I'd rather have a V8 - But my RAZR was a V3!
May 13 '06 (Updated Oct 02 '06)
The Bottom Line Install a V8 under the hood of your cellphone. It just might be the improvement you were looking for.
Analog vs Digital? With the advent of TDMA, GSM, UMTS, CDMA One and CDMA-2000, the question is rather moot now. Digital has taken over, just as the implementation of third generation cell phone technologies has come to be. There may be some analog phones still operating with the cellular services, but as soon as tower operators switch to newer equipment - and they all are - analog will only be the analogous form you hear as your phone decodes digital to a form you can understand with your ears.
Why does Digital reign over this older form? Using digital compression, a narrower bandwidth can be used with increases in the amount of data reliably sent and received. This translates into the clearer sounds now available, and the other communications improvements we are all now familiar with such as less dropped calls. Which brings me closer to my topic of discussion.
The software your phone uses in all of this decoding can be modified in many cases. This means you, yes YOU, can modify/repair/upgrade your own phone for FREE using a computer. All you need is an interface USB cable, software program, and the correct files to transfer to your cell phone!
Warning! If you decide to update your phone's software with your computer, you could ruin your phone to the point an expensive tool known as a Clip could be needed to repair function. These can be found on eBay, but they are pricey. You must start the procedure with a fully charged battery and maintain a stable connection during the transfer. A broken download with your phone connected would be a real pain for you with this procedure while using your computer to perform it.
What this offers can be a means to UNLOCK your phone from a specific carriers installed software. This aside, it can also provide you with newer enhancements to your phone model. These can range from improved signal acquisition to additional features. If done properly, it also does not invalidate any warranty that may be in effect.
In my case, my early version RAZR V3 (purchased from Cingular) had no video camera capability as later models were given and it no longer had a warranty. Ouch, that video cam thing always bothered me and since I also have a PEBL now, I had little trepidation about electronically modifying my RAZR myself. The new software not only gave my RAZR video camera capability, but improved function with signals. This includes Bluetooth features and GSM signal locking in transmission and reception. I was also able to manipulate the earpiece volumes, phone logos, and memory distribution. The phone book still has a 1000 listing capacity with 250 more on my SIM, but I took the multi-media memory from roughly 5 Mb. to 6.865 Mb. That gave me the ability to add many more photos, ringtones, and VIDEOS to my V3. Yes, I can now make short videos with sound using my RAZR. Yep, I'd say I hopped my V3 up to a "V8".
Okay, I know some of you out there may be interested in modifying your own phone, which may or may not be the RAZR V3. But, I will point you in the direction for others as I focus on the RAZR V3 here.
www.planetmotox.com was the place I found the correct files for my GSM RAZR. There are others that also supply information and materials/software needed for other phones such as NOKIA and Samsung.
I used my Motorola Mobile Phone Tools software to back up all the data I had already installed to my RAZR. This is necessary as the Flash and Flex version I was installing takes the phone back to the original state it was in when purchased. For my RAZR Flash and Flex update, I used Motorola PST 7.2.3 (with an update for it) and another program known as p2kmanager. At Cingular's forums and at those of PlanetMotoX, I found all the discussion needed to make the install using these two programs and my phone's USB cable.
I used the latest "Monsterpack" software for a Cingular V3 at PlanetMotoX and later reflashed with the latest Flash for Cingular. This insured I would have the latest updates, although the "Monterpack" includes the Flex and Flash as it installs, and retain GSM use. For those of you who want CDMA tech - it exists also (so Verizon users can re-activate those features shut down by Verizon). The packages there at the site were listed with descriptions "Unlocked" and "Video recording - enabled". I used the "Monsterpack" S/W Version: R374_G_0E.42.09R_MOTOX.shx
Flex Version: GSMV3MXCIN01NA0F5, it's also English language, but there are those for other languages. After restarting the phone (the phone shuts off after the phone programmer, PST 7.2.3, finishes). This re-programing takes about ten minutes. I updated this package later using R374_G_0E.42.10R_B_reflash_mlp_MOTOX.shx which retains the English language files.
I also had to use the p2kmanager program to eliminate a left over file called secure_pds_init. This was to eliminate an error message on start up with the now unlocked phone software and my Cingular subsidy lock - now I can even have a personalized alpha-numeric greeting on bootup of the phone. A T-Mobile SIM will now also work in this phone just as that of any other GSM service provider, once you use the subsidy lock code. Cingular provided my subsidy unlock code free as I had bought the phone from them.
Some useful codes for the "digital" GSM RAZR:
This one displays the phones IME - *#06#
This ones for flex, software, and hardware info - *#9999#
Here's the one to enter the phones bootloader - With the phone turned off, press and hold simultaneously star, pound, and the power key (red key on the V3).
Note: Any settings you had for Internet features, you use, must be restored. This includes IM and GPRS. Cingular provides automated settings under "My Account" for GPRS. Also, if you are a Cingular customer and only wish to unlock your phone's provider lock - Cingular will provide the code if your account is in good standing and you have been a customer for 90 days. This may mean some wouldn't want to reflash their phone.
More help:
http://www.mark-world.tv/motorola/page1.html
http://www.3denvy.com/joshcross/
***Update 10/02/06***
Have a RAZR V3i? How about a RAZR V3x? You're in luck! Just go to http://planetmotox.net for help. What is the V3i? Click here to find out.
In summation:
I can tell you the battery will need a few recharges to regain its "set" for holding a charge beyond a day, as I found. The battery now holds a charge well as it did before, signal strength increased (especially during calls), Bluetooth connections are now easier, I am now able to load/make more pictures/videos with sound/mp3's, and nothing has been lost from my original features. Do I like the changes - I sure do. In fact, I now swap the SIM card between my RAZR and PEBL according to which I want to use, and both are capable now of using an overseas GSM SIM, if needed, as the PEBL was purchased unlocked. I was amazed to see what is available for all the RAZR models.
I wonder, is the sky the limit! Now who could do all this, using all these features, while using an analog phone? GSM/GPRS and CDMA/Evo digital just blow smoke all over the old analog standards, and real time video transmissions prove it. In the 70's, I had access to a "suitcase" computer link using an analog carrier. Using a phone cradle, I could link a computer in the field to another in some other part of the world. Analog is extremely slow by today's digital standards, and my digital cell phone's connections can run circles around it using Bluetooth or USB - and they don't weight in by the pounds as analog equipment did with similar capabilities. Digital cards used for Internet connections on modern mobile computers are no less the improvement.
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