What to expect in the upcoming update and a bit more(video)

Update: I’ve moved to a new website

I’ve prepared a video to give you a preview of the upcoming update. The firmware is not final, it still has a few issues to be ironed out but it does give you an idea of what’s to be expected. I’ve also included a few apps from Samsung Mobile Innovator and Imagination Technologies PowerVR SDK. All these are freely available for download. So far, these demos are as close as we can get to the full power of the i8910, and that’s a lot of power. I’ve also added an extra video with a preview of Symbian^4 running on the i8910 courtesy of AAS from The Symbian Exchange and Exposition SEE 2009.

Short demo of upcoming update and a bit more

Links

(Updated) You can download qt demos from qt demo website. To get Qt to run on the i8910 you need to install the following files:

Qt_selfsigned

Qt_installer

Fluidlauncher

After that you’ll have a suit with several Qt demos. You can then install the Weather, Budget apps etc that are on the Qt website above.

Qt Apps
A bunch of Qt apps on the i8910

SMI Demo pack from Samsung Moblie Innovator (You need to have a free account with Samsung Mobile Innovator to download)

(Updated)Opera moblie browser from Opera Mobile. Watch a video comparison of Opera Mobile vs. Skyfire (with links)

Fring for VoIP from the Fring website

You can get more free apps from AAS(All About Symbian) over here on their top 20 list of applications for the i8910 compiled by Steven Litchfield.

Some of these apps take a while to install because they consist of several applications. You will need to accept a bunch of things many times when installing…maybe 20 prompts, I lost count 🙂

Check out some Symbian^4 action on the i8910. As this runs right on top of Symbian, since Qt is a UI framework, we may see it coming later on. The demonstration starts around 40 seconds into the video. Courtesy of AAS.

I have no links though, it was strictly a demo for SEE 2009.The Demand Issue

One of the major gripes from the comments on my meeting with Samsung and forum discussions is the issue of “demand”. Samsung was talking about market demand (when considering other popular devices) for these features. Here’s an example. Let’s look at the iPhone for a second. One of the most popular devices on the market. We could say its features are the benchmark (no, not really, but it’s the single most popular device in the world). It has no FM transmitter, neither does the Motorola Droid(get it? Droid does…not), or the Palm Pre, why? This feature never really took off, most people don’t even know what it is. It was more ‘popular’ 3 years ago on the Nokia N95 and in a few other devices today. The iPhone doesn’t even have a flash so a torch is out of the question. No HD video to talk about at all. It may be choppy, but it’s there on the i8910 together with other video resolutions that work flawlessly. The iPhone didn’t even have video recording until the iPhone 3gs which came a while after the i8910 was announced(after its design and feature set were finalized) so auto focus is not implemented. Neither is front camera access, the iPhone doesn’t even have a front camera, just a 3.2MP one at the back. Call recording is rarely ever seen in any device, certainly not on the iPhone etc. etc. Ok, I know I’m being overly positive for a change, deliberately picking on the features that the i8910 has over the competition. The point being that we should be more realistic. Yes, we want these features, we’re ‘demanding’ for them, but they were not really in demand at the time the i8910 was designed and overall when we look at other ‘similar’ devices on the market. I’d like more features packed in yesterday but we have to be patient. The guys at Samsung are playing their part.

Why am I trying to justify Samsung’s responses? They made an effort to address these issues and to talk to me and we’ve made serious tangible progress. Very few comments about Samsung are positive yet they went out of their way to make this happen. This is not the end, it’s only the beginning so be more optimistic please.

Cheers.

36 thoughts on “What to expect in the upcoming update and a bit more(video)”

  1. Firstly.. Great video :).. Again thanks for the effort you put into this man.. Even got Samsung to update some of the phones features!! AGAIN JOB WELLDONE.. 😉

  2. Why do you keep comparing i8910 to the iPhone? Lemme answer, because you assume “We could say its features are the benchmark”; which is quite wrong for the entire target customer base for i8910/Symbian handsets.

