E71 Part V: Not just for work anymore

In my previous posts about my E71 trial, I have almost solely talked about the professional and business aspects of this device. And while it handles those like a charm, it knows you need to get out and unwind. Well, your trusty E71 is there for you. Eseries phones with Feature Pack 2 introduce the concept of Modes.

In fact, the only problem with the E71 and having a good time might be its size. It is so small that a friend of mine literally went swimming with his for five minutes before he realized it was still in his pocket. Needless to say, his device did not live to tell about it.

Screenshot above is of my E71 in Business Mode. From left to right are the apps I might use during a workday: QuickOffice, ScanR, Sync, ActiveNotes, and File Manager. The final icon is to switch modes. Don't forget that the E71 has a number of hard buttons with links to contacts, messaging, and so on. The lower quick buttons of Maps and Web are the same for both modes, so I chose apps I would want to use no matter what mode I was in.
The E71 may act like it is all business, but it knows that you have to get out and socialize, too. To this end, the new Eseries devices have introduced the concept of Modes. Modes are similar to Profiles, but they take it one step further. With a quick click of a single button, you can transform the E71 from its daily office-professional workhorse stylings to your nighttime socializing workhorse. Think of it as going from elegant to sexy.

Ask yourself: Are you in a Work mode or a Play mode?

I have set my E71 up in such a way that the applications I might need during a workday are in the business mode, and the apps I want to use for myself are on the Personal mode. The two shortcut keys just under the screen do not change when you switch modes, so I have designated them Nokia Maps and Web; two programs I will use no matter what mode I am in. And do not forget about the quick buttons on the keyboard itself, providing instant access to calendar, contacts, and messaging. With so many shortcuts, I had to search for the last couple of apps to put there!

This gives me quick access to all the things I may want to do when out and about, and the second screenshot shows the Play mode, with different, spooky theme for Halloween: Jaiku, camera (there is no hard camera button on the E71), Music Player, Sports Tracker, and Mobbler. And when it is time to go back to work in the morning, switch modes back to business while you're brushing your teeth, and the screen will fill itself with new email notifications, quick access to scanr for fax and making digital copies of documents, and whatever else you may need for your workday.

Modes is a great concept, allowing you to change the primary role of that computer in your pocket with the touch of a button. This feature makes the Eseries devices the workhorse for your life, no matter what mode you are in. ...Read more

Is the mobile phone primarily a tool for committing crime?

Over at Nokia Conversations, they have a couple interesting points about past legal decisions and recent government interventions into the regulation of mobile phones. The mobile phone is the instrument of communication for the twenty-first century and if people want to enjoy the freedoms they are accustomed to, they should keep an eye on these developments.  The two conversations are interesting in that the success of one could really serve to mitigate the other.

I think Skype's efforts in trying to get networks to open up the applications they allow -essentially turning the networks into pipes on which voice/data flow freely- is commendable. The efforts, mind you, but not the application. Skype is fine, but I find it a bit hypocritical that a company with a proprietary standard for doing voice over IP is the major player to push for this. There are open standards such as SIP that can be used -and, being open- they can be examined by the community and network operators to verify that they do not pose harm. There is some fear that Skype has or may at some time place backdoors in its software and/or network that allow it to snoop on its users.

As to the anonymity issue, I think this is something we will see more and more by the mere fact that many people that buy pre-paid plans with cash, leaving no trail do so with an intent to commit a crime. This does not mean I think it means government should outlaw this practice, just that I think it likely that they will. And who is going to vote against it?

However, there is some bright light. If Skype is successful in forcing/convincing networks to open up their services, this could allow a legion of new applications to come in and solve the privacy problem, if not the anonymity one.  Callers could encrypt their conversation starting at their phone and ending at the person they are calling so that neither the network nor the government could listen in on the conversation.  And, so far as they are in a place where one could reasonably expect privacy in their conversation, the government would have to face the usual, higher standards of phone-tapping to listen to the conversation, and it would be one-sided at that!
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E71 Part IV: Der Profi

It Works for You

My first impression, after I sync'd my contacts with Ovi, is that this is a phone for professionals. The steel casing, leather case, and thin nature of the phone adds to the business-oriented S60 configuration. Some would describe the device as sexy, but really it is a stylish and classy device and says that the person using it is both elegant and sophisticated.


