FinestFones

Sony Ericsson Satio: Default Media And Files

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Don't you love the feeling of having something new to play with? When I get a new 'toy', the first thing I do is go through it to see if there's anything particularly interesting. With S60, a new device usually means new default wallpapers, themes and several other small things. Read on to find my pick of some of the good things that I've found in the Sony Ericsson Satio.

Themes:
The Satio comes with three built-in themes that look great on its 3.5 inch screen. I've extracted these and signed them with certificates provided by my friend P@sco meaning that it'll install on any S60 phone without any certificate worries. Do remember that these themes were designed for the Satio, so they probably won't look as good on other phones. Comments appreciated.

Clarity:

Download

Mosaic:

Download

Unlimited:

Download

Wallpapers:
These are the wallpapers that come pre-loaded in the Satio. Download the full pack here.

The Z Drive:
This is the Satio's Z drive. This is for those who want to look at what makes the phone tick. Enjoy!
Download Z Drive

Sony Ericsson Satio: Initial Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:34:00 +0000

With the help of the friendly people at Sony Ericsson, I've recently taken delivery of a Sony Ericsson Satio. In this post you'll find some of my initial thoughts on this phone. The full review will be coming soon.

This is an unbranded and unlocked UK version of a production Satio. It has final hardware and shipped with the R1BB041 firmware dated from the 6th of October, 2009.

First off, the box:
The Satio comes in a small, box. Printed on the box are a couple pictures of the Satio itself alongside some screenshots of applications that supposedly come with the phone.

The Feel:
The satio feels great to hold. It's much lighter than I had expected it to be. It's made almost entirely of plastic but it feels solid in the hand. The plastic has a glossy finish, meaning that the Satio collects fingerprints very easily.

The Software:
When you first turn on the Satio and are greeted by Sony Ericsson's custom homescreen, there's very little to indicate that it's a S60v5 phone. Once you press the menu button, however, the S60 UI that has remained virtually the same for so many years pops up. Similarly to the Samsung i8910, the only places that have been customised are the homescreen and media applications.

Beneath the Satio's shiny exterior is the powerful OMAP 3430 processor. Having used a Samsung i8910 as my main phone for the past ~three months, I'm well aware of the speed boost that this processor gives to S60. Unfortunately, the Satio left me bemused. It just doesn't feel fast. Now, this could be for a number of reasons:
1) The resistive touchscreen.
2) The theme effects that are permanently on - there's no way to turn them off (at least on the default themes).
3) I haven't recieved confirmation on this, but I think there's a chance that some underclocking has taken place in the Satio's processor.
4) Sony Ericsson simply haven't optimised the software for the hardware.

However, Sony Ericsson have already released one firmware update for the Satio, so, if this is a software issue, I'm sure it'll be addressed eventually. *cough* No amount of software will turn a resistive screen into a capacitive one, though *cough*.

Despite having the efforts of the most recent firmware update, the Satio is still quite prone to crashing. In my unit, for example, changing the homescreen theme can cause crashes that require a reboot of the device.

The Satio comes with the standard S60 web browser. When I say standard, I mean standard. There's no kinetic scrolling and it's quite slow in comparison to the Nokia N97 and Samsung i8910's updated browser. This is something that Sony Ericsson should definitely look to change in any future software updates.

Did you note my use of the word supposedly near the beginning of this post? It's because Sony Ericsson are following in Samsung's footsteps and are advertising applications/features that the phone doesn't have. The facebook application, which is shown on the box, is not present in the Satio.

The Camera:

This is where things get good. The camera on the Satio is superb. Prior to release, many critics cited the 'megapixel myth' and claimed that the Satio's 12 million pixel-count was superfluous. Though it's probably true that the increase in pixels isn't what makes the Satio's camera so good, I certainly don't mind having more for comfort. Why is the camera so good you ask? It's the speed. Shot-to-shot times are unmatched. You take the picture and it's there on the screen, saved - instantly. I love it.

On the other hand, the video recording capabilities are average. The maximum resolution is 640x480, a resolution which would have been acceptable on such an expensive device in 2006 maybe. At least it's pretty much locked at 30fps. There's no initial focus, no option to record in 16:9 (stangely, this option is present in the stills part of the camera) and there's no option to record in HD. Ok, maybe I'm just nitpicking with that last one.

Miscellaneous:
HelloOX2 works with the Satio. Ovi Maps and Map loader work perfectly. After following my instructions here, the Ovi Store works perfectly. For those interested, I'll be publishing a post that contains a bunch of the Satio's good things (please don't sue me, Nokia) such as the entire Z drive, wallpapers and default themes. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions about the Satio, please leave a comment so that I can (try to) include an answer in the final review.

GadgetShieldz skin for Samsung i8910 Omnia HD review

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:01:00 +0000

There are few things worse for a gadget enthusiast to see than their brand new device covered in scratches after just a few days’ use. Because of this, many are in search of protection for their device(s). Such protection is widely available in the form of crystal cases, leather pouches and silicon housings; however, such solutions are bulky and take away from a gadget’s aesthetic qualities. Luckily, there are better alternatives available, such as the GadgetShieldz full-body skin. Thanks to GadgetShieldz for sending me skins for review!

