VC’s Techie CockTail

With many cellphones even at the 80-100$ range coming with mp3 playback capability but with limited memory might be a source of frustration for some. So here is a easy and FREE way to fit some mp3’s into your phone even with limited memory like Nokia 2600 Classic, Sony Ericsson K510i etc. So the first step is to download Audacity - A free Audio Editor.

Then in audacity, Edit menu -> under ‘Preferences’ ->under ‘File Formats’ tab -> Set the MP3 Export setup bit rate as 48 from the drop down menu (as illustrated in the screenshot below)

Then File-> Open  -> “Select a mp3 file” and then File->Export as MP3 -> Save it. Viola !!! a mp3 file with size say 5 MB will be compressed to about 2MB (approx). Then upload it to your phone and enjoy.

And here is a way to cut a small portion of the mp3 file to make a mp3 ringtone. Use this MP3 splitter (’Right click and Select Save Target’ as to download)to select a source mp3 file and a destination to save the result. And then you have three choice to split by size, seconds and selection. By the end of it you will have small mp3 ringtones of your favourite tunes to rock your cell phone. Enjoy

written by Vignesh \\ tags: Mobile, ringtones

I’ve come across many dedicated theme sites for my mobile phone, but here at Deviantart there are high quality themes, wallpapers not only for your phones but also for your pc, laptop.

One of my favourties was a ubuntu theme and my kudos to all the designers out there for their creativity. Here you can find a list of themes for K550i (can be used for K750i,W810i,W550i,K610i etc). For other phones just use the search bar in the site, you wont be disappointed.

For people who want more customization like changing their icons on the main menu here is a excellent site with various menu packs and here is a tutorial to make it work. As a word of caution please follow the instructions carefully before proceeding with any of these menu modding stuff.

If you are interested in sharing any of your work or some good sites for such goodies just post your comments here !!

written by Vignesh \\ tags: K550i, themes

Here are two more Java based softwares for you techies to try out in your cell phones…
Yahoo Go 2.0 : When I first heard about Yahoo Go I was quite excited to try it out, but it started supporting my K550i quite late. I tried it out in the last few weeks, to put it in a nutshell its excellent. The carousel based interface with many yahoo services like mail, messenger,finance,news, finance makes it enjoyable to work with. But because of my pathetic gprs speeds I wasnt able to take it for a more thorough run, but for people using yahoo’s services its a very handy tool making me to look forward to version 3.

And here is a free java based dictionary,

Dictionary : I have always felt the need for a mobile dictionary mainly because I am lazy enough to go and pick up a dictionary from the book shelf. I found dictionary v2.6 to be a very handy dictionary. It suggest words as we type along and its easy to use. Even though the vocabulary may be limited its handy enough for reference and free. My kudos to the developer Vikrant Prakash Chavan(vikrant_pc(at)yahoo.com)

written by Vignesh \\ tags: Java softwares

As a continuation to my article here, here are some more Java based softwares to make your simple cellphone smarter.

• mGuard :  A software similar to Samsung Anti-Theft tracker. So people trying to steal your mobiles beware
• GoText : A open source java software to send free sms thru GPRS / EDGE / UMTS. Its a boon to people with unlimited data connections
• ScanR : For all cameraphone owners, a chance to make your phone a scanner / copier or a fax machine.
• QFind : Frustrated by searching the endless of mobile numbers in your address book. This software has the nifty capability to find contacts by numbers and number patterns

written by Vignesh \\ tags: Java softwares