Tweets are Louder than Rings

I mentioned in a previous post that we had some problems with Vodafone setting up MyVodafone access and being unable to check our available call credit under the cap plan. After more than 5 calls to Vodafone, we managed to get it resolved.

I tweeted the @VodafoneAu_Help staff and within a few days, they were able to resolve the issue very quickly. They found that there was already a record of the phone number in the MyVodafone database and just deleted that, and the registration worked after that. Maybe you can suggest this to the call centre staff if you are experiencing the same problem

So why ring when you can tweet?

Problems Moving from Three to Vodafone

Two months ago, my wife moved her Three account to Vodafone, as the area we are living in seems to have poor Three coverage. She was told by a Vodafone representative on the phone that the coverage in our area would be better under Vodafone and that it would not cost us anything to switch over since the two companies are now effectively one company.

So the phone was switched over without too much drama. However, after switching over, she registered for MyVodafone which is the online account management tool. As soon as she pressed REGISTER, this appeared:

So we called Vodafone and they said to wait a few days to try it again. Same problem occurred and we called them again. Same advice, same outcome and we called them again. This time they said they have escalated it for the engineers to check it out and will contact us in a week's time. No call came for the next two weeks. Last night, we spoke to them again. They said that they have some technical problems with people migrating over from Three. They are looking into this issue but have no idea if/when it will be resolved. Currently users could be experiencing the following issues if they migrated from Three -

1. They cannot register for MyVodafone
2. They cannot check available credit by dialling1512 

In other words, we are flying blind on our phone cap. What annoyed me the most was that they had "closed" two of the issues that we raised in previous conversations last month without resolving or informing us. That there is what you call bad customer service! I thought I would post this up so that other users who may have migrated from Three to Vodafone will know what may also be going on with their accounts as well. 

Are you one of them? 

Google on N8 vs N9 vs E72

It may not be the newest phone, but I have recently come to conclude that when it comes to Nokia phones, Google loves the Nokia E72 the most. The compatibility of the Nokia E72 with many of Google's products has been even more demonstrated recently by the release of Nokia's new Meego powered N9 which looks every bit like an iphone-killer but with one achilles heel, it's incompatibility with Google. Here are a couple of examples.

Google Maps - Forget iphone 4s siri for a second and realise that Google Maps had awesome voice recognition capabilities which the E72 lovingly embraces. Google made it that you need to hold down the CALL button  to activate voice search of its Google Maps. As a result, since the Nokia N8 has no call button, there is no voice search on the N8. For the Nokia N9 you cannot even download it! Forget using a web based version either as this does not work on the N9 as well.

Google Search - Voice search of anything you want is also available on the E72 on Google's search application. Once again, the Nokia N8 and N9 do not have a call button and therefore the voice search does not work on those phones. Not sure if anyone has created a workaround?

Gmail - Symbian has an app that you can download which runs Gmail. It checks your email every 15 minutes or so and the phone vibrates when there is new mail. You can run multiple gmail accounts and switch between them seamlessly. The only limitation is in opening attachments. The Nokia N8 and E72 have that app available. The N9 does not.


Google Documents - For some reason the Nokia N9 cannot use Google docs spreadsheets in mobile mode. When you finally figure out how to switch to desktop mode, you can load up a spreadsheet but it is nigh impossible to update the cells. For whatever reason, as soon as you select a text field, the phone scrolls to some other part of the spreadsheet where you can't see what you are typing. However on the E72, whilst it is quite painful to click edit on every line that you want to modify, at least Google docs works to some extent.

So even if you feel a little left out as your friends show off their awesome camera capabilities on the N8 and brag about the smoothness of their N9 operating system, one thing you still have is Google's love.

Its a Handsfree, not Headphones!

Have you had the frustration of plugging your handsfree into your mobile, in my case the E72 and having the options of Headphones, lineout or music stand appear? After looking at it with a puzzled face, you choose headphones and the phone says that you need to use the phone microphone even though you plugged in a handsfree, not earphones.

