iPhone killer: Samsung Omnia i900 offers 'everything'

Is it possible to write about Samsung's latest announcement without referring to the iPhone? Too late.

In Singapore for CommunicAsia 2008, Samsung has announced the i900 Omnia — a Windows Mobile 6.1 touchscreen smartphone. The fact that the i900 is being announced a week after the Steve Jobs iPhone 3G song and dance at WWDC 08 is probably no coincidence, nor is the fact that Samsung will ensure that the i900 is in stores by July (in Europe at any rate).

While the iPhone announcement may have left many tech-savvy pundits cold — well, those not foaming at the mouth with a bad case of Mac rabies — the i900 seems set to live up to its Latin name, Omnia, meaning everything.

In terms of the hardware, the iPhone comparisons are startling; with nearly identical physical dimensions, touchscreen input, accelerometer, GPS, and the choice of 8GB and 16GB models. In almost all other areas, the i900 leaves the iPhone for dead. It has 7.2Mbps HSDPA data, memory expansion up to an extra 16GB via microSDHC, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and image stabilisation, and video codec recognition including DivX, Xvid, WMV and H.264. In fact, every feature absent in the iPhone 3G is found in the i900, including simple things like MMS and A2DP stereo Bluetooth.

The two major battlegrounds in this head-to-head will be the user interface and battery life: two major selling points for the first generation iPhone. Early battery life figures from Apple suggest the new 3G hardware may pull these figures back into line with the averages seen in its competition, but the interface will be no less sexy and easy-to-use.

Omnia uses Samsung's TouchWhiz UI, which includes a scrolling vertical panel of widgets on the home screen. It's a nifty idea and appears to be quite responsive, but we'll have to wait and see how the mobile public take to it. Battery life could be the Achilles' heel for the Omnia, not that we've seen official Samsung battery ratings yet, but all that tech will certainly chew through the juice.

To see how this battle plays out, we'll have to wait until July when we can get both phones in our Labs. There's no word yet on pricing for the i900 but we'll be sure to keep you in the loop as soon as we find out.

Joseph Hanlon travelled to CommunicAsia as a guest of Samsung.

Copyright © 2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CNET is a registered service mark of CNET Networks, Inc. CNET Logo is service mark of CNET Networks, Inc.

Inside Line Audi R8 Long Term update.

Pardon us if our Web site goes untended for the next three months. We've already made arrangements to have someone come by to feed our pets. We've kissed our loved ones good-bye.

You see, we've just signed the paperwork for a new long-term test car and the lines are already forming. Bribery and backstabbing are soon to follow.

We know you, our loyal readers, will understand. After all, you get it; you voted for it thrice on the Inside Line 2008 Readers' Most Wanted Awards, once for "Speed Over $30,000," once again for "Luxury Over $30,000," and again for "Instant Classic Over $30,000." Apparently the 2008 Audi R8 Quattro has already made quite an impression in the few months that it's been available.

That's right, Audi's new R8 supercar — rocking a 420-horsepower V8, Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's R tronic automatic transmission — has just joined our long-term test fleet. Forgive us if we seem a little distracted.

What We Borrowed
When Audi agreed to supply us with a 2008 Audi R8 for long-term testing, there were two conditions. First, Audi stipulated that the term of the test would last for only three months instead of the customary year over which we evaluate long-term test cars. And two, we had to take a car already in Audi's media fleet.

We hesitated. Usually we lay down the law: "Bring us a brand-new car for 12 months or you can stuff it where the sun don't shine."

But rules are meant to be broken, especially when an Audi R8 is on the line. So when Audi called and said there's an R8 in Atlanta, Georgia, with 7,000 miles on its odometer and the R tronic automatic transmission (we would have preferred the six-speed manual), we said, "We'll take it."

Besides its Daytona Gray Pearl paint — a $650 option — our test car is equipped very much like the R8 in our recent supercar test entitled "Ultimate Performance Car Test: 2009 Nissan GT-R vs. the World." That means it's comprehensively equipped with convenience features, including a package of enhanced leather upholstery (in Tuscan Brown), which adds a few more swatches of high-quality hide to the tune of $5,500.

Also included is the $3,500 Premium package, which includes a hill-hold feature for the transmission, Bluetooth phone connectivity, a six-disc CD changer, auto-dimming side mirrors and Audi's system of parking sensors. Audi's navigation system adds another $2 grand to the sticker.

MSRP of our 2008 Audi R8 test vehicle is $132,745, which is nearly four-times the cost of our outgoing supercar, the 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi. Still, it's not even twice the price of our soon-to-be long-term test car, the 2008 Nissan GT-R, and it can be considered a bargain when cross-shopped with a Lamborghini Gallardo or Porsche 911 Turbo.

