HTC Wildfire S A510e

Bought HTC Wildfire S A510e Android OS 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) mobile phone. It has 5MP autofocus camera with flash. There is also a built-in GPS for geo-tagging and navigation.

Factory/Hard Reset

1. Power off
   
2. Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then briefly press the POWER button.
3. Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the VOLUME DOWN button.
4. Press VOLUME DOWN to select Clear Storage, and then press the POWER button.
   

or

Tap Settings > SD & phone storage > Factory data reset > Reset phone > Erase everything

Dial Codes

1. Diagnostics - *#*#3424#*#*

Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830

Bought Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830 Android OS 2.2.1 (Froyo) mobile phone. It has 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash. There is also a built-in GPS for geo-tagging and navigation.

Factory Reset

1. Power off phone
2. Press and hold the power & home buttons at the same time
3. Wait for menu, choose "Factory reset". Use the volume up/down button to scroll up/down to select and the menu key to confirm selection
4. Select "Reboot now" to finish
   

or

*#7780#

or

Tap Applications> Settings > System > Privacy > Factory data reset > Reset phone

Screen Capture

1. Press & hold Back button then Home button
   

Dial Codes

1. Diagnostics - *#0*#
2. Hard reset - *2767*3855#
   
3. Phone info - *#*#4636#*#*
   
4. IMEI - *#06#
5. Vibration/Back Light/Alert LED test - *#0842#
6. Sound test - *#0673#
7. Battery - *#0228#
8. Touch screen - *#2664#
   
9. FTA SW Version - *#1111#
10. SW Version - *#1234#

LG Optimus One P500

Bought LG Optimus One P500 Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) mobile phone. It has 3MP, 2048х1536 pixels and autofocus camera. There is also a built-in GPS for geo-tagging and navigation.

Hard Reset

1. Turn power off.
2. Press and hold for over 10 seconds: Power key + Home Key + Down volume key.
3. When the power turns on, release these keys.

or

Tap Applications -> Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset -> Reset phone

Safe Mode (recover from malfunction state of phone)

1. Turn off phone and reboot. While phone is powering back on, press and hold the Menu key during LG logo is displayed. Phone will boot all the way to the main screen and display "safe mode" in lower left corner.
2. Select Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and choose the application then select Uninstall.
3. After uninstalling application, turn off and reboot phone.

Diagnostics Codes

1. 3845#*500#
2. *#*#4636#*#*
   

Samsung Galaxy 3 GT-I5801

Bought Samsung Galaxy 3 GT-I5801 aka Samsung Apollo Android OS 2.1 (Eclair) mobile phone. It has 3MP, 2048х1536 pixels and autofocus camera. There is also a built-in GPS for geo-tagging and navigation.

Hard Reset

*2767*3855#

or

Tap Applications> Settings > System > Privacy > Factory data reset > Reset phone

Dial Codes

1. Diagnostics - *#0*#
2. IMEI - *#06#
3. Vibration/Back Light/Alert LED test - *#0842#
4. Sound test - *#0673#
5. Battery - *#0228#
6. FTA SW Version - *#1111#
7. SW Version - *#1234#

Garmin Asus nuvifone M10

Bought Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional Garmin Asus nuvifone M10 PDA mobile phone. It has 5MP, 2592х1944 pixels and autofocus camera. A vehicle power cable and suction cup mount are bundled.

Hard Reset

1. Hold Power button to turn off phone
2. Hold Send key, volume down & power button until message appears
   
3. Press on Send key to delete all settings and files in system or do nothing to abort

or

1. Press Start menu key > Settings > System > Default Settings
   
2. Enter "1234" to restore default settings
   

Configure Opera

1. Type “opera:config” in the URL
2. Under Disk Cache, select Empty on Exit
3. Under User Prefs, deselect Enable Referrer

Budget 3.2MP Camera Phone - Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C510

Bought Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C510 for RM480 with charger, USB data cable, earphone, screen protector and 2GB M2 card. This is a 3G phone with 3.2MP camera, autofocus, dual LED flash, 2.2" display, bluetooth and FM radio.

• Check stuck pixels

Close camera cover and activate camera

• Check IMEI - serial number
  

*#06#

• Check firmware

From standby select Menu > Settings > the General tab > Update service > Software version

• Check service info, service settings, service tests & text labels
  

-> * <- <- * <- * If your phone has not been used before, total call time in service tests will show 00:00:00. This value cannot be changed with reset all. You can perform diagnostics on main display, LED/illumination, keyboard, speaker, earphone, microphone, vibrating alert, camera, video call camera, flash LED, accelerometer, memory card, FM radio & real time clock

• Perform 'Reset settings' - Deletes all settings but user data eg contacts, messages, pictures, sounds and downloaded games will not be deleted
  

From standby select Menu > Settings > the General tab > Master reset > Reset settings

• Perform 'reset all' - Deletes all settings and user data eg contacts, messages, pictures, sounds and games

From standby select Menu > Settings > the General tab > Master reset > Reset all

• Check battery status
  

From standby press volume key or select Menu > Settings > the General tab > Phone status

Budget Navigation Phone - Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition

Bought Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition for $209. This is a non-smartphone running the latest S40 6th Edition. It is a 2G quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) phone with 2MP camera, 2.2" display, bluetooth, FM radio and GPS.

It comes with lifetime global drive and walk navigation license with Nokia Maps 2.1 (Series 40) and the bundled 2GB microSD card contains maps for countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia etc. In drive mode, turn-by-turn voice navigation is supported while in walk mode, a digital compass is available.

