Samsung Moment gets a firmware update, convenience not included
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 15th 2010 2:09PM
posted January 15th 2010 2:09PM
Taking your phone into a service center for a firmware update is so 1999, but Samsung apparently didn't get the memo, because Sprint just announced that you'll need to head into one of the carrier's stores with a repair facility to get your Moment re-upped. Of course, the good news here is that the Moment's getting an update, period -- it improves AGPS and battery life, among other things -- but the bad news is that it bucks Android's trend of magically updating over thin air and doesn't include the promised 2.1 core. Presumably that stuff is yet to come, and happily, Sprint says that "the ability to download the update directly on your Moment will be available in the near future." Let's just pray this is the first and last time you need to put on pants and leave the house this year.
wow, that's kinda lame. At least put it online and let people instal through SD. Can't be that hard right?
I wonder if this means I have to put the stock kernel back on?
@HotBBQ
I assume they will be doing a full flash so you're likely ok just to take it in as is.
Is Samsung ran by Monkeys in suits that have keyboard training?
Sad part is, on the Android Forums only about 3 people have been able to find a Sprint store that's got both techs clued-in enough to know that this update exists and then able to put it on their handsets. I want the aGPS update badly but it doesn't look like I'll be able to get it anytime soon.
Same thing here in S.W. Florida. None of the Sprint stores know anything at all about this update, not even their techs. Perhaps Sprint should include their employees on their much-touted "Now" network so that they, too, can be in the here and now with the latest of what's going on in their own company. What does this say about Sprint's own communication infrastructure?
And now for a bit of follow-up...
My g/f is the one who put me onto the update (and this article in particular.) So when I contacted Sprint, they initially denied all knowledge of the update. I then went to the support side of their web site and found the update listed there.
At this point, Sprint reps do not know ANY of the following:
1. This update exists in the first place.
2. That it cannot be done OTA.
3. Whether they even have the update available to them at store level.
I mean, I know "all carriers suck" but c'mon, Sprint. You're not some brand new, off-the-boat freshly minted company. Seriously, get your s**t together here.
that's funny! Makes me appreciate webos even more!
Well, now that I have to wait until next week sometime when they will (hopefully) have the update, I decided to hard reset the phone and try out the GPS function and use Google Maps.
And you'll never believe where it says I am located. I mean, Sprint's GPS isn't just a *little* bit off, it's actually complete garbage. Check out the following two images:
• http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/567/sprintgpszoomin.png
• http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/9213/sprintgpszoomout.png
(Oh, and for the record, I live in Florida.)
Stopped by a Sprint store in NJ and no one knew about the update there, either. How very frustrating.
mclark, my Moment almost always says I am in Montevideo, Uruguay, so I guess we won't be having lunch too soon :)
I live in southern CA.
Yaaa, I got this update installed yesterday at my local Sprint center here in Irvine CA. It took them an hour to do it, and the phone went back to it's original state (lost all my customization and apps) but now the GPS is working GREAT!
From my experience after going to four repair centers. The hardware keyboard's lag is fixed, the landscape keyboard lag is fixed, battery life is noticably better, the built in dictionary has dark background and light letters, the navigation through the different screens and settings seems noticably quicker/snappier and the stock lag is gone, and finally a new field in the update settings: update android. I don't know about the gps update because I didn't use it enough to notice any changes before or after. I suspect the update android field is in anticipation of the upcoming ota os update.