vB Easy Archive - planning to get a 903..

Pages: 1

planning to get a 903..
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: vanillaskies

okay so i'm planning to buy a 903 when i go to hong kong in the summer.

around how much does this phone cost & which firmware should i buy? i know theres a japan one..hk..euro..etc!

alsoo..tell me your likes & dislikes of the 903!
any opinions welcome

Posted by: Havo

I've tried hk, hybrid and euro. Out of the 3... I prefer euro since it seems the most stable and easiest to use. Has power+8 trick as well. Depends if you need chinese text support or not. Price not too sure now. I'd say $3500-5000hkd if still avail.

Posted by: riel

If you can't find one in HK, I have a white one that I could sell you when you get back to GTA

Condition is 7/10, just cosmetic issues. This is open to anyone actually, to uh.. pm me. Off-topic sorry!

Posted by: martindesu

I have a Euro handset spare - what does the power + 8 trick do and how do I do it? Hold 8 and power up?

Posted by: Havo

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

I have a Euro handset spare - what does the power + 8 trick do and how do I do it? Hold 8 and power up?

Basically. Do a search, it should give u all the details. It can allow you to play games, hide operator logo etc.

Posted by: martindesu

OK, will do.

I recommend JAP if you really want to look different (white or red too) but unless you want to try sending emails to Japanese readers - there's no point. Go for UK as it's very quick, stable and has many good things about it.

Posted by: martindesu

I still can't find out a proper thread with good info on this power + 8 thing because '8' is emitted from searches due to its size (1 character).

I have read through a load of threads talking about it but none actually going into detail.

Posted by: min.tee

same here martin, only thing I can find is the 'playing games via sd card' and 'removing carrier/ activating answering machine' thread...

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

I still can't find out a proper thread with good info on this power + 8 thing because '8' is emitted from searches due to its size (1 character).

I have read through a load of threads talking about it but none actually going into detail.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...&highlight=hide

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junglizt1210

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...&highlight=hide

Cheers dude. Decided I don't want to try doing that!

Plus, my Euros are locked to Voda.

Do you know anything about getting rid of Repro in Jap handset - or shall I just stick with it?

If I go to Japan and do click 'yes' will my phone still be unlocked - but with newer firware?

Posted by: totaltoanage

i had the 903 for quite some time. IMO its a very fun phone to have. I recommend trying it out. Its a hassle if you wanna own the jap fw but if you dont mind and is a computer junky its worth it. The euro is the easiest to maintain. The camera is the best in the market. The build quality is very sturdy, hard to scratch.

Cons: Very big phone and it will eat your pockets alive. The screen downgraded from 902 but still good. Flash is trash. No front LCD and no active flip.

The price for it right now is stable, i saw new 903 going for 4-500. And second hand mint ones going for 350-450 USD. I sold my mint red 903 for 450USD.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

martin,

firstly, i cant believe you have a locked phone.

secondly, the repro issue is a japanese firmware thing. and if you searched, there is no way of getting rid of it. well, ok, then again, that's not totally true - it depends what phone it is.

Posted by: min.tee

Ok, one thing I dislike about 903: *** SLOW TAKING PICTURES.

Definitely nice quality, but it takes my 903 a long time to save, compared to newer phones, mind you, but still a factor in deciding when these new phones are around the same price. Also, the mp3 player burns battery life like nothing else, and no a2dp profile? even worse. It's also a bit chunky, and I had to use a Treo holster to hold my phone.

Likes? Nice-*** picture, good screen size, decent video capture quality, turns heads when you turn the screen. Nothing on the market compares to these Sharp phones!

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junglizt1210

martin,firstly, i cant believe you have a locked phone.

Yup! I have three. Being as I am on Vodafone I only unlock when it comes to sell if I think it's worth it.

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by min.tee

Ok, one thing I dislike about 903: *** SLOW TAKING PICTURES.

Definitely nice quality, but it takes my 903 a long time to save, compared to newer phones, mind you, but still a factor in deciding when these new phones are around the same price. Also, the mp3 player burns battery life like nothing else, and no a2dp profile? even worse. It's also a bit chunky, and I had to use a Treo holster to hold my phone.

