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Vodafone 904T by Toshiba -=-OFFICIAL THREAD!!-=- mini review+pics!!

(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Junglizt1210

I thought I would do a serious review on a Japanese handset from thepoint of view that the majority of you would view it from rather than the average Japanese would review the handset. I will also touch on the gimmicks and things unique to Japanese handsets a bit etc. Hopefully you can all add to this thread and ask questions etc.!!

...and now I present the....
Junglizt's "Vodafone 904T by Toshiba" mini review!

Firstly I'll look at various features then cover some questions etc.

Price
I paid $2180 Hong Kong dollars (US$280/CDN$315) for mine. Things that are not included in the review: Nissin Demae Ramen cell phone strap HK$25, phone charms (not sure on price), Chinese tiger sticker HK$60, Pocky Strawberry Giant HK$82, Pocky Strawberry (not sure for the small one)
m
Contents
Here's some pics including the japanese literature and CDs.

You get the charger, 3.5mm adapter, headphones, phone, CD, manuals and literature, box, and that's about it.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6378.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6380.JPG

Screen/External LCD
If you've always been using lower end phones, then the phone's screen and the external LCD will strike you as pretty high end and pretty damn good quality. It's a QVGA screen meaning it takes 240 x 320 pixel wallpapers. Please see the Official QVGA Wallpaper Thread in the Sharp subforum - and some of my wallpapers were taken from there. Wallpapers definately look impressive as well as other things that take advantage of the high resolution screen. The LCD is also worth mentioning. It has a blue-ish backlight, and if the screen didn't impress you (I had a Nokia 6280 that also had a QVGA screen before), then the LCD is pretty damn fine.If you're running something (such as browsing through the menus, and close the flip, then the words "In Operation" are displayed. It's pretty nice how fine the resoution of the LCD is.

here are some pictures of the screen with various wallpapers (see link above for them)
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6355.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6360.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6359.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6361.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6367.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6368.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6369.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6370.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6371.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6372.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6373.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6375.JPG

Camera
For some, the camera is a major selling point.

I took some sample photos.... I think that the standard mode is the switch with the person, while macro is the one with the flower on the switch, so someone correct me if I am wrong. Standard is easily the better of the two. I forgot what mode I took a few of the photos.....

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/samplephotos

It has to be said that the camera performs better outdoors, especially with a lot of light. it suffers with a lack of light or space, and is prone to noise. At least it fares better than the 2.0mpx camera on the Nokia 6280 (see link in sig for review) and the Sony Ericsson V800/Z800i's 1.3mpx camera. Phone cameras still havea way to go, and I sure hope that the cameras on those Sharp phones you guys get from Japan are a lot better than this Toshiba...!! Still, if you're out and about having fun, and forget your camera, this will substitute... just. One thing that is bad is the lag and time it takes to save a picture to the phones internal memory. I have heard people complaining about the 904T's camera GUI, I have to say it isn't great, and there is no zoom, or at least I haven't found it yet.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6384.JPG (all the pics of the phone in camera mode were taken with the phone set to macro. the phone shows a clearer pic when in standard)

GUI
Such a big topic and so little time. In brief, as with most GUIs, just like wyhen you buy a different brand of phone to your old one, you need to get used to it, so it's hard to comment on it. One thing that is bad, is the occasional slow menu, the most noticeable one being when you are taking pictures and saving them. The GUI is nice and it's easy to switch between Japanese and English if you need to practice your Japanese..... since if you are currently running Japanese say, the word "Language appears in English which is rather convienient if your japanese isn't up to scratch, say.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6356.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6357.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6358.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6359.JPG

Connectivity
You have several options here, USB cable, Bluetooth and Infrared. One thing I don't like about USB and Bluetooth (not sure about IR) is that they put your phone in offline mode during their use/transfers so it means youre out of signal during the you transfer your files. Also, activating the USB cable for use requires going into the Connectivity menu which is a chore. To rub salt into the wound, you can't do anything else while either USB or Bluetooth are being used.

Hinge/Rotating Mechanism
I don't know if it's me, but I don't see this thing lasting an overly long time... maybe it's because I'm playing with it too much.... it's squeaking a little, just a bit though. I have used flipphones in the past, so I can understand how this phone's mechanism is a little loose etc...
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6344.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6349.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6354.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6353.JPG

Disassembly
The phone has interesting 3-point star screws which requires a special screwdriver so those wanting to take it apart will have to find that screwdriver....

Memory Card/USIM/SIM
The phone accepts both USIM and SIM and supports W-CDMA and three GSM bands. If you have a USIM or SIM from 3/3-dualband, they work fine in it. You can use miniSD memory cards inside the phone.... I will be buying a memory card tomorrow, I will let you know if a 2GB card works inside it.

Network details/features
Though the phone is customised for Vodafone Japan, you can still configure things like GPRS settings although I haven't tested these out myself. The phone can operate on the W-CDMA 2100MHz and GSM 900/1800/1900MHz bands. While in a video serivce area (W-CDMA 2100MHz) you can make and recieve video calls. The phone also displays a little suitcase iof you are roaming/not on your home network. For those interested, searching for networks when setting the network selection to manual is rather quick compared too all other phones I have used and takes considerably less time.

Battery Life
The phone packs a 880mAh, 3.6V battery which is rather small for sucha big phone. The battery life is pretty decent and a good days of use takes it down by 1-2 bars on a 4-bar phone.... There are 1100mAh batteries ade by Momax if you trust using other batteries in your phone...

Accessories
There is a hole for a handstrap. As far as I know, there is a A/V out cable that exists that I am trying to locate but cannot find it.... not sure what other accessories are out there. If you don't use two flat pinned pronged plugs, then you'll need an adapter. The charger is multivoltage.

Size
This phone is rather big.... pics of it next to a V802SE:
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6342.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6343.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6344.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6345.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6346.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6347.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6348.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6349.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6350.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6351.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6352.JPG
http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/PICT6366.JPG
Compared to the V802SE it's marginally longer.

LED lights
There are two LED lights on either side that light up when charging or the phone recieves a message or is ringing etc... They are pretty snazzy, however it would look prettier if they flashed while connected to a network for exaple or like how the Sony Ericsson's T68i flashes the blue light for bluetooth.

Japan-unique features
FeliCa is built into it and you can download applications to make use of it. The Edy IC chip software is already on the phone. You can download more

There are comics you can download, and they can vibrate etc when reading etc.

Navi is the satellite navigation feature.

And all these wouldn't work without....

Vodafone Live portal. So if you want to add to this list, you need an active Vodafone USIM and account..... too bad........

--CONCLUSION--
If you like big phones or don't ind the, if you can spare the crippled Japanese firmware, if you can spare the slightly bad GUI, then give the 904T some thought, and love!!

If you like Japanese phones and want soemthing no one has.... the 904T isn't far off... it's a good performer....!! You either love it or hate it!! for me I love it... I think of it as the beast where my V800/Z800i is the beauty.

Now questions... fire away!!


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
How is the screen clarity ?
Brilliant stuff.... Probably not as good as a Sharp 904SH or 905SH... but its still pretty damn good!

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
I assume you can download wallpapers and show them full screen ? Can you access Vodafone Live ?
No I can't - I' not in Japan... however, You can load wallpapers through the USB cable supplied in the box or through bluetooth.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
What are the pros and cons if you don't mind ?
I've listed a few in my review, but to sum it up, the "Offline" thing when either bluetooth and USB are used, no zoom on camera, camera could be better... but it's a phone so I wasn't expecting much anyway.

note: I'm going out to buy a memory card for the phone tomorrow to test it and the Beat Engine software, I will report back of course. No memory card was bundled in with the phone by default.


Posted by: New Beetle

By the sounds of it to sum this phone up is a you get a lot of phone for not a lot of money. Ģ150 (pounds) doesn't get you much in the way of phones. It definately doesn't get you anything rare like this (rare in europe/USA). So it is obviously some way behind the sharp 903/904 but hey its 1/2 the price almost.

Thanks for your review and photos, I would pick one up for sure if someone started selling/importing them in europe but as it stands, customs and shipping take away its bargain cheap price for me.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

don't forget that the fact that I'm in Asia, and stuff on this side of the world costs a lot less, by the time a phone makes it all the way over to Europe, the UK included, stuff ends up costing a lot more. That's why I love being in Hong Kong.... I'm from the UK but currently here for 4 months.... everything costs far, far too much in the UK

the fact that there are "water goods" also in Hong Kong lowers the price... in the UK not that many places sell cheap phones/without warranty/second hand etc. although there are still places if you don't want any of these and can get stuff cheap.

but as you say, it costs a lot less than the Sharp counterparts..... obviously its probably not as good as a Sharp, but still, its a cheap buy! thats why I got it, and the fact it's an import.


