Globe’s Android: Samsung i5700 Galaxy Spica

any review for Samsung S8000 Jet

The speedy processor here is essential as Android handsets tend to slow down over time (the perils of multi-tasking).

-pede mahingi source nito or opinion lng ba to?

question lng po, if the update for galaxy spica rolls out (let’s say on april) will the new batches of cellfones from globe still have version 1.5 or will it have 2.1? thank you! ;)

Hey guys! just bought a samsung GT-i5700 Galaxy Spica at Mall Of Asia Memo Express. To all those interested in buying one, you could purchase one at Hello or Memo Express. I got mine for P16k. I have a question though, after installation of New PC Studio the PC couldnt detect the phone itself. it just say “unregistered model detected cannot continue with communication” kinda weird. although the MicroSD is working perfectly fine. Nice phone better than my previous HTC Hero cause its not laggy and definitely better response on the touchscreen since the screen’s like glass or hard plastic (better than Hero’s). It’s OS is Android ver1.5 cupcake.

wwwaaa!!! this is uber cool!! An Android phone with Google Experience GUI.. I don’t want HTC Sense GUI kasi minsan yung updates di kaagad nare-release kapag yung phone manufacturer may sariling GUI.. will definitely buy this.. saan nabibili to?? saan pinakamura??

aw it got only 3.2 screen?
should have been around 3.6+.

@abe

Thanks a lot! we’ll just wait for galaxy spica’s turn.

downside ng spica, pag 3g use, 3 hours lang, drained na battery, pero, still a great phone… Anyway, available po ba yung HTC magic as prepaid sa smart?

looks like this is a great value Android phone to try out the OS.
is it sure capable of upgrading to 2.1?

how much lowest & where to find?

My spica runs eclair 2.1 with the official samsung firmware (I570EDXJC4). It may not be available through the samsung’s software provided with the phone, but you can manually do it by using a custom software.

got mine at 13.7k yesterday at v-mall. with regards with the warranty, as i understand, the warranty is covered by samsung and not the store itself where you bought it. are there any downsides with upgrading to 2.1 firmware when its not officially from samsung?

@patricia, you will be able to upgrade the firmware for free when Samsung Philippines decide to distribute it through their software.

BTW, did anyone successfully set this phone to use GPRS/3G data connection? (For a prepaid sim card) I can’t get it to work.

@patricia: it’s good. if like me, u find it ridiculous on spending a lot of bucks on fones, its a really good find and worth the price. based on samsung’s press release, you can personally update ur fone using their pc suite (which by the way sucks big time when running on windows 7 LOL).

@jay: mine’s running completely fine on 3g network, didn’t adjust any setting. but i’d prefer running on 2g, just to save up the battery. hehe

have been reading some forums with regards to upgrading to the standard 2.1 version..kinda having second thoughts, i’m afraid i’ll brick my fone. can anyone suggest a good tutorial on how to do this?
any nice feedback would be highly appreciated. ^_^

@ gtpet4u: go to phone settings and uncheck the option where it says use the phone as memory card only. Voila, the software can now recognize your phone.

just to ensure that your fone won’t connect to the internet by itself, you can try one or both:

1) Download APNDroid to turn off 3G/Edge/GPRS, it changes the APN Settings

2) On the dialer key-in *#*#4636#*#* then go to
Phone Information, click the Menu button then click More then disable data connection and disable data on boot. The icon on the notification bar wherein it indicates which type of network you are using will disappear. You can still use wifi btw.

hope that helps.

i’m planning to get samsung i5700 from globe. i want to know what are the available language for samsung i5700?

thanks

had mine updated to 2.1 at a local samsung service center. told the technician i was having problems with file transfers over bluetooth and he offered to flash it with the latest firmware. from what i’ve seen during the update, the technician was probably using the odin multiloader, the same tool you see in guides for doing the update manually.

as for 2.1, it was laggy at first which is somewhat caused by the default home launcher, pantheon. replacing it with home++ did the trick and improved the performance.

