It's just your side talkin' that gets in your eyes, it's just your side talkin' it's no big surprise

A lot of people have talked about what we're about to show you, but before we do, let's just say something that's common sense.

This could be dangerous. If you attempt this and you break your N-Gage, nobody will repair it, and it's not our fault. All About Symbian (and All About N-Gage) take no responsibility for anything you may decide to do just because you've read this article. You do so at your own risk.

Got that? Sure? Good. Let's proceed, as we show you how to get Rear Talkin' on your original N-Gage!

Why?

Because although there are some people out there who like to Side Talk, most people think it is really silly, really stupid, and something that Nokia should have sorted out straight away.

How Do You Do it?

Ah, the meat of the article. Right then, grab your N-Gage and pop the back off it. You need to find the telephone speaker housing, which is located on the opposite side of the N-Gage to the MMC Card space. It's a circular indentation just below the main speaker holes.

Take a 3mm drill bit and very carefully work through this plastic until you break through the plastic. The speaker is directly under here, so if you drill too hard or too deep, you're going to break the speaker and it's good bye to any sort of talking, side or otherwise.

Now take your back casing, and drill the same 3mm hole so it is directly above the 3mm hole in the black back plastic. Some careful measuring should make sure this is in the right place. If you miss, it's okay to make this hole slightly bigger, but not too much. If in doubt the old rule of "measure twice, cut once" should be applied.

Using Rear Talkin'

So what's it like in use? Exactly as advertised. As long as you didn't damage the speaker when drilling, the sound should be a similar level to side talkin. If you want, you can cover the side talking speaker with your thumb when talking. You could cover it up completely, but you might want to keep the option of side talking available – possibly as a party piece.

It makes you wonder why this wasn't there in the first place...

Dangers?

The obvious danger is breaking the speaker when you do the work. But if anything else happens to your N-Gage, the chances of it getting repaired under warranty are pretty much zero, and it wouldn't surprise this writer if a Service Centre refused to do an out of warranty repair as well. There's also the possibly major matter of electro-magnetic emissions. You are breaking the case of the N-Gage, and also holding it against your head in different manner to that intended by Nokia, and as such the SAR rating of the phone will probably rise due to the different positioning of the phone's antenna in relation to your face.

Rear Talkin' Is Here!

And there we have it – post your images of any successful conversions in the forum. Just remember, you do this mod at your own risk. Have fun Rear Talkin!