This problem puzzled me for quite a while, then I came up with a brilliant hack. Check the plug to see if there is something affecting the handsfree's connection to the phone. Sure enough, almost unnoticeable, deep inside the hole sat a tiny piece of tissue / cotton that could only be reached with a bent-out-of-shape paper clip.

So if you phone no longer allows handsfree connections, it could be just as simple as doing a little digging in your earphones port.

Finally - Google Docs Spreadsheets on E72

It seems that the Nokia E72 is once again able to use Google Documents. Following our recent post below, some changes to the Google Docs page rendered Docs inaccessible for Nokia users. Now, access has been reinstated and the world is turning once again. Here is our previous post, where we first announced Google Documents being finally available on Nokia phones.

You won't see a press release on this but very recently, Google Docs has been modified to allow S60 devices such as our beloved Nokia E72 to edit Google Docs spreadsheets. Before, the only way you could edit your spreadsheets was to use Opera but now, Nokia's built-in browser allows you to click on the cell and edit it. Before this change, the Nokia browser would only allow you to see one column at a time, which is clearly a ridiculous situation. So, am I the only person in the world feeling like his birthday came early?

Pros and Cons of the Nokia E6

For the past two weeks I have replaced my Nokia E72 with the E6 to see how it would fare as an upgrade option for those currently using a Nokia E series phone such as the E72, E71 or E63. The biggest change in the E6 is obviously the addition of the touch screen to what is pretty much the E72 in an upgraded case and a downgraded camera.

The Long and Short of it

The E6 is slightly faster than previous E series phones but the phone's display is distinctly more vibrant compared to the Nokia E72. Holding the two phones in my hands, the E6 is slightly thicker and heavier than the E72 but the length and height of each device are pretty similar. The batteries are identical and the CPU is only marginally quicker in the E6. 

The Touch Revolution hits E Series

I found that having the E6 touch screen made navigation of websites and filling in forms much easier as it was easier to tap the fields that I needed to edit and use my finger to scroll through a website. However, the touch screen does take some getting used to as it is easy to accidentally launch things or call people by holding on to your phone. 

I think that the Nokia experiment to mix the QWERTY with a touch screen was largely a success however I think with some parts of the phone requiring touching and others pressing (for example the Home, Message, Calendar and Address Book buttons) had me a little confused at times but nothing one could not get used to. I wouldn't give away the buttons as the two-step shortcuts that they provide are a lifehacker's dream of quick multitasking. 

Tapping and holding reveals various context menus when running the E6. For example, in the browser, you can tap and hold down a link and the options will appear for you to COPY or OPEN IN NEW WINDOW. 

Proximity sensors  

The proximity sensor for the phone helps the touch screen to disable when you put the phone next to your ear but I have found in various instances that I accidentally muted the call or put someone on hold by putting the phone to my ear. The hardware is quite similar to the E72 but the lock slider definitely helps quick locking of the phone.

Noise cancellation
When you are using the phone without a headset or loudspeaker, the phone utilizes a noise cancelling feature that helps the person on the other end hear you even when you are in a noisy environment. Also, although I find it not that much of a practical feature, the phone has a forward facing camera which allows you to make video calls. 

What about Anna?

I think the E6 hasn't yet been polished up enough to show the true possibilities that Symbian Anna is capable of unleashing so I will reserve judgment about the operating system suffice to say that there is still much to be done to differentiate from earlier Symbian versions. 

Pinch and Zoom

The thrill of pinching and zooming was quickly shortlived when I discovered that the in built browser does not allow you to pinch and zoom but other software like Nokia Maps had no problems with this feature.  

The Software Package

It was great to see Joikuspot making it into the E6 to accompany the office lifesaver QuickOffice and Microsoft Communicator as stock standard offerings with the E6. 

E6 - what its missing 

HDMI - Ever since the E7 and the Nokia N8 teased us with the HDMI connectivity, it's been hard to look at new devices that do not have this feature. One may think it is gimmicky but it sure is an impressive functionality missing in the E6 which could stop the laughter in the boardroom when you run a powerpoint from your phone. 

USB ON THE GO - Again, blame the N8 for showing us that it is possible to connect your USB full of goodies to your phone before you get home. Whilst the E6 CAN support USB on the go, the required cable to do so is not included with the phone. Why save a few bucks, Nokia? Just include it!

