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I’ve done it, I’ve just ordered a T-Mobile MDA Vario, it should be here tomorrow, I cant wait!!!
I’m new to this forum and new to the world of Windows Mobile Devices, however I am far from a novice with SmartPhones.
I have been a big fan of SonyEricsson for many years and am currently looking for a new phone, but lately have lost my feel for SE and have discovered then marvel that is the Wizard!!! Wow, I’m so much going to have one of them!!!
I’ve been reading through this forum and well what can I say, what a fantastic resource, well done!
But what I really want to know is: software? I know the MDA Vario is T-Mobile branded, but what restrictions do they impose on you?
I’m a great believer that hardware developers know what they are doing and Phone Network Operators should leave the software well alone. I have read about unlocking the phone and moving Cab files etc, but what I would really want is to flash it with its “pure” software, is this possible and easy to do and how do I then set up my MMS and GPRS setting?
And am I correct in understanding what I’ve read, that, an out the box MDA Vario wont run ActiveSync?
Thanks in advance
Nick
Nick, an excellent choice of name, and an excellent choice of device
The units ROMs all seem to be largely the same, it's the extended ROM which is different.
T-Mobile's extended ROM installs a load of customisations such as wallpapers, GPRS settings, etc... Nothing seems to hinder you particularly badly , however if you don't want it, hard reset then do a soft reset before it installs the customisations. You then have a virgin machine
The only lock is a simlock, which means that you have to use a T-Mobile SIM with the device. Lokiwiz, a free unlocker, gets around this nicely with thanks to Machinagod, and all those whose work he improved
Oh, and activesync works fine with it, providing you haven't got any weird firewalls running
Welcome to the world of windows mobile
I have had my Vario for about a week and a half now.
If you used the P910 like I did, you will miss the jog wheel utility desperately. A brilliant device that was only let down by the lack of symbian (UIQ) development (it's harder to program.
I used to have a compaq 2210 and ran Pocketinformant. I've just reloaded it on my unit. It's brilliant, you give up a lot for the jog wheel but you welcome back the world of 'drag and drop' and 'double tap'.
If you use a PIM then Pocketinformant cannot be beaten.
Incidently make sure you load activesync 4.1 on your pc, providing you set your catergories in your outlook master list to the same as your device, syncing is superb.
good luck :lol:
I've just switched to Vodafone with an expansys contrct deal after four years with T-Mobile. They (T-Mobile) told me six weeks ago, they'd no idea what a Vario was, and had no information that they were going to get them even though Germany had announced them to the press. Expansys had the 9100 on Voda so off I went. The Vodafone "data" bundle which is SMS or MMS or GPRS out of the same pot is better for me than T-Mobile who would only offer web'n'walk *and* a separate SMS/MMS bundle :-(
Vodafone have been fine, but the SMS voicemail alerts that don't activate the little "tape" message waiting icon really annoys me... ;-)
Dox..
I have also gone from a P900 to XDA mini. Its a bit of a transition and can agree - the wheel on the P900 was a luxury I do miss but there are alot moe benefits
Now - just need to try and work out if I can change the whole ROM from the O2 one
Scott
Thanks for all the info fellas, cant wait for it to be delivered…
Excuse my ignorance, but, the ROM, is that the basic OS and the extender ROM is just the individual network customizations?
I will almost certainly, as a matter of principle, do the SIM unlock, but what is the purpose of the CID unlock?
And, if I do the Hard reset Soft reset trick how will I set up my GPRS and MMS?
Sorry about all the questions, but I’m very inquisitive.
Hopefully this will also be helping fellow novices.
Thanks again everyone.
You can enter the settings manually, which if you have them in front of you is fairly simple. If you need to know what they are (I've entered Vodafone's so often for people at work I can do them in my sleep, but don't know the T-Mobile ones), google is your friend. To simplify the whole thing, Raphael over at BeyondTheTech has the cab file with the settings in here for you to download and install as normal.
If you're not going to let the rest of the extended ROM install, put this on a memory card in case you want to run it again after a hard reset..
Dox.
I too like to have a fiddle (I had an original O2 XDA and this site was fantastic for upgrading to later version OS) but so far I can't see any compelling reason not to use the T-Mobile UK custo ROM as shipped.
