Mobile gadgets running Blackberry & Android OS'
Posts tagged sony ericsson
[en] SE P1i camera mod update [Sony Ericsson/modding/UIQ]
01317 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
Camera mod is getting on my nerves. I don’t really need the video part but entering this mod-business made me took the opportunity of testing extensively all the mods available. All of them are safe: you don’t like it, just delete the modded files and the system will use the back-ups when you restart. Safe.
So, a lot of people started modding the camera files and the results appeared instantly. I mean, pictures are so much better with a minor downside: they are maybe 15% bigger in size, but with my 2 GB card I don’t worry a bit. I usually download pics&videos from my phone every 2 weeks, or even weekly. On the video part, there is A LOT of work to be done. Even after lots of mods, the video still appears choppy and laggy. This happens to me. Others have bigger issues: delayed sound of about 2 seconds or corrupt (often and it happened to me, too!) video/picture after you finish taking them! And this is really bad because you can’t recapture those moments. Or for most of the people, works great. I know that.
I tend to relay on my P1i camera very much, as it’s the best camera I have whenever I need it. What good is to have at home a 12 MP one with big optical zoom? Underneath, I put two clips taken with 2 different mods. After this second try, I pretty sure I’ll comeback to the original settings and wait until something better comes along. Too bad for the video image quality which is top notch (for this phone), almost 100% better than before, but choppiness is not acceptable.
A little bit about the video clips underneath: 1st example has decreased FPS(frames per second) from 51 to 45 in order to reduce the lag. It seemed to be working (only 3 choppy frames at the begining and then very smooth), but after trying it again today, was worse than ever before. And this leads me to example number 2: after emptying the folder to which the record will gonna land to in order to have a smoother operation,I tried again but the result is terible. Don’t know why. Just it doesn’t work at all, the result is choppy and laggy.
I have to thank Mode and Chombos 1, both members of the Esato Forum for their kindness and help regarding this particular issue. In the end, by coverting back to original files doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the unpaid effort made by people modding these apps, but that for the moment the result is not expected so maybe some encouragement and patience is in order.
[en] New set of Main Menu icons [Sony Ericsson/UIQ/modding]
31318 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
Took a long time to find out why not all my icons would update with the rest: everytime I tried, all were updated but Contacts, Messages, Calendar and Control Panel (right side image). And it didn’t look good.
What’s all about? Modding. By replacing even the icons in my phone, I have a brand new interface every time I get bored with the old one. And it’s simple: after hacking the operation system, all I have to do is to copy the new icons on C: drive. For some reason, if these are mirrored on C: drive, then the phone displays them. If I wanna get back to original ones, I just delete the ones I put and poof, the phone uses the original ones from the Z: drive where everything is backed-up. And a nother plus is the fact that by deleting a small file, I now have bigger (at the same resolution) icons that are easier to use with your finger instead of the stylus. I also changed the theme. I started a 3 part series about all the modding business and everything includes it (1st part here) but didn’t have the time (as usual) to see it through right away. I will, eventually.
But back to the new icons, the reason for failure to change all icons layed in the fact that they were “written” for English (phone’s language). Even if my phone was in English, it wouldn’t change them all. So I gave it one more shot and asked the developers and they said I should change the language to English. I was going nuts because I HAD English. But it was American English as I’ve learned in a second of blitzy sweet inspiration. I’ve changed it to UK English and now I have what I long longed for! Kudos to the developers!
So here’s my new UI layout in terms of icons variation (left side image).
[en] Sony EricssonP1i modding evolution – 1st part [Sony Ericsson/UIQ/gsm/modding]
01336 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
Some while ago I discovered I can install diff’rent mods on my phone. What are they? Well, they are ordinary files from your Symbian smart-phone modified to add supplementary functionality to that particular program they’re part of. That’s the trend now. No more new programs to try, tweak and buy. Just be a part of the world in which talented smart guys break apart in small pieces all available programs in your smart-phone in order to ad an exit button, or to improve quality of pictures, or to turn on for another 60% your headset volume so you can enjoy the music as you should.