Likes? Nice-*** picture, good screen size, decent video capture quality, turns heads when you turn the screen. Nothing on the market compares to these Sharp phones!

does the 903 have a slow shutter speed?

Posted by: min.tee

Yes, shutter speed is a little slow. Autofocus speed is also a little slow too...

Posted by: ericc88

it takes long time to save becuase u probably have set the picture size to biggest, and the picture quality to super fine

in reality you dont need the biggest picture size 960x 1280 or 768 x 1024 is already big enough and saves faster than the biggest size

Posted by: marco712

Quote:

Originally Posted by min.tee

Yes, shutter speed is a little slow. Autofocus speed is also a little slow too...

slow? i haven't used any phone with autofocus that takes pictures faster than the 903.
My 903 takes about 2 seconds to take a picture
other phones like w810 are slightly longer taking pictures at about 2.5-3 seconds and are prone to handshaking
SE K800 is like a full 3 seconds with a weird delay.

When i asked previous users about the i-mobile shutter speed they said its' faster than a 903, but it's about the same as a w810.

NOK n73 i'd say is about the same as a w810, sometimes faster.

Of course if you're comparing shutter speed to a real digital camera it's going to be slow... i think my canon sd450 is like 1-1.5 seconds to take pictures.

I still like the 903 camera compared to other phone cameras.

Posted by: martindesu

Me too. It beats all the other camera phones. The swivel screen just makes it awesome.

Posted by: aw614

I think the 903sh is more forgiving to hand shake compared to the 902t, but the 902t I find much better at macro shots, it gets fairly close.

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by aw614

I think the 903sh is more forgiving to hand shake compared to the 902t, but the 902t I find much better at macro shots, it gets fairly close.

can the 903 use different themes?

Posted by: sugo

Only Japanese firmware can use different themes.

Posted by: ericc88

what do u mean different themes? like night shots maco sports etc?
or u mean like display menu themes(in which jap verison has more themes than euro does euro only has 1)

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

what do u mean different themes? like night shots maco sports etc?
or u mean like display menu themes(in which jap verison has more themes than euro does euro only has 1)

yah i mean display menu themes.
like download them and put them on your phone?
can the HK fm do that?

Posted by: martindesu

Only Japanese.

You can't download them - they are preinstalled.

Search the forum for these answers and more! :

Posted by: ericc88

no only japanese fw can
hk fw in my opinion(i used it for a few days) is the worst fw out of all 3 (euro, jap hk)

the icons in the menu is wrong
no fullscreen wallpaper
no mp3 ringtones
no themes

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

no only japanese fw can
hk fw in my opinion(i used it for a few days) is the worst fw out of all 3 (euro, jap hk)

the icons in the menu is wrong
no fullscreen wallpaper
no mp3 ringtones
no themes

damn that sucks.
what fw do you think is the best? euro?
and jap does have t9 right?sucks..

Posted by: ericc88

i m currently using the euro firmware its pretty good, i think its the best out of the 3
becuase u can always switch from euro to jap w/o reflashing your phone
by pretty power + 8 when ur phone is off to start it up and changing the number from 1(euro) to 21(jap)
and its reversible so u can change back and forth though i do not recommend it becuase if you do it too much you'll screw up ur phone
also you can hack euro fw, to remove stuff like operator logo which is only avalible in jap fw
u can also play games on euro fw off ur sd card with the hack too but i havnt figured out of to do that yet, but some people have

flashin to the new euro fw from ur hk fw would cost around 30 bucks only

Posted by: martindesu

If you need to email in Japanese - use the Japanese Firmware.

If you don't, I recommend Euro. Jap doesn't have T9 but that isn't such a big deal.

The Sharp 903SH FAQ answers some things for you.

e.g. theres a built in answerphone on the JP firmware, but I haven't got 1 message as of yet - haha!

Euro has a pop email client that's rather nice.

using the templates posted elsewhere, you can actually email in Japanese via Euro firmware. This is something thats making it hard for me to choose between the two.

Ericc88 - dude you didn't even use one full stop! here's a free one.

.