@flecher: SM davao. called them in advance to confirm if there’s an update to the phone’s firmware, specifically related to bluetooth.

I bought Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700 last weekend.
Here are my review:

CONS: (1) GPS is not accurate. I live in Tandang Sora, QC. My location points at a place in San Fernando, Pampanga. (2) I spent many hours just trying to make Samsung New PC Studio to work with my phone, but to no avail it will not just detect the phone. This I think would be the way to upgrade the phone to Firmware 2.1 (Eclair). (3) Keyboard is a bit crowdy, so its quite hard to type, I am thinking of downloading a keyboard app as a replacement though.

PROS: (1) Android OS rocks, even at version 1.5. I had Ipod Touch before, and I was able to jailbreak this and install Ipod Apps. I think the games in Ipod are more mature and better (e.g. need for speed, and other EA games). But the potential of Android apps to compete with Ipod/Iphone apps is very promising. (2) Color and sensitivity of touch screen interface is good. (3) Fast processor speed with multitasking capability.

@ bigbird: prepaid ba yang nabili mo? ayoko kasi ng plan eh.. thanks!

Are they selling screen protectors for this phone in GH already?

@BigBird: samsung really needs to sort out their strategy in rolling out the 2.1 updates. if you read user comments in gsmarena, some service centers are already offering the updates while others are not. like i said in an earlier post, i had mine updated to 2.1 at our local service center so it’s official.

@esomo: here are a couple of sites offering guides on how to do the update manually:

http://samsung-firmware.webs.com/samsungandroid.htm
http://www.greaky.com/2010/02/samsung-i5700-galaxy-spica-android-21.html#/news/

just take heed of the warnings.

i think if the 2.1 is not available at all samsung service centers, then most probably, its not the official one from samsung (the one with personalized ui by samsung based on posts on the net), but the standard android 2.1. And if its flashed using Odin tool then it’s the standard 2.1.

As per samsung’s press release, the 2.1 update can be done using their update service via the pc suite, and what i’ve read is that the official one has already been released in europe and the latest was in india.

@napry: thanks dude that solve the problem of sammy pc suite not recognizing my spica. and now upgrading to 2.1

using pc suite my upgrade to 2.1 failed, still using 1.5

anyone know any other way to upgrade?

Yes successfully upgraded mine to 2.1. Testing testing….

It took 3 mins only to upgrade. Though I’m experiencing lags. I tried installing home++ as suggested by idlewild but I can’t. I’m getting “not enough space..” error and when I checked I have zero available space in the internal memory.

Can anybody help me here?

@Nikofoos Saan mo nabili yang 14k Spica?

To EVERYONE ELSE who bought the Spica: Saan kayo nakabili and how much? I want to know kung saan yung pinakamura eh. Thanks

13.7k at v-mall

orange shop
i heard that some shops in moa and south mall are also selling it for 13.7k

I bought mine 13.9k eastwood mall, so anyone notice that on their phone? the wobblyness of the lock button?

I followed this guide – http://www.greaky.com/2010/02/samsung-i5700-galaxy-spica-android-21.html#/news/

Although I encountered the 0B space available problem so I downloaded and used the patch I570EDXJC4.

The download site is also stated on the guide.

i found most instructions very confusing so it was through trial and error that i got over the initial shock that i might have bricked my spica. below is an outline of what worked for me. am now running JC4 latest Asian firmware (i needed support for chinese input). caution: going straight to JC4, they say will give you a problem with 0.00Kb when you check your applications that are running, and that you won’t be able to download apps from Market. so i took their advice and flashed to one firmware lower JB3 first, THEN flash to JC4.

1. important before upgrading firmware, when still in android 1.5, must install USB drivers. make sure you activate debug mode to check your PC has recognize your spica as 1. android USB modem (not CDMA modem or anything else) by going toSetting->Application->Development->USB debug mode 2. android usb composite device. Back up you data too.

