Tag: nokia freeware

Applications for productivity and fun on the Nokia E71x

So, it’s officially been over a month since I took possession of the Nokia E71x phone, which is an ATT-modified version of the Nokia E71 phone. My previous posts have focused on getting rid of the many ATT-branded applications that have littered the phone, some free & paid applications that add to the functionality of the phone and now, I’m talking about applications that are fun to have on the phone for the socially connected person. Phew. Here goes:

1) So far, I’ve spent a good bit of time researching what applications I want on my phone. I knew that I would benefit greatly from an application that would let me make screen recordings on my phone and I found an app for that: the Mobiola Screen Capture software application. It takes screenshots and can take video recordings of whatever is taking place on screen! It’s pretty impressive and if you are inquisitive like I am, you will definitely add this tool to your arsenal.

2) Again, being a blogger, I looked for a way to easily create rich posts for my blogs and I found a very robust freeware application for WordPress.com hosted blogs as well as self-hosted WordPress blog: Wordmobi. The installation is easy-peasy and it works as advertised. As a matter of fact, I’ve penned 1 or 2 posts via this application and while it could do better in terms of its user interface, I’m NOT staring this gift horse in the mouth. 🙂 It works via Wifi which is great if you aren’t signed up for a data plan so it scores major points in my book. 😀

3) I love chatting with my friends and family. I’ve signed up for practically all the top instant messaging services there are so I was looking for applications that would allow me to add, at least, Yahoo Messaging, Windows Live, Gtalk, Skype, etc. I’ve searched high and low for an application to do just that. I didn’t want to spend any more money on applications. Thankfully, there were several freeware alternatives. The top two that come to mind are: fring, Gizmo, and nimbuzz. An important source for the freebie-loving Nokia owner is this website, Freeware for Symbian. I LOVE this website because not only do they tell you about the great applications available for free, they allow YOU to visit the publisher’s website to download the program yourself! This behavior makes them much more trustworthy than a site that offers the downloads from their site. So, I feel confident in recommending them to you, but as always, caveat emptor. My recommendation on the IM applications is to install and try them out. Here’s their section on Messengers. As for me, I’ve got Nimbuzz installed on my phone and PC. It fits my needs and you might come to that conclusion yourself so up and away! 🙂

4) This fourth item is a hidden gem and I wish Nokia would do more to advertise it. Continue reading Applications for productivity and fun on the Nokia E71x

Installing Nokia Maps 3.0.1 on the Nokia E71x

  1. Update: it appears that using the Ovi Suite software, you do need to go to the trouble of downloading the older version 2.0 Ovi Maps .sis files. Follow the instructions on installing version 2 first and then, installing version 3 per the instructions in my post. When that succeeds, download & install the Ovi Suite (to your computer) . The Ovi Maps application on your Nokia E71x phones should now be detectable and updated by the Ovi Suite software! Let me know in the comments if you aren’t able to install Ovi Maps on your Nokia E71x phone. See the latest comment from SkyWorker that prompted a revision.

Wow! The visits to my posts on tweaking the Nokia E71x, some apps for the Nokia E71x and my recommended gear and more applications for the E71x are insane by my very modest standards. This blog is a labor of love and at most, I get ~ 15 visits daily (5 of which are from Bots). So, seeing something in the neighborhood of 60 visits/day is pretty huge and no Bots there! 😀 It tells me that this is a market that can be tapped into and by Jove, I aim to please! I’m on Twitter as @janetalkstech and make sure you subscribe to my blog here and keep track of my Nokia E71x related postings.

So, what else have I discovered about my new Nokia E71x since I’ve had it? Well, here goes:

