Of all the news come out of Nokia World so far…the one I’m most interested in is Mark Guim’s preview of the 2.0 firmware due to come out in October for the N97. The update includes kinetic scrolling everywhere (finally!) and some performace/stability tweaks as well as THE MOST WANTED N97 feature…more memory. the update is supposed to clear 20-30 MB from the C: drive. Whoo Hoo…now we may be able to install things !!!!
Up until this point, I’ve merely put up with AT&T. The dropped calls, the lack of 3G in places Verizon served three years ago with EVDO…all this I let slide because I love getting unlocked GSM phones and the convenience of SIM cards. Today, AT&T has finally done it…they started charging me for things I’m not even using…and they can’t even explain why they’re charging me.
The story: I have two lines with AT&T, mine and my wife’s. My wife has Samsung Rugby, a rugged feature phone and doesn’t use data…though she does text and MMS quite a bit. I on the other hand officially have a Nokia E71x attached to my account, but can have 2,3 or even more phones in my bag in any given week..and I’m changing them all the time. I have a small voice plan, but use the full $30 data plan on my account. One day I noticed in looking at the AT&T site, that both my wife’s Rugby and my Nokia were capable with AT&T’s VideoShare service, which is basically one-way video calling. I wanted to at least try the feature out, so I called AT&T and had them add VideoShare Pay-Per-Use to both lines so I could test out the service and perhaps blog about it.
Today, I was reviewing my bills and notice a lot of data charges for connections to IMS.CINGULAR on my wife’s line. I begin to investigate this and look at the times and dates that the data transfers were taking place and began to notice something strange. A lot of the transfers were in off-hours, in the middle of the night, when her phone was just sitting on it’s charger. Like I said, she does not use data AT ALL..no email, no games, no chat…so this was even more peculiar.
A Google search let me to a couple of posts FROM AT&T’S OWN MESSAGE BOARDS , that mentioned that quite a few people were having this issue of phantom data transfers and further searches detailed how the IMS.CINGULAR access point was used solely for the aforementioned VideoShare feature. That’s funny..I’m NOT EVEN USING VideoShare when it tells me it was. In order to use VideoShare you have to actually make a call to another phone that has the feature provisioned on the account, and both phones have to be in a 3G coverage area (I think there is also something in there about the moon phase too 
). So, in order to track down these charges and be able to argue with AT&T, I had to first inform the rep how their own VideoShare feature worked and how a call is required first, so I had her look for calls made to ANYWHERE and at the data charges….guess what, there was no correlation…go figure. Now, granted…me having the unlimited data plan, I never noticed the charges, but on my wife’s pay-per-use plan, it’s obvious. For some reason, VideoShare is going out and contacting SOMETHING without my permission, and AT&T has the gall to charge me for it.
Needless to say, the rep did end of crediting me for all the charges (and then some I think) so all is well, but this is the sort of thing that really irritates customers and makes them write blog posts, in fact…I think poor CS has been the impetus for many a blog.
Word of advice, don’t just pay your wireless bill automatically…audit them…you’ll be surprised what you can find.
Preface: I found the N97’s UI the single most irritating thing about my time with the device, but over the course of time either it began to grow on me, or I just worked around it’s inefficiencies. Here’s less of review and more of commentary on the state of the S60 9.5 user interface.
Frankly, after a few days with the N97, I had thought I had had enough of the UI. I just couldn’t grasp the logic that went into it, nor could I see any consistancy. I actually put the phone back in the box for a few days after I just couldn’t take it any more. But then I heard (ironically enough) Leo Laporte’s MacBreak Weekly podcast cast member Andy Ihnatko talk about his frustration with an Android phone and I did the same as he did: I stopped trying to use it like it was another device (namely the iPhone) tried to use the device as it was intended.
The N97 is of course the first qwerty N-Series and only the second S60 5th Edition device that Nokia has produced. I mention this because once I looked at the Nokia 5800 XPressMusic and thought about how you would use this new version of S60 on a device without a keyboard, I understood the N97 a lot more…I’ll explain. The first (or second) thing that you do when you grab the N97 is flip the keyboard open…this just isn’t the right way to use this device. Once I stopped and began using the device CLOSED, relying solely on the on-screen keyboard for quick text entry via T9 or multi-tap, I became a lot happier with the N97…and it just seemed to work better for me. I can’t really explain why, but the simple act of NOT opening the device except to type a URL or make a lengthy response to an e-mail changed my opinion completely…the UI seemed to work, and I had a hard time going back to 3rd. Edition devices like he N95 or E71.
