Last S60 post
Well… as of now I no longer have an S60 phone. I have gone to the realm of BlackBerry for good. So this will be my last S60 post, and it is time to learn a new platform. Look for info as I get into BlackBerry next. So long S60… It has been a lot of fun…
Nokia E51 200.34.36 firmware & BlackBerry Connect
So today firmware 200.34.36 came out for the Nokia E51 and I proceeded to immediately upgrade. There still are no release notes available, but I will post them in the comments when they do. So far no news sites have picked up on this release for some reason…
The firmware has to be downloaded via Nokia Software Updater (Windows only).
*screenshot taken with Screenshot for Symbian OS (free)*
My main concern after updating??? Does my BlackBerry Connect still work? It does, but I had to uninstall version 7.45.1 and then install version 8.14.1 via Nokia Business Software Downloads in order to get it operational again. The steps to do this for the E51 are to select your region (select Americas), operator (select *Other), Phone (select E90), then download version 8.14.1 of BlackBerry Connect and install it onto your E51. After I re-added my IMEI number into BlackBerry online setup my account was back up and running flawlessly!
Version 200 firmware notes that I have: menu navigation, startup, and application launching and performance all seem faster. Also EDGE speed and web browsing seems much speedier too. I haven’t noticed any other changes except NOT having a single issue of unstable software. My E51 has been running like a champ since the update. So download the firmware and make sure to update BlackBerry connect and you should be good to go. Enjoy!
Emoze: finding the S60 PUSH email solution
Finding the optimal PUSH email solution on S60 can be tricky. I have tried many on my previous E61, and now E51; Mail for Exchange (quirky), SEVEN AOM (slow), the built-in IMAP client with IDLE (awkward and slow), Blackberry connect (cumbersome), and now Emoze (back for my second time around). I’m passionate about connectivity so here it goes…
Emoze I have found is the most unobtrusive, easiest to use, and fastest solution out there. This thing delivers mail SO fast! In its current stage, when up and working properly, it is an absolute dream to use. I have had issues with sending from time to time with my Google apps account, but now things seem to be very smooth. I should mention as of right now, emoze is also free.
I found that using the built in Google apps/GMail settings don’t work very well, rather go into the Other POP/IMAP option and enter all of your server settings yourself. This is THE way to go when using emoze if you have the patience to do your own settings. I have had zero issues on this setup. I have never had a dropped connection, missed mail, or formatting issues.
Emoze, when working properly provides a seamless email experience that is an absolute joy to use. The emoze website has a small, but little use support section and their version release notes are currently not available for the latest version, 1.5 (18). Things I would like to see: please let us have a custom signature option, as now you can only use the emoze advertising signature.
JoikuSpot impressions
Here are my impressions of a new S60 app I found today called JoikuSpot. JoikuSpot lets you share your 3G connection over your S60 phone’s WiFi connection by creating a WiFi hotspot on your phone. This is an exceptional effective solution for letting be browse the net on my iPod touch through the access point created by JoikuSpot on my Nokia E51. This is truly slick.
All About Symbian also has a good review up here.
My iPod touch just picks up the access point automatically and I’m browsing at fast speeds on a large screen in minutes! JoikuSpot is a fascinating idea and a wonderfully simple program to use. Best of all it’s free.
Note – this will also work with your laptop or ANY other WiFi device that you use. The implications of this are fantastic. Internet access anywhere on ANY WiFi device you own. Now that is awesome… this app is now in my rotation.
Fring 3.30.5 with file transfer
Fring today added file transfer to it’s growing list of features. Fring now supports all major IM clients (Skype, MSN, AOL, Yahoo, Twitter, Google, SIP, ICQ)… Did I miss any?
To get the new version just download Fring like normal from the Fring download page.
Fring 3.30 also adds these new features.
1. Multi-lingual – available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian & Chinese. It automatically installs in your handset’s default language unless you choose another language from the settings menu. See your local language blog for more details.
2. Chat enriched – with display features & icons to let you know when your buddy is typing, improved navigation between concurrent chats & more…(Chat shortcut! – Pressing the joystick in when selecting a buddy in the main screen opens the chat tab).
Skub’s Nokia E51
I alluded to it earlier… I have a new gadget in my arsenal! The Nokia E51. Best smartphone (or cellphone for that matter) i’ve ever used, love it! Eat your heart out iPhone…
Shozu and my E51
Now that I have my Nokia E51… I needed a method to upload pics to flickr on the go. Enter Shozu. I had heard of this app before, but had no reason to try it with my E61 (no camera). Now that I have it, I can say it is a great app! As soon as I take a pic on my E51 a popup asks if I want to send to flickr-hit yes, then your done. No app to open, no thought needed-done. You can set Shozu to autoupload to flickr completely transparently even, should you choose to do so. Shozu is free and if you have a S60 3rd edition phone with a camera you should download Shozu right away. P.S., it also works on many other phones, including the iPhone, and works with many other social media services.
Free PUSH email with Gmail IMAP-IDLE
Now that Google has rolled out it’s IMAP service to Gmail and GoogleApps users, one can take advantage of the excellent feature called IMAP-IDLE. IMAP-DLE means that while connected to your mailbox (IMAP-IDLE supported program) that new mail will get “pushed” to you, instead of the program polling for new email. This is great on a mobile device (like my Nokia E61) and also great in Mail.app in Leopard, which now supports IMAP-IDLE (this can be enabled in the advanced tab in mailbox settings). So, if you want free PUSH email, check out the already great free email solution from Google (which powers iSKUB mail via GoogleApps). Later skubies.
