Let me make a few points clear before we start :
1) This is NOT a hack or a trick.Completely safe /Legal method
2)Whatever You download/Browse will be deducted from your GPRS account(Can be checked by USSD *123*10#)
3)If you are not subscribed to a GPRS pack your balance may take a serious hit.:D
3)It works in New Delhi and maybe in NCR. If it is working for you,please confirm in the comments section below.If not hard luck
4)Only Android 2.2 and above
5)If you are already using it,then goody good.
6)Please don't post it in other forums/websites/Blogs, It makes everyone look bad.
Why?
>>Because Recently Air tel has started acting like an asstel. The edge speeds have dropped to around 4 KBPS(from around 24 KBPS), while The tariff has been increased from 98/2GB to 98/1Gb. We the regular customers deserve better.
Basics
Step 1 :
1)I am already assuming you have an air tel sim with GPRS activated.If not please dial *567*11# to activate GPRS.(default plan)
2)Activate 3G on your phone By sending sms "3g" to 121. Wait for confirmation.No need to subscribe to those super expensive 3G plans.
3)If you are not yet subscribed to a GPRS plan please Dial *567# from your mobile and choose a plan. Rs 60- 1 GB-14 days works fine.
Step 2
1)Goto mobile networks in settings and check . There should be 2-3 apn's listed . "Airtel Internet" or "Mobile office" is the default one for GPRS. It has access point as "airtelgprs.com" . This is what you have been using till now and one that works with all apps on your phone including the browser.
2)There should be another apn called "airtel live". If it is not there Please create a new apn with following data
access point : airtelfun.com
Proxy: 100.1.200.99
Port:8080
Rest all values to be left default.
(If you dont know how to create Apns,pls refer Google)
Set The Apn "Air tel Live" as default.
3)Now Goto network settings and select "WCDMA only" or "3G only" depending on the phone model. (If the option is not available, Install launcher pro>Press long on homescreen>shortcuts>LP Activities>scroll down to settings>look for testing settings>make that a shortcut)
4)Thats It done. Now Access The WEB at speed of Light :ashamed: (pertaining to the restrictions already mentioned)
But with this profile Only 2 apps can access the market:
1)Web browser(default android)
2)UCWEB
Market,FB,etc will NOT work with this profile.
To make GAPPS and other apps work please follow The following steps:
Advanced
Caution: whatever happens to your phone ,Data , etc I am not responsible.
>>>>>>>>>>Please dont Visit banking sites,shopping,corporate email,etc with these settings , yes You get the drift..
1)Go to XDA and look for an app called "Transproxy" for transparent proxy.
2)Install the latest Beta on your phone.
3)make sure you are able to access web using the default browser.
4)Next open transproxy and in the middle column select proxy type= "http" , proxy add= "100.1.200.99" and port as "8080"
5)Now Try opening the market again,With luck It should work fine and so should other apps.
some other random points
Needed in the above Tutorial
3G to 121 : To activate 3G,(Free,only activation)
*123# : checks your balance
*123*10# : Checks your remaining data and validity(2G)
*567# : To activate data packs/deactivate them(2G)
*567*11# : To activate the default 10p/10KB plan(2G)
Not needed in above tutorial,But of general interest
3G to 121 , and then followup for activation of 3G data packs
*123*11# to check Remaining data and validity(3G)
Bonus : *777# to activate SMS packs.:P
Regards,
aka.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Se Nostalgia Part 1
Sony ericsson M600 review From
http://www.mbmagazine.co.uk/Mobile_Business_Feature.cfm?FeatureID=1460
The future is fab
Mobiles meets Darwin
Once every million years or so, the extraordinary path of evolution awakes from its slumbers to make changes to the world as we see it. These changes are not always for the better.
These are only too obvious when we look at diseases, the Fiat car range and James Blunt. However, there are times when evolution makes changes that are so good, you can imagine Darwin peeing with excitement. So let’s hear it for the latest evolutionary miracle: Sony Ericsson’s M600i ...
The M600i is a phone. But it’s a phone cum BlackBerry, cum Symbian Touch Screen organiser, cum web browser. It is lightweight, smaller than anything else that offers any one of these functions, has a full numeric and QWERTY keypad (with rocker buttons) … and here’s the best bit: there are no Windows in sight. This means its more fun to use, more reliable and less boring.
Oh Darwin, you were so right with your evolution theory. Sony Ericsson has evolved the BlackBerry and PDA phone; and in true Sony style, the designers have done the impossible – they’ve made it look cool.
Arrival
I opted for the white version, so my box was bright white with little blue dots on it that just teased me to open it. So I did. And was I disappointed? No. There sat the phone in all its glory, singing “Do ya think I’m sexy, if you want my body …”.
It’s a design master class, with an übercool urban-retro gadget look that would suit a businessman, a designer or skater dude.
The phone comes in black or white, has lots of square keys at the bottom, and features a nice brushed aluminium chassis all the way around the edges. That houses the hot-swap M2 memory card, push email button and jog-wheel.
The screen is a massive 240x320 touch screen display which looks gorgeous when on, and there are dashes of turquoise in places to add a spark of colour on the otherwise monotone front and rear casing. It’s a beautiful gadget, people.
