I have liked the Nokia Nseries devices over the years for their media creation experiences, but it was always the Eseries that earned a spot in my pocket and long term use of my SIM card due to their workhorse functionality. The Nokia E61 was the first front facing QWERTY keyboard Nokia Eseries I bought and I enjoyed using it. However, when the E71 came out in that ultra-sleek form factor and design I jumped all over it and picked up one of them.
I wasn’t as impressed with the E72, but the E73 Mode won me back and up until now I consider that my ultimate Nokia front facing QWERTY device. After spending a couple of weeks with my new Nokia E6 I have to say that I find little reason to pull out my T-Mobile SIM card and think this device may just have all that I need in a beautiful form factor and it trumps all other front facing QWERTY Nokia devices.
I also think it easily beats the BlackBerry QWERTY devices as I have said many times because it has dedicated keys for commonly used things such as @, ?, period, and comma that alone make it more functional for me.
The hardware of the Nokia E6 is just about what I wanted with a 640×480 pixel resolution display that rivals the iPhone 4 retina display with a density of 326 pixels per inch (the iPhone 4 is the same). It is only a 2.46 inch display though, which causes some issues with apps (Slacker Radio is offset and doesn’t fill the display). I like the solid metal back plate, huge 1500 mAh battery that matches my other Eseries devices, 8 megapixel camera, touchscreen display, slider/lock switch, and microSD card expandability. There is a lot more to the hardware I will cover in a full review.
Overall, I am pleased with the software, primarily that the E6 comes with Anna loaded out of the box. I still have issues with Nokia’s email solution and Gmail wasn’t working right at first and is still lazy about updating properly. Mail for Exchange works well though and I can now respond to meeting invites. I like the new home screen layout with 3 customizable widgets on the right and three common ones always on the left for time/date and quick alarm access, quick profile switcher, and notifications area. Including JoikuSpot out of the box has been helpful for keeping me connected during my vacation.
I am find a LOT to like with the E6, but also some things that need work. I still thik it is a fabulous Eseries QWERTY and a testament to that is the fact that my SIM has been in it most of these past two weeks. Stay tuned for more thoughts in a week or so.
While I am on vacation this week I still wanted to give you a few of my first thoughts on the device and show you some photos of it. For more in-depth analysis on the Nokia E6 take a look at these great articles:
I read that Nokia was slapping those loyal clients who have went out and bought the N8 and other Symbian^three devices early in the face by shipping new N8 and C7 devices with Anna preloaded. Without having question, they need to have very first provided the update to existing owners and this whole Anna update story is disappointing to me. I also read that Anna for the N8 was leaked and offered so I decided to risk it rather than wait for Nokia considering that my N8 was just sitting around useless anyways and now I have Anna on my N8 performing well so far.
This will void your warranty, risk bricking your device, etc. so I do not suggest any readers take these actions and just wait for Nokia to officially release it. That said, my wife’s blue Nokia N8 consistently locks up and is a piece of crap so I am going to update hers making use of these actions following I test it out on my orange 1 for a few much more days. So far everything seems to be working just fine. There were a couple of Chinese apps on the N8 that I just uninstalled and so far so good. These actions are not too bad truly and didn’t call for any DOS commands or anything like goofing around with my N900 did.
Any readers attempt this update and if so, how did it go for you?
UPDATE: Here is a page describing a new ROM version with the split screen/context sensitive keyboard and other improvements. I am going to put this 1 on my N8 now.
Dieter and the folks here in the Smartphone Experts family let me launch Nokia Experts back in January 2009 as a way to share my passion for Nokia and its products and complete the full circle of mobile operating systems for the Smartphone Experts body of sites. Since then I have posted 794 posts and enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm with readers and the wonderful folks at Nokia. However, it is time for me to focus on my work on ZDNet at The Mobile Gadgeteer and Smartphones & Cell Phones blogs, on helping my employees in my day job develop professionally, and on spending time with my family and my daughters as they prepare to enter college and start their own lives.
