In the run up to the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, manufacturers and carriers are trying to tantalize fan bases with new and exciting products. Unfortunately there really hasn’t been anything we would deem “wow worthy” up to this point (announced officially, that is), though Samsung seems to think its short-term strategy is all that. First off, Sammy finally got around to announcing the OmniaPRO B7330, a low-end full-QWERTY number with a 320×320 display, 3 megapixel camera, FM tuner and 7.2Mbps HSDPA/2Mbps HSUPA connectivity. Second, it announced that the OmniaLITE B7300 will ship with WinMo 6.5 as with all Omnia models shipped after 6.5 goes live. Third and lastly, Samsung announced that later on in the year at a time not specified, Samsung will release WinMo 6.5 upgrades for the Omnia II i800, OmniaPRO B7320, and OmniaPRO B7610 alongside “a set of customized strategies to differentiate and expand sales of each model by appealing to a broad spectrum of user groups.” We haven’t a clue what Samsung has in mind in terms of customization, but we do have this nagging feeling that it won’t exactly knock anyone’s socks off.

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While the US is still waiting on official word from Samsung, a carrier or anyone else in terms of when the Omnia II might touch down in the US, ai.rs blog has managed to score a whole host of screenshots from the sexy new handset. Why are we so interested in screenshots — how does TouchWiz 2.0 sitting on top of Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro sound? It appears as though Samsung has done a bang up job in covering much of the UI with touchy wizzy goodness, and ai.rs reveals a whole slew of screens — 37 in total. Truth be told, it doesn’t look bad at all. Hit the jump for a giant version of the image above along with a few more caps, and hit the read link for the rest. Mmm, UI band aids.

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Sammy fans in the US (and perhaps Canada) have cause for celebration as the FCC has just given the upcoming Omnia2 its coveted nod of approval. Preliminary documentation is limited but at least one tasty tidbit can be gleaned — this little guy is packing UMTS 850/1900. That’s right people, AT&T and Rogers’ 3G frequencies are confirmed to be on board, though it remains to be seen whether either carrier will offer the handset. A quick refresher:

• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA5.76 Mbps
• 3.7-inch WVGA (480×800) AMOLED touchscreen, Advanced R touch (Resistive)
• Memory: 8/16GB storage memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 32GB total)
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, TouchWiz 2.0 UI with 3D effects
• 800 MHz processor
• 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, dual LED flash, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and D1 video recording at 15 fps
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP, standard microUSB port, standard 3.5mm audio jack, GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Accelerometer
• DivX/XviD video support
• FM radio with RDS
• DNSe
• Dimensions: 118 x 59.6 x 11.9 mm
• 1500 mAh battery

Anyone excited, or enough with the full touchscreen Windows Mobile phones already? Hit the jump for a nice little video showing this little guy off.

Thanks, William!

[Via CellPassion & Nowhere Else]

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Samsung is just unstoppable today, having announced more new phones in just the past few hours than some companies announce in a year. Two Omnia Pros, a Jet for good measure and now we’re introduced to the Omnia II (I8000) and Omnia LITE (B7300). Starting with the more exciting of the two handsets, the Omnia II will be Sammy’s successor to the popular to the Omnia as we’re sure you guessed. Specs are as follows:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradable to 6.5)
• Massive 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display
• TouchWiz 2.0 UI
• Advanced R Touch (Resistive Touch) that “enables faster, more accurate touch response”
• 480p video recording and playback
• HSUPA 5.76Mbps, HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• Wi-Fi
• Up to 48GB of storage

Wow. Ok, now let’s have a look at the scaled down Omnia LITE:

• Full touchscreen form factor
• TouchWiz 2.0
• 3 megapixel camera
• Push email support
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Full HTML Opera Web browser
• HSDPA
• Wi-Fi
• A-GPS

Samsung obviously wanted to focus on the more capable Omnia II so as you can see, not much substance was offered as far as the Omnia LITE is concerned. Both handsets appear to be very solid offerings however, and will certainly likely be well received be their respective target demographics. Release timing and pricing are not yet available, though the Omnia II will be offered by Verizon Wireless some time this year.

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This rumor is for everyone out there who nearly went insane from all of yesterday’s WWDC coverage. Word is that what you’re looking at above is Samsung’s upcoming GT-i8000 aka Omnia II. Assuming the picture is the real deal and the specs are right, we’re hearing that the Omnia II will come with a 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA resistive touchscreen display, 8.1 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and VGA video recording at 30 fps, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and HSDPA connectivity, miniUSB, 150MB of internal memory and a 1500 mAh battery. There is also a rumor that the Omnia II will run custom take on TouchWiz above Windows Mobile 6.1, which while not as polished as TouchFLO 3D is still remarkably better than the standard WinMo fare. But then, what isn’t? And yes, we too noticed that this resembles the mysterious x-ray of a device Samsung plans to spill the beans on next Monday.

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