The Samsung Omnia II is officially going to be released to the U.S. Market. While I smile whenever I see an iPhone clone I also relies that this is great for the industry. Nothing pushes technologically jumps faster than credible competition. The biggest weakness thus far will be like entering into the video game space – minimal app (or widgets as they're referred to) selection. That problem will however end in time.

Why should I care?

• TouchWiz 2.0*
• It will be upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5 - this could very well be it's greatest downfall as well.
• Opera browser integration
• New ROM upgrade (for widgets) - download here
• Has sold millions of units globally
• Built-in video editing, but runs a proprietary OS (problematic? remains to be seen)

Tech Specs:

• 3.7-inch AMOLED** resistive touch-screen with WVGA (480 x 800) resolution
• EVDO Rev A, 5 megapixel camera
• 720 x 480 at 30fps video recording
• 2GB to 16GB internal storage with microSD expansion slot
• Bluetooth 2.0
• WiFi
• AGPS
• TouchWiz 2.0 UI

*Definition of TouchWiz 2.0 UI:
"It provides direct access to different applications and multi-media features which serve as shortcuts to those apps. It has 3D-enablement of the UI, parts of the UI are more 3D in appearance. Touchwiz 2.0 has three customizable widget screens and downloadable widgets. It also has a motion-response UI, using accelerometer support for navigating through the UI."

**Definition of an AMOLED resistive touchscreen:
"An active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display consists of OLED pixels that have been deposited or integrated onto a thin film transistor (TFT) array to form a matrix of pixels that illuminate light upon electrical activation, which functions as a series of switches to control the current flowing to each of the pixels. The TFT array continuously controls the current that flows to the pixels, signaling to each pixel how brightly to shine."

The Samsung Omnia II will be available through the Version G3 network.