My tryst with L7 flashing

Finally, after a long long wait I have managed to flash my mobile.

My phone Motorola SLVR L7 has got a new look, new interface and many functions unlocked!

I have used Flash and Backup (fb3.0) and a monster-pack. Monster pack contains Firmware, Flex, DSP Firmware, Language Pack,DRM Graphics) necessary for the mobile. First time flashers generally prefer flashing the entire monster-pack than flashing individuals like Firmware or language Pack, etc.

L7 has (I suppoz most of Motorola mobiles have) a special mode for flashing called boot loader mode. Simply switch off the mobile followed by pressing the " * " , " # " and " shut down button " (see picture). Using comp and software like fb or RSDlite or others, L7 and other moto phones can be flashed

Warning : Charge your baterry to max before starting. Though its an easy and clean process, plz avoid flashing if there is a power-cut problem or ur phone USB connectivity snaps in-between. Basically, ur phone must not face any interruption during flashing.(messages calls wont matter). This is not a manual for flashing but my experience with flashing.

First, I installed the motorola drivers software package ( latest is easily available, simply search it online). It is needed because ur comp must recognise and work properly in the boot-loader mode.

I downloaded a monster-pack from Mobilejunkies.net or download whatever part you wish to flash. Some monsterpack dont work properly on some s/w. so check ur flex and s/w and whether ur monsterpack is compatible with it before flashing.

Moto L7 has a restriction of being able to play mp3 songs with bitrate less than or equal to 192kbps. I wished to remove it. Hence i downloaded the 192 bitrate patching software from internet. Using RandomSHX.exe application, I opened my monster pack (it is in *.shx extension) to various bin files. Then using the patching software, ran the software and appended the specified bin file(generally it is the file with 2 in its filename and file extension as .bin and around 13Mb). After that I reran the RandomSHX and converted the *.bin files back into a single *.shx file.

I connected my phone and ran the Fb3.0 and backed all my messages, contact lists and initial flex, firmware etc. (check the read data menu). While saving, it might take ur phone into boot-loader mode or u might have to connect ur phone in boot-loader mode. If it asks for a driver, simply direct it to the place where u had earlier installed the drivers.

Then, start the fb3.0 and go for write data. Select the *.shx file you wish to flash( in my case it was the monsterpack that i had patched) and follow the simple instuctions. When the flashing starts, Plz dont remove connection or abort it or turn off the comp or anything. Simply wait patiently. it will be over in a jiffy! else you could damage ur mobile forever (sometimes even a dead mobile!)

Images:

the 3 key combination to launch boot-loader and the boot loader screen



















flash and backup 3.0 screen with read data menu

Benefits :

Jar/corelet applications like Itunes, Phonemanager will now work (In my case, my earlier s/w didnt allow them).

I have got a 12 icon menu

Mp3 files with bitrate more than 192 kbps works.

video recording is possible in ( Color, Blue, red, green, Sepia, B&W modes)
video recording is now in mp4 format with increased mbs of recording. (yes, earlier it was around 1 minute or less. Now time doesnt matter. U can simply go on recording in Mbs)
these video changes can also be brought about by seem editing.

Themes have changed. You can add new themes or put in old themes using Skiman.

The most important, I have placed a new step in the form of flashing and custom editing my wonderful phone!

My Moto !

Well, after a long time I decided to play with my mobile Motorola SLVR L7.
Here are some of the things i played around with.

Itunes Corelets
It comes bundled with L7e or i.
Yes, Itunes from Apple! Its a good music player corelet that unlike java midlets is loaded when mobile starts. Its functioning is similar to ipod. I simply liked it. In legal versions media files are uploaded using Itunes. others use a nice software called Mototunes!
However this time(after I had my mobile serviced at Moto centre) it failed to run! God knows what those fellas at service centre have done. Still working on that!

