Siemens SX66 has built-in camera behind its case, rumor?

[sherko]

I heard that Siemens SX66 sold by Cingluar has built-in camera but it is covered by the case. Is that true or not?

Please if you know, advice me. I am willing to open my Siemens SX66 and make small hole for the camera.

[TheLastOne]

Sounds like BS to me. If they got a custom case from HTC that covers that area, you can be damned sure they can get the cameras custom ripped out ;).

[wstahlhut]

want your answer? load the 1.40 rom and use the camera apps, it locks up the device on my SX66

[Joe_PDA]

Sherko

I have internal memos that show there is a secret camera inside the case of the Cingular SX66. It is squeezed in right next to the iraqi weapons of mass destruction!

[UNOPARATOR]

Sherko

I have internal memos that show there is a secret camera inside the case of the Cingular SX66. It is squeezed in right next to the iraqi weapons of mass destruction!

Hahahahahahahahaah =))))))))

Very good one, i really liked this one =)))))))

[HDuser]

Hope Bush does not have an aide that surfs, next thing you know we will have a war in asia

[lazzy]

want your answer? load the 1.40 rom and use the camera apps, it locks up the device on my SX66

wstahlhut,
i upgraded my sx66 to 1.40 and 1.12 radio without touching the ExtRom and 1 problem, my up/down scroll doesnt work. care to help?

[vbguru613]

Holy cow!!! hes right there is a lens type thingy

[wstahlhut]

want your answer? load the 1.40 rom and use the camera apps, it locks up the device on my SX66

wstahlhut,
i upgraded my sx66 to 1.40 and 1.12 radio without touching the ExtRom and 1 problem, my up/down scroll doesnt work. care to help?

I dumped the 1.40 rom do to oddness like that, went back to the 1.10 radio and the stock CE rom, and my custom Exted...

[shane]

It just would not make good money sense for any of the cell carriers to leave the camera attached to the motherboard and cover them up with a fully covered back shell. I would assumed that maybe the carriers could order their very own Blue Angel hardware from HTC without the some of the bells and whistles for their custom branding, UNLESS.....HTC did make them all of the BA hardware one set way and left it up to the carriers to use all or some of the functions. Some of the U.S.A. cell carriers were already worried about marketing a high dollar device to corperate consumers. In order to scale down the high price, they shaved off the wifi or the bluetooth. But their main concern for leaving out the camera was a matter of the big corperate buyers who work for strict employers with the "No camera" and (camera phone) policy. Which is why I'm glad I got a MDA III from overseas. ..... Who knows? :wink: it was probably cheaper to mold a new different back shell than to pay someone to remove the camera. To all the ones who might have a camera, I hope you get them working Good luck with "hidden surprise inside". :o :D

[vbguru613]

if someone could activate the hardware we sx66 people would have a camera

[shane]

if someone could activate the hardware we sx66 people would have a camera

On the WIKI there are the camera patches. But you won't know if there is a camera working until the lens is uncovered from the plastic backing.
There is also the possibiltiy of making some registy changes?? Where is MDAIIIuser ?? He would know. :?: :P

[HDuser]

Looks Like I have been forced to make a comment here.

The issue is whether the device has a camera built in and if this is the case how can XDA-Developers get it to work.

First, I personally think that this will be a conceptual discussion for based on my own experience taking the BA apart which is a pain, I don’t think that many or even anybody is going to spend the time drilling a hole in the their BA in order to get a shitty VGA camera to work. However as I don’t have that problem it is really not fair to make that statement.

So let’s brake this done into a few logical steps where I will try to add what I have learnt over the last 4 months.

1) Hardware

We have yet to see a picture of the back plate of an opened BA with camera and a SX66 without, so visually at least we don’t know what we are talking about.

For the fun of it let us say that there is camera inside.
That its been covered over with a different back casing in order to open up the market of the BA to Business users that don’t want to have (due to security) a phone with a built in camera and/or also don’t want to spend the extra money.
This I feel is a valid point and HTC choice would be to build a different device (different plate without a camera) or just ship the same plate with a camera or even leave certain components out of that plate (the lens) in the manufacturing process.

Here again, thinking positive, let’s say that it’s all there and they just covered it over with a different back case.

So we have the problem of the back casing and the maybe the fact that the camera button is missing on the left side of the device. (this you will have to tell me).
Anyway the solution to this is to obtain a display model of BA with camera, a task that I have tried in vain to achieve over the last 3 weeks as my BA is very badly dented.

