The Nokia 5800 Gets An Upgrade AGAIN!

 

Now this is really upgrade madness. First it was my Galaxy, then my HD2 and now my trusty 5800 Xpressmusic get's an update too!

I'm pretty happy at the support this unit is getting even after 2 years!

The new software is 52.0.007 and according to Daily Mobile http://forum.dailymobile.se/index.php?topic=35526.msg420111#msg420111

The changes include upgrade in CPU performance, improvements in touch screen and wifi etc.

Will give feedback later.

Decisions Decisions......

Confusion time again...

I have just about had it trying to find a workaround for Windows Mobile 6.5s refusal to synchronize with Outlook 2010 64 bit on my Windows 7 64 bit setup. It's particularly maddening when an alien system like the Android can do it with ease.

SO I have come to the conclusion that my HD2 will have to be relegated to minor duty for my hobby related line when my second Sun Elite line goes online next month.

Why the confusion?

Because I need to choose between several phones again:

HTC Desire HD late this year or the "mythical" Samsung Nexus?





Not considering any other OS at this point. For a while I flirted with the possibility of getting an Iphone 4 but it seemed to be a demotion to me when I could go and get a Nokia N8 AND a 2nd hand Sony X10 for the same price.

Because it is an immediate requirement, I am also looking at the Desire Z, a second Desire or a Nexus One.

 


Right now I am beginning to lean towards the Nexus because it gets the Android updates first.


It would also be extremely extravagant to get another high end phone like the Desire HD. Besides I am still wary about the battery life.

I have to promise myself to lay low after this  acquisition so I can concentrate on the other stuff I need.

Thankfully an Ipad or Galaxy Tab is not on my list .... yet

Tis The Season For Upgrades ! HTC HD2 Software UPGRADE

Tis The Season For Upgrades ! HTC HD2 Software UPGRADE

I was certainly caught off guard by another pleasant surprise on the heels of my Samsung Galaxy S software update.

I decided to surf the HTC site to check on why the Desire HD was pulled from the local distros site and to see if there was a Sense update for my Desire. Imagine my surprise when I saw Software Update for the HD2 on my screen. I had to check the date to make sure it was not an archived update. Xmas is coming early to the mobile phone scene.

All we need now is a Desire HD, a Nexus 2 and a Canon EOS 7D and it would be a blissful Xmas.

Anyway I certainly cannot resist an upgrade so I downloaded it but since it was a 200mb file and it was a bit late, I decided to sleep and upgrade in the morning.

I just updated it and here are a couple of observations:

• The update is from 1.66.707.1 to 3.14.707.3 (big jump)
  
• It's not 6.5.3, or at least my start button is still on top, not that I mind
  
• Phone is noticeably faster
  
• Phone is notably warmer too
  

I normally use Cookies Home Tab, now in version 2.0 so I will install it later. I hope that there is no incompatibility.

Just sharing the good news, so if you want to upgrade your Asian HD2, here is the link:

http://www.htc.com/sea/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=1063&news_id=809

 

Froyo Update Is HERE!

FINALLY! After months of waiting, it seems that the Froyo update from Samsung has arrived for Philippine Users, most notably, Globe subscribers like myself.

I had already decided not to wait and just update my phone directly using Odin so I was checking the forums today for the best firmware to use. Then, a few minutes ago, I decided to surf a local Samsung user group and saw the announcement by a member that the update was online!

I thought it might be another false alarm but decided to fire up KIES anyway and to my surprise, it was offering to upgrade my unit.

SO I am currently upgrading my Galaxy S and I am pretty much excited to see how it will compare to the Froyo on my Desire.

I'll post my feedback on the upgrades later.

THANK YOU Samsung. I sincerely hope that the 2.3 update and the Gingerbread might happen a bit faster in the future.

Perhaps there is room in my future for a Nexus 2 J

Samsung Philippines Froyo Update – Vaporware?

 

The community of Samsung Galaxy S owners in the Philippines have been waiting for a long time for the Froyo update of their handsets.

There is a large user group of Galaxy S owners in the Philippines and most, if not all, have paid PREMIUM prices for their handsets. Yet despite this support and enthusiasm of users, they are being left out in the cold by Samsung.

