Celestron Omni Xlt
Should I get the Orion AstroView 6 w/EQ3 mount or Celestron Omni XLT 150 reflector telescope w/CG4 mount?
The Celestron is about $50 more but the Orion seems to come with more ie. an additional 10mm eyepiece and a Polaris finder. Perhaps the Celestron CG4 mount is better. I'm relatively new to telescopes so I need some help.
My goal is to find a good all purpose scope for under $500. A lot of discussion that I've seen seems to recommend catadioptric for all-purpose use but I think I can get a bigger aperture with a pure reflector scope which might be better for a beginner like me.
I'm hoping not to spend more than $500 for everything, including the mount. I gather from my research thus far that the jump from 6" to 8" is a big deal in astronomy as far as viewing goes. Is this true? I wish I could justify spending $200 more on the 8" SkyView Pro from Orion, but I can't right now being a beginner. I can't put my finger on why I'm not big on dobsonians. Perhaps the engineer in me is just more attacted to the complex look of the equatorial mount 
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Both telescopes are made by the same company - Synta (China). Synta also owns Celestron brand.
Orion AstroView and Celestron CG4 are both exactly the same mounts, just painted different colors. The AstroView includes a polar scope, and this is an advantage. You can buy and add a polar scope to the CG4, but the installation / alignment takes a bit of time and requires care and patience. It's much better if you can get the polar scope pre-installed at the factory.
Equally, the Orion and Celestron 6" Newtonians are exactly the same scope, with slightly different aesthetics.
In my opinion, a 6" Newtonian on the AstroView/CG4 mount is a bit of a stretch. I own an AstroView mount, and it is fine for a 6" SCT, but a Newtonian is longer and hence more prone to vibration / oscillation. A 6" Newtonian should really be used with a slightly heavier mount, such as Vixen GP (or any of its clones - Orion's SkyView, Celestron CG5, etc.).
In any case, this is a fine beginner scope. 6" is a good aperture, and the mount is OK, albeit maybe just a tad undersized. It will work, just don't expect it to be rock-stable.
Orion has excellent customer service. Everything else being equal (the scope, the mount, etc.), I would go with Orion just because of that reason.
Finally, I like your choice of going with a GEM mounted scope. While many people recommend a Dobsonian for beginners, the reallity is that an equatorial mount makes extended observing much more pleasant. You can also fit a RA motor to this mount (both Orion and Celestron versions are interchangeable, just buy the one that is cheaper), and you can even venture into some basic astrophotography.
You are making a good choice and I am sure you will keep this scope for a while.
Go for it !!!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
I fully understand (and agree) with your preference for a GEM vs. a Dobsonian. The Dobsonians are nice inexpensive "light buckets" but having to adjust them all the time to keep an object in the field of view is a "pain in the back". They are fine if you want to have a quick peek at something, but if you want to spend some time studying, sketching or photographing an object, an equatorial mount is the way to go. The nice thing is that you can buy a "manual" GEM like the SkyView now, and later upgrade it with an RA motor or a GoTo kit. There are different kits from different manufacturers in different price ranges. Because all these mounts are essentially clones of the Vixen GP, the GoTo kits are interchangeable (with little or no modification). You can buy an original Vixen GP, or an Orion SkyView, or a Celestron CG5, or a Meade version (don't remember the model), and then fit it with a GoTo kit from a 3rd-party manufacturer. For example, I have installed iOptron GoTo kit on my Vixen. The kit was $500, an equivalent kit from Vixen was $1400, and one from Orion was $700. They all do basically the same thing. You can start simple, with fully manual GEM, and then upgrade as you go. On the other hand, a Dobsonian is a "dead-end street".
If this is something you would like to consider, then spend the additional couple hundred dollars and go for the SkyView mount instead of the AstroView.
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