Here again, thinking positive, let’s say we can get a display model and swap the casing out.

Thus you have the insides of the SX66 which has the hardware (well we think it does) and the casing that will support a camera.

2) Software

What do we know about rom’s ?

Many months ago there was a SX66 1.3x rom (device with out camera) that was repacked by Manich and put on XDA.
This was a rom dump and the camera application was not in that image.
This rom was loaded be owners of the BA with camera and it worked but did not have the camera application.
(well it was a buggy Rom and in the long run and most went back to the I-mate 1.31 Arabic)
However on Wiki we placed a post install cab that added the needed files for the camera and these worked for that 1.3x Rom that is.
So we know for a fact that it can be done and we have proved it based on the past.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=BA_Post

However Today we all taking about the 1.40 Type I Rom’s (I-mate or Qtec) which are built and shipped for the model PH20B (with camera).
I have loaded this rom and I find the camera application (Camera.exe) and many other files with camera in them under \windows

If you have loaded this rom and don’t find the Camera.exe then this must be due to the BaUpgradeUt.exe which checks to see what the Model number is and thus does not load all the files (in this case the Camera and in the case of the Harrier rom the WIFI).

This could also explain the file \Windows\Startup\Camera_Detect.exe which is found on my device (which has a camera) and may not be found on yours.

What we have also been able to work out is by using the MaUpgradeUt_noID we can bypass the Country Code error in the Type II roms, Seen in this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=117645#117645

Files and instructions :
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=BA_FAQ_Upgrade_Errors


However we have not been able to test if we can by pass the device ID check (the one that checks if your device has a camera and thus loads those files).
The new tool that I have been Beta testing gives me the possibility to change the header of the rom to read that it is a non camera version.
However we have no tools that lets us tell the device that it is in fact a PH20B (With camera) and not a PH20B1 (without).
This would be the reverse of getdevciedata and a really interesting tool.
(putdevicedata.exe > devicedata.txt or write the device data out of my devicedata.txt onto my device thus getting the device to think it is a different device vs getting the rom to think it was built for a different device).

So MAYBE, just maybe flashing a non camera BA with the device ID PH20B by using the MA_upgrade will result in the device thinking that it has a camera and wifi and we could then test if this components are around (as in part of the hardware) or not by using them since the software has been loaded (you can find the files in windows).

So How do we move forward from here?

1) I think we need to see the backplate of both devices
2) We need to flash a non camera device with the MA_upgrade as a PH20B and see if we can find the files
3) We need to play with the wifi and the camera of a device (that was PH20B1 but has been told its a PH20B) which has the back plate removed and the 1.40 as a rom on it

Given this we can prove or disprove the theory and who knows you might even find that wifi is around but the camera not.

Warning taking you device apart can revoke the warranty
Warning flashing your device has been know to turn it into a brick, do this at your own risk.

Hope that helps

[shane]

Thank you MDAIIIuser for your deep insight on our BA's . You really did point out some pros and cons on the camera or no camera issue. I will have to ask around some of my celluar dealer buddies in my area to see if I can score you a dummy BA for you to use for shell parts. You are the BA guru! :D :o

[HDuser]

shane, Nice of you but won't do me much good, I have a camera (PH20B) and your dummy won't or am I missing something?

So looks like you will have to score the dummy and answer the the question of the "meaning of life" which I always thought was 21 but seems to be "is there a camera or not and if so can XDA get it to work?"

[ncruz]

Why don't you just install the .cab with the camera app on a siemens and check if you get a black image?

[vbguru613]

good idea! where can i get it? ill install it

[HDuser]

good idea! where can i get it? ill install it

Well you could.... oh forget it

[vbguru613]

I have Installed the camera and it says i have to reset the hardware.

Anyways nothing should be tried until we open the back of the phone. I tried but my tools only opened 2 screws. the others lost its corners from trying to hard.

[sherko]

I really appreciate your interaction and specially XDAiiiuser.

the humor part was healthy too :)

I will try to open my BA and check if there is a cam or take a pic and find out.

If anyone has discovered that there is a camera in siemens XS66, then, we might be able to use it. I understand it might be difficult..

[sherko]

I have Installed the camera and it says i have to reset the hardware.

Anyways nothing should be tried until we open the back of the phone. I tried but my tools only opened 2 screws. the others lost its corners from trying to hard.

the other screws are under the battery. Thank you for trying out, but be careful..

