Upadate: Update: I’ve moved to a new website
From what I’ve observed with the Samsung i8510 Innov8, it is apparent that Samsung will continue to produce updates for the i8910 up to at least the end of 2010. That’s really promising considering that many people thought the i8910 had reached the end of its life cycle and it had been left out in the cold.
So, the question is, what are they going to be doing in this time? Fixing bugs only? From my meeting, it appears as if the features are generally permanent and they may consider implementing only a few of the proposed suggestions from the report. Adding kinetic scrolling was quite a leap, it was never described as a feature on the phone but they decided to add it to enhance the devices functionality. What else is in store for the next couple of months?
Samsung has failed to deliver
Before we go into the updates, it is now apparent that Samsung has failed to deliver the official update on time. They said in their press release that:
“The firmware update will be available from January 2010 in the UK and gradually rolled out to other European markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asia, Africa and rest of the world.”
According to information that I got from i8910 owners around the world, the update has not been released anywhere.Versions of the firmware that have the features described as coming in the ‘big’ update i.e. kinetic scrolling, improved web browser and new graphics engine are available from websites such as http://samsung-firmware.tk/. The owners of this particular website claim to have firmware that comes directly from Samsung. Whether the firmware they have is in beta form or whether it’s the final release remains a mystery.
I get the impression that Samsung produced the press release prematurely in an attempt to calm the storm caused by the petition(which now has almost 3800 signatures), the report, the phone calls and the emails that users sent to Samsung in their respective regions.
The probable reasons for the delay are the bugs and stability issues. I’ve installed the version i8910XXIL5 on my i8910 and I’ve noticed pretty much all the problems I noted in version i8910XXIL3 in my video are still present. An even more recent firmware i8910XEJA1(also available from http://samsung-firmware.tk/), dated January 2010 was also released but no significant differences have been noted in that either.
Update problems: Phone not supported etc..
Many users have resorted to using firmware that was not meant for their devices; firmware from different regions. Each device contains some key that is region specific. When you connect your phone to PC Studio to check for updates, you may get an error saying that “the device connected is not supported”. This may be because the firmware on the device and the region information are conflicting. Custom firmware also has that same result since it’s made up of several components from different builds. This may not always be the case however. To ensure that your device is ready for the update, you should get this message when you select the phone software update option:
If the firmware you’re using does not produce the window above but gives some error, then the firmware and hardware may not be working together in complete harmony. The technical manager at Samsung said you may actually lose some functionality/performance as a result of the mismatch.
Patience
Again I must emphasize that Samsung will continue making updates and ironing out bugs for at least the next 12 months. They failed to meet the date they promised but we can rest assured that something will eventually come after they sort the problems out. The phone is stable and it works as it should in its current state no matter which firmware you have, as long as it was officially released.
We likely to see more awesome updates especially since the report is out there with them and they know what we want.
Anphase, thanks for great news! I will wait official firmware from Samsung.
thanx for ur hard work.
if u have connection with samsung senior people ,could u pls ask from them the probable release date of new firmware. since their dead line has passed. thanx
I’m curious about the HD functionality, will they ever be able to fix the 24fps problem ?
Or did they already fix that and I’m just too blind to see it anywhere.
I hope me buying that phone won’t be a mistake D:
Anphase
So when i try to update my phone it says “phone not supported” so does this mean that there is no update or my phone has got some problem. should i flash to another firmware will this void my warranty.
thankz
This means that there is a problem. You probably don’t have the right firmware, the guys you bought it from must have flashed a different firmware from the original for some reason. You won’t void your warranty if you can re-flash the phone back to the original firmware when you return it if a problem occurs. Check if the firmware you have is available from the samsung-firmware.tk website(dail *#0000# to get current firmware version)
What’s the difference between Software version and Custom version on the device manager? I have Software Version: I8910DXIH1 and Custom Version: I8910XSAIH1
Thanks for the update Anphase.
I’m still pretty annoyed though. A release date is a release date and i needed this update before my work for 2010 ramped up to full speed.
I guess i will try and find an official generic for my Australian handset somewhere and attempt to update it. But i’ll give Samsung two more weeks.
This is so pointless, they did not just fail to deliver update, but also an appropriate response to your report. Anphase, they addressed “YOU” and NOT your report. Part of you feels good because you think they heard you. Well, I see i8910 as dead product already (basically nothing more will come out because they’ve to protect their future product’s interest and roadmap) If they work on this model, They will loose money as they’re working on dead product (which will obviously not generate any revenue)
“the device connected is not supported” error is also due to updating the software via Windows Vista or Windows 7. The software update only supports Windows XP.
Feel very aggrieved by the way Samsung is treating the owneres of the i8910. Don’t know what is going on with them. Read somewhere on one of the sites, that they have shut down their Simbian R&D team and moved the staff over to Android R&D. Don’t know if it’s, but if it is we are all stuffed and have been conned all along.It would be nice if you could find out Anphase. You seem to have the ear of people in Samsung.If it is true, then I think I will be dropping Samsung as a provider of anything I buy, Phones to Televisions and everything in between, because it shows the have no interest at all in their products once they have your money.
@jez: Who are you trying to cheat? We all know (even Samsung) that you will not be able to keep your hands from their products even if they only succeed in one product-line. You will buy it when “demand is high”, “all you friends have one” or you need to feel “innovative and modern”.
Even though you have a bad history with Samsung, they know it only takes ONE GOOD product and you get you money out of your pocket faster than lighting. That just how business works these days …
there are plenty of other choices, why would it be so difficult avoid samsung…I bought a palm a zillion years ago, that product isnt near the top of my wish list for my next phone, companies that dont produce the goods, get tossed as far as I’m concerned..
Sorry alsvik, not being rude, but I don’t think so. Done it before with other products. No company is going to treat me like crap more than once. The truth is, if everyone did walk away when treated badly then only the companies that don’t string people along would survive and the companies that did, would learn very quickly not to. Trouble is you’re right. Most people will be taken for a ride, moan about it, then next time the same company offers a nice new toy, will do the same again, buy it, find out its got problems and start moaning all over again. The big boys in these companies must be laughing their socks off.
Thank you for contacting Samsung Electronics UK regarding your i8910HD and the recent issue you have experienced.
Just got this from samsung. Looks like we’ve all been mistaken ha ha
I can assure you that we will continue to provide technical support on this handset as well honouring the 2-year warranty that comes with all our phone.
You mention a ‘Jan2010 firmware update that has been promised by Samsung’. The only mention of this I can see is on internet forums. We cannot be held responsible for incorrect information that appears on non Samsung websites. I can confirm that we will not be changing the operating system on the i8910HDto Android or Windows Mobile.
That’s implying that their own press release is false and the betas that we’re using do not exist. It’s shocking that someone representing Samsung would send such an ill-informed email without properly checking. I’m really disappointed.
a friend of mine and i bought ours about 2 months ago (australia) and the salesman (also an i8910 user) said to us recently that samsung has said ‘given him the heads up’ that it will be out soon. Also, samsung told me this in an email recently as well. But who knows?