This is very disappointing because it shows how little Samsung thinks about the Philippine market and it is a move that has made me rethink whether I will still get another Samsung phone in the future.

I hope that Samsung Philippines can see it fit to post an explanation to Galaxy S owners here because if they don't, I will not be surprised to see their forthcoming Galaxy Tab, fall flat on its face.

So if you have not bought a Galaxy S yet, wait a while, or better yet, buy the HTC Desire which is back in stock or spring for the HTC Desire Z. I have both the Galaxy S and the Desire and I can tell you that the Desire is a much better phone overall than the Galaxy S. And this is without taking the customer support into consideration.

Sorry Samsung, but you're shooting yourself in the foot.

Update On The Sun Twitter Team Reply To Sun Broadband 3 Mbps Concern

The Sun Cellular Twitter Team responded with the usual speed and despite the tone of this post, I am impressed with their service. However this does not hold the same for the Technical Group which appears to be unaware of the network issues.


Below is their reply to me via DM:


On Friday 12th November 2010, @suncelltweets said:
d cyberwiz Hi Sir. Thank you for patiently waiting for our reply. We really appreciate the time you took to bring up your concern. However, as checked with the Technical group, it was found out that your account is working fine in the system and no technical concern has been established so far. Coverage on the mentioned locations are within acceptable range as reflected in the remote trace conducted last night of Nov. 10. Serving site is also up, catering traffic and no noted activities.

Please be informed that 3 Mbps is the maximum allowed bandwidth for a 1399 subscription. Network bandwidth though, is a shared resource among all subscribers. As this service is mobile, the number of users varies and expected to increase during peak hours.

SBW speed is implemented for all users to have a balanced usage of the service and control policies are implemented to avoid high usage (as stated in the fair usage policy).

Your understanding regarding this matter is highly appreciated. Just let us know if you have any further concerns. Thank you.

********************************************

I ASK THE TECHNICAL GROUP, LOOK AT THE SPEEDTESTS BELOW!

Fair use??? One modem was the P649 plan , while the other was the P1,399. My complaint since nearly a year ago, was that the 649 was FASTER than the 1399, and that is still the case today.

I will be relaying this post to the Twitter team anew, to see how they would handle the matter. I hope that a more authoritative and knowledgeable technical team can take over in order to match the capabilities of their Twitter Customer Relations Team

Look the at speeds below, the first three are for the 1,399 while the last three are for the 649.

3 MBPS PLAN - P1,399

2 MBPS PLAN - P649

My New Sun Elite Plan And Kudos To The Sun Cellular Twitter Team

Regular readers of this blog are probably used to my rants about Sun Cellular and the ordeal I have been going  through with my Sun Broadband Wireless 3 MBPS Plan. It's still ongoing and I posted earlier, a link to the current status hoping that the same Twitter Team can resolve it as competently as they did with my Elite plan.

I upgraded our Plan 1000 to the Sun Elite P1,500 plan about a month ago. This was prompted by the insistence of my HTC Desire (and myself) to log on to the net in order to be constantly in touch via email, Facebook and Twitter. Regular readers might also remember that I am embarking on developing a new skill which is social media consultant, so my training is underway and a fast connection is definitely a big asset to me.

So the Sun Elite Plan comes with Call and Surf, Unlimited Internet and a Suntel Landline, all in one sim! You can imagine the load it is putting on my Desire with it's wimpy battery, but such is the price of being perennially connected. In its first week alone, I turned into an avid fan of a 3 in 1 sim. There are other variants depending on your needs, you can have just any two of the services above which would leave you some consumable amount for your communication with other networks.

Anyway, after the initial euphoria had settled, I realized that the internet was running a bit slow, actually that's a gross understatement because despite a strong HSDPA connection, I was getting 260kbps in Speedtest. Definitely unacceptable. I though maybe it was the phone so I benchmarked my Sun Broadband Wireless 650 account which was loaded in a USB modem, the E160. I have always been happy with this particular plan which puts my 3 MBPS to shame, despite costing twice as much. So this modem/sim combo promptly registered speeds in the 1.10 mbps, pretty much par.

Then I tried my Elite sim and it registered a lackluster 400kbps! That was actually the highest figure I got. The rest were pretty pathetic. This development promptly ended my honeymoon with the Elite plan and I was seething over having to pay so much for slow internet service AGAIN.

