The Samsung i8910 HD (or Omnia HD, depending on your region and personal preference) has one of the most dazzling AMOLED displays ever offered on a mobile device -- but the phone's understated, muted gray case belies the visual delight that waits just a button press away. The obvious solution? Draw a ring of bright, shiny gold around the display, of course, which is exactly the angle Sammy's run with in the announcement of its i8910 HD Gold Edition today. Available in two colors -- the equally hedonistic Champagne Gold and Luxury Brown -- the phone includes a TV-out cable and cradle in the box, meaning that you're paying for more than just some faux precious metal plating. Other specs remain the same from the original, which makes it easy for Samsung to get this one out quickly; it'll be available this month in "selected markets" including Singapore, Germany, and the Middle East.

What do you do when you're unhappy with a product you've bought? Return it? Complain on an online forum? Write to the company? Well, for one Mr. Panashe Ngwerume, the answer's a little more complicated than that. You see, this particular gentleman was so incensed by the Samsung i8910 HD's problems and lack of continued development that he felt compelled to write a 25-page -- yes, 25-page -- report detailing the issues and proposed solutions. Unfortunately for Ngwerume and other i8910 HD buyers, Samsung seems to have effectively abandoned Symbian in favor of Android, Windows Mobile, and the company's own bada, but the report suggests that Samsung throw the phone and its firmware to the hacker community for further development, possibly on Maemo or bada. Knowing what we know of giant, global firms like Samsung, the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this Nobel-worthy work were probably for naught, but it makes for a riveting read and a great rallying point for i8910 owners around the world.

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Monday, September 7, 2009:

• Samsung's got a version of the Jet for its domestic Korean market, the clumsily-named "Haptic AMOLED." Unlike its international cousin, the Haptic AMOLED packs a T-DMB tuner (as just about all Korean phones do) and it's available in spicy pink and white shades for the usual carriers SKT, KTF, and LGT.
• Did you know that AT&T used to have a stake in the Indian wireless market? Yeah, us neither, but they did prior to the Cingular merger -- and rumor has it they're looking to get back in by buying a chunk of state-owned operator BSNL, ostensibly because the market -- which is still in a heavy growth phase -- is seen as a powder keg waiting to explode.
• This one's been going around for a few days, and with the carrier's full-court press on Android, it makes total sense: the Bluetooth SIG is reporting that the Samsung T939 Behold2 for T-Mobile will feature "Google Mobile services," which would fit in with an earlier user agent profile leak. [Via Cell Phone Signal]
• There's a new Samsung i8910 HD firmware that's starting to hit some regions, and it's a good one -- it features an all-new 3D task switcher and a built-in weather forecast widget for TouchWiz. [Via PhoneArena]
• Surprise, surprise: Toshiba is relaunching the mighty TG01 with Windows Mobile 6.5 next month, a move that was fully expected all along. If anything, there'd be riots had this not happened.
• Sony Ericsson's Panel SDK for the X2 is now available, featuring new "Panelizer" tools to convert existing apps into panels in a few easy steps -- and starting in the next few days, devs will be able to submit their work for inclusion in the PlayNow arena.
• Vodafone has launched a range of eight new self-branded devices that'll be available in time for the holidays this year, and as usual, they're positioned squarely at the lower end of the market. Some of them like the E71 ripoff 1240 (pictured) are straight-up KIRFs, while others like the "Crystal" member of the 533 Catwalk Collection are trying to ooze fashion and style without killing the wad of cash stuffed in your pocket. Whether they've succeeded in doing that... well, that's another question altogether. [Via Unwired View]

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Monday, July 13th, 2009:

• Samsung has released a new firmware for its i8910HD that enabled AAC audio while recording HD video. The problem? Right now, only Italian firmwares seem to be eligible for the update, which comes through Samsung's PC Studio app. [Via Softpedia]
• Excellent music identification app Shazam is now available on the BlackBerry Storm. And let's be honest, Storm owners need all the entertainment they can get.
• In France, the Samsung S5230 Player One has been re-released in Zadig & Voltaire livery; we've never heard of 'em, but we bet it's a big, important fashion house somewhere. [Via Unwired View]
• NuevaSync recently launched its interesting push email service, which simply uses IMAP IDLE on the back end and Exchange ActiveSync to connect to your device (because as push goes, more devices support EAS than IMAP IDLE). [Via Smartphone Thoughts]
• GSM / CDMA dual-band versions of the HTC Snap and Touch Pro2 have been confirmed for launch on Telus, though dates and pricing haven't been given. [Via Smartphone Thoughts]

If watching the N97 crawl out of its Espoo-designed packaging just isn't enough for one day, how's about this? An unlocked Samsung OmniaHD (or i8910, if we're being proper) has found its way into the ever-loving hands of one mareskino, and he was kind enough to unbox the thing on video. Better still, the quality here is second to none, and we'd bet you'll be drooling by the end of it. If you're ready to prove us right / wrong, hop on past the break and mash play.

[Thanks, Curtis]

Say what you will about S60 5th Edition, but here's the thing -- of the smartphones in the news today, only one has a massive AMOLED display. Samsung's i8910 HD is almost irrefutably the baddest-ass S60 device ever produced and one of the most heavily-spec'd smartphones ever made for any platform, featuring the aforementioned 3.7-inch 640 x 360 capacitive touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera, an S60-specific implementation of TouchWiz with 3D enhancements, and HSUPA. Bottom line is that if this phone can't get you worked into a lather, S60 definitely isn't for you -- and lucky Brits now have the opportunity to make that gut check thanks to Orange's retail launch. You can grab it for a totally reasonable £97.50 (about $151) on a £35 per month plan, which seems like a pittance to pay for one of the monster handsets of 2009.

