Our UK readers will probably have heard of Tim Lovejoy, who used to present Soccer AM and now is the anchorman for the Channelbee website. He recently went hands-on with the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD and you can watch his humorous tour of the phone here.

Channelbee is also giving you the chance to win the Samsung i8910 HD. All you have to do is create some original video content and upload your video onto the Channelbee website. The best one walks away with an i8910 handset. You’d better get cracking though as the closing date is Monday morning!

Nokia Messaging is a service that allows users to set up, access and use their email including a push service. Despite operating on a number of S60 devices, Nokia only supports its own handsets for this service. However, HDBlog.it is reporting that it has managed to get Nokia Messaging v10.00.14 working on a Samsung i8910 Omnia HD handset (which of course runs on Symbian S60 5th Edition).

There is a slight caveat though, you need to install the HelloOX v1.03 hack to get Nokia Messaging to work. Then you need to sign up to the Nokia Messaging service online to create an account. The program link to download will then be sent via SMS to the handset. Once you’ve installed the program and entered the password and followed the setup instructions, you will have access to your mail including push functionality.

Judging by the pictures on the HDBlog.it site, it appeared to work flawlessly once working. Now all we need is a widget that shows emails on the homescreen as seen in the Nokia N97. Hopefully, that can’t be too far away either. Has anyone managed to get this working yet? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

As expected, Samsung is now shipping the sim-free version of the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD in the UK. Online retailer Play.com has already started to ship pre-orders of the 8GB version SKU that costs £529.99. The phone is in stock with the retailer dispatching the phone “within 4-5 days”. Expansys is not expecting stock for a further six days.

We were promised to get our phone this week, but we’re not too surprised to be still waiting. At this rate, all of the Samsung Omnia HD ‘Ambassadors’ will be the last ones to get hands-on with the phone!

Thanks OHDFanatic and warpfive!

It appears a fix for the much-maligned video recording issue on the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD may be on its way. If you remember, Samsung is currently using the AMR audio codec, which means that when recording video the sound quality is quite poor. It has been the biggest criticism that the phone has received since its launch.

Samsung Italia has now given an update on its Facebook page that is likely to please both current and prospective i8910 owners. It is saying that two updates are planned in the coming weeks. The first update will be released next week and will improve the general performance of the phone. The second update will replace the AMR codec with AAC when recording video at HD 720p resolutions. This particular update is planned for release in a fortnight’s time.

We would still be cautious until we hear it from a more official source, especially as Samsung always insisted that due to the sheer data being processed at 720p, a more enhanced audio codec wasn’t feasible. Also, it’s unknown at this stage whether AAC is coming to lower-resolution video recording such as VGA as well. So far, there is no confirmation on the Samsung Innovator boards, but fingers crossed this much needed update is on the way.

Thanks KILLERluki!

When the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD was originally released, it was due to come in two SKUs, one with 8GB of internal storage and another with 16GB. Whilst the phone has seen its sim-free release across parts of Europe and on contract in the UK through Orange, the only version that has appeared is the 8GB. This was starting to beg the question whether the 16GB version was even still on the agenda.

However, it appears that the 16GB SKU is very much of part of Samsung’s plans and has been released across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). It seems that you will ONLY find the 16GB SKU in these countries, as the 8GB version is not being sold. The cost is 6,695 Norwegian Kroner at Komplett, which is shipping right now and translates to around £635, €750 or $1,050. Click through for an unboxing video of the 16GB i8910 Omnia HD.

Update: The 16GB version has also hit the Netherlands, where the 8GB is already sold. Maybe we will start to see this SKU appear in more regions after all. Thanks Quindor!
Read the rest of this entry »

The Nokia N97 has been one of the most eagerly awaited handsets to launch this year. Today, marks the day that the Nokia N97 is officially launched here in the UK. For those of you trying to decide between the i8910 Omnia HD and the Nokia N97 then you might want to check out Part One of My-Symbian’s Samsung i8910 Omnia HD review.

The first part of the review covers the hardware element of the phone and it is well worth a read, even for current owners of the phone. It covers the processor, memory, camera, video, screen, GPS and battery life. The first two bits (processor & memory) are covered in particular depth and what makes it quite interesting is the comparison to the Nokia N97, which is also a S60 5th Edition phone. Read the rest of this entry »

Samsung is encouraging developers to create widgets for the i8910 Omnia HD smartphone through the Samsung Innovation Quest 2009. It involves developing a home screen widget for the i8910 HD and the great thing is that the IP remains with the dev, rather than Samsung. There will be a cash prize for the winner along with promotion of the chosen widget. Apparently, there are no barriers about what your widget can be about.

It’s good news that Samsung continues to support the phone, especially with a new roster of Omnia handsets recently released. The competition launches next Wednesday 24 June 2009 (a day before we hopefully see the sim-free release in the UK). For more details, including how to enter, click here. The competition is open to anyone.

As some of you may be aware, Samsung were running a competition back in early March, where it was looking for 50 ‘ambassadors’ to promote the Omnia HD smartphone. On 1st May we were informed that we were one of the winners. The winners would be lucky enough to be sent an Omnia HD smartphone courtesy of Samsung and then would be tasked with the responsibility of telling the world all about the phone, whether by text, pictures or video.

Since then however, the communication channels have been very quiet. We received an email around a month back but had heard nothing since. Obviously, with the Omnia HD’s release in the UK (through Orange) as well as the sim-free release in parts of mainland Europe, it’s been a bit frustrating watching all of the action from the sidelines.

