Just returned from my Holiday in Thailand. During my holiday somehow my e61 fell a few times hitting concrete. Though it survived the first few times, after the 4th time it was clearly too much and my dear companion basically stopped working. As I never dropped it before (not completely true as I have wasted one e61 by dropping it in a pool), and looking back, I saw this as prophetic for the things to come. Travelling back from Thailand I was destined to buy as new phone. As I did not yet come across any Nokia e90 (not in China, not in Hk, and for sure not in Thailand) the plan was to treat myself with a brand new e61i. Traveling through Frankfurt airport I went out to buy my Nokia e61i. Entering the airport’s electronic shop I started to smile - I walked straight into a Nokia e90. Why Germany has it and the “rest of the world” not yet is a mistery to me, but anyway I got it though I have to get used to the fact that apparently the Germans put the “Y” where the “Z” is supposed to be. Anyway, just exploring the device and I will keep you posted on any progress / discoveries. 

As mentioned in an earlier post I traded in Yahoo for Bluehost. And so far I do not regret it for a second. Their service is much more complete, up-to-date and most important, much faster. This combined with a 24×7 helpdesk makes hosting even for basic bloggers like me a pleasure. This is further compounded by the fact that the Bluehost client is thin which makes it easy to do most of the domain- and web hosting activities straight from your e61.

[..] A QWERTY smartphone is all about communication. The three killer apps/features are in my opinion voice, corporate email and SMS (to some extent IM). Make it easy, really easy and *intuitive* to access these features from the phone book [..]

Interesting post from Ed following a request from Tommi at s60.com on how to improve the phone book.

In principle I like this approach from Nokia leveraging the user experience which is clearly out there but only if you are willing to listen. Personally I have always felt that esp in the “old days” the menu structure of Nokia relative to the Motorolas and Sumsungs in this world actually was quite intuitive. With the integration towards smart phones they have somehow lost it although trying to catch up.

For me intuitive is defined over 2 axis:
1) defaults - can be more than one
2) simply assume in your OS that intuitive for different users means different things

Note.1) take for example the below menu: 1) default when green - start dialing, 2) default when ok - give menu options, 3) default when just starting keying in text on the qwerty keyboard - simply open the SMS appl and start an SMS

Note.2) simply allow users to change the defaults and views - “skin-it”

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[..] I wrote a small program, called LogExport, to Export the Call Register data to a CSV file. It only does that thing, no more and no less. You will only find one menu: Export, the analysis task can be done by a spreadsheet. I was actually planning to give analysis options, but after reading so many subscription plans from different providers [..]

This is actually a really simple but nice application. With this simple appl you can download all the phone’s log information to a *.csv file which then can be used for analysis purposes in Excel. All detail in terms of calls in/out and messages in/out is made available.

Really convenient if you have some trust issues with your lady as even when SMSs or calls are deleted from the phone they will still remain in the log. The best way to learn your loved one is unfaithful? Buy her a Nokia e61, install this appl (explain that this appl is needed to make the “internal antenna work”) and download the *.csv once or twice a month.

Good luck - and … do not blaim me …

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[…] The Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition is inspired by the dynamic and stylish Ferrari cars. Echoing this latest edition to the Ferrari GT stable, the phone is encased in red and black Ferrari leather with black lacquer stripes running at the sides. Carefully crafted with the same precision and attention to detail given […]

Nice looking phone - take a look over at ringnokia.com - guess you have to bring some money on the table recognizing the price of the current Vertus. Adding the Ferrari logo will not reduce the price.

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Nokia and up to three other potential bidders are interested in buying Palm Inc., which could be sold for some $2 billion as early as this week.

Why would Nokia even be interested in buying Palm? I can imagine many synergies with other companies than Nokia, but Nokia … kind of backward innovation

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So far the only Skype solutions I have tried require that simultaneously you have to run your laptop / PC to enable your Nokia e61 connecting to the Skype servers. Obviously not a very attractive service. Already some time ago I went over to fring.com and concluded (without trying) that their solution had the same problem. This time I actually tried it as with version v3.0 fring claims it provides (other) VoIP services being integrated in their solution.

Installing fring was a nice and unique experience. Really thought through. You have to provide your mobile pone number wherever you live and fring will provide you with a download link. Keep your fring internet site running as you are taken step by step through installation as the site keeps track of where you are in the installation process. This is the way I guess it should always be done.

Continue reading [fringe a skype solution and more for the Nokia e61 and Nokia e62 where you do not have to leave your laptop running]

Following several posts on Sudoku the guys at ZingMagic were so nice to give me a trial version of their Zingles (=Sudoku) application. Making inquiry why they do not make a trial version available to a broader audience (as you can only buy their applications), gave me more insight in the harsh world of Symbian software development.

All 3rd edition applications need to be Symbian Signed if they use the phones IMEI for any kind of dynamic registration. Any Symbian signature goes at a cost of some EUR200 per application. Each trial version over a different distribution channel (read website) implies a new signature. Thus if you develop several Symbian applications like these guys which you like to distribute to multiple sites let’s say 20 different ones, then you can imagine the cost that comes with making trials available. Clearly something the guys at Symbian can improve to speed up the rate% of new applications being made available. Because, and as I guess, many users like me want to try certain applications before making the dollars$ available for it.

Ok, back to the application itself. Let me first highlight what I personally think is important in a Sudoku application:

• user interface – application should be intuitive and should make best use of resources being available
• data input / handling the application – as there is quite some interaction required the data entry should be intuitive and fast (not too many steps)
• choice in levels – obviously Sudoku for different users requires different levels – as I consider myself as an ace, hard should be really hard

When opening the application you will first have to select if you want to play a new game or continue with an old one. Actually this is quite a good feature as you are enabled to store multiple games at the same time. In fact, even if you are playing you do not have to worry about saving the game as each move is automatically stored when made. The way I use this feature is that if I am not able to quickly solve the Sudoku I save it up for later.

 

Continue reading [Review: Sudoku continued: Zingles for the Nokia e61 and Nokia e62]