Picked this one up at blogs.s60.com. The new Nokia s60 3rd edition FP1 devices will carry the theme Turquoise. Looks a bit similar to the theme Daniel posted before at e61life.com.

You can download it here.

This is the Turquoise theme that will be used in forthcoming Nokia devices based on S60 3rd Edition FP1. But since the Jade team was so kind, all you S60 3rd Edition owners can now use it too. Giving away the theme might sound like a small thing, but this is the first time our application team delivers software directly to end-users. With luck, this might be a “small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind” Read more …

Building a theme for the e61 is not an easy exercise for many. A complicating factor is that a theme builder like Carbide.ui does not only allow to make themes for the e61 but basically for all Symbian s60 platforms. As not all s60 versions are the same, there are many properties an layouts which are not universal over the individual platforms. Basically (although there is a user guide available) I learned by doing.

Some of those learnings I would like to share on mye61.com in order to help and stimulate others to create your own themes. These learnings will be split in a step by step approach. In the end all steps together should help you to build your own theme.

All efforts learning to build a theme will not necessarily results in a good theme. A good theme in the end is for a large part based upon one’s creativity and some skills in terms of PhotoShop (or any other similar application) will for sure help …

First step soon to be released on my-e61-theme.

Hope you find it useful.

Last Saturday s60tips.com announced the results of the poll they have held : “which mobile running on the Symbian s60 3rd edition platform is your favorite?”.

Guess which phone won?  …. of course, the e61 well ahead of competition. With some 37% out of 886 votes the e61 ended far out on the first position in the list. 2nd runner up the Nokia N80 with some 18%. Love it.

Please refer to the original poll.

MSN I never really used. The first “chat” application used on the PC for me was ICQ, somewhere in the mid-nineties. Already at that time there were some tools available for making “phone calls” over the internet. However, during that period the connection to the net wasn’t much higher than a 14kb modem, thus it did not really make sense to do so. Until the moment Skype came along, I never have made any serious efforts anymore to make “phone calls” over the net. Still using Skype in the early days had some obvious disadvantages :

1. Small amount of users and like a fax machine, Skype did not have much value being the “only one in the world using it”
2. No direct calls were possible at that time, and
3. Besides people in the office using a PC for their job, I could not imagine that calling over internet would really take off for people at home “behind their PC”

So I have always wondered how long it would take before Skype was integrated into the hardware of conventional phones. Now we know … it is there, but it took ages.

For mobile phones it seems no different. Although available for the Pocket PC, Skype, despite all announcements and promises, still did not come up with a decent version for the Symbian platform. And considering progress it might take still a while … maybe too long. Why too long? Simply because parallel we see all kinds of VoIP service providers emerging in a tremendous speed, taking over the market that could have been Skype’s.

When I just had the e61 I spend some serious effort on the net to find a solution in using Skype for phone calls over the net using the e61. Except for some hybrid solutions, basically I have found nothing very usable. As I gave up, I subscribed for a VoIP service (=VoIPTalk in the UK) and it works like clockwork. So I have no need for Skype anymore … or

Yes, I still have - why? Because Skype for me also has become my only chat / conference call solution. This integration might still keep Skype in the saddle … let us see.

For those still hoping to integrate Skype in their Nokia e61 somewhere in the near future - the following theme : e61 meets Skype. A theme based upon the “Skype color scheme”.

You can download the theme here. (Btw. nice and small)

The theme is also part of the the latest “Friday Themes” post at e-series.org where you also can find other themes like Tribal (not yet optimized for the e61) from Daniel at e61 life.

Post sent directly from e61 :

Similar is my addiction to Sudoku as it is to mobile devices. Since the day I have purchased the Nokia e61 I have been looking for a suitable application. So far I have only found some which do not really use the potential of the e61 LCD display nor the jog button. Although I realize a Sudoku is best solved on paper, it would still be nice being able to play it on the road.

What would be really great if there is a game out there which does not only allow to play vanilla Sudokus but for example also variants like X-sudoku.

