| Author |
"Modified" Housing/Casing of W810i |
aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
Hey, guys! Just wanted to start a thread on case or housing modifications to suit some particular needs or wants by anyone related to their phones...
Last week, i tried posting a similar topic after seeing someone with a W810i but with a W800i back! I was really curious since I was looking for a way to protect the absent lens cover on my W810i (which is present in W800i, K750i, D750 and W700i). It really is worthy investment to protect the excellent lens of this otherwise equally magnificent Walkman unit! And so off I went looking for possibilities...
I looked for a similar spare W800i housing since the color is neared my Fusion White W800i and I was lucky enough to find not only the W800i but also the W700i housing (about $10, $8 respectively in US currency)! I then consulted a technician-friend of mine on how I could dismantle my own unit in order to fit the W800i back housing...
Initially, the fit came out fine as expected since prior research on my part told me that the two fones share the same size or dimensions. And so I thought... The lens cover would not do its job of covering the lens of my fone. It would only extend itself halfway and all I've got was a "sleepy" half-shut eye (cover) from it  I again removed it and tried to found out the problem. Observing the one thing that differs from the two models' chassis revealed that one of the "walls" that protects the lens is absent in W800i while the w810i was fully protected (read: four walled instead of only three as in the case of the W800i). The absent wall in W800i serves as the waypoint of the sliding mechanism of the lens cover! I was then taken aback. Would I sacrifice removing the said wall in my W810i? Going back to my initial purpose, I did the unthinkable hahahah --- got my hobby knife and delicately operated my W810i removing the other wall that prevents the lens cover's sliding mechanism to get in and slide to and fro...
I now have a fone unit that is a W810i, looks like one in front but looks like a combo W700i/W800i at the back. I am satisfied and I got what I wanted! Hope this information would help others like me who would want the same for their W810i... Protecting the camera lens is much more important than the LCD in front. Of course, equal protection should be considered for the LCD.
Have a pleasant day ahead, guys! Below are some of live pictures of my fone...
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SE4NICK
Joined: Dec 27, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Australia
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That is REALLY COOL !!!
I am sooo jelousyish wish i had a W810 so i could do this. Really good work. Look out noble prize peoples.....
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aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
@ SE4NICK: Thanks for the generous comments, mate!
Undertakings such as this is a product of need, not just curiousity. I really wanted to protect my precious fone's camera lens. I was really wondering why SE did not retain the lens cover from the W800i!
Just be very careful in doing such procedures since damage may result with the fone. I'll try to post soon a technical step-by-step coupled with photos of this little project of mine  I'll try to draft the text and plan my photos first.
Have a pleasant day ahead... |
sunils120
Joined: Nov 08, 2006
Posts: 480
From: India
PM |
that looks kinda professional work matey. Do you have a temporary,simple but effective solution other than this as its not possible for everyone of us.
Have come across many such forums in se-nse.
i  my k700i and  810i |
aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
@sunils120: Thanks for the comments...
The project was not actually "professional" as you have described. Perhaps my skills in scale car modeling have helped. Also, I guess it was my need to protect my precious camera lens that prodded me to be very careful with this that I planned everything first before I proceeded in executing my plans. Anyone can do this provided they have the needed parts, etc.
I am posting the step-by-step guidelines of this pet project of mine in a little while. I hope it would give you a pretty clear idea on how I went with it... |
aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
@deluded, SE4NICK, sunils120: here it is...
A step-by-step guide on “modding” (grafting a W800 back housing) the W810’s back housing with the aim of protecting its exposed camera lens (read: no lens cover! Why SE?): Precautions are hereby advised for the less-inclined to “crafts” and similar projects
1. One should have the standard SE W810… of course.
2. Secure a suitable (meaning: same size dimensions which are actually limited only to the K750, W800, W700 and D750 models) spare housing. I recommend that one should settle with the W800 since its off-white color is near the Fusion White of the W810. It’s very rare that one would find an original (unless it’s also coming from an original unit), so one could settle for a Class A type imitation which are actually good copies in terms of build quality and dimensions (I didn’t have any problem with my own Class A type.)… Many thanks to my Muslim brothers here in the city who seem to specialize on trading cellular phone accessories. Cheers to them!