Back in 2009 Nokia had a major lead in the smartphone market and seemed untouchable, but over the last couple of years we have seen how a large company without a clear focus can lose its way and market share. Back when my buddy Ricky Cadden shut down Symbian-Guru I thought of joining him and have had my own ups and downs over the past year. One thing that kept me going here more than the devices was the people of Nokia and those writing about Nokia and I appreciate their friendship over the years and hope we can continue those relationships for years to come.
I am extremely excited to see the Windows Phone OS running on Nokia hardware and while it may not have a major impact on Nokia’s market share I think it is the right move for them at this time. I do still enjoy Symbian and will keep a few devices around to continue using, but my primary smartphone love right now is Windows Phone and I cannot find much motivation to write about Nokia here on this site. Don’t worry though I will include Nokia coverage more on my ZDNet blog so I may not be focused on it here, but will still cover the company and the devices. Nokia’s Windows Phone devices will be well covered by the great folks at WPCentral and I hope to contribute some articles there and across some other Smartphone Experts sites since I enjoy using devices from every smartphone platform.
Thank you again to all of you readers for you support, questions, and die hard attitude. There were not many of us in the United States who discovered and heavily used Nokia’s Symbian and Maemo devices, but I hope I helped some of you out over the past couple of years.
It comes as no surprise that Nokia’s 2nd quarter monetary outcomes are poor considering that they are in the middle of a enormous smartphone operating method method alter. We saw a comparable form of scenario happen when Microsoft transitioned from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone 7, but Nokia is nonetheless performing much better than Microsoft did by means of that time. Nokia nonetheless sold 88.five million mobile devices (16.7 million of them had been smartphones) so those that appreciate utilizing Nokia devices still seem to be buying them.
Stephen Elop stated that a Windows Phone device will be coming out from Nokia in 2011 and that excites me. I enjoy the new Windows Phone operating program and think it much better than iOS and Android for me. I won’t predict that Windows Phone will resurrect Nokia’s sales numbers, but they will have a positive impact. Hopefully the Nokia brand will introduce Windows Phone to much more folks due to the fact I just feel folks require to try it first to see how wonderful it is. At this time people seem to stay away from it due to the fact it is from Microsoft and they have existing feelings about the old Microsoft mobile operating systems.
Nokia is nonetheless creating very very good Symbian smartphones and those of us who nonetheless in fact like Symbian are discovering some fantastic devices in the N8, E7, and E6.
Nokia Messaging has been a bit of a confusing service in the past, which is why I created the Nokia Messaging reference guide a couple of years ago. I have been disappointed in the current Nokia Email app and lack of full support for Gmail so when I heard today that Synchronica acquired Nokia’s operator-branded messaging business my hopes were raised that some attention would be given to making the experience better.
With this acquisition Synchronica will gain the opportunity to service more than six million active end users just in North America. Approximately 250 employees, externals, and contractors are planned to transfer from Nokia to Synchronica.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of July 2011.
Nokia Messaging has been a bit of a confusing service in the past, which is why I created the Nokia Messaging reference guide a couple of years ago. I have been disappointed in the current Nokia Email app and lack of full support for Gmail so when I heard today that Synchronica acquired Nokia’s operator-branded messaging business my hopes were raised that some attention would be given to making the experience better.
With this acquisition Synchronica will gain the opportunity to service more than six million active end users just in North America. Approximately 250 employees, externals, and contractors are planned to transfer from Nokia to Synchronica.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of July 2011.
I saw recently that the overseas online Nokia stores were closing, but figured the US one would stay open given that just a small number of carriers sell Nokia smartphones. However, if you go visit the Nokia USA store website you will find that it is now CLOSED. After the crazy Nokia N8 experiences I had, I have to say good riddance. You were much better off finding phones at Amazon, Newegg, Dell, and through other online retailers anyway.
This is what is posted on the Nokia USA site:
The Nokia US Online Store has been closed from June 30, 2011. Below you will find information on where to purchase a new Nokia product and/or compatible accessory and information on where to find support for your current online order from the Nokia Store.
The site lists the various questions and answers you may have regarding current orders, promotions, and service issues.
