VC’s Techie CockTail

After successfully updating my K550i once through my laptop and SEUS update software, I saw there was a update was available but connecting through my laptop the SEUS software said R6BC was the latest. But while trying to search for a update through my K550i’s software update function it said there was a new version available.

It said the download package was 1490 KB which is very less compared to a update via PC , which will entail a download of almost 30 MB. After downloading the firmware, the phone went to a update mode (this mode wont be seen when updating via a PC) as shown below.

After a 5-10 minute process the phone was once again ready to Rock n Roll :-). The latest firmware was R8BA. The major thing I could notice was the sound volume was much louder.The Java JSR version was also higher hopefully Java apps would run quicker. But now while putting / receiving a call I receive a message “Ciphering is currently not being provided by the network Insecure transmission” and a icon also displayed at the top while talking.

After lots of search and customer support mails I have come to a conclusion its a bug in the software so hopefully a firmware update would solve it. If any of you had similar experiences and have ways to solve this problem, please post your comments.

 NOTE: For those who dont know, FOTA is Firmware over the Air. For this you would need a full fledged GPRS service enabled in your phone.

written by Vignesh \\ tags: K550i, Sony Ericsson

After reading a lot about Motorola’s muddle in the mobile biz. I thought why ? I have come across some nice , solid and value for money motorola phones like the ROKR. Anyway last month I met my buddy who is a Motorola Distributor in the state of Kerala and he had a MOTO Q8 in his hand. I played with it for a few minutes and got my friend to answer few of my queries on this phone.

• At almost 14,500/- (360$) its a cheap Windows based smartphone . HTC has the cheapest I think with a phone retailing around 12,000/- bucks.
• The phone was nice and slim, and the rubberized sides made it comfortable to hold.
• Even though the screen was smaller in height it was crisp and colorful. It has enough space at the bottom to house the QWERTY keypad, which I am not a great fan of.
• The ringer volume and the media player was loud and clear.
• Connectivity was well served with GPRS, EDGE,USB, Bluetooth. Q8 has a 3G twin called Q9 with 3G, HSDPA, 2 megapixel camera
• Q8 has a basic 1.3 megapixel camera which was OK for casual snaps.
• My friend had a host of softwares installed on it utilizing the capability of windows mobile.
• According to him, the battery life is excellent.

So people / techies looking for a messaging phone with microsoft server & sync support , this phone will prove a excellent value buy.

written by Vignesh \\ tags: Motorola

I got my hands on a Sony Ericsson W950i. It is the WalkMan twin of M600i , the major difference being its conventional keypad (M600i has a QWERTY keypad) and the 4GB inbuilt memory. Its based on Sony Ericsson UIQ platform, so its officially a “Music Smartphone”. Even though its quite a old phone and in some ways I think its not available officially in many retails stores, but my friend got it for 16,000 bucks (400$),but I’ve seen many online stores selling at a even lower price.

I was impressed with its,

• Looks. Quite slim and with a compact body made it nice to hold and use.
• Display was nice with a large screen with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels.
• Some of the phone functions were easy to use with the fingers itself. And being a UIQ based phone, it can be installed with 3rd party software for office and productivity needs.
• The Walkman player interface with 4 GB memory was quite good and excellent audio quality, but not that loud as compared to say a Nokia N73.
• Phone reception and speaker was excellent and coupled with a great battery life it makes a good phone.

I was somewhat miffed about its,

• Operating speed. Sometimes it took a few seconds to respond to my actions.
• Lack of camera. Since I think its a phone targeted more towards younger generation a decent camera module would have been a ACE in its pocket.

As I said previously, its quite a old phone so people looking for a street smart “Smart phone” without a camera and want to get a taste of UIQ platform you can try this phone. If you can find a good bargain, you can get it around 12,000 bucks or even less if you get lucky

written by Vignesh \\ tags: Sony Ericsson