Fring 3.24 with WISPr
Fring is updated today with a newly added WISPr feature that automatically remembers any WiFi network you’ve previously logged into and will auto-connect when enabled. This added to the auto-connection switching of allowed networks in Fring 3.23 is a nice added bonus to reduce the hassle of WiFi connections to achieve the best call quality with Fring. It’s S60 3.0 (Symbian 9.1) only for now, other versions should see the update soon. Download here.
Google Maps with GPS
A new version of Google Maps hits today with GPS support! This is great news, and now it’s a native S60 app too, no more clunky java app on S60! Testing the GPS functionality was quick and painless, it found me right away. This is going to be such a useful tool. Is Google showing some love to S60 now? They just acquired Jaiku remember, which also has a native S60 app. Keep em’ coming Google. Google Docs for S60 would be very nice indeed… for a full rundown of the new version of Google Maps with GPS head over here.
Nokia Conversation Beta
Threaded SMS is a cool thing. It is the sending and receiving of text messages in an IM like format, like your having a conversation, but with text messages. Nokia Beta Labs announced a few days ago, Nokia Conversation Beta, threaded SMS for S60. The concept is great, the app works, but is definitely still in Beta, so give it a try. Hopefully development continues on this and it becomes a great app for S60. Beta Labs is certainly an exciting place to be at within Nokia. Keep up the good work.
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Fring 3.23
Today Fring launched an update to all it’s client versions that add some nice new features like access point management, fringtone selection, speaker phone support, vibrate alert support (nice!), and improved interface, quality, and reliability updates. Fring version 3.23 is for S60 v3 users, but updates for different S60 versions have also been released today. So point your browser to the Fring download page and nab the new version! ICQ support is also added to all new versions of Fring, bringing the chat client support to 6 services now. Very nice! If Fring added AIM we would really be set. Keep up the good work Fring.
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Nokia Maps 1.0
Nokia Maps hits 1.0 today with new downloads for all E-series and N-series devices. Nokia Maps interfaces with your GPS equiped S60 device, or bluetooth GPS to provide an awesome connected mapping experience. Maps can also be uploaded to the device via the Nokia Maps uploader (Windows only for now). This is the ultimate navigation tool for any S60 device owner, so get to it!
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Worldmate S60 FREE
Worldmate for S60 OS is now free! This is a great essential travel App. A must have for a Nokia S60 owner!Free version includes:
Weathercaster
World Clocks
Global Weather Forecasts
Currency converter and exchange rates
World day/night map
Nokia S60 Free Software Applications Downloads – WorldMate for Nokia S60 applications and downloads
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Fring 3.20 (Symbian 9)
An update to Fring today fixes a long standing issue with low volume during a call. Now the volume is much louder! 
Head over to the Fring download page and commence the downloading.
-Skub out
fring » fring 3.20 (Symbian 9) is out
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Opera Mini 4 beta
So if you have a mobile phone (some of you perhaps?) check this out. Opera Mini 4 beta. It has loads of new features and runs on any phone that supports Java (J2ME) (almost any modern phone). Read a nice initial review at All About Symbian
Here is a sample of new features from the Opera mini 4 beta website:
1. The Web. Period. You can get any site, anywhere, at any time. It’s your Web, to go.
2. When you load a page, Opera Mini will automatically suggest a place to begin reading. When it’s time to dive into the page, Opera Mini zooms in and cleanly focuses on the content you want.
3. Opera Mini dynamically changes the size of text and images to make it convenient to read without a lot of unnecessary scrolling.
4. We included a virtual mouse to make it easy to scroll in any direction. The mouse cursor will look for content and links, and snap the view to them.
5. Scroll faster using the keypad. Simply hit 2 to go up, 4 to go left, 6 to go right and 8 to go down. Opera Mini will snap the view to the content. Hit 5 to zoom in and out.
6. As always, Opera Mini delivers the pages you want, quickly. In doing so, Opera Mini makes your data bill cheaper, too. Opera Mini loads pages more than 2x faster than other mobile browsers.
7. Is it just too much scrolling for you? Turn on “Fit to width” and enjoy the pages in the Small Screen Rendering view. In this view, the structure of the Web page is changed into a single vertical column, removing the need to scroll horizontally while browsing.
8. Hit 1 to open the context menu, where you can turn on Small Screen Rendering (Fit to width) or reload the page. When focusing the cursor on a link you can see where the link really will take you, or choose to open the linked page with images turned off. When browsing with images off, you can choose to load the images in a page by selecting “Load images”. You can even load the image in its original size and uncompressed, high quality by choosing “Open image”.
9. We included all the cool CSS support you need to make your mobile web pages look pixel perfect.
10. more features to come, this is just the beta!
Opera Mini™ 4 beta: Features
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Fring
So I know not many probably none of you have an Nokia S60 smartphone like I do (E61), but I need to share about Fring anyway. Fring is free VOIP calling over EDGE or WIFI to any of your Skype, Googlechat, MSN, Twitter, or SIP contacts. It has been making serious news for quite some time in the mobile arena. Especially with its Skype functionality. Mobile Skype had been a dream for S60 untill Fring came along. I have been using Fring since it was first launched and I absolutely love it! More recently Fring was updated without mention to finally work with unlimited SkypeOut in the US (which I pay for and get unlimited free skype calls). Now with this combination I get unlimited free calling from my E61 anywhere my phone works! When this catches on I could seriously shake up the phone industry. Go Fring team, keep on making a great application and framework to use this amazingly liberating service!!! Fringsters rejoice!
-Skub out
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