All About Symbian - Symbian, Nokia and S60 unwrapped.
The Samsung i8910 HD gets 'II1' firmware
Published by Steve Litchfield at 12:45 UTC, September 10th 2009
The Samsung i8910 HD (a.k.a. Omnia HD) has been left for the last couple of months in firmware limbo, with some showstopping bugs - but today sees the launch of 'XXII1' firmware (the 'II' refers to 'September 09'), with my observations below. You can get the update for your own i8910 HD by hooking it up to PC Studio (version 7.2.24.8, please!) and using the built-in Updater tool. This update has been made available by Samsung Italy, so your phone will need to have an existing Italian firmware installed before you can get the update. Note that there's no User Data Preservation, so backup and sync first - you know the drill by now, just make sure your PIM data, email settings and registration codes are all safe.
Observations:
- The C: disk does indeed get totally wiped, so most apps have to be re-installed and everything set up from scratch
- This firmware is Italian and so will boot in Italian the first time, so don't forget to brush up your language skills (e.g. the UK is 'Regno Unito'!) in order to switch the phone set up and UI language back to your own country and English 8-)
- The Podcasting Unicode bug is fixed (no more nonsense scrolling titles)
- Web is fixed and doesn't now crash when you try and 'Stop' a page loading.
- Web page zooming is faster and the 'zoom gesture' is now hinted on-screen with a graphic
- The telephone dial pad now has 'abc', 'def' style lettering
- Camera photo quality settings are tweaked for better detail (larger files)
- There's a '3D' 'live' thumbnail carousel in place of the usual list/grid Task Manager, i.e. you see it when pressing and holding the 'S60' key down. Flicking left and right rotates the carousel. It's slower than the old method but much prettier 8-)
- There's also a new animated thumbnail 'Grid' view of Task Manager, with swipes up and down the screen shuffling the displayed applications up or down. This method of getting to an application is even slower(!)
- Generally faster operation, notably in MediaBrowser and Web
- MediaBrowser now has a zoom facility, making it far more useful as a replacement to Gallery
- The initia l pre-focus in video capture mode, present in the earliest firmwares, is still missing in action, though the lens does seem focussed similarly to the Nokia N86's, i.e. at a couple of metres - in good light, most things should be in focus
- There's a new Data Transfer utility, designed to suck in data (via SyncML?) from another Symbian/S60 phone via Bluetooth. This worked well to get my PIM data from the Nokia N97. This was an area which was previously very inconvenient for i8910 HD users, so kudos to Samsung for sorting things out
- There's a new 'WLAN Creator' utility, mirroring Nokia's wizard
- The English predictive text dictionary has been expanded
- Extra home screen widgets (mostly Italian based), including Lonely Planet
- Free space on C: is now around 34MB at first start; free RAM is still well over 100MB
- Third party application support appears to have improved
- NB: Quickoffice shows the free version 6.0 viewers in its catalogue and the update worked fine
Things which are still present, and annoying, in 'II1':
- There's still no server profile for 'Firmware Over The Air' (in 'Device manager') [Edit: Not surprising that]
- Some people are reporting a noticeable hiss on the audio track of any recorded videos. In most cases this can be fixed by tweaking the mic settings, though this does involve a trip into the weird world of 'secret' menus and general hackery.
- This firmware includes "system protected" APNs which can be annoying if, as in the case of T-Mobile, they get wrongly identified
- There are still FOUR ways to browse your videos (RealPlayer, Gallery, MediaBrowser and VideoPlayer). FIVE, if you count File Manager. Anyone care to find a SIXTH and make my day? 8-)
Steve Litchfield and Stuart Clark, All About Symbian, 10 Sep 09
News Discussion
UKJeeper
Let me know how that works for you, especially things like the 'stop' bug. I've been using the Hong Kong G4 firmware for a few days and its so much better. More C drive space, faster, stable, and no stop bug!
stuclark
To add to Steve's post...
You ONLY get offered the update if you are already using an ITALIAN firmware build (IF2 or IG2).
The stop bug is gone.
A 3D task manager is introduced.
Various other usability bugs have been squashed.
Camera & video capture improved.
This is the same firmware as the I8910XXII1 firmware released in Russia last week, but with a different language pack and different custom apps.
You ONLY get offered the update if you are already using an ITALIAN firmware build (IF2 or IG2).
The stop bug is gone.
A 3D task manager is introduced.
Various other usability bugs have been squashed.
Camera & video capture improved.
