Microsoft amplifies woes of Omnia smartphone

By Yoon Ja-young

Microsoft, the developer of Windows Mobile, which Omnia adopted as its operating system, has refused to compensate users of the smartphone.

Executives of SK Telecom asked Microsoft to join in providing compensation to Omnia users, but Microsoft rejected the proposal. Microsoft’s refusal comes at a time when some users are not satisfied with the compensation package itself, according to an industry source.

“SK Telecom unofficially asked MS to join in the package but it refused,” the source said.

Samsung and SK Telecom hastily adopted the operating system before marketing the Omnia in 2008 to compete with Apple’s iPhone, which helped the country’s number two carrier KT increase its market share, but Windows Mobile was unstable at that time. Experts point out that Samsung had little room to improve the phone due to the intrinsic problem of the platform.

Microsoft has since dropped Windows Mobile and launched the Windows Phone 7, but Omnia users have not been able to receive upgrades.

Meanwhile, according to SK and Samsung’s proposal, Omnia users who switch to another Samsung phone will receive a 200,000 won subsidy.

Some users have opened up an online community on Naver, the country’s biggest portal, for a class action suit, saying, “We are demanding that Samsung fulfill its responsibility.”

Samsung developed the Omnia jointly with SK Telecom, the country’s telecommunication kingpin, amid much fanfare in October 2008, boasting of the newest technology at that time. It ambitiously launched the Omnia 2 a year later to rival Apple’s iPhone 3. It supplied the phone not only to SK Telecom but also to LG Uplus and KT, and sold over 800,000 handsets.

However, the phone based on Windows Mobile operating system caused a lot of consumer dissatisfaction. They complained of slow Internet connections, frequent errors, screens freezing and dropped calls. They claimed the Omnia isn’t playing its role as a smartphone, as the Internet and applications don’t run smoothly on it.

New phones popped up on the market, including Samsung’s globally successful smartphone Galaxy S, but as most Omnia users bought the phone under a two-year contract, they couldn’t switch to the new models unless they pay the remaining installments.

“I think we released the smartphone with the best software and hardware when we launched the Omnia. As the IT industry evolves daily, with new operating systems making their debut and new products pouring into the market, it has become a relatively old model,” said Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung’s mobile business, Thursday, at a meeting with the media for the launch of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S2.

Omnia is a first-generation smartphone and hence has fallen behind fancy gadgets of today. Omnia users, who are likely to be early adopters of new technology, are more disappointed over the problematic phone than other consumers. Other manufacturers also released smartphones at that time, but didn’t sell as many as Samsung.

As there aren’t many users of the other phones, they can’t complain as loudly as Omnia users. Consumers also had a lot of expectations from the joint project of SK Telecom and Samsung and the two also led customers to expect a lot through advertising.

옴니아폰 고민에 마이크로소프트도 가세

옴니아가 운영체제로 채택한 윈도우모바일의 개발사인 마이크로소프트사는 이 스마트폰 사용자들에게 보상하기를 거부했다.

SK텔레콤의 임원들은 마이크로소프트사에게 옴니아 사용자 보상에 동참할 것을 요청했지만 마이크로소프트사는 거절했다. 업계 관계자에 의하면 이러한 거절은 일부 사용자들이 보상책에 불만을 갖고 있는 상황에서 나온 것이다.

“SK텔레콤은 비공식적으로 마이크로소프트사에 보상책에 동참할 것을 요청했지만 거절했습니다,” 관계자가 말했다.

삼성과 SK텔레콤은 2008년, 국내 2위 통신사업자인 KT가 시장점유율을 높이도록 해준 애플사의 아이폰과 경쟁하기 위해 옴니아를 출시하기 전 황급히 이 운영체제를 도입했다. 하지만 윈도우모바일은 당시 불안정했다. 전문가들은 이 플랫폼의 내재적인 문제 때문에 삼성이 스마트폰을 개선할 여지가 별로 없었다고 지적한다.