Yes, that's why it's called a modem.
So, why is it of use?
Most modern cell phones incorporate a modem of some variety.
The latest phones (including the N95) have high speed capabilty and can operate at up to 3.6Mbits/sec data rates.
The network operators have enabled their equipment to take advantage of these abilities (though not all at the highest rate) and you can now find yourself in mobile broadband heaven (contention rates allowing).
Contention rates, by the way, are affected by the type of equipment in use and how efficient it is, the number of users 'online', and other prevailing conditions.
To take advantage of the phones modem you have to be connected to your PC/Laptop (a PDA can be used in the same way) by either a data cable or bluetooth.
Your settings for T-mobile are as follows -
Access point - general.t-mobile.uk
User - t-mobile or user
Password - pass
Modem initialisation string (phone and modem options in Windows) - +CGDCONT=,,"general.t-mobile.uk"
Security settings should be default or recommended and everything else OFF, unticked and unbulleted.
Set the modem transfer rate in windows as high as possible, although this will have minimal effect.
For other network operators check out a search for the settings.
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
For many months (ever since I first heard about the N95 in Oct '06) I have firmly believed that the N95 was (going to be) the best mobile phone that was currently available.
For many months I have had to read the forum comments from the uneducated, inexperienced and sometimes just plain ignorant.
Comments about how unstable, badly made and lacking in some minute function the phone is.
How much better certain zPhones are (I can't bring myself to type the name of such a heap of glitsy Hog Sh*te).
How this was needed or that was needed. How we all needed to wait for the N95 8Gb to have all our prayers answered. How outdated (?) the N95 was or that it was superceeded.
Etc, Etc, Etc. Blah, Blah, Blah!
Well, I now believe in magic, because with Ver.20 firmware update Nokia have just created the nearest thing to perfection that you can put in the palm of your hand!
How sick do N95 8Gb owners feel? (maybe a few upgraded?)
Don't know! Don't care!
How totally depressed do zPhone owners feel? (maybe a few regret the folly of their impatient eyecandy lust?)
Don't know! Don't care!
How bad do all the N95 knockers feel now they know what a wonderfully superb piece of modern progressive communications technology, is the allmighty N95.
Th N95 Classic befits it's name!
BUT THEN I KNEW THAT ALL ALONG!
For many months (ever since I first heard about the N95 in Oct '06) I have firmly believed that the N95 was (going to be) the best mobile phone that was currently available.
For many months I have had to read the forum comments from the uneducated, inexperienced and sometimes just plain ignorant.
Comments about how unstable, badly made and lacking in some minute function the phone is.
How much better certain zPhones are (I can't bring myself to type the name of such a heap of glitsy Hog Sh*te).
How this was needed or that was needed. How we all needed to wait for the N95 8Gb to have all our prayers answered. How outdated (?) the N95 was or that it was superceeded.
Etc, Etc, Etc. Blah, Blah, Blah!
Well, I now believe in magic, because with Ver.20 firmware update Nokia have just created the nearest thing to perfection that you can put in the palm of your hand!
How sick do N95 8Gb owners feel? (maybe a few upgraded?)
Don't know! Don't care!
How totally depressed do zPhone owners feel? (maybe a few regret the folly of their impatient eyecandy lust?)
Don't know! Don't care!
How bad do all the N95 knockers feel now they know what a wonderfully superb piece of modern progressive communications technology, is the allmighty N95.
Th N95 Classic befits it's name!
BUT THEN I KNEW THAT ALL ALONG!
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING!!!
If this causes some raised eyebrows then so be it!
I have 'played' with three brand new N95s. I have debranded them all, undated them all, installed apps and conducted battery tests (see below).
I believe I know how this little sucker operates and why it sometimes fails. I have spent countless hours on it and the following is my own opinion as a result of my findings and observations.
HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING!!!
Clutter causes problems in all walks of life and non more so than with the modern mobile phone.
They accumulate stuff all over the place and mostly where and when you know nothing about it! On the phone memory and the card memory!
It's to be avoided if at all possible.
You get clutter from installed applications, which write files (sometimes hidden) in both locations, from the applications when they run and from the very operating system itself.