The box includes the usual manuals and CD bits, a stylus, 64MB memory card, charger and headphones – though with the new A2DP Bluetooth on board, it’s only a matter of time before you go and buy some wireless ear-candy like we featured last week. In fact, with so many opportunities to add accessories to this phone, you could be quids in stocking and punting them out.
Waiting for new toys to charge is a painful experience, so I recommend watching a DVD during this process (nothing with Jim Carey in it, of course).
OK, switch on time. The on switch is the first of a few annoying features. It’s a bit awkward to get to, and you might need the stylus to poke at it; but once that’s been done the thing vibrates in your hand, lights up the keyboard in blue neon (like a chavved up BMW undercarriage) and asks you whether you want phone or flight mode.
Playing music
The phone has some really good media facilities. If you want to plug in a larger memory card and some headphones, it could quite easily replace an MP3 player. (In steps Darwin again with the evolutionary lines that bring together the phone and the MP3 player.) The transfer from computer to phone is easy as well, and anyone used to sending music to iPods and the like will find it’s a very similar process, with similar naming and sorting options.
The operating system is peaceful, though it does take a week to learn your way around it. The conventional phone keys are complemented by a jog wheel, much akin to earlier Sony smartphones and current BlackBerry devices. There is also a hardware Back key on the side of the unit allowing easy reverse navigation and key-lock functions.
The Don has had the phone for a month now, and I haven’t used the stylus more than twice. Instead I finger the touch-screen with the grace of Richard Clayderman at the piano or Brad Pitt at the Anniston.
The soft keys are on the screen, with Task and Connection Managers almost always present. There are several menu functions on the home screen, and a collapsible active display called ‘Today’ that allows you to see emails, messages, appointments, tasks and calls.
At the moment, there is no support for a BlackBerry connection. While I have been assured by Sony Ericsson that it’s on it’s way, the other solutions of mail retrieval are available; and with the correct configuration, it can be as good as for the time being.
The other great function of this improved operating system is the More option. This applies to every application and screen you get to, offering you a vast array of options and things to do.
In short, the phone is very well thought out from start to finish … well, almost.
The keys are cool too. They rock! Actually they do rock. From side to side, giving you a full QWERTY style keyboard for messaging, and numerics like a normal phone for – well, for phoning.
A Shift key gets you capitals and punctuation marks (like we know how to use that) and a Return key does the enter facilities or makes the call.
Web browsing is easy, with landscape mode available, though the browser options aren’t that extensive and you may possibly have to set them up yourself. Without EDGE or WiFi, you have to rely on GPRS or 3G; but it is quick enough to respond. And the unit is so cool that you would need a lot missing here to upset it.
Other features include a full address book that will sync everything, including notes, from your computer; a seriously good organiser that pops up in your Today folder; and Quickword and Excel for creating and editing documents and spreadsheets. There are some fun features too – a couple of games, a music-making thingy, and everywhere you look there are demo videos and presentations.
Darwin would say that once something evolves, it does not become perfect, nor is it finite: it’s just another step before the next iteration. Take the case of the M600i: it does need a little bit of refinement in some areas. If held to close to the ear, for example, you can mute the call via the touch-screen. The loudspeaker doesn’t seem to have a one button access, and the preloaded (extremely good) Vijay Sing Golf game can crash at times on it opening.
No camera?
The one thing you may notice is the lack of a camera. To some punters this will be a problem; to my mind, no phone actually needs one – certainly not a business handset. A digital camera still needs a normal viewfinder and various other extras that will never be found on the most usable kind of phone; and the size, weight and build of this phone demonstrates how cool mobiles look without lenses getting in the way.
The truth is that the phone looks and feels great. You can use it with one hand and it truly is the most perfect cross between business phone cum email machine and phone cum MP3 player. It is fully personalisable, fun to use and has a groovy touch screen without imposing anything remotely Microsofty on you.
Darwin’s theory of evolution may not be spot on if you’re the Vicar of Dibley, but it works for me. God didn’t invent the phone. Sony Ericsson did.
SPECIFICATION
Size
Length 107mm
Width 57mm
Depth 15mm
Weight
112g
Main display
TFT touchscreen, 256K colours, 240x320 pixels, 38x52mm
Software
Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, web browser (Opera 8), handwriting recognition, push email, PIM functions
Memory
60MB shared memory Memory Stick Micro (M2), 64 MB card included
Connectivity
3G, tri-band GSM, Bluetooth 2.0, IrDA, USB 2.0
Camera
no
Battery
Standby 340h Talk time 7h
http://www.mbmagazine.co.uk/Mobile_Business_Feature.cfm?FeatureID=1460
The future is fab
Mobiles meets Darwin
Once every million years or so, the extraordinary path of evolution awakes from its slumbers to make changes to the world as we see it. These changes are not always for the better.
These are only too obvious when we look at diseases, the Fiat car range and James Blunt. However, there are times when evolution makes changes that are so good, you can imagine Darwin peeing with excitement. So let’s hear it for the latest evolutionary miracle: Sony Ericsson’s M600i ...