Service and speed:
Prices for GadgetShieldz are incredibly competitive, starting at just $6.99 and with free worldwide shipping. The Samsung i8910 GadgetShieldz is $7.49, which is still an excellent price.

Notices will be sent to your email address after purchase and also when your GadgetShieldz have been shipped. The company’s communication is excellent, so if you have any problems or queries, a quick email should do the trick.

The GadgetShieldz skin arrived at my doorstep via TNT after just 4 working days from order confirmation. Note that the products are shipped from Chennai, India while I’m situated in London, England.

Packaging and contents:
The skins arrived in a DL size envelope along with a physical invoice. The skins themselves are like stickers, located on two (in the i8910’s case) separate sheets.

Installation:
Instructions for installation can be found here, on the GadgetShieldz website. As recommended, I prepared my baby lotion solution and cleared my workspace at around 9PM, so that the skins would dry over-night while I slept.

I didn’t really have any trouble installing the skins, but it does require quite a bit of patience to get them on to your device in a satisfactory manner. The key to applying the larger pieces successfully is to make sure that both your hands and the actual skin are covered in a good amount of your baby lotion solution. This allows you to freely slide the skin over your device until it’s in perfect place.

When installing pieces that fold over the sides, I found that using a hair dryer set to the lowest heat (as described on the GadgetShieldz website) to dry the pieces and then stick the sides down worked well.

For a little extra peace of mind, I also used masking tape to secure the parts of the skin that fold over the sides of the device.

After waiting the recommended 24 hours, I was rather pleased with the results, though I did have a few (5-6) medium-sized air bubbles on the back of the phone as well as the screen. Also, the dried solution left the phone looking hazy and somewhat clouded.

Use:
Within the first 3 days of use, all air bubbles had disappeared, including some that were right in the middle of the screen. The haziness had also cleared. I polished the entire phone with baby wipes and was pleased at how good it looked.

The skin makes it easier to grip the highly glossy plastic back of the Samsung i8910, which is definitely welcomed. Though their website claims that GadgetShieldz skins don’t affect the touchscreen sensitivity of the device, I did notice, at first, that my finger dragged across the i8910’s capacitive screen instead of gracefully sliding along. Fortunately, though, this feeling quickly disappeared – I don’t know if it was the skin’s bond to the screen that improved or if it was just me getting used to the feeling. What I do know, though, is that navigating menus and swiping through the gallery feels just as natural as it did without the GadgetShieldz installed on my i8910.

Despite this, I feel the screen protector of the GadgetShieldz is the only negative thing about it. The i8910’s screen is angled-off at the sides and the GadgetShieldz have been cut with this in mind. Unfortunately, this means that the GadgetShieldz screen protector is unable to fully stick down on the sides of the skin because there isn’t enough material for the skin to stick down to; you can see the problems that this causes in the images and video embedded below.

This could be fixed by removing about 1mm from the left and right sides of the film, so that it only sticks to the absolute front of the i8910.

Other than the above issue, using the Samsung i8910 with the GadgetShieldz skin installed is truly enjoyable due to the feeling of security that it provides.

Conclusion:
If you’re in search of scratch protection for your beloved gadgets, you really can’t go wrong with the GadgetShieldz skins. They’re cheaper than similar alternatives while providing the same overall quality and experience. I’ve already fallen in love with the one on my i8910 because it allows me to use my phone without having to worry about scratches. At approximately £4 each, I would have no problems recommending the GadgetShieldz full-body protector to friends and family.

How to: Use Nokia's Ovi Store on the Samsung i8910

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Nokia's recently released Ovi Store allows users of Nokia devices to browse through a selection of content, including wallpapers, ringtones and most importantly, S60 applications. With a little help from the Nokia N97, it is possible to not only browse the Ovi Store but to also download and install applications without a hitch - all from the Samsung i8910.

What you'll need:
-A hacked Samsung i8910 (refer to THIS post)
-THIS text file (copy it to your phone's storage)
-ActiveFile (Download HERE - install it on your phone)

Step 1:
Open ActiveFile on your i8910. Navigate to where you've saved the 101F8731.txt file and then copy it. Now go to the C:\ drive, open the 'Private' folder and then enter the folder named '10202be9'; paste the text file in here.

Step 2:
Restart your phone. Open the web browser and go to store.ovi.com, you should now be greeted with this page:

Select 'No thanks, continue using the website'. The actual Ovi Store application does not work on the i8910.

Note: If you don't get that page, it probably means you've tried to access the Ovi Store before. Try clearing all your browser's private data by going to Options> Clear privacy data> All.

Now you can browse through the applications and install applications as you please.

How does it work?
This hack works by changing the browser's useragent string to that of the N97's. This means that all websites that you view from your i8910 will identify it as being a Nokia N97.

Do note that I haven't tried purchasing any applications from the Ovi Store yet, so I'm not sure if it'll work. Any feedback would be appreciated!