[Via All About Symbian]

Whether you call it OmniaHD, i8910 HD, or even "Timmy Tim" (hey, it could happen), Samsung's AMOLED--infused smartphone is a winner, if the fine lads at Phone Arena are to be believed. Points go to its HD video recording and playback, a surprisingly good battery life, and a form factor that's not too hard on the pocket, measuring in at just a wee bit taller and thicker than the HTC Touch HD. Not everything's sunshine and rainbows, though, as trying to use it in direct sunlight's a lost cause and the phone is a magnet for fingerprints. Still, those are pretty minor in comparison, and this is sounding more and more like a solid smartphone. Hit up the read link for a more thorough review, or after the break for the moving pictures version.

Rumors have been flying the past couple days that the OmniaHD is no more -- at least, not in name -- and it turns out that's partially true. We've received official word from Samsung that the S60-based superphone will be "selectively" renamed to "i8910 HD" in some countries "due to business issues." The spokesperson didn't expand on what those business issues were or what countries would get the name change, exactly, but let's be perfectly honest: this is one of those phones that could be called "Rotten Eggs in a Box" for all we care and we'd still line up to buy it at any price. Anyhow, Sammy says it'll still be using the Omnia name going forward for other products -- just not this one.

If those brand ambassadors are going to get their devices any time soon -- and they happened to be located stateside -- they'll be needing a little something we like to call an "FCC approval." Good news is that milestone has now been met, but the bad news is that the OmniaHD's only been passed with 1900MHz 3G as North American bands go -- a fact that we knew well before now, yes, but were hoping beyond hope would end up being tweaked by Sammy prior to launch. Any chance yet for an unbranded, unlocked version of this in 850 / 1900 flavor, guys? Come on, Nokia's doing it -- surely you've got the moxie in you?

The same slide from the very same Dutch dealer event that outed Samsung's supposed Android device had a gaggle of other goodies on it, too, though we don't know a lot about 'em -- but what we do know is that everything you see here is touch-enabled, two of the devices augment the touch with QWERTY slides, and it's all supposed to be released over the course of this year. That's a pretty amazing plan considering the caliber of hardware we seem to be looking at here, but then again, if any phone manufacturer has the resources and the stones to pull off a plan like that, it'd be Sammy. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit here is All About Phones' claim that Samsung has a Windows Mobile 6.5-powered version of the Omnia HD in the works -- and considering the perception that they'd abandoned WinMo for S60 with the flagship line, we can hear the sighs of relief out of Redmond all the way from here. Little is known about when or where we can expect any of this stuff, so we'll be keeping a close eye.

Most of us will have to wait a few months to get a crack at spending untold hundreds of dollars on Omnia HDs of our own, but for a lucky few -- fifty, to be exact -- the opportunity is just around the corner. Oh, and the phone is free, too. The catch? First off, you've got to convince Samsung you're special enough to get one of the rarefied prerelease units, then you've got to be an "Omnia HD Ambassador" -- that is, you've got to show the world why the phone is so freakin' awesome (and considering the dreamy specs, that shouldn't be too big of a challenge). The contest to be become an Ambassador runs through the 27th of the month, with winners announced in early April -- so polish your resume, comb your hair, and have a shot at it.

Alright, look, Samsung, this is excessive. All we want is one OmniaHD -- one, for cryin' out loud -- and here you go showing off your whole frickin' wall of 'em. We think the "!" shape these 3.7-inch OLEDs form is a particularly appropriate choice to represent the reaction the OmniaHD's display has garnered from passers-by this week.

Oh, and if you're curious, we count 97. Video after the break.

Just how the Samsung OmniaHD's video could reach directly from phone to TV screen was a bit of a mystery until the Engadget Spanish crew spotted the WMG100. Don't already own one of Samsung's high end sets with WiFi and DLNA built in? This dongle bridges the gap with all the necessary tech built in, pushing a max 480p (whether HD streaming to other devices from the OmniaHD will work is unknown) from its mini HDMI or component outputs for around €160 ($200), and is already available in Korea with a European debut planned for this spring. The idea that we'd ever get tired of watching that sweet AMOLED display is a bit of a reach, but just in case check out the gallery for some hands on pics.

Its TouchWiz implementation is still a little raw -- first time they've done this on S60, so we'll cut them some slack -- but otherwise, we're seriously stoked by everything we've seen of the OmniaHD this week. The display simply has to be seen to be believed, clocking in at a breathtaking 3.7 inches -- and we noticed that it has a rather uncanny capability for washing out any other display within striking distance. Check out this Memoir here, held side-by-side for comparison: taken alone, the thing has a gorgeous display, but it pales in comparison to that glorious AMOLED alongside (also notice how the already-large Memoir gets dwarfed by the OmniaHD's massive package). Despite its size, the phone was comfortable in the hand -- and even in its rickety pre-beta state, the firmware was really flying through crazy 3D transitions, so we're hopeful that this is going to be one of the most desirable phones of the year when it hits. Follow the break for a video tour of the interface!

Samsung's OmniaHD may have just been announced (and touched), but already it's seeing its first taste of critique. Russian site Mobile-Review had a chance to get said handset underneath its camera, and it also took the opportunity to blast out a few hard-to-interpret first impressions. Judging by images alone, we'd say this beauty has a lot going for it, but we tend to agree with the reviewer here in that Sammy may not move a lot of these to non-cellphone enthusiasts. You can check out a couple of shots after the break, but for a more extensive look at the phone itself, the UI and some machine-translated impressions, you know where to head.

[Via SamsungCentral]