Until a year ago, none of this was possible due to restrains imposed by a stiff UIQ system in which there were files and folders kept away from the user. Why? Because they know the user likes to customize the phone. So much that the user would attempt to modify the files in order to get what one wants. And then,sometimes,the system would fail. And nobody would want that. I can find any other reason.
Any sane person (or company management) knows that by buying the product, you agree with their EULA and so if something you done goes wrong and the product is failing, is not their fault. And with that in mind, I still don’t understand why their locked the system.
Anyway, some people were able to break the barrier separating us from so many goodies. I found out about it from SWmail first, then Esato by Ares, then Symbian Freak and UIQ Blog. With each site writing about it, the core of info was bigger and bigger. And the more I read, the more I wanted to try it although there was no guarantee involved. There is always a way. Always.
Next,I’ll enumerate the mods I curently have on my phone. I’ll start with the most important and will complete the article over the next few days because there are many mods and they deserve proper description each and every one of them.
1.Caps Switch and Override permisions. Without these two, none of the below would be possible.
2.The camera mode: there are at least 4 versions over the Internet at the moment. W90i, P990i and P1i camera mods are available. They bring burst of 6 pictures instead of 4, extra digital zoom up to 400%, auto rename from of the pictures (PICT 0000x) from DSC000x, and video (VID9857), quality increase up to 96% for the “fine mode” and video improvement from 15 fps (standard high quality) to 27 fps. Quite simple to add, just overwrite files in C drive. How it works: fantastic improvement for video, good improvement on picture quality. One problem with video: due to higher bitrate and fps, the image sometimes freezes for a tenth of a second. It did it for a few times when I’ve tried it (2nd example). After finding a tweaked version on Esato, the pauses only happened for 3-4 seconds and then the image became smoother (3rd example).
After the 1st camera mod: there’s this huge improvement on image but also the frequent pauses that weren’t there before.
After the 2nd camera mod: as smooth as the 1st time but with only 3-4 pauses.Notice there is less light available for this last video.
Pictures.
Not much to say here. I only use high/fine mode, 3 MP.
Before:
After camera mod:
You can download all the above in real size here (first pictures).
3.Sound full mode: this mode enables your smartphone to increase your sound in the wired headset with circa 60%. It’s a bit tricky to do it but if you follow the step by step walkthru included in the file. How it works: very,very good. No distortions or anything of such kind. There is also a version in which you can modify the sound volume to your own choice but if I’m not a professional, so I’ll leave it like this. I admit I’d still need an extra 30% volume to cover the jet engines when I’m flying but it’s better than what I had before. Definitely worth the improvement.
Later-edit: When using this mod one loses the Track ID service. I don’t know why, it just stops working.
4.Graphic mods: these mods change your UI, including icons. This means you can change the whole upper bar with signal, shortcuts, battery level, task manager, etc AND main menu icons. As you can see from below, there were some problems regarding the changed icons – not all of them were changed. It might have something to do with the fact that i have an older FW version. I either have to update (no reason as the phone works as a charm) or change the “missing” icons manually but didn’t have the time.
Later-edit: one important issue with a lot of people is the language. This means that these graphic mods are done especially for each language. Almost all of them are for English, so be sure to use UK English, not American English or another language. Otherwise, like you see in the left picture underneath, it won’t change all icons like it should.
[ro] Din nou Xperia X1-lansare iminenta [Sony Ericsson/tech-head/gsm/video]
01340 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
Ca o continuare a sumarului de acum ceva timp, ma bucur ca observ ca lucrurile se succed cu rapiditate catre ceea ce multi asteapta inca de la inceputul anului: lansarea Xperia X1. Primul eveniment major este anuntul oficial prin care telefonul se lanseaza la 30 Septembrie in doar cateva tari, iar al doilea trebuia sa fie (pentru mine) webcast-ul programat de Sony Ericsson pe 15 Septembrie,de care am aflat de pe Esato. Din pacate, ca orice lucru in Romania, la momentul respectiv ploua iar eu nu am putut urmari webcast-ul, oricare dintre cele 3 (TREI) conexiuni la internet neavand suficienta putere sa sustina un live-streaming. Serviciile din Romania nu mai surprind pe nimeni.
