Symbian4Hackers - Harness The Power of Symbian From The Pro

Two batteries are better than one :-)

2009-08-29T16:30:00.001-07:00

I recently took delivery of a “High Capacity Extended Battery 1800 mAh” For Nokia N95. It increases the life of the Symbian smart phone by a third on standby. Without battery intensive applications running I can get approximately 3 days light use of the phone.

In conjunction with the original Nokia Battery BL-5F you have improved battery life.

In no circumstances do I have any affiliation with any products. I only highly recommend them as they are superb. Please only consider the “High Capacity Extended Battery” at your own discretion as this is not an official Nokia product.

"How can we rectify the N95 low battery?"

2009-08-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Answer: Bye using the “Nokia USB Sync and Charge Cradle”. This in my opinion with the secondary battery is the secret behind rectifying the N95 low battery life.

This allows you to effortlessly synchronize and charge your Nokia N95 with every USB-enabled computer. Mostly all modem computers have USB ports. With this device on your office desk, there is no need to search and plug in the right cable. Just dock the Nokia N95 into the cradle and you are ready to charge and transfer files.

The N95 Cradle can be powered via USB connection or with an included AC charger. You have the ability to charge the phone and a spare battery at the same time.

Here's one error I fixed earlier...

2009-08-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

You can try inserting a piece of paper to make an improved connection with the sim card and phone.

( Tip: Use the flap of a self seal jiffy bag )

"C2Doom is the very best in mobile gaming experience"

2009-08-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

The original Doom is a 1993 iconic computer game by the video game development company id Software, and one of the most influential titles in the 21st century of the first-person shooter genre. Doom is most notable because of the combination of immersive 3D graphics with graphic violence. It turned out to be both controversial and immensely popular immortalizing the game for eternity. The film Doom was released in 2005.

The C2Doom is the very best in mobile gaming experience that brings original Doom gaming experience to smart phones typically S60 devices. It implements original game episodes, graphics and music and the infamous single player experience. The C2Doom also incorporates traditional multiplayer co-operative and deathmatch gaming modes.

1-For this to work you will require a compatible S60 or S80 phone i.e. Nokia N95. Tested Mobile phones I have personally tested are Nokia models NGage, NGage QD, 6620, 9300, 9500, 7610, 6681, 6630, 6680, 6600 and 6260. Even so all S80 mobile phones and S60 Symbian phones that have a minimum requirement of 16MB internal RAM (Random Access Memory), Symbian S60 1.2 or Symbian S60 2 ought to work. (9210, 7650 and 3650 are not currently supported models.)

2- For this step you are required to download either depending on your phones requirements the S60 or S80 C2Doom installation package, from the internet and install it into your compatible mobile device. Following this you can now copy the installation files into your phone and select file from there, or use PC suite application for installing. After you have finished installing the Doom.sis file, a Doom application icon will appears in the phones applications folder.

3- You have to have WAD files. Wad Files are like game ROMs. There are several WAD files available, however I have tested only some official ones.

4- Transfer the WAD file into your memory card by means of the data cable or your preferred connection method. When you start C2Doom application, it looks trough your phone memory and detects WAD files. Once one is located a confirmation is asked if that WAD file is indented to be used. It is always advised to copy files to a memory card not to internal phone memory. For instance N95 internal memory is only 160 MB storage but my micro SD card is 8GB. Good Luck! :-)

Download Link C2Doom + WADS Includes

C2Doom.sis

CS01.WAD - DOOM2.wad - doomu.wad - DUKEGP.WAD - helltest.WAD - HERETIC.WAD - Twilight.wad

Please feel free to link to Symbian4Hackers if you find this illuminating

TV on your mobile -AKA BBC iPlayer for symbian s60 is AWESOME

2009-08-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

BBC iPlayer is an application which is intended to let users download or stream live TV and radio programmes from bbc.co.uk website to their s60 mobile phone device. BBC iPlayer currently is only available in the UK. As I am aware there are two versions for S60v3 and S60v5 (e.g. Nokia 5800). The S60v3 version is a .sis (Symbian Installation Source) file, and not a .jar like the previous versions and works without any know problems on the N95, however they labeled it v. 1.00 for some unknown reason. This could be because the older 1.6 version was only officially available for the Nokia N96.

BBC iPlayer for Symbian S60. BBC iPlayer for S60 has been released for a short while now. You can stream shows over WiFi which is my preference but you have the option to stream over a strong 3G connection. For this to work you are required to have runtime enabled handset to use the BBC iPlayer. From my experience it works well on Nokia N78, N95, N96 and E90. I have tested all theses phones with a resounding success.

