News – Page 2 – Anphase Blog

Support for Samsung i8910 Omnia HD to continue till end of 2010

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. Continue reading Support for Samsung i8910 Omnia HD to continue till end of 2010

Apple iPad: The moment of truth

Well the time has come for Apple to reveal the tablet that everyone has been waiting for. Even Bill Gates said that

“the future of computing lies in the small genre of portable computer called a ‘tablet PC’.”

back in 2001. In an interview in 2007(at around 3:28) on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart he went on to say that he uses a tablet in meetings. But I digress, the Apple Tablet is here and now. Continue reading Apple iPad: The moment of truth

Battle of the mobile browsers: Opera Mobile vs. Skyfire on S60 5th Edition(video)

Tested on the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD

Major highlights

Opera Mobile:

More fluid browsing
Better User Interface and elements
Tabbed browsing

Skyfire

Better home screen with social media integration
Faster browser load times
Support for flash/ajax scripting/javascript

…and both of them are free, You can download the browsers at these links:

Download Opera 10 Beta 2 here

Download Skyfire 1.5 Beta here or by directing your mobile browser to http://m.skyfire.com

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

My meeting with Samsung, report back on the i8910

I had a meeting with Samsung Technical Manager Chris. The meeting lasted a total of 4 hours – that’s right 4 hours and we discussed everything in the report, point by point.

Update 1: I’ve made a few changes as suggested by Samsung to clarify some of the points.

Update 2: I’ve moved to a new website so you can follow up on the latest comments and updates for this post here

First off I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. The meeting left me with a whole different perspective on things. I’ll go point by point discussing each of the points mentioned in the report and Samsung’s response, so here goes! Continue reading My meeting with Samsung, report back on the i8910

If wishes were horses…the i8910 would ride

Note: this article is not factual. It’s a wishful/sarcastic post meant to highlight the potential of the i8910 and what Samsung could do with it. I’ve included details and ideas that I mean to present to Samsung in my meeting with them. This may not be real now, bit with more pressure on Samsung it could soon be a reality.

Exciting news guys, Samsung has just released an awesome update for the i8910! Pure gold of an update! This update is packed to the brim with features and fixes I don’t even know where to begin! That’s a lot coming from me after that report and petition fiasco.

Samsung-I8910-HD-wallpaper — Samsung i8910 Updated

Continue reading If wishes were horses…the i8910 would ride

Update for i8910 Omnia HD to come 2010… Resolves some issues, neglects most

So, Samsung has announced that they are releasing an update for the i8910. That’s shortly after I released the final report to them and a month after the petition started. The press release says this:

SEOUL, Korea – December 23, 2009 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today announced a firmware update to the Samsung I8910 HD (OMNIAHD, GT-I8910) to further improve the speed of multimedia performance and add new functionality to the device.

The I8910 HD is Samsung’s ultimate multimedia powerhouse with high definition, giving users full-touch control of their multimedia lives. The new firmware improves the user experience by delivering faster Web browsing, an improved graphics engine and enhanced full-touch screen experience:

-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

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.

To a greater extent, this is a good thing. This may be the start of more updates to come and most importantly it shows Samsung is listening. The disappointing thing here is that they didn’t mention anything about the camera which is one of the greatest problem areas. A substantial part of the report covers the camera very extensively and they didn’t bother to look into that. On the other hand, maybe they didn’t feel inclined to mention every detail of what they cover in the upcoming update.

Another big point that was left out is support for the device. Support in the sense of people developing apps tailored for the i8910 and its capabilities. This issue is pretty much out of Samsungs hands. It’s up to developers and companies in the industry to get on board. The only way they can get on board is if there’s a real incentive. With support for Symbian dwindling coupled with the problems the i8910 has, there is no incentive. The i8910 just isn’t exciting or popular enough. At the end of the day, it comes full circle right back to Samsung. From media response though, people are still interested in the i8910 so there’s hope for something better. Follow the links for the official release from Samsung and the articles from the press.

Samsung Official Press Release

GSM Arena Article

Engadget Article

Samsung Omnia HD Blog Article

Samsung Omnia HD Users Article

Why the iPhone changed the game

Now the iPhone has been around for a while and it is apparent that it’s changed the game. It’s changed what people expect from a mobile phone. The key behind its success being that it’s more than just a mobile phone; it’s a mobile platform, a platform that has evolved over time.

Figure 1 iPhone 3GS The latest iteration of the iPhone platform.

Looking at the iPhone’s hardware specs, there’s really nothing that we haven’t seen on other devices. It has the usual features that are found in other smart-phones, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, large display, plenty of memory, a plethora of sensors and more recently GPS, 3G, compass and many other goodies. So what sets the iPhone apart? Others may argue that it is the App Store that sets the iPhone apart but it is not. The App Store is merely peripheral; it is the result of that which sets the iPhone apart. Continue reading Why the iPhone changed the game

Version 3 of my report almost complete and thoughts on the Gold i8910.

Version3 of my report is almost complete. This time around I’ve made several changes and corrections and I’ve also included a change-log to show all the changes I’ve made. I’ve taken more contributions from the community as well so the report is slightly longer and yet easier to read. The special thing about this report more than any other is that I will be submitting it when the petition signatures reach 2000 AND I will be submitting it directly to a top figure at Samsung who contacted me after my first report came out.

An update to my previous article on my i8910’s white screen of death: I’ve taken it back to the retailer and they said I should expect it back in 3 weeks. That basically means I’m not getting it until after the holidays and that really sucks. Someone else had the exact same problem as me in the forums so we might be seeing more white screens of death soon!

All that glitters…sometimes has bugs

i8910 Gold Edition; Hope for a better tomorrow?

With the recent announcement of the new Gold Edition of the i8910 it is hoped that new firmware will come, but who knows?

I haven’t seen shots of the phone from behind but I’m guessing it is going to have a similar to the back panel to those on early models seen in February when the phone was announced.

I8910 back — i8910 back panel on early versions of the device. You can see the metal back and camera shutter.

New i8910 back panel, the camera shutter is gone and the metal back is replaced by hardened plastic.

Hiccup: White Screen Of Death on the i8910

In an unfortunate twist of events, my i8910 is dead! Yup, it showed the white screen of death (wsod). I’ve Googled it, searched several forums and stuff but I’ve found nothing – nothing that even closely resembles it. I’m assuming I bought a faulty device but it has worked flawlessly for the past 2 months or so; so sad after my petition and reportL. But never the less I will continue my efforts and return the phone for repairs or whatever tomorrow.

I was in the middle of a phone conversation when the screen just went all white; a stained sort of white. As I touched the screen I could hear the sounds and feel the vibrations, meaning that everything else was and is working. I’ve tried everything, switching the phone off then on, checking for updates, syncing, hard reset, soft reset, taking out the battery, leaving in on, leaving it off and nothing stillL. Leaving it on the charger it starts to heat up like crazy and I don’t want to leave it there for too long to find out what happens. Here are some screen shots:

Really sad for me… I’ve switched back to my trusty innov8, I used it to capture these horrific images and it did a decent job really. Hopefully my i8910 will be back by Christmas, but knowing the retailer, that’s not likely…

Update1: I took it back to the retailer and I’m waiting for repairs to finish. I’m still not sure what the problem was/is I’ll have to wait for an update from them. Hopefully I’ll get it shortly after Christmas.

Update2: According to the retailer its the result of physical damage! I quote:

Change LCD as screen was damaged due to Impact.

Worse still, it’s not covered under warranty and I have to pay $150 to fix it! Ouch. That’s a quarter of the price of this phone! Double ouch.