These processes can't be avoided (unless you don't install anything at all) but they can be rstricted to the point where they don't cause problems (we all know about crashes, freezes and resets).
Keep it clean!
The main aim of the housekeeping process is to keep as 'clean' a phone as possible! In the process you get great benefits.
So how do we do it and what are the benefits?
Firstly understand that, on your phone,you have two sets of what is called a 'File Allocation Table'. One resides on the memory card and the other in the phone memory itself. These FATs, as they are known, keep the info about applications, where they are installed, what data they need to access and where that can be found. All this needs multiple access requests from the Operating system and as a result there's alot of stuff flying around all the time. These FATs are written and rewritten many times in an attempt to keep up with all the changes you may make to your phones settings and to keep tabs on installation and deletion of applications and data! (there is also the phones registry that keeps an eye on everything you do on the phone and holds your basic settings, but we can't do much about that!)
Get out your tool boxes?
No, you don't need any special tools to 'scrub up' your phone!
You just need to apply a common sense approach!
So let's get started! It's oh so simple!
Begin with a 'vanilla phone' (one where the OS has just been installed and any mem card is newly formatted).
This should all be done without using backup and restore and only syncronised with Nokia PC Suite. In this way you are not going to 'carry over' any settings, data or information from a previous installation. You just re-sync your 'vanilla phone' with PC Suite and that's all.
Now install any applications that you need TO YOUR PHONE MEMORY.
Don't worry there's plenty of memory!
And that's it. I said it was simple!
The Benefits.
I have 'played' with three brand new N95s. I have debranded them all, undated them all, installed apps and conducted battery tests (see below).
I believe I know how this little sucker operates and why it sometimes fails. I have spent countless hours on it and the following is my own opinion as a result of my findings and observations.
HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING, HOUSEKEEPING!!!
Clutter causes problems in all walks of life and non more so than with the modern mobile phone.
They accumulate stuff all over the place and mostly where and when you know nothing about it! On the phone memory and the card memory!
It's to be avoided if at all possible.
You get clutter from installed applications, which write files (sometimes hidden) in both locations, from the applications when they run and from the very operating system itself.
These processes can't be avoided (unless you don't install anything at all) but they can be rstricted to the point where they don't cause problems (we all know about crashes, freezes and resets).
Keep it clean!
The main aim of the housekeeping process is to keep as 'clean' a phone as possible! In the process you get great benefits.
So how do we do it and what are the benefits?
Firstly understand that, on your phone,you have two sets of what is called a 'File Allocation Table'. One resides on the memory card and the other in the phone memory itself. These FATs, as they are known, keep the info about applications, where they are installed, what data they need to access and where that can be found. All this needs multiple access requests from the Operating system and as a result there's alot of stuff flying around all the time. These FATs are written and rewritten many times in an attempt to keep up with all the changes you may make to your phones settings and to keep tabs on installation and deletion of applications and data! (there is also the phones registry that keeps an eye on everything you do on the phone and holds your basic settings, but we can't do much about that!)
Get out your tool boxes?
No, you don't need any special tools to 'scrub up' your phone!
You just need to apply a common sense approach!
So let's get started! It's oh so simple!
Begin with a 'vanilla phone' (one where the OS has just been installed and any mem card is newly formatted).
This should all be done without using backup and restore and only syncronised with Nokia PC Suite. In this way you are not going to 'carry over' any settings, data or information from a previous installation. You just re-sync your 'vanilla phone' with PC Suite and that's all.
Now install any applications that you need TO YOUR PHONE MEMORY.
Don't worry there's plenty of memory!
And that's it. I said it was simple!
The Benefits.
You now have a phone that needs fewer access requests.
The phone will be more stable. Your applications will run faster. You will avoid crashes, freezes and resets. Your battery will last longer because you won't be accessing the mem card as much(Memory cards are power hungry little beasts!).
If you are not at the 'vanilla phone' stage, you can copy your needed data (maps, mp3s, vids, photos etc) from your mem card to your PC (unhide files first with an application like x-plore), reformat the card and reinstall any applications that were installed to the mem card, to the phone. The applications will find there required data once you have copied the folders back from you PC to your mem card.
Now only install new applications to your phone!