Posted by: ericc88

as for the answering machine, u can hack euro to have answering machine too
=)

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

as for the answering machine, u can hack euro to have answering machine too
=)

Yeh, I heard you can - which is pretty cool. I get it free with vodafone anyway.

It's interesting finding out the flaws of each firmware. I find Euro really stable. If they had made JP the same but with Kana/Kanji input, that would have done me.

I am soooooo torn between the two as I don't have unlocked Euro firmware at the moment, just standard (locked).

The JP in my Red 903SH just feels right though. It's nice to be able to write in Japanese natively. I can pretend I am there (... loser)

Posted by: ericc88

u know what, u can always get the unlocked euro fw, then if u like jap use power 8 and switch to jap
so that when u get bored of jap u can easily switch to euro since its already flashed
so then u can sell one of ur 903s i mean flashing is only about 30 bucks
easier than always switching between 2 phones

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

u know what, u can always get the unlocked euro fw, then if u like jap use power 8 and switch to jap
so that when u get bored of jap u can easily switch to euro since its already flashed
so then u can sell one of ur 903s i mean flashing is only about 30 bucks
easier than always switching between 2 phones

This is true, I could do that.

I might look into getting one of my Euros (I have 2) unlocked (or does it need to be flashed) - I am in the UK by the way - and then I can change to JP - and I will still have the same keyboard. Interesting.

What about if I have games stored on the phone memory - are they still useable?

Posted by: ericc88

if u want to be able to change to jap, u need it flashed
as to games
if u flash ur phone all your games are gone...same with phonebook...basically flash will erase everything stored on your phone, so u better back up before flashing

but if you plan to type japanese,i recommend you get a jap phone, to flash it to euro, becuase then you have have the jap keypad with the jap characters on it, but an euro firmware that is interchangeable to jap =D

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

if u want to be able to change to jap, u need it flashed
as to games
if u flash ur phone all your games are gone...same with phonebook...basically flash will erase everything stored on your phone, so u better back up before flashing

I already have a Jap phone. I have 1 jap and 2 euros.

Sweet phones.

Posted by: ericc88

haha so instead of flashing the euros flash the jap to euro =)
then sell ur 2 unflashed euros = lots of money hahah
thats what i would do
what a baller 3 903s ahahah

Posted by: martindesu

I think you've had too much sugar! That's a lot of laughing there! The Red 903SH is 10/10 - I will post pictures one day. Amazing.

Posted by: ericc88

haha well i AM at star bucks =) hahah and drinking a lot of caffine lolz...go studying for exams!
oh nice mint 903

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

so all fw doesnt even allow downloading of themes?
and is euro fw for sale in HK?

Posted by: ericc88

no japanese allows it
and euro fw....im sure u can find some one to flash it into ur hk phone in hk
but the eurofw u want is the one that has been flashed on
not the one u buy brandnew becuase thats the locked eurofw

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

no japanese allows it
and euro fw....im sure u can find some one to flash it into ur hk phone in hk
but the eurofw u want is the one that has been flashed on
not the one u buy brandnew becuase thats the locked eurofw

thanks!

very confusingg..
okay so i guess ill get the euro fw and i can flash to jap? o.o
cuz i want themes...but i also want to type in t9 :P

Posted by: ericc88

if u want themes just buy jap not euro

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

if u want themes just buy jap not euro

supposedly jap has no t9?

Posted by: ericc88

yea no t9 in jap version

Posted by: martindesu

no T9 but it's not that bad without it. however, if you need it. Go for euro.

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

yea no t9 in jap version

damn that sucks

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

no T9 but it's not that bad without it. however, if you need it. Go for euro.

haha. yaa i need it.
im an avid txt msg person

Posted by: ericc88

and i just tried, if u use unlock euro and power +8 to change to jap u can still use themes

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanillaskies

damn that sucks

well, they dont need it - do they!

It does suck though. However, I type just fine without T9. some people even go faster because you spell it out without selecting the word. There's also more freedom with your SMS messages (things like doing a quick 'return' to get a new line) plus you can email in Jap.

Why do you want Jap over Euro if you don't email in Jap?

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

jap fw can use downloaded themes
t9 takes long though..tap tap tap to get the correct letter:P

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanillaskies

haha. yaa i need it.
im an avid txt msg person

Me too, I text all the time. Go for T9 and Euro then dude.