The only addition I've made is MS Voice with the associated Reg change to allow use with BT headset.
Obviously if there is a superior ROM out there please let us know what is recommended?
Thanks
Nick, check out the wiki which has loads of info about roms, extended roms, radio roms and all that good stuff. Not a huge amount is specific to the Wizard yet, but the information applies all the same.
Has it arrived yet, or are you sitting by the front door like an eager puppy waiting for the postman or newspaper boy (or girl, thank you Stan)
Unfortunately I’m at work today and they would only deliver to my home address
AND they need a signature, so first thing tomorrow morning I’ll be stud outside my local Postal Depot waiting for it to open…..
Oh I hate waiting!!!
Welcome to Vario-ness !
Not coming from a previous PPC platform, you won't suffer the same way i did, by installing all the apps i used on my MDA Compadt some of which may not have been compatable with WM5. That ended up with me having a poor view on the Vario.
Fear not though, i've since seen the error of my ways, thanks to the fine folks on this forum...
I have an XDA II, and would like to update if there is a significant improvement.
I have read from the t-mobile site that the Vario does not have vibrate or voice dialling. Is this true, can Fonix be installed?
The most vital things I use are the outlook contacts, calender, isilo reader and avant go. I guess all standard apps that work on windows mobile 2003 work on 5 right?
How big is the screen?
Thanks for any help.
Well, that just goes to show that T-Mobile don't have a clue, really, doesn't it? I thought you must be mistaken, but sure enough it says that it doesn't support voice dial, and doesn't vibrate either.
It does. On both counts. The vibrate is a lot better than the xda2s in that it almost dislocates a hip when it goes off, and voice dialing works very well. With a quick registry hack, voice dialing works with bluetooth headsets too
Some have found the vario sluggish in comparison to the xda 2; i find it to be comparable to the blue angel (2s) that I had running wm2005 - bear in mind you're reading/writing all files from flash rather than RAM, and that explains the performance.
The screen is 2.8 inches diagonal.
Have any of you got vibrate working on M3000 (Orange)?
I have an M3000 from Orange Switzerland, and cannot get my vibrate to work at all.
Not to get 'off topic' but T-Mobile Czech republic were about to sell me a MDA Vario and at the last moment I noticed a sticker on the box saying it doesn't support character recognizer or transcriber .. anyone know if this FOR ME huge negative can be reversed so I can handwrite sms as MDA II let me .. (perfect solution for me)
kgary said:
Not to get 'off topic' but T-Mobile Czech republic were about to sell me a MDA Vario and at the last moment I noticed a sticker on the box saying it doesn't support character recognizer or transcriber .. anyone know if this FOR ME huge negative can be reversed so I can handwrite sms as MDA II let me .. (perfect solution for me)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both work fine for me on a UK MDA Vario, I don't know why the czech would be different. I must say however that I rarely use them because the slide out keyboard is SO sweet.
On a side note, my brother just picked up the same phone on O2 and personally I like the O2 customisations a lot better than the T-mobile ones. Especially the multiple today screen functionality.
Is it possible to install O2 extended rom and keep t-mobile comms settings? I've only just started to look into this so does anyone with any experience with this have any tips?
Thanks
Hi all,
I've spent the last 3 weeks searching through everything so as not to waste anyones time with a simple question but to no avail.
I've been given an XDA II from a family member as they have upgraded to the Exec and I have been using it as a PDA only. Well I see that Orange have some good deals on the go and so decide to use it as a phone/Internet enabled PDA.
I've unlocked it (many times now) got 2003SE on it and have put the correct MMS and GPRS settings in (The ones from Shadamehr). I've checked with Orange and GPRS is enabled on my account with them (PAYG at the mo) but for some reason the same thing that was happening when I first got it pops up
"Cannot connect
There is no modem at the above number..."
So best my small mind can figure is that somehow the 'phone part' of the PDA isn't working. I've tried other sims in it and they don't work either (o2 and Three - but I think Three is funny anyways). Is there something wrong with the actual phone bit?
It's a legit XDA with the M1000 ROM upgrade from the orange site which has made it 2003SE
Does anyone have any knowledge about how I can get my PDA to be a phone? It was once before (but with O2)
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
-o0zy
http://www.taniwha.org.uk/gprs.html
No modem at above number
Thanks for the link, but believe me I've tried this. I retried it to be sure just now.