How to: Customise the Samsung i8910's 3D navigation applications

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:48:00 +0000

One of Samsung's many UI additions to S60 V5 is their so-called 3D navigation. This allows the user to simply swipe left or right to change from the TouchWiz homescreen to the Photo contacts application or the menu respectively. I personally think it's a great feature but I feel it's silly not to allow the user to pick which applications the 3D Navigation changes between. With this in mind, I sat down, cleared my head and started searching for a solution.

What you'll need:
-A hacked Samsung i8910 (refer to THIS post.)
-THIS text file. Make sure you DOWNLOAD it (right click, save target/link as)!
-ActiveFile (Download HERE - install on phone.)
-AppUidList widget (Download HERE - install on phone.)

Step 1:
Open the text file you've downloaded using a text editor such as Notepad. Replace the current application UIDs with the ones you want.

You can use AppUidList to identify the UIDs of all applications on your i8910.

Once you've edited the UIDs with the applications of your choice, save the file (DO NOT select 'save as', just 'save') and transfer it to your i8910.
Note: The text file I've uploaded has Shazam ID as the left application, as shown in the screenshot at the top of this post.

Step 2:
Grab your i8910 and open ActiveFile. Navigate to where you've saved the 20020607.txt file and copy it. Now navigate to C:\Private\10202be9 and paste the file in here. While still in the 10202be9 folder, open the 'persists' folder and delete 20020607.cre.

Step 3:
Restart your phone and enjoy :) If you have any issues, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Things to note:
The 3D navigation will keep the selected applications open in the background constantly. RAM consumption won't be an issue considering the i8910's massive amount of free RAM, but in the interest of maintaining the phone's excellent battery life, I'd suggest not to choose applications that remain connected to the internet.

Does the Samsung i8910 have a FM Transmitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:12:00 +0000

While searching the internet for user accounts of the i8910, I found that the general consensus was that the i8910 was very close to being the 'perfect phone', scoring 9.7 out of 10 on TestFreaks, for example. So, what is it that the i8910 is missing? What could be done to make it please consumers even more? A FM transmitter, maybe?

When the i8910 was first leaked back in February of this year, the listed specifications included a FM Transmitter. This was proved to be true with Eldar Murtazin's preview of an early prototype of the i8910:

However, as you should all know, a prototype can vary greatly from the final product. The production i8910 features a host of changes from the prototypes, including a plastic back (instead of metal), removal of a number of software features and the apparent disabling of the FM Transmitter. Why did I use the word 'apparent'? Because it still isn't clear if the hardware needed for the FM Transmitter to function has actually been removed from production i8910s.

For example, while browsing the Samsung Mobile Innovator website, I found a table that seemed very strange to me:

That is a table, from an official Samsung website, which lists the i8910 as having a FM Transmitter. It is possible that the Samsung Mobile Innovator team have made a mistake, but I doubt it. Firstly, the website is regularly updated by Samsung, why haven't the staff changed it yet? Secondly, the website recently had a major overhaul, and yes, the table also received a makeover but the information displayed remained the same. Thirdly and finally, the rest of the information displayed in the table is correct and valid, so logic dictates that the i8910's data is correct as well. Could this be proof that the hardware inside the i8910 still remains?

However, it should also be noted that the above table raises another issue: the i7110. It's another of Samsung's S60 devices and it does feature an FM Transmitter. If Samsung have already released a phone featuring a FM Transmitter, what reason do they have for removing it in the i8910? Surely it's not due to legalities, right?

It has come to my attention that there are FM Transmitter configuration applications hidden within the system files of the i8910, as discovered here. As expected, 'enabling' the FM Transmitter via this method results in nothing. Some may say that these configuration menus are proof of the i8910 still bearing an internal FM Transmitter, but, is it not also possible that these are simply remnants from when Samsung were tweaking the firmware from the prototypes?

Unfortunately for owners of the i8910, it still isn't clear whether or not the Samsung i8910 will ever be able to transmit music using FM waves. If Samsung are indeed hiding the FM Transmitter, I certainly hope that they issue an official statement providing a reason and explanation, or simply enable the hardware through a firmware update.

How to: Disable the Samsung i8910's Startup/Shutdown sounds

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:27:00 +0000

Although the Samsung i8910 is arguably the 'best' S60 phone currently available, it doesn't come without its faults. One of these faults is what seems to be an issue that has been overlooked by Samsung: being able to disable the startup/shutdown sounds. Unlike Nokia's S60 phones, the Samsung i8910 will still make some noises even when warning tones are set to 'off'. This annoyed me, so I started hacking away at the i8910 until I came up with a solution.

What you'll need:
-A hacked Samsung i8910 (refer to THIS post)
-THIS zip file (extract it and copy all files to your phone)
-ActiveFile(already signed with Leftup certificate)

Video guide:

Text guide:
1)Copy the 101F8763.txt file to C:\Private\10202be9
2)Copy the Startup.mp3 and Shutup.mp3 files to E:\Sounds\Simple
3)Restart your phone.

This works beautifully with IG2 firmware. If you have any issues, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Enjoy!

HelloOx2 opens more doors than Ovi

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:58:00 +0000

With the release of new S60 phones like the N97 and N86, Nokia made sure to close the holes used to make HelloOx possible. Unfortunately for Nokia, it was only a matter of time until Symbian's hacking community created a newer solution - HelloOx2.