This is the same firmware as the I8910XXII1 firmware released in Russia last week, but with a different language pack and different custom apps.
UKJeeper
Do you think II1 is a better firmware than G4? I like G4 and wonder if II1 is worth yet another flashing session?
stuclark
Yes, I prefer II1 over IG4 - the improvements to MediaGallery (which Steve hasn't posted yet) - you can zoom in and out of pictures now; make this update worth it on their own.
Podcasting was also still broken in IG4.
Podcasting was also still broken in IG4.
rvirga
What a ripoff!
1) We were told that this fw upgrade would also upgrade QuickOffice to version 6, therefore allowing us to use QO6 without having to sacrifice a good chunk of C:. That was a lie.
2) The podcasting app is still broken, but now at pre-IIG2 levels. (a) It won't do automatic updates; if you set an access point and enable automatic updates, the next time you start the app it will crash on startup (don't try this - the only workaround that I know of is a deep reset of the phone). (b) Updating doesn't work (I have to verify this, but it's very likely): if you select a podcast and do 'update', it will connect to the internet and check, but no new episodes will appear even if there are some available.
I'm very, very angry.
1) We were told that this fw upgrade would also upgrade QuickOffice to version 6, therefore allowing us to use QO6 without having to sacrifice a good chunk of C:. That was a lie.
2) The podcasting app is still broken, but now at pre-IIG2 levels. (a) It won't do automatic updates; if you set an access point and enable automatic updates, the next time you start the app it will crash on startup (don't try this - the only workaround that I know of is a deep reset of the phone). (b) Updating doesn't work (I have to verify this, but it's very likely): if you select a podcast and do 'update', it will connect to the internet and check, but no new episodes will appear even if there are some available.
I'm very, very angry.
UKJeeper
"the connection between the phone and PC has been updated".
Booooooo...:frown:
Guess i'm waiting for the files to made available online instead.
Booooooo...:frown:
Guess i'm waiting for the files to made available online instead.
Unregistered
well...i only had 33.1MB after upgrade...did hardreset before and after
after copying over some of my ringtones and wallpapers to C, and installing main apps, had 25.1MB
tried the quickoffice update.....lost 10MB on my C: drive....uninstall and it's only back to 20.5MB.....stupid quick office doesn't have an uninstall for their install files....hacked my phone, using xplore, cannot find any sis or sisx file on c, so obviously it has all individual files....ugh....
after copying over some of my ringtones and wallpapers to C, and installing main apps, had 25.1MB
tried the quickoffice update.....lost 10MB on my C: drive....uninstall and it's only back to 20.5MB.....stupid quick office doesn't have an uninstall for their install files....hacked my phone, using xplore, cannot find any sis or sisx file on c, so obviously it has all individual files....ugh....
FaizDaDon
I think he meant that most of the unbranded Omnia HD's have Italian firmware, not from Italy. Most of the websites that guide you on how to change your firmware recommend the Italian firmware, but Steve and Co always try to keep everything legit, and talking aout hacking seems to be a taboo.
stuclark
It's not illegal to change the firmware on the i8910. No, you probably won't find a complete how-to on AllAboutSymbian, but we are aware of it, and heck, most of us have probably done it once or twice.
Yes, this firmware is ONLY available to Italian firmwares, that's the point that needs to be made in this article... will adjust it to suit.
Yes, this firmware is ONLY available to Italian firmwares, that's the point that needs to be made in this article... will adjust it to suit.
capitaine
What about the Houdini feature? When uploading to YouTube from Communities app, the video uploads but then disappears and is nowhere to be seen. Has this been fixed?
What about the absolute shite sound quality when recording music concerts, which Nokias can do brilliantly... adjusting the mic settings I do not think really resolves this issue?
DLNA bugs - have they been fixed? For example my DLNA app never seems to refresh the available media list - seems to be stuck on the same videos my phone had when I first started the app months ago. And the other DLNA issues, like being able to stream content properly, eg HD videos you've shot...?
What about the absolute shite sound quality when recording music concerts, which Nokias can do brilliantly... adjusting the mic settings I do not think really resolves this issue?
DLNA bugs - have they been fixed? For example my DLNA app never seems to refresh the available media list - seems to be stuck on the same videos my phone had when I first started the app months ago. And the other DLNA issues, like being able to stream content properly, eg HD videos you've shot...?
maartenmk
So what about the browser stability, apart from the 'stop bug'? I heard it wasn't very stable before.
That and the dropped frames in HD video recording are the main concerns left now I believe. If it wasn't for that (and the announcement of the N900...) I would have bought it already.