2. remove back cover of spica and remove sim and micro sd card

3. press vol down+camera key+power (spica will enter download mode). your spica will turn on and show it has entered download mode.

4. hook up to pc via supplied cable. (your pc will not recognize your spica as a phone, usb modem or external memory module) just continue.

5. fire up odin 4.03, load proper CSC and what not. no need to tick on Debug mode and PDA format.

6. follow procedure by sammeer prabhahar, samdroid forum and sriharsha_madineni instructions, all are in common instructions Odin 4.03. wait for message “usb closing and rebooting” and you’re done.

*****
For those who have problem connecting via 3G, simple lang, check your APN. i got my spica via prepaid, but the unit was supposed to be for a postpaid account. i paid attention to the chatty sales rep at Globe and remembered her saying so. So i checked my APN and it was set indeed set for postpaid.

Postpaid SIM APN: internet.globe.com.ph
Prepaid SIM APN: http.globe.com.ph

@narcoleptic – i used the firmware image in the guide and then later downloaded and used the JC4 version.

Yeah the keyboard is really a pain specially for me that’s still new to soft keyboard. I installed Smart keyboard which is better bcoz the keys are not too close to each other.

Yeah speeding up my typing improves my accuracy and always try to type in landscape mode.

@Esomo: try these other keyboard options. might work for you.

HTC IME: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5475283
ShapeWriter Keyboard: http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.shapewriter.android.softkeyboard

HTC IME offers 3 keyboard layouts namely, QWERTY, phone keypad, and compact QWERTY. you won’t find this in the market so you have to download it to your SD card and install using your file manager.

if you type mostly in english, the ShapeWriter is a good alternative. it works similar to the Swype.

have successfully flashed to JC4.
All’s good except that i can’t root my fone, which is no big.

Have noticed that my camera, when in image mode is dim, totally dark. I have to capture at least one or more images before it becomes normal like it used to when i was running 1.5. I don’t know if i’m the only one experiencing this.

Can anybody shed a light on my issue? Thanks!!

@narcoleptic, same here! i can’t root JC4, also tried JB3 (one firmware above JC4) no can do too. I followed Sammeer Prabhakar guide (maganda sana kung nagwork, could’t get over the adb shell mount command, i get mount not permitted!), as well as LMKs mod (new OPS) and LK10s (old OPS) to no avail. I moved from one firmware to another and applied all three guides but can’t root JC4.

Personal root objective is to remove Pantheon and have a fast tweaked Spica. Helix Launcher seems great looking to me. LMKs mod would have made me very happy, had it work.

Any help guys on rooting JC4?

@idlewild great link to HTC keyboard, far from perfect parin siya but wayyyyy better than stock android keyboard! some keys get in the way when typing parin sa HTC keyboard.

@nikofoos, any info on what firmware version this is at the samsung service center? i’d expect it’s asian firmware? not based on europe naman di ba?

re: asian firmware update at samsung service centers. now, if only i could go back to android 1.5 again…hay naku…too late…

please share naman when and how you’ve succesfully rooted your JC4 firmware, ok? please… please…salamat!

guys, may marerecommend ba kayong music player app na may eq? thanks!

@nikofoos
Called Samsung the other day and told me that the only branch that (currently) does upgrade to 2.1 is in Greenhills. So I went there and got mine updated. The typing seems much responsive compared to 1.5. Replaced Pantheon with HelixLauncher easily by installing it via Market, no rooting required. Build number: ECLAIR.DXJC4

@narcoleptic
It seems that there’s a bug in the camera software. I’ve been experiencing it also. Randomly, the camera would be really dark or dim than it really is.