You can download HelloOx2 from HERE

Simply sign the file with a Developer Certificate, install and enjoy.

It should work with all S60 phones.

Samsung i8910 HD comes to the UK via Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:53:00 +0000

On my way to school this morning I saw an advert for the i8910 HD in the Metro. Rumours had previously claimed that the i8910 would be available on contract starting from the 15th, so it's nice to see that this awesome device is out a bit earlier than expected. Unfortunately, Orange have decided that they don't want the i8910 to succeed and have done everything they could possibly think of to ensure that their version of the Omnia HD will be entirely unenticing to 'average' consumers.

Look at the above image of the advert that I've uploaded. Does anything jump out to you there?

Exactly.

Orange have paid for a full-page advert in a widely-read free newspaper and they omit the main selling point of the device. Where's the mention of HD video recording?

Now look closer at the Omnia HD, especially its screen. Do you see that? Here, I'll zoom in for you:

So, not only have Orange decided to forget about HD recording, they've also decided to rape the i8910 HD's software. What sorts of surprises should we expect from this version of the i8910's software? Maybe the reason for them not including HD recording in the advert is that they've disabled it in the software? Seriously, why can't networks just leave the software alone?

And then...
Below the main body of the advert is the small print. I was expecting to find the usual: free on a 18-month contract, terms and conditions, etc. Instead I find that the phone still costs £78; on a 24-month (yes, TWO YEARS) contract and at £40 a month for 1200 minutes and 'unlimited' texts. You read that correctly. Orange have the audacity to still charge money for a phone that is on a 24-month contract with a tariff that's simply not worth the money. £1038 over two years you'll be paying if you're suckered into this 'deal'.

My advice? Don't bother with Orange. Their exclusivity won't last long and the sim-free version of the i8910 will be out in less than two weeks. Save yourself the torture of using a phone with branded software and don't sell your soul to a network that has the chutzpah to make you pay for a phone on a two year agreement in the UK. Let me remind you that just a few years ago a class-leading phone like the i8910 HD would have probably been available for free on a 12-month contract.

How to: Get a 17-capability developer certificate without waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:18:00 +0000

So, you've already seen my guide on getting a developer certificate from OPDA, right? You're interested, but the thought of waiting a possible 24 hours is a daunting one, isn't it? Don't worry, I can feel your pain. And I've also got a solution. Read on to find out how to get a developer certificate (yes, this one's powerful enough to sign HelloOx) in no more than 5 minutes! EDIT: Symbian Signed have blocked this method and it no longer works. If you're still in need of a certificate, refer to my older guide HERE.

First of all I'd like to say a few things. A big 'thank you' goes out to Il.Socio of Symbian-Freak for the initial guide and files. Secondly, this guide might seem like it's long but that's only because of the number of screenshots I've used and the fact that I've tried to make this as easy as possible for everyone to understand. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the guide!

What you'll need:
-THIS file containing publisher IDs
-The Symbian Developer Certificate Request Wizard (download HERE)
-A computer with internet access

Before you do anything, install the Developer Certificate Request Wizard to your computer and extract the Publisher IDs.zip file to a folder.

1)Get a Symbian Signed account by going to www.symbiansigned.com and clickign 'register'.

Symbian won't let you register with a public domain email so if you have a personal email domain or a work one, you can use that. If you don't have a personal email account you can also (ironically) use Nokia's own @ovi.com email service or Microsoft's @live.co.uk.

2) Now that you've got a Symbian Signed account, open up the DevCertRequest application that you installed. If you don't have a shortcut on your desktop, it'll be in your Start menu under Programs>Symbian OS Tools>Developer Certificate Request>DevCertRequest.

Once you've got it opened, press the button on the right with an ellipsis (...) on it. From here, navigate to a folder that you'll remember, name your output file and then press open.

3) Once again, press the first button that has the ellipsis on it but this time navigate to where you extracted the Publisher IDs.zip file and select the Pub1 file.

Do the same for the second field but this time select the Pub1.key file and then press next (make sure there's a tick in the box next to 'No password').

4) You'll be shown a page that oultines the details of the Publisher ID that you're using, press next.

5)Press the button with an ellipsis again. This is where you'll enter the IMEIs that you want your certificates for. You can find your IMEI code by typing in *#06# from the homescreen of your S60 device. Enter your IMEIs and then press 'add' - you can add up to 1000 IMEIs for your certificate.

Once you've added all your IMEIs, press OK. You'll see a bunch of certificate capabilities highlighted in blue. Press 'add' and they'll all be taken over to the right. Press next.

6)You'll be shown a screen containing the details of your certificate request highlighted in blue. Press finish and you'll be greeted with a success message.

7) Head back to the Symbian Signed website and login using the account you've just created, your username is the email address that you registered with. On Symbian Signed, click the 'My Symbian Signed' tab towards the top of the page. On the left of the page you'll see a bunch of links. Click on 'open signed' and then 'request'. Fill out the form by entering the characters you see in the CAPTCHA and then upload the .csr file that you generated by pressing the 'browse' button.