Posted by: New Beetle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Junglizt1210
don't forget that the fact that I'm in Asia, and stuff on this side of the world costs a lot less, by the time a phone makes it all the way over to Europe, the UK included, stuff ends up costing a lot more. That's why I love being in Hong Kong.... I'm from the UK but currently here for 4 months.... everything costs far, far too much in the UK

the fact that there are "water goods" also in Hong Kong lowers the price... in the UK not that many places sell cheap phones/without warranty/second hand etc. although there are still places if you don't want any of these and can get stuff cheap.

but as you say, it costs a lot less than the Sharp counterparts..... obviously its probably not as good as a Sharp, but still, its a cheap buy! thats why I got it, and the fact it's an import.


I know what you mean, would love to pick up Mong Kok and plonk it on the outskirts of manchester lol.

The thing is there are good ebay sellers doing this phone for Ģ150 but they are all HK/US sellers hence the problem with tax etc.


Posted by: lamplighter

Great photos and etc... jung....
I think I may go for one, although they are pretty expensive in N.Z. it would be cheaper for me to get one on eBay from N.A.
I assume that once I pop my Vodafone SIM into this I will be able to access Voda.. Live ? Is that true ?
What is under the "Peoples" logo on your wallpaper, did you print your username on it
The camera seems to be lacking a bit but I am more interested in wallpaper, games, etc..
Do you have to use Beat Engine to put music on ?
What if you just put the SD card into a card reader, then can you bypass B.E. ?
Maybe you could do it that way but when you pop the card into the phone it may recognize that the music was imported without using the B.E. software ???
I wonder if you register on "Toshiba Beat Club" if you can download items onto the phone even if you are outside of Japan ?

LL-


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
Great photos and etc... jung....
I think I may go for one, although they are pretty expensive in N.Z. it would be cheaper for me to get one on eBay from N.A.
I have the same issue with some previous jap phones I looked at when I was in the UK, it was simply cheaper getting them from N.A. Now, it's a different case because Jap imports make their way down here to Hong Kong. Making phones much more affordable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
I assume that once I pop my Vodafone SIM into this I will be able to access Voda.. Live ? Is that true ?
One thing that's weird is that I didn't see any Vodafone settings. This might be because the shop I bought it from removed it or something... I don't know. Theres a good chance that if you have another Toshiba phone you could copy the settings over manually. The fact that I don't have the Vodafone Live GPRS settings might be a one off case with where I got it from or the people it passes through before the phone made it's way to Hong Kong, i.e. the supply chain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
What is under the "Peoples" logo on your wallpaper, did you print your username on it
Peoples is a network/carrier in Hong Kong. I edited the pic and added my name to it looks kinda cool. I *Should* mention that you can turn of the operator name (i.e. HK PEOPLES in mine) and also the time can be changed to show two times (i.e. say one is Tokyo time zone and the other New York for example) and this will mean that it doesnt block my editing, however there is no option to move the time if you want to keep the format like that. You *can* turn off the clock though. These are your options for the clock: "1-line Digital" (the default one, also what im using), "2-line Digital", "Analog(Home)", "World(Digital)", "World(Analog)", "Calendar", "Off".

The following two screenshots should explain it. It's roaming on a W-CDMA carrier btw. The first pic has both turned on, the second pic has both turned off.



Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
The camera seems to be lacking a bit but I am more interested in wallpaper, games, etc.. Do you have to use Beat Engine to put music on ?
If you havea program that converts stuff like MP3s and WMAs into AMR files then you don't and can even set them as ringtones. however i *think* there is a limit to the size however i cant be sure there is and i might just be BS-ing. I haven't tried Beat Engine, i'm heading out today to go buy a 2GB mem card to test Beat Engine etc... The issue with AMR is that they are rather poor quality. or thats the impression i get.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
What if you just put the SD card into a card reader, then can you bypass B.E. ? Maybe you could do it that way but when you pop the card into the phone it may recognize that the music was imported without using the B.E. software ???
I'm not sure, I'll report back, by the way, if you have a card reader, you can select in BE that memory card drive (G drive on mine for example) and it will convert the files there, since I don't have a miniSD (yet) I can't test Beat Engine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
I wonder if you register on "Toshiba Beat Club" if you can download items onto the phone even if you are outside of Japan ?
I'm wondering the same. There is a bookmark in the browser to the 904T product page on Toshibas own site. I can't test this because my GPRS isn't working - i think i need to subscribe to it first, im taking my phone to a People's shop today to get that sorted.

HTH,
Dan


Posted by: lamplighter

Thanks Dan- You mentioned no Vodafone settings though there is a Voda..Live icon on your menu. What happens if you press it ? The removal of the clock and carrier is fantastic, that's a great thing. I'm going searching around and see what the best prices are. I'll let you know what happens. Cheers mate, LL-


Posted by: New Beetle

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
Thanks Dan- You mentioned no Vodafone settings though there is a Voda..Live icon on your menu. What happens if you press it ? The removal of the clock and carrier is fantastic, that's a great thing. I'm going searching around and see what the best prices are. I'll let you know what happens. Cheers mate, LL-


This is the cheapest and most established seller I can find for it. Do an ebay search for seller x1387


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by New Beetle
This is the cheapest and most established seller I can find for it. Do an ebay search for seller x1387

Plemix/x1387... ah a commoner.... he ships from Hong Kong btw, even though his account is registered in the US and he lives in Washington (the state, not city).

He's usally one of the first to get his hands on new handsets, and indeed Hong Kong gets handsets pretty damn soon.... If you check out the SE forums a lot, hes a common place to get new SE handsets... I saw some nice K610 and K800 today for example...


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by lamplighter
Thanks Dan- You mentioned no Vodafone settings though there is a Voda..Live icon on your menu. What happens if you press it ? The removal of the clock and carrier is fantastic, that's a great thing. I'm going searching around and see what the best prices are. I'll let you know what happens. Cheers mate, LL-

"Cannot perform this operation due to network connection failure".

BTW, I found out that People's Prepaid SIM cards don't allow use of GPRS. This SUCKS. Means I can't test it out. Maybe I'll try my 3UK sim later but not sure if there are roaming charges for surfing the 3 portal that is free in the UK.....


Posted by: New Beetle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Junglizt1210
Plemix/x1387... ah a commoner.... he ships from Hong Kong btw, even though his account is registered in the US and he lives in Washington (the state, not city).

He's usally one of the first to get his hands on new handsets, and indeed Hong Kong gets handsets pretty damn soon.... If you check out the SE forums a lot, hes a common place to get new SE handsets... I saw some nice K610 and K800 today for example...



Why a commoner? I heard he was a pretty good seller.


Posted by: UncleAllEvil

Thanks for review and pictures Junglizt1210
I must say that I`m disappointed, camera perfomance of 904T is worse than my 902Sh, not to mention 903Sh or 904Sh.
Colours are bad, there`s a lot of noise even in daylight and it looks like phone has problem with autobalance of white. I`m not talking about sharpness of pictures because you have quite shaky hands
Maybe phone is taking pictures with delay, not exactly when you hear sound but a second later. I had few phones with this problem and if you stay still a bit longer you can usually take much sharper pictures. Also, macro mode in cameras w/o autofocus can be used only for taking very close pictures. I expect that for this phone it might be 15-20cm. Try this.

I`m going to buy a new phone and I love the design of 904T but I will probably go on for Sharp 903 and 904 in feature (when it will be unlocked). With euro fw 903Sh is much better phone than 904T. Best camera among mobile phones, direct mp3 playback (I use my 902 as mp3 player) and better UI. Toshiba made a phone with great design but again not as good as Sharp phones.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

sorry by commoner i meant a famous guy. well hes pretty famous. lots of guys buy phones because he has them first.

Putting music (mp3) on your 904T guide

I'm thankful that Vodafone/Japanese copyright restrictions didn't make it -too- hard to load music onto the phone... so here's how YOU can load some tunes into the phone via the use of a memory card reader/writer. Currently I have not found a way to do it via cable, but that's ok, as long as it works. Either Beat Engine or the phone should report errors if you are doing something incorrectly.

1) Firstly you need to make sure that the Beat Engine software is installed on the computer. This can be found on the disc that is included in the box with your phone.

2) Then you need to assign your phone a telephone number. Menu > Phonebook > My Details > Phone Number -enter your number here.

3) Then we configure the Beat Engine. Start Menu > Programs > Toshiba > Beat Engine > Beat Engine -this should load up the BE program.

4) Tools menu > Settings -enter the same number you entered into the phone.

5) Insert the memory card into a card reader, mine is set to G: drive.

6) From there, load some songs into the white box to the right - it should start transferring onto the miniSD card. The status of free space in the status bar is inaccurate, you can check the real value by right clicking on the drive with the memory card and selecting Properties to view the real amount of used and free space.

7) Now, create a playlist or several depending on your choice and load the songs into your playlist(s).