It is clear that the Nokia N8 is the best cameraphone available and should hold onto that title even though T-Mobile is promoting the new myTouch 4G Slide as having the best camera on a smartphone. I use my N8 quite a bit to capture video of my daughters’ sports and other events, but need to learn how to do better so I can hang with folks that turn out videos like these taken for the Nokia Shorts 2011 video contest.
Thousands of videos were submitted and judged over a four month period and JW Griffiths, from Great Britain, was selected as the winner with his Splitscreen: A Love Story movie (embedded below). He earned a $ 10,000 USD prize.
Seven others were selected as finalists and all of these can be viewed on the Nokia Shorts 2011 website. These include the following videos:
‘Pearls of Wisdom ‘
Jason Van Genderen – Australia
A unique, short documentary featuring ‘pearls of wisdom’ from homeless and displaced people
‘The Adventures of a Cardboard Box’
Temujin Doran – UK
The escapades of one boy and his cardboard box – his own gateway to a million, fantasy adventures
‘Dirt’
Joseph Marcantonio – UK
A post-apocalyptic cowboy film
‘The Rider’
Josh Brooks – USA
A classic story with a twist set in the hills of Montana
‘Thunk in Public’
Ryan Maples – USA
A comedy short on unfiltered thoughts, leading to awkward situations
Homecoming
Teemu Nikki – Finland
Humourous film featuring key props including salmon, knife and a pair of gloves
Daniel
Aurora Fearnley – UK
A drama fantasy about one person coming to terms with a special, mystery gift
These are great to view for motivation to capture even better movies myself. Do you capture video with your Nokia N8?
Remember that Nokia Care US video tip contest I mentioned a couple weeks ago? Well, guess what? The Twitter voting ended up with 12 selections being made and I won the contest based on the judge’s voting! Yes, that’s right I will finally be getting a Nokia E7 so I can cover it here on Nokia Experts. I have been asking for an evaluation unit since Nokia World last year and I guess my posts about Nokia and some of their ridiculous actions (or inactions) might have put me on the review blacklist
I am looking forward to testing it out and sure hope it ends up with Anna soon because at this time I really find Symbian devices without Anna to be way below what other smartphones offer. I do still like my Nokia devices for the outstanding call quality and reception, long battery life, wonderful cameras, and more, but they really need to step it up soon.
Let me know what you would like for me to test out on the E7 and I will include it in my upcoming articles.
As I told you a couple of days ago I won a Nokia E7 in a video contest and if you all voted for my video I sincerely appreciate it! Nokia let me choose from a silver or blue E7 and I like color so I went with the blue one. As you can see in my gallery below, I now own three of the latest Symbian^3 devices; the orange Nokia N8, silver Nokia Astound (C7), and blue Nokia E7. No matter what I may think about the response by Nokia regarding software updates you cannot argue they make some amazing hardware and the E7 has fired up my passion once again.
I will be working on my full review of the Nokia E7 as my T-Mobile SIM is back in the device after sending back the evaluation HTC Sensation 4G. Obviously, I am a fan of Nokia and Symbian or I would not write here on this site. I saw a good post on All About Symbian about the powerful and yet simple home screen we have on Symbian devices and it is honestly one of the reasons I use Symbian devices. If we could just get Anna on the E7 and N8 with the email client, web browser, and other improvements I would be happy until Windows Phone comes to Nokia. Even then, I will honestly miss many features of Symbian and plan to hold onto these three devices for quite some time.
I am a huge fan of mobile software and appreciate all of the hard work that developers put into their applications. I received an email from Paul Hinrichsen regarding a project he has been working on in his spare time for quite a while now. GPS navigation is fantastic on Nokia devices and Paul is working to bring indoor navigation to the platform with his current target being the monstrous Mall of America location in Minnesota. The Mall of America has over hundreds of stores so you can imagine why you need help getting around the place.
I do not live near there so I can’t help Paul test out his application in real-life situations. He is particularly interested in seeing how it works with the Nokia Astound. If there are any Nokia Experts readers in Minnesota or who play to visit the Mall of America, please read below and consider helping give feedback to Paul on his application.
I developed a liking for Flash Lite programming and this has since become my hobby. My particular interest lies with the problems of indoor navigation. I entered an indoor navigation app in the Nokia Calling all Innovators Africa competition in 2009 and came 10th out of 125 entries. This app did not provide turn-by-turn directions along the shortest route but simply static map graphics for a 4-level mall having 320 stores.