Click on 'send' and you should now be able to download your shiny new developer certificate!

When signing files, you'll have to use the Pub1.key file in conjunction with your new certificate. There's no password but if the application you're using requires one, just use 0000.

Enjoy!

Samsung's official software update guide released

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Last year, Samsung announced and released the i8510 (INNOV8) to consumers. Unfortunately, the device had quite a few 'holes' in its software that lead to highly frustrated users of the i8510 resorting to less-than-official methods of updating their firmware. However, with the release of the i8910 HD inching closer by the minute, Samsung have finally provided the public with an official guide on updating their phones at home.

Software updates for phones are limited depending on the country that your device was sold in and operator branding (if there is any). Samsung currently officially supports the following countries for software updates:
-Hungary
-India
-Pakistan
-Philippenes
-Portugal
-Romania
-Spain
-Turkey
-Ukraine
-Middle east Asia and Africa, including UAE
-Nigeria

I was able to get to a United Kingdom software update website by changing one of the URLs given in Samsung's guide. If there's anyone in the UK with an INNOV8 willing to test, please report back.

One thing I noticed was that unlike NSU (Nokia Software Updater), Samsung's software updater has a recovery mode available in case your software update is interrupted or fails.

Thanks to Sammy's Ben Morris for writing the guide. The PDF file can be downloaded from Samsung's Mobile Innovator website (Samsung, if you're reading this, PLEASE fix Lab.dev!) here. You'll need to be registered on Mobile Innovator to download the PDF file but if you don't want to bother, I've uploaded the guide to a seperate mirror here.

Sony Ericsson stereo Bluetooth Headset HBH-IS800 review

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:32:00 +0000

The Sony Ericsson HBH is800 Bluetooth headset was announced in July of 2008, promising an ‘extraordinary music experience’ to the user. With its small footprint in comparison to other Bluetooth stereo headsets, the is800 could change the way we look at Bluetooth headsets forever.

Box contents:
The is800 comes in a small white and purple box with a cut-out at the front so that you can see your new headset. You’ll find the following inside the box:
-Sony Ericsson HBH is800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset
-Carrying case for HBH IS800
-Documents relating to Bluetooth and a User manual
-A set of different sized earbuds for the HBH IS800

Design:
The HBH-IS800 could easily be mistaken for a normal pair of wired earphones at first glance due to their relatively small size. The headset’s actual earpieces are slightly larger than those of headsets you’d find bundled with phones and other multimedia devices. This slight increase in size is a small price to pay for the truly wireless experience offered by the HBH-IS800.

Creating a single product that can be used by millions of different people all with different tastes, styles and needs is something that Sony Ericsson have excelled at with the HBH-IS800. Included in the sales package are three differently sized ear plugs for the headset, allowing users to find the configuration that’s ‘just right’.

The wire connecting the earpieces of the HBH-IS800 is approximately 50.5cm in length and the entire headset (including the earpieces) is about 57cm. This once again ensures all users can enjoy the comfort of the HBH-IS800.

With the HBH-IS800, Sony Ericsson has gone for a simple yet pleasing look. The headset features only three colours: silver, black and green.

Small grooves can be found on each earpiece, providing some extra grip for the fingers.

Although the HBH-IS800’s minimalistic colour scheme allows it to match most electronic devices and clothing, it would be great if Sony Ericsson could offer a few more colour schemes. I’m sure an all-black version would go down well with tech lovers such as me.

Charging/Battery:

The HBH-IS800 comes with a slightly modified Sony Ericsson charger. The headset is charged via a port beneath the Sony Ericsson logo on the right earpiece. The HBH-IS800 should be able to be charged by practically any Sony Ericsson charger, including chargers from SE’s phones, portable chargers and of course USB cables.

The HBH-IS800’s user guide states that prior to any use of the device, it should remain plugged into the charger for a minimum of eight hours. This only needs to be done once and I believe it helps to ensure that the user can get the highest possible usage time out of the HBH-IS800.

Sony Ericsson claims a maximum of four hours music playback time and 270 hours of standby time. In reality, I’ve been able to squeeze a bit over 3 hours of constant music playback (at maximum volume) out of them. Though the battery life of the HBH-IS800 isn’t as amazing as some other Bluetooth headsets available on the market, I was more than happy to exchange stellar battery life for massive improvements in size and practicality.

Unfortunately, the HBH-IS800 takes a few hours to bring back up to full charge from empty. I’ve found that it has taken as long as two hours before seeing the green ‘battery full’ indicator LED on the right earpiece.

Pairing:
Like with most other Bluetooth headsets, pairing the HBH-IS800 with its first compatible device is a very quick and easy process. To pair the headset, it must first be put into pairing mode by turning it off and then pressing and holding the multifunction button for about 5 seconds or until the LEDs on the device start to flash. As with all other Bluetooth accessories, the HBH-IS800’s pairing code is 0000.

After pairing, the headset automatically connects with the last used device when turned on. The HBH-IS800 is incapable of storing more than one previously paired device in its memory.