8) Take the memory card out of the reader and close the Beat Engine software. Insert the card back into the phone and you should check whether everythings right. You can press the Media Player button and scroll down to playlists and you should see something familiar. Test if your songs work.

NOTES: If you listen to Japanese songs or any other songs that have tags or file names in a language other than the latin alpabet, you *may* need to enable Japanese support. You can do this under Regional & Language Options in Control Panel, however please note that this is mess up your system where the "\" is replaced by a Yen sign etc. for Japanese. Make sure that you have both check boxes in Supplemental language support ticked , and if not, tick these to install the software. Then restart your machine and click on the Advanced tab and select the appropriate language, such as Japanese. Also, the maximum amount of songs for a playlist is 50 files. If you have more, You'll need to make more than 1 playlist.

Congratulations!! That's it, and i now have 1.61GB of music on my Sandisk miniSD 2GB card






Quote:
Originally Posted by Beat Engine loading screen note:
.

This software allows you to transfer music files stored on your PC to the miniSD(TM) card that comes with your Toshiba mobile phone (hereinafter referred as "mobile phone")*.

Music encoded in the following formats can be transferred using this software:
AMR
MPEG4 (AAC-LC)
MP3

Basically, the mobile phone supports playback of music files within the following range of fixed bit rates** .
32 - 192 kbps


Caution

Please do not attempt to remove the miniSD(TM) card from the mobile phone or disconnect the USB cable while you are transferring or deleting music files.
This may result in damage to the miniSD card and/or loss of data.


Note

- Beat Engine software is for music only and does not support e.g.
MPEG4 format files with video.
- There are certain other file types that can not be transferred to miniSD
or played on your mobile phone.
Error messages on the phone or software will highlight these limitations.

* Please refer to the Beat Engine User Guide for information on support
for other mobile phones.

** There are limitations as to the play back capabilities of certain bit rates
according to the file format.
For details, please refer to the mobile phone user guide.


Here's a pic of my phone playing a Chinese song, so that means if you listen to Chinese songs, the Japanese phone is able to make out the characters. Good stuff.



Posted by: capper43

Ahhh, thanks for the explanation on using Beat Engine. No matter if I used Beat Engine to transfer the files, my phone would keep saying that it could not play that type of file. I think the problem is that the telephone number on my phone was not exactly the same as the phone number on Beat Engine soft. I guess I will try it again later today.

On another note, I am trying like mad to configure my 904T for t-mobile t-zones and mms etc, but am having no luck. any advice? and yes I tried the t-mobile configurator, but it doesn't list the 904T and the provided setting info on their website seems inadequate.


Posted by: eseta

Aloha! I recently purchased a "Vodafone 904T by Toshiba" at first it was tough to get it to work but I am slowly getting there. Thanks to this site I got the MP3s playing on my phone!

Questions: 1) How can I get games to work? The games that come with the phone are trial versions and require that you download the full version. But since I am in Hawaii I can't download from the vodafone site. In addition I am with T-Mobile. Is there a way to load games?

2) Is there a way to load the comics?

3) Can't get the bluetooth to work with other phones. It won't pair up. Any suggestions?

Thank you! I truly appreciate any help I can get. Mahalo Nui Loa!


Posted by: Junglizt1210

I don't use T-Mobile so I'm afraid I can't help with that. I am not sure about the Vodafone site working through a provider other than Vodafone themselves on the phone, I haven't tested the GPRS settings etc yet because my provider doesn't support them (not with prepaid anyway). I can't tell you much in terms of installing Java games, maybe I'll investigate tonight when I get home.

As for the comics, there is a sample application in the V-appli that has some comics built in. I'm not sure about how to get extra comics though. I can't read Japanese.

I (currently) don't have another phone I can test the bluetooth with, so sorry I can't help you there either.

One more thing, regarding the MP3's, some work, some don't. I think you can't use stuff that is more than 192k and theres something about VBR (variable bit rate) i cant remember what this is etc... i'll check it out when I get home later today.


Posted by: eseta

Thanks for the message. If you have any info on the games I would surely appreciate it. As far as the MP3 is concerned, yeah I am aware of the limitations. But so far so good. I look forward to your message.


Posted by: Larrikin

Heres a tip I found out when messing with my 904t. When I first got the phone and finished entering in all my necessary network information I would constantly get a NW Information Downloaded screen and the download would always fail. It was extremely annoying. However by putting in a different sim card loading up the phone and then putting my old sim card back in the error message completely went away.

Has anyone gotten the GPS to work? I can't even get a position on mine.


Posted by: GTR294

Does this phone have T9 input in English?


Posted by: AL9999

Yes it does. It's the ultimate in phones at the moment if you want to type in both Japanese and English, as it has input engines for both.


Posted by: Larrikin

Its good, I don't know about ultimate in phones though. It has its annoying little problems, like the phone book.


Posted by: eseta

Speaking of phone books...is there a way to put it in alpha order?


Posted by: AL9999

Quote:
Originally Posted by Larrikin
Its good, I don't know about ultimate in phones though. It has its annoying little problems, like the phone book.


Quote:
Originally Posted by AL9999
It's the ultimate in phones at the moment if you want to type in both Japanese and English, as it has input engines for both.


I was referring to the typing software only. Obviously the phone isn't perfect in some areas and horrible in others.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

a quick note before i head to bed (in a rush today) - i can't get games to work. will google/check it out later this week/weekend if time allows,


Posted by: asmok

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseta
Speaking of phone books...is there a way to put it in alpha order?

You can sort it alphabetically by reading field.


Posted by: asmok

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseta
Aloha! I recently purchased a "Vodafone 904T by Toshiba" at first it was tough to get it to work but I am slowly getting there. Thanks to this site I got the MP3s playing on my phone!

Questions: 1) How can I get games to work? The games that come with the phone are trial versions and require that you download the full version. But since I am in Hawaii I can't download from the vodafone site. In addition I am with T-Mobile. Is there a way to load games?

Once you get your GPRS setting setup, you can dl games off wap. You cannot dl games directly from vodafone even if you get your GPRS setting correct, but you can get some games from other sites such as http://republika.pl/uncleallevil/


Posted by: mroach

Thanks for this review! I was thinking about buying a 904T, but after this, I'm not so sure. I had no idea how big it is (good thing you compared it to a V800, since I have one of those) and how bad the camera is. It also reminded me how crippled Vodafone firmwares are, especially in Japan. I love the Japanese phones because nobody has them here (the US), so you have something flashy and unique. I love my V800 because I just flashed it to European firmware with no limitations. I wish there were more Japanese phones you could do this with. The 903SH you can, but that thing is enormous. My V800 has since been replaced by a K750 and W810 for the better camera and EDGE data. I still use it with another SIM, but I'd love a more updated Japanese phone. Maybe a 902SH.

Here's the HK roaming information from 3 UK. http://three.co.uk/explore/coverage...type=PayMonthly

You'd think that being on another 3 network they could afford not to rape you on the charges...


Posted by: Montoya

^li ga sing has other plans along with sacrifice our freedom for doing business with china..


Posted by: Junglizt1210

I'm planning on getting a 703SHf -just- for my 3 USIM to roam over here..... because it's a pain switching between the two, and I could do with another geektoy anyway....

btw, if you have a look at roaming in China, the rates are even worse, and thats only 20 minutes or so away from where I live.....


About the phone book, yes, you need to enter data into the reading field and it can sort it that way.


Posted by: mroach

How come the NAVI doesn't work outside Japan? All I can think of is maybe it downloads the maps as needed from Vodafone Live! and you have to be a Vodafone customer to get them?


Posted by: Junglizt1210

i8'd be interested in an answer too.


Posted by: asmok

The phone can only get the coordinates. After the GPS got the coordinates, it uses wap to download map of the location. The NAVI won't work since it's a java app design to work within Vodafone's intranet. The same goes for all the download functions. In other words, all download functions such as ringtone, music, ic-appli won't work without an active Vodafone jp sim card.


Posted by: nitzomoe

wow its a tank, was thinking of getting it cause of the relatively low price for 2.0 mp camera, but with its size id pass.

nice review.


Posted by: eseta

Thank you to all that responded to my questions. I've been enjoying my phone more now that things are coming together. This is all thanks to your advice. Mahalo!!!

To the people that have been concerned about the phone size (904T)..I go to Japan very often and I think I should let you know that a few years ago the phones in Japan were getting smaller and smaller just like here. But now the size of the 904T is a norm in Japan. All my friend's phones are this size. I think that it's only a matter of time before our phones look the same.

My usa friend's reactions are all the same..."WOW! It's big!...then...but...wow this is an incredible phone. I want one too."

Just a thought anyway! Thanks again for all your great advice!!!!