Then I came upon "the official Twitter account of Sun Cellular Customer Relationship Management Team" at
http://twitter.com/suncelltweets

Figured I had nothing to lose so I send a tweet their way, sharing my disappointment and expected nothing in reply. ZMuch to my surprise, in 24 hours I received a reply asking for my Sun Elite number!

Feeling a wave of hope, I promptly sent my number to them, keeping my fingers crossed...

Then what do you know...within 24 hours again I received a direct message from them informing me that the matter was resolved and that I should now remove and reinsert my sim to rety the internet.

At this point, I have to say that I was still skeptical because of my ongoing saga with my 3 MBPS account where I was promised resolution of my problem dozens of times, only to be disappointed.

So I started up my Desire and surfed on over to Speedtest. The very first test went all the way to 1.2 mbps! The second and third were all above 1 mbps. I was surprised and my faith in Sun Cellular is experiencing a renewal.

I tweeted them right away, expressing my gratitude. Then I asked another question about upgrading our 600 line to call and surf. Within 24 hours again, I got my reply. VERY IMPRESSIVE.

So I am now on my second honeymoon with my Sun Elite. Once again , my HTC Desire is getting a massive battery workout on a daily basis. Now I feel I am getting my moneys worth and I look forward to being able to say the same thing about my 3 MBPS plan.

I will be tweeting them now with my concern, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that FINALLY after almost a year of waiting, I can finally enjoy what is supposed to be my fastest wireless internet service.

So to the Sun Cell Twitter Team, THANK YOU VERY MUCH and I hope that you will be able to maintain this extremely competent and high quality customer care.

The Sun Broadband Wireless 3 MBPS Saga - is the end near?

For almost a year now, I have been calling the Sun Customer service about the pathetic speeds of my Sun Broadband 3 Mbps Wireless Internet. I even changed the sim at my expense just to try and solve the problem.

BUT TO NO AVAIL.

I have yet to enjoy the true speed of Suns 3 MBPS because I have not even exceeded 2 MBPS. They cannot even pull the "fair use policy" on me because I have a wired 3 MBPS PLDT MyDSL at home and I only use the Sun when I am out on a client call which is extremely rare, or on weekends for my kids.

Anyway, I had a very pleasant experience with the Sun Twitter team, where my concern about my Elite plan was attended to, and resolved within 24 hours. Hence I am looking forward to getting the same quick and competent resolution from them.

I am posting below the Speedtests from today which is representative of the speeds I get from my 3 MBPS which is basically what I get from my Plan 650 SBW. So I am paying 1399 for 650 speeds, something I have been doing for nearly 1 year.

I hope that the next Speedtest I will show here, will finally symbolize the end of this saga because I am truly tired of calling and complaining, My hopes are high that the Sun Twitter Team will deliver again, so stay posted. I will update this blog with the results.

Impatiently waiting for the Galaxy S Froyo update and other thoughts

I've spent the better part of a month waiting for the Galaxy S Froyo update. Despite having installed different firmwares on my Samsung Omnia 2, I felt that I should not go out of my way to make up for the shortcomings of Samsung in posting updates.
I still like the Galaxy S, and I can't think of any phone that will takes its place as my primary phone for Globe. However, if I had to choose only one phone today, it would still be my HTC Desire. Perhaps this is why I am a bit impatient about the Galaxy Froyo update, after all, the first thing I did upon getting my Desire was to update it to Froyo 2.2.
The new date for the worldwide Froyo 2.2 update for Samsung Galaxy S is November 11 so let's wait and see what will happen then.
In the meantime, I am currently on the lookout for a new phone so I can maintain 3 primary phones covering all the networks.
I already have Sun and Globe. All I am waiting for is an appropriate phone for Smart. Right now, my inclination is to use the Galaxy S for Smart and get a new phone for Globe. I considered the Iphone 4 but unless my work requires that I get an Iphone, I would much prefer to get the Desire HD. Windows 7 is also under consideration like the HTC HD7, but I am a very happy Android user right now and unless Windows 7 proves at the very least, equal to Android, I don't see a Windows 7 phone in my future.