Sound:
In my opinion, the sound produced by the HBH-IS800s is excellent; music is crystal clear with very good bass, if that’s what you’re into. Due to the in-ear style of the earphones, practically all external sounds cannot be heard when music is playing. Volume cannot be adjusted on the HBH-IS800 so the loudness of your music depends on your phone, I’ve found that Sony Ericsson devices were significantly louder than Nokia ones when at maximum volume and paired with the headset.

I’m no audiophile but I can comfortably say that, for me, the sound quality from the HBH-IS800 is far superior to that of the default earphones that come with Nokia’s N series, Apple’s iPods, Sony Ericsson’s walkman devices as well as a pair of Sony MDR-EX500LPs.

Calling:
Conversations are easy to maintain on the HBH-IS800, voices were clear and loud and I had no complaints about the clarity of my voice. When asked if they suspected that I was talking on Bluetooth headset callers said “no”.

Comfort:
It’s very easy to forget that there’s anything in your ears when using the HBH-IS800, they’re really that comfortable. Using the smallest of the included rubber earbuds, I’ve had no problems using the HBH-IS800 constantly for close to 3 hours.

Bluetooth signal strength:
In a clear line of sight, the HBH-IS800 is able to play music from my phone without any skipping up to about 5 metres. The headset can still play music perfectly when your phone is in any of your pockets (even rear trouser pockets) but music might start skipping if you’re wearing a thick hood; thin hoods work fine. You might also run into trouble if:
-You’re holding your phone while it’s in your pocket
-If it’s windy.

I’m not 100% sure if the wind actually affects the reception of the headsets, but on numerous occasions my music has skipped (only for a second, it recovers quickly) after I walk past a wall and the wind starts to hit me.

Conclusion:
The Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800s could potentially mark the start of a Bluetooth revolution. Its design means that people can now finally experience wireless music without compromising on size, practicality and sound quality. Despite some of its faults, the Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 is arguably the best Stereo Bluetooth headset available on the market today and I would not hesitate to recommend them to any of my friends or family.

How to: Speed up your gallery/ringtone selection

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Do you ever get annoyed when you're picking ringtones for your profiles and you have to search through possibly thousands of your favourite songs just to find that 30-second snippet that you downloaded? Or maybe you just don't want the pictures used by applications like Garmin showing up in (and slowing down) your gallery? If you answered yes to either of the questions above, then I can help you.

Download THIS unsigned sis file, install it and then restart your phone. You'll need a hacked phone to install it.

Installing the above file will mean that your music player will only search through the E:\Sounds folder when you refresh your music library and that when selecting ringtones, the phone will only look through the E:\Sounds\Simple and E:\Video folders. It also means that the Galllery will only search through E:\Images for pictures and E:\Videos for videos.

This hack provides HUGE improvements in the gallery and in adding new tracks. From my own experience, gallery loading times have been reduced by around 65% and music refreshing time is notably improved.

For the curious people out there, the .sis moves one file to C:\resource and one file to C:\Private\10202be9. Thanks go to rol@N95d for originally bringing this hack to my attention.

Things to note:
-This doesn't work on FP2/S60V5 devices. It seems there's work being done to fix this.
-Though I've been using this for about a week with no ill-effect, I am not liable for any (highly unlikely) damage to your phone.

Enjoy!

The Samsung i8910 - It feels like 2006 again

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Do you remember the first of May 2006? That's the day that what we know today as the Nokia N95 was leaked as the Nokia N83. Yesterday saw the first actual images of the device but today, the 6th of February 2009, we have a new king. I can't describe just how excited I am right now. Read on for more details on this God-like phone from Samsung.

My friend Phat^Trance has scored some exclusive, high quality images of the Samsung 'Acme' (sounds too much like acne to me). These pictures confirm the following:

-HDMI output(!)
-HD Video recording (!)
-HUGE touchscreen
-Divx support
-S60 5th edition
-8MP camera

It's also rumoured that the i8910 will feature a WVGA screen but that's not confirmed yet.

If the i8510 ate the N96 for breakfast, the i8910 drinks the N97 like it's water. If history is anything to go by, it's very likely that the i8910 will be available in the shops before the N97.

This is almost certainly my next phone. I can literally feel my N95 8GB shaking right now, or is that just me shaking from the excitement?

Expect an official announcement from Samsung either on Monday or in the coming weeks, at MWC.

S60 has been hacked once again!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Finally. It's happened, my friends. All of you with 'unhackable' firmwares, read on.

None of this would have been possible without the great work by DeltaFox and FCA00000!

What you'll need:
-A strong certificate, like the ones that OPDA give out. If you don't already know how, check out my guide HERE on how to get one.

*Please read through the instructions atleast once before starting the procedure*

Download THIS zip file and extract it to your computer. Open the 'HelloOx' folder and sign every sis file within the folder.

1)Install 'HelloOX.1.03.Unsigned' to your phone's internal memory. If you're getting any certificate errors during the installtion it either means that you haven't signed the application or the certificate you used isn't good enough. Remember, OPDA provide the correct certificates.

2)Open HelloOx from your phone's Applications folder

Wait until it tells you that it's finished (takes about 1 minute).

If you wish, you can uninstall HelloOx once it's finished.

That's it. You're done!