Give it a try! What have you got to loose.
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
What's all this Debrand and Upgrade nonsense?
This is my own take on the subject and as always in these matters you undertake any action at your own risk!
I assume that you have a broadband connection!
(Windows Vista users please note.
There are some reported issues with NSS and Vista, namely the installation of the NSS driver, and I am investigating this. I will update this guide when I have hard evidence of any problem. In the meantime would Vista users please give me feedback on this subject)
ZXON reports that he uses Vista Business and NSS v1.0.38.11 with great success.
Many thanks for the feedback!!
Why debrand?
Well, it gets rid of those anoying network boltons and quirks that they insist on giving us, just so we remember who we got the phone from! Duhhh! It also allows you to ugrade by the generic firmware path!
Why upgrade?
This is 'slightly' more serious stuff. With an upgrade you get the latest firmware tweaks before (sometimes well before) the networks release their branded version. This means you can take advantage of improvements as soon as they become available!
Are there any drawbacks to this procedure?
Mmmmm! There has been concern about loosing warranty rights by doing a debrand or upgrade. I believe you still have the same rights as before as you haven't done anything you wouldn't do by going through the network release upgrade process except for debranding!
So you may loose the warranty through your network provider, but, you would still have your Nokia warranty to fall back on! You decide if the benefits outweigh the risks!
So having got that out of the way -
How do you do it?
You need to be connected to your PC and have Nokia PC Suite running and your phone recognised.
Switch off any Anti Virus and disable any firewall!!!!!
Firstly you will need to Sync your stuff with PC Suite.
DO NOT use backup and restore as this has shown to cause future problems with stability!
If you need your texts message for reference then change the message settings to save on your memory card and you get the option to copy across all existing texts.
You will also 'loose' all your installed apps and will have to reinstall these once you have completed the Debrand/upgrade process.
You will also need all your network and internet (data) access settings. You can note them down, get them resent after the debrand/upgrade to your phone by text message from your network provider or from Nokia, or simply get them from here http://www.filesaveas.com/networks.html.
Next step is to download a programme called Nemesis Service Suite (NSS) from here http://www.b-phreaks.co.uk/files/NSS/NSS103812.zip
Unzip this to a folder that you can find again! Install the application. You may be asked to install the NSS drivers for the N95 so do this when prompted.
Now run NSS and you are starting the debrand process!
When the main NSS window comes up in the top right click scan for new device. Your phone should be detected.
Next click the 'Phone Info' button. This will give a pane to the right of the window and ready should be flashing on the bottom bar. Click the 'Read' button under 'Production Data Edit'. this brings up some phone info including the important 'Product Code'. Your code will relate to your country and network provider and it is this we need to change!
This forum page http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58225 will give you a list of product codes. (while you are on that page consider joining the forum for future assistance).
For most people the generic EURO1 code is what we want so note it down (it doesn't matter whether you use the sand or plum code)!
You now need to input the code in place of the one that NSS returned against it's 'Product Code'
box! Copy and paste will do it! Tick the enable box alongside and then click the 'Write' button. When finished 'Write new values........Done' will appear in the bottom bar at the left. Your 'new' product code will now be shown in the 'Product Code' box.
Your phone is now ready to be upgraded to the latest official Nokia generic firmware release.
Close NSS and open Nokia PC Suite!
Make sure your battery is fully charged.
Click the 'Update phone software' button and the programme will lead you through the process of update. You may be required to download and install a newer version of the 'Nokia Software Updater' so just agree and wait for this to complete.
The NSU (Nokia Sofware Updater) will start and give instructions! It will detect your phone, identify it and search for an available update. Then, if one is available, it will give the option of proceeding with the update. Say yes and once the update has started wait until the process has finished.
Do not touch the phone, do not turn it off, do not disconnect the USB cable.
When the update has finished your phone will restart and you will have installed the latest firmware version of the Operating System.
At this point it does no harm to do a hard reset (see below) just to be sure you have what is refered to as a 'vanilla' phone.
Now re-sync with PC Suite and re-enter your network access and data settings.
Finally, re-install your applicationsto the phone memory (if you use the card memory you can get problems and power consumption goes up so less battery life!