    Sorry but you’ve failed once more time.

    1. Well, I had to choose between this device and the iPhone when I got it. They are both multi-media smartphones with loads of functionality but different operating systems. The iPhone isn’t perfect, I was simply trying to illustrate what ‘demand’ meant from a ‘market’ point of view.

  3. hello
    you say you haven’t been ‘blinded’ or ’sold out’ to Samsung, but why you try to find excuses for them?
    you selectively pick phones that haven’t some feature and try to justify why i8910 hasn’t got that feature.
    what about that big lie of samsung that i8910 has HD recording? look at wikipedia… the minimum framerate for HD standard is 23.976 ~ 24 fps.
    respect.

  4. Anphase, I know you’re appreciative of Samsung, but you are talking absolute rubbish now.

    Why exactly are you comparing the i8910 to the iPhone? Where did that come from? They are two totally different devices aimed at totally different people.

    Why are you spewing rubbish to try to justify Samsung’s crap? Don’t destroy your credibility, because you’re starting to sound like a fanboy right now.

  5. I think that the majority here is not being fair to Anphase.
    Anphase did a very good job on his report.

    I will not be the judge whether the Samsung-interview was a succes or a failure. Anphase got the interview and did his best. He has forwarded the inputs he got and that is all we can ask for. I did not sit in the chair with the Samsung-guy, neither did you guys. We can ony guess how it had developed then …

    I think we all need to realize that we have bought an expensive phone that did not fulfill Samsungs wishes for sales numbers – and therefore this phone does not get the support it deserves. It’s a good phone, but it is not a topnotch phone.
    We chose Symbian and by doing so we chose an operating system that does not evolve that quickly. All the companies involved in Symbian relies on other doing the “hard work”.
    Samsung will never put millions of money into Symbian.

    Samsung rely on their succes-products and develop these further. I8910 was not an absolute succes. We saw some possibilities in the device, but Samsung cannot efford to spent 1000 man hours on trying to satisfy us (we are just a very small fraction of their customers). They try new products and move along. So should we!

    Samsung might hit a source of byuers with their next product that maybe sells more than a million worldwide.
    Anf even if you right now state taht you will never buy another Samsung-product – we all know that this is not true. If the invent the right product with the right specifications and options, you will stand in line to buy it. Consumers forget so fast! And Samsung knows.

    Omnia HD was a product that did not reach the big masses. Samsung Corby is doing well, selling big time.

    1. I think most people here give credit to Anphase as he did an absolutely excellent job. Anphase is not a problem;) Samung is.
      I think the suggestion to “move along” and try new products is unreasonable. Should people who got burned by i8910 happily buy another expensive device and keep their finger crossed in hope that Samsung will provide proper support? And what if the history will repeat itself? Once bitten – twice shy. Samsung should be aware of that as it may hurt their sales. People who were disappointed by i8910 not delivering proper performance will spread the word. Samsung may have a problem at their hands. Many smartphones are being bought by people that are highly aware of their features. What’s more they’re active blog writers, forum commenters etc. They may become Samsung’s “ambassadors”. But not the ones Samsung had in mind.
      Some may forget quickly as you said. Some will remember this lesson well. If Samsung approaches the market like this then they’re playing a risky and dangerous game. Their marketing better be good. Should I move along and shell out more cash on another potentially buggy and support-lacking phone? I don’t think it’s a reasonable thing to do.

      And comparing sale volumes of Corby to Omnia HD is wrong. It’s obvious cheap phones will sell in big quantities. Expecting smartphones to do the same seems unreasonable.

  6. Sorry forgot:

    No, we cannot compare Iphone with Omnia HD. There are many reasons, but keep this one in mind:

    Apple produced 1 (ONE) phone that was almost an instant hit everywhere, worldwide. Samsung produces many phones. That is a major difference that easily explains why the Omnia HD is not evolving as fast a i.e. Iphone.