The Nokia E71 is a phone for professionals. It takes no shortcuts in terms of either styling or performance to impress both its owner and those who look on with a lustful eye. Last time I talked about Email. This time, I am going to discuss the other reasons why this is a device for the professionally-minded.


Speed
The E71 is fast, and it's not just me that thinks so. Switching between applications, opening up the camera, starting a new text message, or making a call, the E71 knows that it is your job to be cool, and something that forces you to wait around for it to launch an app is not stylish at all. The E71 can handle anything you throw at it.

Battery
I commented when I first opened the phone, that the battery was big. Not only is it big, but this device goes a long time without needing a charge. My N82 needs at least one charge every day, but this E71 has gone over two days without needing a charge. Although comparing them is a bit apples and oranges, they are both Edge-only where I am. I use the E71 for the same tasks as my N82 for, including SportsTracker, and now the Mobile Web Server. The E71 should get through the day for all but the most intense of power users.


Encryption
Although you never want to think about this, let us be honest; a device so small and stylish is just asking to either be lost or get stolen. Your old phone may have just had a few numbers for the office and grandma, but you are going to be using this for everything, and that means important secret, private, and potentially embarrassing information may be on there. Setting a lock code for when the phone is powered on is not going to do it, there are so many ways to get at the secret information and liability-inducing photographs that is is not even funny. By encrypting the data, and setting a lock code, you can be sure that your information is safe from thieves and guerrilla YouTube posters.


Encryption will save you from the information on a stolen device being leaked. Unfortunately, if someone else takes pictures of you pole dancing with the bachelor party stripper, the E71 cannot do anything about that. I have never seen such an easy-to-use encryption application. The two screenshots you see here are literally all there is to it, other than giving it your passcode.

These options turn the E71 from a feature phone to a device truly worthy of the professional on the go.
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Using your mobile phone for free

Although yesterday's NseriesUS news linked to some disheartening news about AT&T cancelling its data plan, I am forging ahead with my perfect phone idea. See, the idea is to use the power of your mobile phone without relying on the carrier networks like AT&T and Verizon. This means using the Wi-fi capabilities in the phone to use VOIP whenever possible.

There are many ways to use VOIP on your phone. Matthew Bennett has been trying out Truphone, which I have been meaning to give a real workout, and S60Tips recently did a thorough VOIP roundup that I definitely recommend before getting started. But personally, I have been using Gizmo5 (or just Gizmo), and that is what this post will focus on.


The reason I chose Gizmo is because they are a SIP-based VOIP service. This means that their service not only works with the wide variety of software they provide, but you can use any other SIP software or hardware to interact with their service, even so far as using Asterisk. So, Gizmo is as easy to get started as Skype, gives you free credit to get started without risk, and can be used in many different ways for the very advanced user.

I'm excited, are you excited? Let's get started:


Head on over to Gizmo5's website and sign up for an account.
You can also download a number of clients. There is one for your desktop (yes, Windows, Linux, and Mac are covered), one for your Internet tablet, and one for your mobile phone. Be Careful!, however, because if you have an advanced smartphone like a Nokia Nseries or Eseries, it is even easier! You want to open up your Download application, go into the Communication folder, and install Gizmo. That's it!
(If you do not see it in point that hotrod in your hands on over to GizmoVOIP.com and install from there)

Installation is a breeze, and it will ask you to install Gizmo, as well as a couple helper applications. You ought to see the following on your phone:

Straight from download or gizmovoip.com, the program and its helpers will be installed for you.

You should have nothing to worry about, but it will take a few minutes, depending on how fast your connection is. If you are near a wireless network, I suggest using it.


Just keep clicking continue and OK, it will all be over soon. A painless process, I promise. Once installed, Gizmo actually integrates itself within your contacts application, kind of like Nokia Chat, creating a new tab in contacts. To get there, go to your contacts and press the right button on your directional pad.

And you should see this. Click Go Online and enter your account information. Now you are logged in, and the application has setup all that nasty VOIP information for you (trust me, it is very nasty. I had to set it up by hand one time and it gave me a thumb cramp!)

You can use your data network from your mobile phone company as the provider. This was a fun idea back when AT&T was offering an inexpensive and reasonable service for their pre-paid customers. Now, you should try to use the wi-fi whenever possible.

Now, making an Internet call is as simple as typing in the number as usually, then instead of clicking the little green button, click Options on the lower left of your screen and choose Internet Call.

Gizmo offers free 1-800 calling, so call a credit card company, check your balance to give it a test. If it works fine, then give a friend a call using that free 15 or so minutes they give you.