And that's it! You should end up with a stable and zippy phone and the minimum of problems!
I hope all this helps and to anyone undertaking the procedure "GOOD LUCK"
Here are some useful 'Codes' that will interogate the phone -
*#06# gives your IMEI (serial) number.
*#0000# gives firmware and phone version.
*#2820# (*#BTA0#) To view Bluetooth device address.
*#62209526# (*#MAC0WLAN) To view the MAC address of the WLAN adapter. This is maybe necessary for wlan encrypted setup.
*#92702689# (*#WAR0ANTY#) To view the life timer information. This is the total time of phone calls in minutes.
Warning : All old data will be lost when hard reset is used.
*#7780# : Soft Reset. Restores ini files from rom but preserves user data (photos, 3rd party apps etc).The phone will ask you a confirmation, enter a security code which is 12345 by default.
*#7370# : Hard (sometimes called 'Deep') Reset. You will get a format of the C: drive. Everything on the drive will be wiped and clean default files will be rewritten. You will be asked to input a security code which is 12345 by default.
There is another method of hard resetting the phone (similar to #*7370#). It is useful in some cases, for example when the phone cannot reboot. Switch off the phone then press and hold Call key (Green key) + * key + 3 key + power button for a couple of seconds. If you hold these buttons until 'Formatting' is shown you will get the same result as using *#7370#
I assume that you have a broadband connection!
(Windows Vista users please note.
There are some reported issues with NSS and Vista, namely the installation of the NSS driver, and I am investigating this. I will update this guide when I have hard evidence of any problem. In the meantime would Vista users please give me feedback on this subject)
ZXON reports that he uses Vista Business and NSS v1.0.38.11 with great success.
Many thanks for the feedback!!
Why debrand?
Well, it gets rid of those anoying network boltons and quirks that they insist on giving us, just so we remember who we got the phone from! Duhhh! It also allows you to ugrade by the generic firmware path!
Why upgrade?
This is 'slightly' more serious stuff. With an upgrade you get the latest firmware tweaks before (sometimes well before) the networks release their branded version. This means you can take advantage of improvements as soon as they become available!
Are there any drawbacks to this procedure?
Mmmmm! There has been concern about loosing warranty rights by doing a debrand or upgrade. I believe you still have the same rights as before as you haven't done anything you wouldn't do by going through the network release upgrade process except for debranding!
So you may loose the warranty through your network provider, but, you would still have your Nokia warranty to fall back on! You decide if the benefits outweigh the risks!
So having got that out of the way -
How do you do it?
You need to be connected to your PC and have Nokia PC Suite running and your phone recognised.
Switch off any Anti Virus and disable any firewall!!!!!
Firstly you will need to Sync your stuff with PC Suite.
DO NOT use backup and restore as this has shown to cause future problems with stability!
If you need your texts message for reference then change the message settings to save on your memory card and you get the option to copy across all existing texts.
You will also 'loose' all your installed apps and will have to reinstall these once you have completed the Debrand/upgrade process.
You will also need all your network and internet (data) access settings. You can note them down, get them resent after the debrand/upgrade to your phone by text message from your network provider or from Nokia, or simply get them from here http://www.filesaveas.com/networks.html.
Next step is to download a programme called Nemesis Service Suite (NSS) from here http://www.b-phreaks.co.uk/files/NSS/NSS103812.zip
Unzip this to a folder that you can find again! Install the application. You may be asked to install the NSS drivers for the N95 so do this when prompted.
Now run NSS and you are starting the debrand process!
When the main NSS window comes up in the top right click scan for new device. Your phone should be detected.
Next click the 'Phone Info' button. This will give a pane to the right of the window and ready should be flashing on the bottom bar. Click the 'Read' button under 'Production Data Edit'. this brings up some phone info including the important 'Product Code'. Your code will relate to your country and network provider and it is this we need to change!
This forum page http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58225 will give you a list of product codes. (while you are on that page consider joining the forum for future assistance).
For most people the generic EURO1 code is what we want so note it down (it doesn't matter whether you use the sand or plum code)!
