Samsung i8910 HD modding scene gets new champion

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Much as All About Symbian doesn't encourage the hacking of Symbian smartphones, we do feel that the Samsung i8910 HD is a special case - a super-high-spec smartphone that has been somewhat under-curated by the manufacturer. And the device has attracted those who want to mod, not for installation of illegal software, but for genuine improvement of the device. Which is why I'm happy to link to the industrious Andy, aka 'HyperX', who has been beavering away to produce firmware HX-V3-16, details and link below.

 

The full changelog for 3.16, along with the download link is here. Here are a few of the recent highlights:

  • Faster operation, more free space on disk C: (around 80MB! The official latest Samsung firmware has only about 18MB free)
  • Full 24fps 720p video recording with higher quality audio capture; using the same settings as Vivaz
  • Pre-autofocus in video recorder; re-enabling what Samsung couldn't make work in the prototype firmwares
  • Full kinetic scrolling across whole interface
  • Better theme transitions

UPDATE (from Stuart): I've been beta testing Hyperx's new firmware since yesterday - while I've still got lots to do to give a full report, I can initially report that after restoring all my content, I still have 68MB free C: disk; and videos shot at Full HD quality WITH pre-autofocus and improved audio settings are truely impressive. Think Vivaz but without continuous autofocus. (actually, that's exactly what you're getting, as Hyperx used some Vivaz codec files and settings to eak the best out of the i8910's (superior according to some) camera module. More to come later...

DISCLAIMER 1: All About Symbian doesn't condone such custom ROMs, which undoubtedly break Samsung's warranty. But we do find the i8910 HD scene somewhat fascinating. And it absolutely goes without saying that if you 'brick' your device then it's absolutely 100% your own fault and nothing to do with us... Ditto if you find all your free time consumed by the search for ways to make your i8910 HD the 'ultimate' device - this sort of thing can, apparently, be addictive!