Random cellphone babbling thread #1

I'll give that a shot later this week. Being a tinkerer, there are a few tests I want to conduct with it to see if I can't pinpoint something else, and therefore help the wife out in her job by suggesting a fix.

No no no...I was wondering about how to *make* an app, not install one. Like I said, all the "flashlight" apps out there suck, so I want to make my own...if it's not too hard.

 

Since BlackBerry OS is a Java-based platform, I can but assume programming a Blackberry app involves programming a Java application module. I *really* could be wrong here, programming is a trazillion miles away from being my speciality.

 

Lame...I don't know a damn thing about Java.

Anyhoo...I think I might have pinpointed my problem...possibly. I found out that the section of my work where my locker is located is heavily shielded. I can get about 1 bar of service while standing near my locker, putting the phone in my locker results in a total loss of signal.

That being said, for the past 2 nights, I've turned off all wireless services on my phone before putting it in my locker. When I go on break it still has a 100% charge. So I'm thinking that when the phone loses a signal, it tries its damnedest to try and lock on to *anything* it can, resulting in overheating and extreme battery consumption.
On my old phone, if a signal was lost for any extended amount of time, it would say, “Searching”...but in reality, it just gave up looking. A soft reset got the connection back right away...It took about 30 seconds for it to fully restart, but at least its battery never took a hit due to lost signals.

That's my current theory...I've got a few more tests I wanted to try.

 

An heavily shielded area does mean the phone needs to operate at a *much* higher power level to try and maintain a connection to the network, so yeah, you've nailed it on the head. I had the same problem (sort of) with an old GAIT Siemens phone -- the idiot would keep searching for a GSM signal in an area that had crappy GSM but flawless TDMA. Since the phone maddeningly held on to a weak GSM signal, the battery would die within a day. I returned this POC after four days. Never bothered reviewing it because it was a royal PITA... but that was back when GSM was still in it's infant stages, so maybe I'll give it a second spin someday. Maybe.

 

So much for being a *smart* phone... Anything with half a line of logic programmed in it would take battery consumtion in to account...because what good is a phone if it's *dead*?!?!

 

...pwned!

But anyway... how in the blue hell do you expect the phone to tell 'Oh, I'm in a heavily shielded area, I'll sever the network connection to maintain battery.'

Find the solution to that and your name in history is secured. In the meanwhile... just F'N turn wireless off. That's what voicemail's for.

 

Don't know about yours, but my BB has 4 full length movies, a few hundred songs, 5 games, office apps, and a camera. My "phone" doesn't turn in to a worthless brick if the signal is lost.... Sure, I can't make calls or browse the web...but I have several other things I can still do with it.

So there.

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Easy...

IF Signal =0 for 300sec
THEN Wireless Network =off

IF User input =1
AND
Wireless Network =off
THEN Wireless Network =on

Of course that's not proper programming syntax for any language, but you get the basic idea.... No signal for 5 minutes, it automatically turns the wireless off. If you touch the screen, or any other button, it turns it back on...

As for doing it myself, I'd rather not have to go: Menu > Manage Connections > Turn All Connections Off and then wait a few seconds for the change to kick in before having to click Back twice every time I put my phone in my locker..... I'm lazy, and I obviously expect *way* too much basic stuff from a device that *should* be able to handle such things.

 

Uhh, unless the Storm's menu layout is significantly different than older Berries, my 7100 (5810 and 7290 too, for what it's worth) all have a "Turn Wireless On (or Off)" shortcut which severs the network connection at the click of the trackwheel, without needing to enter a menu.

Yes, another iDEN... not because I wanted to this time. My trusty ol' i560 suffered water damage (or alcoholized fruit punch, in that case -- long story, don't ask), Telus were nice enough to trim a massive $205 off the price of a SPANKING NEW i570, even though I declined signing a contract... currently in a one year contract, y'see?

