Mobile - Part 5

Battery problem with your Phone? Try this before purchasing new one

Battery problems are common with mobile phones these days. As the cost of the phone goes down the quality of some of the key components reduce significantly[Most of the times!]. Their one year warranty will be of great use most of the time!

Ok, today on our Sunday Mobile tips we have a simple but yet sometime a great money saving tip for you.
If your mobile phone starts showing battery weak suddenly and if it keeps popping the same message each time, even after hours of charging, then you must read this article till end 🙂
Mobile_Phone_Battery
Most of the time this is due to a software problem. Mainly the 3rd party software you use on your phone. And you believe it or not, some times the call dropping and other problems also start due to overloading of your phone memory.
As a quick solution for these kind of problem, just restore your phone to “factory settings”, and your phone will start working normally.

While this is not a case most of the time, but its better to check before going and purchasing a brand new, branded battery, which will cost you a lot.
Hope this tip helps atleast some of you. Please share your tips, tricks or any other things that you have experienced with your phone.

Blue Screen of Death — On HTC touch 3452

One of my friend also own a HTC Touch 3452 and he had read my blog and was knowing that I also have the same phone.

He had trouble restoring his phone to factory settings. Last week we had written an article about “Resetting HTC touch 3452 and 3450“. He was very happy after seeing the article on our blog and rushed to format his phone.

While formatting / restoring he remembered that his Memory Card was still inside the phone! So he again rushed to remove the card before the phone restarted automatically(after confirming the restore activity).
To his shock, after the phone got restarted it started showing a blue screen(similar to that we see in Windows computer OS, when there are some major errors!).

He was in a hurry so I couldn’t get a screen shot of it. The blue screen had a message that, he should not remove the battery while the phone restarts and it said to click on the “Yes” option(there were two options “YES” and “NO” on the screen) to continue the booting of the device.
But to his surprise when he clicked on the “Yes” button with his stylus, it never responded to the touch. He had tried all other means like, using the top most button to switch OFF/ON the phone, removing the battery and putting it back. But nothing had worked. He was tensed and finally called mobile service center, but they never responded to his problem but instead told him to submit the phone to their service center and they would test it for a week and tell him the result 🙁
Obviously no one likes his personal phone to be in someone’s hand so long!

Simple solution to this problem is….there are 2 buttons on the phone, below the screen. Its main function is “accepting”(in green colour) and “rejecting”(in red colour) calls. Just press the green colour button and the device will restart by itself and everything will work normally from then.

htc_touch_3452_3450
As the device is a touch screen phone with no external keypads in it, people tend to forget two keys present on the phone. In the above case, as the OS has not yet loaded, so the touch functionality also wont be working. So we need to work using the minimum keys present on the device.

Resetting HTC touch 3452 and 3450

Coming straight to the point, here are some simple steps to reset HTC 3452 and 3450 phones.

Procedure:
1. Click on “Start” menu, in the Today screen.
2. Click on Settings.
3. Now you can see 3 tabs on the screen -> “Personal“, “System“, “Connections“.
4. Click on “System” tab.
5. Here you can see many icons like About, Backlight,Clock&Alarms,External GPS, Clear Storage etc.
6. Click on “Clear Storage” icon.
7. Now it will ask for your confirmation. Here is the exact message that is showing on my device right now:

Clear Storage:
Clear storage will make all of your data lost, and reset all settings to manufacturer default.
Do you want to proceed?
Please enter the following word “1234” and press YES button.

8. If you are sure and want to reset the settings, go ahead and enter 1234 and the phone will reset and restart by itself.
9. When the phone restarts, it will ask for the time zone, time, date etc.

Another simple way to reset the phone is..

There is a small reset button inside a small hole(as shown in the above figure, with pink circle), beside the charger point. Use your stylus and press it gently, to soft-reset your device. Device will restart and ask for time zone, time, date etc. And the phone will be restored to manufacturer default settings.

After each reset it will automatically customize the device, so there is really no need to worry about the settings after restoring the mobile. Its a user friendly phone.

All the data would be lost..so be careful.
If you know some more tips, please feel free to share it will us in the comment section below.

Gifted Myself A Brand New HTC 3452

If you are following me on twitter then you might already know that I have bought a Brand New HTC 3452 on Maha Shivaratri.
The heavy box comes with:
HTC Touch phone[1 GB card included],Handsfree — Earphone,USB Cable,1 Battery,2 stylus [1 in the phone and 1 extra],Case/pouch,Travel Charger,Manual,CD Rom.
Features Include:..Pros/Cons