Why We Borrowed It
When Audi AG (itself a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG) bought Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1998, the Germanification of the Raging Bull was expected to follow. We figured the ability to share the engineering and production of parts would allow Lamborghini to build cars that could be a usable means of conveyance rather than just outlandish status symbols that made loud noises.

What we didn't anticipate, however, was the parts could be shared in the other direction. Despite Audi's famed racing lineage, the thought of any Lambo bits falling into the Audi bins seemed out of the question. But then, Audi pulled the sheet off of the Le Mans Quattro concept at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show. It was built on a Lamborghini Gallardo chassis and looked like the future itself. The Italians must have slipped some grappa into the coffee at an all-company meeting and suggested that the Audi geeks put down the T-square and have some fun.

And unlike so many other show-cars-turned-production, the R8 (as it was henceforth to be known) wasn't visually neutered in the process. It still had the gaping maw, the overstated side-blade and the poised, athletic stance.

What the R8 did not have, though, was a billion horsepower 18-cylinder engine fueled by whale oil. The normally aspirated version of its corporate 420-hp 4.2-liter V8 didn't even feature rocket boosters, much less a turbocharger. And the combination of an all-wheel-drive system and a ride height that could easily clear speed bumps seemed entirely too practical. We began to suspect that this was perhaps not the supercar we expected. That it was a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Once we had a turn at the wheel, however, we learned the truth. The 2008 Audi R8 is a proper rival for the untouchable Porsche 911, at once extraordinary and yet useful. As the Acura NSX forced the hand of Ferrari in the 1990s, the Audi R8 has called out the 911. The Audi is a supercar that's designed to be driven every day.

And we intend to do just that.

The Mileage Mission
Our traditional mission in a long-term test is to hit 20,000 miles in 12 months. For you math majors out there (we had to get a calculator), this works out to 1,667 miles per month. Now multiply that number by the three months we have the car and that works out to a total of 5,001 miles in our short-term long-term test.

Well, our calculator can go to hell. We're still shooting for 20,000 miles, and we've begun our three-month test with a cross-country jaunt from Atlanta, Georgia, to Santa Monica, California.

What else should we do with Audi's new supercar? Comment on the R8's long-term road test blog and tell us. You've got a 2008 Audi R8 for three months in Southern California; what would you do?

Insane Wooden Bicycle Creations

image via KK’s Street Use

The modern bicycle as we know it, originated from the “dandy horse,” invented in 1816 by German baron Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Drais de Sauerbronn. Notwithstanding this, there have been countless bicycle-like designs beforehand. Indeed, yonks ago two-wheelers were not made of metal, they were all made of wood.

The first wooden bike design is popularly attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci, but this is not necessary true since many historians fail to imagine the Renaissance genius getting around on a small wooden bicycle. Perhaps its origin is even more ancient, although no evidence has been found.

Nowadays the wooden bike does not have to stand as a dependable transportation device since many consider building them, a form of art. Inventors all over the world work to forge more complex wooden bikes which could be used in different environments. For example, a number of inventors managed to create a tricycle capable of transportation on land as well as on water. It is called “Roadable Canoe For Seamless Transitions Between Land and Water” and was designed by the Autocanoe Company.

image: autocanoe.com

The Roadable Canoe looks like a long wooden tricycle when used on land and a single rear wheel is used to change direction on land as well as in the water. Pretty cool, huh?

Another great example is probably Steve’s Recumbent Bicycle. Steve got the idea a few years ago and, being a wood worker, he decided to build a bike (made of wood of course). His enthusiasm combined with sweat, created two wood-framed recumbent bikes: Woody and TreeBike. Both seem very comfortable and practical.

image via country seat

An the beginning of the 20th century most bicycles were made of bamboo. Why? The answer may be that wood is lighter than metal – the bike therefore, is easier to transport and not a burden.

In Africa the main mode of transportation is the bicycle of course, and now through a project called “The Bamboo Bike” they want to revive the old fashion. Yet there are other places that have crazy wooden bikes…

image via KK’s Street Use

Every year a festival takes place in the Banaue region in the Philippines, it is a celebration of the tribal culture. In this particular festival, a number of men dressed in native costumes get on a wooden bikes and race each other.

It’s a surprisingly original celebration and definitely a spectacle. Dressed in their red outfits with feathers on their heads, you can just imagine them zooming past on their wooden, bipedal creations.

Although the wooden bicycle is centuries old, fashion is cyclical. I personally can’t wait ‘till they come back in fashion.