I have since developed an indoor navigation app targeted at the Mall of America (4-levels and 520+ stores). The app provides turn-by-turn directions along the shortest route as well as reporting on the distances to walk for each leg of the journey – rather like your motor car gps. I haven’t added voice but this will be the next upgrade to the app. Also – being man-alone I don’t have the expertise to research mobile device tracking in an indoor environment so to locate themselves the user simply enters the name of a store at their location. Glad to see though that Nokia are developing a dynamic tracking system. Hoping to one day hook into their technology.
Having developed this in South Africa I haven’t had the opportunity to test it in the Mall itself – however I have confidence in my construction. I don’t claim it will bring you right to the very door of the store that you are seeking but it will bring you close enough to see the store front. I am DESPERATELY looking for someone to test the app in the Mall. I have contacted the Mall itself but they seem rather closed-minded and are not even interested to look at it since it is a “third party app”. I am not necessarily asking you to test the app as I am certain you are very busy and you are probably nowhere near Bloomington Minnesota.
You can find his application for free in the Ovi Store and if you do get a chance to try it out, please leave a review with feedback on its performance. Here are a couple videos so you can see how it works.
It will be just about a year after the release of the Nokia N8 when we will be getting the update that was talked about during the release. According to a post on Nokia Conversations, Anna will ship on new N8, C7, and C6-01s that are bought starting in July while the E6 and X7 already have it loaded. As you know, my Nokia Astound also has Anna and I love it! I also have my own Nokia E6 coming this week that has Anna preloaded so by the time it comes to existing devices I may no longer even have those devices.
Speaking of existing devices, I had to pass my orange Nokia N8 on to my wife since her blue one is a lemon and hangs and shuts down on her all the time. You do not want a wife with a goofy phone that you recommended and since I prefer the E7 to the N8 myself I have no problem passing it along to her.
Hopefully, Nokia can keep this August date at least since I told my wife when we bought her blue N8 back in February that Swype in portrait would be coming very soon and these update delays are killing my reputation.
We have heard rumors of a MeeGo device coming from Nokia for some time and late last night Nokia announced the Nokia N9 MeeGo device. As much as I like Nokia products, I don’t know why they want to again have four operating systems to support with Symbian, Series 40, Windows Phone, and MeeGo. I think MeeGo will just end up being another hobby device, like the N900, and according to FoneArena the US is not a launch country so we may not even see it here until 2012.
Their press release states it will ship later this year and honestly I would rather just see Nokia devote these resources to Windows Phone or even improving Symbian rather than spending time on a phone that will appeal only to the most die hard Nokia fan who doesn’t care about smartphones being part of a complete ecosystem.
The N9 specifications include the following:
1 GHz Arm Cortex A8 OMAP3630 processor
MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan operating system
Penta-band 3G radio (Yeah Nokia, why can’t anyone else do this?) at just 14.4 Mbps
8 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera with dual LED flash
Front facing camera for video calls
3.9 inch AMOLED display at 854×480 pixel resolution
NFC chip
Bluetooth 2.1
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
A-GPS
1450 mAh battery
Dimenions of 116.45 x 61.2 x 7.6 mm and 135 grams
It looks to have specs matching current devices, except for the processor and slower wireless cellular radio and in six months won’t stand out in the crowd at all. There are no buttons on the front and everything is controlled by the touchscreen interface. The N9 will come in Magenta, Cyan, and Black and the design does look beautiful with the curved Gorilla glass.
Check out some Nokia N9 resource sites for more information:
OK, I’ll admit I was a bit harsh on the Nokia N9 and maybe it is due to my frustration with the lack of a simple Anna update on my existing devices. How can they show something as slick as the N9 and MeeGo and not even provide the update to existing loyal customers? Anyway, I was thinking early today I would likely buy a Nokia N9 (and I still might), but when I saw the same form factor running Windows Phone as the Sea Ray I became much more excited about Nokia.
