New user highly considering the w810i

Hey folks, first time poster

I am new to the cell phone game. My current and first phone is a LG (no camera and no SIM) with Telus. I had it for 3 years now. I don't really use the internet (isn't it extra?). I pretty much use a phone for the alarm clock, address book, time, and....well calling.

I am really interested in the SE w810i. I view this as the all-in-one i always wanted. Up to date, pc connection, 2.0MP cam, and Walkman with the headphone connector.

I am considering the Rogers $99 3yr contract SE w810i + 4gb stick. I read a lot of w810i owners demand that it should be purchased unbranded and unlocked. The thing is that i don't have $400 to spend on a phone + $30 monthly payments.

I have a few questions to ask:

1) Does Rogers restrict any other capabilities other than MP3 ringtones and flash menus?

2) Does the phone have a feature where you can add specific ringtones to each contact when they phone?

3) The 3 PC connections (IR, bluetooth, and USB), do they all have access to the same areas in the storage (ie. Can you send songs in any way? or only by USB?)

4) Generally, how slow is the IR transfer rate? Referring to Q3, how long would a 4MB song take to transfer via IR?

5) What are your personal opinions on the two colours, black and white?

6) The Walkman has a "MegaBass" feature. Would you say that this feature is a marketing gimmick or truthful?

7) How successful is WoTan at unbranding? I would like to do this eventually, but if it has a 50% success rate (meaning 50% works, 50% crashes and phone becomes useless) then I won't do it.

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I can answer a few question using knowledge off the top of my head.
1.other than using mp3 ringers, i dont think rogers has other significant restriction.however, i have a buddy who claimed to have called rogers wireless to dicsuss this restriction to avoid paying 3 cents per kb to download ringontes. but apparently, they never got back to him. as of july 2006 i think, rogers(and also fido) placed a restriction on all sony ericsson phones(not excluding SE phone, all their carrier branded phones as well)

2.yes, the w810i enables you to set specific ringtones and as well as picutres to each contact(limits are the phone's internal memory and memory card you have)

3.all 3 methods of data transfer does enable to transfer multimedia files. ie. you can send songs via bluetooth and also sync the phone with your computer for faster file transers.

4.not so sure about infared transfer rate.

5.black is easier on the eyes, and white makes it look like an ipod at a first glance. i'd go with the black. white and orange don't go together unless it's a creamsicle.

6.the megabass is both a marketing gimmick and also enhances sound to a degree that the bass is increased to a noticeable level, but the "mega" in mega bass is just an overstatement.

7.don't know so much about unbranding companies. if it has a 50/50 chance. it's totally up to you. just don't do something you'd regret

hope this helped.

i actually just purchased this phone a few weeks back... so i'll tell you about the phone from what ive come across playing with it...

1) i have no clue what Rogers is... so cant help ya there...
2) you can set specific ringtones and pictures to specific contacts
3) i just use the data cable to transfer files... dont use blue tooth an the IR is useless unless you have an IR sensor on your computer or someone else does on their phone
4) again, relatively useless.... for me atleast
5) i have the black one, aint seen the white & dont think white and orange would look that good...
6) there IS a slight difference between the bass and MEGABASS equalizers but not that noticable... & it is a phone after all so youre not really gonna get any bass...
7) i dont know anything about unbranding so....

now, because you can put songs onto the memory stick this DOES mean you can set those songs as ringtones aswell... when i talked to the salesperson, he told me i wouldnt be able to... turns out if the audio clip is 600kb or less it can be set as a ringtone... so lets say you have iTunes, you would just...
1) click Edit and then select Preferences
2) select Advanced and then Importing
3) select Setting and then select Custom and then select 112kbps
4) locate desired song and right click & click Get Info
5) select options and change the start and select time of the song, make it a 30 second clip then click OK
6) right click the song once again and then click Convert Selection to MP3 then drag the newly edited song onto your phone or memory stick...

if the song is still to long just recopy it at 56kbps... GREAT FUN

I don't know who told you that a W810i costs $400. But generally the price for even an unlocked one that's new is about $250 - $270. Check out sites like MobileCityOnline and Plemix for unbranded ones. You can look for well conditioned used ones on Red Flag Deals since you're in Canada, Craigslist if you happen to look in the US...and those run about $200. Here's one bit of advice. If you wish to get a W810i from Rogers, try it out first and see if you are satisfied with the Rogers branded W810i. If you don't like the Rogers branding, then go ahead and unbrand it. Just remember that unbranding the W810i you got from Rogers will void the warranty with Rogers itself. However, your warranty with SE will still be intact for it will have the 1-yr manufacturer. Since you're new to the cell phone world, always try to keep it simple if problems occur with your cell phone. If it's branded, always go through your provider first because they offer warranty replacements, and they are pretty diligent in sending something to replace a defective device. Sometimes dealing with SE for replacement can take anywhere from 2 weeks to maybe months...it depends. Don't always listen to the BS that some people say that you should always get an unlocked phone. If you're happy with a branded phone, then that's it.

1) If you're getting a Rogers branded W810i, yes MP3 ringtones that you transfer from your PC will be disabled as well as flash themes. Unbrand the phone if you wish to use MP3 ringtones and flash themes. Search the forum if you wish to stay with the Rogers branded firmware and want to use MP3 ringtones w/o buying them from them.

2) Yes.

3) Yes.

4) Why would you want to use IR anyway when there is BT. Besides transferring files wirelessly will take a longer time.

5) Black, more professional and sleek. White, more of a playful feel and stands out. I've had both colors. The black stands out less because you generally see the colors on most cell phones as either black or gray. The white one gets noticed alot more. Girls say it's cute...but then again they also said that it was a cute girl's phone. And that kind of got me irritated.

6) IMO, not really that useful, unless you're an audiophile.

7) Wotanserver is probably the most reliable way to unbranding other than DavinciTeam. Process for unbranding through Wotan is simple, takes only a few minutes, and it offers a 'Getting Started' guide. If by any way the process was interrupted, you still retain the credits that you purchased, so you can start over again. There is also Phone XS, which is free. However, if you're new at flashing, I would advise you to take caution with using this method...read up on some forums to give you an idea how to use Phone XS. Plus, it can be unpredictable because the process might take anywhere from 10min to maybe a few hours.

1) Does Rogers restrict any other capabilities other than MP3 ringtones and flash menus?

Not that I know of. You also have the Rogers mall thing and the Rogers music player from playing with my friend's W810.

2) Does the phone have a feature where you can add specific ringtones to each contact when they phone?

Yes, it does. But Rogers has locked this.

3) The 3 PC connections (IR, bluetooth, and USB), do they all have access to the same areas in the storage (ie. Can you send songs in any way? or only by USB?)

From what I know, yes.

4) Generally, how slow is the IR transfer rate? Referring to Q3, how long would a 4MB song take to transfer via IR?

5) What are your personal opinions on the two colours, black and white?

White, because I find it more attractive. Many disagree with me though.

6) The Walkman has a "MegaBass" feature. Would you say that this feature is a marketing gimmick or truthful?

Truthful and gimmick. They just increase the bass on the phone by a little, just slightly noticable between a Walkman and non-Walkman phone.

7) How successful is WoTan at unbranding? I would like to do this eventually, but if it has a 50% success rate (meaning 50% works, 50% crashes and phone becomes useless) then I won't do it.

Many users highly recommend it, people on other forums have had around 99 percent success rate and I've heard of a user who didn't follow the instructions (his fault), and Wotan gave him credits free of charge to do the process again. Great customer support and highly recommended.