Samsung has finally released its new firmware, dubbed I8910XXJB1 for the i8910 Omnia HD. This brings with it a number of improvements including faster performance, stability as well as kinetic scrolling. The update can be pushed through via the PC Studio 7, but remember to backup your phone first.

The web browser is reported to be faster and moves to full-screen automatically. HD video recording is still seeing skipped frames, so unfortunately there’s still no solid 24fps recording. Also, users are reporting very low C: memory after the upgrade (as low as 17MB). I haven’t had a chance to upgrade my handset yet, but I look forward to any comments from those who have below.

Skyfire has launched version 1.5 of its mobile browser for Symbian S50 5th Edition handsets (including the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD). The update brings full support for high-resolution screens, a new UI and finger-friendly scrolling (including kinetic scrolling). You can download the Skyfire browser here. Check out a video of it in action after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

A big i8910 HD firmware update is expected to land during this month. The new update will offer faster web browsing, an improved graphics engine as well as kinetic scrolling. Anphase, the same person who wrote that 25 page quality control report, recently met with Samsung to talk about his issues and came back impressed with the company’s willingness to talk.

Samsung offered him a test unit with a preview of the new firmware on it. He’s documented his findings in a 10-minute video, which we’ve attached after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Now we’re talking, hopefully all of the ranting and petitions regarding the woeful i8910 HD support is starting to pay off. Samsung has officially confirmed that it will be releasing a new firmware update for the handset delivering a “faster, smoother multimedia experience.”

The new firmware will deliver faster web browsing (finally), an improved graphics engine as well as kinetic scrolling. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

-Webkit update: A faster user-interface when online, for swift navigation of your favourite websites
-Graphic engine: An improved graphic engine, increasing the speed to access the multimedia content
-Kinetic scrolling: The addition of a kinetic scrolling system provides a superior full-touch experience

There’s no mention for proper 24fps HD video recording but we’ll take what we can get right now. The update will be landing in January 2010 via Samsung’s PC Studio 7 software. It will arrive first in the UK and then gradually rolled out to other markets. We’ll bring you our first impressions as soon as it does hit. Until then have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Panashe Michael Ngwerume really cares about the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD. He cares so much that he was compelled to document all of the issues he has faced with the handset. However, this is not your usual bug list, he has written a comprehensive 25-page report that he hopes will be seen by Samsung to rectify some of the issues.

There is growing vocal dissidence against Samsung, where many people feel that they have given up support on what was meant to be its flagship handset. We’ve already reported on our issues on this and there are many other people that feel the same. A petition was struck up by Ngwerume, however he also went that one step further.

I’d suggest all i8910 owners to have a read of the PDF, it really is a comprehensive report and includes some solutions for some of the problems suffered. Kudos goes to Ngwerume for all his hard work and let’s hope that someone from Samsung listens.

Via Engadget Mobile.

Spotify has finally released its app for Symbian S60 handsets, including our beloved Samsung i8910 Omnia HD. Similar to the Android app, the S60 client supports an offline mode that caches tracks onto the phone’s memory for those times when you don’t have a signal.

Before you rush of to download it, remember it will only work if you are already have a Spotify Premium subscription, which costs £9.99 per month. Check out a couple of quick preview videos after the cut. Read the rest of this entry »

The Nexxus DriveMultiSolar is a well built solar-powered Bluetooth car kit. The advantages that solar power brings are numerous. This includes longer talk and standby time, as well as having no cables trawling over your dashboard. As is hinted by the name, the device also comes with a multi-point connection, allowing you to connect two mobiles.

MobileFun, a specialist retailer of mobile accessories, kindly sent over the DriveMultiSolar for us to review. The device is also known as the Clip and Talk Solar Edition according to the retailer and costs £29.95. MobileFun applies a small delivery charge on top of this depending on whether shipping is to the UK or mainland Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

New Italian firmware appeared for the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD yesterday evening. However, before you get too excited it’s only a minor update with the main change being the inclusion of 5.1 speaker audio.

There is still no kinetic scrolling in the browser (Opera Mobile comes in handy here), HD video recording still has dropped frames and the audio here is also unchanged. The free disc space on start-up is 32.9MB. All-in-all a bit disappointing. Let’s hope a bigger update is still on Samsung’s pipeline.

Thanks brett!

You’ve probably all seen the headlines by now. Samsung is rumoured to drop Symbian support on future handsets according to Samsung VP Don Joo Lee. This follows an analyst report that suggested something very similar. Samsung’s roadmap will instead concentrate on the company’s newly announced Bada platform, along with Android and Windows Mobile.

To be honest, this news surprises me not in the slightest. You just have to look at the support given to the company’s supposed flagship, the Samsung i8910 HD, to see that the phone and OS was not on the top list of priorities.

Where did it all go so wrong? When the phone was announced at MWC earlier in the year there was so much promise. Even now, purely looking at the hardware side, it’s still one of the most feature-rich phones on the market. You get a beautiful 3.7-inch OLED capacitive display, HD video recording, 8MP camera, excellent codec support and 8GB/16GB internal storage. This phone has it all, even compared to anything on the market or announced as we speak. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been having a good play around with the Opera Mobile 10 Beta, that was released for Symbian handsets earlier this week. I’ve posted my video impressions after the jump and overall it makes a big difference to the overall i8910 experience. Let’s be honest the default browser on the handset isn’t the best, and Opera improves on it in a number of areas.