I understand that the meeting was an internal meeting and someone, either accidentally or purposely, leaked out the video where Mr. Elop showed off this slick Windows Phone device. There are still a ton of questions about the device (processor, camera, Nokia Maps, etc.) and I am sure there is a lot of work to do, but the fact that it looks to be just about the same as the N9 is promising.
Both the N9 and this Sea Ray device show me that Nokia continues to create nice hardware and I look forward to both MeeGo and Windows Phone devices. Shoot, I am still buying Symbian devices since I like what Nokia has to offer. After seeing the N9 and playing more with my Nokia E7, I also came to realize it isn’t that important to have thousands of 3rd party apps when the operating system itself provides nearly all the functionality that you really use on a daily basis.
The Eseries with front facing QWERTY was always one of my favorite form factors that I found extremely useful and functional. Nokia provided some optimal calendar and messaging experiences with the Eseries and they were all built like tanks. The Nokia E6 has that same wonderful form factor with the addition of a touchscreen and Symbian Anna OS. Here are some other key specifications that look to make this the best front facing Eseries device ever:
Quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G (Thank you Nokia!)
Symbian Anna OS
8GB internal memory and microSD card slot for up to 32GB more
8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 720p video capture
Front facing VGA camera
2.46 inch 640×480 pixels touchscreen display (That’s 326 ppi which is the same as the iPhone 4 retina display.)
Dedicated graphics processor with OpenGL 2.0 support
BP-4L 1500 mAh battery
A-GPS
WiFi (802.11 b/g/n)
Bluetooth 3.0
FM radio with RDS
USB on-the-to support
3.5mm headset jack with TV-out support
Both microUSB and 2mm charging ports
My only real complaint with the last front facing QWERTY Eseries I tested, the Nokia E73 Mode, was the lower resolution display and this E6 fixes that with specs that sound fantastic for such a small display.
I went ahead and purchased one from Star Telecom Mobile on eBay since the tax alone for me to buy from Amazon was nearly $ 50 over the purchase price and they have the E6 available NOW! Stay tuned for E6 coverage here on Nokia Experts since the E6 should arrive next week.
Back in late 2009 Nokia sued Apple for using their patented technologies while not paying any license fees like many others in the wireless industry were doing. Apple then countersued and acted like a child who was ticked that someone had the nerve to take action. When all the others were licensing these patents that Nokia had spent billions developing, it was pretty obvious Apple was just trying to show they didn’t have to follow the rules like everyone else. Nokia just announced that Apple has now become a licensee and lawsuits related to patent infringement are now dropped.
While Nokia’s market share is falling during this transitional phase and increasing competition from Apple and Google, they still are due recognition and payment for the billions they spent on R&D over the years as they led the world in wireless technologies. It is nice to finally see Apple realize Nokia was due such payments and will be making a one time lump sum payment followed by future royalty payments so when Apple succeeds Nokia gets a piece of the pie too. The length and financials of the agreement were not disclosed.
Regular readers know I have been a long time fan of Nokia products and I still am or I would not spend my time writing here on Nokia Experts. While I am one of Nokia biggest fans, I am also a critic and point out when I think they need to step up to the plate. Rita, previously of All About Symbian, posted on the Mobile R’n’R site that we should all give Nokia a break.
I agree with much of what Rita wrote, except I am not willing to give up on the lack of the Anna update for existing N8, E7, and C7 owners because they should have the update if there are devices shipping with it too and there are no excuses as we approach one year without the update that was promised when the N8 was released.
I do think it is ridiculous to make any judgements about the success of Nokia with Windows Phone since we have no idea when we might see a device and what that will look like with Mango or later on the devices. Like Rita, there is a place in my heart for the people of Nokia and the company itself with its Finnish heritage. I wish Nokia would have seen that Symbian needed to be refreshed earlier because I honestly still do like Symbian and am loving this Nokia E7 and Nokia Astound devices.
It’s good to see Rita is excited about Nokia and Windows Phone as I thought I was one of the few that is looking forward to two of my favorites getting together. I would LOVE to see a Nokia E7 device with Windows Phone 7.
Do you agree with Rita that Nokia deserves a break?