    But imagine how the phone could turn out, if Samsung spent the same amount of money and man-hours on the Omnia HD as Apples does on Iphone …

  7. oh my god…I writye the same thing that i Wrote in in samsungi8910omnia

    Oh my GOD!!!seems that some users never had phone of others companies..
    samsung is the only company that has a feedback with users (maybe is this the real problem)!!!

    nokia: if you request something to nokia, it will be do????really you think this?had you ever a nokia device?do you know that first firmware of EVERY nokia device is very unstable, and are necessary several mouths to get a good stability? n95 first firmware with radio don’t working, low ram managmement,bad photos,etcet6c…n96, must speak about n96??etc etc etc

    apple: do you remember GPS question?iphone 3g was with a gps receiver, but apple didnìt want any gps application!only when born 3gs was born several gps application!!and several things

    htc: do you remember petition about video drivers in many htc device?many and many htc device have an outdated video drivers (many problems in video playback for example)..was solved?NO!!

    etc etc etc

    and samsung? give a aac codec -> aac codec given
    give task 3d -> task 3d given
    give kinetic -> kinetic given
    and sevel things that will fixed
    However can’t satisfy every request, because there are many thing to consider..and however samsung is not perfect

    Now, why crying like a baby? If samsung didn’t meet anphase, we cried?

    SAMSUNG HAS REPLIED ON EVERY QUESTION!this must be apprecited!what company do this?

    and after, some of questions are not really problems

    Camera: maybe in this firmware will be a camera improvement..omnia hd has one of the best camera available in mobile phone..Hd video recording maybe is limited by cpu..yes, also I hope that HD recording will fixed, but remember that at 720×480 maybe produce the best mobile recording..use 720×480!!!!yes, everyone want use 1280×720, but if will be not fixed(not because samsung don’t want), use 720×480 to get fantastic videos!!

    AND REMEMBER THAT IS A PHONE!

    wEB BROWSER: WILL BE FIXED, but there are several 3rd part application ..and about flash, maybe only maemo has a good support of total flash..the best acclaimed mobile browser(iphone)hasn’t..windows mobile has flashlite as symbian..wait skyfire(that use proxy severs) for total flash(is in testing)

    speed: improve

    kinetic: will be (and seems works fine!)

    java: fixed in k1 taiwan and hope that will be include in final version
    fantastic performance

    fm transmitter: is illegal!STOP!and also if there is, range is limited by law and not usable…use AUX CONNECTION!!

    call recording: is also illegal against privacy!STOP..

    voip: there is fring, no necessity of native support (that cost maybe battle against operators)

    front camera: with a 8mp camera you want make photos with ridiculus vga camera (build only for videorecording)?..and if you want, you can using a code

    video editor: before write, you must think!!!it’s an hard process, expecially for phone, manage resolution above 640×480.. (think this: video editor will be release obnly for 640×480 resolution..what will say user?WE WANT VIDEO EDITOR ALSO FOR HD RESOLUTION! BUT YOU KNOW WHAT MEANS MANAGE A HD VIDEO WITH A PHONE???? IT’S HARD ALSO FOR A PC!!AND BATTERY?MUST THINK TO THIS THING!)
    there are several tools for windows for example, that manage mp4 in native format wthout recompression: yamb or boilsoft video splitter are some examples..
    manage mp4 in pc is more usable..in my opnion is not really necessary have a video editor in phone

    portrait qwerty: use third part application like dayhandinput

    native symbian 5° edition portrait qwerty is not too much usable without a pen..and in omnia hd you can’t use pen..if you see video with portrait qwerty in alfa release of omnia hd we can see that is not usable!

    voice commands: use third part application like vlingo(i didn’ìt test)..so, is it too much important?never used in all my past phones!

    torch: yes, could be developed an application also by samsung..but if you want you can

    threaded sms: use free isms

    alternative OS: stupid question!

