When I first got the phone it didn’t take more than a few days to notice that the connection was loose and it would shut off mid-charge etc. Not good. After leaving my charger in a hotel I bought a replacement from Argos. This was better but still has issues.

It was after this that I realised that the data cable for my work phone, a Nokia 5230, also had a micro-usb connector on the end. Guess what: it seems to fit perfectly!

So are HTC just cutting corners by supplying shit peripherals?

One kind commenter (thank you “ThrasherC”) suggested a solution to a similar problem.  I haven’t followed the story of the bug report and probably don’t know enough about Linux to understand it so I’m not taking responsibility for anyone else doing this. This is a statement of what I did, not advice

1. Open a new terminal
2. Issue command “sudo gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa”
3. Find the line that says “load-module module-device-restore” and creplaceomment it out by adding a hash at the start so it reads “#load-module module-device-restore”
4. Restart

Hope this helps someone – be that you, or me in the future.

I should also point out that I added my user to the “sound group” as described in the Ubuntu Sound Troubleshooting Guide, however I’m not convinced this was relevant.

Anyway, further use has led me to conclude that:

• The login splash-screen sound is audible. There is no sound after I login at first. If I log out and login again, the sound is fine.
• Only the internal sound is affected. If the netbook is plugged into speakers, sound is fine.
• As stated previously, the sound issue only appears on Ubuntu, not on Windows.
• Asus don’t give a shit.

How annoying is that?!

Update: The problem described in this post has subsequently been investigated and solved.

On Monday or Tuesday night I then upgraded the BIOS to see if it would fix the fact that the wireless was shite when I was using Ubuntu.  (Incidentially either the BIOS or OS upgrade seems to have fixed the probelms I had connecting to one specific router)

I didn’t notice a problem at the time because I’m dual booting Windows XP and was using that, but when I booted into Ubuntu again on Thursday night, the audio didn’t seem to be working.  I quickly discovered that the sound did indeed work at the login screen, but once I logged in there was nothing (including no welcome sound).  The audio/volume functions on the Fn keys also now do nothing (though brightness ones still work!)

I think the sound was fine following the Ubuntu upgrade, but I’m not sure, so I think the BIOS upgrade has ballsed it up.  Which is a pain.  It looks like I’ll have to try reverting the BIOS and/or Ubuntu to a previous version.  Watch this space…

I have decided on a phone. I want an Android phone. I simply MUST have an HTC Desire. So much that I already want to start writing apps for it!

Things looked good at the start of April when it was available on T-Mobile for £15/month and £129 up front for 24 months.  This came with 300 minutes, unlimited texts (they say 300 but you get a choice of flexible booster free and mine would go on unlimited texts)  and "unlimited" (1GB) data.  This is much better than what I’m currently paying Vodafone £30 a month for!!

Unfortunately while the plan is still available on T-Mobile the price of the phone was hiked to £191 fairly quickly.  It’s still a very competitive contract, and still better than what Vodafone were offering, but I was already nervous about taking out a contract on a network known (to me) mostly for shit signal, based partly on my experience with them about 6 years ago, so I went to do more research.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching the best deals from all networks (except O2 who don’t stock it yet, but I’ve found ways round that) from at least a dozen retailers.  Really it would be a waste if I kept this information to myself and didn’t share what I’d found out with the world (or the 3 random people who happen to stumble on this blog over the next year and probably don’t even speak English).

Anyway, to got a long story short(er), I’m going to post a summary of what I’ve found over the next couple of days. Keep your eyes peeled.

The gadget is in no way endorsed or approved by ICanHasCheezburger.com – it’s just a personal pet project that I thought I’d share.

For those not familiar, when Nokia update their firmware, the updates can only be downloaded by those with generic (unbranded) phones. If your phone comes from a network, it will have a different product code depending on the network. When you run Nokia’s Software Updater it reports back what code you have, and if your network haven’t approved an updated version of the firmware, you don’t get any upgrade.

Vodafone haven’t approved an update for the N96 firmware since v11.018 which was released in September 2008. The problem is that there have been several updates since this time to fix poor performance and other issues, including two major updates in May and July which I really want to get hold of.

So I’m trying to get a call centre to tell me when Vodafone are going to get their fingers out of their arses. What do you think of my odds?

To Hack or not to Hack?

I’m aware of two other methods of getting firmware upgrades by bypassing Vodafone, but these aren’t ideal. One is to change your product code to the generic one (I’ve been told for the UK & Ireland this is 0568238, but I haven’t checked this), then run Nokia Software Update. This time when your phone sends its Product Code to the server it’ll get the latest version of the genereic firmware and apply it to your phone. The problem is that your product code is recorded against the IMEI of your phone in the server, so Nokia know you’ve been naughty and should you have any problems with the phone they will tell you you’ve voided your warranty and refuse to fix it.

The other method involves downloading the firmware and applying it to the phone yourself using a program called Phoenix. This is also naughty, but Nokia don’t know about it. If you’ve any problems and need to call on your warranty you can change the firmware back and (if you do it right) they can’t tell. However this method seems to be more complicated.

Oh and the guy on the phone denied any firmware existed past v12, released in January. I told him the page he was looking at (probably this one) as out of date. Shortly afterwards the call was mysteriously disconnected. Odd that. OH and i fyou enter that UK & Ireland N96 code above into the Nokia update checker, it comes back with the non-existant v30.033 firmware. Also odd, no?

It doesn’t stop at the batter life though. Sadly BBC have seen fit to also cripple the N96′s iPlayer. The N96 comes with everything, headphones, a car charger and even an RCA cable to let you connect your phone to your TV and watch videos on your TV.  Which is great – except the iPlayer’s DRM prevents the video from being sent over the video-out line. WHHHAAAAT?!