Posted by: eseta

Quote:
Once you get your GPRS setting setup, you can dl games off wap. You cannot dl games directly from vodafone even if you get your GPRS setting correct, but you can get some games from other sites such as http://republika.pl/uncleallevil/


I have a question...I finally got some games loaded on my phone! But now I have this message any time i try to get into the main menu it says "Settings information downloaded from network. Start retrieval NW information? Yes No"

I press yes but it says that it cannot connect to network so the loading cannot be completed. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of this message?

Thanks!!!


Posted by: Larrikin

Read the whole thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larrikin
Heres a tip I found out when messing with my 904t. When I first got the phone and finished entering in all my necessary network information I would constantly get a NW Information Downloaded screen and the download would always fail. It was extremely annoying. However by putting in a different sim card loading up the phone and then putting my old sim card back in the error message completely went away.



Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseta
I have a question...I finally got some games loaded on my phone! But now I have this message any time i try to get into the main menu it says "Settings information downloaded from network. Start retrieval NW information? Yes No"

I press yes but it says that it cannot connect to network so the loading cannot be completed. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of this message?

Thanks!!!


see this thread also:

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=902647


Posted by: FreefallRLC

I got a Toshi 904, too.
I have a few questions about pictures. Does the phone have a limit to picture filesizes?! Iīve tried to put jpg pics with sizes of over 320x240 on the phone and I always get the message "invalid file." The last I tried is only 181kb and 800x1000. So nothing THAT big. My wallpaper jpg pics with 320x240 do work.
And I tried some gif animations but everything with about over 100 kb doesnīt work either. "File size too large."
Taken photos with the camera are much larger, of course. But it seems that everything not taken with the phoneīs camera that is too large does not work?
Does anyone have the same problem or a solution?

And can I somehow use a gif animation or 3gp movie as screensaver? I thought I saw that somewhere but canīt find it anymore...

Oh, yes. And I alwys have a icon displayed that means "Packet Network Range" after the manual. Does anyone have a idea what that means?!


Posted by: eseta

Quote:
Heres a tip I found out when messing with my 904t. When I first got the phone and finished entering in all my necessary network information I would constantly get a NW Information Downloaded screen and the download would always fail. It was extremely annoying. However by putting in a different sim card loading up the phone and then putting my old sim card back in the error message completely went away.


It worked!!!! Thank you so much!!!


Posted by: eseta

I'm having trouble getting the bluetooth to work. It can find the device, but I can't get it to pair with the device. Is there a special password for this? I use my four digit password that I use for other things on the phone but it doesn't seem to work. I even used the suggested default pin code that is instructed. But still cannot pair up.

Any advice? Thanks!!!


Posted by: Junglizt1210

about the pictures.... it's pretty much hit and miss sometimes, I'm not sure if it's the file size (capacity, MB-wise or pixels wise), I'll try today when i get home.

About the Bluetooth, I think the passcode you need is of the device you are trying to pair the 904T to.... I don't have any other bluetooth enabled phones to play with this, except my computer. Maybe I should try unpairing them and starting afresh, again I'll test this when I get home for you.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

[QUOTE=Junglizt1210]about the pictures.... it's pretty much hit and miss sometimes, I'm not sure if it's the file size (capacity, MB-wise or pixels wise), I'll try today when i get home.
QUOTE]

Maybe. I have the feeling pics only/ or work better if the size fits 320x240 resolution. Like 1000x750. Got one to work at that size with 118kb. But another one didnīt work again. Canīt really say if itīs the size or the kb thatīs causing the problem. They were all 72dpi, though.
If anyone can find something out itīd be really appreciated

I had no problem with bluetooth whe I used it once before. The standart passcode is 9999, though. Maybe thatīll help


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Motorola standard codes are 000000 and Nokia ones are 0000 i think.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Hey guys, anyone know how I can encode videos??

I tried the methods in this thread: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=922789 as well as adjusting various settings as well as trying the ImToo and Xilisoft encoders (although they are the same thing, I tried both versions 3.1 and 2.1)

I'm rather stuffed as to how I can encode a video. I only tried with a 358MB file and tried converting it into a .mp4 video file with both xvid and mpeg4 codecs.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

OK now that I've had a fair bit of time to test the phone, I'd like to add some details regarding various things about it.

Playing Music/Battery Life
While you can use the phone for music, and it will last a LOT of hours on a charge, talktime is seriously lacking on GSM. The certifications for this phone show that W-CDMA has a -longer- talktime than using it on GSM anyway (which, is rather weird, as we all know that most phones have it the other way around). I'm hoping this is true because I use primarily a W-CDMA carrier back in the UK (getting 3G was rather "silly", the shop owner claimed,.... i'm considering switching over because i need data service... bad.). So, if you use your phon for music on a full charge, several hours will knock down battery from 4 bars to 3 or even 2 bars, which isn't that bad, however, in terms of talktime, thats about 10 minutes worth, which is rather poor. I now bring my charger to work every day, and I am struggling to find a GENUINE Toshiba charger, and I am even considering buying a Toshiba phone and taking the charger and selling it back out without it. (of course, making this clear, i'm not the type opf person to fraud people.)

Housing
Though the phone is hard to take apart due to the weird screws, I have some sratch marks and it seems under the shiny red coat of paint, there is some kind of metalic housing. I do take care of my phone, but I have no idea where two of the scratch marks and a gauge mark came from.... ugh.

FeliCa
Really funny how my phone goes BEEP! on the Octopus readers in Hong Kong... I thought the two systems weren't compatible, and the Hong Kong's Octopus was an older standard..... can anyone check of Vodafone have a IC-appli for the Octopus? I doubt it, but maybe, just maybe...!

Interesting Japanese hold sound
This is really interesting.... Play some music, and connect the 3.5mm adaptor to it and a set of earphones/earbuds/speakers. close the flip and make sure that the external LCD is facing ******ds (i.e. externally..!). Now let the backlight for the external LCD fade.... Dial the phone on another phone..... the phone should ring and the LCD light up. Now press the middle button on the 5 external directional buttons. You will now be put through to a Japanese wolman who is supposedly the Hold message or something.... nice!!. Pity I can't understand Japanese... am learning though...!!


Posted by: MrRoute66

Hi, I thought I'd give my observations of the 904T on my recent trip to Germany (World Cup viewing).

In the USA I cannot get any 3G networks despite being within Cingular's high speed network range.

Upon landing in Germany (Berlin) I could get 4 providers: each showing the 3G/UMTS network and a GSM network (o2, E2?, Vodafone De and T Mobile De). My provider is T-Mobile in the US so I generally left the phone UMTS Only and connected to the T Mobile De provider.

The GPS/Navi worked for getting a location fix but I couldn't get any map to come up. I even tried connecting to the Vodafone network but still no success. It would seem here that a differing URL address could be entered so we could MMS positioning points to other mobiles. Right now the mobile.Its-Mo.com/MapToLink [GPS coordinates] couldn't pull up anything. I tried the Google Maps URL but no luck here either.

My biggest surprise was the limited battery life. Granted I was taking about 10 outdoor pictures, doing the World Cup Yahoo WAP MatchCast via 3G but the battery often gave out even before I could get home later that night. Really surprising as I thought the UMTS connection would use less power; I'm blaming the camera function at the moment.

Only other frustration was that in changing out the SIMs the VAppli or Music would not work with the different SIM.

I also carried a K750i but much preferred the 904T for its better display.

Still a neat phone which I expect has more surprises to discover - especially if a firmware update comes out.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Cingular's UTMS uses a different frequency and is thus undetectable by the 904T. You can blame the FCC for that. Everywhere else in the world we use the same band for UTMS.

And yes, the battery life is poor-ish.


Posted by: firescorpy

First of all, nice review. I am deciding on getting this phone. I have a question though. Can I switch the menu to Japanese? Also, can I send text messages in Japanese? thanks.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by firescorpy
First of all, nice review. I am deciding on getting this phone. I have a question though. Can I switch the menu to Japanese? Also, can I send text messages in Japanese? thanks.

Yes, you can use english or Japanese in the menue and Messages can also be wrote in both. Even both in one.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

@ MrRoute66:
You said you were able to get your own position with the Navi? I got the 904, too and when I try here in Germany I only get the message "Positioning unavailable."

Another thing:
I want to transfer some .jad files (games) to the phone memory with the USB cable on data transfer. The manual says that I should have the following folders: pictures, videos, melody&music, v-appli, IC-appli, my saved pages and other files.
But the IC and v-appli folders arenīt there!! and I canīt create any folder, too. Any suggestions?


Posted by: peterjnew

Junglizt you are one lucky person getting all these phones.I just sooo want them but I'd first have to convince the parents to take me to japan.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

im not that lucky, there are dudes on HoFo with more phones than me, i have owned 6 phones twice, but never more than a week, at most I usually hold 1-3 phones at any one point. it's just too expensive lol, this hobby of mine lol

btw, looking at your sig, I've owned so many of them phones.

