kkrull
15th June 2008, 02:14 AM
I think the tornado is a great phone. If not for its A2DP performance, I wouldn't imagine replacing it with anything. I like candybar format smartphones. Even the Experia X1 is bigger and heaver and maybe harder to charge on a cradle, not to mention that it will be twice as expensive. And the sliding panel UI on WM6...perfect on the tornado.
But if you have had one from when they were first released and you use it every day then it is pretty thrashed. Every corner of mine showed white plastic worn or scratched through the silver. And every lettering on the black part of the phone was partially worn.
Most of the places advertising housings for under $50 do not have any stock. And then my usb connector de-solders itself, so buying an expensive fascia for a phone that I can't flash while I have to charge its batteries on an external charger does not seem wise. I have to buy a new phone and a Qtek is the first tornado I find on eBay in the states.
So one evening I picked up some 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and plastic paint to see what it would have looked like in black and I think it would have looked good.
A few notes if anyone else tries this: You will sand off all the extruded buttons marks and icons removing all the silver but usability is fine. If you sand the black parts they will be flat black so ideally use flat paint on the silver\white parts if you want them to match. Use clear paint on top when you are done to protect it. Don't think you can remove the rubber antenna cover more than a couple of times without wrecking it. I couldn't get the mirror and camera assembly out so I just sanded it flush as it was already chipped. But if I were using this phone I would have either completely blackened the mirror or figured out a cover\protector for it. I am not sure what to do about the joystick once it is worn down to the white. That is one piece that really would have benefited from vinyl dye.
But if you have had one from when they were first released and you use it every day then it is pretty thrashed. Every corner of mine showed white plastic worn or scratched through the silver. And every lettering on the black part of the phone was partially worn.
Most of the places advertising housings for under $50 do not have any stock. And then my usb connector de-solders itself, so buying an expensive fascia for a phone that I can't flash while I have to charge its batteries on an external charger does not seem wise. I have to buy a new phone and a Qtek is the first tornado I find on eBay in the states.
So one evening I picked up some 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and plastic paint to see what it would have looked like in black and I think it would have looked good.
A few notes if anyone else tries this: You will sand off all the extruded buttons marks and icons removing all the silver but usability is fine. If you sand the black parts they will be flat black so ideally use flat paint on the silver\white parts if you want them to match. Use clear paint on top when you are done to protect it. Don't think you can remove the rubber antenna cover more than a couple of times without wrecking it. I couldn't get the mirror and camera assembly out so I just sanded it flush as it was already chipped. But if I were using this phone I would have either completely blackened the mirror or figured out a cover\protector for it. I am not sure what to do about the joystick once it is worn down to the white. That is one piece that really would have benefited from vinyl dye.