The Phones Show 86 (Qwerty, Samsung i8910 HD)

[laurajan10]

does the sim free version of the i8910 work okay with an 02 sim card?? can u recommend any good (safe and cheap) to buy it from??

[zero5uk]

Hi Steve. Can multi touch be added via firmware? I wanted to use txt and email a lot on this phone. Would you be happy using it to type emails?

Regarding the Omnia HD vs Om2; how can one can be 16m colours and the other 65k - that really does baffle me and makes me think it doesn't really matter, they are both AMOLED etc. Also, is the higher screen res in Om2 significant or not? Cheers

[stevelitchfield]

Yes, but who knows? The virtual keyboard's now pretty good with latest firmware.

The two Omnias are totally different hardware and electronics. Only the silly name is the same 8-)

[TechFriendly]

I see a lot of this type of thing. My own pet theory is that it's because the 65k phones are running Windows Mobile 6.1 or higher. I have yet to see a WinMo phone that is capable of 16m or even 256k colours. Take the HTC HD2 for example, it's a beautiful screen, over 4 inches diagonal and I believe it's 800 x 480 aswell, but again, it's running WinMo, so there's only 65k colours. If it ran Symbian or Android, I bet it could display 16m colours. Cheers.

[Allusionist]

will you be reviewing the Samsung Omnia II i8000?

[stevelitchfield]

Maybe. Depends what arrives!

[NedKelly5580]

2:13 - 5:05 Jeez man get to the point, boring!

Please just keep the reall good reviews you do in the final edits, we all know the downers of typing emails on a PHONE.

[devasiri]

when is the 16gb i8910hd coming to the UK. i can only find 8gb in the shops..

[Arrosterysch]

Same here in the Netherlands the 16Gb version is nowhere to be found..

[Rewesmac]

Thank you for the show, once again! ;)

[djyxu]

Where did you get the I8910 firmware update?

[stevelitchfield]

Samsung PC Studio offered it.

[djyxu]

Whenever i click on software updater, it says my phone is not compatible

[stevelitchfield]

Weird. Try updating the software updater!

[djyxu]

PC studio 7 right?

[stevelitchfield]

Yes, make sure you get the latest PC Studio as well - etc

[djyxu]

I fixed it, I just flashed to italian firmware and it worked O\

[gavrilaeugen]

steve what about lg arena it's good ?

[arjunmenon]

The LG Arena is a good touch screen phone but just spend a few more bucks and you can get an iPhone.

However, if you dont like the iPhone, then there is the Nokia 5800i coming out soon.

LG Arena still has competition from Samsung's newer touch screen phones which are similar or lower priced than the arena and way better.

So LG Arena I feel should be your 4th or 5th choice.

[arjunmenon]

iPhone still rules the touch screen market. The Palm pre looked promising but then the design and poor qwerty keyboard was its downfall.

I am pretty sure Nokia and Symbian will work together and who knows a 5th Edition Feature Pack 2 or 3 might do the trick.

[Kehaan]

Hey.

Did you not say that Ovi Store did not work on the i8910HD? What i can read from differnt internet pages, they say it works on the Samsung phone :S

From Kehaan.

[themanwhoknew]

Is the I8910 (omnia) far better for instant messaging, video playing and web surfing than the newly made Nokia E72?

[urlovekrish]

You are right about the QWERTY physical keyboard when it comes to data entry such as text,note,to do, emails ,mobile blogs anything QWERTY does it the best. E71 n BB BOLD those 2 has the great smooth QWERTY keyboard you ever experienced..but the draw backs with E71..not standard 3.5mm,very bad camera(specially CMOS),and the display is not much great to watch streaming videos or pics...n so does the sound quality...

[vastenmielinen]

well about qwerty

the best qwerty phone ive had so far and tested of the all qwerty's is the E90

but since it didnt have all the features i need that the nseries provide (getting a n85 later on )

i use my bluetooth/wlan-wifi connectable n810 for internet typing ,messaging and other ,so i really didnt use the E90 so much for those (not much sms etc.)

though i gotta say qwerty typing and having a phone in one is a good thing for who use it like that

:) nice video

[urlovekrish]

@Steve ...yeah RIM has an bad impression abot UI but now not anymore specially after Strom and BOLD like device but ya

Can't compare with Nokia or Symbian OS which are far more popular and easily availble to a general user not like RIM limited to

Business class or some proffessional .but I think now scenario going to change with Nokia also as Nokia Ovi Email and other

services just getting better and better .I wish the reability and the security for emails and messeging stuff just like RIM

[cluskie]

hi steve, ace shows as always.

for the last year or so ive used a nokia n82, and this week upgraded to a nokia 5800 (on your recommendations).

I was supprised at the camera on the 5800, very good quality for a 3.2mp, though i rarely use the camera on my phone anyway.

i love the onscreen qwerty keyboard, cant believe how quick i can type on it compare to the n82, after just a couple of days

[urlovekrish]

Hi Steve,I am great fan of your knowledge of cellphones as well as NOKIA n its s60 but from last couple of months I have switched to BB BOLD after tried N95(2years),5800,E71,iphone,pa­lm pre(us),htc..but when it comes to Communication with pack of powerful multimedia BB BOLD is the best as per my experience....but you have never mention RIM as a considerable option.....any response??PS: i am still using my N95 8GB for its OVI NGAGE and yes of course THE SMARTPHONE SHOW by STEVE....

[paracha3]

+1 best video podcast. He is the best!!

[stevelitchfield]

Partly because I just hated the BB interface - very outdated, as bad as Windows Mobile. And partly because RIM are terrible as reaching out to reviewers like me - I have to jump through hoops to get one. And they're not that common in the UK, either, at least not in my circles. If you're used to BB then yes, carry on, at least they're consistent. And better than they used to be.

