[Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking] sorg:
Ok, after more than week of exploring official ROM updates and dumps i finally finished to cook my ROM :)

while i'm uploading files i want tell some info about present situation with P525 ROMs.

currently, i know 4 versions of ROMs with different languages and different release versions: Taiwan, HongKong, English and Russian.

Taiwan:

Last known version is 3.32. Update available on official ASUS download site. Traditional Chinese Language. ROM has 2 parts: OS itself and Extended ROM (3+ MB). Extended ROM contains only ome CAB file - KKBOX. It can be called as taiwanese version of iTunes. Actually, very crap software and service. There is 20 days of free service for P525 customers when you can download music (mostly Taiwanese) for freehttp://rapidshare.de/files/36662961/ASUS_P525_v3.29.customized.build.01.zip.html. Application uses his own file format for files not compatible with any other players and content protected, so even after pay to download music you will not able to playback it on any other computer than on which you downloaded it. Realy crap software only wasting 3MB+ of storage memory + 3MB in extended ROM, so, totaly 6MB of garbage included for Taiwanese customers!

Main ROM size is (not including extended ROM) 52MB.

HongKong:

Last known version is 3.32. Actually, ROM is absolutely the same as Taiwan's one. Only one difference - Extended ROM is empty. but anyway is present. So, 3MB of inner storage just wasting for hidden partition. Update available on ASUS site as well.

Thus HongKong users are lucky by 3MB

Main ROM size (not including extended ROM) is 52MB.

World Wide English:

Last known version is 3.20. No updates available on ASUS site. Relatively old version, although english version appeared on market only in beginning of september. I think ASUS should ship english devices with more recent version. Main ROM size is 43MB.

Russian

Last known version is 3.29. No updates available on ASUS site. This is most funny version of ROM. Actually it is NOT Russian! It's WWE version with only two russified apps - Voice Commander and Business Card Recognizer. Everything else are in pure english! Russian version also has Extended ROM wich size is around 6MB. In extended ROM you may find Leng Russificator. After hard reset you will be asked install this app. If you will decline - your device will remain english. If you will accept - it will be converted to russian by copying russian resources (of course occupying user storage space!). So, after installing it you will lost 6+ MB of your inner storage. I have no idea why ASUS ignored official Windows Mobile 5 Russian version and used some 3rd party user interface crappy software which requires 12MB (in total) of storage space. Well, anyway.. Russian customers have to say bay bay to 12MB of very important storage space. Thank you, ASUS!

Main ROM size (not including extended ROM) is 45MB. In system information this version stated as WWE4 (not RUS of course!). I don't know what is WWE4. Any comments about is is welcome!

Interesting thing: ASUS regularily publish updates for Traditional Chinese ROMs while no any updates for other languages published. Weird.. Looks like ASUS care only about chinese users.

I compared files in all ROMS and found no big difference. It's hard to compare Voice Commander and Business Card recognizer software because all ROMs have different language of these applications. These apps have integrated language resources in their libraries/executables unlike other apps containing resources in separate mui files. All other windows components the same exept one - bluetooth module. BlueTooth module is constantly changing, but as far as i remember there is no difference between v3.29 ("Russian" WWE) and chinese 3.32. There are changes in BT from 3.20 to 3.29 (and ASUS didn't release official update!) - i see that 3.29 supports BT HID profile while 3.20 has no any mention about this profile. I'm not fun of BT - so i didn't test it much. I need BT only for my GPS receiver ;)

So, now about ROM i cooked:

I've got v3.29 from Russian release and just replaced Voice Commader and Busines Card Recognizer from english release 3.20. Anyway, although i'm russian i don't like quality of recognition voice/text in russian version of these apps. Quality of recognition affects even to english recognition, even after selecting english language in settings. Anyway, i replaced them by versions from official english release.

now about what i added/changed:

INPUT/OUTPUT LOCALIZATIONS:

- Russian T9. Seems i found at last good russian module which has all required symbols.

- Russian handwritting recognition through standard Transcriber!

- Russian on-screen keyboard.