Starting with the Motorola T2288, then the Nokia 3210, then the Motorola A835 then the Motorola C975, in the same order as you LOL. I've owned other phones as well, in between those.

I love 3G phones, and I'm on a quest and I now buy only 3G phones lol.


Posted by: MrRoute66

[QUOTE=FreefallRLC]@ MrRoute66:
You said you were able to get your own position with the Navi? I got the 904, too and when I try here in Germany I only get the message "Positioning unavailable."

I am able to get positions under NAVI by using the "Current Position" option. It takes a while and I generally have to be outdoors. I think it queries the 3G towers at first but then goes over to GPS.

Under "URL Settings" it would be great if we could find a mapping service alternative that would work here. The Japanese URL has never worked for me (ITs-Mo.....). Mapquest coding or Google Maps anyone?


Posted by: Bumpon10s

Junglizt, since your PM box is full, I'll post it.

I plan on buying one tomorrow night, but would like any dirt you have to as why I shouldn't buy it.

Also, could you supply a few pictures from it's camera? It is a big reason I plan on buying it. The others don't want to show up.

Thanks in advance.


Posted by: FMP01

Hey, Bumpon10s. To me the phonebook is a mess but it's all right since I don't call too many people. I've heard the only way to get games onto it is through WAP which is something I don't have :/

About the Camera, maybe it's just me because I've seen other people produced better shots than I do. To me, the pictures are kinda hazy. It doesn't have autofocus but a lot of manual settings. There is digital zoom but it's disabled for the largest resolution.
The recording quality is excellent though. It records at QVGA at 15fps. It almost seem like it's capped at 15 fps to me because I noticed when I'm in digital camera mode, the camera seems more laggy;needs a fairly great amount of light. When I'm in camcorder mode, the camera is very smooth; you don't even need much lighting to it.


Posted by: FMP01

Macro shots:





Normal shot:



It seems a bit hazy and blurry. Maybe it's because I didn't use the flash.

NOTE: all shots were resized from 3.2 megapixel to VGA resolution.


Posted by: Larrikin

Anyone got the 904t MMS working on a TMobile USA network? Can anyone guide me through what I need to put in.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

My computer is broke down at home, but as soon as I get it fixed, I'll upload some. Although I do have a MP3 player that can be used as a SD reader.... lemme see what I can do... hold on folks...!

ty,
Dan


Posted by: Larrikin

Here go the US Tmobile settings for WAP and MMS and what exactly to type into the 904T

First
Goto Settings - Network Settings - Internet

Now press add
Name:tzone
APN: wap.voicestream.com
Auth. Type: PAP
No username or Password

Now go back and click on Settings - Browser/Java and edit
Name:tzone
NAP:tzone
Proxy Setting: Enable
Proxy Address: 216.155.165.50
Proxy Port: 8080
After youre done save and press the center button on tzone to activate it

MMS Settings
Profile Nameicturemessaging
NAP Selection:tzone
Proxy Setting:enable
Proxy Address:216.155.165.50
ProxyPort:8080
No username or password
MMSC address: http://216.155.174.84/servlets/mms

Then save and activate it.


Posted by: capper43

Larrikin - thanks a ton for your help! finally i can use the browser...and send mms messages!

cheers


Quote:
Originally Posted by Larrikin
Here go the US Tmobile settings for WAP and MMS and what exactly to type into the 904T

First
Goto Settings - Network Settings - Internet

Now press add
Name:tzone
APN: wap.voicestream.com
Auth. Type: PAP
No username or Password

Now go back and click on Settings - Browser/Java and edit
Name:tzone
NAP:tzone
Proxy Setting: Enable
Proxy Address: 216.155.165.50
Proxy Port: 8080
After youre done save and press the center button on tzone to activate it

MMS Settings
Profile Nameicturemessaging
NAP Selection:tzone
Proxy Setting:enable
Proxy Address:216.155.165.50
ProxyPort:8080
No username or password
MMSC address: http://216.155.174.84/servlets/mms

Then save and activate it.



Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Larrikin
Here go the US Tmobile settings for WAP and MMS and what exactly to type into the 904T

First
Goto Settings - Network Settings - Internet

Now press add
Name:tzone
APN: wap.voicestream.com
Auth. Type: PAP
No username or Password

Now go back and click on Settings - Browser/Java and edit
Name:tzone
NAP:tzone
Proxy Setting: Enable
Proxy Address: 216.155.165.50
Proxy Port: 8080
After youre done save and press the center button on tzone to activate it

MMS Settings
Profile Nameicturemessaging
NAP Selection:tzone
Proxy Setting:enable
Proxy Address:216.155.165.50
ProxyPort:8080
No username or password
MMSC address: http://216.155.174.84/servlets/mms

Then save and activate it.


Can anyone perhaps post the settings for D1 in Germany? I have problems with recieving MMS and the Internet isnīt working with my settings which I collected from the internet.
I can send MMS but not recieve. Very strange


Posted by: Larrikin

Actually I thought I had everything set up correctly but I too can only SEND mms and browse the internet. I don't get my MMS messages.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Larrikin
Actually I thought I had everything set up correctly but I too can only SEND mms and browse the internet. I don't get my MMS messages.


Well, youīre at least one step ahead if your internet works ;-)
But the not recieving MMS problem is really strange


Posted by: Junglizt1210

More sample pictures (as requested)

hey guys,

as requested, more samplers.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/...os/moresamples/

have fun. if theres anything in particular you want a pic of, I'll try my best. These pics were unaltered straight from the miniSD card. The settings for quality are max, I think the picture size is the second biggest (too lazy to check), aside from that it was point and shoot.

Photos are best outdoors in daylight (as with pretty much any other camera/phone)

HTH,
Dan


Posted by: Larrikin

VERY VERY BAD NEWS.

I just got off TMobile Technical Support to try and resolve the not being able to recieve MMS messages. We couldn't figure anything out until he looked at the Technical Specs of the phone. The phone can not recieve MMS messages (I guess of the Vodafone network). Its not on Tmobiles side its on the phones side.

I REALLY hope this is not true but he seemed very sure. Can anyone off the Vodafone network confirm or deny this.


Posted by: eseta

Quote:
VERY VERY BAD NEWS.I just got off TMobile Technical Support to try and resolve the not being able to recieve MMS messages. We couldn't figure anything out until he looked at the Technical Specs of the phone. The phone can not recieve MMS messages (I guess of the Vodafone network). Its not on Tmobiles side its on the phones side.

I REALLY hope this is not true but he seemed very sure. Can anyone off the Vodafone network confirm or deny this.


I just spent the past couple days with the Tmobile tech too. Same thing here. I got the MMS to send but cant receive. The tech said the same about the phone not being able to receive MMS, but he said that he would contact Toshiba to get a better answer. After he emails me I will let you know.


Posted by: Ver2

I cant recieve mms either and im on cingular..


Posted by: trixel

can someone tell me how to get music on the 904t? i keep having the error cant play file..etc etc.. ive tried using the beatbox to convert to the tbd file and it doesnt work... ive tried converting it to aac and storing it in the sounds and ringtone folder but it doesnt work.. anyone know the exact way to get mp3s to work on the 904t??? step to step please becuz i been trying for the 2 days and i havnt had any luck at all.... please help me....


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
can someone tell me how to get music on the 904t? i keep having the error cant play file..etc etc.. ive tried using the beatbox to convert to the tbd file and it doesnt work... ive tried converting it to aac and storing it in the sounds and ringtone folder but it doesnt work.. anyone know the exact way to get mp3s to work on the 904t??? step to step please becuz i been trying for the 2 days and i havnt had any luck at all.... please help me....


Only beatengine transfered mp3s do work. I tried with aac and other formats, too but they all didnīt work.
Your mp3 can only be from 32 - 192 kbps. And they can only be stored in the Folder on the SD card. No aac or mp3 in the phone memory (as ringtone etc) will work. Only midi or 3gp.
Thatīs too bad because I canīt use my mp3 ringtones anymore. And converting to 3gp makes them sound much worse :-/


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Anyone with a Vodafone Sim already tried if recieving MMS works?!


Posted by: trixel

so...best way too...ive used itunes to convert them to 160 or 192 kpbs and then convert with beatbox and then transfer then to the drive on the mobile thru beatbox..? do i put them in manually through usb to the drive rather than use beatbox to transfer them to the phone? or best way is to transfer them to a sd card reader?? is that the best way then... take the mini sd card and put it into a sd card reader and put the converted beatbox music to the sd card reader drive?? will it then automatically detect when i put the sd card in the fone. where do i look for the music when i put the sd in the fone?? sounds and ringtones or my sounds??


