Samsung Omnia on AT&T! - Page 4

Apollon · 08-29-2008, 09:37 AM

Superguy i don't think that Defacto's post even deserved an aswer...it's most moronic, retarded post from a clueless person, making a salad of terminologies. As a computers, network/communications engineer myself I can say that I think anyone with a bare minimum amount of knowledge about wireless protocols would see how retarded is what he posted.

Apollon · 08-29-2008, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naes007

hello everone,
I just purchased an omnia and am using it on at&t. I can confirm what defacto has posted about the box saying that it supports Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900MHz. Does this help?

naes if you had read carefuly my posts in the beginning of the thread you'd know it doesn't...Those posts explain about the stuff you're confused about. I have the Omnia and that box you mention right here too. I'll explain it again: The quad band frequency range you're referring to is GSM, it has nothing to do with data connection and 3G speeds. HSDPA and HSDPA+ data is transfered via UMTS (WCDMA) and as that box clearly states - i900 Omnia supports WCDMA 2100 only. Do not confuse voice and data transfer protocols.

P.S. I have contacted FCC regarding those rumors about UMTS 2100 frequency approval for USA carriers and just received an official response the rumors are false - at present time there are no plans to utilize UMTS 2100 in the United States.

pidsw · 08-31-2008, 01:03 PM

The big unanswered question is this: Did Samsung design two different radios for the two markets or are they just going to provide different firmware?

The i908 Radio Firmware works on the i900 Hardware (but then, as I understant it, the bands are pretty much the same)
Will the i907 Radio use different hardware than the i900? Historically*, the most common difference between North American models and others is:
A) the removal of a front facing camera on North American models
B) Occasionally CDMA versions are built with quite different hardware for Sprint, Verizon, Bell and Telus.

* This may only be the case for Qualcomm HTC phones. My Omnia i900 is the first Samsung phone that I have owned.

My guess is that we will find an answer to this in the near future.

etaraz · 09-01-2008, 02:49 PM

What I can tell from the FCC files for the i-900 Internal Photos at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout =500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=476604&fcc_i d='A3LSGHI900 is that Samsung is using a Qualcomm RTR6285 for it radio which according to Qualcomm:
"Support for Eight UMTS Bands, Four EGPRS Bands, Triple-Band Receive Diversity and GPS Integrated into Power-Optimized RTR6285 Device" Qualcomm News and Events - Qualcomm Announces World’s First Single-Chip, RF CMOS UMTS Transceiver with Integrated Receive Diversity and GPS.
So I think that it will be a matter of firmaware update to have it working on any UMTS.
I hope this helps, based on this I went ahead a bought my Omnia! Can't wait to have it!!

Superguy · 09-01-2008, 03:26 PM

I remember hearing that the Omnia used a software defined radio. If someone could come up with a way to flash the chip to allow for US 3G along with quad band GSM, this is probably the first phone I'd buy unlocked.

As much as I like this phone, lack of US 3G is a deal breaker for me.

miro · 09-01-2008, 04:34 PM

I can't imagine Samsung would release this phone in the US (presumably with AT&T) without a 3G radio. What would even be the point?

Omnia users, how's the performance of the phone been? There was a 45-minute hands-on posted over on Gizmodo and the editor basically trashed the phone for 45 minutes, saying it fails to be an iPhone killer, crashed constantly, horrible performance, widget interface was gimmicky and performed horribly, etc. I've read other reviews (from mobile tech sites, not general tech sites like Gizmodo) that love the phone. I'm wondering if the Giz editor was using a phone with an older rom or something.

pidsw · 09-02-2008, 08:59 PM

That is great news regarding the chipset. Thanks for the link.
All phones have radio hardware and software. Some do more in the hardware, others do more in the software.
My guess is that within a month or two we will have a ROM that enables 3G for the ATT network. My guess is that someone will reverse engineer an I907 official or leaked ROM.
To date, I can't think of any phone that has created separate Hardware Radio Chipsets for different markets _other_ than GSM vs CDMA.
The US versions typically do not have a front mounted camera, but other than that there is usually no difference. Chip design is expensive - once the chip is designed and fab processes are built the costs are relatively low. Doing two chip designs that are almost identical would not make a lot of sense financially.
However, disabling parts via firmware is cheap, furthermore it allows people to release phones withing finishing localising and testing firmware for all of hte markets at once.