3. Dismantle your W810’s back by first unscrewing the two visible chrome-colored screws that hold the upper back housing to the chassis of the fone. Then carefully and slowly lift the back housing with a SLOW left and right upward motion to unlatch it from the chassis (there are at least six latching attachments that joins this part to the chassis, two each in both the upper, left and right sides of both the chassis/housing). Warning: do this slowly or you might end up with some latches damaged.
4. Repeat step 3 with the spare housing. One is only after the back part of the spare. You can keep the other parts including the chassis or you can give this to whomever you feel like giving them and who needs such
5. Your own unit’s chassis back part is now exposed and you can very well see its innards. Look carefully on the camera lens position, on where it is lodged. You would notice that it is securely protected by four wall-like enclosure to keep it in place. Now, look also at the spare unit’s chassis and you would also notice that one of these four “walls” is missing in the enclosure. This missing wall is actually the “gateway” of the sliding lens cover’s mechanism to pass back and forth when you open and close the said lens cover. You can try doing the sliding action with the spare unit’s back housing to confirm what I mean by this.
6. The W810’s has all four walls present since it does not have the said camera lens cover (thus, also no slider mechanism!). And since you would want to change your W810’s back housing with another that has a camera lens cover part for obvious reasons, you would have to remove this “other wall” in your w810 in order for the sliding mechanism/slider to attain its sliding action.
7. The “operation” of removing the other wall is actually easy although “extra care and attention” must be employed since this wall is actually right beside the precious lens! You can try what I did: first, I made a calculated downward cut (until its end or bottom part) on the lower right corner of the four walls (assuming that you are facing the lying chassis’s back). Next, I made another similar downward cut at the halfway point of “this wall” (I did not intend to cut the whole wall since only half – the right side -- needs to be removed for the slider to pass through, based on my calculations). After these two cuts, I used a small precision long-nosed plier (mine was a Stanley 4 ½” one) to slowly bend this cut part toward the lower end of the chassis in order for me to have ample room to totally remove it. Once slightly bent, you would already have an easy time using your common cutting tool or craft cutter to cut the entire thing off the chassis. DO this cutting slowly and carefully, AND not in one single action (remember: Patience is a Virtue!). Be aware that you might hit or nudge the camera lens while doing this cutting! Be sure that the cut is indeed clean down to the bottom so that the slider would have a smooth sliding gateway to attain its purpose.
8. Get ready to attach the spare back housing. Attach first the upper end to the corresponding part in the chassis and carefully let it lodge on the latches in there. There should be slight clicking sounds if this is successfully done. Go on the left and right sides and do the same. Again, there should be the routine clicks if such were done ok. Please TAKE NOTE that one of the latches of the back housing must be “neatly” removed since it does not have the corresponding slot in the W810 chassis (please refer to the photos). This is to ensure a perfect fit. You are now almost done…
9. Try your new camera lens cover by testing it if the sliding mechanism or the slider works perfectly. If it does (mine was OK the first time!), then you can proceed with re-screwing (back) the two chrome screws that would secure your new back housing to the chassis. Before screwing, be sure that the back housing is properly placed and aligned TO the chassis.
10. Put back on the battery and its cover (the cover of your new back, ok? ) and voila… a modded Sony Ericsson Walkman 810 lays now in your hand!
11. Incidentally, I interchanged the W800’s orange and W700’s silver gray ring around the lens cover (as you can see in the photos) in order for me to have a coordinated color scheme. For one, it would be awkward to combine the original W800 orange ring with the silver gray chassis of the W810! You could actually experiment on the color combination since the said ring employs a simple “snap-on” mechanism for attachment.
