Remember the Samsung Omnia HD tweaked device running Windows Phone 7? The device has surfaced again but this time at the ReMIX in France. MobileTechworld got a chance to play with the device and revealed some interesting facts. This prototype was tweaked to suit Windows Phone 7’s requirements, which means the stock Omnia HD processor and screen were swapped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and WVGA AMOLED panel.

The site has shot couple of videos that shows the device in action and in fact it does well to handle Windows Phone 7.

PS: Omnia HD users don’t get your hopes high about running WP7 on the device. This was a modified prototype created by Microsoft and not Samsung.

Source|Via

Here is another reason for Omnia HD users to switch to custom firmware instead of the official one. Modder Andy or famously known as HyperX has created HX-V4-Speed-SE firmware that runs 62 apps at one time. Of course, there’s little reason for you to fire up every application in your phone like this one but this feat shows Omnia HD and custom ROM can make a good pair. The new firmware also has 194MB of free RAM at start up, which is about 11 times more than the startup RAM in the original firmware.

The firmware is not available for download yet but you can keep a track on HyperX’s blog.

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Most of us assumed that Samsung might launch an Omnia HD twin with powerful specs to run WP7S. However, Samsung has come out to clear the air by saying that this phone is not an Omnia HD lookalike but Omnia HD itself. Microsoft created it for the demo.

“The launch was from Microsoft, not Samsung, and they used the i8910HD to demo Windows 7. It’s not yet clear whether existing i8910HD users will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 as this demo was a one-off,” said a Samsung spokeperson.

The spokesperson seem skeptical about Omnia HD’s Windows affiliation and it does look that the chances of an Omnia HD-like device running WP7S look slim. I feel it’s a good thing since sticking another OS with the same phone design looks a bit lazy on Samsung’s part.

Source [Thanks, Jacob!]

At the MIX developer conference yesterday, Microsoft was demoing its Windows Phone 7 Series where eagle-eyed viewers stumbled on this Samsung device. This unnamed device is a modified version of Symbian running Omnia HD and the only visible change is its center Windows button. We’re not sure if Samsung is eventually planning to sell this but if they do, the specs will definitely be upped as per Microsoft’s minimum spec requirement.

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Samsung might be about half a month late but they’ve finally released the impending Omnia HD update. The JB1 firmware is now available for download via PC Studio 7. The firmware brings kinetic scrolling but unfortunately only in some parts of the interface. Other reported improvements are faster web browser, camera settings and other bug fixes.

However, one biggest gripe found in the new firmware is that it leaves the system memory with just 17MB as opposed to around 30MB previously.

As like always, users are advised to backup their data first and update the firmware.

Latest I8910 HD (Omnia HD) firmware is scheduled to arrive this month but if you’re itching to know what’s more in addition to kinetic scrolling, check out this video. The guy managed to run an unreleased build of the firmware giving us a detailed 10-minute walkthrough. The update promises to give faster multimedia experience, improved webkit browser and more.

Samsung had confirmed the existence of kinetic scrolling in the next Omnia HD update on their Facebook page but now they’ve gone ahead revealing few more details, including the release time frame. UK Omnia HD users will be the first one to receive it in January 2010 with improvements touted to bring faster, smoother multimedia experience.

To be specific, the update will bring enhancements to the webkit browser, improved graphics engine to make multimedia accessibility faster and of course kinetic scrolling.

Users will be able to download the update via PC Studio 7. After UK, the update will be rolled out subsequently to other regions in due time.

Quick note to all using Symbian-based Omnia HD (I8910 HD) and Android-based Moment devices. Samsung’s official Facebook fan page confirmed that they’re working on a firmware update which will include the much needed kinetic scrolling. It’s not yet clear when will they release it but expect it sometime in Q1 2010.

As for Moment users, Sprint has announced to release the Android 2.1 (Flan) update instead of the earlier planned v2.0.1. The features are under wraps but the release date is slated for H1 2010.

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Heavy spenders take note, here’s a gadget in town craving for your attention. Samsung has announced a Gold Edition of its power packed I8910 HD (Omnia HD) that is inlayed with gold and bundles special accessories.

The Omnia HD Gold Edition comes in two choices of colors – Champagne Gold and Luxury Gold and has a 24k gold inlay to give that premium touch. On the accessories side, a user buying the Gold Edition will get a leather case, mini-cradle and a TV-Out cable.

Omnia HD specs remain same though. It features a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, HSPA, Symbian S60 OS v5, A-GPS, 8MP camera with 720p HD video recording support, 16GB internal memory and microSD card slot.

The price is unknown at the moment but will be released this month in Singapore, Germany and Middle East.

Own a Samsung touchscreen equipped phone? Use an Airtel connection? If you answered yes to both the questions, there’s some good news for you. Airtel is offering three months of free data usage up to 100MB on Samsung phones. The phones include Corby S3653, Star (S5233), StarW, S5603, F480 and i8910. To activate, send an SMS to “my data” (without the quotes) to 543210.

[Via| Thanks, Ashish!]