The iPlayer for S60 platform uses RealPlayer to stream the video via WiFi or 3G connection. As I mentioned I only use WiFi as this is completely free.

Once you begin iPlayer, you’ll see a selection of shows that are featured on the front page for quick selection. This is similar to the full version where you have most popular shows displayed. You have the option to browse for shows via channel or category; or search by program name.

Works exceptionally well with Nokia N78, N95, N96 and E90 — I prefer the Nokia N95.

I especially like the live TV stream works exceptional for watching “BBC News” and my favorite show “Dragons Den”. I now say I have TV on my mobile and so can you.

A mobile game that's worth mentioning

2009-08-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is a game called "ONE" for the S60 n-Gage.

The graphics are unreal for a mobile game and have “Tekken” qualities. The performance of the game is outstanding 5 stars. This is far superior to other mobile games. Play is virtually instant without annoying scenario text or characters speaking.

The game is very smooth and has an exceptional frame rate for a mobile game. The gaming experience is almost comparable to playing PS3. Using a Nokia N95 TV out cable on a 50" TV. The images speak for themselves.
For that extra gaming experience use the Nokia Wireless Keyboard, SU-8W

Capture screenshots directly from your mobile like a pro

2009-08-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Download a program called "Screenshot" search Google for "Screenshot for Symbian OS".

Handy for making tutorials or documenting gaming progress. You will find this useful for numerous reasons because I certainly do.

Test driving "Screenshot" with a game called "Need for Speed: Carbon". Unfortunately, I didn't win the game but the screenshot software is flawless in its simplicity.

Automatically reboot your symbian phone 4 free with pyRestart

2009-08-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

You harness the power to reboot your phone on demand rapidly. The software works by means of triggering the reboot API and forcing the system to reboot. With pyRestart you eliminate the effort of manually restarting the Symbian mobile device.

For this to work you require an open source programming language called Python. Once you installed the python software you have access to other software for example pyRestart and pyBattery. In this example I have installed pyRestart.

TIP: Add the pyRestart to your standby mode shortcuts for even quicker reboot.

This has comparison to rebooting your home computer system.

Hack the N95 with a high capacity battery

2009-08-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

The original Nokia N95 battery is 950 mAh. The extended unofficial battery is 1800 mAh giving the mobile double in battery life. I purchased the extended Nokia N95 battery online and in my opinion found this to be excellent.

The original battery comes in perfect as a backup.

1800mAh - mAh is the unit for measuring electric power over time.

(A comparison between batteries)

Harness the power of Symbian from the pro

2009-08-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

The Nokia N95 is personally one of the best media devices I have ever purchased. As you can tell I dislike like calling it a phone because it’s more than a mobile. The device was released last year 2007. The phone integrates music, video, wireless broadband, 5mega pixel camera, satnav, and even more. The dimensions are 9.9 x 5.3 x 2.1cm which is good considering all the technology inside the device.

These are a selection of my favourite methods to harness the power of the Nokia N95. Theses tips may also work with other phone models especially S60 Symbian phones.

Who really needs the Nintendo DS and IPod when you have the N95

This is a brief explanation of where to obtain music for your mobile. There is a fantastic website where you can download music directly to your mobile absolutely free. Alternatively you can download music to your computer hard drive. The website is called www.4shared.com and using the wireless network capabilities will guaranty super fast downloads of music directly to your mobile device. I really do not understand why everyone talks about iTunes and not 4shared. I have never used iPods and such as I think it is all hype. My Nokia N95 does all that and more.

Would you like to create your own themes because I do? I use fantastic software called Carbide.ui S60 Theme Edition 3.1 to create S60 themes. Carbide.ui 3.2 Theme Edition is powerful software that allows the creation of themes for S60 and series 40 devices. Carbide.ui has thousands of elements available. With the theme editor you can totally transform your mobile device.

My N95 mobile is like a Swiss army knife just not as dangerous. I am starting to use the media device to its full potential.

With the Nokia N95 TV output cables it is easy to watch films on your home TV. Just download the film convert to an appropriate file I normally choose 3GP (Third Generation Platform). To convert my films I use ImTOO 3GP Video Converter or Xilisoft 3GP Video Converter 3. This software not only converts to 3GP but numerous other file types. In my opinion there is only one reason why I convert to 3GP because the file size is minute when compared to other video file types. 3GP is a simplified version of the MPEG-4 specifically designed for mobile devices.

