Pretty much these days most people expect their phone to not only do it's duty of a phone well, but also take quality photos. The 3.2 Megapixel camera on the P1 should be sufficient for those spontaneous snapshots so that we don't miss anything; however, how can one ensure that we end up with a clear image rather regret taking a cheap, blurry shot of the subject? Here's a couple of tips that I found invaluable in taking photos using the phone's camera:

• The camera saves your settings so when you launch the application / click the shutter button your old settings are instantaneously reloaded. Great for those shots where you'll be taking photos in, say a sunlit environment, so you can save a lot of seconds.
  
  
• Stick between the Normal/Macro focus as they produce the best results for focusing on a particular subject. You can leave the focus off if you wish to take photos of landscape or far away objects.
  
  
• Change the white balance to suit your needs so the colouring appears as natural as it can get. Sometimes this does screw up though, but in general it's a fine rule to follow.
  
  
• Change the Quality of photos taken to "Fine"; after all, memory space comes quite cheap these days unless you're really filling up on your 2GB M2 memory stick.
  
  
• Try to leave "Night Mode" off unless you really need to, as if you leave it on you need to have rock steady hands to take photos as it widens the aperture to let more light in.
  
  
• Turn Auto Review to "Off" so you can immediately snap picture after picture to satisfy the paparazzi within you.
  
  
• You might as well leave Effects to "Off" (over taking B&W / Sepia / Solarised) photos as you can always apply those effects afterwards on the computer or in the gallery, but the reverse can't be done.
  
  
• Spend that extra split second to focus properly on the subject. Believe me, its worth it (after seeing many of my shots end up blurred and unfocused).
  

So that's just a few tips that I would recommend to all readers. If you've got more tips to contribute, feel free to do so!

Since the Sony Ericsson P1 only supports the 802.11b wireless standard - which also happens to be synonymous to WEP encryption - I'm assuming the average user will set up their home network with a WEP password to stop those prying neighbours from leeching your Internet.

But WEP encryption isn't very safe. Just do a Google search on "WEP hack" and you'll find that there are over 200,000+ hits, along with numerous guides on how to do it.

Here's 2 tips to make your network slightly more secure. Given enough time, I'm pretty sure a well established, determined hacker will still be able to get around it; but how often will that happen?

1. Change your encryption standard to WPA-Personal, which is supported by the P1. It's a lot more secure than WEP for certain, and that means less of a chance the 15-year old that lives next door can use your Internet service to pirate his songs.
   
   
2. Set up a MAC filter, which should be under Wireless Security in your router configuration page. By setting up a MAC filter, you can permit only certain devices to access the network, which also greatly reduces the chances of someone outside of your permission to access your network. You can look up your MAC address on your P1 by going to Control Panel >> WLAN >> More >> MAC Address.
   

I've heard many situations where the user wasn't able to get online using WiFi just because they were not using the WEP encryption standard. Remember to set the encryption on your router to be WPA-Personal, not WPA2 (or the P1 will not be able to go online using WiFi), and to turn off the "Powersave" feature under Control Panel >> Connections >> Internet Accounts (as many other users have experienced trouble if they left Powersave on).

Got any comments or feedback? Please feel free to comment!

I've got an email some time ago as well as a reader asking the other day how to make a conference call on the P1i, so here's a simple guide in laymen terms on how to do it:

1. Make the call to caller A. Alternatively, accept the incoming call from caller A. Either way have a call going on.
   
   
2. Now tell caller A to wait.
   
   
3. Click on 'More' which should be the center option on your current phone interface. Click 'Add Call'.
   
   
4. Key in caller B's number in to the phone. Click the left button 'Call' and then wait for caller B to connect. Presto - now you have both callers on the line!

Update: okay, I'm stumped. It seems like my World Generic 1 R9K009 P1 is having some issues - when I dial for caller B both calls are dropped automatically. Is anyone having the same issues? It worked before I updated to the new firmware...

ares on the UIQ Evangelist has just posted an article taken from smart-se.ru - it's basically a hack to speed up the loading of the Messaging and the Contacts applications.

If you're curious as to how this hack works - the 2 applications that you install on your P1 are meant for porting applications by developers. The speed boost that was provided is a nice side effect of the applications, and currently there is no explanation for it yet. If you've got a theory, feel free to post it here!

As many of you may know, I've been sitting around waiting for a long time after every else gets their updates for their regions because the Hong Kong region tends to be one of the places where the updates are rolled out last. As always, I'm quite excited for the new firmware updates because they tend to make the phone a lot more, well, 'usable' than the previous versions. So I decided to go along with a change of my phone's CDA - this defines the region of my phone (i.e. every region has a unique CDA, there by differentiating which phones get the updates first, etc).

And that's probably the main reason why you would want to flash your phone's CDA. The other reason is probably because you hold an imported version, i.e. purchasing from eBay or a friend got it for you from Asia, and you really don't need the Chinese input, or some other feature. At this point you would probably want to change your CDA so its better customised for your region.

So I decided to do a bit of Googling and research for software, blah blah... okay I'll cut to the main part of this post - the guide / tutorial / walkthrough to changing your CDA.

The usual disclaimer: note that I'm not responsible for screwing up your phone, follow at your own risk, don't do it if you feel unsure or unconfident about it...blah blah...oh and this MAY void your warranty. So do it at your own risk. I really hate to see bricked phones, so if you do have a question, leave a comment. Don't do anything rash.

Now on to the guide!

1. First off check for the latest firmware here, and see which CDA contains the latest one.
   
2. You'll need a software called XS++. It's free, and it's probably the most useful app you've ever used. Kudos to the author.
3. Start XS++.
   