I don’t know, it’s like they want people to download their shows from BitTorrent instead! At least that way you can do what you like with it once you have it.

In their defence, I guess it’s because it would make it possible to plug the TV-out cable into a PVR (or video recorder if you so wished) and record the programme without any DRM restrictions on it and retain it for as long as you want, but if someone’s THAT keen I’m sure they’ll find a way anyway.

The verdict? Swing and a miss!

It hasn’t made it’s way to the shops or web sites of any of the operators yet, but Nokia are apparently shipping N96s already! The phone’s still showing as a pre-order on Nokia’s online shop, but presumably this is because they’re shipping to customers who pre-ordered first.

I also noticed yesterday and today that Vodafone are pushing the Samsung Omnia, which is free on a £35/month contract including data (oh, yes, the inclusive data plans that hit the shops 3-4 months ago are finally available online – I think).

I think it’s safe to say things just got quite interesting.

My Experience

I actually got one from Bodytech Collision Repair in Carrickfergus a few weeks ago, because they seem to be the only car body repair outfit open on a Saturday morning.  They came in at £666 + VAT which was £783.31 to you and me. They seemed very professional (nice modern office, ample parking, full-time receptionist) despite the out of date web site which still reports an operation in the Village area of Belfast (I think they said that branch just closed in March or April, though don’t quote me on that).

I would have probably just gone with that, since getting another estimate outside of office hours was so bloody difficult; I could tell people over the phone what it needed (a new tailgate) but they all wanted to see for themselves. Since I knew I’d have 2 weeks between jobs coming up I thought I’d wait though, and I’m glad I did (so far).

Yesterday I traipsed down to Lisburn to seek out Rankin Cooke, a garage where my dad had had his car fixed following a prang a few years ago.  Didn’t seem as “polished” – but maybe a bunch of guys in a garage can do as good/a better job and just don’t think they particuarly need a fancy office and receptionist. It’s just a little awkward to phone and have the person answering just say “Hello?” as if you’ve just called a stranger at home. Anyway, the important bit:  £693 (inc VAT) or £650  for cash. Excellent! Things were looking up and I left feeling I might be calling back soon to book her in. I just wanted at least one more estimate.

On to Bangor and TK Motors. Nice web site, professional setup (no receptionist but apparently dedicated estimators instead). Not so friendly as Rankin Cooke or Bodytech. The guy handed me an estimate for £871.57 and I left, trying to suppress a scornful chuckle. Sadly I missed Howell Accident Repair who operate practically round the corner from TK Motors so have no quote from them.

When I got home I came across a web site for Davey’s Accident Repair Centre on the Woodvale Road. The web site is a touch on the hideous side, but it has the important information there.   This morning I gave them a call (answered by a pleasant-sounding lady with a “Davey’s Accident Repair”) and tootled on up to get an estimate. After a quick look at the car and a quick phone call (to price the tailgate from Vauxhall, presumably, as seems to be standard procedure) he came up with £650. At the same price as Rankin Cooke, these guys had the separate office and a couple of desks including one staffed by the lady I’d spoken to on the phone.  It’d also be easier to get to on the bus if needs be (forgot to ask if that estimate included a courtesy car – I’m presuming Rankin Cooke’s didn’t).

So about ten seconds after leaving to think it over, I returned to book my wee motor in for that long-awaited new tailgate. Watch this space…

Advice to the Garages

If anyone from any of the above garages is reading this, please don’t take any offence to any of it.  I’m just trying to share a customer’s experience (that’s a customer who isn’t used to this type of thing) and maybe share a little insight. I did a bit of business management at university and I naturally notice things that could be improved on. It may sound presumptuous to phone up and say this but I’m guessing if you’ve found this story you’ve been googling yourself to find out what people think. So if you’re interested my advice would be:

Rankin Cooke: Just answer the phone with “Hello, Rankin Cooke” instead of “Hello?”. It would make a world of difference. Other than that, maybe an obvious entrance for Joe Public? With the big closed over iron garage door I felt like I wasn’t sure if I should be going in there. Oh and you were the only ones not to hand me some form of written estimate I could take away (TK Motors and Bodytech had printouts and Davey’s handed me a branded card, about 8″ by 4″, specifically for estimates and bookings). I’d like to see you guys (continue to?) do well so I’m not just bitching for the sake of it – wee things like that make a big difference to unsure customers (idiots?) like me. I’m not trying to run Rankin Cooke down, because I would have gone to them had I not found the Davey’s web site later that day

TK Motors: Too expensive. That’s all. Though if you can get away with charging prices like that good luck to you.

Bodytech: A bit on the dear side, but you can see what you’re paying for. Everything was very professional and the guy who gave me the estimate couldn’t have been more friendly.

On Websites

In my opinion all these guys could do with having a think about their web sites. I wouldn’t have even noticed Rankin Cooke had my dad not mentioned them. If they’d had a web site I would have, it’s as simple as that. Bodytech’s site is obviously dated but even inaccurate information is better than none (as long as that phone number informs callers of the new one) and I think it highlights them better in search results on Yell.com (which is where I started hunting).  TK Motors have the best site, it looks ok but it’s design makes it nasty to use.

Conclusion

Having said all that, my own order of preference would have been:

1. Davey’s (£650)
2. Rankin Cooke (£650)
3. Bodytech (£783.31)
4. TK Motors (£871.57)

so maybe I’ve just proved that all I’ve said is rubbish and price is the main factor (to a degree at least). I think I’d have paid an extra £30 or so for Bodytech over Davey’s and maybe £50 over Rankin Cooke but there’s just too much variance to justify it.  There’s just something reassuring about those wee extras that make the experience more comfortable to someone who is a novice at these things.