If you are following me on twitter then you might already know that I have bought a Brand New HTC 3452 on Maha Shivaratri.
Accessories HTC 3452 Pocket PC
The heavy box comes with:
HTC Touch phone[1 GB card included].
Handsfree — Earphone.
USB Cable.
1 Battery.
2 stylus [1 inside the phone and 1 extra].
Case/pouch.
Travel Charger.
Manual.
CD Rom.
HTC 3452 PocketPC
Features Include:
General Network GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Size Dimensions 99.9 x 58 x 13.9 mm
Weight 112 g
Display Type TFT touchscreen, 65K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches
– TouchFLO finger swipe navigation
– Handwriting recognition
– 5-way navigation
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Customization Download,
Vibration Yes
Memory Phonebook In shared memory, Photo call
Call records Yes
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 1 GB card included,
– 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM
– TI OMAP 850, 201 MHz
processor
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
HSCSD No
EDGE Yes
3G No
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
Infrared port No
USB Yes, miniUSB
Features: OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional
Messaging :SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (PocketIE)
Games :Yes,
Colors: Soft Black, Wasabi Green
Camera: 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video
– Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook, PDF viewer)
– Java MIDP 2.0
– Voice memo
– MP3/AAC player
– Video/audio album
– Built-in handsfree
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1100 mAh
Stand-by Up to 200 h
Talk time Up to 5hrs

First Impression about the phone is very good. The best thing is its looks!
Its small and looks sexy. Anybody who go for looks while purchasing pocket PC can look at HTC 3452 once, I am sure you will be impressed.

Previously HTC had released HTC 3450 which is a slower device, so they upgraded RAM and ROM(almost doubled) and called it HTC 3452. If you want any advice to choose between HTC 3452 and 3450, then we recommend HTC 3452(obviously!).

Lock/Unlock ???
Will this phone work with Vodafone or Airtel etc?
I am in India and I am using Spice/Idea and its working great. And I am sure that, the phone will even support Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel etc, in India. No need to struggle to unlock.
If you are staying outside India, then you need to refer your service providers website or contact customer care to know whether their service support the phone. Or you can leave a comment below this article(please specify your country and more details) and someone may answer you soon. I will also try my best to solve your problem.

Good things first!:
1. Very Good looking Design.

2. Good screen clarity.

3. Speed is almost doubled when compared to HTC 2340.

4. Very simple to use. I have used many pocket PCs, but this one is smallest and simplest and still effective.

5. If you are using HTC 3452 or 3450, then please list some of your experiences in the comment section. I am new to HTC and I still need some time to know more about it….

The Down side of the phone is:
1. It does not have a physical keyboard. It has a very good onscreen keyboard, which works amazingly good. But nothing can beat the physical keypads present in my previous phone Nokia 6630.

2. It has a very good speaker which is placed backside of the phone! So, its not so audible when placed on a table with its screen facing upwards.

3. I was not able to sync the device with my computer and after struggling for some hours I could find the culprit as USB cable which came with the phone. Just used the USB cable of my camera and I was able to sync my phone with the computer with in some seconds. [Hope this happened due to some fault in the cable which I have, and may not happen to others].

Small Size HTC 3452 PocketPC
4. Ear Phone and outspeaker sound quality is not upto the mark.
5. Very small..This can be advantage for some and disadvantage for some. But before arguing, you need to first look at its size. Its very small, and sometimes may sound like a problem.

I decided to buy HTC 3452 because iPhone is too costly in India. And HTC has some good reputation and 3452 can impress anybody 🙂
And while choosing a mobile, do not just see for the list of features that the device has, see for the things which you want and need frequently. If you are a blogger you may need some of the features like Word Processor, PDF readers, and some others(these can be obtained by installing some software, but the phone should support it.) This is just an example. But not all individuals have same needs and wants, so look for the features which you want. — Just my 2 cents.

I will write more about HTC 3452 on this blog, on Saturday and Sunday’s. So that my regular readers who are not interested in HTC phones won’t get bugged up. And for people who are interested in HTC phones can read some tips,tricks about using the phone on Sunday or Saturday.
If you have not yet subscribed to our free email/rss subscription..then please use below form to get the latest updates directly to your inbox.

Google services on your mobile browser, worth checking

Its a general convention to have m.domainname.com as the mobile version of domainname.com. And now its great to see the big “G” going that way. Yes now you can easily access almost all Google services using the URL m.google.com from your mobile browser.
We personally like reading stories on our mobile using “Google Reader” and to watch “youtube” videos whenever there is free time!
With the release of Android and “Chrome“, Google is quickly entering the mobile arena.

Do not miss watching this short video demo:

Mobile version of Google supports BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia S60 phone, other Nokia phone, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and many Others..

Mobile version of Google has:-

Smooth and responsive user interface
Powerful shortcut keys and intuitive menus
Search and find any Gmail message
Includes almost all Google services.
You can also use IMAP to sync your Gmail with your phone’s native email client.

Google-mobile-services
click here to configure your mail client or wireless device to download Gmail messages.
Also look for your handset compatibility details here.
I am really thankful to Google, for making the entire world(internet) into my pocket. Clearing my “Google Reader” stories has really become dam easy now.
Thank you Google….

iPhone 2.0.2 Software Update for latest version of iPhone 2.0

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer.
2. When iTunes launches, select your iPhone under Devices in the Source List on the left.
3. In the iPhone Summary tab, click Check for Update
4. Click Download and Install. Do not disconnect your iPhone until the update has finished..

