Samsung Omnia W receives 2nd WP7.8 Update (7.10.8862.144)

After reading news about Microsoft seeding WP7.8 to fix Live Tiles issue, I immediately connected my phone to Zune to check update. And Surprise! There was update available message displayed on Zune without any internet disconnection method needed this time.

Zune displayed that new update 7.10.8860.142 is available for my Omnia W. Before checking for update I had only put my phone to Airplane mode to disable all wireless connection like 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth. Later I followed instructions on Zune to complete the first update.

After first update was complete, another update available message was displayed. 2^nd update 7.10.8862.144 was downloaded and installed.

I hope Live Tiles issue is fixed with this update. AccuWeather, NDTV and ESPNCricinfo apps live tiles seem to be working. But we need to check more if any more issues are not present.

OS Version: 7.10.8862.144
Firmware revision number: 2424.12.04.3
Hardware revision number: 23.15.0.8
Radio software version: 0424.12.3.1
Radio hardware version: 0.0.0.900
Bootloader version: 6.4.25.0
Chip SOC version: 0.74.2.1

So only OS Version number is changed, when compared to previous update.

Given below are the screenshots for upgrade process done on 15 March 2013.

 

Nokia Lumia WP8 Comparison from 520 to 920

To all of you who are looking to purchase Nokia’s WP8 Lumia lineup, here is my attempt to summarize the features offered by Nokia Lumias 520 to 920. I have taken data “as available” from www.gsmarena.com website which lists all specifications of these hansdsets.

If you look at the feature comparison, no doubt Lumia 920 is best handset available. If somebody is looking for handset with 4G/LTE support, 920 and 820 are best options available. If you want to store more data in form of songs or movies, 820 or 720 are best options as both of these support external memory card, which is not available in 920. For entry level phones, for anybody to try (at cheap price) WP8, 620 and 520 are also good options. But 520 and 620 doesn’t support Wireless charging, and these phones don’t have mention of Carl Zeiss lens for camera.

So if you are planning to purchase Nokia Lumia WP8 handset, I hope my chart is useful :)

Nokia Corp. WP apps for Non-Nokia Windows Phones

Today when I visited Windows Market Place on my Samsung Omnia W, I was surprised to see “Nokia Corp.” apps listed. 3 apps Nokia Pulse Beta, Nokia Phone Recycler and Saving calculator are listed. I am not sure when Nokia Corp apps were added in Windows Marketplace. Besides I didn’t find any of these app really exciting. It would have been better if Nokia release their apps like Maps or Transport for all Windows Phone (even if paid version), then many WP users would go for this apps.

I was able to download and install Nokia Pulse Beta app successfully.

 
Link for Nokia Corp apps on Windows Phone Marketplace. 

Prasar Bharti planning for Doordarshan English News Channel

Doordarshan (DD), India's national broadcaster is facing stiff competition from private broadcasters in Entertainment, Sports and News broadcasting. Even after several attempts DD hasn’t got right formula to provide pace to its GEC channel DD1 or DD National. Its only benefit is that their channels have wider reach through Terrestrial, DTH broadcasts.

After recent attempts of giving facelift to its GEC and News channels, now there is possibility that Prasar Bharti may split its current bilingual News channel “DD News” into 2 channels – Hindi and English language. DD News will be Hindi only channel, while another dedicated English Channel would be launched.

Further proposal is that English News channel could be scaled up for International launch. Though the proposal to set up an English news channel is still on paper it is known that Prasar Bharti has already decided to revamp the content of DD India, its international channel, with news in English, entertainment programmes and widen its reach across the world, with Africa being the first destination where it plans to enter.

With 17 years having passed since its operation DD India is still not available in most countries due to lack of satellite footprint and distribution problems. The Prasar Bharati now plans to enter into agreements with foreign DTH players and explore platforms like IPTV and webcasting to address these issues.

Source:
New English channel on proposal : Prasar Bharati
Prasar Bharati plans to launch a dedicated English channel

Steps for Windows Phone 7.8 Update on Samsung Omnia W

Finally I was able to update my Samsung Omnia W to latest Windows Phone release WP7.8. Thanks to these 2 links (Source 1 and Source 2), I was able to update my Samsung Omnia W to WP7.8.

As mentioned in links, I followed the process of disconnecting and reconnecting network cable several times. After several attempts I was able to upgrade to WP7.8.

I will mention steps again-

1.     Turn phone to Airplane mode to disconnect all network (Cellular/WiFi).

2.     Connect Phone to PC using USB cable and start Zune.

3.     Go to Settings > Phone > Update.

4.     If it displays that your phone is having latest update, go to some other option in setting.

5.     Now be prepared to disconnect your internet in 1-2 (or 3) seconds.

6.     Click again on “Update” and in 1 or 2 or 3 seconds disconnect internet of your PC by pulling off network cable, or turning off WiFi.

7.     If successful (may take several attempts), Phone will display update available. I got 3 Updates as mentioned below before I got latest update.

7.10.8779.8.

7.10.8783.12.

7.10.8558.136 (This is latest Update of WP7.8).

I had to follow steps of disconnecting cable for all above mentioned updates. It took 2-3 hours for me till I got all updates, so patience is needed to try for several attempts.

Although as mentioned in 1 link above, I dint get any update from Samsung. May be Samsung would send their updates later.

I am able to resize my tiles, and new accent colours available, and also able to set Bing as Lock Wallpaper.
 

Now I have below versions in my phone-

OS Version: 7.10.8858.136

Firmware revision number: 2424.12.04.3

Hardware revision number: 23.15.0.8

Radio software version: 0424.12.3.1

Radio hardware version: 0.0.0.900

Bootloader version: 6.4.25.0

Chip SOC version: 0.74.2.1

Good Luck!!! (Try at your risk)