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I bought a new cell phone last week. I know, “big fucking deal, Jim.” What can I say, I’m a geek. I love this shit!
A while ago, I read on a web page of new gadgets that Cingular was going to be offering the Motorola v635. I liked the features the phone has over my Motorola v551; a 1.23 megapixel camera with a flash (LED light), a transflash slot for memory, and a 4k color external display. I had a few months before my contract ended, and figured I could wait. Well, I’ve been out of my contract with Cingular since October 2005, and they never offered the v635. In fact, no provider in the US picked up the v635. Only Rogers in Canada did in all of North America. I’m out of my contract now, and Cingular has been dangling carrots in front of me. They keep offering free phones at savings of over $200, but I’d have to agree to another 2-year contract, and I didn’t like the phones they were offering.
So, I went looking on eBay for the v635 I wanted and found about 50 listings. All brand new and unlocked. I reviewed the offers on eBay and bought one from a seller with a good rating and decent “freebies.” Three days later, I had a new Motorola v635 in my hands.
I took the SIM card and charged battery from my v551 and popped it in the v635 (they take the same battery) and powered it up. What the fuck? Everything is in Italian. My new phone was meant to be sold by TIM in Italy. Italian isn’t that hard to figure out, and with the help of the phone’s icons, I quickly changed the language to English. Success! The phone registered with Cingular’s network just as my v551 does.
Of course, just like providers do in the States, the Italian wireless company “branded” the phone with their own menu items, graphics, configurations, and even stickers and keypad on the exterior of the phone… things I couldn’t remove easily. But, with the help of HowardForums and MotoModders, I was able to download the factory OEM firmware and flash the phone’s built-in software exactly like it would come from Motorola. I then “reflashed” with a newer firmware, and tweaked a few settings. I also bought an OEM keypad and torx screwdriver set off eBay to get rid of the “i.TIM” browser key, and pealed off the TIM sticker below the keypad. Today, you’d never know the phone was from Italy.
While I was browsing phone accessories on eBay, I found a company in Erie, Pennsylvania named metalfaceplates.com. They powder coat the metal faceplaces that come with certain Motorola phones, the v635 included. There are many colors and textures to choose from. These plates are gorgeous, and quite unique, so I ordered a set. They arrived in two days, and slid on the phone like they came from the factory. Check out these pics of my phone with the “silver vein” power coated plates:
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