Its easy, just follow these simple steps.
iphone2.0-upgrad-iphone2.0.2
1. Connect your iPhone to your computer.

2. When iTunes launches, select your iPhone under Devices in the Source List on the left.

3. In the iPhone Summary tab, click Check for Update.

4. Click Download and Install. Do not disconnect your iPhone until the update has finished.

With the free iPhone 2.0.2 Software Update, your iPhone does even more. Extend its capabilities with innovative applications you download directly from the new App Store. Get push email, calendar, and contacts from your Microsoft Exchange server at work. And use great new features in Mail, Contacts, and other applications.

Have you pre-registered Apple iPhone 3G with Airtel/Vodafone?

Apple iPhone 3G will be available in India from August 22, 2008. It will be available in 8GB & 16GB models, priced at Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100 respectively.Remember 1$ is approximately equal to 40 – 41 Rs. That means 8GB & 16GB will cost 775$ and 903$ respectively in India.

I think that this is not a good pricing for the 2nd largest cell phone market(India). Actual price of iPhone is 199$ and 299$ for 8GB & 16GB respectively.

Hope Airtel and Vodafone want to grab the money of those who can afford this price tag. And I am very much sure that, the prices will come down to earth soon.

Where can you make this advance payment?
The iPhone 3G will be available at select Vodafone Stores. All you need to do is drop in at any select Vodafone Store between August 20 and 21 and make the advance payment by cash or credit card. Don´t forget to show the iPhone booking SMS, which you would have received from Vodafone, when you visit the Vodafone Store to pay the advance. To find a Vodafone Store near you, click here

Till now only Vodafone has announced the cost of iPhone that they are selling, and I am sure that Airtel will also have almost the same price. Because they will be having several meeting to fix a price for iPhone from the day iPhone was released.

Its a very good phone to buy, but I am not so rich to go and buy it now. I will have to wait until the price comes down or until I get rich. Hope the prices will fall soon.

What I like about iPhone is its large applications available, large screen, “3G”(which is yet to come, shortly, in India), touch screen, music and …….what not! It has almost everything that I expected a phone to have.

iphone-5up-small

Its almost a Mac machine(computer), as it has 400Mhz processor with 64 or 128MB of Random Access Memory(RAM), and 8 to 16 GB of hard drive.

———————————-

Update:- From Airtel

8 GB (Black) for Rs 31000
16GB (White & Black) for Rs. 36100

Get your iPhone on priority

We have received large number of registrations for the iPhone 3G. As there are limited stocks, make sure you get yours on priority. Just visit one of the select Airtel stores & confirm your booking by paying Rs 5000 on August 20 or 21. You’ll get an appointment to collect your iPhone after paying the balance amount.

———————————-

And I feel that its a very good competitor to Black Berry. And its a good phone and highly recommended(if you can afford!). Though there are many people complaining about its 3G quality and One of Apple’s own message boards, incidentally, filled up with hundreds of negative comments — but Apple has since shut the thread down, saying it was “too long” and was causing browsers to “time out.”

Do you want to buy Apple iPhone now or will you have to wait for some reason. Please share your thoughts and reasons(to buy or not to buy) this amazing intelligent phone…Apple iphone.

3 Mobile Apps that I use and recommend

rw_nokia6630_keypadcloseup I am currently using Nokia 6630 and 3 applications that I most use on my cell phone are:

1. Opera mini — The fastest and the powerful browser for Symbian 60 serious.

2. FS Caller.

3. Nimbuzz / free download — This is an ultimate software for mobile phones(which has internet connection). This software is an all in one package. You can stay connected to your friends using its Orkut, Facebook, yahoo! messenger, Skype, Windows live messenger, Gtalk, AIM, ICQ, Jabber etc. And you can call, chat from mobile to PC with anyone(who has this apps on PC) and anywhere. Its camera(webcam) feature is an ultimate thing I have seen so far, in a mobile software. If you have a mobile with internet connection, then do not miss installing this software. And happily it costs nothing. yes its a free to use software.

And I use some more common software like FileMan, SmartMoviePlayer, and very few games. And I am not a big fan of music players, as the music files work perfectly in my default player of Nokia 6630.

I will be online most of the times using my mobile, using Opera-mini. I usually visit many blogs and read articles regularly using my mobile. When I am in front of my Computer, I concentrate only on writing articles. And I visit and read a few, selective blogs from my computer.

These are some minimum things I use in my mobile.

I know that, there are people who make use of many applications in their mobiles. If you are one among them or if you know any application, that you think will be useful for others, if you share it here, then please share the information and the link to get the application in the comment section. It would be appreciable, if you also share, how you make use of those applications..