    OK, we are a phone with the best screen, one of the best camera for video and photos, fantastic speakers with 5.1 feature, fantastic radio with mp4 recording, the best gps receiver maybe, a fast phone with a sensible screen..severl features, BUT NOT PERFECT!And at a price much less that competitors like n97, iphone,htc etc

    SAMSUNG DID SEVERAL BIG IMPROVEMENTS WITH LAST FIRMWARES..can’t do all that you want!

    I said you: BUY ANOTHER PHONE..after will be happy to see that situation is maybe worse, that if you send a petition company don’t listen you or make a meeting to explain as in this case..

    Buy an iphone al 700€ without radio, with the best browser WITHOUT FLASH,bad camera, without a full stack bluetooth,..
    buy an n97 with a resistive screen,old processor..buy an htc hd with tomtom lag, rose photos, sending sms problem etc etc

    yes, buy these phones and after start a petition to solve problems and omplement what you want:
    these companies will meet you to explain and reply in every point?mmm..maybe will send you a kick in your ass..

    in alternative:
    http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/cellphone_design/dkmb86g_487pr55s2hc_b.jpg

    But stop cry!!! must happy for improvements and not crying for what you don’t have!!

    AND RESPECT ANPHASE, THAT STARTS A PETITION AND SPOKE WITH SAMSUNG ABOUT THIS!

      1. Ok, here we go again re certain issues:
        Stop stating Fring is valid alternative as it has ‘larger then life’ latency when used its VoIP part. Native Skype is non existant for s60v5 and i8910 and Samsung wont recode their s60v3 API (which never saw daylight) to s60v5 VAS API so 3rd party VoIP providers/developers such Nimbuzz, Skype end the rest of them can give us FREE VoIP apps. Period. It’s up to Samsung, and stop giving obnoxious examples how we have free apps for VoIP. They (Fring) don’t work as they’re supposed to.

        Voice dialing/calls/commands – Vlingo is not an option at all. It’s not the same thing and it’s connecting to web every time you use it. It can’t be valid substitite for native Voice Dialling at all. Samsung seems to be a contractor with companies like Nuance for their Low level phones regarding Voice Dialing, but with i8910 they flopped at 100%. So what if Nokia has their own licensed Voice API? Samsung could have implemented basic voice dialing features like on their base and low level phones, but they didn’t. ANd they should still implement it. I repeat, lingo is not a valid option, also when you’re driving your car!

        I’m being elaborative as I can before I lose my nervs repeating always the very same things…

        And, for the record, I do appreciate what Anphase is doing as I repeteadly stated many times before on i8910 forum.
        And I do agree with Fenomeno83 on most of what he said, as people should stop posting bland comments and concetrate more on real issues knowing the limits of this phone!

        thanks for the read…

  8. Just read through the responses, some of guys need to chill out. Anaphase did us a big favour. You guys should appreciate that.

    I dont agree with most of what Anaphase wrote here… but I think its unfair for me to start calling him a ‘fanboy’, ‘brainwashed’ and etc. Let him have his opinion, and I will disagree RESPECTFULLY.

  9. Well Anphase deserves all my respect, i mean meating up with Samsung and discussed all the issues invloved, now i blame the Samsung company for putting themselves in so many bugs from symbian, why dont they ever plan a phone rather then releasing hundreds a day without even planning on market share, selling strategy etc? i mean the main reason the phone is not selling like “crazy” is because of Symbian OS, why they never adopted Android or windows mobile or some other alternative, now as i understand that Symbian is not optimized for “touch” yet,so why Samsung advertised “Dare to Touch”, and “Touch HD” on a non “touch” optimized operating system?? makes no sense ha, thus why planning is a necessary part of any device. *sigh*

    whats done is done, great job Anphase all my respect, i just “Hope” that Samsung listens to your hard worked report.

  10. Kudos to Anphase!
    One point of comment though:
    Why not use Opera mini instead of Opera Mobile, since Opera Mobile has problems with gmail and hotmail (at least for me). I use HX_SPEED1.42 firmware so perhaps those are no longer an issue with the new firmware.

