Notes on the Motorola i365 and i335

iDen handsets with Direct Talk back-to-back walkie talkie functionality

Acquired these from a well-known auction website, specifically for the back-to-back PTT features. Best distance I've managed to get so far is about 0.8 miles.

Notes:

• Once you've configured Direct Talk as the powerup app [Menu > Settings > Personalize > Power Up > App: Direct Talk] after booting, press End and it'll go to Direct Talk. That's the quickest way I've found so far
• Works fine with bluetooth in the car. Holds the 'call' open for quite a few seconds after the end of the transmission, so the stereo mutes the radio/music for a while. Caller number appears as code#channel eg 5#10
• Hold * and # [or both softkeys] while powering on to enter Flashstrap mode.
• Hold *, 0 and # while powering on to do a system test.
• I managed to get one of them to boot to airplane mode but I can't remember what button I had to hold while booting
• Works fine with an O2 SIM card. Absolutely useless without a SIM card.
• The sequence # * Menu < will access the test menu, which is less interesting than it sounds
• Battery meter is all over the place. It will show as being quite low right after Txing, then recover shortly afterwards. I think this is because the batteries are on their last legs on all the units I have
• PTT button doesn't have a positive release action, so you don't know when you've let go. The transmit indicator on the screen hangs around for a few seconds after

Notes on the i365:

• Antenna isn't very good at staying up once it's been pulled out. I'm yet to come across a no-signal situation [User Unavailable] where pulling up the antenna actually helps
• Changing the profile to Suveillance switches off the backlight and mutes all incoming transmissions. It allows you to transmit but the four beeps are disabled. It's not possible to edit this profile. It prompts you to insert a headset, which I don't have
• Can probably fashion a replacement battery with the use of a 3AAA battery box. There are some available new of smaller capacity [SNN5683A, 780mAh] but original NNTN4655B [1450mAh] is rare now. If you drop the 'B' from the part number, there are a few new clones available, but I'm not certain if they're compatible. The MTH800 battery looks similar
• Hardware-wise, a radio with phone functionality welded on. Solidly built. Software-wise, the phone is in the driving seat [hence having to reboot to get into DT mode]
• Speaker is good quality and loud

Notes on the i335:

• Identical software to i365. Only thing that's missing is the Surveillance profile
• Much lighter than i365. Half the size. Fine for giving to the kids.
• Hardware-wise, a phone with radio functionality added on. Audio is a bit tinny
• Clone batteries are available on eBay, advertised as being for V3x, Z8, etc. Also lots of used BK70 available, but why would you? Original battery part# is SNN5792A
• USB charging is inconsistent: It won't charge from my PC or from a cheap USB mains adaptor, but it will charge from the Mrs' laptop and from an HTC USB mains adaptor. The cheap USB adaptor and my PC will both charge an HTC handset.

If only...

Given that there can't be much commercial viability left in obsolete phones, it would be nice if Motorola would make third-party firmware a possibility. There is lots of potential in the hardware. For example, the first thing one could want in a new firmware release would be the ability to boot straight to DT mode. Other wishlist items, some of which may not be mere software changes:

• See the name of the other radio in channel/code mode
• Create arbitrary groups [it's mostly there, but it's reserved for Direct Connect, not Direct Talk]
• Change the volume of the beeps independantly of the other volume
• 'Roger' beep, to assist the talker
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