Getting more out of your phone

My previous cellphone was a Motorola V220 flip-phone and before that, SE T306. At the time (2 years ago) I was ecstatic to get a flip-phone with a color screen for free. I didn't even mind the 2-year contract that Cingular slapped on me after I migrated from AT&T (which had better plans and service than Cingular in my opinion). I didn't mind then, but I truly loathe 2-year contracts now. They only go to allow bad service and outrageous flat-rate early termination fees. If possible, avoid 2-year contracts like the plague!

What started with a simple, diminutive uprade turned into an interest in convergence that still holds now. After I got my V220, I looked into all its functions and capabilities. It was then that I found out that cell carriers such as Cingular modify the firmwares that run cellphones to their liking. On what grounds they carry out such modifications, I don't know, but I know that if they didn't do so, I wouldn't have had such a learning experience hacking my phone. So maybe I should thank them?

While looking for the usual items to spruce up my cellular experience - ringtones, videos, etc. - I happened upon Howardforums and it opened a whole new world of knowledge to my eager little brain. It turns out that Motorola phones are the most hackable among all cellphones out there. With the knowledge I gained from Howardforums about seem editing, flashing, and unlocking, I quickly got to work modifying my phone from the inside out. Well, I never changed the actual hardware; I just modified the firmware to allow it to function as Motorola intended.

It turns out that Cingular did quite a job on limiting my cellphone's functions. What originally came out of the factory as a quad-band phone arrived in my hands with only 3 of those 4 bands intact. The 4th band may be superfluous in the US, but if traveling, it would come in handy. My phone also came with its voice record and video viewing functions removed. Now video viewing's removal might be justified because of its small screen (128x128 pixels) and paltry memory allocation, but voice record can be a useful tool. The reasoning behind the removal of said tool eluded me at the time.

Along with the above mentioned limits on the phone, it was of course, also sim-locked and branded with Cingular logos and icons throughout the menus and the hardware itself. Short of removing the logo on the phone's body, I removed all traces of Cingular connections to my phone through flashing and unlocking with software found on the net. I even flashed its language pack to be able to read simplifed Chinese. I would've preferred traditional Chinese, but that particular language pack wasn't to be found by me.

But even after removing all the blocks on my phone, there was still a bit of fun to be had. From reading the forums, I found out that the keys and displays can be remapped and modified. Thus, I modified the outer display to my liking and reorganized the keys to allow for calling without the flip having to be opened. With a little more modification, I was able to take pictures without opening the phone either, albeit without knowing how the picture would come out.

I stopped my cellphone hacking endeavors at that. I read about people who compiled their own firmwares and fitted their phones with custom-made parts e.g. making your own antenna, but those ventures didn't interest me. It was time to move on to another phone. But I still had 1 year left on my contract before I could get a discounted price on a new phone! Not to mention the $175 early termination fee that I would have to tack on if I wanted to change carriers, which I did.

So I didn't think about about getting a new phone until my contract's end neared. During the months leading to the end of my Cingular contract, I started contemplating the purchase of a higher-end phone to satisfy my mobile needs. Now this is where my SE K800i comes in.....