The M600i is a phone. But it’s a phone cum BlackBerry, cum Symbian Touch Screen organiser, cum web browser. It is lightweight, smaller than anything else that offers any one of these functions, has a full numeric and QWERTY keypad (with rocker buttons) … and here’s the best bit: there are no Windows in sight. This means its more fun to use, more reliable and less boring.
Oh Darwin, you were so right with your evolution theory. Sony Ericsson has evolved the BlackBerry and PDA phone; and in true Sony style, the designers have done the impossible – they’ve made it look cool.
Arrival
I opted for the white version, so my box was bright white with little blue dots on it that just teased me to open it. So I did. And was I disappointed? No. There sat the phone in all its glory, singing “Do ya think I’m sexy, if you want my body …”.
It’s a design master class, with an übercool urban-retro gadget look that would suit a businessman, a designer or skater dude.
The phone comes in black or white, has lots of square keys at the bottom, and features a nice brushed aluminium chassis all the way around the edges. That houses the hot-swap M2 memory card, push email button and jog-wheel.
The screen is a massive 240x320 touch screen display which looks gorgeous when on, and there are dashes of turquoise in places to add a spark of colour on the otherwise monotone front and rear casing. It’s a beautiful gadget, people.
The box includes the usual manuals and CD bits, a stylus, 64MB memory card, charger and headphones – though with the new A2DP Bluetooth on board, it’s only a matter of time before you go and buy some wireless ear-candy like we featured last week. In fact, with so many opportunities to add accessories to this phone, you could be quids in stocking and punting them out.
Waiting for new toys to charge is a painful experience, so I recommend watching a DVD during this process (nothing with Jim Carey in it, of course).
OK, switch on time. The on switch is the first of a few annoying features. It’s a bit awkward to get to, and you might need the stylus to poke at it; but once that’s been done the thing vibrates in your hand, lights up the keyboard in blue neon (like a chavved up BMW undercarriage) and asks you whether you want phone or flight mode.
Playing music
The phone has some really good media facilities. If you want to plug in a larger memory card and some headphones, it could quite easily replace an MP3 player. (In steps Darwin again with the evolutionary lines that bring together the phone and the MP3 player.) The transfer from computer to phone is easy as well, and anyone used to sending music to iPods and the like will find it’s a very similar process, with similar naming and sorting options.
The operating system is peaceful, though it does take a week to learn your way around it. The conventional phone keys are complemented by a jog wheel, much akin to earlier Sony smartphones and current BlackBerry devices. There is also a hardware Back key on the side of the unit allowing easy reverse navigation and key-lock functions.
The Don has had the phone for a month now, and I haven’t used the stylus more than twice. Instead I finger the touch-screen with the grace of Richard Clayderman at the piano or Brad Pitt at the Anniston.
The soft keys are on the screen, with Task and Connection Managers almost always present. There are several menu functions on the home screen, and a collapsible active display called ‘Today’ that allows you to see emails, messages, appointments, tasks and calls.
At the moment, there is no support for a BlackBerry connection. While I have been assured by Sony Ericsson that it’s on it’s way, the other solutions of mail retrieval are available; and with the correct configuration, it can be as good as for the time being.
The other great function of this improved operating system is the More option. This applies to every application and screen you get to, offering you a vast array of options and things to do.
In short, the phone is very well thought out from start to finish … well, almost.
The keys are cool too. They rock! Actually they do rock. From side to side, giving you a full QWERTY style keyboard for messaging, and numerics like a normal phone for – well, for phoning.
A Shift key gets you capitals and punctuation marks (like we know how to use that) and a Return key does the enter facilities or makes the call.
Web browsing is easy, with landscape mode available, though the browser options aren’t that extensive and you may possibly have to set them up yourself. Without EDGE or WiFi, you have to rely on GPRS or 3G; but it is quick enough to respond. And the unit is so cool that you would need a lot missing here to upset it.
Other features include a full address book that will sync everything, including notes, from your computer; a seriously good organiser that pops up in your Today folder; and Quickword and Excel for creating and editing documents and spreadsheets. There are some fun features too – a couple of games, a music-making thingy, and everywhere you look there are demo videos and presentations.
Darwin would say that once something evolves, it does not become perfect, nor is it finite: it’s just another step before the next iteration. Take the case of the M600i: it does need a little bit of refinement in some areas. If held to close to the ear, for example, you can mute the call via the touch-screen. The loudspeaker doesn’t seem to have a one button access, and the preloaded (extremely good) Vijay Sing Golf game can crash at times on it opening.
No camera?
The one thing you may notice is the lack of a camera. To some punters this will be a problem; to my mind, no phone actually needs one – certainly not a business handset. A digital camera still needs a normal viewfinder and various other extras that will never be found on the most usable kind of phone; and the size, weight and build of this phone demonstrates how cool mobiles look without lenses getting in the way.
The truth is that the phone looks and feels great. You can use it with one hand and it truly is the most perfect cross between business phone cum email machine and phone cum MP3 player. It is fully personalisable, fun to use and has a groovy touch screen without imposing anything remotely Microsofty on you.
