Curiosity = -18.64

That was my cell phone balance a few days back. So, I am sitting home getting bored and I decide to explore my phone. I landed somehow on the RSS feeds. Had a few default feeds there. So decided to check it out. I updated the Sony Ericsson feed and to my surprise, it worked. I was literally jumping with joy ( a joy that wouldn’t last long, as I found out later)

Now, you need to know that I use a prepaid connection and a few days back I activated Vodafone Live. (Don’t ask me why.)

Coming back, so I clicked on a link from the feed and was excited to see a web page open. (For the record, I have never previously used GPRS in my life. I previously had a 1100 you see. ) Then I was curious and went right ahead and checked out my blog. Man, was it beautiful. I was thrilled really. I know it’s not much. But I appreciate technology. If you can read your blog (or someone else’s for that matter) from your phone, it’s a big deal. (I know it’s been around for a while. Doesn’t mean I can’t marvel it.)

So I clicked on a couple of pictures and links. I checked the balance after having quit the browser. It was some 12 Rupees. Man, I had 20 odd rupees balance. 8 rupees for this ? Not worth it. Then I go to sleep.

When I get up, I make a call and the call doesn’t go through. I try a couple more times. Then I check my balance. Freakin -(minus)18 rupees!! What ? Where did the money go ? Then I realised it must be the RSS feeds. (Still can’t be certain.) So I am frantically searching for options to turn them off and I can’t find them. Great!! So, instead I delete all my feeds.

I wanted to call Vodafone Care and yell at them, but after my last experience calling them, I decided against it

Sony Ericsson PC Suite

Ok, I know I said Sony Ericsson PC Suite doesn’t allow you to send messages, receive messages ..etc from your computer in my earlier post. However, looks like I was wrong.

No, it’s not like I did not check the features before going on my blog and criticizing Sony people. I am not a trigger happy kind of person. It’s just that the version that shipped with my phone didn’t have any useful features. (Sony guys, make a note of that.) 

Now, I installed Vista today and hence had to reinstall all the software. So, I decided to pop my Sony CD in and install the PC suite. To my astonishment, the PC suite that shipped with me phone was compatible only with Xp or below. What dumbasses ? For a phone that was released I think in 2007, I don’t see why they did not include a Vista specific software. Really sad.

So, I went online to search for a Vista compatible PC suite, even if it was a third party software. I however wanted to give Sony guys a shot and check out what was available on their website. This is what I found,

English Sony Ericsson PC Suite 3.204.00

And this is the PC suite that shipped with my phone,

PC Suite 2.0.60 (for Windows 2000)

So, I decided to download the new PC suite and it installed fine. However, I am still having some trouble setting my phone up. This is what I get to see when I connect it, almost indefinitely.

WTF ? How long does it take to install the drivers ?

The Other Side of PCB

Well, here are some pics of my PCB. Worst PCB ever!! Yet, I have to make do with it. Sad isn’t it ?

It’s the most pathetic board I have ever seen. At first glance, it misses your naked eye, but on closer inspection or when using your Multimeter, you find out that all the traces that are not supposed to be in contact are in-fact  touching. Sadly for me, I noticed this after having soldered a couple of IC’s in. For a while I thought the problem was with the solder itself. After several attempts to set it right, I had a hunch that the tracks itself could be touching each other. And man, was my hunch right. Almost every track was touching the other track!! And I had to use a Swiss Army Knife to remove the copper between tracks Imagine!!

(IC’s in place)

(IC’s and a few wires. Takes longer than you can imagine)

(Flipsyde)

The original idea was to make my own PCB. But I couldn’t find my drilling machine and to be honest, it involves a lot more effort. I would have used a breadboard, but then one of my IC’s refused to sit in it.  

Microsoft SMS Sender

It’s a shame really that Sony Ericsson’s PC suite allows you to do very little. You can copy files and stuff and charge your phone (duh!!) maybe, but other than that, it’s not so great. It has this feature wherein you can synchronise contacts and appointments and stuff. Like I am ever going to need one. 

I remember some 5-6 years back when Nokia has this 5100 phone, that we could send and receive messages form your PC using the PC suite. So I set out the find an application that would allow me to do the same with my Sony Ericsson phone. I found the Microsoft SMS Sender.

You can find the original article that I stumbled upon, here: (I don’t wish to repeat stuff that’s already there elsewhere on the Internet.) 

Sending SMS Using Windows XP

However, on going to the Windows site to download the same, it asked me to verify if my Windows XP was genuine. Else it would not allow me to download this crappy 625KB application. What the heck ? Well, my Windows XP is genuine alright, but nevertheless, I am not going to allow these guys to check that before I can download this application. So I got it from another site anyway. Here’s the download link:

Microsoft SMS Sender 1.0

In XP it seems you can only send messages and not recieve them. It maintains a crappy log on a notepad file and the sent message cannot be found on your phone. But then I was pleased that it actually worked. It is supposed to work with data cable, IR or Bluetooth.

I did find a better software afterwards and it rocks. I shall be writing on the same later. I am sure there are more such software available on the Internet.

