Down with Crippled Cell Phones!

So I got a little bored tonight and decided to plug my phone into my PC and see if I can remove the Telus default menus and icons. See, the default colors, images, tones, and backgrounds are all set by Telus and are different than the menu items that would ship with a stock non-branded Nokia phone of the same model.

The way to remove the Telus images and icons is well documented online and seems like it should be very easy to do. In fact, with the right software and a data cable, it should be a simple matter of removing one file from the phone.

However, the instructions also make a note of backing up a series of files to your PC first, in case something goes wrong. This is always good advice. But the software required to copy these files requires you to purchase a full license for $40. Otherwise, you can only copy a few files before the demo license restricts you from going any further. I haven't been able to locate a crack to work around this.

I'm tempted to just delete the file and see what happens. At the very least, I can back up that same one file. In theory, if I screw things up all I need to do is replace that file again. I shouldn't even need to worry about that other folder I'm told to back up.

But you never know with these sorts of things. Removing that file could have other unforseen consequences. And if I do this and it fails miserably, I'm not just out a file and some icons on my phone. I'll essentially be screwing up my phone and necessitating the purchase of a new one. That's another $400 I'll be looking at spending, instead of a measly $40 to back up the files. On the other hand, if I try it and it works it won't cost a thing and I'll be happy.

I think I'm going to sleep on it, before I make such a rash decision. Who knew that deleting a little tiny data file could be such a big decision.