[vbguru613]

i know where the screws are but i softened the edges in the screws and i cant get the screws out

[TheGadgetGuy]

Ok, just to END this speculation...

There is NO camera hidden inside the SX66. I just opened one of ours.

You can see the slot where the camera would be, as well as the connector for the camera, but that's it folks!

[vbguru613]

Thanks Gadget Guy is there a possibility we can get pictures of the inside?

[TheGadgetGuy]

Sorry, just closed it back up.

My guess would be that if you could acquire the actual 'camera', you could turn the SX66 into a fully functional PDA2K.

I wonder if the XDA II's camera is the same. Hmm......

[HDuser]

Bummer!!

What about the iraqi weapons of mass destruction?

[TheLastOne]

There are there, but just hidden so well in plain sight that the US (or TheGadgetGuy) will never find them.

It's good we finally put this to rest. It would've been incredibly puzzling if Seimens had opted to leave the camera in and cover it up.

[Calvin337]

Not just puzzling, but really unreasonable for a vendor to put in hardware and hide it so that they cannot charge us for it.
:wink:

[sherko]

Ok, just to END this speculation...

There is NO camera hidden inside the SX66. I just opened one of ours.

You can see the slot where the camera would be, as well as the connector for the camera, but that's it folks!

Thank you man. Now we are sure...

[sherko]

Bummer!!

What about the iraqi weapons of mass destruction?

Thank you MDAIIIUser for your cooperation.

As far as the weapons, I could not take pictures, since my POcketPC did not have camera :)

[TheGadgetGuy]

Sorry guys for the bad news.

Pretty soon, I will be trying to put an XDA II camera into one of my SX66 units. Let's all cross our fingers and hope it works...

Next time I open the SX66, I'll search around some more for the Weapons of Mass Distructions. Apparently, President Bush still thinks they're hidden inside somewhere! :lol:

[HDuser]

Will this thread ever die?

Still seems we all have to much time on our hands and no other life than xda. (or is it just me?)

I still have a few issues.

1) Is it possible to get a non camera BA to load the software from a Rom from a BA with cammera (as in can we find the files in the 1.40 rom on a non camera device)

2) So HTC saved money on not shipping the camera, what about wifi, is this a chip, a module, would they have left a blank spot, is it close to the WOMD?

You see I for One am not sure how the rom install works. T-Mobile ships a german rom for both camera and non camera versions. Is it checked by the upgradeutil? Can one by pass it with the MA version.

I think we can still thrash this topic if only to get a better understanding of the BA (and find WOMD).

[seattleboi1982]

im really curious as well, if you could put a camera in tHS SX66, AND CHANGE it into a PDA2k, id rather buy a PDA 2k, but damn they still expensive

[LuciousNipps]

Hey all,

In buying up several PP6600 and SX66 phones on eBay and selling the repaired SX66's for a great profit, I believe that the cameras I have saved from the PPC6600's may work as there is provisioning in terms of board mount and connector on the SX66.

If I could ask a question, remembering I am a newbie here, I saw talk about a ROM for the SX66 that provides camera programming for the unit, one dude said that he installed it and the unit locked up, maybe because a camera unit did not exist. I would like to further the thread by installing a camera and PPC6600 back cover in one of the SX66 units I have here along with this ROM, and see if this doesn't work out.

Can someone provide the link for the files I will need, along with some instructions, on how I do the test load on the modified SX66?

It's true that having the cheezy camera is not really that big of a deal, for those who use and like their SX66 units just as they are, but many would love to have the ability to have it available in a pinch. If I get this working it would be a big seller and a real neat thing to do for _hits and giggles!

Lucious

[thejaredhuang]

my bad, see 3rd post.

[thejaredhuang]

dang triple posted

[thejaredhuang]

I just bought a XV6600 and did the camera swap last night into my SX66 with Logout's 3.5 v5.4.10 which already has the camera app.

The SX is back to the original state because of two issues:
1. The back plate from the XV has the SIM card hole in the wrong spot and therefore the unit will not close properly.
2. The camera from mine was pretty bad, it was very red and I couldn't correct it.

When I first fired up the SX66 the camera failed to initialize so I had to use
this file (http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25499&d=1134518885)
from this thread (post #2) (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=250857)

Anyone have any solutions to the red camera and backplate? I'll probably have to use a blackplate from another BA device.

[LuciousNipps]

First the sad truth, unless it is already a sad reality, there is no camera hardware preinstalled in the SX66. With that having been said, let's move on to the good news.