If you have a Feature Pack 2 device for example a N96 or N85, you'll need to sign your unsigned applications with the certificate and key files in the archive named 'Leftup_CertKey' which is inside the HelloOx zip that you downloaded.

If you have a preFP2 device like the N95 or N73, you can now enjoy installing unsigned apps without ever having to worry again.

Enjoy!

Full black Nokia N96 now in the shops

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Do you remember Nokia's 'maps on Ovi' announcement during 2008? No? The image above is from the announcement. It features a N96 with an all-black housing -- hot. Since then, nothing more has been said by Nokia on a black N96...

The Carphone Warehouse is now offering the black N96 to customers who are willing to sign away 18 months of their mobile life to O2, despite there being no official acknowledgement of a black N96 from Nokia.

Is this all too little too late, though? Can a black version of the N96 decrease its alarming returns rate?

How to: Record close-up videos with Nokia devices

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:50:00 +0000

Nokia's Nseries devices are arguably the best phones for video recording available on the market today. With most devices recording at 30 frames per-second and in VGA resolution, it's easy to understand why there are so many 'vloggers' with an Nseries phone. Unfortunately, none of Nokia's devices have ever really been able to get the detail required by many when trying to record something close-up... Until now. Read on for a rather primitive solution from Georgije of Symbian-Freak!

To get macro video recording on your phone, just hit the back of it(or wherever the camera is) with moderate force!

Hitting your device in this area should work.

This only seems to work on Nokia devices with mechanical shutters. I've gotten very pleasing results with both the N73 and N95.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any damage caused to your device. Remember, these phones contain sensitive electronics which may cease to function if you're not careful!

How to enable FP2 style transitions in FP1 devices

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:49:00 +0000

Menu transitions and effects are just a few of the new features included in Nokia's Feature Pack Two S60 devices. These subtle animations really do make a difference and give S60 a feeling of "newness". The N81 of all devices was blessed with a firmware update that enabled these effects, despite the N81 being a Feature Pack One device. That firmware update has now allowed users of the N95 8GB and maybe some other devices to take advantage of the theme effects, too.

Download the KastorUI.zip file HERE!

Please note that this hack is only working on phones with V20 firmware! V30s, V31s, V11s, V10s, V12s and others will NOT work.

***READ THIS BEFORE STARTING***

You'll need:
-A hacked phone with ROMPatcher and a file browser(like Y-Browser) installed.
-To make sure that all of your themes are installed on the C drive(internal memory).

1)Download the KastorUI zip file from here: extract it and then copy the Kastor UI folder to your phone's memory card.

2)Disable platform security either by using CapsOff or ROMpatcher and then use a file browser navigate to the KastorUI folder and copy the KastorUI.rmp file to the patches folder on your memory card.

3)Copy the entire effects folder(from the KastorUI folder) into C:\Resource.

4)Copy the effects.sel file(from the KastorUI folder) and then navigate to C:\Resource\skins. In here, paste the effects.sel file into each of the folders and then rename it to the name of the folder. For example, if the name of a folder was 2000d1c3, you would rename effects.sel to 2000d1c3.sel.

5)Exit your file browser and then open ROMPatcher. Enable the KastorUI patch and set it to start automatically.

6)Navigate to the themes application, highlight your current theme and press options, select theme effects and then turn them off and back on again. *DO NOT EXIT THEMES* Instead, press the Symbian Menu button to open the menu and voila, your theme effects are working!

Every time you turn off your phone, simply repeat step 6 to get your theme effects back.

I've only tested this with my N95 8GB. If this works for you on a different phone, please leave a comment saying so!

Confirmed: The N97 WAS leaked

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Was just browsing Mobile Review and came across a link to the picture that you see above(click for a better view). That's a prototype of the N97 with a label that clearly has 'Ivalo' printed on it.

It was claimed that the N97 was the first flagship Nokia device that wasn't leaked prior to announcement, that 'the internet was in the dark on this one' and even that it was 'the scoop Engadget didn't get'. Nokia were wrong, very wrong. The N97 was leaked as Ivalo in Engadget Mobile's Nokia roadmap almost a month before it was officially announced. Engadget had to remove the roadmap from their site but it can still be found at BGR.

What this means to me is that the above roadmap has gained more credibility, despite claims from Eldar and others that a lot of the devices mentioned have since been canned. Maybe we'll see some other devices from the roadmap sometime soon.

Maybe next time, Nokia.

Cancelled mystery Nokia device appears in 'spy' shots

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:56:00 +0000

The image above was posted on Eldar Murtazin's LiveJournal. Eldar has access to prototypes of phones long before they're available in the shops and as seen in this case, he also has access to devices that have been cancelled and will never see the light of day.

From what I can see, this is a Nokia device. I haven't seen phones from other manufacturers that feature the swirly 'i' that can be found on the '0' button on many Nokia devices. I can also gather that the device doesn't run S60 as there's no standard S60 menu button. S40 maybe... or even Android?

Could this be the start of something new? The design of the device is different from other Nokia devices and even slightly resembles the vertu line of devices, maybe Nokia will be changing the way they design their S40 phones in the future? Maybe this is S40's equivalent of the N81? Time will tell, I guess.