Going Further With Gizmo
Now that you have the basics working, let me tell you why I use Gizmo5. After signing up, I added $10 worth of call out time, which translates to something like 500minutes of talk in the US. I then added a Call-In number using the free Area 775 service. This was a test, and now I pay a mere $3.95 to have a call in number with the area code of my choice (my phone has an Austin, TX number, but I live in Florida, so this is a good way to have a local number if you have recently moved), voice mail that is sent to the email account of my choice, and a number that, when called, rings both Gizmo and a number of my choice.

Since I got my E71 the other day, I have been using my N82 as a pure VOIP phone. I keep it running Gizmo5 all day long using the home wi-fi network, no SIM card at all. Because of the call-in number, if someone dials that, both the Gizmo phone (my N82) and my E71 with my AT&T SIM inserted will ring. I can answer either one.

Let me know how you have been using VOIP and if you have any other ideas about what to do with it or questions about my setup!
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E71 Part III: An Email Heavyweight.

You only get one chance to make a first impression

My first impression, after I sync'd my contacts with Ovi, is that this is a phone for professionals. The steel casing, leather case, and thin nature of the phone adds to the business-oriented S60 configuration. Some would describe the device as sexy, but really it is a stylish and classy device and says that the person using it is both elegant and sophisticated. I have used two Nseries phones and this Eseries phone is my first from the line. Though they both run Symbian with S60, Nokia has done a good job of tailoring the details toward different markets.


The Nokia E71 is a phone for professionals. It takes no shortcuts in terms of either styling or performance to impress both its owner and those who look on with a lustful eye.

Email
The business world still revolves around phones and e-mail, which is why the Blackberry really dominates both market- and mindshare for this space. Nokia had the E61, which was a good alternative with a nice keyboard that never really caught on in the US market; but the E71 is meant to take this market head-on. I was really impressed with the ease in which I was able to setup my e-mail. Following the on-screen reminder to setup my e-mail, I clicked the link and told it my e-mail address. I use Google Apps for my personal domain (because, hey, if we're going to live in the clouds, let's let someone else manage it!) Usually, this means I have some extra settings tweaks to do to get everything to work just right, and I have had to edit the settings manually on my Nseries phones. Not so this time. I simply gave it my email address with my own domain, and the E71 did the rest!

Easy mail setup is one thing, but one of the reasons the RIM Blackberry is the leader in mobile e-mail is that it employs "push e-mail" whereby the service notifies the device that you have new mail waiting. Nokia has an answer to this service in the form of Nokia Email. This service is free to anyone with a compatible phone. (no N82, but you can pretend its an N95) If your phone is not listed, you could head over to Seven and see if they support you. HiroAdrian's blog does a great job of explaining the push e-mail options for Nokia devices.

Although the built-in e-mail configured effortlessly and the Nokia Email setup showed my my inbox without a problem, I could not reply to or send new messages. This was a bit confusing because the signup process for Nokia Email had done everything else, and I could not find the sending settings from within the app.

Finally, I found the proper place, the email setup application (see screenshot on right):

Clicking on this and then entering in the correct information for sending mail from Gmail accounts, (using Google's cheatsheet, if necessary), and although it gave me an error about connecting, I double-checked my input then told it to accept the configuration. After that, sending mail using Nokia Email has been a wonder. I like how it is both very fast to notify me about new email, sometimes even before it shows up in my Gmail browser, and that when I start to type a recipient, it pulls that in directly from my contacts. A lot of people have a problem with email on Nokia phones. I suspect once this comes out of beta, they will start to change their minds.

Going Further with Email: Multiple Devices, Multiple Accounts

As of today, Nokia Email has quietly released a new version of its software. Still in Beta, this version adds an important new feature: multiple email accounts. Rather than notification within the application, Nokia lets you know about a new version when you login to your account on the website.

The E71, coupled with Nokia Email makes a powerful messaging platform. Since using the two, I have been turning on my laptop later each day, only powering it on when I need to write a longer message or start doing some heavy web-browsing. This is by far the best on-the-go email solution I have ever used.
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E71 Part II: Ovi.com makes Getting Started a breeze!

Now that I have received my E71 from WOMworld, it's time to get down to business! If you read my first post, you know that the box included a creepy monster in it. I have found that he is one of the Mapsters, the elite group of characters who created Nokia Maps.