I read about the Ovi Store version 2.08 update on All About Symbian and fired up my Nokia N8 to see that the update had arrived. After signing in to the Ovi Store I saw that there was one application update available for my device, as shown in the screenshot to the right.
Getting application update notices is essential in today’s mobile world so I am happy to see it finally come to Nokia’s Symbian line. According to the guys at AAS, here is what is improved in the new Ovi Store client:
Users are able to review and apply updates to apps they’ve downloaded from the Ovi Store. The server now sends version numbers automatically down to the client on the phone.
Nokia’s algorithm for delivering ‘Top Free’ and ‘Best Sellers’ has been tweaked, to “make app and game listings more relevant for consumers”. Internal rankings are now filtered better by device and region, so that popularity in one niche won’t skew the whole.
Finding relevant apps has been made easier, with the addition of a “users who downloaded x also downloaded y” system.
Localization of S60 clients to Arabic Store clients for S60 5th Edition and S60 3rd Edition.
My new Nokia E7 also received the update the first time I launched the Ovi Store on it. I also fired up my Nokia Astound to check for the Ovi Store update and found it too had the update available so now all three of my newer Symbian devices are running the latest Ovi Store client!
I wanted to first start out by saying I am sorry to all of you loyal Nokia Experts readers who continue to read the site. I think you all know, but I am a ship designer/naval architect in my “day job” and have been extremely busy over the last six months or so with a lot of time spent in Ketchikan, Alaska, checking over the shipyard construction of a new vehicle/passenger ferry. That ferry is just about ready to get on the run so my time is starting to get more manageable. I captured quite a few images with my Nokia N8 and included a gallery of them below so you can see what I have been up to.
I also served as the technical editor for one book, wrote another (Facebook Companion), and just started writing yet another (BlackBerry PlayBook Companion) so I am one busy guy. That said, I am making it a point to get back into writing here on Nokia Experts and getting back into the groove again. Thanks for your patience and I look forward to hearing from you all again.
One thing about Nokia devices that appeals to me is the way they include the little things that just work to make your life better. For example, the always on standby clock on the Nokia N8, and other new Symbian^3 phones, is awesome. On other phones I am often tapping a button or flipping a switch to see the time and date since I rarely wear a watch and with the clock screensaver (on by default) you get this information with very little impact on battery life.
The one issue I do have with this clock screensaver is that at night when my Nokia N8 is next to my bed the clock can be a bit bright. Nokia provides a fix for this though with the Nokia Sleeping Screen utility available now on the Nokia Beta Labs site. By installing this utility you get nine new clock screensavers to choose from, with color, and the automatic capability that turns it off when your device is covered (such as when in your pocket or a bag). You set the range of time when the screensaver will turn off so you can sleep at night.
After installation you go then go to Settings >> Themes >> Screen saver to choose your clock and set the time period for night clock mode. There is no application icon or anything on your device after you install this utility so you must go to this settings area.
Have you found any other cool utilities or apps in the Nokia Beta Labs that you enjoy?
I previously mentioned that Nokia asked me to work with them on five reviews for the Ovi Daily Apps site and I wanted to let you all know they posted my review of SugarSync for Symbian this morning. This is a review I have been meaning to write here for quite some time because I have checked out most every cloud sync/storage solution and found SugarSync to be the best, especially for multi-platform guys like myself.
As you can read in my review, SugarSync is available for S60 3rd Edition, 5th Edition, and Symbian^3 devices. You get a whopping 5GB for free with other storage capacities available at reasonable rates. I hope they eventually add streaming capability of music like they do on other platforms, but just having access to files and the ability to get to them from my Nokia N8 is valuable to me. You can’t go wrong giving it a try for free.
I was chatting with Dieter and told him I was quite pleased with the short time I spent with the Nokia Astound and that I was thinking of picking one up for the site. He gave me the thumbs up and was going to get one for me to use, but I decided to just visit a local store to see what I could work out with the expectation I would pay the full $ 299.99 (before 9.5% tax) no contract price. I went to my local T-Mobile store in Federal Way and was shocked by what happened next.