[castra73]

Could not agree with you more, I just cant live with out qwerty keyboard.Its just impossible to type on classic phone keyboard. Very good video as always

[gaastra12]

Hey man, awesome video as allways, very entertaining and with many information given. keep it up! 5 stars*

[Lvaneede]

I am subscribed to the podcast for these videos on my Nokia E63.

Its a great show, keep up the good work.

[simpl3lang]

i wanted to buy one but unfortunately im sticking with my iphone 3gs for a while longer.....the price for the i8910 is way too high and its 3g wont work on USA. and plus there are plenty of smartphones coming out this year.....and next year. better, newer processors. cant wait to see a TEGRA powered smartphone.

[MoOdy66099]

hi steve

am wondering if u have any program like samsung pc studio or any method to use the cable for transferring media between omnia hd and macbook

thanks for ur help

[stevelitchfield]

No software, no. Samsung are so far PC only 8-( You can still transfer media and apps using Bluetooth and mass storage mode though, so all is still reasonably rosy.

[MoOdy66099]

thanks for ur reply

i don't know why every mobile brands didn't consider mac users except nokia

anyway that is some of the disadvantages of being mac user

[bob91011]

Though I'm not an iphone fan, what's impressive about Apple's market position is that it's based on just one handset with a seriously limited distribution channel i.e. just one carrier per country. That blows away everyone except Nokia, since RIM/ HTC etc have many handsets in virtually every phone shop on the high street - and still can't pull away from Apple.

[stevelitchfield]

Well, that's good and bad. Impressive from a sales viewpoint, but frustrating for users, who have to go to a particular carrier - in the UK, I'd hate to be forced to O2, for example 8-)

[Kehaan]

Hey

Oh and Is there any news on a new communicator from Nokia, like a newer model then Nokia E90?

From Kehaan

[Findoloo]

most of your comments on qwerty apply to the touch screen generation of phones quite strongly

[stevelitchfield]

Yes, I did mention that in the piece 8-) I still prefer PHYSICAL keyboards though....

[Findoloo]

yes i heard that after i had posted the comment, i prefer a physical but like the lack of bulk with touch, theres pros and cons for each,

[niveksivad]

Hay Steve! Loving your work.....tried getting a gig on the Gadget Show?

[stevelitchfield]

Yeah, they never returned my emails 8-(

[awalton1701]

Great show as always Steve. As someone close to upgrading on Orange I'm concerned to hear they appear to have spoilt the HD...How? My N82 in Black is the best phone I have had so am concerned to upgrade to HD if it's been spoilt by Orange somehow.

[stevelitchfield]

Oh, just messed up the GPS and navigation stuff, mainly. See Stu Clark's AAS article on the subject 8-)

[simpl3lang]

@awalton....

the i8910 hd, based on research (cause i wanted one), can be debranded if you get it from orange. this statement i got from one of the omnia hd forums, "Orange as usual did a poor job with their firmware. Removing popular applications, adding there own bloat ware and generally slowing the phone down".

if you google. there are ways to debrand a i8910 from orange.

[gaastra12]

if you ever get to get it from Orange like i did, make sure you DEBRAND it. Orange removed many applications and basic functions and replaced them with their own standard commercial applications and functions. they actually make your phone slower. really, if you get it make sure you debrand it. many guides on internet, its simply done.

[alihotmale]

steve, u and ur show rock!!!

[marvelouspinguin]

You made really good points about using smartphones with standard 12 key numeric pads... they can be a nightmare! I found myself switching back and forth from standard keypads to virtual/HW qwerty, but I feel more at home with something qwerty.

[gavrilaeugen]

give a phone to an high school kid end u will the speed of sending an sms , omnia only 24 fps HD ... better 30 fps ? no lens cover

[PoetryRocksAlot]

Steve, the optical zoom utilization of the pixels is an exact proof as to why each megapixel matters. I'm tired of hearing everyone say that megapixels don't really matter.

[QDogg]

I agree with you OmniaHD comments. New name is dumb, I just say OmniaHD. I hope Samsung will continue to support this device as it's great! The screen is awesome and the quality for vids and pics are great. If you're in the US, nobody will have this phone. Only thing I will say is that since the phone is still in its infancy, you have to be a "techie" to hack and allow for Nokia unsigned apps. Hopefully we'll get to see more apps in the future.

[madluko]

I could never go back to life without qwerty and i think i will be sticking with physical keyboards. With this in mind with you be reviewing the Omnia Pro? Its going to take something special to make me give up my E71 which i bought after spending 2 weeks with a HTC touch diamond.

[the2gun]

what's your best phone so far ?? be honest please : D

[PoetryRocksAlot]

Touch Pro2

[PoetryRocksAlot]

the 3.5 mm issue is my biggest issue with HTC...

[robsutherland]

i love the qwerty on my iphone would really struggle to go bag to a numeric key pad for typing text

[joeratti]

only solution i can come up with on the qwerty situation is dont be a dickhead who has made his phone a lifeline, or how about just call that person and tell him you response.

[ichi1082]

whats wrong with the audio from 05:10 oO

[gbtidi]

It goes mono into the left speaker.

[stevelitchfield]

Ah yes. Guilty as charged. I'd meant to resample that bit to mono and forgot. It wasn't obvious on my Mac that is was all left channel. ooops.

[gbtidi]

It seems to only occur when you cut from "in studio footage" (using the term 'studio' rather loosely =vD ) to "example footage" from the N86. I first noticed it during your excellent video comparing N86/3GS video-recording. It can't just be the N86 footage though: don't you use an N86 to shoot the show?

[stevelitchfield]

It's only that I'm using a wierd set up to record voice-overs.... 8-)

[Tonisyy]

Glad you finaly got it upploaded ! great show as always.