Posted by: ericc88

read my last post= P u can still use jap themes if u use unlocked euro

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

read my last post= P u can still use jap themes if u use unlocked euro

oh niceee.
then euro it is!

Posted by: ericc88

hahah yupppp but u gotta go power +8 to choose the theme

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

hahah yupppp but u gotta go power +8 to choose the theme

oh..okay.
will that screw up the phone?

thanks so much!

Posted by: AL9999

But if I read correctly, using power+8 to change from a flashed Euro firmware to JP firmware still doesn't let you access JP text input - the phone reboots if you try to do this. That's what everyone has said when you try it (I haven't tried it because my Euro firmware is official, not flashed).

Posted by: ericc88

i didnt try the jap text input butim pretty sure u can as long as you leave it in jap fw

and @ vanilla....there is a low posibility u will screw up your phone, so its recommended that you dont do it that often, if u screw the phone up so u would have to reflash itto fix it

Posted by: AL9999

Eric, I recommend you try it first before saying 'it should work'. That's what everyone else thought until they went and tried it, only to find their phone would reboot when they did.

The reason they'd reboot for everyone was because even though you can change the appearance of the phone from JP to Euro to HK firmware etc, the actual Keitai Shoin 3 JP input software was not installed regardless of the firmware look, causing the phone to reboot. I remember a Sharp exec a long time ago (through a contact of mine) saying that due to design limitations they couldn't have both Keitai Shoin 3 and T9 installed on a 903 at the same time.

The above was in the case of people having their phones 'flashed' with Euro or HK firmware. If yours was flashed with JP, then JP input would work but anything requiring T9 would not.

So, please try it.

Posted by: ericc88

i didnt try the jap chars yet. but i tried the jap themes with euro power 8

i just said it probably works bcuz so far all the jap functions on my euro fw after power 8 is functional

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL9999

That's really interesting. It's a shame there's no T9. I am still struggling to decide. I might just end up keeping both. lol.

Posted by: vanillaskies

is it true that you have to exit the camera mode, and then go to your pictures to look at the picture you just took?

Posted by: Montoya

where can you find 903 anymore, any website from marketplace you would recommend? I saw timsta's website was selling one but some people say not to deal with him. Not sure why.

Posted by: ericc88

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanillaskies

is it true that you have to exit the camera mode, and then go to your pictures to look at the picture you just took?

if u set it to auto save...yes, otherwise no

and if u wanna find 903 trying lookin for it in forums...bts ones.....and they dont make any more new 903s stopped production

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericc88

if u set it to auto save...yes, otherwise no

and if u wanna find 903 trying lookin for it in forums...bts ones.....and they dont make any more new 903s stopped production

if a sony ericcsson phone sends me a .jar file, will the 903 be able to open it & install it?

Posted by: ericc88

i think only jap and hk can, im not really sure cuz i have euro and im not able to do that

Posted by: AL9999

No, it can't. You can ONLY install Java games via WAP download. The only exception is a hack for Japanese firmware that is too difficult for many to utilise. If you want to know more, search for it in this forum.

Posted by: Biggster

Can't you use the 8 + POWER trick then launch .HUF games copied directly to your miniSD?

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by AL9999

No, it can't. You can ONLY install Java games via WAP download. The only exception is a hack for Japanese firmware that is too difficult for many to utilise. If you want to know more, search for it in this forum.

WAP download?
so you can't put games onto your phone by computer?

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanillaskies

WAP download?
so you can't put games onto your phone by computer?

Correct. Use the WAP (internet) browser on the phone and download off a site. It's the only way.

Posted by: vanillaskies

Quote:

Originally Posted by martindesu

Correct. Use the WAP (internet) browser on the phone and download off a site. It's the only way.

omg...that sucks

Posted by: ericc88

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggster

Can't you use the 8 + POWER trick then launch .HUF games copied directly to your miniSD?

yes u can, theres ways in the forums to do it

Posted by: martindesu

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanillaskies

omg...that sucks

I guess... but I prefer this phone to any other I've tried. Get a DS - they're really cool and have great games!