- Chinese T9: Pinyin+Stroke for Simplified Chinese, Zhuyin(BoPoMoFo)+Stroke for Traditional Chinese. Unfortunately i couldn't make Pinyin to work with TRaditional Chinese module. If someone know how to make it work - please leave comment. Fortunately, seems Simplified Chinese module also contains traditional chinese words but need scroll more. So, T9 CHT Pinyin is still needed. Does anyone know any WM5 smartphone with T9 CHT Pinyin?

- Traditional/Simplified SIPs: Pinyin (CHT/CHS), Handwritting, Word Search (you can draw strokes one by one till right word appear - very useful to study chinese!).

- Traditional/Simplified Chinese font and wince.nls. Now you can read any chinese documents! By the way, having wince.nls with chinese support still unclear for me. Without special wince.nls i also can read and type chinese. Anybody know what's the reason of having exactly chinese version? Chinese wince.nls is very large and by removing this file (actually replace by standard small wince.nls) i will free a big space for other usefull apps. So, advice here needed!

APPLICATIONS:

- Agile Messenger: the best (IMHO) client for ICQ, MSN, YAHOO, JABBER

- Standard dummy Calculator has been replaced by more featured one

- HaaliReader: The best Text reader for people who like to read books from PDA.

- WM5 NewMenu. Today Extension. Allow you lunch apps and do many actions very quickly! I preprogrammed it to left softkey by default. If you want to look into Call History (assigned to softkey before) then just press left

softkey and then joistick action (i placed Call History as first item of menu). So, only one more button press required with giving you much more flexibility!

You can customize it from Start->Settings->System->New Menu

- PM Recorder. Not as good as expected but it's small and has automatic conversation recordings. Worth to have! I recommend to unmark automatic upload in settings to make it whole standalone. May be i will integrate registry patch in future releases to make it default.

- Skype. No comments here :)

- SPB Backup. Since all users of P525 have free license of this great tool then why don't include it by default? ;)

- SpeedDial. Very handy addon for standard dialler. Just start type any part of name in today screen and you will see standard dialler with additional window with list of found contacts. You need to type word like in T9 mode. Then choose by jostick required contact and press action. Or just press action if you entered digits instead contact name. So, old functionality not lost as well!

- Manual CAB Installer. Allows you to install CAB to any directory.

- CloseApps + FreeRAM - two tiny apps to help you free RAM.

- Device List.

- Password Generator. Sometimes this tiny utility is handy.

- System Snap. Allows you make snapshot of system - registry + file list. Sometimes useful if you need install some app for short time then delete completely. Or just to study what is going on after install application.

- Task Manager. Very usefull utility. It allowns you manage not only tasks/processes/services but also has registry editor!

- Show Space (WhereIsMyRAM?) - utility to show how much space ocuppied by some directory. Handy, when you cleanning system.

- Magic Button. Many people found this application useful. It's some sort of task manager. It places icons af all running apps in title bar where you can easily switch them by simple clickin on icons. Personally, i don't think it's nice way to manage tasks, but anyway I included it. It's not activated by default. It also has good battery indicator (as thin white stripe on the top of screen).

- T9 user words database editors: \Windows\T9CUDBEditor.exe and \Windows\T9MyWord.exe. Also some settings can be tweaked by \Windows\T9Settings.exe. I didn't include shortcut to these apps since they will be used very seldom. Use File Manager to open these apps.

- SMClose: tiny utility to make close button realy close applications. I also wrote control panel applet to switch this functionality on/off. By default it turned off.

- AE Button Plus: helps you to remap almost every hardware buttons and much more!

TWEAKS:

- removed stylus using lessons and password setting after hard reset.

- battery indicator replaced by clock. Now, you can not only free today screen from clock but also have ability to call "Run.." dialog where you can enter normal command line! Just press long time action key and while not releasing it long-tap on clock. Remove stilus and release key. You will see Run dialog! Anyway, standard battery indicator is really crap - only 3 levels: 100%, 60% and empty. Who needs this bull****?

OFFICIAL ASUS UPDATES:

- Bluetooth patch from 2006/09/21