@bryanflurry: forgot to post here, but i kind of discovered what’s causing the dim camera.

after reflashing to jb3 then jb4, i thought it would be fixed, sadly it did not. i found out that (well in my case), when my wifi is on and connected to a network, the camera would turn dark/dim. tested it a lot of times. wifi is causing the camera malfunction. since i’m always connected to a network at home and at work, the camera is dim at those times, but is in normal state when im not connected.

i hope that it’s the same with your case. ^_^

please ignore my post, i found out what’s causing my my phone not to connect to gprs and its Globe! they had my gprs deactivated when i activated my roaming. now i have to wait for a couple hours to have my gprs activated.

i’m really happy that i chose spica over the brittle nexus one lol

if you are using an old globe telecom (prepaid )sim card (about 4-5 years i think, like mine)

to setup gprs use the the following settings:

APN: www.globe.com.ph
proxy: 207.177.042.214
port: 8080

that is if the new APN: http.globe.com.ph is not working in your phone

also make sure that the gprs service of globe telecoms is activated. if you are not sure dial 211 and talk to a customer representative

that’s how i manage to get gprs on my spica. so far i only manage to open facebook, ebuddy, www.google.com on my local browser. i still can’t connect thru gprs in my other android apps (gtalk, gmail, ebuddy, opera mini, default mail client) and lastly i can’t seem to open websites that has an https protocol

hope this helps

@surgeon thank you for your reply.

does it have a feature wherein i can send a text to multiple recipients once?

@bryanflurry: np! i thought i was the only one experiencing that when i upgraded to 2.1

if not on globe, where can i buy samsung spica outside? is it available on samsung stores in SM malls?

other than Samsung Greenhills, where can I take my phone for an upgrade to Eclair version? Thank you!

@monkeyboner – try syncing your contacts with your Google account via WiFi or 3G (Settings>Accounts & sync)

@Surgeon – libre lang ang upgrade sa Samsung, dalhin mo lang yung purchase receipt

is there other samsung service center where you can upgrade to 2.1, particularly down south?

tried moa and festival service centers, sadly it’s either they’re not familiar with the upgrade yet or they can upgrade but i need to leave the phone with them for about 4 days.

i’m a android 2.1 user, i upgraded my spica two weeks ago and i’m very happy with the upgrade my unit came from Globe, if you guys want to upgrade your spica to android 2.1, i can offer you my service just to bring your spica in my office in ortigas. it will just take less than 30 mins to do the upgrade…

got my spica for Ps13,800 at quality cellular west avenue last thu. Had OS upgraded to 2.1 at Samsung service center at Greenhills Bonaventure for free (showed them the purchase receipt) last fri.Took all of 30 minutes including wait.

Was informed that Globe settings were automatically configured. Loaded on a prepaid Globe sim. Went to smart cyberzone hoping to use my postpaid smart sim to no avail. Dismayed when informed that PC Studio works for XP only. Am working on Windows 7 for a month now. Need help on this.

Phone worked as expected both network and wireless connection at home. Relatives immediately located in the US using Latitude. Receiving free text from them using Google Voice. Going over Market free apps

What more can i say.

Guys, owners and admirers of the Samsung Galaxy i5700 Spica in the Philippines are gathering at certain forums to share our passion for this very promising device.

WIth the permission of Boss ABE.

See you guys at
www.spicamanila.tk

and / or

tipidcp.com (search for Spica at the Forum Search Box.

WAITING for Boss ABe’s Review!

@lenlen

Just extract the drivers to a location on your hard drive.

Connect your phone to the computer via USB then as the computer detects your phone as new USB device, it prompt you to install the drivers. Locate the driver and proceed.

If remember it right, install the modem driver first then the USB driver.

Question lng po.. Khit po b s mga stall s greenhills aq bumili ng galaxy spica, libre upgrade p dn po b pagmgpapaupdate aq ng firmware s samsung greenhills.? O kelangang s samsung store mismo aq bumili.?

@orphen77: Samsung GHILLS will update any Samsung phone as long as you have the receipt of purchase. I forgot mine but they still updated my Spica. nice!