  1. The question  is not if your phone will get scuffed up, it’s when. Get a Otterbox case for E71x now or see the black beauty get scarred.
  2. Google Maps will not work without a data connection. If you obtained a Nokia E71x without signing up for a data connection AND you are able to use Google Maps, guess what? You are making a data counter at AT & T very happy. I’m dreading my phone bill because I didn’t realize that Google Maps didn’t work with Wifi and I had been playing rather heavily with tracking myself via Google Maps. Oy vey. Painful and expensive lesson learned.
  3. Nokia Maps 3.0 (now Ovi Maps) works on your Nokia E71x device. The road to getting it installed is painful, but it can be done. The best part about it? Nokia Maps 3.0 will work on your device without needing a data connection. For driving directions to work, you will need to purchase a license from Nokia. You don’t need Wifi connection for the turn-by-turn directions to work. Here’s I went through to get it working on my device:
    1. Download Nokia Maps 2.0 and 3.0 onto your computer using the files (Nokia_Maps_2.0_0701_3.2_u.sis> and Nokia_Maps_3.0_0302_3.2_u.sis which are actually for 6650 device, but apparently works on the E71x) from this website (here originally at http://tamale.pwnij.com/e71x/). FIRST, make sure your microSD card is in your phone. We will be dealing with a lot of data so check yourself. SECOND, install Nokia Maps 2.0 on your device via the Nokia PC Suite software and run Nokia Maps 2.0 once. Reboot your device after the install successfully completes. Ensure you are doing the installation using your USB cord. THEN, install Nokia Maps 3.0 onto your device through PC Suite and run it once as well. At this point, you may run into the “low memory” message and all that is needed is for you to go to your C:/ or E:/ drive and delete the Cities/ folder and a ‘qf’ file.
    2. If you don’t know what C:/ or E:/ drive means, I strongly recommend you get an AT & T data plan. If you do, thumbs up. Keep reading.
    3. After deleting the Cities/ folder (if you had a problem starting up Nokia Maps 3.0 in the first place), then start up Nokia Maps 3.0 again. Success! Restart your device to ‘clear its head’.
    4. Visit Nokia’s website and download two files: (i)Nokia Map loader for downloading the maps (ii) Nokia Map Updater for updating the Nokia Maps software. Hint: your device selection is the E71 in order to access the Nokia Maps Updater software.
    5. Connect your Nokia E71x phone to the computer in Mass Storage PC Suite mode and start up Nokia Maps Updater software. It should detect your device and prompt you to update your Nokia Maps 3.0 software to Nokia Maps 3.0.1. If you get this far, you’re looking mighty fine. 😀
    6. Then, fire up the Nokia Maps Uploader software (Hint: do the actual map downloading at a time when your network is least congested. I did the download at ~ 2am so that about 1.4GB didn’t take 2 years to download).I opted to download the entire US maps to my device. I’m hoping you realize that you must already have your microSD card (8GB or more) in your device because the US maps are ~ 1.4GB in size.
    7. When the download is done, exit and you are free to fire up the Nokia Maps software. In my experience, it takes a couple of minutes to get a GPS fix, but I’m not complaining because it’s free, right? You get what you pay for. In this case, I hear AT & T’s Navigator software is quite good, but again, I am averse to paying for convenience. lol.
    8. PS: Based on comments, I’m putting up a link to this site that points directly to the maps files for Ovi Maps 3.0 that reside on Nokia’s servers (in case the Map Loader software is not working as it should).
  4. Games:- Handango is pretty pathetic in its selection of games for the Nokia E71x device. However, I discovered that Gameloft has a mobile site and as I write, I’ve got Prince of Persia on my device!  However, their online payment system has hiccups. Something I’ve also discovered is that Handango is like an aggregator which makes resolving issues more complicated than it needs to if you need a refund issued. So, I’m trying to hunt down the actual game developers for the applications I purchase and get them from their website directly if they have an option to purchase online from them!.
  5. Thus far, all my paid downloads have been for useful applications like the Handy Converter and the Handy Expense tracker, Merriam Webster 3rd International Unabridged Dictionary with a Sound module, a paid KJV bible (along with 2 free readers from Olive Tree Bible Software and Mobipocket E-Book Reader), Call Recorder, Mobiola Screen Capture software, Twittix, X-plore, Quickoffice Premier 6, Adobe Reader LE 2.5 and Emoze Pro.
  6. Lastly, my entire series of Nokia E71x posts will not be complete without mentioning the guys at Nokia Experts who have been a key factor in getting me started on my way to emancipating myself from AT & T’s shackles. Go visit them and encourage them to keep posting more Nokia E71x tips and tricks!!

PS: Check my series of posts on Tweaking the Nokia E71x phone, more apps for the Nokia phone, recommended accessories and yet more applications for the Nokia E71x phone. Cheers!

Tweaking the Nokia E71x

So, i think I’ve finally gotten my E71x phone right where I want it: using more free apps than paid-for apps, using Wifi vs. AT & T’s service and being productive while away from my laptop. Before making the switch to a Symbian system, I worried about interoperability with my laptop and I am very pleased to report that the Nokia PC Suite has truly rocked my world by being even better than my Windows Mobile Device center. My appointments, contacts, tasks and files sync back and forth with an ease that makes me wonder why I didn’t try out a Symbian OS earlier.

I confess to having some reservations initially because so-called power users gave scathing reviews of the Nokia E71x phone. I agree with their assessments primarily because that out-of-box experience is littered with the equivalent of PC bloatware/crapware/craplets. For someone who purchased a Wifi-enabled device, the lengths A T & T went to to ensure that your applications went through their portal is mindboggling. However, I got this device under ‘special’ circumstances and I was determined to use my phone’s capabilities to the maximum!

right now, I’ve got the following applications installed on my phone:

  1. X-plore: You need thi program to aid in systematically removing the trials and demos that litter the phone system. Please support these developers because they are invaluable to the ecosystem of mobile devices. 🙂
  2. Emoze: i like checking my email when away from my laptop so this was a no-brainer for me to get. Don’t bother with XpressMail because it’s an AT & T offering. The odds are in favor of XpressMail being preconfigured to use A T & T’s service/data plan. The free version is limited to 1 account and for less than 10 a year, you can upgrade so you can view/send emails from multiple accounts. It’s totally worth it!.
  3. ShoZu: this program is a little killer application that has become an important hub on the train of social networking. It is linked to a lot of sites and I use it daily to post updates/pictures/videos to sites lik Flickr, Smugmug, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Blip.tv, Picasa Web Albums, and many more!
  4. Google Maps: A must-have for anyone on the go a lot. I recently used it when I was lost downtown and I was thoroughly impressed by the street view and the receiver strength of my phone.

I would keep going, but my thumbs need a break. 🙂 In short, this phone is a great device. Short and sweet.
PPS: Please see my previous Nokia E71x posts on more recommended applications for your new Symbian S60 device and on tweaking the Nokia E71x phone.