MP3 ring tone - alternative, the Sony Ericsson way

The solution in my previous blog was not something I wanted to do - too technical for the average user (but then again, what I find exciting about the X10 is that people can get very nerdy and technical with it, so how many 'average users' choose an Xperia X10?)...

Anyway - I just stumpled uppon this way to do it:
1) Copy the 'to-be' ringtone to your SD memory card (Like the 'Music' folder)
2) Open the song in Mediascape
3) When the song starts to play, push the menu button and select option "Set as ringtone")
4) Go into your phonebook (you can turn off the music if you want to)
5) Locate the person you'd like to add the new MP3 ring tone to
6) Edit the contact and under 'Ringtone', select your MP3 song that now has magically appeared on the list.
7) Save contact information
8) Call the victim and ask them to call you back
9) Enjoy :-)

MP3 ring tone

Soo.... why can't I put Amy Winehouse "Rehab" as the ring tone for my wife? Well... There is a solution to everything on Android. Not perfect, but it works:

Copy the MP3 files from your “music” folder to the “ringtone” folder, if you can’t find the “ringtone” folder, you can create one yourself, than go to contacts, choose one contact and tap “edit” > “ringtone”, you can find the MP3 you just added there.

Source:
http://www.android-cellphones.org/how-to-set-mp3-as-ringtone-on-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10.html/

Reset to factory settings

One day, while playing with the settings for Android and the X10, I quickly got the phone into a state where I no longer knew if I was doing something wrong or the phone just hated me. And I felt I had to do something: Reset to the factory settings.

Music, pictures and other stuff saved on the memory card would be safe, but all settings for google, timescape, mediascape and installed applications would go where unused bits go when bits die.

But where is that option?

I found it here:
Settings -> SD card & phone storage -> Factory data reset

Beware of the data graveyard - make sure the bits don't come back to haunt you.

Instant "keyboard" lock

On my previous Sony Ericsson telephone, I had a two-key combination that would instantaniously lock the keyboard so I would not call someone in China or Mars by accident when I threw the phone in my pocket.

I found a setting in the X10 that would set the timer for when the screen would lock up to protect itself from unintentional input (Settings -> Sound and Visual Effects -> Timeout for the screen) - but setting the timeout to 15 or 30 seconds would be annoying, too.

After a while, I discovered that pressing the top on/off button briefly would lock the screen instantly - just as I wanted it to.

Simple, once you know how.

Beginning the journey into the X10

I'd like to document my xperience with my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10... But how can that be easily accomplished?

This was my first hurdle.  How do I document the screen shots?

I quickly found a way (although a sort of nerdy way), via the Android software developer kit (SDK):
Written walk through
Video walk trough on YouTube
It requires a little more of the user, because it needs other tools installed before the Android SDK can be used (jdk 5 or 6 is one requirement I did not realize until later in the process). But it is not too complicated. I managed, so can you.

Alternatively, there are some applications for the Android that will do the job too:
Screenshot (Android) 1.0
Koush's Screenshot app
They all require root access to the X10 - and how to do this on the X10 seems to not yet be public knowledge.

I guess the method preferred will depend on what is needed. I don't like the idea of installing too much "crap" on my phone, but see the possibilities in being able to make a screenshot as it happens, on the train or elsewhere, miles from the nearest PC connection.

For now I'll settle for the Android SDK.
The SDK is not the only thing I need, though.

A version of the Java Development Kit (JDK for short) is needed... I feel I had a lot of benefits installing the eclipse development environment as well, since it made it easier to install the Android platforms Windows drivers etc - but if you are not afraid to use a command prompt, you can do without eclipse.

The JDK is easy to install - and so is eclipse and Android SDK. Just follow the links I mentioned in the beginning - or use my personal favorite here. It worked perfectly for me.