"No modem at above number" is what I get after the XDA II tries to connect.
I have no phone reception whatsoever, no internet and no SMS.
My XDA II just works as a PDA with no communication possiblities apart from USB cradle.
Again, thanks in advance for any and all help with this.
-o0zy
If there's no phone reception, and no GPRS, how do you expect to connect to one?
Not to be mean or anything, but aren't your hopes of connecting a little farfetched if all the systems you're trying to use are down?
Not to be mean or anything, but aren't your hopes of connecting a little farfetched if all the systems you're trying to use are down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your not being mean, believe me after a month of searching through here and SPV developers anything that wuld resolve this issue would be appreciated.
Why would the phone element of my XDA just stop working? I can only imagine some sort of Hardware fault but I'm a thorough bunny and would like to make sure of this. A diagnostic app or some way of reading the phone element like a device driver would be handy.
So in brief, why has my phone part of my XDA II stopped working and how do I switch it back on again (if this is at all possible)?
Thank you for your replies thusfar Cynagen, I shall start to ask these questions in the Himalaya forum also now since it seems model specific and not network related.
Any and all further assistance is much appreciated.
o00zy
Hi all,
I've spent the last month searching through everything so as not to waste anyones time with a simple question but to no avail and so here I am.
I've been given an XDA II from a family member as they have upgraded to the Exec and I have been using it as a PDA only. Well I see that Orange have some good deals on the go and so decide to use it as a phone/Internet enabled PDA as well.
I've unlocked it (many times now) got 2003SE on it and have put the correct MMS and GPRS settings in (The ones from Shadamehr). I've checked with Orange and GPRS is enabled on my account with them (PAYG at the mo) but for some reason the same thing that was happening when I first got it pops up
"Cannot connect
There is no modem at the above number..."
So best my small mind can figure is that somehow the 'phone part' of the PDA isn't working. I've tried other sims in it and they don't work either (o2 and Three - but I think Three is funny anyways). Is there something wrong with the actual phone bit?
It's a legit XDA with the M1000 ROM upgrade from the orange site which has made it 2003SE
Does anyone have any knowledge about how I can get my PDA to be a phone? It was once before (but with O2)
I asked this question over in Networking but they seem to think it's something specific to the phone.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.
-o0zy
Hi Everybody!
I'm a newbie here and just wanted to say Hi!
Hopefully , I will get my MDA Vario tomorrow, it is locked to T Mobile (UK) and I hope to unlock it for my o2 SIM.
Currently I have a Nokia 3230.
What do you use your MDA Vario for and what are your dislikes about this model of PDA/phone?
{>
Hi!
Hello and welcome, you will certainly enjoy using your new vario and this site will certainly help you make the most of it.
I travel ALOT with work so I use it to keep in touch with family / friends by using the WLAN at airports and using Agile Messenger to connect to MSN / ICQ and Yahoo.
I also use the camera to take snaps of any interesting places I see on on my travels so I can then send them to my wife and kids back home.
I purchased a 1gb mini sd on ebay for around 12 pounds so that I can use TomTom and the various maps that are available. Oh, and also I use it as a phone! Sometimes you forget how many things this phone is capable of, but the the phone is certainly one of its strong points. As it is quad band I can use it in Europe, Asia and America so I dont need to keep changing handsets everytime I go away on business.
Oh, and for when my flight is delayed, there is always Windows Media player for your favourite mp3's or audiobooks, and of course the excellent games that are also available.
You will not be dissapointed!! Enjoy!
Hi Nmonger and thanks for your reply!
I've puchased a 1gb mini sd card too.
My current phone has tomtom on it, so I've copied the files onto my PC and hope that I can transfer them to my PDA when it arrives.
I read an article on here which says you can flash the ROM, do I need to do this on mine?
PS. I'd love to see some of your photography and I am a photographer!
If you like flowers and buildings check out :
www.healing2.me.uk and view my online gallery!
Cheers,
Scutter
{>
You old nokia is a symbian phone. I doubt the same tomtom will work on your new Wizard.
i received my xda mini on monday, so far ive surfed the net, sent emails, sms messages, taken photos, played music and played around with MSWord - connected it to my wireless network, active synced loads of games and apps onto it - ive just bought a 2gig minisd card and bluetooth headset for around £50 from moby (based on a recomendation frmo here)
mark
www.iosilver.co.uk
Thank you for all your replies!