Now, tell me guys, should we still call this a W810? What are we to do now with the original back? lol... Below are some photos for handy reference. Please refer to a similar post/thread within the forum under General Discussions for the other previous photos.
DISCLAIMER:
This project is not advisable for everyone especially for those whose fone is under terms or warranty. The risk is yours. Although I hope this endeavor of mine would serve as a guide for those who would want the same for their W810… I wanted to protect my camera lens since I wanted it to give me consistent photographic results especially macros (however low its megapixel rating maybe as compared to newer SE’s or Cybershots). I love its Walkman quality and it just so happened that its AF camera is also a plus feature to boot! It could even compete with those higher-rated Cybershots heheheh)… Long live W810!
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(… I would want to have a K850 since I’ve read from a lot of posts and “heard” live comments about its music capabilities despite its being not a Walkman. People say its media player is equally competitive with the Walkmans that even its Bass quality is comparable with the right headphones… or I could settle for another Walkman: the W960 – yeah, baby!.. the price of these two units though is still too much for my financial capability. I’m “dreaming” to have either one of these two as my next SE unit! )
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Danny_BFC
Joined: Jun 18, 2006
Posts: 499
From: Barnsley, Phone,
PM |
So is that a w800 or a w810 
Im not fussed about phones/gadgets no more. If im online im in the Non-Mobile discussion  |
deluded
Joined: Sep 14, 2005
Posts: > 500
PM |
@aldrinus, great job there! I appreciate the very detailed explanation and pictures! I've bookmarked this thread for future reference. Thanks!
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. |
sunils120
Joined: Nov 08, 2006
Posts: 480
From: India
PM |
thanks for the wonderful explanation with pics!
i my k700i and 810i |
FlawedLegacy
Joined: Nov 05, 2007
Posts: 37
From: St. Louis, MO USA
PM |
awesome work! I am putting a k750 back case onto my w810 and cannot wait, but I am looking to replace the keypad with another keypad to get rid of the orange... I have heard the k750 keypad works, but others say it doesn't... any exerience with the keypad? |
aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
@flawedL:
go to this link:
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=158651#post2161096
cheers!
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mobilemodman
Joined: Jan 01, 2007
Posts: 296
PM |
my little mod |
aldrinus
Joined: Jan 16, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
@mobilemodman:
yours is also simply awesome, mate!
is the sliding mechanism working as active? or the camera is also activated via the usual manner: through the menu? me thinks the only way this active slider may work is through software which i think is impossible considering the differences between K750/W800 and W810's keys! because of this, fw up/downgrade will also be a remote possibility. i don't know but these are just my theories...
it would have been perfect if this active sliding mechanism that would activate the camera function would work seamlessly in a W810!
cheers!
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razec
Joined: Aug 20, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Mars
PM |
On 2007-11-10 11:58:35, aldrinus wrote:
@mobilemodman:
yours is also simply awesome, mate!
is the sliding mechanism working as active? or the camera is also activated via the usual manner: through the menu? me thinks the only way this active slider may work is through software which i think is impossible considering the differences between K750/W800 and W810's keys! because of this, fw up/downgrade will also be a remote possibility. i don't know but these are just my theories...
it would have been perfect if this active sliding mechanism that would activate the camera function would work seamlessly in a W810!
cheers!
I really loved the K750 back and the silver lining between the front and back fascia since your W810 is a fusion white version, try looking for a black W810 fascia and a K750 back cover and use it. it'll be another award winning mod matey!
10 years at Esato |
glorfingal
Joined: Jun 10, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Bristol,UK
PM |
did that when I had my w810i. You can't have active slide on the w810 as it
doesn't have the little micro switch (or pcb contacts for that matter) to
activate the camera when the slide opens 
I prefered the w800 mod, but couldn't get a black version so ... K750i back
and battery cover, some modelling knives and a little time later - presto
protected lens
I reject your reality and substitute my own. |
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Posted: 2007-10-02 07:06
my k700i and 
810i