I have a bit of experience moving from my N75 to my N82, but am always looking to make this process a bit more streamlined. I looked at the Guru's ultimate guide to switching phones, which is helpful, and contains many great tricks but the bulk of the work can be accomplished with the sync features of Ovi out there. Of course, Ovi is just contacts, calendar, notes, and todo list, so I also pulled the memory card out of my N82 and put it in the E71. You may not do this, but I try to save all the applications I download to my memory card instead of installting them outright. This gives me the perfect way to have everything I want for autosisinstaller or to just pick and choose what I want installed.


Here's what I did:

• Started up the phone, answering its questions, though I hit 'cancel' for country, since the E71-1 did not give me an option for the US.
• The E71 is the first Nokia device I have used that has some on-device setup tutorial and guide. First, it asks you if you'd like to take the tutorial; you can browse through the topics to see if there is anything you do not already know. After the tutorial, the standby screen is filled with quick links to configure things such as Internet calling, e-mail and more. I skipped these and moved on to the following steps.
• A quick trip to Ovi.com and told it I had a new phone. Gave it my phone number, and the resulting SMS text message configured the Ovi sync services.
• Sync the phone by clicking the Home button -> Tools -> Sync.
  
• I like to sync twice when doing an initial sync.
  
• Contacts, calendar, todos, and notes are all on the new device. What is more, when I move back to the other device, I can update it with any changes just by syncing it with the service.
• Because I moved my memory card from the other phone to this one, I have access to all the maps, music, and other tidbits I had placed on my previous device. Sportstracker, for instance, just works once it is installed. It pulls all the login, workout, and configuration data for the card.
  
• Installed/configured Nokia E-mail. This is not supported yet on the N82, which I usually use the Mail by Google application. As using Google or another online service for mail is another aspect of cloud computing, using the Nokia mail service or the Google app are just two different ways of accomplishing the same task. Cloud computing is about portability as much as customizing for your personal needs.

In short, the more you take advantage of the cloud and using it for information storage as well as applications, the easier it is to move between multiple devices, be it different phones at once, or juggling a phone, laptop, and office desktop computer.
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Your Music Everywhere II: MicroSD, Desktop PC, Cloud, what is best?

The other day, I wrote about SlotMusic and its efforts to bring mp3 music to everyone's mobile devices. This is a lousy one-off way to get music on a phone. To use an over-burdened analogy, it is giving a man a fish rather than teaching him how to fish.
At the same time, I received a notice of a new offering from mp3tunes, called Load2Mobile:



Mp3tunes is something I have played around with off and on for some time. The concept behind mp3tunes is that you have a "storage locker" which holds all your music in what has become known as the cloud. With all your music essentially online, the idea is that you can access it from anywhere, using a web browser, winamp, iTunes, and now your mobile phone.


I first discovered mp3tunes when I was looking for a way to access my large music collection remotely on my Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, which had less than a gigabyte of storage. They used to provide an applet that allowed for direct playing of your locker with a simple app, which was a nice idea, but the implementation was never that great and it was tricky to use. Now, the app downloads the music to the tablet (the N800 and N810 typically have far more storage than the 770), which is nice as you can, for example, grab anything from your collection while waiting in the airport lounge, and then listen to it on the flight.

The application installed easily on my N75. It is a .jad file that then downloads something during install, which I am not fond of, but it was only about 45k. When I installed the application, it seemed to have auto-named my phone. I would have liked it to either use the bluetooth name I have specified, or allow me to change the name (which I cannot do) but this is a minor issue, especially since it chose something intelligible, like the model of the phone (see screenshot on the right, and forgive my theme; I am using the latest s60.com offering: Seasonal. Now that I have my N82 back I also installed the app by going to http://www.mp3tunes.com/mob. Worked like a charm and created a new destination for my mobile music named, aptly enough, NokiaN82.

To add music to your phone, you first need to view your locker with the newer web-based player, right click on a track, and add it to whichever phone you would like to see the music appear.



Clicking on the Load to option presents me with both of my phones and my windows computer. Mp3tunes knows about the computer because I have installed LockerSync on it (described below) and each of the phones because I have installed the mobile application and logged into mp3tunes from each one of them.
Adding a track to the phone is easy, you simply right click the track, then Load To -> NokiaN82. A big annoyance is that you can only go one track at a time, and all my efforts to select multiple tracks has failed, which is a major pain, even to do an entire album.