Seem editing
This is the best part.
You can use it to edit and bring about excellent changes in your mobile.
I unlocked the different presets for video recording!
I used seem editing to increase video recording limit to 10Mb. (Thats a lot for a simple mobile camera!)
You can also edit gain table( increase/decrease sound levels of your phone)
The list is endless! Some person at Howardforums has charted a map for seem-editing.

P2K Tools is a good tool for seem-editing.
Motomidman is a good choice for loading midlets and corelets.
RSD Lite2.5 for flashing/flexing.

Though many sites are not known for Moto applications.
Two excellent sites that make up for this loss are mobilejunkies and howardforums.

Mobilejunkies seems to be an Indian-subcontinent based one. I like their rapid response and clear, concise tutorials for modding the Motorola mobiles.

Its really fun playing with hex and binary codes and manipulating tiny things to get such a reward. I am proud that I own a moto L7 rather than any rigid phone.

My stealth infra-red camera!

So, finally out of hibernation!

The past month passed with lots of activity and curricular happenings leaving me with no time to spare.I happened to come across an interesting article in Chip India Magazine. It was on how to check whether a remote control's (working on Infra-Red) battery has drained out or not.

Their advice was to use a digital camera to check the front portion of the remote control keeping any button on the remote control pressed. (ie. check the led in the front). You will see a white light beam on the LCD of digi-cam coming out of the front portion of your Remote control. Infact its the infrared beam shooting out of your remote onto the TV. So if beam is visible, baterry and the buttons are working else not.

My friend, Fish and I came to the conclusion that the light sensors in a digi-cam must be sensitive to spectrums other than visible range. Wow, I never knew that Infra-red spectrum can be seen on digital cameras. Though it can be explained easily by science, but the fact that seeing something invisible to naked eyes using common minimal tools as in here a little mobile camera is really fun!

Though the beam is not strong enough, I still managed to use it to click and shoot pics n tiny movies in pitch darkness. Voila! I have a stealth Infra-red camera! He.He.He..

Check them..

Videos

1)keyhole in Infrared and visible light



Pictures. (my remote, before pressing a key, after pressing a button )

MotoSLVR L7 java applications

Unlike Nokia and Sony phones, few java files and applications exist for moto phones.
However the market is broadning and many companies like Gameloft S.A. are creating applications and games.
I have a good collection of games for L7. Interested users can try them by e-mailing me request. (I need to check the legal point of view before giving links or uploading them online).

Also the most important corelet available are Itunes from Apple and MediaViewer.

To install all these, please first install Motomidman, p2kman, Motokit and mototunes (or their equivalent) onto your computer. You can search them online or request me.

The procedure to install itunes and other softwares and much more in next posts.

MotoSLVR L7 specifications

Motorola SLVR L7 (now L7i has come) is the best phone in the under Rs 8000 range.
It is a class apart!
Its so slim ( 11.5 mm thick) and trendy; yet not compromised on the quality point.
Its so beautiful compared to the bulky N series Nokia mobiles and others.
Its keypad appears as if its wafer thin.
Its typical blue color from the keypad region adds to the beauty.
Also to be noted is that the keypad is light sensitive (ie. in region of darkness or less light, the blue light beneath keypad glows)

The screen or OSD is 176x200 TFT with 262K colours. I can personally bet that the screen display is better than V3i, Nokia 6600 or W550i.

The speaker is good enough and the headphone is excellent. The music quality is far better than Nokia or Sony phones of the same cost. Clarity is remarkable.

Bluetooth is little slow compared to Nokia and Sony phones. I havent tried bluetooth on other moto phones. Will tell u soon. Also all files cant be transferred or recieved on L7. However after modding and flashing this can be achieved.

The camera is VGA 640x480 max. resolution, 4x.zoom. However unlike the Nokia phones, which have the lens and its big border bulging out of the mobile; this fits very beautifully on the mobile.


For specific info;
official motorola company's spec
Wiki
Softpedia

MotoSLVR L7 start

Hello folks, i ave decided to start a new label entirely dedicated to Moto SLVR L7 mobiles. Check it out for the features, applications, tweaks, java-corelet files, pc suites etc.

Mail me if u want something else