I also opted for a cleaner homescreen…certainly I had to have SOMETHING on it, but the clutter that Accuweather, Facebook favorite contacts and whatever else I had made me actually feel MORE disorganized. I have maligned Apple in the past for it’s simple app-launcher home screen approach and appladed Nokia for it’s widget approach, but I think now the the optimum home screen (for me at least) is somewhere in between. Apple’s simple grid of apps just doesn’t do it for me: the weather icon doesn’t display the actual weather, the email icon doesn’t let you see even the barest preview, and the calendar icon can’t give you a brief run-down of your next few appointments, but on the other hand…as nice is as it to have all those things available on the N97, I didn’t like cluttering my screen with all the information. The really nice thing about the N97’s approach, is that you don’t have to: you can have a clean homescreen, or you can clutter it as much as you want. As I said, I went for somewhere in the middle, with only the music player and applications shortcut widgets on screen. I found that having the frequent contacts up there caused a lot of accidentaly dials if I brushed against the screen even just slightly without the screen lock engaged.
Another UI tweak I made was to turn off screen auto-rotation. I quicky got irritated with looking down at the phone and seeing that it was turned 90 degrees when I didn’t want it to…maybe this a just an OCD thing on my part, but it made me nuts. Now if you leave the phone closed 90 percent of the time as I said I was doing, the only one area that this affected was in picture browsing. This was one other thing that I opened the N97 for, because that would rotate the screen and align the pictures correctly. I think this is an area that Nokia should really take a clue from the Apple interface. Don’t let the home screen or anything else that really shouldn’t BE rotated GET rotated. Make screen rotation an individual program option, not system-wide. Make it work in photos, maps, videos and any 3rd. party program that wishes to use it, but don’t make the UI do gymnastics every time you turn the device. It’s hard enough to design a UI that works one way, why try to make EVERY screen have to work both in landscape and portrait?
These were really just simple things I did, but I think it really went a long way to making me like the N97’s UI A LOT better than I did initially. Once I learned it’s ways, I could see that it’s just a start..but not as bad as everyone makes it out to be in the blogosphere. I do see the advantage of the Apple sytle in this area though. Apple has always seemed to have the “one man’s vision” of how the product should be…perhaps Nokia should adopt a little of that, give one person the dictatorship on the product make it hisor her vision and hope that that one person doesn’t accept compromises for the sake of compromises or not hurting someone’s feelings.
OK..if you just got an N97 and said “You know, thing’s thing’s battery just lasts too darn long”! Well I have a post for you today, which if used properly will virtually guarantee you that you’ll need a second, maybe even a third battery…or at least a car charger.
We all look at the spec sheets on new devices and tick off the key points: Exchange Sync…CHECK, GPS…CHECK, music player…CHECK, etc. However, I think that too many people buy phones based on the spec sheet and make little to no use out of some of the cooler features of their phones…or push them to the limit…I intend to change that (or at least show you how to put your single-tasking-fruit-phone-using friends to shame )
First of all…the basics: I have a 2007 Toyota with factory Bluetooth and stereo with AUX 3.5mm input. I also have a N97 graciously provided by WOMWorld, and a Nokia AD-42W A2DP Bluetooth Audio gateway. I have the AD-42W powered by a APC AC/DC inverter (since it wouldn’t work with a standard Nokia car charger) and it’s outputs plugged into the car stereo.
The great thing about this setup is that I am not only able to take calls over the Camry’s BT system, and listen to music wirelessly over the A2DP gateway, but turn-by-turn directions get piped out over the A2DP, slightly muting the music when needed…BUT THAT’S NOT ALL, THERE’S MORE Bear in mind that the N97 is doing it’s normal tasks of running MailForExchange for my work mail, Nokia Messaging for my personal mail, and Gravity for Twitter updates, not to mention the Accuweather forcast widget on the homescreen.
However I sat there thinking “This isn’t QUITE enough either…I need more!” so I went to the applications menu and fired up JoikuSpot, making a nice bubble of WiFi in the car as well, so that my iPod Touch wouldn’t feel left out.
Now…this was kind of done for fun, but I think it really shows off what you can do with a device capable of “extreme multitasking”. Let me know if you have any further stress tests for the N97.
People are sure to never steal my N97 now, because I have the ultimate anti-theft device…the CityMan ATD!!! WOMWorld graciously sent me the hilarious CityMan ATD yesterday. The great thing is that I’m going to be in front of a LOT of people, working at a local festival tomarrow, so I’m sure I will get a lot of funny looks this weekend.
The best part of this thing is the application that makes the phone screen emulate the CityMan450, with the same tones, buttons and LCD screen.
Realistically, this thing is so totally impractical it’s beyond reason…the Cityman app (get it yourself: http://tinyurl.com/cityman-app) is slow, you can’t delete numbers you’ve mistakenly typed, and you have no volume control once the N97 is in the dock…but I still can’t wait to take it out in public this weekend.