Insa cei de Sony Ericsson au realizat ca interesul este enorm si au pus pe site o inregistrare a evenimentului care contine si o demonstratie cu un X1 cu ROM datat in Septembrie. Inregistrarea se gaseste aici iar imaginile vorbesc de la sine.
[en] A modded Sony-Ericsson P1 screenshot [UIQ/gsm/Sony-Ericsson]
01353 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
I’ll come back with more details regarding the modding and what it means,what it does. Until then, the ones familiar with the model can see at least 2-3 differences from the original interface.
[ro] Sumar informatii Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 [gsm/tehnologie/WM]
01375 days
by Bograma
in Everything Else Tech
Pentru ca Octombrie se apropie cu repeziciune, m-am gandit sa sumarizez informatiile care exista referitoare la noul smartphone de la Sony Ericsson, Xperia X1 care va rula Windows Mobile. Din cate citesc in link-ul de mai sus, se vorbeste de 30 Octombrie 2008, care de fapt inseamna Noiembrie-si-au mai “tras” o luna si nu cred ca a fost indeajuns. Avand experienta celorlalte smartphones de la SE, cred cu tarie ca si acesta va fi plin de bug-uri, ca sa nu ma mai gandesc ca si acest model poate fi distrus de vreun bug fatal, asa cum a fost distrus P990i-ul acum 2 ani.
La Cebit in Martie, nu am putut testa telefonul pentru ca nu avea baterie. Motivul oficial a fost ca la momentul respectiv Microsoft nu lansase inca Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. Mi-a fost soptit insa ca motivul real era legat de instabilitatea sistemului, la acea perioada fiind inca in faza de prima dezolvare si adaptare la Xperia X1. Inainte sa trec mai departe, din variatele rapoarte de pe internet de acum 6 luni de zile, se poate vedea ca meniul si functiile sunt destul de lente, unele avand chiar 3-4 secunde de intarziere inainte de a fi accesate. Cu toate ca nu este deloc normal sa fie asa, trebuie sa sublinez faptul ca Ericsson, si mai tarziu Sony-Ericsson, n-a excelat niciodata la acest capitol. Faptul ca lucreaza cu Symbian sau WM nu schimba cu nimic situatia – telefoanele sunt inca destul de lente comparativ cu modele altor companii. Chiar si dupa multe update-uri de software si reglaje fine, P1i-ul meu inca deschide unele aplicatii in 2-3 secunde de la comanda. Sunt sigur ca este vorba de arhitectura hardware si software.
Dupa cum se poate vedea mai sus, partea de hardware (constructia, imbinarea, calitatea materialelor si a finisajelor) nu poate fi pusa la indoiala. Cu toate ca nu l-am testat, ci doar m-am jucat 2 minute cu unul la Hanovra, pot spune ca telefonul se simte solid, mecanismul de deschidere este foarte, foarte precis iar tastatura QWERTY este extrem de facila iar tastele sunt bine impartite.
Apoi mai gasim un video-review din luna Iunie 2008 si deja se observa o diferenta din punct de vedere al partii de software. Au mai lucrat la meniuri, au adaugat tot felul de optiuni si se misca foarte bine.
Ma bucur ca au incercat si cu WM pentru ca exista o gramada de binevoitori care modifica in permanenta ROM-uri. Se pare ca numai asa se poate ajunge la o functionalitate cat mai completa – mariile companii nu au interesul sa investeasca inca un an in dezvoltarea unui produs care se afla deja pe piata si se vinde foarte bine.
De asemenea, exista si concurenta iar lansarea este iminenta: Samsung Omnia I900.