Darwin’s theory of evolution may not be spot on if you’re the Vicar of Dibley, but it works for me. God didn’t invent the phone. Sony Ericsson did.
SPECIFICATION
Size
Length 107mm
Width 57mm
Depth 15mm
Weight
112g
Main display
TFT touchscreen, 256K colours, 240x320 pixels, 38x52mm
Software
Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, web browser (Opera 8), handwriting recognition, push email, PIM functions
Memory
60MB shared memory Memory Stick Micro (M2), 64 MB card included
Connectivity
3G, tri-band GSM, Bluetooth 2.0, IrDA, USB 2.0
Camera
no
Battery
Standby 340h Talk time 7h
Sony Removes "E" from "SE"
Well It was bound to happen some day or other.It happened yesterday.SonyEricsson will become SONY from 2012 by buying out the Ericsson's stake in the JV.
It is a strange feeling for the huge no. of sonyericsson fans all over the world myself included.Se has been assosciated with a large no of pathbreaking devices in the past and had gained almost a cult following.
The JV was formed in 2001 with the recipe being that Sony's hardware expertise and Ericsson's network and software strengths will combine to finally give both companies a respite from then market recession/oblivion.
Why is se special? Hmm I dont know when it started,But I have always lusted after SE devices. In the past It was not how it is now. In the past It was always as if it was SE vs Nokia (sometimes samsung thrown in for good measure). T610 or 7250i. K700 or 6230.K750 or Nokia N70 . K790 or N73. Blogs and websites all over the world had a blast publishing phone comparos,camera comparos and what not.
It all started with T68i though. Ericsson already had a T68. One of the leading phones that time with cSTN color screen,Bluetooth,GPRS,Irda. It was very revolutionary then.It also had a grid menu,Which BTW took Nokia 4 more years to install on their s40 phones.
Sony came and waved their magic wands and T68 became T68i.In the process it also became sexier. A color combo of blue and white which made it wet dream of all the teenagers around the world.Most famously used by AR Rehman in the cult 1st Airtel Adv.
After a slew of not so impressive phones. SE introduced a T610 and the world fell silent.Impossibly small and beautiful witha camera onboard. It looked so sleek and the red/silver combo is for keepers and will sell well in 2011.
It is a strange feeling for the huge no. of sonyericsson fans all over the world myself included.Se has been assosciated with a large no of pathbreaking devices in the past and had gained almost a cult following.
The JV was formed in 2001 with the recipe being that Sony's hardware expertise and Ericsson's network and software strengths will combine to finally give both companies a respite from then market recession/oblivion.
Why is se special? Hmm I dont know when it started,But I have always lusted after SE devices. In the past It was not how it is now. In the past It was always as if it was SE vs Nokia (sometimes samsung thrown in for good measure). T610 or 7250i. K700 or 6230.K750 or Nokia N70 . K790 or N73. Blogs and websites all over the world had a blast publishing phone comparos,camera comparos and what not.
It all started with T68i though. Ericsson already had a T68. One of the leading phones that time with cSTN color screen,Bluetooth,GPRS,Irda. It was very revolutionary then.It also had a grid menu,Which BTW took Nokia 4 more years to install on their s40 phones.
Sony came and waved their magic wands and T68 became T68i.In the process it also became sexier. A color combo of blue and white which made it wet dream of all the teenagers around the world.Most famously used by AR Rehman in the cult 1st Airtel Adv.
After a slew of not so impressive phones. SE introduced a T610 and the world fell silent.Impossibly small and beautiful witha camera onboard. It looked so sleek and the red/silver combo is for keepers and will sell well in 2011.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Get your Stolen Android Phone back ! The google way.
Well Losing a phone is bad.But losing an expensive smartphone is even worst.Apart from the obvious loss of loads of personal data which lazy bums like us never backup,There is the cost of the handset itself which are becoming as expensive as some very impressive notebooks.
To cater to this wide niche of ex android users,Android market offers many apps which promise to do loads of things like sending sms to wipe your cellphone,locking a phone or even positioning your last droid on the map.
But accidents are not planned.You may lose your phone the day you bought it. Research(Having no statistical basis obviously) has shown that 80% users who install "Lost phone" (Which BTW is an excellent freeware)do it after they have lost an android phone,and now are on to their second droid .
I will here talk about the second group of users who had an acute "Unplanned" loss of their android phone.
This method does work,there is a one in 10 billion chance that it will work,but still as they say something better then nothing.
Apart from Filing an FIR and twiddling of your thumbs,can you do anything else? Yes you can, and Yes this method works,Because it did work for a very good friend of mine.Obviously the idea was mine.
Thanks to google for the smashing integration between the services on the phone and the web.
Pre Requisites:
1)The person who found your phone/Stole your phone should be either
A)Literate but long term Nokia 3310 user/dim sum lover
B)Literate but noob enough not to know how to setup his own google account on the phone
2)Also there should be No lock code/pattern code/Pin lock set on your phone.
3)There should be active Email Syncing/Contacts syncing on.
Let us accept the fact.Most mobile snatchers wont even know how to unlock an android phone,leave alone how to use it. The person who "took" my friend's cellphone did not even manage to unlock it.But he was obviously smart enough to pull out the battery and also broke the battery cover in progress.