At one time I was playing java mobile game. Now I play Quake. The PC version of this classic game. I also play Saga Megadrive games such as sonic on my mobile using an emulator called PicoDrive.

Maybe you have heard of the N95’s accelerometer. This is a mechanical or electromechanical instrument that measures acceleration. The N95 uses the inbuilt sensor in the mobile. This is really smart allowing you to shake your phone to control various functions. A good example is software called Shakelock. Shaking the phone up and down will cause the phone to lock. The software has been written in the programming language python. In conjunction with Shakelock I use PowerBoot For S60 3rd edition. This is another useful application used to execute software automatically when the phone starts. So when my mobile is switched on Shakelock will become active.

The very best applications using the accelerometer are:

NokMote
RotateMe
LightSaber
Inclinometer
Accelerinvaders
ShutUp
Nokia 95 DJ
Rock and Scroll
ShakeSMS
FlipSilent
NiiMe

I recommend regularly checking for N95 firmware updates. This also applies for all phones mostly S60 devices. Updates should be mandatory as they fix software bugs. From experience the firmware updates really work. There must be some non internet type people that are unaware they can obtain updates. I expect those who are reading this are familiar with the excitement of new firmware updates.

Software Modifications 1

This will modify the Symbian software and give full permission to view and edit all files. Before we start make sure you have a file explorer like X-plore or Y-browse installed.

Required Downloads

Download and Install ActivePython & PySerial on your computer

The magic python script and TRK application for Nokia Nseries + AppTRK

Application to turn security on and off from phone

(for Nokia (n95 ,n82 ,n73 ,n80 etc)

Now for the main instructions.

Install the AppTRK Symbian application on your phone's memory and start it, then in options>settings, select connection as USB.

Now you need to connect your phone to your PC via USB. This should be done in PC Suite mode and then AppTRK will report connected on your phone

Navigate to the Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager>Ports Or in Windows Vista: Control Panel>System>Device Manager>Ports.

Make note the COM Port your phone is using

Open the python script in notepad ( The one downloaded in previously with .phy extension)

Search "serial.ser" without quotes and then replace the numerical value in bracket with the value of your COM Port minus 1 i.e. if your port was 7 then replace it with 6.

Now it should display !!!!!!candidate!!!!!!! in the output window...

Congratulations now your phone is really yours!!

Now you can terminate the AppTRK application.

Verify the hack with X-Plore or Y-browser, see if you can explore c:/sys/

I. install CapsOn.sisx

II. Install CapsOff.sisx

III. Copy CProfDriver_SISX.ldd from RAR downloaded in step 4a into C:\sys\bin

CapsOff = Security OFF and do whatever you want to do with your phone :)
This shows that there are no retractions and you can access the sys folder

CapsOn = Restrictions ON :(

Retractions by default are enabled on all mobile phones. When you reboot the mobile restrictions will be active again. If you are going to make more changes to your mobile turn the CapsOff.again.

Turning the CapsOff removes restrictions allowing you to make more software tweaks such as changing menu structure as show below.

Modification 2 - Changing the menu structure

This is to transform the menu structure

Before

After

Quick tutorial explanation how to achieve this result.

You are required to have a modified phone for this. If you followed the first modification you are ready.

Copy Menu.mif into; C:\resource\apps\

Box.net - Free Online File Storage, Internet File Sharing, Online Storage, Access Documents & Files Anywhere, Backup Data, Send Files

Copy the appshelldata.xml file into C:\private\101f4cd2\content. If you

are asked to overwright the file, allow this.

Reboot your phone and you are finished You should get all the 15 special folders This modification should work on all Symbian OS S60 devices. It works on my Nokia N95.

Modification 3 - Changing the Startup animation

Here is a quick guide to changing your Startup animation.

This is the professional way to remove the shaking hands animation.

First Enable CAPS OFF

Use FileBrowser and navigate to Z:\resource\apps

Copy the startup.mbm, startup.mif and the rsc file corresponding to your installed language (*.r01 = english, *.r03 = german, etc.) to C:\resource\apps

Now browse to C:\resource\apps and press '8' on the startup.rXX file. Now you have the hex view of the file.

Scroll down to line 000050 (it's 000050 in startup.r03. It can differ on other resource files.

Change hex value '5A' which stands for 'Z' to '43', which will be 'C'.

After saving the file, on boot, device will look in C:\resource\apps for the Startup.mbm and use it!

Copy some modded startup.mbm there.