The Best-Paid Bench Warmers

It's every general manager's nightmare: shelling out millions for players who can't stay on the field. Whether because of chronic injuries or just poor play, some highly paid pros just don't hold up their end of the bargain.

read more | digg story

The United States Park Police vs. the Google Maps Car San Francsico’s Presidio

The Presidio of San Francsico hasn’t seen this much action since they filmed The Presidio, starrring Sean Connery. It appears that a mounted member of the United States Park Police briefly detained a Google Maps camera car for some sort of driving infraction this morning. Oh noes! Don’t impede this car - it’s gone to some interesting places. (But, there’s nothing scary about Street View, right?)

So this photo shows how the magic of Google Street View happens - you can see their method all laid out. In this case, Google is using a brand-spanking-new Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid (wouldn’t a 50-state VW Jetta TDI diesel get better mileage?) and a rather tall metal mast with mad cameras and GPSes. Click to expand:

Courtesy of damianspain of the San Francisco Bay area. Thanks Damian! Check out his flickrstream for lots of great shots of San Francisco, including a rare blue sky at the North Beach Festival.

(Normally, the Presidio is a quiet place, except for people fueding over the location of the new CAMP museum and the occasional coyote attack. And Hooverball - the kids these days make all sorts of noise throwing their old school medicine balls around.)

Keep up the good work, Google. And stay safe!

Why You Should Download Firefox 3 Right Now

Firefox 3 — available for download at 10am PDT Tuesday — is the culmination of a two-year quest to build the best browser ever. And while it’s not perfect, it comes pretty close.

read more | digg story

10 Highest Waterfalls on Earth [pics

If you’re like me, as a kid, you probably enjoyed throwing heavy objects off super-high buildings, just to see how long it took and what they looked like when they smashed. As a responsible adult, I now get my pleasure in gazing at water falling from extremely high cliffs and splashing into the rocks. It’s quite spectacular. We wanted to find out .

read more | digg story

Artificial Islands Would Generate Drinking Water in Dead Sea

In the Dead Sea region, control of water is a source of political friction and presents an ecological quandary that threatens the drinking supply for inhabitants. A project called ‘No Man’s Land’, would solve these issues thru a series of artificial islands that would provide recreation, tourist attractions, renewable energy, and create fresh water

read more | digg story

Why You Should Carry a Digital Camera At All Times

Last Tuesday, Lori Mehmen looked out her front door in Orchard, Iowa and this is what she saw. She had a digital camera handy, and somehow managed to take this photo before crapping her pants and taking cover. This, my friends, is why always having a camera nearby is helpful. Oh, and no one was injured during this tornado, fortunately. [NY Times]

many more pics here

Why Tiger's 2008 US Open Win Was His Best Yet

Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods share a laugh after the shooting stops. (AP)

As Tiger Woods kissed the US Open Trophy, his coach had no trouble putting the guy's latest other-worldly accomplishment into perspective. It's his greatest win, given all of the things he had to overcome ... The amount of pain he played in, the lack of preparation, it's his greatest win and I know he feels the same way."

read more | digg story

Cosmopolitan Teaches Girls How to Break DRM & Pirate Music

I have new respect for this magazine.

read more | digg story

Wanted 'Nazi' found in the crowd at Euro 2008

A wanted war criminal, suspected of sending hundreds of people to death camps in Croatia during World War Two, has been spotted by a newspaper drinking in the atmosphere at Euro 2008. Milivoj Asner, who is now 95 years old, apparently lives in Klagenfurt in Austria.

read more | digg story

Mazda To Unveil New Nagare Concept Car

Mazda has released sketches of a new concept crossover sport-utility vehicle to be unveiled at the 2008 Moscow International Automobile Salon in late August.

read more | digg story

25 Great Places to Visit for Free

Gas at $4 a gallon? A trip around the country can still be a bargain. These 25 destinations teach a little bit about history, science, nature, and culture -- without costing a cent.

read more | digg story

Baby Born With 8 Limbs Takes Her First Steps [6 PICS]

Families in Lakshmi's remote Indian believed she was the reincarnation of the eight limbed Hindu goddess of wealth and fortune Lakshmi

read more | digg story

The Best T-Shirts at Bonnaroo

There's nothing like a four-day music festival to bring out the best today's T-shirts have to offer. A round-up of the notable shirts we saw over the weekend at Bonnaroo.

read more | digg story

iPhone Economy: Application developers swarm to iPhone

Can someone explain how so many developers are going to make money exactly? Or is this a typical herd effect that won't benefit anyone but Apple?

read more | digg story

Nude Censor Art Dance Video [SNSFW?]