As to performance, with the latest Roms (HH1 PDA/HH3 Radio) the performance is great and stability is wonderful. The reception is the best that I have seen, the battery life is incredible. The camera is also very nice. Aside from the 3G (ironically, my edge connection is faster for things like email on ATT than it has been on the Iphone 3g, the Kaiser and the Athena, but I suspect that this is due to ATT and the fact that the Samsung is a much newer phone than the others)

All in All this is the best phone that I have had so far.

Defacto · 09-03-2008, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollon

naes if you had read carefuly my posts in the beginning of the thread you'd know it doesn't...Those posts explain about the stuff you're confused about. I have the Omnia and that box you mention right here too. I'll explain it again: The quad band frequency range you're referring to is GSM, it has nothing to do with data connection and 3G speeds. HSDPA and HSDPA+ data is transfered via UMTS (WCDMA) and as that box clearly states - i900 Omnia supports WCDMA 2100 only. Do not confuse voice and data transfer protocols.

P.S. I have contacted FCC regarding those rumors about UMTS 2100 frequency approval for USA carriers and just received an official response the rumors are false - at present time there are no plans to utilize UMTS 2100 in the United States.

Apollonia now you sound like the idiot. "Voice and data transfer protocols?" It's all data in a UMTS environment you doofus. Voice and data are transmitted the same way in a UMTS network. Its not as if your voice goes over one frequency and data another.

The radio chipset in the Omnia supports 3G in the US on at&t and T-Mobile. The Samsung Omnia i900 firmware does not. The software can be altered to provide US 3G and the hardware WILL support it. This seems to be a hard concept for you to understand.

I can't believe you would think that Samsung or any other manufacturer would actually use different GSM radio chipsets for each and every GSM carrier or region of the world. Chances are all of the Omnia versions will come off of the same factory assembly line whether it is a i900 or i907 with the same core components.

You're so caught up in the forest you can't see the trees.

Apollon · 09-04-2008, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Defacto

Apollonia now you sound like the idiot. "Voice and data transfer protocols?" It's all data in a UMTS environment you doofus. Voice and data are transmitted the same way in a UMTS network. Its not as if your voice goes over one frequency and data another.

The radio chipset in the Omnia supports 3G in the US on at&t and T-Mobile. The Samsung Omnia i900 firmware does not. The software can be altered to provide US 3G and the hardware WILL support it. This seems to be a hard concept for you to understand.

I can't believe you would think that Samsung or any other manufacturer would actually use different GSM radio chipsets for each and every GSM carrier or region of the world. Chances are all of the Omnia versions will come off of the same factory assembly line whether it is a i900 or i907 with the same core components.

You're so caught up in the forest you can't see the trees.

Defecto you imbecile - normally I would suggest to a person to go read wiki or some neworking manual to get educated, but judging from your posts i'm fairly certain you just dont have the capacity to learn. "Its not as if your voice goes over one frequency and data another."? You moron! It's EXACTLY how it works in ALL countries in the world, besides Japan, which does not use GSM at all and uses UMTS for both - voice calling and data transfers. Sure, voice is data as well, but it's a different type of data and despite what you think (I actually doubt you're capable of thinking...) it is transfered via different technology. Sure sometimes voice and data frequencies can overlap and be the same - like in USA case, where UMTS 1900 is used for 3G data, and one of the available GSM bands, used for voice, happens to be 1900 as well, but that's just coincidence.
I advise everyone who reads these post to ignore Defecto's blunt comments in order not to get confused- he's one of those wannabees who stuff up on tech terms to look cool, without the real subject knowledge or learning capacity

miro · 09-04-2008, 07:06 PM

Just saw this. It might shed some light...

