Nokia 5800 XpressMusic vs Samsung Omnia i900

Not all touchscreen phones are created equal. First, we had the high benchmark set by Apple with its iPhone and then seemingly the world and its mother followed suit with contenders for the throne.

Then, a long time after the party had pretty much finished and the last hanger-ons were preparing to head home, up walked Nokia with its 5800 XpressMusic.

Dubbed the Tube before receiving its official moniker, the 5800 XpressMusic was announced at a lavish London club event, under the watchful guidance of will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. He talked about how sometimes music should be free. And then, as if by magic, Nokia announced that its 5800 XpressMusic handset would come with a year’s free choonage as part of its new Comes With Music service.

So that’s something for nothing from Nokia, so what does Samsung’s Omnia have to challenge free music with?

Granted, it’s not quite as nice to look at as Nokia’s brainchild. But if we’d never seen the Finnish giant’s Xpress loveliness, we would be wowed by the classy finish and sleek curves of the Omnia. Unfortunately, we have seen it, so Samsung will only ever get second place in this beauty pageant.

That said, the Omnia is still quite beautiful. Its casing is hardy yet classy and the overall finish is one that suggests high-end rather than budget. It pretty much lives up to its name looks-wise – with its tag meaning ‘everything’ in Latin and ‘wish’ in Arabic – although not necessarily in every other respect, which we’ll go on to detail more fully.

Peas from different pods
Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic was first shown off during the epic film Dark Knight. Samsung’s touchscreen blower didn’t have quite the same build up but its impact was just as impressive.

Side by side, the two phones are more like friends from the same school year rather than siblings. Size-wise the 5800 XpressMusic is slightly thicker at 15.5mm to the Omnia’s 12.5mm, but Samsung’s handset is slightly wider at 56.9mm to Nokia’s 51.7. Length-wise, there’s just 1mm in it.

Both handsets are from the minimalist school of thinking with very few hard buttons getting spoiling the show for the 3.2” displays.

A weighty decision
What’s 16g between friends? Quite a lot if the added weight also means added bulk and you’re a pocket pal rather than a bag warrior. The 5800 XpressMusic has the slight edge here at 109g to the Omnia’s 125g. Granted, the latter isn’t exactly the heaviest phone you’re ever likely to see, but if size is important to you, its extra grams could prove a deal breaker.

Listening to music on the Omnia is a great experience. Doing the same thing on the 5800, however, is in a league of its own with great sound quality both on the bundled headphones or speakers. The Comes With Music offering is also a boon for music lovers and both handsets support all the major audio and video file formats.

Touchy business
Touchscreen action is good on both handsets. Both are highly responsive without being too sensitive and both come with the added support of a stylus for those tricky to enter details and a few different keyboard options. Interestingly, the 5800 also comes with a plectrum. No, we’re not sure about that either so thought it best to just smile politely and move on.

Accelerometer tech is in play for both devices, making it easier for certain functions and web pages. Drag and drop usability is also on show in both handsets, although Nokia’s media bar and contacts bar features give the handset the edge. Another plus for Nokia’s touchscreen baby is the fact it’s running a Symbian OS (S60). While this in itself isn’t necessarily a major crowd pleaser, it’s much more preferable to the Omnia’s operating system companion choice of Windows Mobile. Samsung has tried to jazz up the OS with its own skin but the truth is we all still know what lurks beneath thanks to some slow-loading applications.

Say cheese
The Omnia and 5800 XpressMusic both boast a number of photographic features such as auto focus and digital zoom, in addition to video recording capabilities.
When it comes to stills, the Omnia steals the show with its 5-megapixel snapper, which leaves Nokia’s 3.2-megapixel camera slightly in the shade. Video recording, however, is pretty good on both handsets, depending on your shooting conditions.

Verdict
The Omnia is more of an all round thoroughbred but the XpressMusic 5800 has more ‘cool’ bells and whistles so is likely to prove more of a hit with the younger crowd. As a business device, Samsung’s offering may prove more of a winner but if you want some business functionality in a funkier shell, Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic is the way to go.

See all the 'Versus' articles on our Head-to-head home page