Of course, if you want to be able load tracks to your phone, mp3tunes first has to have them in their cloud. Mp3tunes provides you with what they call a "Locker", and this is the storage space for your music up in the internet cloud. The free locker gives you 2GB of storage space. For $4.95/mo or $39.95/yr, you can get a premium locker that is 50GB. This does not hold all my music, but would probably contain most people's music libraries. Using the LockerSync utility installed on my computer is the best way to get a pre-existing music collection up to your storage locker.



When you install the application, it will scan your music files to index your collection and compare it with existing (if any) tracks that are in your locker. You can just point it at your files, and let it run, placing all your music (up to your limit) on the service. With a limited amount of space, you can use the tool to selectively choose albums or tracks at a time. This app is intelligent in that if you click, say, Bob Dylan, it includes all his albums, and if you click, say, Highway 61 Revisited, it will include all the album's tracks.



An interesting thing to note. Although my N75 did not download any tracks until I had done the right click -> load to dance demonstrated above, the N82 immediately began to download the 30 or so tracks I uploaded using my computer's LockerSync utility. And then it began to complain that it needed read and write access for each and every application! The annoyances continue, but luckily this is easily fixed by going into the S60 device's app manager and giving the "Mobile Sync" application the appropriate permission settings.

I have a mixed impression of using this app for multiple devices. On the one hand, it could be nice to not have the same music distributed to all phones. On the other hand, it could become a major pain to add your music to each phone. Luckily, most people will not have to worry about this sort of thing

Coming next: the most over-looked music application for all mobile devices.
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E71 Part I: Receipt and first impressions

I received my first device from WOMworld today, a Nokia E71, white version. I am really excited to try out this device and have a chance to be a part of the WOMworld program, which allows people like me that enjoy writing about technology and new toys to give it a hands-on run through for a couple weeks to really put the device through its paces. Included in the box were the E71, a whopping 1500mAh BP-4L battery, a nice white leather carrying case, headphones with a 2.5" jack, software, assorted manuals, and a european-style charger, so I will use my current ones to keep this puppy charged up.


This also comes as perfect timing, because the screen on my N82 went on the fritz the other day, and I have been rocking my older N75 for the past week. And, although I received my N82 back from warranty repair already, I had just enough time to install the apps I need on it so I can really give the E71 its full two week workout. A "business-class" phone, the E71 sports only a 3.2 megapixel camera with an LED flash. Though not as nice as my N82, the N75 is only a 2 megapixel camera and takes outdoor daytime photos really well, so it will be fun to see how this falls into the mix. Initial unboxing, there's a monster in there!



As you can see from this unboxing video, the package came with Kiano, who is purportedly one of the original creator of Nokia Maps. Although he's really cool and will find a place on my shelf, what would have been better would be a Kiano costume! Halloween is fast approaching and I have no idea what to be.

Thanks to NseriesUS, I was introduced to TnkGrl's website and she also recently received an E71 from WOMworld. Notice that hers was the silver/black version. For some reason, I was thinking the two versions were an all-silver, and the the silver-white one I received you can see in the photos and video. Although I am worried about how it will handle getting dirty, I think I actually like the white one a bit better.

Also, I think the ability to try out new phones will be a perfect compliment to my participation in the S60 Ambassadors program, I have talked about the E71 a bit to others based on what I have read, but nothing beats good ole hands-on experience!



Edit: I didn't finish listing the box contents on the initial post. I was too excited to get playing!
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First Nokia touch screen device Comes With Music

Today, Nokia announced their first ever touch screen device, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic running S60 Fifth Edition (what happened to 4th?  no matter) on Symbian OS 9.4.  Nokia has priced the device at a reasonable 279 Euro and this is with a full year of Comes With Music. That is not too much for a feature-rich device with all the music you can consume.  AllAboutSymbian has a solid preview of this device.

To most people's minds, that is still pretty expensive in the US, where phones are usually $50 due to signing your soul away for a long contract.  Nokia is rarely able to offer subsidized phones on the US networks, but let's hope they can do something and not at the same time kill the device with carrier demands.

I don't normally post topics re-telling a news release, but this one ties in with what I am currently writing about regarding music on your mobile phone.  I phone that is not only a good iPod replacement because it holds plenty of music and has a standard telephone jack, but excellent stereo speakers for when you want to listen but not wear headphones.

