A few notes on the VE20, 'cause i own one since 12/2009:
- VE20 is CDMA, this means that it is NOT Linux-based, it's a pure BREW platform. Also, it features a new UI, called "Brewery" (official internal Moto name for it). It's built over some "custom" BREW 3.1.15 platform, and unfortunately it share NOTHING with the good ol' Synergy UI. The skins are on .BAR files, but unlike most BREW phones (.BAR is a standard resource container for this platform, can be edited with BREW Resource Editor), these can't be modified AT ALL, because Moto is using a bastardized form of .BAR files. And since the Droids arrived at the same time, noone cared about cracking the format - the dumbphone modding scene died that day
- There is litte modding that you can do on the VE20.
NO SKINS. No MMA edits (menu now lives on a separate BREW app). NO SCREENSAVERS (you can fake them with the new "random wallpaper" feature). No gain table edits (well, us CDMA users never had this feature, sadly). /nvm folder is heavily locked (plus some other parts of the BREW EFS - some of that protection can be circumvented via P2K). Seem edits are mostly useless due to the new UI. You can remove stock ringtones/pictures, change the external flip LCD background pic (seem 2771/2772), change the startup/shutdown pics, enter the usual FTM menu... and thats all.
- VE20 uses a composite USB device mode: separate modem+diag ports. P2KCommander 6.0.0 will deal with it nicely. Don't forget, you're dealing with a P2K05 CDMA phone
- Firmwares are available in three flavors:
*
Standard Brewery: the most usual one, available from Alltel, Movilnet, Iusacell, US Cellular, and most of the remaining few carriers that stocked the VE20. Firmwares for ALT/MVV/IUM/USC are available, plus a generic (DST) monster flash.
*
Telus: Yes, Canada had the VE20. On Telus. WITH JAVA. Sadly, no firmware upgrade was ever released, and noone cared about this model over there, therefore no flashes were leaked, so no Java crossflashing for you or me
(A second canadian carrier, MTS -which roams on Bell-, had the VE20 - but for some odd reason, this one does NOT have Java, because MTS bent over the allmighty BREW ass)
* Sprint: Forget Brewery, Sprint had their very own UI/Java-based firmware, as usual. Obviously this one is a bloated mess, won't work outside Sprint, and should not be crossflashed over ANY non-Sprint VE20 out there.
-
WATCH OUT, CROSSFLASHERS! VE20 had at least 2-3 hardware versions:
* Early batches on Sprint, based on the MSM6550 chipset.
* The most common variety, available everywhere, based on the MSM6575 chipset.
* And a late build, known only as "317". This one was sold on USC/ALT, AFAIK.
If your phone comes from Sprint... better don't bother flashing it. The one and only DST firmware is for the regular VE20 edition. If you have a "317" version, don't even try to flash it with a non-317 FW, otherwise say hello to your new
MOTOBRICK(TM). And, i'm aware of the existence of a "Sprint-hardware" Iusacell VE20 revision - i don't know anything on this one, aside of the fact that it seems to require a DIFFERENT firmware that hasn't been leaked as of today, so leave it alone.
If you still rock your VE20... take care. It was one of the very last "true" Motos, before they sold their soul to that devilish Android bot