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
so...best way too...ive used itunes to convert them to 160 or 192 kpbs and then convert with beatbox and then transfer then to the drive on the mobile thru beatbox..? do i put them in manually through usb to the drive rather than use beatbox to transfer them to the phone? or best way is to transfer them to a sd card reader?? is that the best way then... take the mini sd card and put it into a sd card reader and put the converted beatbox music to the sd card reader drive?? will it then automatically detect when i put the sd card in the fone. where do i look for the music when i put the sd in the fone?? sounds and ringtones or my sounds??


Direct transfer with the USB cable might not work and it seems it also makes problems if you try to transfer them to SD card in a reader in the PC.
It seems the mp3s can only play if they are transfered via USB cable trough Beatengine to the SD card in the phone with music transfer, not data transfer selected.
Besides, is your phonenumer in Beatengine set correctly? If not it wonīt work. It depends how your own phonenumber is displayed in the phone. I had problems with that first, too because Iīve set the nummber in beatengine 0151... and it had to be +49151 !!!!!!!!!!!
You can see the music files in the SD card that should be with the drives in the exlorer when connected with the PC. You canīt see the SD card with the Toshiba data transfer software! The "sounds and ringtones or my sounds" folders cannot be used with the Beatengine mp3s.


Posted by: trixel

so i put +49151...and my number after it for example if my number was 888888 then the number would be +49151888888 ??? is that right? ive used my fone with transfer music function rather than... u know when u said how ur own phonenumber is displayed how u know how it is displayed etc etc...... if its a dumb question sorry...


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
so i put +49151...and my number after it for example if my number was 888888 then the number would be +49151888888 ??? is that right? ive used my fone with transfer music function rather than... u know when u said how ur own phonenumber is displayed how u know how it is displayed etc etc...... if its a dumb question sorry...


Yes, if your phonenumber is 0170 123456 itīd be +49170 123456
In BeatEngine you have to put the phonenumer in tools/settings

The transfered music will be locked to the number/sim then because itīll check if the phonenumber is the same as the simīs. So if youīd switch the sim or the number is wrong the files wonīt play


Posted by: Junglizt1210

don't forget FreefallRLC lives in Germany. I didn't even bother with the +++++ thingy.

my number is 67003715, and the Hong Kong international dialing code is 852, so all i put is 85267003715.

If you live in the US/Canada, add a 1 onto your number or something, e.g. your number is 416 123 4567 so make it 14161234567.


Did you guys read my music guide on page 1???????
Go back and read it if you haven't. There's an in-detail guide there,. its about 75% the way down.

like i said, you have to use the same number in both places,

also, if you change SIM cards it won't work. You'll need to pop back in the SIM card you set it up with (i think).

sillies


Posted by: Larrikin

NO you won't need the original SIM. Just go into your phone and set your own number.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Sorry for asking again but; can anyone with a Vodafone Sim confirm that MMS can be recieved?


Posted by: Junglizt1210

FreefallRLC, I think there are very few people on HoFo with both a 904T and an active Vodafone Japan account....


Posted by: qust0h

I do have an active account with Voda Japan and I'm in Hawaii. Yes I can send and receive MMS no problem both in Japan and here (roaming). But if I swap my voda sim to my cingular sim, I can only send.


Posted by: FMP01

hey qust0h, which part of hawaii are residing? I'm on the honolulu(downtown) side.


Posted by: Larrikin

What the hell is this phones problem? Theres gotta be a way to recieve MMS off of Vodafone's network


Posted by: FMP01

hey Junglizt1210, do you still have problem converting videos?

DL this 3gp converter: http://www.nurs.or.jp/%7Ecalcium/3g...onverter034.zip

It's free. Choose 3GPP for A5504T setting, you can pick normal or high quality QVGA 15fps mono sound.


Posted by: qust0h

Quote:
Originally Posted by FMP01
hey qust0h, which part of hawaii are residing? I'm on the honolulu(downtown) side.



Honolulu too


Posted by: Junglizt1210

I am still have problems indeed, I'll go home and try that setting (I have the program, but I used it on the PSP and 601T settings neither of which work, lemme try when i get home


Posted by: trixel

thanks for the help i got the mp3 players to work on beatengine
anychance for more help with ringtones.... wot do i need to do for ringtones wise? if i want an mp3 ringtone?? pls help thanks


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
thanks for the help i got the mp3 players to work on beatengine
anychance for more help with ringtones.... wot do i need to do for ringtones wise? if i want an mp3 ringtone?? pls help thanks

as mp3 not a chance. Only format that is working (if not midi etc) is 3gp. The sound quality gets worse with converting, though. But with WINXMedia Avi to 3gp converter the quality stays quite good (if settings on high) All other mp3 to 3gp converters I tried made the file sound like crap... ;-)


Posted by: trixel

winxmedia avi to 3gp will that convert the mp3 straight to 3gp?
where do i put the files... after ive converted them which folders ..into the sounds and ringtones it will detect will it??


Posted by: Junglizt1210

.amr files work I *think*.


Posted by: trixel

i cant get my 3gp file to work on my ringtones....ive converted them from mp3 to 3gp using that program....it says cannot play file etc etc when i assign it as a ringtone...


Posted by: FMP01

you can try to convert it to MMF(smaf) format with the yamaha wsc-ma2 converter but the ringtones have to be under 300 KB. The average files size I get is about 260 KB which equals to about 30 to 40 seconds of the song. It's not too great though but good enough.


Posted by: Tytanium

anyone know the wap settings for toshiba 904t , im using fido and live in vancouver


Posted by: bronco

whats the video recording size?


Posted by: asmok

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tytanium
anyone know the wap settings for toshiba 904t , im using fido and live in vancouver

The settings here should work:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=768708


Posted by: FMP01

hey bronco, the video recording size is QVGA(320X240) at 15 FPS.


Posted by: Ver2

Quote:
Originally Posted by FMP01
you can try to convert it to MMF(smaf) format with the yamaha wsc-ma2 converter but the ringtones have to be under 300 KB. The average files size I get is about 260 KB which equals to about 30 to 40 seconds of the song. It's not too great though but good enough.


You might wanna try the WSD.(wave sound Decorator) and make the files MA5 format. They are louder and sound crisper. Also you can take advantage of the 3D speakers the phone has!


Posted by: asmok

If you are going to to use WSD, make it MA-7 since it's louder and the quality is better.


Posted by: Ver2

WSD doesnt have MA7 support nor does the 904T.....to my knowledge


Posted by: asmok

904T support MA-7 and WSD makes MA-7 mmf.


Posted by: FMP01

yes, WSD does indeed make MA-7 mmf, it was just updated not too long ago and I have just dled it. I will try to make some tonight and test it out. Thanks guys.


Posted by: dmn13

Hi, I just got the phone and i was wondering how do I use the web or can you? I am with rogers in Vancouver. Thanks.


Posted by: trixel

anyone found any faults or anythng for the 904t yet...? just phonebook for me... ive alrdy scratched it lol


Posted by: dmn13

Hi, i just got my web going but am now having troble downloading games, i am at this site http://republika.pl/uncleallevil/ that someone suggested before, but it saids "invalid application" everytime i download. Do only some of them work? or is there a way around it.
Also, does anyone have a site with japanese games but not in japanese? been having troble getting games from japanese sites. Thanks!


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
anyone found any faults or anythng for the 904t yet...? just phonebook for me... ive alrdy scratched it lol


A list of faults include:
Phonebook issues (if you have filled in the Reading field in the contact's details this isn't a problem, but if you want to synchronise this with your computer, You'll need to have Japanese Outlook Express).

The button on my mic piece doesn't work to answer calls when I have earbuds connected - I have to open the flip instead.

Poor battery life (if you talk a lot, the occasional phone call doesn't matter that much, but this phone ISN'T suited for those who chat a lot... like myself unfortunately)

No autofocus on camera.

Night shots are'nt great, but much much better than from A Nokia 6280.

Good things:
Removing and reinserting the memory card doesn't affect playlists, or blank out the wallpaper like my old Nokia did, since all wallpapers are copied to the phone memory once selected

Resizing of pictures for wallpapers, and also, zooming in.

Zooming in of pictures combined with the camera means it's good enough to take a picture of a bus map or timetable and zoom in later to read it.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

btw, im finding though even though ive got a few NASTY scratches, there seems to be metal under the siny red paint. This phone seems rather solid, minus the rorating/hinge mechanism which is a little weak for obvious reasons.


Posted by: FMP01

Hmm....maybe it's just me but when I transfer pictures I've taken to my PC via Bluetooth, my connection is really slow. It averages 33 KBps. The strange thing is my videos transfer faster, up to 63 KBps.

The pictures taken by the phone seem a little disappointing. The photos taken are not sharp enough. It has this hazy look to it. The macro is average as well or maybe I just have shaky hands. The videos recorded are amazing though. That's a big plus.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by dmn13
Hi, i just got my web going but am now having troble downloading games, i am at this site http://republika.pl/uncleallevil/ that someone suggested before, but it saids "invalid application" everytime i download. Do only some of them work? or is there a way around it.
Also, does anyone have a site with japanese games but not in japanese? been having troble getting games from japanese sites. Thanks!


