1 is A | 2 is B

I like my RAZR, but there is only so much that can be accomplished using the phone’s interface itself. I really wanted to take a good look inside and see what makes it tick. While I’m no further along in understanding how it works, I have gained access to it through my Linux desktop. Here’s how:Motorola sells an expensive connector cable for hooking your phone up to your computer. I’m sure it comes with software and the like but I wanted to see if I could do this without breaking the bank. All the cable is, is a usb to mini-usb converter; nothing special, and relatively inexpensive at your favorite electronics store if you don’t already have one lying about.

The way to get the computer to talk with the phone is with the package moto4lin which is available in the Debian and Ubuntu repositories. It does make you jump through a few hoops to gain connectivity, which is outlined nicely here. Basically what you want to do is connect the phone and run the program. Then externally run this command: sudo echo AT+MODE=8 > /dev/ttyACM0. Then in preferences, update the device list and add the phone as a p2k device. Exit the program and unplug the phone. This time connect the phone, run the command, then start moto4lin. Your phone should connect and you can click update list to get a listing of the contents on your phone.

Areas of interest are probably the Audio directory, where you can add mp3’s to be used as ring tones (or for playback if you have usb headphones), and the picture directory where you can access all the pictures you have taken with your phone and add some others from your computer. Other things I’d like to find out is where the contacts are stored and whether they can be backed up or sync’d. Let me know how you own investigations turn out.

There is lots of talk about the next generation of Motorola phones running Linux natively, so I am sure there will be many more interesting ways to interact with the phones in the future.

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