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Samsung has unveiled the Omnia M and it’s coming to the UK soon, although I am hard pressed to tell it apart from its much older cousin, the Omnia 7 though.
The front of the M is dominated by a 4-inch screen. It’s of the Super AMOLED variety — the same type you’d find on phones like the Galaxy S3 — so I’m expecting it to be very bright and particularly bold. The screen on our favourite Windows Phone the Nokia Lumia 800 is extremely bold, so the M has a lot to live up to.
Under the hood is a 1GHz processor that should make swiping through the live tiles of Windows Phone pretty snappy. Around the back you’ll find a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash.
If you’re a Samsung Windows Phone aficionado then these specs might be a bit familiar to you. That’s because Samsung’s Omnia 7, released in 2010, also has a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, also uses a 1GHz processor and also has a 5-megapixel camera.
The only differences as far as I can tell lie in the physical design. At 10.5mm thick, the Omnia M is marginally more slim than the Omnia 7. It has a contoured back that Samsung says makes it more comfortable to hold. It also dispenses with the physical Windows home button, instead opting for a more classy, touch-sensitive option. Hopefully the awkwardly placed power button we complained about in our review of the Omnia 7 has also been addressed.
Considering the Omnia 7 was launched back in 2010, it’s disappointing to not see more of a progression in this latest handset. Part of the reason though is due to the nature of Windows Phone. The current version doesn’t support high powered, multi-core processors. Hopefully once Windows Phone 8 is released later this year with multi-core support, we’ll see a bit more variation.
The Omnia 7 has Family Story pre-installed, which allows families to send messages to each other, and Samsung’s ChatON messaging service, amongst other bits and bobs. As it’s a Windows Phone device you’ll also get the integration of your Xbox Live account, which is handy if you’re into your games.
There is no word on exactly when we’re going to see this new phone or on how much it’s going to set you back. I’d suggest keeping a close eye on the prices of this and the Omnia 7 though — if the M comes with the usual ‘new phone premium’ then you might be better off with the 7 that can be yours for very little at the moment.
What do you make to the Omnia M? Is it a miserable upgrade or is it a real effort by Samsung to develop its Windows Phone portfolio? Let me know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