It adds tabbed browsing, speed dials, Opera Turbo (for low bandwidth use) and generally a full desktop experience on the handset. One nice bonus, is that it also adds kinetic scrolling too. If you want to play around with the settings type ‘Opera:Config’ into the browser and you’ll get a wealth of options.

It’s not all rosy though, there’s no flash support on the browser, no sound/tactile feedback and the keyboard can be a bit tricky to use. However, you can use the default keyboard by changing the settings (see the video for the tip). It’s been reported that it can be a bit of a battery eater but it’s too early for me to judge this. Check out our video after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the fact that we already have the Nokia Ovi and Samsung Application Store, Symbian has launched an all encompassing app store. The Horizon Directory is expected to be the one-shop stop for all symbian phone applications. The great news is that Horizon will include all apps currently found in the number of different application stores (including Ovi, Samsung App Store & AT&T’s Media Mall).

The Horizon Directory went live today with around 50 apps (including YouTube, Twitter and Qik clients).As we move into next year, Symbian expects “to process thousands of applications”. The Symbian Signed process will also change over the next few months allowing a developer to automatically ad an application to the directory.

It’s quite an easy site to navigate with both view by ‘Free’ and ‘Paid’ options. You can also filter the most popular apps or just the apps for your handset. There are currently seven listed apps for the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD including SPB Brain Evolution, SkyeSpy, Buddycloud, SPB TV, SkyeCaller II, SPB Puzzle, SPB Wallet. Hopefully this list will expand as we move into 2009.

Via Trusted Reviews.

Nearly a week after Samsung released the Russian XEII1 firmware update, the company has released a new XXII1 update for Italian handsets. The similarities between both code names is not a coincidence – from what I can tell this new update (dated 7th September) is near enough identical to the Russian firmware.

I upgraded to this new firmware from IG2 yesterday and am enjoying it so far. You end up with a new 3D Task Switcher (a carousel showing opening apps) – it’s certainly not needed, but it sure looks fancy. There is also a Grid View of open apps if you prefer it to remain simple.

Other changes include a new zoom icon for the browser. You can also now zoom in/out of pictures in MediaBrowser. It’s good to know that the frustrating stop bug in the browser has also been fixed. The dial pad also sports ‘abc’, ‘def’ lettering on numbers now too.

From what I can tell, the update has made no change to the frame rate of HD video recording (you still get AAC audio though). There is also no App Store icon, despite the store launching shortly (Monday 14th September). A quick video tour of the new firmware is attached after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Finding a decent case for the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD can be a tough task. As one of the tallest phones around, the last thing you need is extra bulk. There are a number of very good cases around, but I was looking for something that provided solid protection if the handset fell, in a minimalist design.

The guys over at MobileFun sent over the ToughGuard Shell case to review, which seemed to answer that criteria. The case is well designed, it hardly weighs anything but provides durable protection against knocks & scrapes. It comes in two parts (front & back) with a matte finish so you don’t need to worry about fingerprint marks. It is made out of tough polycarbonate, so it should last a long time.

Once fitted onto your phone, you have access to all of the camera features and all of the ports. There was no problem in gaining access to ports with flaps either. The manufacturers have provided enough room for easy access to all parts of your phone. It can be a bit tricky to remove once on, but that shows how strong it is.

Overall it’s thoroughly recommended. You can purchase it from MobileFun for £9.95 + p&p. Mobile Fun is one of the largest UK retailers dedicated to mobile phone accessories. They deliver across Europe too. Check out our hands-on video after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD has finally found its way into reviewer’s arms, it looks like we may finally start to see some final reviews of Samsung’s wonder handset. Following two preview articles on the i8910, GSMArena has finally released its full review.

They confirmed that the delay was due to the fact that Samsung froze production of the i8910 shortly after its release on carriers at the end of May due to software problems. It claims that the handset is now available worldwide with “all bugs fixed”.

Their overall verdict was certainly a positive one, calling it “one of the best equipped handsets we’ve ever had the chance to review.” It refers to the AMOLED screen as “one of the top units in the touchscreen realm.” They were pleased with the HD camcorder output (given the improvement in audio), although they felt there was room for improvement with the framerate.

The review includes a number of camera and video samples. I couldn’t see exactly what firmware was being used, but it would be interesting to know. You can check out their full review here.

Okay, so I know that a lot of you have the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD already and I know that many of you have seen quite a few i8910 unboxing videos too, but I couldn’t resist throwing mine into the ring too! We put together a quick video that shows us unboxing the handset and we’ve also included some pictures of the whole thing too.

The i8910 HD we were sent was the Italian version, so the box included a European plug and Italian manuals, but this is not too much of an issue. I was a bit upset not to find the key-ring phone stand in the box, this was included in the Orange UK boxes. Initial impressions of the phone are very positive and it’s certainly not as tall as we’d come to believe. We’re still at the very early stages of playing around with the handset, so expect some more useful updates going forward. In the mean time check out our unboxing video and pictures after the break. Read the rest of this entry »