Your Music Everywhere I: SlotMusic

Reading the Lefsetz Letters, I found out the LATimes is reporting the next tactic by the music labels to get you to spend money on music you already own, and it's called SlotMusic. Contrary to the prominant image on the LA Times' site, SlotMusic will be distributed in microSD cards, not CompactFlash. Most post-RAZR phones come with a microSD reader, and I wouldn't be surprised if more people that regularly listen to music have a microSD reader than have a CD player.


Still, I have a difficult time imagining this music offering could ever take off. Sure, it is a way to get people to listen to music on their mobile devices, and it should be relatively easy: just pop in the card and off you go! Plus, though most new phones support microSD, few but those at the highest end of the spectrum come with one standard. For example, my N75 did not come with a card, but my Nokia N82 came with a 2GB microSD card and is one of the best on-the-go devices I have ever come across.  This way, there will probably be few complaints to the tune of "where did my photos go", although this could be a problem in the future.

Really what SlotMusic boils down to is the music industry thinking it has come up with another way for you to pay for music you already own. People simply are not using their very powerful mobile phones to listen to music and carry an iPod instead. Why? because no one makes it easy to transfer music to the phone! Bob Lefsetz has it right in his sarcastic letter linked above: why would we need something like this when iTunes is so easy to use? Ah, but he is right about one thing: iTunes requires a computer to transfer the music from either the iTunes store, a CD, or a pre-existing mp3 collection.   When phone users realize they can use their device as an mp3 player and see others doing so, they will want to try it out.  I hope they do not go the SlotMusic route, paying again for music already owned and instead give other forms of music management a good try.

Where I really see the problem occurring is in the management of all that music. Sure, it could be nice to grab a bit of extra music for your phone before that plane ride... oops, no, you cannot turn your phone on while flying... but still, one album or audiobook might not be a bad thing, but what do you do when you have a dozen of them? These things are tiny, I sent my N82 to Nokia for repair, and I almost lost the card immediately after taking it out of the phone. How would I manage multiples of these things? And what's more, except for those of us that have really large music collections, mobile devices are able to cart around all or nearly all of a person's music.  It takes a while for someone just starting with digital music to work up to multiple 1000s of songs they really want to play, which is what most devices are capable of with the release of 16GB microSD cards cards and 8GB cards on the cheap, just about everyone has an iPod-equivalent device whether they know it or not.  A full-length album is less than 2% of the space that can be stored on today's phones, so why would you want to buy a card with one album on it and then mess around with swapping those tiny, smaller-than-a-thumbnail cards while on the go?
 
Except it isn't really iPod-equivalent because getting the music on there is more than most people can handle.  Even for the tech-savvy, iTunes is just so much easier to use than the alternatives that are available right now.  The next closest competitor that I know of is Nokia's attempt at a desktop music application that just got out of beta yesterday.  Nokia Music promises to be the iTunes app for your mobile device, allowing you  to synchronize purchased and collected music to your phone for easy transfer and listening on the go.  Plus, with the Nokia Music Store (whenever it launches in the US), one will ostensibly be able to purchase music either on the computer or on the phone for immediate download.  Nothing ground-breaking (hello iPhone, once again you win in the ease-of-use category) but there are so many music-capable Nokia handsets out there.  Nokia ships 7 million handsets a day which is an incredibly untapped-market.  The Nseries phones I have played with: N75, N82, and N95 have amazing little speakers built-in.  So much so that I routinely use my phone for music while I am cooking or doing other chores because it is easier than turning on the stereo.

Next, I will investigate a new entrant into the mobile music scene, combining web application and the ability to download your music straight to your phone no matter where you are.
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Updating the N82 Firmware

Since I received a new N82 from Nokia service the other day, with none of my applications or data installed, I figured I might as well update the device to the new 30.0.019 firmware (check that link for the changes, courtesy of the Symbian-Freak). Firmware is the software operating system of your phone and some pre-installed applications. Think of it like the Windows operating system installed on your PC before you load it up with Office, Limewire, Gizmo, AIM, and all those educational games. It is called firmware because it is written to a chip rather than a magnetic hard drive.


Firmware installation:

• First, Backup your device!!
• Download the Nemesis Service Suite
• Nemesis is easy to use, and I wrote about it when Unbranding my N75
• Change your product code to 0558752
• Write the new setting to the phone.
• Check the setting by turning off and on the phone, reconnecting to Nemesis and reading the info. Product Code should be what you entered.
• Exit Nemesis
• Start the Nokia Software Updater (should be included with PC, Ovi, or Nseries suite)
• The updater should tell you it found a new version and ask if you are ready to update.
• Make sure you have a charged battery, connections are secure, and click Update!