The 3D taskmanager looks a bit slow indeed. A missed opportunity, if they'd made the rear applications a bit more visible, and clickable directly, it would probably have worked really well.
That and the dropped frames in HD video recording are the main concerns left now I believe. If it wasn't for that (and the announcement of the N900...) I would have bought it already.
The 3D taskmanager looks a bit slow indeed. A missed opportunity, if they'd made the rear applications a bit more visible, and clickable directly, it would probably have worked really well.
Unregistered
I've updated my phone to the latest IT verson II1, but the The telephone dial pad doesn't have 'abc', 'def' style lettering.. is it maybe related to the specific language settings?
malerocks
UKJeeper
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by malerocks
|
malerocks
The UI seem to suggest that it is running on Symbian. Plus if you go through the specs on the site, it pic editors, plays multiple video formats like Divx, H.234 and even claims to record in h.234, among others. I would not call that a feature phone.
Maybe a smart feature phone :P
Maybe a smart feature phone :P
UKJeeper
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by malerocks
The UI seem to suggest that it is running on Symbian. Plus if you go through the specs on the site, it pic editors, plays multiple video formats like Divx, H.234 and even claims to record in h.234, among others. I would not call that a feature phone.
Maybe a smart feature phone :P |
http://www.samsungmobile.co.uk/mobil...-specification
Operation System: Native OS (IE: NOT S60, but a similar UI as the i8910)
Browser: Dolfin (er what?)
Apart from that, i agree. It's not a feature phone, but not quite a smart phone. In the same class as a 5530?
A Smart-ure phone? :D
The lines between feature and smart phones are definitely getting blurry....
malerocks
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by UKJeeper
The lines between feature and smart phones are definitely getting blurry....
|
But even though it is not a actual smart phone, the capabilities list of the device IMO is pretty impressive. I think it can almost compete with the current smartphone (except in multi-tasking)
hargs48
In my view no matter how good the CPU or web browser or multitasking is,it will never be a smart phone...they is no native 3rd party apps and thats that...
Unregistered
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Unregistered
well...i only had 33.1MB after upgrade...did hardreset before and after
after copying over some of my ringtones and wallpapers to C, and installing main apps, had 25.1MB tried the quickoffice update.....lost 10MB on my C: drive....uninstall and it's only back to 20.5MB.....stupid quick office doesn't have an uninstall for their install files....hacked my phone, using xplore, cannot find any sis or sisx file on c, so obviously it has all individual files....ugh.... |
Unregistered
It's misinformation followed by misinformation here
Now they claim that only the Italians offer official firmware updates through PC Studio 7.
If you're not sure of something, don't post it as fact.
Wow.
Now they claim that only the Italians offer official firmware updates through PC Studio 7.
If you're not sure of something, don't post it as fact.
Wow.
Unregistered
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Unregistered
I've updated my phone to the latest IT verson II1, but the The telephone dial pad doesn't have 'abc', 'def' style lettering.. is it maybe related to the specific language settings?
|
I had them after updating but then did a hard reset and restored my settings and I just noticed they're gone...
slitchfield
@Unregistered
The editing on the piece and the clarifications about Italian firmware were done by Stuart Clark, one of our AAS part-time team members. He's the AUTHORITY on this phone and I stand by whatever he says is fact. I'd certainly take his word over someone anonymous/unregistered.
The editing on the piece and the clarifications about Italian firmware were done by Stuart Clark, one of our AAS part-time team members. He's the AUTHORITY on this phone and I stand by whatever he says is fact. I'd certainly take his word over someone anonymous/unregistered.
stuclark
If someone can give me more information showing that II1 is available via PC Suite for any country *other* than Italy, I'll update the article again. At the moment, the ONLY ways to get the II1 firmware are to flash the phone from leaked Russian II1 firmwares, or use the officially available Italian version. Therefore, Italy is the only country currently offering the II1 firmware as an update.
Yes, I deleted a few comments from the forum - most of them my own, as the info contained within them had been integrated into the main article. This was done to make the article and comments easier to read and understand.
Yes, I deleted a few comments from the forum - most of them my own, as the info contained within them had been integrated into the main article. This was done to make the article and comments easier to read and understand.
Tenkom
Web browser still sucks. Just as unresponsive when scrolling and pages still load slowly, seems to hang alot. Haven't tested the other stuff yet.
JohnnyN
Unregistered, why don't you register?
Thought not.
Thought not.
Search
Navigation
Social
Advert