I JUST got the new N97 in, and I got another email from WOMWorld that I had a package incoming. Seems that they were concerned about my N97’s well-being, so they were sending me the Ultimate Anti-Theft Device for the N97. Micky at Nokiausers.net received his already, and Mark Guim over at The Nokia Blog is expecting his as well. I have a public event to attend this weekend and lots of family in town…let’s hope it gets here soon so they can see my latest Nokia
Update: I checked the email for this and and WOMWorld even calls it the “Nokia Cityman ATD”. I WAS having a bad day…after I got this email I can’t stop laughing.
From Engadget
This thing kind of looks like a E-Series version of the N97 to me. The battery cover especially looks similar to the E75’s and the lack of D-Pad leads me to this also. My thinking is that the left mounted D-Pad on the interior of the N97 was included mainly for gaming, and it’s EXCLUSION from the supposed mini even more interesting as it ties into the E-Series business device philosophy.
Take for a second that it is an E-Series…I could TOTALLY see this with the standard E-Series 3.2MP camera, and some metallic finishes. That battery cover almost looks metal to me. It’s not as bulky as the N97…again, more in line with E-Series design.
OR…it could just be a Photoshop…who knows.
I’ve been using the E75 off and on for a week or so, and thought I’d take some time to write down some of my second opinions of the device. Fate intervened in my first day with the E75..as I was getting used to the phone (more on that in a second) my son FELL DOWN NINE STAIRS(!) in my backyard and I rushed him to the emergency room. Fortunately, all was well and I went back to ordinary life after using the E75’s alarm function that evening to wake him every three hours to check for signs of concussion (not QUITE the way I wanted to use the E75, but hey!).
I just wasn’t interested in messing with a phone for a few days, but then I picked up the E75 again. My biggest issue with the device so far has been that I found it quite easy to turn the phone off accidentally, as the power button is also the END button. This has been the case for nearly every other phone in the world, but I guess I was spoiled by having a dedicated power button on top of the device (ala my N95, E50 or E71), so it took some getting used to. The form factor was also a bit nostalgic, as I haven’t used a pure mono-block looking device since the E50, and that’s what the E75 looks like most times, a simple mono-block Nokia, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I find the device pretty comfortable for talking, I guess I prefer having the microphone end of the phone closer to my mouth…just a preference, and perhaps not your thing, but the E75 has great balance and a perfect feel for “just talking”.
Now, the point of this post is to postulate if the E75 could represent the “complete package” for someone as far as entertainment goes. At first glance, and for the right user…I think it definately could. The E75 represents the first E-Series device to be compatible with the N-Gage platform and that alone is saying something. This is an E-Series Nokia..a stuffy, yet elegant, buttoned down Nokia made for people who say “ROI” and “paradigm” on a daily basis, and yet you can sit down on your lunch hour or while flying to the London office and kick off a few rounds of Bounce, Boing Voyage or Reset Generation. The E75 has the processing power to monitor your Exchange mailbox while rolling a little red ball around the screen..quite a feat for a E-Sereis device, one that you’d normally think is NOT made for gaming or multimedia. I downloaded the N-Gage client (please Nokia, include this from now on…please) and Bounce Boing Voyage, and the performace was quite good.
Speaking of multimedia, this is also nearly the first (the E63 was I believe) E-series to sport a real 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can use your own headphones without adapters. If you are also of the “wires are so 2008″ variety, A2DP Bluetooth support is also included. The E75 paired to my Nokia A2Dp gateway (I have it jury-rigged into the car…don’t ask) and played some sample music just fine (Side note: If you have not looked at it, please take a look at Amazon’s MP3 downloads…they are fully compatible with the S60 music player and even do album art, something I’ve found hit or miss with ripped CD’s and the like).
Surprisingly, ShareOnline support is also included on the E75, something I’m not sure I’ve seen on others…certainly not on my AT&T crippled E71x. I was able to add my Flickr account to the Share client and send files up just as easily as I can with other Nokia devices.
Next, I’m going to take a look at this device from a messaging standpoint, which is one of the supposed high points about this device, and one for which it was designed…stay tuned.
So…I went to the Nokia N97 Mobile Camp held in Chicago this weekend. This event was held at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Saturday, July 18th and was the second stop in the N97 24/7 Tour that is wrapping up shortly in New York. I had a great time meeting all of the ‘Rockstars’ (Andrew Currie, Matthew Bennett, George Kelly and Jonny Bruha) and playing around with the N97, asking questions and listening in on these guys’ adventures during the tour.
Being a Nokia geek, my first order of business was to pull out all my S60 devices for the crew’s perusal. I took my work-provided E71x in case nobody had actually seen it, my N95 for picture taking and the E75 on loan from WOMWorld so I could continue to put it thru it’s paces. After everyone was introduced we started into the typical device/services/applications discussions. I had never before had a chance to look at the N97 so I grabbed one of the devices and started looking thru all the settings, generally just playing around.