Appreciate if you can share any games or experiences for other readers to pick up. Tnx.

Over time and reading several articles about using a RSS news reader on the e61 I have noticed that there are not many familiar RSS readers out there which allow for offline reading of news and articles. Obviously being a disadvantage especially for those travelling regularly by plane.

Although … as we all know mobile phones already allow for many years to be turned on without the attena being on. For some this is called “flight-mode” and for the e61 one it is called “offline”. Once travelling from China to Europe the plane lifted off the ground already for quite some time, I decided to use my phone in offline mode and turned it on. Immediately I was approached by a (not so good looking) stewardess who aggressively asked me to turn off my phone. Failing to explain to her that actually the phone was not “turned on” and that basically the state of my mobile was no different than the LCDTV mounted in the headrest in front of me, I suggested her to try and make a call using my mobile. Only this suggestion got her so excited that she decided to get the captain … I gave up. Do not fly Air France.

Assuming you do not run into a stewardess with the intellect of a head of lettuce, and you still like to read your RSS messages offline, you might try the solution NewsTouch is offering. The main advantages as I see them from this solution are : 1) offline reading, and 2) the simplicity the way the information is offered. Although I do like Widgets the disadvantages I see is that you loose the overview especially when you start adding more and more feeds. NewsTouch in itself is a very basic and simple application which is java based and extremely easy to use. Because it is java based its usage is not limited to the e61. Disadvantage : it is not free and an annual subscription is required. However, trying it is free and you can download the application (*.jar) here (the application just recently has been optimized for s60 3rd edition). A listing of some standard feeds is offered both in the trial as well as the normal version. Additional feeds can be entered into the phone directly but then obviously you need to know the URL. With a registration you get access to the NewsTouch portal where you can very easily maintain your folders and feeds.

Steps to take are as follows :

1. First try it and see if you like it
2. If you like it get a registration with NewsTouch by registering on their site - this will give you a username and a password
3. If you already have the “trial version installed” select “change user” and enter your personal details as requested
4. NewsTouch checks if the user exists and if so you will get a positive confirmation - you are ready to go
5. Create the folders / list you like (firs probably on the internet) and select “update all”
6. You can change display settings and the number of messages / articles you like to track and download each time

BTW. the application will allow you (if you are online) to download the full story, and will allow you to open the article directly in the phone’s browser.

Let me know what you think.

Based upon the initial release of the ProfiMail inspired theme I got some comments back to eliminate the background pictures. For sure this will support more contrast and better visibility. As such I have updated the first release to Profi theme v1.01w (w=without background pictures). Hope you like it - basically the original is also still offered - for that please also refer to e-series.org.

Anyway, if you have any further ideas just let me know. Also if somehow this theme “inspired” you to create other themes, just let me know.

You can download the updated theme here. (Btw. still nice and small)

Since I have bought my e61 I have tried many and many more different themes. The one which I have used longest so far is probably S60 white. Disadvantage was that this theme was not optimized for the e61. As a result I missed parts in my screen of which I was not even aware. In fact I have stopped using some software because ‘fields were missing’. Other themes I have used most of the times have a ‘too busy’ or a ‘too dark’ set-up. Making it hard to read, or reducing contrast. Thus I decided to create my own theme.

Looking for the tools to do so, it was a bit disappointing. In fact I did not come a lot further than ThemeStudio 3.0, a slow and tedious way of making any theme. Moreover not yet optimized for s60 3rd edition. Happy I then was to learn that Nokia came up with Carbide.ui v3.1 (btw. you need to become member of the Nokia forum to be able to download). Still not easy to learn, but after some trial and error with some standard themes that come with it, I started to create my first own theme keeping the ‘too busy’ and ‘not enough contrast’ in mind. I have been using ProfiMail already for quite some time, also on other phones. In there is a color theme I really like for the reasons mentioned. As such I tried to create a similar look and feel in my first theme.

Let me know what you think.

If you like it, then you can download it here. (Btw. it is nice and small)