New W960i World Generic 1 Firmware Available

A new W960i World Generic 1 firmware is now available from the Sony Ericsson website.

To install the new firmware you need to download SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service) from the Sony Ericsson website but the new version will only install on World Generic 1 firmware versions of W960i phones.

If you have a firmware version that is customised by your mobile phone provider then you can also also use SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service) to check if a new firmware version is available to update your customised firmware.

At the time of writing the firmware update will only install on World Generic 1 versions of the W960i and there is no update currently available for Vodafone users.

I will try to find out more information such as what new features and bug fixes are included and if it is possible or even suitable for flashing over the standard Vodafone customised firmware.

The new firmware does include a great new snowboarding game called SSX 3.

One problem that I can foresee is that Vodafone have probably customised their standard firmware and if I flash my W960i with a generic firmware then I will lose any Vodafone customised applications and features.

One good thing would be that the locked down bookmarks in the web browser would be blown away.

More details to follow...

W960i Web User Guide Found!

The user guide booklet provided with my W960i was the generic Sony Ericsson offering with no Vodafone customisation. The standard user guide is useful up to a point but it really only gives vague indications of what can be archived and how it is done and certainly does not qualify as a user manual.

One comment near the beginning of the user guide states that an PC version of the user guide is available at http://www.sonyericsson.com/support and additionally I should be able to access the web guide from my phone by following Main Menu -> Web -> More -> View -> Bookmarks -> Web Guide. Unfortunately Vodafone seems to have omitted this link from my W960i.

W960i Web Guide on my PC...

I finally managed to track down the PC version of the W960i Web Guide which is located at http://www.sonyericsson.com/webguide/w960i/pc/en/.

The online guide is not identical to the printed user guide but I'm not sure if it is much more use. My main criticism is that none of the user guides from Sony Ericsson or Vodafone contain any meaningful help for the UIQ 3.0 user interface let alone useful examples and screen shots. Still if you find you are lost with UIQ 3.0 then this site should set you on the correct path.

I tried to load the W960i Web Guide in my W960i phone using Opera and Opera Mini but the online guide uses a heavy javascript menu and exercise was not very satisfactory. Trust Sony Ericsson to write an online user guide for a mobile phone which can't be read on a mobile phone.

Perhaps there is a mobile version of the user guide which I haven't found yet. If know of one then please let me know.

My W960i Service Menus

Shush... Do you know the secret code?

Enter the following sequence using the jog wheel and keypad...

U*DD*D*

Now you will see the secret Service Menus

Service Menus screen...

I think I will leave Format Phone Memory for you to try...

Service Information screen...

Model Information screen...

Software Information screen...

Hardware Information screen...

SIM Locks screen...

Anyone know what the SIM Locks screen is for?

Configuration Information screen...

Service Tests screen...

I won't show each of the test screens but they are interesting to play with especially the free scribbling application...

Hello...

That's what I call a scribble...

The scribble test threw up some interesting results. My scribbling was limited to small circles but occasionally a glitch seemed to write a line all the way across the screen. These glitches are visible along the top edge and in the bottom quarter. The last few pixels around the edges do not appear to be accessible.

I was very impressed by how accurate the stylus was and at just 1 pixel width just how fine the the recorded line really was. Contract the line thickness with the handwriting recognition which uses a thicker line.

If you decide to use the Service Menus then please be careful because bad things could happen and I take no responsibility.

As far as I know the Service Menus code is the same for other Sony Ericsson phones such as P1i, W950i, P990i and M600i.

What does the 'i' in W960i mean?

My Sony Ericsson W960i arrived in rather flimsy black box. As the only packaging protecting the box was a carrier bag it all got a bit squashed and battered. Thankfully my W960i survived.

W960

The printing on the side of the box just has W960 so what happened to the 'i'? To st my mind at rest the box has a sticker describing the contents as W960i Vinyl Black.

Oddly the button of the box is actually much more interesting then the top and sides.

W960 is the Sony Ericsson general product designation and the extra letter indicates the local market designation

'i' indicates International which includes Europe and Asia (except China and Japan)

'a' indicates America

'c' indicates China

Using USB To Charge My W960i

If I'm not careful I can run down the battery on my W960 in less than a working day and if I'm not going straight home after work then there is a serious possibility of completely discharging the battery.

To combat this problem I now take a USB cable to work and as my PC at work has some front facing USB ports it is no problem to plug in during the day and using a USB cable saves me having to carry a power supply adapter around.

There are however a couple of issues with USB charging.

1. If the W960i is plugged in to a new PC then it will not charge using the USB cable until the Sony Ericsson drivers are installed on the PC. The good news is that you don't have to carry your installer CD around with you because the Windows New Hardware wizard will automatically download the drivers from the Internet and once installed on the PC the W960i will start charging. The downside is that sometimes the owner of the PC may not be too happy for me to be installing unknown drivers downloaded from the Internet and of course the PC needs to be connected to the Internet.

2. Charging with the AC adapter is very rapid but charging the W960i using USB is so damn slow.

I don't know if other Sony Ericsson smartphones such as P1i, W950i, P990i and M600i charge using USB with or without drivers.

More useful links for W960i

These websites may be of interest to SE W960i users

The UIQ Evangelist

Mobile-Review.com Forums

Some good (and bad) W960i websites

If you are interested in the SE W960i then these links might be useful.

The W960i on the official SE site...
Sony Ericsson W960i Details

Sony Ericsson Application Shop
http://applicationshop.sonyericsson.com/

The W960i is a Symbian phone - also lots of downloads...
my-symbian.com

Lots of discussion - a must read...
my-symbian.com - forums

Gangsta's and bros which I don't understand but useful info...
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsso...views-2008.php

Very little discussion so far here...
Mobile Planet - Sony Ericsson W960i Walkman Support Forum

A not very useful site but dedicated to the W960i...
http://www.w960.co.uk/

IMEI Code

Press *#06# on the keypad of your phone to display your IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) code.

It might be advisable to make a note of this number in case your phone is lost or stolen and the IMEI number can be used to block or deactivate your phone.

I just found Sony Ericsson Application Shop

Sony Ericsson Application Shop http://applicationshop.sonyericsson.com/ I just discovered an official Sony Ericsson software download site called Sony Ericsson Application Shop. The Sony Ericsson Application Shop seems to have more software than the main Sony Ericsson site. I do have to criticise Sony Ericsson for the terrible organisation of their information. It is very difficult to discover what software is available for any particular mobile phone and more importantly to find out what specific functionality is actually available. Today I received an email newsletter from Sony Ericsson which amongst other things announces a new product called RDM+: Remote Desktop for Mobiles. This is certainly a product that I would be interested in. It mystifies me why Sony Ericsson Application Shop is not referenced from the main Sony Ericsson website http://www,sonyericsson.com/. Perhaps it is and I just haven't found it before. Unfortunately Sony Ericsson Application Shop does not recognise my login from the main Sony Ericsson so I had to create yet another user account and password. Another problem was that initially I was able to view lots of lovely software but all of a sudden the list of available software just disappeared. The site seemed to suddenly object to my chosen phone or my currency or location. I could have given up there and then but I exited Internet Explorer completely and reloaded and suddenly the list of available software was visible again. It certainly is a full time job keeping up with my Sony Ericsson Smart-phone...