Imate Sp5 / V1240, can it be unlocked?

Cyrus

as title if i buy the vodabranded version of this phone can i unlock it easily?

weeder

most windows mobile based devices can be unlocked with very little effort its some cab file to install cant remember exactly try www.modaco.com or spv-developers.com

byrnefm

Have you purchased one already? I know there are a lot of them for sale on eBay at present and they're (refurbished) unlocked models. I have seen sites where you can get them unlocked, should you need to - the price I've seen quoted for this phone is £20stg.

Btw, if you do get one, check its ROM - there's an v2 update available for the V1240 for push email and frame support for Internet Explorer. It's a nice phone, a bit long-ish (as I discovered when it fell out my coat pocket, just hours after getting mine ).

damo86

Was thinking of getting a v1240, I would be upgrading from a n70...worth it?Whats the camera like, whats wifi like to set up as this is main reasons of getting one?(will fill hole while I wait for the e70!!) I'm used to symbian os phones(on my 3rd) so would it be easy to adapt to the windows user interface and is better or worse than symbian os and finally is fast enough for videos?

byrnefm

Well, I've just been playing around with mine for a little bit so far (lack of time more than anything else). Impressions after two weeks:

- Wifi seems to work well - I used it over a secure connection (WEP) and was able to view some web pages. I say some as I hadn't v2 of the ROM on at that stage and frames weren't supported.

- Reception is very good - on a par with my Motorola V500, which had excellent reception in rural areas. My phone was picking up signals where my sister's Samsung D600 didn't.

- Music quality: tried two MP3s for the first time last night - the internal speaker makes a surprisingly good job of them and quite loud, too. Haven't been able to figure out how to do that with my ringtone yet, though (ie. make it louder).

- Windows interface is easy to get around, though there's no way to stop an application except going through a program manager and killing either all off or one at a time (so you could run out of RAM, in theory).

- Start-up time is slow but that's because of Windows, not the phone.

- Camera is a weak point. It's 1.3MP but quality isn't great. Pales in comparison to the K750i. The shutter lag after pressing the 'take photo' is very annoying (1/2 - 1 second).

- Sync'ing works as expected, though seems to hang my computer for about 2 minutes (kind of)! That may be because I use ActiveSync with my Dell PDA also, though. Once it syncs the first time, it syncs quickly after that (until I use my Dell again).

- Keypad seems fine. The * and # are a little small but are usable, though texting with one hand is tricky, mostly because the keypad is shunted down to the bottom of the phone to make way for the large 2.2" screen (which is very nice, I have to say).

- One application you may want to get immediately is the automatic key lock by 'Maniac' (http://maniac.fschreiner.de), which is free. I find not seeing the time as a screensaver by default to be annoying, though this program has helped there (and it's pretty small).

- It has vibration alert + ringing at the same time and text received notification (if you want it on). Joystick seems to work pretty well, too.

Hope that's of some help!

damo86

Cheers for the info, has been a great help,Still pondering what to get!how much was it?

byrnefm

Well, mine was off eBay... Do a search for the V1240, there's a seller of refurbished models who seems to be legit (99.5% positive feedback of 5400 items). They seem to go for around £140 + p&p.

damo86

Yep,seen them already,seemed to be a good price,considering vodafone ireland selling the for ?350!Prob get it on ebay,then i will able to keep my upgrade eligibility for the e70!What is the condition like,any scratches etc?

byrnefm

Just noticed also that the V1240 is now available here on Vodafone - after them telling me specifically that they have no plans on selling the phone here - as little as one month ago:

May 26th:

Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately there are no current plans
from Vodafone Ireland for the release of this handset. Please log onto
www.vodafone.ie to view the current selection of handsets offered by
Vodafone.

That aside, the phone I received was in perfect condition - no scratches or any other marks on it. The description of its condition on the person's page seems to be pretty accurate. I was still a bit wary for the first few weeks of use but I haven't found anything wrong thus far!

damo86

Cheers, have the ebay page loading as we speak,ready to bid!!!!

***update***

won the bid @ £162, not far off, p&p bloody expensive, cant wait to get it...free internet access were i work...brill!

pyramuid man

Alot of manufacturers will be able to put a standard firmware version on their phones. With Samsung(and I know this cause I work for them), you can send your phone to the main repair center in the uk and they will reflash with open market firmware. This is not available in an Irish repair center as Samsung have not yet nominated a repairer in Ireland. But you can still send it over. This is available on most phones except those specifically made for a network. This in turn lets you use your phone without sim and network locks.

byrnefm

damo86 wrote:

won the bid @ £162, not far off, p&p bloody expensive, cant wait to get it...free internet access were i work...brill!

P&P was expensive (£16.50, I think?) but it gets sent insured from the UK, so I figured it was worth it (esp. since the phone's so expensive here, anyway). If yours comes with v1 firmware, Vodafone UK does list their V2 firmware (just look for the AKU2 update via google for Vodafone UK).

I've just ordered a Motorola RAZR A/C adapter (US version) for mine, as I hate bringing travel adapters. From what I've read elsewhere, the RAZR chargers are compatible with the V1240. I'll know soon enough for sure, I guess