As I stated prior I had hardware from PPC6600 (cameras more specifically) and an SX66 or two. I had great success in getting all of the stuff together and ending up with an SX66 with full camera operations.

There were some implementation issues that should be noted, so I will list them in the order they appeared in this project.

1. The SX66 has a cover over the area where the camera unit needs to go. This needs to be removed and eventually replaced with the cover from the PPC6600.

2. There is a bracket under the SX66 cover, mentioned above, that also must be removed. This will allow the camera unit to be installed in its place.

3. Once the camera unit was in place the ugly reality of what thejaredhuang mentioned in his post surfaced. Although the PPC6600 back cover makes the lineup of the camera unit a perfect match, the cutout for the SIM in the wrong place. In addition, the standoff (small rim of plastic that surrounds the underside of the existing SIM cutout) in the PPC6600 back cover prevents the unit from closing neatly. I solved this by cutting the entire existing SIM cutout away and covering the hole with a plastic patch, I then dremmeled out a hole for the SIM.

While all this sounds a bit much, I am very happy with the results. The camera unit itself is not of an exceptional quality, however I can now use the unit for both snapshots and movies. A very markettable endeavor.

I have some more units here and will trick out the remainder. With the previous experience I am sure that the work on the back cover, which is the most obvious alteration to the unit, will become more palatable for the consumers, and in any event the battery covers up any of that work anyhow.

So there you have it, an SX66 hardware MOD that works and has some use. And in closing I would like to thank all of the developers here as without their efforts and the excellent tools and programming they provide through this venue, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks, and Keep up all the great work!

Lucious

[xplode]

you can create wiki with some pictures in it

[thejaredhuang]

I'll be glad to make a guide for that once I do my camera mod. I already have all the necessary components and I've installed it for a few minutes but the camera output is all garbled and red on my SX66. I also kind of broke the stylus holder on the backplate of my PPC6600 :mad:

The backplate has one more flaw, on the bottom side where they battery contacts are. The actual battery has 3 contacts, I'm guessing for ground, so that it will work with any device. the SX66's are parallel to the bottom while the PPC has one that sits higher than the other. However my SX66 worked fine with the PPC back so I guess its just a minor issue.

Has anyone else gotten a really red image with the camera or have a fix for it?

[LuciousNipps]

I just sold my first MOD for $299.99!

On to the next 3! Each SX66 in good to excellent condition cost me around $130, And the parts PPC6600's cost about $90 each. Do the math.

Of course the nicest one is my own!

[thejaredhuang]

I just sold my first MOD for $299.99!

On to the next 3! Each SX66 in good to excellent condition cost me around $130, And the parts PPC6600's cost about $90 each. Do the math.

Of course the nicest one is my own!

:confused:

What does this have to do with putting camera's in SX66s?

[LuciousNipps]

I was speaking of a successful camera installation MOD on an SX66. Isn;t that what this is about?

[thejaredhuang]

I was speaking of a successful camera installation MOD on an SX66. Isn;t that what this is about?

Oh I got it, how did you deal with the PPC's back plate? And did you get any really red cameras?

[LuciousNipps]

Well, truly the toughest part, first the SIM holder was cut out from the SX66. I used a very sharp Xacto knife to cut around all 3 sides, leaving the 2 thin walled sides in place to act as a standoff for the PPC cover.

Now the icky part, the SIM holder gets Krazy glued (until I develop a better way to glue it to the cover) right to the board. I thought this okay as there are no circuits there, just a flat piece of the board. Be careful here, there's no turning back, and placement is crucial as the glue sets instantly.

With that done I carefully cut a rectangle, sized and placed exactly like the opening on the SX66 back plate from the PPC backplate. Be sure to leave the uppermost edge of this cutout in tact. This upperedge has a plastic lip or standoff that will act as a stop for the SIM when inserted.

Lastly on the PPC cover there are several stand offs that preclude the cover from closing propery. These were dremeled flat on the second one, on the first I just cut a big square out and placed electrical tape over the metal board component that showed through the hole.

There you have it. A bit of work but worth it if you want the camera on your 66. As for the red camera...I haven't experienced that yet. Be sure that the ribbon cable is inserted properly though. Do you know if the camera worked fine when in the PPC?

[thejaredhuang]

Thanks Lucious,

There was no camera app on the PPC, I'll try it again. I have to swap motherboards to test the PPC as the one I bought had a broken screen, but it only cost me $25.