Internetworking with the Ericsson I888

Last Update : $Date: 2000/10/03 20:17:28 $

This page contains instructions for internetworking with the Ericsson I888. The I888 is a dual-band (GSM900/GSM1900) phone with a built in modem which can be accessed via the infra-red port, or a serial cable (no PCMCIA adapter needed).

I have successfully used the I888 to initiate dial-up Internet connections while mobile, as well as to send/receive SMS and SMS-to-SMTP (e-mail) messages. This page includes details for getting IBM ThinkPad laptops and Palm Platform devices to use the I888. It also includes links to Palm Platform applications which use the I888.

You can address questions/comments to akonstan@cs.columbia.edu.

1. Accessing the I888

1.1 Windows 2000

Warning: The IRDA protocol stack in Windows 2000 is incompatible with the I888. The only known solution is to have your phone shipped to Ericsson so that its firmware may be upgraded. Please consider this before upgrading from Win NT.

Reference: Ericsson Mobile Internet I888 Software Page.

1.2 Windows NT 4.0 (SP 5)

I have configured my IBM Thinkpad 770 to work with the I888. Briefly :

Install the Thinkpad IR drivers for WinNT4.0 (available from http://www.pc.ibm.com)
Enable the IR device from your Thinkpad configuration manager, and reboot.
Download the WinNT4.0 modem .inf file for the I888 from http://mobileinternet.ericsson.se, and follow the installation instructions (including the setup of RAS), and as always with NT, reboot !
Your modem should now be available for any application !

1.3 Linux

I have configured my IBM Thinkpad 770 running Redhat Linux 6.2 to access the I888 through infrared. Note that the latest kernel (currently 2.2.17) is recommended as IRDA support in previous versions has been known to cause kernel-panics.

Here is a sample session I use to set up IRCOMM communication betweeen my laptop running Linux and the I888 (my IR port is /dev/ttyS0).

irattach /dev/ttyS0
irmanager -d1
modprobe ircomm
ln -s /dev/ircomm0 /dev/modem

1.4 Palm Platform (OS >= 3.3)

Starting with Palm OS version 3.3, the Palm platform now supports IrCOMM, the infra-red standard supported by the I-888. Most Palm devices will need to be updated with the free Palm OS 3.3 upgrade available from www.palm.com. After you have successfully installed the upgrade (make sure you follow their instructions carefully !!!) perform the following operations :

Start the Prefs application,
Select the new Connection panel from the top right corner pop-up menu,
Click on the New button,
Enter a name, e.g. Ericsson I888,
Select the IrCOMM to Modem connection method,
Keep the default dialing selection (TouchTone),
Keep the default volume selection (Low),
You do not need to edit anything in the Details panel.

You are now ready to connect to the Internet, after setting the ISP parameters in th Network preferences panel.

If you do not want to upgrade your device to Palm OS 3.3, you may install the old IrCOMM libraries as follows :

1.4.1 Palm III (without OS3.3 upgrade)

Do not use these instructions if you have upgraded to Palm OS3.3

In order to get the Palm III to talk to the I888 you have to download the Enhanced Infrared Update from www.palm.com. Follow their instructions, and you're set.

1.4.2 Palm V (without OS3.3 upgrade)

Do not use these instructions if you have upgraded to Palm OS3.3

I found an article in comp.sys.palmtops.pilot by Urs Achermann that outlined the steps you need to take to get the update to work on the Palm V (here is a copy of that original message).

Verify that your wireless service provider has enabled data/fax services on your line,
Enable the IR receiver in the I888 (you must repeat this procedure every time you restart your phone).
Download the Enhanced Infrared Update and install everything except the AMX.prc and IrLib.prc files.
In my case, I found Urs's posting after I had installed all the IR update files (including AMX.prc), and had to find a way to remove it. Unfortunately, the built-in delete program did not list it (as it is too low level). I ended up using the Beambox to remove it (you'll find two versions : AMX 1.0 and AMX 2.0 -- you should remove the version 1.0).
Set your modem properties to :

Modem Custom
Speed 19.200 bps
Speaker High
Flow Ctl Automatic
Country Other
String AT&F

Note that the country setting is important. I did not bother to experiment, but I presume it may have to do with dial-tone detection and may be fixed by using AT&X3F as the init string.
Configure your network settings (with the help of your local system administrator),
Set the Prefs->Serial/IR tab to Infrared (note that to synchronize with the cradle, you'll have to switch back to the Cradle setting each time).

Modem	Custom
Speed	19.200 bps
Speaker	High
Flow Ctl	Automatic
Country	Other
String	AT&F

2. Applications

2.1 Mail

There are numerous mail clients available. The following have been reported to work (alphabetical order) :

Handmail (reported by Darren Birkin, Roger Sharp)
Multimail (reported by Sam Nelson
Papi-mail (reported by Urs Achermann)

2.2 Telnet

To test the connection between your Palm and the I888, you can use the Telnet application by Márcio Migueletto de Andrade.

Configure Palm Telnet by selecting Options->Terminal and setting the mode to Serial.

Turn the terminal emulation on by clicking on the bottom left corner of the screen. You should now be able to enter AT commands to your I888 modem !

2.3 SMS/Phone Book Management

I know of two applications :

GSMtool (formerly DI27) by Martin Renschler (30-day demo from http://www.gsmtool.de/) [ Tested on Palm V (with OS 3.3) + I888 combination ]
HandPHONE [ works with OS 3.1, problems with OS3.3 reported by Roger Sharp ]

2.4 Misc

FunnyPhone: Palm application for adding/removing ringtones and images.

3. Other Pages

[ Alexander Konstantinou's home page ]