Glad to hear that your getting the most from your PDA/phone.
I wish I knew where to get the cards from, I got a 1 gig from ebay, cost £22 inc delivery.
I'll give the tomtom a try as it doesn't look like it is the original tomtom card (if you know what I mean :wink: )
So, do I need to flash my ROM or as a newbiw, won't I notice any difference? Not that I'm sure why I should "flash my Rom", but it sounds good LOL
I use my Nokia phone for my business and the satnav is good, but I find it very slow with the Symbian software.
Thanks again for ALL you replies
Cheers,
Scutter
{>
just been to 02's xda site and downloaded the rom upgrades - it says it deletes all data off of the xda - sureley this cant be right?
BTW its taken me all of 2 days to max out the internal storage
Mark
trooperbill said:
just been to 02's xda site and downloaded the rom upgrades - it says it deletes all data off of the xda - sureley this cant be right?
BTW its taken me all of 2 days to max out the internal storage
Mark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to upgrade too and they told me it wipes it. Theres no way I'm going through the hassle of losing all my data and settings. Took me ages to get it how I like it!
W..W...We...Welcome Stutter ,
You're damn right it just sounds cool to Flash your Rom, but what's way cooler is the difference you notice in speed and stuff like that with new Roms instead of (most) of the Stock Roms.
Don't hastitate with questions, everyone here is at your service
Regards,
Molski
Thanks again for the replies!
Your making me feel very welcome!
Molski >
I'm gonna tell everybody that I'm gonna "Flash my ROM" and get the t-shirt too!
Shall I order you one?
Trooper Bill>
Could you please post the link for the grade as hopefully,I will be able to unlock my Wizard and use my O2 SIm in it??????
Cheers Everyone
Scutter
{>
yup ill ftp it somewhere for you to grab...
if i use a backup system will this restore my apps n stuff after i flash da shizle?
Mark
Thanks Troopr Bill, but sounds abit complex for a newbie? :shock:
{>
Hi Everybody!!!
I just got mine today.
I have managed to unlock the sim, but can't seem to "flash my ROM"
I get an error message stating that it is not been able to upgrade the "RUU_Prodigy_2170702_21707102_20710_QTEK_WWE_Ship"
Am I doing something wrong?
Also does anybody know how to get the o2 pay as you go MMS and GRPS settings?
Cheers,
Scutter
{>
hi all,
i have just bought a new O2 Exec.. I was wondering what software/tweaks you guys recommend.
Regards,
frz
i also just have my dopod 900, similar to o2 exec and i still dont know what to install. I saw something about AKU2 or AKU3 on the forum but dont know where to download, can someone please advice/help us as my device was sometimes cannot received data signal while connecting to internet.
I just download TCPMP player to the device and it was a great staff to play with and I will not use the WMP for movie/tv.
Guys, I've just bought myself a new suit.
Would you like to come over and try it on for me?
Come on - a little work on your side will be necessary, and searching is the best way to show that you've tried.
Have a read through this thread for guidelines on using the board:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=4534
And then have a look here for a starter:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=32698&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
AKU stuff - get started slowly before you start modifying the OS too much, as a lot of the stuff on the board can make your system unstable if used incorrectly. Configure your basics, get yourself some good backup software, and then check out the wiki and the ftp.
Most of the newer roms will have some AKU support already in, I think.
V
Thanks a lot bro Vijay555. Will try to surf now and get more info.
danlee: as a friend from Malaysia, you might want to check out my buddies on www.ppcsg.com and www.gadget.sg
V
Danlee....
Just out of curiosity....how much is internet connectivity in M'sia?
I'm planning on coming home during the CNY and would like to use the service if it's not too expensive.
Would you mind posting the cost of the internet connection and who the provider is?
Will it be available prepaid?
Thanks.
Fellow M'sian in US.
To vijay555,
Thanks a lot but i cant do downdoading now cause i am on GPRS connection now. But i will visit your site when i got back home.
To Moden man,
The cost for GPRS connection will be 1 cent for 1kb. You can only use 3G in KL area. You can access by using DiGi, Celcom and Maxis as your service provider.