You now need to input the code in place of the one that NSS returned against it's 'Product Code'
box! Copy and paste will do it! Tick the enable box alongside and then click the 'Write' button. When finished 'Write new values........Done' will appear in the bottom bar at the left. Your 'new' product code will now be shown in the 'Product Code' box.
Your phone is now ready to be upgraded to the latest official Nokia generic firmware release.
Close NSS and open Nokia PC Suite!
Make sure your battery is fully charged.
Click the 'Update phone software' button and the programme will lead you through the process of update. You may be required to download and install a newer version of the 'Nokia Software Updater' so just agree and wait for this to complete.
The NSU (Nokia Sofware Updater) will start and give instructions! It will detect your phone, identify it and search for an available update. Then, if one is available, it will give the option of proceeding with the update. Say yes and once the update has started wait until the process has finished.
Do not touch the phone, do not turn it off, do not disconnect the USB cable.
When the update has finished your phone will restart and you will have installed the latest firmware version of the Operating System.
At this point it does no harm to do a hard reset (see below) just to be sure you have what is refered to as a 'vanilla' phone.
Now re-sync with PC Suite and re-enter your network access and data settings.
Finally, re-install your applicationsto the phone memory (if you use the card memory you can get problems and power consumption goes up so less battery life!
And that's it! You should end up with a stable and zippy phone and the minimum of problems!
I hope all this helps and to anyone undertaking the procedure "GOOD LUCK"
Here are some useful 'Codes' that will interogate the phone -
*#06# gives your IMEI (serial) number.
*#0000# gives firmware and phone version.
*#2820# (*#BTA0#) To view Bluetooth device address.
*#62209526# (*#MAC0WLAN) To view the MAC address of the WLAN adapter. This is maybe necessary for wlan encrypted setup.
*#92702689# (*#WAR0ANTY#) To view the life timer information. This is the total time of phone calls in minutes.
Warning : All old data will be lost when hard reset is used.
*#7780# : Soft Reset. Restores ini files from rom but preserves user data (photos, 3rd party apps etc).The phone will ask you a confirmation, enter a security code which is 12345 by default.
*#7370# : Hard (sometimes called 'Deep') Reset. You will get a format of the C: drive. Everything on the drive will be wiped and clean default files will be rewritten. You will be asked to input a security code which is 12345 by default.
There is another method of hard resetting the phone (similar to #*7370#). It is useful in some cases, for example when the phone cannot reboot. Switch off the phone then press and hold Call key (Green key) + * key + 3 key + power button for a couple of seconds. If you hold these buttons until 'Formatting' is shown you will get the same result as using *#7370#
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
uPhone, mePhone, wePhone, iPhone
This sums up my feeling and thoughts exactly!
http://www.mobile-review.com/articles/2007/iphone-name-en.shtml
But, of course, all the iPhone owners will be so pleased with their purchases, that is until they want to renew their batteries (or do something hideously technical like listen to music over bluetooth!).
http://www.mobile-review.com/articles/2007/iphone-name-en.shtml
But, of course, all the iPhone owners will be so pleased with their purchases, that is until they want to renew their batteries (or do something hideously technical like listen to music over bluetooth!).
I seem to be getting more and more frustrated by certain topics. Is it the weather, time of life or something more serious, namely, a growing belief that there are some people out there who should not be let loose with mobile phones in their hands?
I am going to cover
1. Forums and the members who frequent them!
2. Users of N95 GPS.
3. How to setup your N95 for stability and speed.
4. Memory cards - How to use and abuse them!
If there's anything else you would like to see in the list, then let me know!
I am going to cover
1. Forums and the members who frequent them!
2. Users of N95 GPS.
3. How to setup your N95 for stability and speed.
4. Memory cards - How to use and abuse them!
If there's anything else you would like to see in the list, then let me know!
Hot and Bothered
After my last post of the 1st August I have been "taken to task" in one of the forums about it's content!
It has been said that there is little evidence to show the possibility of the contents of the post.
Well, what do you know about this and can you further enlighten the "internet user" community?
Feed back on this one is encouraged!
Original source of information here https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
It has been said that there is little evidence to show the possibility of the contents of the post.
Well, what do you know about this and can you further enlighten the "internet user" community?
Feed back on this one is encouraged!
Original source of information here https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
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