Android OS Now Booting on Samsung Omnia (1st Gen)

One MAJOR step closer to the Android-powered Omnia



Update 7/28/09: Wifi and SD card now working. Games and programs working--albeit without sound. Still no support for phone, camera and stability issues abound (I.e., connecting to WPA-encrypted wifi).

Update 7/2/09: View live action footage of the Android on the Omnia (Youtube Video)

Update 6/24/09: For the most recent news on the Android-Omnia development, follow Tobias Kohler's forum, Andromnia.

News flash!

Industrious programmers have successfully transferred (note: not ported yet) the Android OS (currently on the HTC Magic, G1) onto the first generation Samsung Omnia. This is only the beginning, however; though the Android OS can:


1) boot up on the device,
2) load the kernel,
3) and show the clock ticking on the android home screen.


There currently are no drivers for hardware interfacing (phone, camera, etc.) except touch screen interaction. "Fella" and others used a WM-based boot loader application which allows them to dual boot WM and Android without flashing the ROM.

Here are a few notes from their release:

NEW since rev78:
+ SGH-i900 specific kernel based on 2.6.29 (sgh-i910 should also work) (Thx to Stefan Schmidt!!)
+ Basic battery support (no fake driver needed, but still not full detected by Android)
+ Basic touchscreen support (freezing randomly)
+ Full 128MB RAM support
+ Some buttons working (phone down (=back), volume up/down)

PROBLEMS:
If;
-Your screen turns black,
-Your text streaks vertically,
-The flash stays on, or
-The text gets chopped off
...reset your phone and try again. If you get all 4 of these in a row you win a cookie!
Also, you'll have to re-format your ext2 partition.

CONTACT:
irc.freenode.net:6667
#andromnia
The package works on all Omnias (i900, i908, i910). You can try it out yourself (make sure to use an SD card, as it won't load off storage). Must use linux to format memory card. A 1GB spare mini SD card should suffice:

[Download Package] via [Modaco Forum Page] via [AndroidOmnia]

If you find this interesting, please support the developers who have generously donated their time and skills to the groundbreaking project via the AndroidOmnia page. They are currently a few dollars short of $450 (as of this posting) which most likely will be shared between the developers.

See Also:
Android-Omnia:
Background Information on Android-Omnia Development
Evolve: Android Development Blog
Add Your Voice--Android on Omnia? (Google)
Omnia Reloaded--Samsung's Android Phone (GadgetHeat)
Omnia Tips:
Best Online Resources (Forums, Blogs)
How To Increase Speaker Volume
How To Use Front Camera
Omnia Wifi Problems
Preview: Samsung Omnia Pros and Cons
Modaco Custom Firmware