further -- appears to be mostly identical to the Omnia II, but with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (right). According to the company, the Omnia Pro B7610 runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional on an undisclosed 800MHz processor. The includes a 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, a five megapixel camera, HSDPA connectivity, WiFi, and GPS, Samsung adds.

Features and specifications released by Samsung for the Omnia Pro B7610 include the following:

• Processor -- n/s, but said to be 800MHz
• Memory -- 1GB
• Display -- 3.5-inch AMOLED display with 800 x 480 resolution
• Camera -- 5 megapixel
• Wireless:
  • WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE, compatible with 2Mbps HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access) and HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access)
  • LAN -- WiFi (versions n/s)
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
  • GPS
  • FM receiver
• I/O:
  • USB
  • Headphone jack
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Battery -- 1500mAh
• Dimensions -- 4.43 x 2.27 x 0.63 (112.6 x 57.8 x 16.2mm)
• Weight -- n/s

Omnia Lite B7300

Samsung's Omnia Lite B7300 (Click image to enlarge)

Finally, Samsung provided a few more details of the Omnia Lite, said to offer a three megapixel camera, GPS, plus both WiFi and HSDPA connectivity. The device, whose name suggests that it is intended as a relatively low-cost offering, appears to resemble Samsung's original SGH-i900 Omnia, which had a 3.2-inch QVGA display and was the company's first phone to feature the widget-based TouchWiz user interface.

According to Samsung, the Omnia Lite B7300 has a three-inch display with a resolution of 400 x 200 pixels, 250MB of RAM, and a microSD expansion slot. Again, the phone is said to run Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, offer an FM receiver, and have a 1500mAh battery.

Features and specifications released by Samsung for the Omnia Lite (B7300) include the following:

• Processor -- n/s
• Memory -- 250MB
• Display -- 3-inch display with 400 x 200 resolution
• Camera -- 3 megapixel
• Wireless:
  • WAN -- Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE
  • LAN -- WiFi (versions n/s)
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
  • GPS
  • FM receiver
• I/O:
  • USB
  • Headphone jack
• Expansion -- microSD slot
• Battery -- 1500mAh
• Dimensions -- 4.21 x 2.03 x 0.5 inches (107 x 51.8 x 12.9mm)
• Weight -- (103g)

Mark Mitchinson, a vice president for Samsung Mobile in the UK and Ireland, stated, "The Samsung Omnia Series is one of the most important additions to our portfolio and demonstrates our commitment to the smartphone market. The high performance devices, coupled with the new Windows 6.5 make the new Omnia series a compelling choice for anyone that wants a device that brings both their work and personal life together."

Further information

According to Samsung, the Omnia II (I8000), Omnia Lite (B7300), Omnia Pro (B7610), and Omnia Pro B7330 will be available in October. Pricing was not released.

A preview of the Omnia Pro B7330, featuring ample photography, may be found on the PhoneArena.com website, here.

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