• Check stuck pixels

Activate camera and cover the lens with your hand

• Check IMEI - serial number
  

*#06#

• Check firmware

*#0000#

• Check history - serial number, made date, purchasing date, repaired date & life timer.

*#92702689#

If your phone has not been used before, life timer will show 0000:00. This value cannot be changed with restore all.

• Perform 'Settings only' will reset all preference settings. Restoring will not delete any personal data.
  

Enter *#7780# in the standby mode
Enter 12345 as the default Security code

or

Press Menu > Settings > Rest. fact. sett. > Settings only
Enter 12345 as the default Security code

• Perform hard reset (Backup your contacts to SIM or memory card and messages to memory card and remove them first. Programs installed, country, date, time & connection settings, contacts, messages will be deleted)

Press Menu > Settings > Rest. fact. sett. > All
Enter 12345 as the default Security code

• Check date & time

Press any key to look at home screen while the phone is locked

or

Press End key while the phone is locked

or

With the built-in accelerometer, use tap-for-time – a double tap on the phone brings up a analog/digital clock

Nokia 6260 Slide

Nokia 6260 slide is a non-smartphone running the latest S40 6th Edition. The screen is excellent with resolution of 320 x 480 not seen on any other similar price Nokia smartphone. So far, this is the only Nokia non-smartphone with built-in GPS and Wi-Fi. Also, it has 5MP, 2560 х 1920 pixels, Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus and flash camera.

• Check IMEI - serial number
  

*#06#

• Check firmware

*#0000#

• Check history - serial number, made date, purchasing date, repaired date & life timer.

*#92702689#

If your phone has not been used before, life timer will show 0000:00. This value cannot be changed with restore all.

• Perform soft reset to restore all original phone settings.
  

Enter *#7780# in the standby mode
Enter 12345 as the default Lock Code

or

Press Menu > Settings > Rest. factory sett. > Restore settings only
Enter 12345 as the default Lock Code

• Perform hard reset (Backup your contacts to SIM or memory card and messages to memory card and remove them first. Programs installed, country, date, time & connection settings, contacts, messages will be deleted)

Press Menu > Settings > Rest. factory sett. > Restore all
Enter 12345 as the default Lock Code

Using Samsung Omnia SGH-i900

After testing this mobile phone for a few days, I found the following issues for the latest firmware DZIA5 :

1. Sometimes, the phone will turn itself off automatically in standby mode even when the battery is not empty.
   
2. The first letter in a sentence is not capitalized when you create a text message even though the setting under keyboard input is correct.
   
3. Each time you change from default dynamic to static ip address or vice versa, the Wi-Fi setting in Wireless Manager will disappear until you restart the phone.
   
4. The default setting for USB to PC in Start > Settings > Connections is checked to "Enable advanced network functionality" will revert back to checked even if you unchecked it.
5. The default setting for USB Connection Mode is ActiveSync will revert back to ActiveSync even if you choose Mass storage.
   

Samsung Omnia SGH-i900

Bought Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 PDA mobile phone. It has 5MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus and LED flash camera. There is also a built-in GPS. You need to register via SMS, internet with phone or manual with another PC to activate the free Agis NAVFone PPC. The technical specifications are better than LG KS20. The latest firmware DZIA5 can be downloaded.

Manuals

1. Quick Guide
2. User Manual

Hard Reset

1. Hold Power button to turn off phone
2. Hold Call, Cancel & Power button for about 5 seconds
3. Click on the Call button to format or Cancel button to abort

or

1. Click Start > Settings > System > Hard Reset > Memory > Clear Memory
   

Hard reset does not reset internal 8GB storage. Click Start > Settings > System > Hard Reset > Memory > My Storage > Reset

Hard reset does not format external microSD storage card. Click Start > Settings > System > Hard Reset > Storage Card > Format

Agis NAVFone GPS Settings

1. Go to Start > Settings > System > GPS (or External GPS) > Program > Set to Com 3
2. Go to Start > Settings > System > GPS (or External GPS) > Hardware > Set to Com 9, 9600
3. Start NAVFone PPC. When connecting to GPS, set User Define > Com 3, Baud Rate: 9600

Dial Codes

1. Diagnostics - *#0*#
2. IMEI - *#06#
3. Vibration/Back Light/Alert LED test - *#0842#
4. Sound test - *#0673#
5. Battery - *#0228#
6. FTA SW Version - *#1111#
7. SW Version - *#1234#
8. Hard reset *2767*3855#

Configure Opera

1. Type “opera:config” in the URL
2. Under Disk Cache, select Empty on Exit
3. Under User Prefs, deselect Enable Referrer
   

Budget Compact Digital Camera

Model	Canon PowerShot A470	Nikon Coolpix L16
Price	$196 32MB SD card	$179 Internal 21MB 4GB SDHC card
Specifications	7.1MP 3.4 x optical zoom 2.5" 115,000 dots LCD 165g	7.1MP 3 x optical zoom 2.8" 230,000 dots LCD 125g
Anti-shake/Image Stabilizer	No	Anti-shake AE
Macro	5cm	15cm
Autofocus	Center, Face Detect AiAF (9-points)	Center, Face-priority in Easy Auto Mode
Special Features	Shooting/Playback - Red-Eye Correction	Shooting - Best Shot Selector Shooting - Multi-shot 16 Playback - D-Lighting

Digital Camera

Megapixels Count vs Maximum Print Size

1. 2MP - 4x6 in (4R)
2. 3MP - 5x7 in (5R)
3. 5MP - 8x10 in (8R)
4. 6MP - 11x14 in (11R)
5. 8MP - 16x20 in (16R)