I tried the same yesterday, too. All games I tried gave me that "invalid application" message. Only a solitaire and tetris worked. The most simple games to find there
A friend of mine has a japanese 903t and on his phone more of the games worked. I tried some which worked on his but it didnīt work. I would have thought that that stuff that works on the 603 would also work on the 904


Posted by: trixel

u guys know how i transfer my sim contacts to the phone memory... ??


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Hmm, I tríed to download nearly all the games from http://republika.pl/uncleallevil/ now but it seems that only a few 2D games are workling. Nothing 3D at all. I wonder why?


Posted by: FMP01

Hey, FreefallRLC, did you dled via WAP or did you loaded to your phone, cause I my phone doesn't read any games I've downloaded from my computer.

Anyways, did you try loading a video in there, it seems like I can only load a video that is within a 20 minutes timespan. Does anyone know how to exceed the 20 minutes timespan?


Posted by: Larrikin

The site works fine, you have to download to the PHONE memory. The applications won't work at all off the SD card.

Quote:
Originally Posted by trixel
anyone found any faults or anythng for the 904t yet...? just phonebook for me... ive alrdy scratched it lol


Everything so far has been good for me. The camera isn't as great at point and shoot as my old phone, but its alright. However it pisses me off greatly I can't recieve MMS.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

I downloaded the games with wap to the phone memory. Like I said some do work. So technically it works but most games give me the message "invalid application" when I try to download them. Seems to be all 3D games. The only ones working are 2D games...
Downloading the games with the PC and transfering them to the phone via USB doesnīt work because I donīt have the necessary folder there when I use the Software. The manual says that I can put .jar and .jad files to the phone memory to the v-appli folder. But I donīt have that folder there and I canīt create one either.


Posted by: 2501211

so this phone can take 2gb minisd?
i saw on the net its only up to 1gb
thanks


Posted by: anthonyto

Excuse me, could you mind to tell me about the HK peoples setting of gprs mms....etc?
thank you ery much ~~~


Posted by: Markbjj77

Guys, I cannot for the life of me, figure out how to save pictures and video i've recorded on the phone to the SD. When I go to options there is no option on where to save, evrything is being saved to the phone. Am I missing something? Any help willl be appreciated.

Thanx


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyto
Excuse me, could you mind to tell me about the HK peoples setting of gprs mms....etc?
thank you ery much ~~~
I am using prepaid (Stored Value SIM Card) and I was told in a People's store that I don't have access to GPRS as a prepaid user. Only Contract users get access for these.

The only reason I am on People's is because they are cheap... cheap to call the UK, US and Canada, they totally stink because about 20% of my calls never get through, I can't access GPRS and also coverage is REALLY bad in the New Territories... well it's really bad EVERYWHERE in Hong Kong..... SmarTone and CSL easily have better coverage, even 3G too..... I would switch providers, but since I'm leaving Hong Kong end of September, I don't think I'll bother. If I'm in Hong Kong for 6+ months in the future, I'll have my number ported to CSL or SmarTone-Vodafone. Right now I'm only here for 4 months

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2501211
so this phone can take 2gb minisd?
i saw on the net its only up to 1gb
thanks
I have a 2GB card in my own phone -so I can confirm it works 100%.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markbjj77
Guys, I cannot for the life of me, figure out how to save pictures and video i've recorded on the phone to the SD. When I go to options there is no option on where to save, evrything is being saved to the phone. Am I missing something? Any help willl be appreciated.

Thanx
Go into the camera and video so you can see the things you are recording/taking picture of. Click top left button and it's in the menu there. See this pic:



Posted by: Squall828

Does this phone have auto focus? I saw that 903T has it but I can't find auto focus on 904T's list. It doesn't make sense that 903 has it but not 904. Also judging from the previous posts, it is impossible to load games yourself through the usb cable? And how easy is it to load songs onto the phone? (I just need a few for ringtones)


Posted by: asmok

902T and 903T have AF
803T and 904T no AF

The lens on 902 and 903 is much better compare to 904T even tho it's a 3mp camera.

You can ONLY load games via WAP.

Loading songs to listen is different from loading ringtone. You need yamaha WSD to convert wav to mmf so you can use it as ringtone. I think someone post the instruction somewhere in the forum already.


Posted by: yangj08

I am using a V904T on China Mobile, but I can't seem to go to any sites other than China Mobile's WAP portal. Does anyone else have this problem or maybe an explanation for this? I'd really like to download a couple of games, but I can't because of this.


Posted by: Markbjj77

Junglizt1210, thanks for the help. Next question, once there already saved to the phone, can I move them to the card directly?


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by Markbjj77
Junglizt1210, thanks for the help. Next question, once there already saved to the phone, can I move them to the card directly?

I don't see the option to... so you probably can't.... The good thing about this phone is that wallpapers are copied from the card to the phone if you set them as wallpapers, and also, if you don't open the camera while the card is out, and you take the card out of the phone, it remembers your preference of where to save the pictures.


Posted by: panerai7

>>>Markbjj77...Next question, once there already saved to the phone, can I move them to the card directly?

Yes you can, go to your datafolder>pictures, you'll see thumbnails of your pics in phone's memory. Highlight any pic, make sure you don't highlight a folder, hit options>select multi (8), it will go back to your thumbnails showing them with a little check box next to them, select the ones you want (one or many, doesn't matter) and hit options -- it will give you a choice of copy, move etc. etc., choose move(4) and it will ask Move to: phone memory or memory card...there you go

If you got any questions ask away, i have played with this phone for over 2 months now


Posted by: Salazar

Hi, I just got this phone yesterday and it works like a charm (once I got used to it anyway). May I know how to save videos on my SD card? I've tried putting them on the 'Video' folder but it doesn't show up on the phone, thanks!


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Salazar, I haven't gotten videos to work because my computer keeps messing up with the 3GP Converter software....

Quote:
Originally Posted by panerai7
>>>Markbjj77...Next question, once there already saved to the phone, can I move them to the card directly?

Yes you can, go to your datafolder>pictures, you'll see thumbnails of your pics in phone's memory. Highlight any pic, make sure you don't highlight a folder, hit options>select multi (8), it will go back to your thumbnails showing them with a little check box next to them, select the ones you want (one or many, doesn't matter) and hit options -- it will give you a choice of copy, move etc. etc., choose move(4) and it will ask Move to: phone memory or memory card...there you go

If you got any questions ask away, i have played with this phone for over 2 months now
nice job... didn't see that one lol.


Posted by: FMP01

hey guys, can anyone help me out here? I'm trying to connection to the internet via CSD but I can't find the profile to do so. Can you someone please help me out?


Posted by: riffat56

I just bought this phone a few days ago and my reasons are the same as some one else has written - price point with features!

1. MP3 - If i am able to transfer the mp3's to the phone memory card can I then move for use as ring tone? if not what is best way to get ringtones? If I have Mp3's only?

2. Camera - I see that people are saying the quality is not good does that mean even if you change the setting to digital camera mode than phone camera mode the quality is still poor or less than sharp phones quality?

3. Any one can tell me where I can get some good ring tones that I could use with this phone?

I will try to give my experience of this phone as I get to use it more!

One other thing I found while reading the forum is that one operator claims that it is because of the phone that you can only send MMS and cannot receive MMS? This cannot be true and based on my experience (working in the telecom industry launching GPRS, MMS and 3G) we never had a problem where the phone was the problem it was always the WAP/Gateway or MMS server! Either the phone supports MMS or not but can send but cant receive?????? So dont take their answer that it is the phone which I very much doubt!


Posted by: panerai7

Quote:
Originally Posted by riffat56
I just bought this phone a few days ago and my reasons are the same as some one else has written - price point with features!

1. MP3 - If i am able to transfer the mp3's to the phone memory card can I then move for use as ring tone? if not what is best way to get ringtones? If I have Mp3's only?

2. Camera - I see that people are saying the quality is not good does that mean even if you change the setting to digital camera mode than phone camera mode the quality is still poor or less than sharp phones quality?

3. Any one can tell me where I can get some good ring tones that I could use with this phone?

I will try to give my experience of this phone as I get to use it more!

One other thing I found while reading the forum is that one operator claims that it is because of the phone that you can only send MMS and cannot receive MMS? This cannot be true and based on my experience (working in the telecom industry launching GPRS, MMS and 3G) we never had a problem where the phone was the problem it was always the WAP/Gateway or MMS server! Either the phone supports MMS or not but can send but cant receive?????? So dont take their answer that it is the phone which I very much doubt!