Hand Stitched Custom Phone Cover - SE K810i

Well, this is the height of joblessness. I asked a couple of stores if they had a cover that would fit my phone and all of them seemed to have only those leather covers which serves no purpose really. (And I hate it when people put that pouch through their belts. Not very convenient if you ask me.) Thankfully, most of my trousers have a cell phone pouch inside the pocket so that your phone doesn’t fall out.

I am sure it’s available in some store somewhere. Maybe I should check out a few cell phone stores and also Odyssey and Mercy.

In the meantime , I thought I needed a cover for now. So I decided to make my own cover. After a bit of thinking over what material to use, I narrowed down to the cloth you get with your shades/spectacles. These are really soft and hence will not scratch you phone. I have a couple of them that came with my shades, but I was not going to use them. So I decided to go purchase it from a shop. Read about that in my next post.

Hand stitched Cell Phone Cover:

Firstly, I know it’s not great. Maybe it’s not even good. So save the ‘it looks lame’ comments.   

Anyway, here’s the end product. I stitched it myself (I learnt stitching when I was in boarding school. )  and intentionally used a thread colour that stood out. (I did have the same matching shade of yellow thread as well. )  I wanted to use twine actually, but then didn’t find a big enough needle at home.

Other Future Refinements:

Right now this is meant to protect the phone when it’s not in use from dust and scratches. Later on, I think I’ll add a window for the screen, the buttons and the camera. That way I can have it permanently on. Or, wait I could actually buy one by then. :D 

Creative Zen - A Must Buy

I have already written in short about Creative Zen in a post earlier. (I am too lazy to link it. Use the search facility )

Features ?

Specifications ?

Why am I writing about it again ? Well, couple of reasons:

1) I actually saw it today for the first time and tried using all the facilities to an extent.

2) I was going to get one for myself, but then I might have to sacrifice it if I want my K801i

3) Some of my friends didn’t even know there is a player called Zen!! (Message: Read my Blog )

My First Impression:

Saw Sricharan’s Zen today. Sricharan was/is my senior in/from college. Shiva’s batch-mate. Shiva also has a Zen, but either he treasures it a lot or didn’t want me to take a look. ;) I am thoroughly impressed. Why ?

• Comes in 2,4,8,16 and 32GB variants. 
• It’s tiny.
• It’s weightless.
• It’s got an awesome screen. (For a tiny player, it sports a 2″ screen) 
• Good sound quality.
• Radio with 32 built in presets
• Sound Recorder that works really well and
• Lot’s more such as organiser, DivX and Xvid support…etc.

Here are some photos:

Creative guys, here’s something you should know:

” Your product rocks and kicks ass. People here in India love their mp3 players and are buying them like crazy. But thanks to your lacklustre marketing and to an extent callous attitude towards the Indian market, most people still think that IPOD and MP3 players are synonymous. If you have a good product, you still need to market it you know!!”

Same goes for Zune. Bloody hell!! Make it available in India and see how many people buy it. You will be surprised.

Bottom Line: MP3 players are for Indian markets too. Sell it here and we are ready to buy them.

Help Me Choose A Phone

I have been wanting to buy a good phone for a while now and chances are I will get some money in a few days form now. I have been trying to choose a good mobile at a decent rate. Anything between 7000 and 10,000 rupees would be alright. I would prefer Nokia, but Sony Ericsson is also acceptable. (No Korean Phones though )

Here are some models which I think are good. Take your pick and if you could reason as to why.

NOKIA 6300

Rs 7367/-

A very very good phone with good features and a mini USB port. Initially it cost about 12k. Today its available for less than 7k. Anything the trouble ?  2MP camera. Also, amazingly slim. Doesn’t have IR though. (Not that it is required)

Looks like there was a reason this phone’s price has been dropping. As Hari pointed out, the battery life is really bad. and I also heard that the phone gets heated pretty quickly.

Sony Ericsson W660

Rs. 8995/-

It’s got decent features and a 2MP camera, but no Infra Red.

Sony Ericsson K550I

Rs. 7365/-

Another decent phone with 2MP camera. The price is almost same as 6300

Sony Ericsson K750 I

Rs.7695/- 

Another 2MP camera. Very little difference between this model and the one on top. Again, a contender to 6300.

Sony Ericsson K 790I 

Rs 9995/-(vasavi) Rs 9615/- (Univercell) Rs 9495/- (poorvika)

This is my personal choice. But, I don’t know if I will have 10k with me for sure. This has got stunning features for the price you pay. A 3.2 MP camera which works really well. (Vibushan has this btw)

After going through the comments, I am adding a few more models here:

Sony Ericsson 810I

Rs 12,795/- (vasavi) Rs 11346/- (Univercell) Rs 11495/- (poorvika)

If not for the 1k more than my budget, it blows the mind hole!!

*-All prices as per Vasavi mobiles. Univercell seems to be cheaper. I am sure there will be cheaper stores. You can suggest where to buy as well.

Prices seem to be cheaper in univercell and even more cheaper in Poorvika.