Step 1: The Gmail TRAP
Ok.If you own an android 90% chance is that you have put your own google/yahoo/whatever account to sync with it.
So when your phone gets stolen and even if the sim card is changed,The sync will mostly go on(Nowadays most service providers in india provide GPRS/Edge services by default).To know if your phone is still syncing please do the following:
DO NOT access Your GMAIL account from any Mobile Based Browser/Thunderbird/Mobile Phone/POP3/IMAP till this exercise is over,You may use the browser www access aaram se.
a)Open your Gmail Main page
b)There is a link(pretty small) at the bottom saying "Last account activity:xx minutes ago:details".Please open the details.
This show you the IP address and the type of access that has been made with that particular account.Check if it says IMAP(for Gmail accounts) or POP3.Also make note of the time and date the access was made.
DONT click the option "Check out from all accounts".
If an IMAP access was made after your phone was nicked then the chance that u can get your cell back increases by a measly 0.303%
Open a New email account/or use an alternative one.But make sure the email account name sounds impressive. something like "districtcourt_tishazari" or "Police_Indiagate"
Next compose an official looking email.Keep the subject line something impressive like "FIR registered P/S Tilak NAGAR"
The email should be composed of two sections.1st in Hinglish(ie write hindi in english. Then in pure english.That is two "notifications" identical but differing in their language approach.Make it look like something police wallahs/Babus will write ;)
Include the following features in your email:
-mention the date of registration of FIR and The police station name
-Mention the model no,IMEI no and most importantly color,phone type etc
-mention that the details have been sent to all nearby P/S and all service providers
-mention some new fangled tech like Cell ID triangulation/GPS
-mention the fact that the email sender/authorities (ie you) are not interested in the device itself but rather in the data in the device.This might throw him off guard
-mention the consequences what he will face
-most importantly, in the end mention about the reward... for ex.
"If you have come in possesion of this device by mistake,or stumbled upon it somewhere,pls contact phone no. xxxxxxxxxx(your alternate mobile no here)If the device is returned,The FIR will be withdrawn and The person will be rewarded suitably minimum Rs.xxxx
-mention the contact no(alternate phone no that u have) to be called for reward in case the phone is found.
Send the composed email to your own email account which was active in your phone.When you go to your original inbox please for god sake dont open that particular message/Email.It should be left unread!
Now I know we talked about how the person stealing your android phone does not know how to operate it.But then he is also human and is prone to learning about his new precious Gadget.Or he may show it to his semi knowledgable cousin(complete with a black mole on cheek and balding pate) in gaffar market for a price evaluation.
Whatever happens,That "one new email" in the notification bar looks pretty inviting.And once he opens that mail,You are in the game!
2 things might happen.He may either contact you to give the phone back which is strangely exciting but quite slim actual manifestations of the chores that you may have done. Most likely he will dispose the phone,sell it burn it,whatever.
But still we live in a world where the glass is always half full.
STEP 2: Contacts Sync
Again here we are supposing your phone was actively syncing your phone contacts with your gmail address book.
Earlier we discussed about how our new friend was discovering the new ways he can enjoy his new droid. Ofcourse the 1st thing he learns is how to add his best friend(remember our gaffar market Friend with a mole and shady eyes)phone no to the address book.Then he might add his jiju's phone no,His friend's like suresh,Mahesh or maybe jignesh(if gujju)
And here we are sitting on a PC happily noting this development.Right.
Wait for 24 hours for him to respond to your email(Step 1).If still he does not,print out a list of your gmail contacts ,Mark those that are not yours in BOLD letters,And start calling them(I say start with suresh ;). Request,Threaten,Bargain ,offer. This is the real PR training friends.
If sun sets in the east,and he actually contacts you to give back your cellphone,DONT panic him By shouting,cursing,whatever.Thank him profusely,promise him a reward and agree to meet in a neutral but public place.A metro station works just fine. Take a copy of the FIR but most importantly take a friend(preferably stockily built)to the meeting place . Even when you meet him,Please dont abuse him and dont call him a thief. Do give him the reward you promised him (10% of the phone's cost is good enough),Also tear the copy of FIR you brought and assure him you wont take any police action.And say good bye.
Next stop at Police station where you registered the FIR.Go there and tell them that you want to cancel the complaint as the phone was found by a good citizen and duly returned to you.
Chances are these methods will not work for you.if they do work then thank your stars,offer 51 Rs ka prashad at the santoshi mata/sai baba temple and next time buy some cheaper phones.You clearly are not good enough to possess/use expensive ones. ;)
Note: There are other avenues that may be explored like "latitude",maybe some social apps. Also some space age anti theft apps actually allow you to install their application after your phone is lost/stolen.Pretty awesome I say.
p.s.I got a friend's P500 back by this method.(I never needed the step 2).The back cover was broken,The screen quite scratched but the phone still usable.I rewarded the "gentleman" with 700 bucks.He was embarassed and said sheepishly "Yeh to mera farz tha". My friend wanted to kill him there only.But I reasoned with him.After all we need more android noob thieves in this dystopian world...
p.s. 2 : No disrespect meant to anyone named suresh,Jignesh, or anyone working in Gaffar market, or anyone with black mole,shady eyes or balding pate.. ;)
To cater to this wide niche of ex android users,Android market offers many apps which promise to do loads of things like sending sms to wipe your cellphone,locking a phone or even positioning your last droid on the map.