Electronista | New Samsung Omnia variants enroute

Apollon · 09-05-2008, 09:50 AM

miro thanks for the link. CDMA support is great news. Personally, I've wanted to switch to Verizon for a while now, since AT&T has no reception at my workplace...
As for the doubts - I don't think there are any doubts left - the i900's radio chip supports UMTS 850/1900, and it is a software limitation only, embedded in the firmware. etaraz did a great job of identifying the radio chip from internal photos from FCC site (see his post above), something I personally overlooked and it's indeed Qualcomm RTR6285 - it's good news for all i900 north american owners, because this radio is very much capable and it's a matter of dumping & reversing the firmware and releasing cooked ROM with the unlocked missing UMTS frequencies.

miro · 09-06-2008, 05:16 PM

Well if the phone is 3G ready and it's just a matter of firmware, I would imagine Samsung would release it in the US with 3g enabled. It just doesn't make sense business-wise for them to release a phone like this in the US without 3G. But yeah, otherwise, hello cooked ROMs!

cpa · 09-08-2008, 12:26 PM

Looks like everyone at xda-developers is having trouble reflashing the ROM and losing the Radio software in the process. No word of a Radio to do 3G at 900 & 1900 Htz!!!!!

Need English ROM for Samsung Omnia SGH-i900/i908 - xda-developers

Defacto · 09-09-2008, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpa

Looks like everyone at xda-developers is having trouble reflashing the ROM and losing the Radio software in the process. No word of a Radio to do 3G at 900 & 1900 Htz!!!!!

Need English ROM for Samsung Omnia SGH-i900/i908 - xda-developers

Miro, thanks for the link, that's a great thread. The good news is that there is an official Samsung (although leaked) version of the DXHH1 ROM available at i900DXHH1.7zip.exe.

There is a great thread regarding the new firmware and peoples experience upgrading to it at The OFFICIAL Samsung i900 Omnia DXHH1 update: LEAKED! - MoDaCo.

Defacto · 09-09-2008, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollon

miro thanks for the link. CDMA support is great news. Personally, I've wanted to switch to Verizon for a while now, since AT&T has no reception at my workplace...
As for the doubts - I don't think there are any doubts left - the i900's radio chip supports UMTS 850/1900, and it is a software limitation only, embedded in the firmware. etaraz did a great job of identifying the radio chip from internal photos from FCC site (see his post above), something I personally overlooked and it's indeed Qualcomm RTR6285 - it's good news for all i900 north american owners, because this radio is very much capable and it's a matter of dumping & reversing the firmware and releasing cooked ROM with the unlocked missing UMTS frequencies.

Isn't this what I told you umteen posts ago:

August 13 "The radio in the Omnia can be tweaked to support 3G in the US on at&t. Support is contingent on the software ROM. Nothing in the hardware needs to change for this support. To date there has not been a ROM released on the Omnia that would allow for 3G support on at&t Mobile that I am aware of, but that may change shortly."

If you are going to quote me, please give credit where it is due.

philophob · 09-12-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superguy

I remember hearing that the Omnia used a software defined radio. If someone could come up with a way to flash the chip to allow for US 3G along with quad band GSM, this is probably the first phone I'd buy unlocked.

As much as I like this phone, lack of US 3G is a deal breaker for me.

I think I saw the similar posting somewhere too.
I read a posting where people were experimenting with different versions of radio roms on i900 and reporting the battery drainage and etc etc with different radio rom.
It was Modaco or Modoco i900 forums, can't remember the exact name.
Well, I sure do hope that i900 can be tweaked to be able to use US 3G service.

miro · 09-16-2008, 11:35 PM

Here's some interesting news...

AT&T's version of the Samsung Omnia actually the "Mirage," coming next month? - Engadget Mobile

rickrossin · 09-18-2008, 04:17 PM

I hope that is true. There was been reports linking it to the blackjack and stuff. I just hope the phone releases with everything and nothing is removed. I guess I will find out when it releases.