Modes: iDEN 800

Battery life: Once again, I find myself amazed at the fact accessories for iDEN phones are pretty much universal. I got four batteries for the i570... need I say more? On the battery life front, the i570 is better than all of it's predecessors, reaching nearly four days.

Signal: One of the sweet things about iDEN is that when choosing a phone, you just have to go for the phone you prefer look-wise, because on the RF front, I have found the i530, i560, i570 and i730 to be consistent in reception quality. There is no noticeable difference, all four are kickass phones.

Sound quality: The i570 sounds GREAT. Speakerphone is LOUD as HELL (worth noting it's half-duplex, certainly pointing out the i570's DC roots), the earpiece is loud aplenty too. Setting the ringtone volume to the max when you are in a silent environement is asking for hearing loss and/or a heart attack. Yes, it's THAT loud.

Form factor: Clamshell

Phone and keyboard feel: The hinge is a bit on the stiff side to open, but that's probably because I transitioned from the i560, which is too loose. The phone in a whole is comfortable in the hand as well as to the ear, as the i570 borrows a page from it's distant cousin the RAZR in terms of the shape of the earpiece, which not only sounds great, but feels great, too.

Screen: 130*130 65,535 colors. It's pretty much standard, and despite being a TFT, it's piss easy to read in the sun. The i570 also has an external display, interestingly being an inverted LCD display. In short, it's white text/digits on a black background, which makes for greater readability in the sun. The screen also has a really deep purple backlight which make EVERYTHING on the external unmistakable.

Final score: At first, I admit I wasn't sure. I wasn't too crazy about how the i570 looked, but everything changed with the real deal sitting in my hand. The i570 looks good, feels good, works great, is tough as hell, so until I land an iDEN cameraphone (not a priority, but if a good deal passes by, I'll take it for sure. As of right now, though, in terms of my communication needs, the i570 represents the exact epitome of what I wanted.

A well-earned 10/10.

And before anyone whines how I give a 10/10 to a phone which doesen't have an endless inbox for text messages novels a 12MP camera, 32GB memory card, mp3 player, video player, accelerometer, touch screen, internet at 1.8MB/sec (and just what the hell do I need that for?) and all that mainstream [censored], F*** you. This is a COMMUNICATION DEVICE. It makes the purest, most basic essentials - phone and DC. Talking to my friends in the other side of Canada and even in the US at no additional charges (DC is billed by the second, too)? Works for me.

 

Time to unleash an ancient evil on the world...

Field test: the dreaded Siemens S46!

Yup... that's right. I have resurrected this ancient evil for it's final judgement.

Modes: TDMA 850/TDMA 1900/GSM 900/GSM 1900

Battery life: In GSM-only mode (since TDMA no longer exists ...*weeps*), I get a week out of it. In TDMA mode, I got an average of about 6 days.

Signal: I'll be blunt -- I often prayed for areas that back in the days GSM did not yer cover. Back in the days, this phone was a kickass TDMA phone, with a maddening preference to grab a dying GSM signal and hold it fast instead of just dropping the connection and hop on the TDMA network. Since there was no way to toggle between the networks (that I know of), the only thing I could do is take it like a b****.

With TDMA long gone but not forgotten and GSM coverage coherent and widespread, the S46 begrudgingly surprised me as a pretty good but not great GSM phone.

Sound quality: TDMA users will remember the crystalline conversations on a TDMA phone. This one is no exception. The earpiece volume could afford to be louder, though... I had trouble hearing anything when in a remotly noisy place. There was some degree of choppy calls, and also the odd moments where I could hear the other end, but the other end couldn't hear me. Maintaining a weak TDMA connection has some occasional funky side effects.

On the GSM side, well, GSM sound quality sucks a goat, and everytime I made/received a call while using foul GSM, I was brutally reminded that. Plenty less choppy calls, and who can forget that annoying background buzz? It makes me want to beat my head against the wall until I bleed to death. Maybe not, but this just shows how much love I bear for GSM.

