Top 10 Phones, Review of Verizon Omnia II, Y2K16 Bug

This time of year brings lots of top-10 lists, and a couple recent ones name the top 10 phones. The results are interesting, with Android being the big winner and the HD2 and Omnia II coming out ahead in the Windows Mobile arena. This week I’ll also point you to a review of the Omnia II, as well as note a Y2K16 bug that appeared at the stroke of midnight as the year turned to 2010. And I’ll point you to a CBS news segment that gives you a good idea of how Microsoft’s My Phone can be used to find your lost phone.

Y2K16 Bug Appears

As 2009 turned to 2010, at the stroke of midnight some users’ phones began giving text messages a date of 2016. It only happens on some models, and appears on various platforms.

It’s not a serious problem, but one you may want to fix if it’s happened to you. WMExperts has more information, plus a link to a free CAB file you can download that does a simple change to the registry to fix the problem.

Top 10 Phones

PC World magazine recently released a list of the top 10 smartphones currently available. Of course, such lists are often subjective, but still interesting.

Their top phone is the Motorola Droid, which runs Google’s Android software. This platform is really surging ahead. Five of the 10 phones on the list are Android devices. Coming in a number 2 is the iPhone 3GS. And Windows Mobile? It doesn’t make the list until slot #9, with Verizon’s Samsung Omnia II. Each of the 10 phones on the list includes links to a review and specs.

U.K. online retailer Omio has posted their list of top 10 phones for 2009. It’s significantly different from PC World’s list, but again Windows Mobile is lightly represented, in this case the HTC HD2, which we’ve covered quite a lot. It’s possible that PC World didn’t include the HD2 because it’s not yet generally available in the U.S.

Review of Verizon’s Omnia II

The iPhone-like Omnia II, mentioned above, is getting some good reviews. It has a 3.7-inch screen, an accelerometer, and Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 interface. A thorough review on PhoneScoop covers both the pros and cons of this phone. The review says it’s bulky but overall gives it high marks: “In all, the Omnia II offers a lot of bang for the buck — maybe too much bang for some. It gets the basics right, and does well enough on the extras to make it a smartphone worth considering.”

Get Back Your Lost Phone via Microsoft’s My Phone

This video is a fun news segment from CBS that shows how CNET senior editor Natali DelConte gets her phone back using Microsoft’s My Phone service. She tosses her phone in the back seat of a New York City taxicab, watches it drives off, and then sees if My Phone will help her get it back. The service costs $5 each time you use it. You can use it to ring the phone even if on silent, lock it or erase data remotely, and put a personal message on the screen telling the finder what to do with it. And it works. She gets her phone back.