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Rotating Wind Power Tower to begin construction in Dubai

Remember way back last May when we talked about the twirling tower that seemed, well, off the wall? Surprise, surprise, it is set to start construction in Dubai this month.

Each of the 59 floors of the tower will be able to rotate independently of each other, and in between them will be wind turbines to generate all the power needed to run the tower, plus, apparently, several others. The tower is expected to generate 10 times the power it needs through solar panels on the roof and 48 wind turbines, each of which are expected to generate as much as 0.3 megawatts of electricity, creating an estimated 1,200,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually. These are some seriously big numbers…and we’ll see how they pan out.

As for the construction, the floors will be made of 12 individual units all created in a factory and spit out fully complete, with plumbing, electrical, air conditioning and everything else in place. The floors will then be fitted to a concrete tower core According to architect David Fisher, designer of the building, this construction will make it highly earthquake resistant, as well as just plain neat to watch as folks push the button that makes their floor spin.

An international press conference is set for June 24 in New York. We’ll keep tabs.

Surrogates: Lynn native rates role in Willis movie currently filming

This wrecked bus parked in an Oxford Street lot will be a prop in the movie 'Surrogates' which will be filming in the downtown Lynn area this week. Item photo / Reba M. Saldanha

By David Liscio / The Daily Item

LYNN - When filming of the new Bruce Willis movie "Surrogates" resumes in the downtown business district Wednesday, a Lynn native will be in the spotlight.

Professional actor Jack Noseworthy is set to play a dominant role in the motorcycle and helicopter chase scenes along Munroe and Andrew streets from Wednesday through Friday.

Noseworthy, 38, the son of John and Thelma Noseworthy and an English High Class of 1982 graduate, will be joined by his stuntman, as well as a Willis double, and a second stuntman who will do the superstar's rough work.

"The motorcycle chase scene starts on Munroe Street, moves to Exchange and Central, and then onto Andrew Street where it comes to an end near an alleyway," said Patrick Donovan, assistant location manager for the Disney-produced action flick.

Although there's no foot chase scheduled in Lynn as previously reported, two helicopters will be used - one as part of action and the other as an aerial camera platform.

Ernie Malik, the film's publicist, said Willis will not be present during the upcoming round of moviemaking in Lynn. Willis' appearance during two days of shooting in Central Square in late May attracted a large crowd of fans and spectators.

"There will be no Mr. Willis this time. He's in Taunton working with the first unit," said Malik. "Right now we're scheduled for three days of shooting in Lynn. We'll be there Wednesday through Friday, and Lynn native Jack Noseworthy will be in some of the scenes."

Donovan said motor vehicle traffic along the streets used for the chase scene will be blocked during production. "Pedestrians will be allowed to pass, except when we're actually filming," he said, noting that cast extras and movie-related vehicles will be brought to the scene.

Additional filming is scheduled for this week in Central Square near The Daily Item building and along Mt. Vernon Street, Donovan said. Parking will be restricted on all streets involved in the movie production.

Noseworthy, who plays a villain named Strickland opposite Willis' police detective, grew up on Atkins Avenue and after high school attended the Boston Conservatory where he majored in dance. He has appeared on Broadway, on MTV, in mainstream movies, and in episodes of popular television shows such as CSI, Law and Order and Crossing Jordan. His career first kicked off when he auditioned for the touring company's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats", in which he played the role of Mungojerrie. Other successes followed, including roles in "Jerome Robbins" and "A Chorus Line".

In a 1987 interview with The Item, the actor recalled those early days. After auditioning for "Cats" the choreographer told Noseworthy he was being considered for a part, but that he should return to school and not dwell on it.

"Two weeks went by, and it started to eat me alive," he said. "Did I get the role or didn't I? I had to know. I had to call."

Noseworthy called. "Hi, this is Jack...

"Oh, you haven't heard? We're offering you the role of Mungojerrie," said the voice from New York on the other end of the line.

"I tried to be cool. I really did. I didn't want them to know I was the new kid on the block. My heart was pounding," he said, chuckling at the recollection. "I hung up the phone and screamed. I called my parents. They had gone through the waiting with me. We all cried."

During another interview in 1993 with The Item, Noseworthy said, "An actor's job isn't acting. It's auditioning. Sometimes, that's very frustrating. But at least I'm pursuing my dreams. It's like building blocks. The foundation is finished. Now I'm working on the house."

"Surrogate" is a futuristic thriller in which Willis plays a detective forced to venture out of isolation and into the dangerous world to buy a replacement for his damaged robot clone. Some of the scenes from that shopping excursion were filmed at a former bank in Central Square that was transformed into a next-century electronics store.

Ving Rhames and Radha Mitchell also star in "Surrogates".