Sony W380a shortcuts uncustomizable?

I'm not sure if this is part of Fido's branding but they put a shortcut on my phone's home screen called "Boutik"... anyone have a W380a or similar and found this as well? Is the only way to change this is through unlocking the phone or debranding it?

Thanks
S

Yes, i have the same "Boutik" (Sony w390a on Fido )

- most shortcuts are customizable, but i haven't found a way to change those buttons. I'll post if i find a way though.

I think the only way to get rid of the Boutik button is to flash the phone... I've yet to find any other solution.

I can confirm that the only way to get rid of this branded feature on your phone would be to debrand it. If it is just an ugly looking icon you are trying to replace, you can replace the icon picture through flashing the phone. You can't really get rid of it through this method, although you can get some menu mod packs that will replace all the icons on your phone, sometimes getting rid of the branded shortcut altogether (phone menu mods are usually designed for generic (unbranded) firmware, so they usually only include icons that are native to unbranded phones).

Debranding the phone would probably cost you a few bucks. Replacing the icons would be free, so long as you have your DCU-60 data cable and a PC at hand. Replacing your icons is risky though and it isn't just a case of putting some files on the phone. If you're interested in trying this, let me know and I'll see if I can help you .

Forgive the "newbie" status of my mobile mind... "flash" the phone? is that like unlocking it?

as to the changing icons... I would be interested in learning more about that. Like how risky is it and why is it risky; and the general, can i make my own and replace them with that?

Although in some cases the method for unlocking a phone is by flashing it, the word 'flashing' dosn't generally mean unlocking your phone, as there are other things you can do through flashing as well - such as changing menu icons .

The process isn't extremely risky, so long as you know what you're doing. At the absolute worst, you will end up with an expensive paperweight for a phone because you flashed a wrong file and bricked (killed) it. Though that probably dosn't sound too enlightening, there's often a fix for any problems that could possibly occure. If you're in doubt as to whether to go ahead with it or not, add me on Skype or MSN and I'll try to help you out and even guide you through the whole process if you want. I've done this to my phone many a time and am quite familiar with the procedure .

To answer your final question, yes, you can indeed make your own icons. So long as they are of the correct dimensions and are in PNG format, the phone should happily accept them, The trick is getting them to link to what you want, but I'll give you a hand with that too . You might want to brush up on your Photoshop skills if you haven't already, as any icons you make, you'd probably want to look half decent on the handset .

Thanks for the reply...

icons - i use either illustrator or fireworks, sometimes xara but usually illustrator because i have a plugin for axialis Icon Workshop and that makes it really easy to get the best image. the filter works for Photoshop as well, but I find working in a vector program is better for resolution sharpness than rastoring the work before you get in the icon program to make my sets. Although i am finding that the new cs4 suite is a little cranky in working with my axialis, the problem of upgrading...

Yes, i figured the mapping the icon would be the tricky part. yes, still interested, maybe next week or so, have to finish the updating the site i'm working on, and then maybe work on getting the filters to work with Il & Axialis.

but, the question is still... what is "flashing"?

The short answer to that would just be to think of flashing as editting the phone's operating system - which is really what you're doing at the end of the day.

A more detailed answer would be that flashing is a technical term for adjusting parts of the phone. Flashing can let you change menu attributes, the drivers used for the camera (better quality picture and framerate), the audio drivers (For more bass, crisper sound, less hiss - whatever) and you can do other things such as change the font universally used in the phone and the key lighting drivers (for customised key patterns on startup for example). You can also 'patch' through flashing, which allows for more advanced operations, such as getting the radio to work without plugging in the headset and changing battery icons. I have never tried patching though, so I'd have to look into how to do that.

That's about as best as I can describe it lol...

Now that has totally got my interest. Is this through back end programing or can it be done through gui apps?

Well, there's 2 options depending on your phone's Firmware. There's either FAR Manager, which is a complex GUI/BIOS style interface, or there's XS++, an easier to use window/box based application. Both applications are free and do the same thing. FAR Manager, although uglier and slightly harder to use is more powerful and compatible however, due to its ability to use Plugins.

I haven't quite decided if heavy weight programs are ugly on the eyes because the makers don't care for the fluff as long as it does the job, or adding the visual fluff just clogs up the program? Either way, yeah, usually the better the program the less interface appealing it is.

How do i find out about the Firmware on the phone?

There's not really a proper way to find out, as Sony Ericsson don't really expect you to be modding your phone in the first place for it to be such a big issue. If you've used the Sony Ericsson Update Service recently, you're most likely to have 'CID53'. If this is the case, you will only be able to use FAR Manager to modify the handset and will not be able to use patches (though this won't interfere with what you're wanting to do with the icons). If you have 'CID52' or below, you should be able to use both and for a first time user, XS++ is probably thie easiest way to go. The easiest way to find out is to download XS++ here and try connecting your phone to it. If it fails to connect, then it means you have CID53. If it sucessfully connects, you have CID52 or below.

Interesting that you brought up Sony Ericsson Update Service because i can't get that to install let alone work, when i go to Sony Ericsson they say that they don't have it for my model (w380) so i haven't been able to update... i'm vista 64bit any suggestions?

I'm not absolutely sure, but I THINK it's because you're using Vista 64-bit, as I've heard of a few compatibility issues. In a sense it's kind of good that you can't get it to work, because it will update your phone to CID53 if you use it - which was a patch mainly released to prevent the modification of phones. I updated unkowingly and got caught out. Luckily, one of the FAR Manager plugins is able to bypass CID53 security to the extent of modifying icons and drivers. Sadly, I'm still unable to apply any patches. If you have a pc running Windows XP in your household, I would recommend giving that a try.

Yes, i have a xp pro sp3 in the house... next step is...?

i downloaded xs++