@epoLzpie you don’t need an 8GB or 16GB microSD to upgrade. I had mine upgrade in Samsung (Sincere Electronics Service Center,
Garden Level Bonaventure Plaza Ortigas Avenue Greenhills, San Juan
Phone : 726-6624 / 410-5001
Fax : 3834768 &3834773), it took less than 1 hr, including the queuing. The upgrade will be all stored in the ROM, SIM card and SD card will be removed prior to upgrade.

Default launcher is Pantheon, from Samsung, so far I have tried replacing it with Helix Launcher, LauncherPro and Helix Launcher 2 (all available for Free in Android Market). Helix Launcher 2 doesn’t work, always FC. Helix Launcher is simpler and faster than Pantheon, but I’m currently using LauncherPro which I think is the best so far.

Here is the setting for myGlobe Internet and myGlobe MMS.

For Postpaid only.

Globe APN:

Globe Internet:
Name: myGlobe Internet
APN: internet.globe.com.ph
Proxy:
Port:
Username:
Password:
Server:
MMSC:
MMS Proxy:
MMS Port:
MMS Protocol:
MCC: 515
MNC: 02
APN type: internet

Globe MMS:
Name: myGlobe MMS
APN: mms.globe.com.ph
Proxy:
Port:
Username:
Password:
Server:
MMSC: http://192.40.100.22:10021/mmsc
MMS Proxy: 192.40.100.20
MMS Port: 8080
MMS Protocol:
MCC: 515
MNC: 02
APN Type: mms

@bryanflurry: i tried playing a divx movie, but sadly it failed. based from what i’ve read online, i think we need to follow a specific format – if i may put it that way – in terms of fps, codecs and resolution. still trying to figure out how. haven’t tried it yet but i’ll tell you once i’ve done so.

i’ll follow you on twitter, and send you a dm.
^_^

@idlewild, @nikofoos, rooted na ba yung mga JC4 firmware niyo?

anyone rooted their spica on jc4 firmware na?

@wippee: the upgrade is free at samsung service centers. just bring your receipt.

@Globe Spica Eclair 2.1 JC4: haven’t rooted my phone yet.

Just got the i5700 this afternoon
got it for P13.2k
and already running at 2.1 firmware
any advise on what to install?
TIA

meron n rin poh akong spica gling ibang bansa kso 1.5 lng po san ko po ba pwedeng dalin to pra mpaupgrade ng 2.1???thx poh sa tutulong..wla nga lng po akong reciept ng cp ko kc pdala lng po ng papa ko..=))

i got my new spica eclair 2.1 . how to install non-market application coz i cant activate my android market? ..and my laptop cant recognize my phone as an andoid. your help will be much appreciated. can samsung service center here in manila help me?

@Newbie:
i think it’s a firmware issue, but i could be wrong.
i’m also running on 2.1 but here’s my specs:

Firmware Version: 2.1 – update 1
Baseband Version: i570EDXJC2
Kernel Version: 2.6.29
Build Number: ECLAIR.DXJC4

i didn’t encounter any issue when i flashed my phone to this firmware.

@narcoleptic

what could be your suggestion for my spica coz right now i can’t access my android market using a 3G/GPRS connection. is it possible that i can access the market through Wifi connection??

Thanks..

@john

i already registered to google mail but still when i try to connect using quick setup then when i tried to sign in, still i can’t connect.is it ok if i use a 3g connection in signing in?

thanks,

what will happen if i do the hard factory reset?will i lose all my applications?

thanks,

samsung galaxy spica or samsung jet?
need your opinion guys, im very very confused what to buy ;(

@john

salamat sa reply buddy =)
wow interesting!! ka-excited naman yan, cguro mag spica na lng ako.. isa ko kasing prob sa spica is yung design nya, parang walang masyadong dating.. hehe
pero importante naman is yung features dba?
as of know, anu mga na-encounter mo na problem sa phone mo? yung battery life ba nya pang matagalan dn naman? hnd naman laggy? & yung pag DL ng apps sa android market at pag connect sa google may bayad or free lang?
pasensya kung maraming tanong :D

