[Motorola Droid RAZR] Ohmster:
Wow, that was a totally awesome replay, [MENTION=3315635]neoramasay[/MENTION]! I am going to kick up your Thanks Meter for that my friend. ;)

First the no SIM phone. CM11 is stable w/out a SIM card. It is just any app that requires cellular network or data will fail. But the phone and the OS are stable. So as long as Angry Birds does not require network to run, yeah, you will have a good gaming device for the tot, if you are not using the phone otherwise. One thing is certain, you will not be getting any ads in games and apps because there is no network to provide them. I forgot to test if you can do *certain things* on WiFi. That would give you network access but without your device ID being recognized, I am not sure how that would play out. Can you use WiFi on the phone and use it like I do my Samsung Tablet? That is an interesting question and point, and I do not mind researching it for you now. I think that it would be wise to enter /Settings/Mobile Networks/ and shut it off, just to keep the phone from searching for a network. I am going to pull my SIM card and see if I get anywhere on WiFi, sound good to you? Let's do this!

What can we use a Razr phone w/out service or SIM card for?

Okay, phone up, Mobile Network disabled, WiFi on. What can we do? This is fun! Wow, browser works quite well, even using Google Voice Typing! OMG, this is *very* good! I can tap the voice search bar, red dot up, speak question: "What time is it in Cape Town?" Artificial speech replies: "The time in Cape Town Africa is 5:17 AM" and results are displayed on screen. Okay, let's push this a little further, GPS test now on WiFi. First a satellite search. Wow, 6 satellites locked on, error 26' and dropping. Maps next, definitely had my location down pat. Voice search for pizza restaurant, oh this works very well! Let's try Big Louie's. Call, Save, Website, Directions, Map, and Navigation! Navigation works fine, you can use this phone now as a "Tom Tom" navigator with artificial speech! I'm impressed. :D

Neoramasay, I am convinced that the Razr phone, minus the SIM card, Mobil Networks disabled, works exactly like a WiFi tablet device. Albeit a very small tablet, but a very fine, small tablet! After disabling the Mobile Networks, it is not searching for service. The phone can successfully be re-purposed as such a device if you care to do so. This will increase the value of the now outdated cell phone that you no longer wish to put into service as a very useful and powerful personal data assistant. This test was outstanding! I am going to restore my phone now, but I think I answered your question in great detail and really surprised myself with the results. I will NOT be throwing this phone away or selling it dirt cheap when I get a new phone. A navigator for the car costs close to $100, this phone, sans SIM card can easily perform this task along with any other task a tablet can do. If you cared to do so, you could user your HDMI cable with WiFi to have a big screen tablet to use on the internet or watch HD videos. I did uninstall Angry Birds but since you mentioned it, I will do a quick install of the app to check. Wow, Angry Birds is awesome, no ads at all, but, I *am*I using AdAway. ;)

Okay, that is it, restoring phone. So you are going to do Windows 10 and and make an ISO to create an install disc. Great idea man! The way MS presents it with the free update icon, I did not think about saving it to an ISO and making an install disc, but yeah, I like that idea *much* better as it gives you the freedom as to when and how you install it.

"Where there is a will, there is as way". Ahhh, yes, that is true. This entire thread depends on that will equals way. I maybe paranoid so I wanted some other opinions and experiences to check. I want to try Windows 10 but not be stuck with it forever since install. A dual boot option would be nice. If you can get an ISO, then there should be a way to make a dual boot. I will look into that option.

One thing I would strongly suggest to you, myself, and anyone else. Get an external USB drive and use an imaging program such as Acronis True Image or Ghost to completely backup your C drive prior to installing Windows 10. That will give you a way out or chance to revert if you need or want to. The install/upgrade will no way in hell give you a way out or to go back, but an image backup certainly will. Even if you just wanted to save something prior to updating and did not realize it till it was too late, you get the option to revert. I love Safe Strap backups so much for this reason, and I can have the same assurance with an image backup. If you need image software, I can help, PM me if you need it.

Well, this test was a lot of fun and completely changed the way I will deal with the unused cellphone when I get a new phone. I didn't realize the full potential of this phone as a standalone device without cell service, but it blew away my wildest expectations on the WiFi test. Even just to use it as a Navigator and of course with Bluetooth to car, makes it worth keeping. This phone will NOT be getting discarded when I am done with it.

If you have the time, can you kick my Thanks meter? I need the points. This was a lot of fun. I am glad I could help and you taught me a few things too. Great Q&A my friend! :laugh:

EDIT:

I was so impressed with the performance of the Razr on WiFi that I recommended it as a Navigator. True, it will be a navigator just as I use 10" tablet for navigation, BUT, I still need to turn on the HotSpot of my phone to get the internet access I would need to use it as a navigation device. I am trying to be accurate here and that is a valid point to mention before selling this as a nav device. :o

"MS would be foolish to completely abandon the way PCs have been run for years now, or they'll loose [sic] business markets where normal PC using isn't going to change for a lot longer than home use."

....lose business? To who? They do not *have* any competition for the desktop PC, aside from Apple and an Apple is not considered a PC, it is another closed source OS cloned from Linux. It would tick *us* off, but MS does not care. By the time they get all of their "fixes" in place, an entire new generation will be growing up with Windows 10 and beyond and they simply will have no choice or OS for comparison to complain about. MS is now building for the future, not for the present day. My concern is that MS is not going to wait until I am dead to implement these changes, it will occur soon. Once the new system is launched, all kids and new PC users will have the "app computer" and nothing to compare it with. We die out and our complaints fade away. It is simply too lucrative of an option for MS to ignore anymore. MS fell asleep for the internet revolution and once they figured it out, they wanted to make up for lost time and immediately wiped Netscape, a multimillion dollar startup company off the map!

Not arguing my friend, just a little bit afraid. But like you said, there are always ways around and I have been pretty good at that, just have to keep up my diligence on that matter. Great conversation, [MENTION=3315635]neoramasay[/MENTION]! :highfive:

Good news for me that comes from an alternative media center listing is:

If you want to retain all the functionality of Windows Media Center, Microsoft says your best option is not to upgrade to Windows 10. The company will continue to offer support for Windows 7 through January, 2020 and for Windows 8 Pro through January, 2023.

...I hope that I can still use the green button remote! :p