I went into the store and there were six employees standing around with only one other customer being helped. Richard asked me kindly what I would like and I told him I wanted to buy a Nokia Astound off contract. He told me they had them in stock and he would see what he could do for me. He said he thought he could work out something in the system because there were some special offers on accessories. After logging into the system and trying some different things, he worked out a deal where he was able to give me the following gear and still cut my total price out the door to $ 255.08 that included the 9.5% sales tax.
Nokia Astound (shown as only $ 99.99 on the receipt)
Jabra Stone 2 Bluetooth headset ($ 129.99 down to $ 90.99)
MicroUSB car charger ($ 29.99 down to $ 20.99)
Nokia Astound 2-pack screen protector ($ 14.99 down to $ 10.49)
Nokia Astound black gel skin case ($ 14.99 down to $ 10.49)
I was amazed by what he was able to get for me while still saving me just over $ 73. My account stayed the same, my excellent family plan remained untouched, and I ended up saving money and walking out with some great accessories. If my head wasn’t lost in the clouds as he was handing me all this gear I would have asked for a 32GB microSD card instead of the Bluetooth headset since I need those more than headsets.
If you are considering the Nokia Astound, you may want to visit your local store and see if they have any special offers for you as well. Richard mentioned that the future AT&T purchase had something to do with his ability to offer me all of these accessories and knock a couple hundred off of the phone price too.
I put my SIM card into my new Nokia Astound and plan to use it as my primary device for a while and create a Guide page for the site. I already like that I can use Swype in portrait orientation and the email client is MUCH better!
I enjoyed using the Nokia Astound and am seriously considering picking one up so I can put together some featured articles here on Nokia Experts. I find it to be more functional than my Nokia N8, primarily due to the upgraded OS with a much better email client and other features. If you want a C7 with Nokia Anna loaded onto it and a device that has real gold plating then take a look at this video below. I have to admit the Nokia Oro is one sexy device. Maybe Dieter will purchase one for me to put together a Guide here on Nokia Experts
Unfortunately, it won’t be available until Q3 and the price is upwards of EUR800!
Nokia has been running a lot of contests and Nokia Experts readers seem to have pretty good luck at winning so I wanted to share a US-based contest going on now that has five days left to enter. The Nokia Care US contest is accepting videos that show different “How-tos” for Nokia devices in just three minutes. The contest deadline is 16 May, next Monday.
I entered the video embedded below (it was tough to cut it to 3 minutes and get all the steps in there) that shows how to enjoy Amazon Video On Demand movies and Zune Pass music on your Nokia device. I thought it was timely given that Windows Phone 7 will eventually be on Nokia hardware so using the method I described you can get a glimpse of the Zune Pass functionality on your Nokia device. My video is now in the contest playlist and next week they will Tweet out the voting start with directions on how to vote.
Voting starts 17 May and goes through 24 May so I will post again when it starts so you can all vote for my video if you think it is worthy. Voters also have a chance to win a Nokia N8 so it is in your best interest to vote as well. Remember, you can only vote once during the voting period so make it count
The grand prize is a Nokia E7 and if I win I will post a review of the device here since I have yet to get a loaner eval unit and have only seen it at Nokia World last year. The runner-up prize is a Nokia Astound, which I would also love to win and would follow up here with more articles on that device.
I am a huge fan of mobile software and appreciate all of the hard work that developers put into their applications. I received an email from Paul Hinrichsen regarding a project he has been working on in his spare time for quite a while now. GPS navigation is fantastic on Nokia devices and Paul is working to bring indoor navigation to the platform with his current target being the monstrous 
I currently have the 
So then, why in the world am I considering pre-ordering a 
I read about the Ovi Store version 2.08 update on 
One thing about Nokia devices that appeals to me is the way they include the little things that just work to make your life better. For example, the always on standby clock on the Nokia N8, and other new Symbian^3 phones, is awesome. On other phones I am often tapping a button or flipping a switch to see the time and date since I rarely wear a watch and with the clock screensaver (on by default) you get this information with very little impact on battery life.
I previously mentioned that Nokia asked me to work with them on five reviews for the Ovi Daily Apps site and I wanted to let you all know they posted my review of 
Nokia has been running a lot of contests and Nokia Experts readers seem to have 
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