N97 Insights
First and foremost, I was there to see the N97. Family commitments and life in general had conspired to keep me from actually handling one so far, so this was my primary concern. I hunkered down to look at the N97, and even got to throw my SIM into one that was not personally in use by the others.
My fist thought about the N97 was that it was a lot better built that any previous N-Series I used. It was almost E-Series like in it’s solidity except for the plastic back battery cover. The vaunted “thwap” sound of opening the device to expose the qwerty keyboard was something I HAD to do as soon as I held it, so I sat there like a moron, opening and closing the device for a few minutes..I’m sure the guys were laughing a bit at that, but I was enjoying myself
I had previously tried out a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, so moving around S60 with a touch interface was nothing new, but it did feel different with the N97 and the newer widget based homescreen. I have been thinking about a post on the homescreen being a weakness of the iPhone platform and how the N97 is in my opinion a forward looking device for allowing this customization on the home screen, and this time with the N97 makes me think that THIS is the way it should be done. My main reason for looking at the N97 was to see if it was really the device that I thought it would be. Like I said, I carry a E71 and a N95, and I like bits of both. The N95 has the great camera, the music and general “content creation” side of things wrapped up, while I absolutely love messaging side of the E71. I find it sometimes restricting to have just ONE of those phones with me…if I have the E71, I can answer email and use Twitter effectively, but I don’t have the 5 MP sensor and Zeiss optics of the N95 when my two year old is trying to show me how funny he really is. The N97 represents a “best of both worlds” type of device that I’ve been waiting for for quite a while, and while I didn’t get a chance to REALLY try out all the features, I think that it seems to be a step in that direction.
Discussions
After playing around with the UI, the homescreen and applications (and opening/closing the device a few dozen more times too ) we ended the day by discussing the American mobile market, Nokia’s efforts and the differences and challenges that Nokia faces in making it big in the USA again. Altogether, it was interesting seeing what the other bloggers thought about the differences in mobile culture around the world and why things like the iPhone are a big thing here in the US. I really think this is a great topic and hope to write up my thoughts in the coming weeks. PseudoFinn says it all much better (as well as explains the Mobile Camp concept much better) on his post at Symbian-Guru, so take a look there, it is at least fodder for future discussions and posts. Seeing the interesting ways each of the Rockstars used the devices and their approach to mobile technology was also a great experience, and if you get the chance to attend a Mobile Camp in your area, I suggest you do so. If you are in New York, please try to attend the finale of the N97 24/7 Tour as well.
Thanks Guys…I had fun, it almost made the one hour ride back to my leaky camper bearable…almost 
Thanks to the fine folks at WOMWorld, I’ve got my hands on the latest E-Series qwerty device from Nokia, the E75. Luckily for me, this specimen is indeed a NAM (US 3G) version of the E75, so I can enjoy AT&T’s fine high quality 3G network (hold the laughs please) while reviewing this device. The device just landed here in my office and I’d like to give some brief first impressions.
First of all, this is an E-Series Nokia. If anyone wants to know how to make a solid device, go to a store and pick up an E-Series, they are that good. HOWEVER…The E75 is slightly less well-built than the E71 (which is mostly metal) mainly because it’s predominately plastic, but as the E75 shows, just because a phone is plastic, that doesn’t mean it has to feel like a $1.50 Made In China toy (which is ironic because my E75 is INDEED “Made In China”). The QWERTY side slide seems to be a little wobbly too. I can chalk this up to it being a WOMWorld test unit and therefor having been passed around, but it still shows a little bit of wobble when closed, and also when open. The E75 still feels better than 95% of other phones out there, but it’s not up to the quality level of the E71, but perhaps the inclusion of more moving parts has something to do with that.
Also, so far this is the first S60 device that I have not been able to get to work with my company’s Exchange server. The E75 is “blessed” with a new version of the Mail application that includes support for MailForExchange, Nokia’s otherwise standalone ActiveSync client, and this being my first experience with the new client, it’s not been pretty. The application took all my settings, and then just sat there. It acted as if if where syncing, then nothing…no messages, no errors..NOTHING. Being a Nokia/S60 nerd, my first thought was the check for a firmware update. The E75 was indeed slightly behind the times, having been shipped with FW 100.48.78, so I updated it to the latest 110.48.125 firmware and tried again. This time, the MfE application took all my settings again, but when it synced (or tried to) it eventually told me that my server was not available. Just to be sure, I loaded my SIM back into my E71x and all was well…same settings. I’ll continue to check things out and do a little research on my issues and post my experiences here in a full review.
So far…the device is cool, but not exactly working or feeling like I had hoped. We’ll see as time goes on.
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