Not much to say at this point, but I did a live Jaiku of my process and it went off without a hitch.  One great comment from iamnotdrtran was to remember to change the product code back to the original (in my case, 0563247) when you are finished.


Firmware impressions:

• 123 megabyte download, woah! I'm pretty sure Windows 98 was only 86 MB or so. Just shows you how much goes into these phones.
  
• Web is not my primary app on my phone, although I have found myself using it more and more. I noticed one site give me an error regarding no javascript. I never noticed this before and javascript is definitely enabled.
• The Symbian-Freak guide above said that it had the latest N-gage. I only had an N-gage demo and had to download the new version. Not a biggie, but misleading.
• Because I gave the phone a European product code, the firmware included a program called "My Nokia" which does nothing in the US and cannot be removed.  No biggie, but it's there.
  

I do not know if it is the new device, the lack of my many installed apps, or the new firmware, but the N82 seems a lot more responsive than before. The one thing that is the same is the many pictures and music loaded on my 2GB card, as this is the same card that was in the previous N82. Time will tell if the installed apps have a detrimental impact on the performance, but even with Jaiku, Step Counter, Contacts, and Web running, it is quite speedy.
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Warranty and Repair: the overlooked side of Tech

So, you just got that fancy new device, the one that can do practically everything and fits in your pocket, or that laptop that can play Crysis without missing a beat yet is light enough to lug to work or class. What you probably failed to realize while the astounded specs blinded you to all else is that increased mobility comes with a terrible price: wear and damage.

Whether bobbing around in a backpack or brushed off the table by a waiter, these devices present themselves to far more opportunity for damage than your desktop PC or pager you wore clipped to your belt. And the best time to think about this is at the time you make the decision to purchase your new toy. Reviews always talk about the megapixels, megahertz, and megabytes, but never mention the mega failure or success rate of certain companies' service plans and offering.

What this usually comes to is a premium in price over the competition. You may look at two laptops and they appear to be the same, except $100 price difference. Or it may be the difference in buying that phone on eBay versus buying a new, warranty-covered one. That price premium may be due solely to the post-sale service the company provides and is probably very worth it.


About 10 days ago, the screen on my Nokia N82 stopped working. It was a Sunday, the support pages said phone lines were open Mon-Sat. I had purchased it new a few months before from Buy.com, so I registered the phone online and called support the next day. The tech listened to my woes and then showed me the page I could have simply filled out the day before, which included a repair/problem slip and an address to which I should mail it. I sent it priority mail, insured on Sep 20. Nokia's warranty says it covers defects and that the techs will either repair, give a repair quote, or simply return it as un-repairable. When FedEx came to the door on Sep 30 and I realized what it was, I worried that it was unfixable. Much to my surprise, Nokia sent me a brand new N82, with an extra 2GB memory card in it! I was worried that they would say the damage/defect was due to undue wear on my part, but they replaced it without question, and -to my mind- a 10-day turnaround from the time I sent it, including the weekend, is pretty quick.

The other company with which I have had great repair success is IBM (and now Lenovo). I have an older T42 that I took to law school with me. It rode in my backpack with heavy books practically everyday. Add to that I am a power user, and this poor laptop has been through hell. As a result, I have had a number of support incidents with Lenovo support. First, the dog ran across my keyboard while it was on my lap and jarred a couple keys loose. Second, the computer suddenly would not power on, and it was something wrong with the motherboard. Third, my hard drive failed while I was in Missouri at Christmas. Also, the battery is only covered by a one-year, and I replaced that at the eleventh month, as batteries just die and there is nothing you can do about it.

For the keyboard, hard drive, and battery, Lenovo support sent me a new, replacement part that arrived either the next day or the day after. For the motherboard issue, they needed the entire computer. I received an empty box the next day, inserted my laptop, and dropped it in the DHL box the very next day. I had a working laptop within 6 day turnaround from the support call! All of these without paying a dime for shipping. That is service that will make my buy Lenovo again the next time. No one in law school, with all their various laptops and problems, told me a successful repair story like this.

One company with which I have no experience is Apple. I know they have the "Mac Geniuses" at their stores who are supposed to be able to help you, though you need to make an appointment. If you have any experiences with Apple support or have any support success or nightmares, please write about it below. ...Read more