4. Turn off your P1i, take the battery out and reinsert. Press 'C' as you connect the USB cable and when your PC detects the phone, release the button.
5. Tick the 'Smartphone Connect' option in XS++ and click Connect.
6. Now time to do a backup in case something bad happens. Tick the GDFS option and then click on the Backup button.
7. Your P1i should be disconnected after the process is completed. Reconnect by doing instruction 3.
8. Now for the fun part. Tick the Flash option, and choose the CDA you wish to change to. I recommend World Generic 1 (WG1), as it's the one SE rolls out with the latest updates and changes. The current one is now R9K009, which is offered on WG1, WG2, HKG, and numerous other regions.
   
9. Click Run Script. Wait until the process is done - your phone should disconnect at this point.
10. Now run Sony Ericsson's Update Service. Just let everything work on it's own - the updates should download and you should be left with a brand new, "World Generic 1 / or whatever region you changed to" P1i.

So there you go. There are other ways to change your CDA and your firmware, but this is by far the simplest method of doing so.

swmail, a massive contributer to the UIQ community, has created a new hack to increase the headphone volume for the Sony Ericsson P1i. Establishing his reputation after his Walkman Player 3.0 hack for the P1i, this mod is another welcome enhancement to the P1i community, particularly as many others have claimed that the P1i headphones volume are way too quiet (or too safe for your ears).

Here are the instructions as from the Esato forum post he made:

1. Unlock access to system folders (look CapsSwitch)
   
2. Download the archive from http://www.agathosyne.de/files_ext/se_uiq3_sound_mod_lite.zip
   
3. Copy the file 'C:\Private\10202be9\persists\1020867a.cre' from the your phone to computer.
   
4. Run se_sound_patcher, select the file '1020867a.cre' copied from phone, press "Install".
   
5. Copy the patched file '1020867a.cre' back to your phone (in dir 'C:\Private\10202be9\persists').
   
6. Immediately restart your smartphone.

The standard disclaimers again: I am not responsible for any damage caused to your phone, and you're trying this at your own risk. If you've got any problems, I suggest taking it up with the developer swmail himself. He can be reached from his website - http://101swmail010.googlepages.com/uiq3mods - and it's definitely worth taking a look.

Oh and please don't forget to donate to his cause. I may sound like his employee or something for saying this, but seriously - he's been such a massive contributer to the UIQ community, so if you've got some spare change, do show some appreciation for his work :)

Before people start dissing me for discriminating against users of different operating systems, such as providing ample amounts of information to Windows, few information for Mac users, and virtually no information for Linux users, here's a post dedicated to Linux users.

Since I'm not really a hardcore Linux user (although I do have it installed on one of my older computers), I'm not really in any position to provide advice or support. Nevertheless, the Linux community is a very supportive one, as seen in this guide to help P990i users set up their smart phone as a 3G modem. It also works for the P1i, so if you have both Linux and the P1i, why not take a look?

Today I spent quite a while at the computer mall trying to find a compatible Bluetooth keyboard for my Sony Ericsson P1. I've looked online and the only keyboard that seemed to be tested and available for the P1i was this one by iGo - which coincidentally, none of the vendors stocked at the computer center.

Luckily, I came across this set of instructions on My-Symbian which allowed me to set up the keyboard with the P1i:

1. Make the keyboard discoverable, by pressing Ctrl - Left Fn - Right Fn keys all at the same time, until the green LED above the "T" key flashes once per second.

2. From the P1i, go to Control Panel > Bluetooth > Connections, tap on the phone icon, which takes you to My Devices, and click on New Device. After a few seconds searching, "Think Outside Keyboard" should be shown. Select this device. After a few seconds, you will be prompted to enter a pairing code. Enter a code (numbers only: I used four digits). Then type the same numerical code on the Bluetooth keyboard (making sure that you keep the Left Fn key held down while pressing the number keys), followed by Enter. You should then receive a message on the P1i saying that bonding is successful.

3. The keyboard is now paired, and you can enter text into applications, such as Notes and Quickword. The shortcuts on the keyboard for various applications do not work, but the keyboard works perfectly well for general typing (although I cannot enter the pound sign yet).

My thanks to My-Symbian user acregan who discovered this method of pairing a Bluetooth keyboard with the P1i.

And no, I didn't buy it. The keyboard was from some obscure company from China who obviously didn't take any lessons in designing hardware.

Good news for those who have their exterior casings scratched or badly dented: there's now a disassembly guide out over Esato forums. This means instead of paying the store keeper a fee on top of buying a P1i housing to get him to install the housing on for you, you can now purchase a housing separately and install it yourself.

I know housings are for sale here in some mobile phone stores in Hong Kong, but I haven't seen any on eBay or other retailers. The closest I got was this one, which requires buying in bulk.

I think I'll be getting one of these and doing the disassembling myself - my P1i is quite scarred and dented from 1 or 2 'drops'; it's kind of a miracle how it's not dead yet :)

Some of you might have realised that with the new update to firmware version R9K009, when pictures are taken with the Camera App, the shutter can no longer be muted. Yes, even when the phone's mode is set to "Silent", the shutter sound still goes off. This is presumably to let...others be aware when a photo is being taken of them.

Not that it can't be hacked. SE P1 enthusiasts from this Chinese forum have found a way to silence their shutters - it involves the simple process of making a phone call from your P1, and then starting the Camera application.

Hello all! If you have a problem or any queries about the P1i, post it in this page, as it's open to all readers of the blog; so if I can't help you on it, I'm sure some other helpful member of the UIQ and P1i community and give you a lift.

Better than just emailing questions to me, as I don't always have to time to reply all of the emails (in fact there happens to be a huge backlog right now that will take me days to reply to all of them).