Wondering whether the program was still on, I decided to give the PR Company, who is handling the promotion, a call today. Much to my relief, it looks like there’s no change on Samsung’s part. The delay in ambassador’s receiving the phone has been caused by the wait for the sim-free handsets to appear from Korea. Apparently all of the documentation relating to the program is all ready and they are just waiting on the handsets before sending everything out together.

Samsung will also be ring-fencing the first handsets to arrive in the UK for the Ambassador program, so fingers crossed we should be getting our hands on the sim-free handset reasonably quickly. Unfortunately, no timeline was given as to when these handsets are expected to arrive, but I’m hoping it’s no longer than a matter of weeks now. A number of ‘missions’ for the ambassadors is also planned, but what that entails is a mystery right now.

I just wanted to give you all an update, I’ve had many emails and PM’s from the forum asking me the same question – have you got it yet? I was beginning to worry that Samsung had abandoned the competition, but that’s not the case and I’m hoping to be able to share my experiences of the phone with you all very soon.

Slowly but surely, the sim-free version of the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD is making its way across Europe. It has already appeared in Italy, the Netherlands and now it looks like it is shipping in Germany. gethandy.de has the Samsung i8910 HD in stock and shipping immediately for €545.

It does seem that the phone is selling for cheaper in mainland Europe, than it will in the UK. Some Italian shops are even selling it for as low as €499. In the UK, the cheapest is £489.99 from UnlockedMobiles.com who has a delivery date of 8th June. Let’s hope there’s not too long to wait in other regions too.

Thanks Chris N!

Whilst Orange still has exclusivity over the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD handset, it appears that T-Mobile is also now offering the handset. Before T-Mobile customers get carried away though, the handset is only being offered exclusively through the retailer, Expansys.

Expansys is offering the Omnia HD on a T-Mobile Combi 30 price plan that includes Web’N’Walk. This tariff includes unlimited texts, 700 minutes of free calls. The 18-month contract will cost you £34.26 per month, along with an up-front fee of £179.99. The great thing is that this handset will be provided ‘unlocked’ (possibly a sim-free version?) and is available in “less than 5 days”.

We phoned T-Mobile to ask them about this deal and they said that this phone will not be offered directly by them. So if you are looking for this phone on a T-Mobile contract (which has one of the best data packages around) then head over to Expansys.

Thanks C00L!

Okay, so we all know what the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD smartphone looks like. However, for those that do not own the phone we came across these very impressive photos of the handset courtesy of Centrinos. They really convey just how vibrant that 3.7-inch OLED screen really is. We have included a selection of photos after the jump. For the full gallery of 54 pictures, head over to Centrinos’ Flickr page. Read the rest of this entry »

It has been a long wait, but the manual (v1.0) for the i8910 Omnia HD is now available to download from the Samsung Support site. It is the full manual at 78 pages long and was updated as recently as 27th May.

To download the English version click here (it is a 2.2MB download). Hopefully, this means that a wider sim-free release should be around the corner. So for it has only been launched sim-free in Italy and the Netherlands, the UK launch is expected at the end of the month.

Thanks Tejstar!

There has been much furore over the audio codec used whilst video recording. The AMR-NB codec at an 8,000Hz sampling rate means that HD video recording is combined with sub-standard sound quality. Samsung has said that it is using the AMR codec as it provides the best balance when recording HD video, without stressing the OMAP3 CPU too heavily. Whilst this is understandable, it is hard to understand why the phone uses this same AMR codec when recording at lower resolutions.

Up until now, Samsung has not communicated clearly whether a fix for this is on the agenda. Some of the comments made in the Samsung Innovator forum (which is meant to be for developers) have been open to interpretation. However, it seems that this audio problem is now being “escalated” to a number of divisions within Samsung, following complaints.

Ben, who is a Samsung developer on the Innovator forum, has confirmed that the AAC issue has been escalated “through the development team to understand the problem, through the engineering organisation to try to understand whether this is a defect or is by design, escalated through the management side to alert them to the need to plan for firmware updates, escalated through the management side to alert them to the damage this issue is causing.”

Now, this doesn’t mean a fix is definitely on the way. After all, the Samsung INNOV8 i8510 uses the same AMR codec and this has never been upgraded in firmware updates up until now. However, it certainly is encouraging that Samsung is starting to listen to its consumers. Fingers crossed, that an update is planned and hopefully not too far away.

The AMR audio issue when video recording is one of the biggest criticisms the smartphone faces. Whilst it appears that AAC audio will not be an option (for HD video at least) in future updates, the question then becomes, just how bad is the audio?

The video (attached after the jump) shows a user trying to give us an idea. He uses the TV as a source and moves to and fro while keeping the TV volume constant. Judging by the video, whilst it sounds worse than my Nokia N82, it certainly doesn’t seem terrible.

I can understand the reasons why Samsung has used the AMR-NB codec for HD video recording, especially considering the amount of data the OMAP3 chip has to process. However, I really can’t understand why AAC audio for VGA video isn’t a possibility. Let’s hope Samsung listens to its customers on this one. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite heavy criticism, Samsung has once again confirmed that it will stick to its choice of the AMR-Narrow Band audio codec when video recording. A spokesman on the Innovator forum said that there is currently no plan to upgrade this audio to the AAC codec in future firmware releases.

He also confirmed that the audio codec used in the latest firmware (XXIE4) will use the same AMR-NB codec when video recording. Interestingly, when using the voice recorder, the AAC codec is available. This news is a big shame, especially as it sounds like Samsung doesn’t even have this issue on its agenda to ‘fix’. It looks like the AMR codec for video recording is here to stay.

Thanks scoopex!