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.