Samsung Omnia Available Through Grey Marketeers in the U.S.

The Samsung Omnia has not yet been officially released in the United States, but it is available in Europe and Asia.

People in this country who don't want to wait can turn to grey marketeers -- retailers who buy devices in one country and sell them in another.

Samsung's latest smartphone -- which many have compared to the iPhone 3G -- is available now from Popular Electronics for $750.

The Omnia is also available from Dynamism but for a bit more: $850.

eXpansys is offering it for $995, but isn't stocking the device. Customers have to put in a special order.

This device is available with either 8 GB or 16 GB of internal storage. Prices listed above are for the 16 GB version. The 8 GB version sells for $760, $780, and $900 respectively.

These prices are comparatively high because not only is this device not being sold through  wireless carrier, it's being imported in small lots by unauthorized retailers.

Not the U.S. Version

Anyone in the U.S. interested in purchasing the Omnia i900 should be aware that the version  that's being sold now by grey marketeers  doesn't offer the 3G frequencies used in this country.

This smartphone can still be used for phone calls thanks to quad-band GSM support, and even make data connections with the 2.5G standard EDGE, but AT&T's HSDPA service is not supported.

Still, there have been unconfirmed reports that AT&T will offer an official version of this device in the next few months.

More about the Samsung Omnia

This smartphone is based on Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, but Samsung has added its new TouchWiz user interface, which has been designed to make the device easier to use with a fingertip.

It has a tablet shape with a 3.2-inch WQVGA (240 by 400 pixel) touchscreen. Below this is a tiny touchpad, similar to what's on a laptop.

The Omnia has 5-megapixel camera, a microSD card slot, a TV-out port, a GPS receiver, an FM radio, and a 1440 mAh battery.

The name Omnia means "everything" in Latin and "wish" in Arabic.

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