Congrats on a great phone. To be honest with you it is in many ways better than the Sharp 903. It's a japanese firmware without any repro problems unlike Sharp, has T9 input unlike Sharp and all the bells and whistles JP firware gives you. Also the screen, i know i am gonna be disagreed with by some, is a little better than Sharp. It's richer, clearer, brighter, better contrast. I have to say that I have HK firmware 903sh so maybe JP firmware on 903 performs better in the screen output department. The HK firmware screen is just not as crisp as 904T, whites are yellowish, black is kinda light black (if that makes sense). BUT.....

The camera on the Sharp 903 blows and blows and blows away the 904T's camera. Honestly I don't see why you would need a separate digital camera for occasional shooting when you have Sharp 903. 904T doesn't have an autofocus and because of the bulkiness and awkward shape of the phone it's almost impossible to hold it steady and press the shutter without slightly shaking the phone and making the pictures a little out of focus. Also the colors reproduction is a little pale even on the "intense" setting. You have to see them both shooting the same scene and you'll see a huge difference. Video however is pretty close, still the Sharp is better.

MP3's, you can't use them as a ringtone. Instead, convert them to SMAF/MMF format with Yamaha Wave Sound Decorator, keep them less than 300K and they'll play as a ringtone. Quality is pretty good as long as you don't make them too long, because of the compression issues - 300K is just enough for 20-25 second ringtone.

MMS, I never was able to configure MMS to work with my Service provider. Oh well


Posted by: yangj08

Oh- to anyone using the 3GP converter- I had to change my videos to MP4 format with the VLC player before it would convert to the .3g2 format for the phone.


Posted by: riffat56

d Decorator, keep them less than 300K and they'll play as a ringtone. Quality is pretty good as long as you don't make them too long, because of the compression issues - 300K is just enough for 20-25 second ringtone.

MMS, I never was able to configure MMS to work with my Service provider. Oh well[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot for your reply and i tried to use the yamaha software you mentioned and it can only convert WAV files not MP3s is there another way to use the MP3's! Thanks in advance..


Posted by: yangj08

MP3s need to be converted to WAV first- I do this with a program called Audacity (got it a long time ago, try googling for it). I don't think MP3s can be directly used as a ringtone, though.


Posted by: riffat56

thanks again I was able to convert my mp3 to wav and then to mmf and am able to use it as ring tones...


Posted by: han711

how do u find the firmware of the 904t? anybody got any idea? thanks for ur help...tryin to figure out some stuff....i know for sure mines the JP firmware...but im just tryin to figure out wut version and such...thanks


Posted by: MODist

try this one:

* # 8 3 7 7 4 6 6 #


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by riffat56
I just bought this phone a few days ago and my reasons are the same as some one else has written - price point with features!

1. MP3 - If i am able to transfer the mp3's to the phone memory card can I then move for use as ring tone? if not what is best way to get ringtones? If I have Mp3's only?

2. Camera - I see that people are saying the quality is not good does that mean even if you change the setting to digital camera mode than phone camera mode the quality is still poor or less than sharp phones quality?

3. Any one can tell me where I can get some good ring tones that I could use with this phone?

I will try to give my experience of this phone as I get to use it more!

One other thing I found while reading the forum is that one operator claims that it is because of the phone that you can only send MMS and cannot receive MMS? This cannot be true and based on my experience (working in the telecom industry launching GPRS, MMS and 3G) we never had a problem where the phone was the problem it was always the WAP/Gateway or MMS server! Either the phone supports MMS or not but can send but cant receive?????? So dont take their answer that it is the phone which I very much doubt!

As mentioned, converting to SMAF/.mmf files is the way to go. You need to convert it to a wav file first, and then convert that using the Yamaha program. The downside of using your own ringtones is that you don't get the cool light flashing as you do with the built in ones.

The camera isn't as good as Sharp's in my opinion. With a Sharp you can replace a digital camera. With this, you can't really. I still do carry around both with me. It's passable, the photos I mean.

I'll upload some tunes later for you to use as ringtones - right now, my webserver isn't working properly so I can't upload them for whatever reason.

Regarding MMS and data. I have tried data... and I did get it to work -ironically, using a foreign SIM card which will run me up a huge bill when I return to the UK lol....

no i didn't try logging into Gmail..... roaming cost is too high lol. This is a http website for computers by the way, not a wap site. -i have also adjusted the font size to show as small size. Now, I did try and send an MMS, but I haven't tried recieving one. Sending works fine, but I still need to try recieving...


Posted by: Junglizt1210

heres some ringers btw.

they might not be everyone's cup of tea, they are cantonese (chinese) and japanese clips of songs and what not.

most of them are from elsewhere on HoFo.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/ringers/


Posted by: trixel

can anyone help me with my gprs settings.. and internet to work im from UK and im on o2, the 904t is vodafone but its unlocked when i go it... i cant seem to get the o2 gprse settings to work on the fone... can some1 help me pls


Posted by: jmg14

has anyone been able to install applications from the SD card?


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmg14
has anyone been able to install applications from the SD card?


Not really. Only wap downloaded apps seem to work


Posted by: mobile_noob

the WSD converts files from .wav, .aif, and .aiff only
what if i have mp3 files?
(this is for ringtones..)

and wht does normalizing do? what is sampling?


Posted by: asmok

Use Audacity to cut mp3 and it'll allow you to save it to wav. Normalize function increases the maximum possible volume without distorting the sound.


Posted by: mobile_noob

Quote:
Originally Posted by Junglizt1210
heres some ringers btw.

they might not be everyone's cup of tea, they are cantonese (chinese) and japanese clips of songs and what not.

most of them are from elsewhere on HoFo.

http://files.dnbimmigrant.com/904t/ringers/


thanks for the supplied ringtones, but the "pickup" one didnt work on mine.. is it cuz its amr?

and thanks asmok!

another thing, i have some mmf that work and some that don't, any1 know why?


Posted by: asmok

If the file is over 300k, it won't play.


Posted by: mobile_noob

the max is like only 60k
eveyrthing under 300


Posted by: paoyu

Hello, does anybody know how to get rid of the "Retrieve NW Info" screen. It keeps popping up these days, before I go to the menu screen or when I'm using WAP. I know, it 's trying to connect to Vodafone Network for updates and I got tmobile US.

Any ideas?


Posted by: han711

u have to pop in another sim card into ur phone and then boot up ur phone...then swap it out again with ur own sim card and its fine...


Posted by: mobile_noob

btw, can this phone like watch tv?


Posted by: yangj08

No- not live TV.


Posted by: mobile_noob

tht sux
cuz i saw the samsung a900 commercial and it can


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobile_noob
tht sux
cuz i saw the samsung a900 commercial and it can


Sir, Your username, suits you quite correctly.

The Toshiba 904T -isn't- the Samsung A900.


Posted by: lamplighter

Quote:
Originally Posted by Junglizt1210
Sir, Your username, suits you quite correctly.




Good one Jung.... LOL !!!

Cheers, LL-


Posted by: yangj08

Can someone tell me if it's possible to get coordinates (without the map) with the GPS in this phone, or to make it work with Google earth (I found a program called J2memap that lets me access Google earth from my phone, but I can't set it as my navigation program in the Navi menu)?


Posted by: panerai7

The phone will locate itself and then give you an option to send the coordinates in a MMS message, so you can see the coordinates in the body of that message.

From there, i have no clue how/if you can plug those coordinates in some sort of a java based mapping software

I would like to make my GPS work as well


Posted by: Timsta

you're gonna need a bit of reprogramming for tha tto work.


Posted by: FreefallRLC

Hmm, I canīt get the positioning to work in Germany :-/

Another thing; you probably all know about that MMS recieving problem with the 904?
I also have that problem. SMS work fine, I can send MMS but not recieve any.
Iīm on T-mobile in Germany. A friend of mine has also a japanese mobile, the 903T with A Vodafone Sim. So we tried if recieving MMS might work with a Vodafone Sim in the 904. It didnīt. And whatīs even more strange even sending MMS didnīt work anymore then!!!! All settings were correct, of course.
Has anyone a Vodafone Sim and can send MMS?


Posted by: errorrrr

how does this phone's camera compare to K800i, and Nokia's n73 both of those phones sports a 3mp.


Posted by: simply046

i have just got the phone from HK ..
and i was wondering if anyone can tell me where to set the res or whatnot for
the camera,, i mean it is 3.2mpex
but the outcome size when i opening the pic file on my computer is rather a bit small..

thanks


Posted by: yangj08

to set the resolution, go to Camera-Settings-Camera Settings-Picture Settings-Picture Size-Digital Camera and make sure that the size is set to the largest possible. Then, when you go back to camera mode, push the left soft-key, and go to Camera Mode-Digital Camera to use the full 3.2 megapixels.


Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:
Originally Posted by errorrrr
how does this phone's camera compare to K800i, and Nokia's n73 both of those phones sports a 3mp.


You should have a look at the sample pictures folder (link is on the first page i *think*), I am happy to upload a few more if those are not enough.

If that's not good enough, I can take some