But accidents are not planned.You may lose your phone the day you bought it. Research(Having no statistical basis obviously) has shown that 80% users who install "Lost phone" (Which BTW is an excellent freeware)do it after they have lost an android phone,and now are on to their second droid .
I will here talk about the second group of users who had an acute "Unplanned" loss of their android phone.
This method does work,there is a one in 10 billion chance that it will work,but still as they say something better then nothing.
Apart from Filing an FIR and twiddling of your thumbs,can you do anything else? Yes you can, and Yes this method works,Because it did work for a very good friend of mine.Obviously the idea was mine.
Thanks to google for the smashing integration between the services on the phone and the web.
Pre Requisites:
1)The person who found your phone/Stole your phone should be either
A)Literate but long term Nokia 3310 user/dim sum lover
B)Literate but noob enough not to know how to setup his own google account on the phone
2)Also there should be No lock code/pattern code/Pin lock set on your phone.
3)There should be active Email Syncing/Contacts syncing on.
Let us accept the fact.Most mobile snatchers wont even know how to unlock an android phone,leave alone how to use it. The person who "took" my friend's cellphone did not even manage to unlock it.But he was obviously smart enough to pull out the battery and also broke the battery cover in progress.
Step 1: The Gmail TRAP
Ok.If you own an android 90% chance is that you have put your own google/yahoo/whatever account to sync with it.
So when your phone gets stolen and even if the sim card is changed,The sync will mostly go on(Nowadays most service providers in india provide GPRS/Edge services by default).To know if your phone is still syncing please do the following:
DO NOT access Your GMAIL account from any Mobile Based Browser/Thunderbird/Mobile Phone/POP3/IMAP till this exercise is over,You may use the browser www access aaram se.
a)Open your Gmail Main page
b)There is a link(pretty small) at the bottom saying "Last account activity:xx minutes ago:details".Please open the details.
This show you the IP address and the type of access that has been made with that particular account.Check if it says IMAP(for Gmail accounts) or POP3.Also make note of the time and date the access was made.
DONT click the option "Check out from all accounts".
If an IMAP access was made after your phone was nicked then the chance that u can get your cell back increases by a measly 0.303%
Open a New email account/or use an alternative one.But make sure the email account name sounds impressive. something like "districtcourt_tishazari" or "Police_Indiagate"
Next compose an official looking email.Keep the subject line something impressive like "FIR registered P/S Tilak NAGAR"
The email should be composed of two sections.1st in Hinglish(ie write hindi in english. Then in pure english.That is two "notifications" identical but differing in their language approach.Make it look like something police wallahs/Babus will write ;)
Include the following features in your email:
-mention the date of registration of FIR and The police station name
-Mention the model no,IMEI no and most importantly color,phone type etc
-mention that the details have been sent to all nearby P/S and all service providers
-mention some new fangled tech like Cell ID triangulation/GPS
-mention the fact that the email sender/authorities (ie you) are not interested in the device itself but rather in the data in the device.This might throw him off guard
-mention the consequences what he will face
-most importantly, in the end mention about the reward... for ex.
"If you have come in possesion of this device by mistake,or stumbled upon it somewhere,pls contact phone no. xxxxxxxxxx(your alternate mobile no here)If the device is returned,The FIR will be withdrawn and The person will be rewarded suitably minimum Rs.xxxx
-mention the contact no(alternate phone no that u have) to be called for reward in case the phone is found.
Send the composed email to your own email account which was active in your phone.When you go to your original inbox please for god sake dont open that particular message/Email.It should be left unread!
Now I know we talked about how the person stealing your android phone does not know how to operate it.But then he is also human and is prone to learning about his new precious Gadget.Or he may show it to his semi knowledgable cousin(complete with a black mole on cheek and balding pate) in gaffar market for a price evaluation.
Whatever happens,That "one new email" in the notification bar looks pretty inviting.And once he opens that mail,You are in the game!
2 things might happen.He may either contact you to give the phone back which is strangely exciting but quite slim actual manifestations of the chores that you may have done. Most likely he will dispose the phone,sell it burn it,whatever.
But still we live in a world where the glass is always half full.
STEP 2: Contacts Sync
Again here we are supposing your phone was actively syncing your phone contacts with your gmail address book.
Earlier we discussed about how our new friend was discovering the new ways he can enjoy his new droid. Ofcourse the 1st thing he learns is how to add his best friend(remember our gaffar market Friend with a mole and shady eyes)phone no to the address book.Then he might add his jiju's phone no,His friend's like suresh,Mahesh or maybe jignesh(if gujju)
And here we are sitting on a PC happily noting this development.Right.
Wait for 24 hours for him to respond to your email(Step 1).If still he does not,print out a list of your gmail contacts ,Mark those that are not yours in BOLD letters,And start calling them(I say start with suresh ;). Request,Threaten,Bargain ,offer. This is the real PR training friends.