According to this thread in the Mobile-Review forums, Eldar will be publishing a 'review' on a bunch of scrapped devices sometime soon.

How to update your Samsung i8510 INNOV8 firmware

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Samsung's S60-powered i8510 has been out for a few months now and has proved to be rather popular. Unfortunately, the device has quite a few bugs that prevent it from reaching its true potential as the most highly specced S60 device to date. Even more unfortunate, though, is that Samsung don't currently offer any official methods for users to update to the latest available firmwares at home.

THIS METHOD OF UPDATE IS NOT OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED BY SAMSUNG. IF YOU WISH TO UPDATE YOUR I8510 USING SAMSUNG-APPROVED SOFTWARE, CLICK HERE.

The Samsung i8510 users website have an article that provides everything you need to upgrade your i8510's firmware at home. Please remember that this process is totally unofficial and is not recommended for anyone who isn't comfortable with manually updating their device's firmware.

There is no changelog available for this firmware revision and it's apparently intended for users in eastern European countries. It does support the English language.

Head over to Samsung i8510 users to download all 6 files and then follow the included user guide.

Good luck!

Samir's HandWave launched

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Finally, after over 2 months of waiting, HandWave is available for download! HandWave is an application that uses the front camera of your S60 device to detect movements from the user's hands and then registering these movements as corresponding keypresses on the device. You could call it a touchless interface for S60...

I've been using HandWave for a few minutes now and I am rather impressed. It's very accurate, even in dark surroundings. There's a little box at the top left of the screen that can be used to show when a movement is registered.

Users may want to turn this off though as it will obstruct some of the information on your screen. Unfortunately, such an option does not exist in this beta.

I had no problems using HandWave to control my phone from atleast 1 meter away so this could be great for using with TV-Out. The application can be optimised for different uses by changing the values of the pixel and image 'sensibility'.

HandWave is a great application that can be useful but I know i'll very likely be using it just to show off!

HandWave is currently donationware, meaning you can only get it by donating to Samir, the author of the application. You can donate as little or as much as you wish. After donation, a download link will be sent to you instantly.

Get HandWave HERE.

Samir's AikonLab is alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Ask any person on Symbian-Freak who their favourite individual software developer is and you'll very likely be given one of two answers: Wook or Samir. Wook is a talented developer that likes to get the most out of his S60 device by not adhering to the limitations imposed by Symbian Signed while Samir is a Symbian celebrity who is probably best known for his accelerometer driven applications like RotateMe. As some of you may recall, Samir launched AikonLab back in September but was never to update it again until yesterday, November 7th.

Samir has now made nAlertMe available for download on his site. nAlertMe is a freeware security application that uses the inbuilt accelorometer to raise an audible alarm if your phone is moved from a stationary position. The alarm can only be deactivated after the user positions their phone in a pre-determined sequence of orientations.

Here's a video of nAlertMe in action:

nAlertMe
Uploaded by AikonLab

You can grab nAlertMe by heading over to AikonLab and then navigating to the projects page.

Now all I'm waiting for is news on HandWave... Godspeed Samir!

Get SkyFire browser regardless of your location

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:19:00 +0000

SkyFire is a very capable mobile browser that's a bit similar to Opera Mini in the sense that most of the work done on rendering a webpage is actually done remotely. This helps to reduce page load times on your phone quite significantly. SkyFire is currently in BETA stage and is meant to be open only to US residents. Read on to get SkyFire on your device without having to move to the United States of America.

To get SkyFire:

1)Go to the SkyFire Register page HERE.

2)Fill in your details. Make sure you give a real email address as you'll need it later on. In the phone number field enter any random series of numbers, just mash at your keyboard!

3)You'll get a confirmation email that contains a link saying 'Download to PC', click on it and you'll be taken to a page where you must create a password for your SkyFire account. After creating the password the SkyFire installation file will start downloading.

5)Copy the installation file to your phone and install as normal. When opening SkyFire for the first time you'll be asked to input the email address you registered with and the password you created in the previous step.

Enjoy!

Get cash for your old phones and a free SIM from Three

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. X) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:37:00 +0000

Do you have some old phones collecting dust in your house? Would you like to put one of those phones to use? Maybe you'd like to recycle your phone and get some cash at the same time?

Three are offering a free pay as you go SIM card for anyone interested. If you want a free Three SIM card, head over to Three's site, fill in your details and your SIM will be with you within the next 30 days. Please remember that Three requires you to use a 3G enabled device on their network. If you try using an older 2G device your service may be halted.

Three are also offering a phone recycling scheme. You send in your old phone and they'll send you a set amount of money for it. I just checked to see what I could get for some of the phones in my room:

N73=£44.20
N80=£26.35
6500 Slide=£51
N95 8GB=£127.50

To get the best prices for your phones, you must make sure that they are working. Here's Three's criteria for what they consider a working phone:

-Turn on and off
-Be fully functional (Normal cosmetic wear and tear is acceptable)
-Have a working screen
-Include its battery (you can keep memory card, charger, etc)
-Be healthy - not crushed or water-damaged

Visit Three's recycling page here.