    1. It’s ok but because it ‘optimizes’ content for mobile images aren’t as nice. It’s faster though :P. I actually use both depending on what I’m doing.
      Cheers

    2. I use opera mobile 10 ( I havent d/loaded the latest beta 10.2 I think) and I use gmail docs calendar the full sites, it renders them no problem with full functions. I dont browse mobile sites anymore only full sites, but I cant edit text documents in g-docs but I can edit spreadsheets. I add apts in calendar download attachments or view in HTML in gmail . everything no problem. Opera 10 is amazing it syncs my desktop bookmarks and syncs the mobile bookmarks notes etc etc kinetic scrolling great zoom function…it is evidence of just what a difference good clever well thought out well written sofware can make to a device…

  11. i can’t get qt working arghhhhhhh
    i’ve reinstalled it many times it doesn’t work

    i installed it
    restarted the phone

    any help is appreciated

  12. Nice work. You did your very best to help all the HD owners.
    I hesitated between the Nokia N97 and the HD. I chose the HD but now I’m not so sure if the HD was the better choice.

    There is loads of stuff coming out on ovi store for the N97 and the Samsung store doesn’t even support the HD.

    What is Samsung really thinking?

  13. You’re being nice because samsung guys paid you well with perfumed dress visit and response :p reality is simple, In symbian market, i8910 was expected to be n95 + OLED + HD by me (not sure about others). You may find our comments against Samsung but trust one statement here, flattery is NOT always a wise move to encourage a corporate bureaucratic personality to actually fix and make their products (i8910) better in terms of user quality and experience. Here is my guess, they will make new product with all these user issues fixed (mostly).

    They really do not care about our money as long as they’ve received it anyways. Everything is a “hard work” or “too much work”. Have they set a poll to view user demands? A bunch of few designers cannot guess thousands of user’s demands!

  14. Nicely Done! Very informative…

    I noticed you updated with your blog with seperate QT files directly available for download from your page. Any chance you could do the same with SMI Demo pack from Samsung ?

    Cheers

  15. i would like to thank everyone who contributed in making the report and stated all the problems they had with their Omina HD and especially anphase for taking the time to meet with samsung representatives and address these issues regardless of the future outcome.
    i have a question for you guys. i was going to buy the Omnia HD today morning but after i read the reports made by anphase and your comments i’m starting to have second thoughts. so my question would be should i still buy the phone now? if not, what substitute you would suggest for approx. the same amount of money?
    cheers

    1. I got my i8910 two months ago, after having read every review I could find as well as Anphase’s report. While there are some issues with the phone, this has been the case with every other phone I’ve owned, so none has caused me to regret this purchase. (Btw I’m with Optus in Australia – firmware seems ok).

      The good:
      Ample storage
      Versatile homescreen, once you’ve set it up (forget widgets though)
      Does most things extremely well, including call quality
      MINIMAL LAG (except when loading gallery)
      Plays media beautifully

      The bad:
      Next to no apps
      HD framerate (the only TRUE broken promise, in my opinion)
      Menu systems could use an overhaul (too much ‘digging around’)
      Photos can’t be grouped into folders in gallery
      Web browser is mediocre – get Opera and you’re set.

      So it depends what you’re after, but moving from a long line of Nokias, I’m still delighted to pick it up.

      With a bit more polishing the i8910 would be almost flawless, but I guess the framerate issue led Samsung to cut their losses and move on instead. The UI doesn’t compete with iphone, but it’s made up for by what it CAN do. I haven’t spent much time with other comparable phones but have been told it’s no contest. So if you don’t want loads of apps or widgets and are happy to fiddle away to set things up right, don’t be put off! There are dozen of legitimate small complaints, but none is a dealbreaker for me – the main good points outweigh the bad by a comfortable margin.

      Thanks also to Anphase, for putting so much time and effort into this.
      Cheers

  16. Any idea when is the firmware getting released.i used samsung suite to check the update but it failed and says that the phone connected is not compatible with the software.

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