If sun sets in the east,and he actually contacts you to give back your cellphone,DONT panic him By shouting,cursing,whatever.Thank him profusely,promise him a reward and agree to meet in a neutral but public place.A metro station works just fine. Take a copy of the FIR but most importantly take a friend(preferably stockily built)to the meeting place . Even when you meet him,Please dont abuse him and dont call him a thief. Do give him the reward you promised him (10% of the phone's cost is good enough),Also tear the copy of FIR you brought and assure him you wont take any police action.And say good bye.
Next stop at Police station where you registered the FIR.Go there and tell them that you want to cancel the complaint as the phone was found by a good citizen and duly returned to you.
Chances are these methods will not work for you.if they do work then thank your stars,offer 51 Rs ka prashad at the santoshi mata/sai baba temple and next time buy some cheaper phones.You clearly are not good enough to possess/use expensive ones. ;)
Note: There are other avenues that may be explored like "latitude",maybe some social apps. Also some space age anti theft apps actually allow you to install their application after your phone is lost/stolen.Pretty awesome I say.
p.s.I got a friend's P500 back by this method.(I never needed the step 2).The back cover was broken,The screen quite scratched but the phone still usable.I rewarded the "gentleman" with 700 bucks.He was embarassed and said sheepishly "Yeh to mera farz tha". My friend wanted to kill him there only.But I reasoned with him.After all we need more android noob thieves in this dystopian world...
p.s. 2 : No disrespect meant to anyone named suresh,Jignesh, or anyone working in Gaffar market, or anyone with black mole,shady eyes or balding pate.. ;)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Best Mobile phone review/article sites
1) GSMarena : A really multipurpose type of dedicated phones blog, That produces good (not great) reviews, latest news/gossip about upcoming phones. But what takes the cherry is the phone specifications page. Every tech spec noted and detailed perhaps even better then the original manufacturer site, with links to photos of the phone and even those taken by the phone.
2)Mobile-Review: In the early 2000's there were very few Websites catering to the cellphone maniacs like yours truly. Infact there was no english version of the site then and if u wanted to hear what holy eldar said then you were dependent on Babelfish by yahoo for translation. A real pioneer which Formulated the order of cellphone review sequence: Intro, Physical aspects , display, UI. You certainly get the idea what I am saying. morever it also helped a lot that Mr eldar is quite an excellent photographer on his own.
2)Mobile-Review: In the early 2000's there were very few Websites catering to the cellphone maniacs like yours truly. Infact there was no english version of the site then and if u wanted to hear what holy eldar said then you were dependent on Babelfish by yahoo for translation. A real pioneer which Formulated the order of cellphone review sequence: Intro, Physical aspects , display, UI. You certainly get the idea what I am saying. morever it also helped a lot that Mr eldar is quite an excellent photographer on his own.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Five Things Nokia is doing good in Smartphones(S^3)
Well after recently reading a post in AAS, I decided ok, Nokia has faced a lot of flak this year , But they must be doing something right to sell so many N8's . Here are the Best I can summarize:
1) Common Platforms: N8 is the shutterbug's delight. C7 is the party animal. But C6 is phone that will perhaps sell more then the two combined. Inspite of the obvious price and positioning differences It is great from a dev point of view that the cpu architecture and the screen resolution is same in all three phones(and also in upcoming in E7). This will probably lead to end of voes similar to what some users post on forums :"Why does oval racer lag on my brand new N85"
2)Fantastic Media consumption: Again What Nokia has done is seamlessly integrated divx,xvid and even the stellar matroska profiles in the default video player. What this hard
ware enabled codecs means is that you get smoother video and better battery life then you will get with software rendering. Another point to be made is that while the music player remains at usual high quality labels, The external speakers , though mono bring back the memories of good ol' 3250. (I am yet to hear the C6 yet,as it has not started selling here.
3) Photo and video editors out of the box: Yes I know I could have integrated this point in the above two points, But then these basic features are what I appreciate the most especially when comparing them to competing platforms.
4)Metallic Magic: Another positive I would like Nokia to continue. All three phones have good amount of metals in their construction. What this does is apart from making the phone more sturdy,also lends it a certain quality feel. Infact most people who see C7 do think of it as some sort of "spiritual" touchscreen successor of E71/E72 series.
5)Continuation of N series: Well I like others was might dissappointed with the N97 , though I also like others bought one when it came out. Interestingly every single N series I have bought like the N95, N97 , and even the N79 had some or other problems when it was new, perhaps the curse of early adopters. But I kid you not , The N8 is a different sort of Nseries. I mean what si the use of a new N series phone which does'nt hang, doesnt reboot and does not show "Memory full" messages. Well Nokia have changed and it is for better .
regards,
aka.