Form factor: Candybar

Phone and keyboard feel: Somewhat clunky at 4.62" x 1.75" x 0.88", but remains in the acceptable zone. The keypad is nothing worth raving about - it gets the job done. The keys feel good, but they're starting to be sticky.

Screen: This looks like a 128*128 greyscale LCD. Nothing worth raving about -- does the job, and isn't a PITA to read in the sun.

Final score: When GSM was in it's infant stages, this GAIT phone was one of the worst choices one could make. With TDMA dead and not forgotten, the S46 makes for a pretty good, but definitively not great phone.

My final judgement is 7.5/10.

 

Field test: Motorola i576

For an iDEN phone, the i576 is a small phone... exponentially smaller than the i530/i730. It is about as big as the i560, but narrower. So, what exactly is it about this plain communication tool that caught my eye?

Modes: iDEN 800

Battery life: Moto decided not to screw around with the poor battery life of iDEN phones. This phone is packed with a 1800mAH battery which packs quite a punch... I actually went on a full week with low usage, and five days with quite a bit of use. The battery is different than my other iDEN phones, so no compatibility with older batteries/charger, since the i576 has a microUSB. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, with the proper cable and iDEN media loader, I'll personalize this beauty to my liking... well, more than I already like it, that is.

Signal: As good as I have to come to expect from Moto's iDEN offerings.

Sound quality: Again, as usual, crystalline. Earpiece volume is very good, though I'd crank it up a bit (as usual). The speakerphone is built in the bottom of the phone, and it manages to be loud as hell and clear at the same time.

Form factor: Clamshell

Phone and keyboard feel: I must say, the i576 feels quite good in my hand. It is just as easy to open as to operate with one hand. The keyboard feels good, and all the external buttons - DC, volume, Speaker on/off, recent calls work great too. The front of the phone has an aluminum part, with a diamond plate pattern, like the back cover, which is made of plastic overlayed with rubber.

Screen: TFT LCD, 128 x 160 pixels, 65,536 colors. This screen looks good. I use the Onyx theme, which is pretty much just black (including the external display), and it looks damn good. The external LCD has 65,000-color and clocks in at 128 x 32 pixels. Looks good, but is a pain in the ass to read in the sun... and even worst with polarized lenses.

Final score: This beauty dethrones the i570 with the second 10/10. The i576 is that damn good.

 

I've had the HTC HD2 for around 2 months now. And yes, it is the best phone I've ever had, or seen. It's a beauty, especially when tweaked, recommend it to all.

 

Ahh, yes. the HTC HD. Looks good, and while WinMo ain't that bad, I have found Android to be better.

I personally have no use for a smartphone, but yes, for WinMo enthusiasts (if there's even such a thing), great recommendation, for sure.

Keep an eye on Android, though. It's taken the smartphone market by storm, and I think it has the potential to crush S60, WinMo and maybe even the untouchable Blackberry.

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Wow, Apple and their crappy iPiece of iTrash are really out of control. They're suing everybody and their mother who makes something that looks like the damned fruit phone. What, Jobs, realized that not everybody likes your toys, and now you're going to try and sabotage Android?

F*** you, Apple. F*** the iPiece of iTrash.

 

WinMo 6.5 isn't the best, but a quick trip over to XDA Developers makes it so much better. My HD2 is customised to the hilt. It's simply the best phone out there. I bet it won't be too long before some clever geek figures out how to get Android to work on it too, if one is that way inclined. I'm happy with it the way it is, though.

 

That's one of the great things about WinMo - customization. I heard of custom WinMo roms that appearantely are very good, though I have no first hand experience myself. The only WinMo smartphone I own is the incredibly rare Sierra Wireless Voq, which packs 2003SE. But, I had a chance to play with the Droid, and against my expectations, I really, really liked Android.

An iDEN Android smartphone was recently announced, and I'm POed that I signed for a stupid i576... a rugged Android smartphone with ol' lightning fast DC and the incomparable sound quality of iDEN? Now I'm really POed.