@john

Ahm.,yung root yan ba yung upgrade version to 2.1 eclair na sinasabi?
tpos kuya may nabasa kasi ako sa mga comment, pag bili mo ng spica mo, kw ba ang mag configure sa wifi,3g connection, etc pra gumana? o automatic na ok na and ready to use.

wow kuya!! dami mo naman alam, iba talaga pag IT. :)
eh san kya ako pwd magpa root kuya? pwd ba sa samsung service center? sabay software update to 2.1 na pag bumuli ako ng unit?

ahm isa pa sanang question kuya, kasi ang balita ko sa ibang cp for example, upto 16gb expandable mem, pag nilagyan mo cya nga 16gb ay nag hhang na.
same ba yan sa spica? or ok pa rin cya kht lagyan ng 32gb mem?
ilang kuya mem card na nka lagay sa spica mo?

another query, do you guys experience the not so good battery life of spica? My battery life only last for 1.5 days with only these activities: occasional texting, 40-mins surfing the web and sometimes browsing the phone. My display brightness is set to 0%, no apps running in the background, and all connections(wifi bluetooth etc)are off.

huy guys! do you know where I can find the white version of this phone? wala kasi ako makita sa sm north…

My GT I5700 says “this could be a temp. problem or your phone may not be provisioned for data services. if continues, call custo. services”. please help.

guys, pano ba maginstall ng apps sa sd card instead na sa phone memory? pano ba ginagawa un root? un guy kasi sa samsung hindi marunong… thanks

Sir yuga pareho pala tayo prob….gusto ko tlaga ma upgrade….I hope if you apgraded it…can you inform here…and how….im stock sa 1.5,,,,huhuhuhuhuhuhu….. nemoryol****@****.*** email nyo me guys talk tayo

“can anyone help…need to save my market apps on sdcard…thanks”

you can download Astro File Manager from the Market. It’s an owzum file manager plus it has a ulitity to backup all your applications onto your SD card.

got a spica, I think this is not from local, checked and it has no APN, does this mean no data service will be used? afraid kasi baka sjy high ang bill ko dahil sa data, sahil din dito walang ‘3G’ logo sa signal bar ko? I have tried to turn off ‘use 2G only’ but still no ‘3G’ logo.

also I have a problem, when it sleep, I can’t connect to wifi when it woke up, if I turn off the wifi-sleep naman, parang lakas sa battery,

is there any tutorials for dummies? parang bobo tuloy ako when I holding this phone, nakakahiya,

but its a great phone, after 24 hrs, I already have itch for a bigger screen Android phone, iPhone 4G skipped my upgrade plan already,

@monkeyboner, sorry, pati myself hilo na rin,
its on 2.1 update 1 already, also napansin ko wala siya samsung keyboard installed only 1 keyboard which is android kb, I tried swype but can’t really get use of it,
ano maganda kb for spica?

thanks, will try to get use to the android kb instead, does your spica comes with other kb like samsung kb?
what I means with the wifi is the wifi-sleep, I have to set to never or it will automatically disabled when spica slept and when it wake up after 30 minutes or more, the wifi can’t be connected again but have to off then on the wifi in order to connect

@dongv: have you tried htc ime? I like it than the android kb.

i cant use my GPRS on my samsung spica. can anyone help THX :)

i have the same problem with eugene.. this is just the first time i used the net via wifi and even though i got connected still i can’t open pages on the web.. plss help..

@alyssa

gumamit ka ng apn ng globe or smart.

@everyone: has anyone have news on stable froyo ROM for the spica?

cno po meron alam ng unlock codes ng samsung I5700?nkalock po sa globe?salamat

what is the current price of this phone? Please help me,,, BIG THANKS!!! :)

san po ba nakakabili ng galaxy spica sa iba kacng globe store wala cla eh..