1) Common Platforms: N8 is the shutterbug's delight. C7 is the party animal. But C6 is phone that will perhaps sell more then the two combined. Inspite of the obvious price and positioning differences It is great from a dev point of view that the cpu architecture and the screen resolution is same in all three phones(and also in upcoming in E7). This will probably lead to end of voes similar to what some users post on forums :"Why does oval racer lag on my brand new N85"
2)Fantastic Media consumption: Again What Nokia has done is seamlessly integrated divx,xvid and even the stellar matroska profiles in the default video player. What this hard
ware enabled codecs means is that you get smoother video and better battery life then you will get with software rendering. Another point to be made is that while the music player remains at usual high quality labels, The external speakers , though mono bring back the memories of good ol' 3250. (I am yet to hear the C6 yet,as it has not started selling here.3) Photo and video editors out of the box: Yes I know I could have integrated this point in the above two points, But then these basic features are what I appreciate the most especially when comparing them to competing platforms.
4)Metallic Magic: Another positive I would like Nokia to continue. All three phones have good amount of metals in their construction. What this does is apart from making the phone more sturdy,also lends it a certain quality feel. Infact most people who see C7 do think of it as some sort of "spiritual" touchscreen successor of E71/E72 series.
5)Continuation of N series: Well I like others was might dissappointed with the N97 , though I also like others bought one when it came out. Interestingly every single N series I have bought like the N95, N97 , and even the N79 had some or other problems when it was new, perhaps the curse of early adopters. But I kid you not , The N8 is a different sort of Nseries. I mean what si the use of a new N series phone which does'nt hang, doesnt reboot and does not show "Memory full" messages. Well Nokia have changed and it is for better .
regards,
aka.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Why Nokia is to be feared in coming years?
I still remember my baby steps in the world of cellphones. It was the year 2000 and information on cellphones was very scarce on the net. gsmarena was in its infancy . Very few genuine sites were there, some like mobile-review.com have become bigger and better. Some have vanished. Some improvised(special mention of 3lib, one of the pioneers)
whatever decision an individual made depended on his peer group and shopkeeper's recommendations. In early 2000's only one name came to mind of both. It was not a question of which company , rather which model . Those days people used to depend on phones for communication, and in Nokia they got bullet proof Signal,voice quality and Battery life (most of the times,but the last point is debatable)
Fast forward to the present. Nokia is getting pounded from everyone atleast the so called "american blogs". Unfortunately for them It does little to affect the perception of buying public in India,Malaysia or sweden,Russia. Even today when The espoo company is making trend setting phones like N8. It has kept the three basics "reception,voice quality,battery life" intact.
Today It is a connected world. Every app on your smartphone wants to keep you, your news and your social feeds upto date. For this they require constant data connection. This is enabled by default in modern OS's like Android and iOS. However what must be understood That Nokia has learnt its lessons in very competitive markets:
India,China where data rates have traditionally been very costly vis-a-vis the average income of the populace. That is why symbian was designed in such a robust way that every app that tries to access the internet(other then some cert enabled apps) require the permission of the owner. Morever It also give you the option of using separate access points for separate apps. That is a feature to be appreciate if your carrier uses separate apn for mobile streaming and another one for tethering.
This policy also helps you get a rather healthy battery life as compared to connected "OS".
Also recently the issue has emerged where people expect hardware prices to become cheaper- and want the big companies like apple,Nokia to be sustained solely based on the services. Nokia should be careful here. It has always been a hardware company, Delivering some of the best design and never outsourcing its manufacturing to taiwan like others. Services though nice to have should never form the basis of its existence.
contrary to popular belief, N97 even though quite disappointing was actually a bestseller. N8 has none of the flaws of the predecessor. With meego things may get even sweeter for Nokia.
whatever decision an individual made depended on his peer group and shopkeeper's recommendations. In early 2000's only one name came to mind of both. It was not a question of which company , rather which model . Those days people used to depend on phones for communication, and in Nokia they got bullet proof Signal,voice quality and Battery life (most of the times,but the last point is debatable)
Fast forward to the present. Nokia is getting pounded from everyone atleast the so called "american blogs". Unfortunately for them It does little to affect the perception of buying public in India,Malaysia or sweden,Russia. Even today when The espoo company is making trend setting phones like N8. It has kept the three basics "reception,voice quality,battery life" intact.
Today It is a connected world. Every app on your smartphone wants to keep you, your news and your social feeds upto date. For this they require constant data connection. This is enabled by default in modern OS's like Android and iOS. However what must be understood That Nokia has learnt its lessons in very competitive markets:
India,China where data rates have traditionally been very costly vis-a-vis the average income of the populace. That is why symbian was designed in such a robust way that every app that tries to access the internet(other then some cert enabled apps) require the permission of the owner. Morever It also give you the option of using separate access points for separate apps. That is a feature to be appreciate if your carrier uses separate apn for mobile streaming and another one for tethering.
This policy also helps you get a rather healthy battery life as compared to connected "OS".
Also recently the issue has emerged where people expect hardware prices to become cheaper- and want the big companies like apple,Nokia to be sustained solely based on the services. Nokia should be careful here. It has always been a hardware company, Delivering some of the best design and never outsourcing its manufacturing to taiwan like others. Services though nice to have should never form the basis of its existence.
contrary to popular belief, N97 even though quite disappointing was actually a bestseller. N8 has none of the flaws of the predecessor. With meego things may get even sweeter for Nokia.
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