CAMERA - We want to hammer this one home because in such a crucial time as this, Nokia ought to be throwing all their hardware muscle into every device that they release and so the E6 is not forgiven for downgrading from the autofocus camera that the E72 had. 

MULTISCANNER - By implication the phone is also missing the scanner feature that the E72 boasted against all other competitors. 

Well there is another look at the E6 from our perspective. Hope you found this useful. Comments and complaints below.

Google Docs kills off Nokia Smartphone Access

A recent update by Google to Google Docs seems to have left Nokia disconnected. Nokia phones are unable to use Google Docs which means millions of users around the world are unable to edit and view documents on their Nokia phone that have been uploaded to Google Docs.

Google Docs not working on the E6, just hangs on this screen

I have been wondering whether this is a problem with Google or with Nokia. Surely, you would think that Nokia would have a group of developers who are in charge of responding to changes in the market that can ultimately leave Nokia phones ineffective or redundant. This latest change by Google seems to be consistent with changes to Google Maps which has been further developed with features only accessible by Android and iOS systems.

Same problem on the E72

Another device, another language, Google docs not working on E72

What amazes me is the lack of reaction that these changes generate within the Nokia camp. With the recent talk of Nokia needing to stay relevant to the market and the change in direction and CEO, I personally hope that Nokia keeps more abreast of changes than it has in the past. The market has moved on but will it be time for even Nokia supporters to do the same?

What would an E72 user think of E6?

We finally have the chance to play with the Nokia E6 and after a day with it, let's have a look at some first thoughts from a Nokia E72 user. I vaguely recall a time when I started playing with the Nokia N8 wondering what a Nokia E72 would be like with a touch screen and that is exactly what we have in the Nokia E6. Looking very similar to the E72, apart from its E5 face, the E6 brings Symbian Anna to the only E series. I have to say it really didn't make that much of a difference apart from bringing in a new web browser.

The E6 does not make too many innovative steps in the hardware apart from the touch screen, with the camera taking one step back from the E72 which has an auto-focus camera. There is a slider lock on the right hand side of the device which enables you to lock and unlock the phone and also hold down to activate the torch (but the torch doesn't work when you are in an application).

I haven't discovered too many new hidden features in the E6 that were not in the E72. Joikuspot Premium comes standard and so does the ever essential business tool QuickOffice and F-secure.

How does touch make life better? The web browser for whatever reason does not have pinch and zoom enabled, probably something that we should see in the future versions. Having a touch screen makes it easier to input information into web forms for example and to scroll through a website quickly. The battery type is the same as other earlier E series phones such as the E63, E71 and E72. Volume of both the E72 and E6 are very similar as well for speakerphone and ringtones. The keyboard is the same as well. More on the E72 and E6 later.

Symbian 3.2 Firmware Coming Soon!

With so many new phones coming out, it is easy for phone manufacturers to forget those that are still on "legacy" devices stuck in two year contracts. Not Nokia. They have just announced that Nokia E72 users can look forward to a firmware update including a new browser that will be the same as what will be launched with Symbian Anna. This will allow you to browse the web faster and hopefully improve on some memory errors as well. There has been no announcement as to when this update will be available so if you read this, take out your E72 and press *#0000# and under OPTIONS -> Check for update. Let us know when YOU get it.

Read this on your Nokia

Thanks to our friends in Google, this website is Nokia friendly so come and check it out on your mobile and maybe add a bookmark so you can read up on what's new for E72 fans when you're bored waiting for something or someone. That's all for now.. hopefully we will have a Nokia E6 to talk about soon so keep your eyes open!

While you're here, check out MyE63 or MyN8 websites as well for news about the Nokia E63 and Nokia N8. Or if you are interested in flashbacks, maybe head back to the blog that started it all My Nokia E65. Yeah, that's a lot of blogging. Hope it's helped you out :)

Vodafone Offers to Waive 9 Months of Contract

An interesting part of the Vodafone website has recently been found which offers people who have had their contract for 15 months or more, the opportunity to get a new Nokia phone with a new contract and waive the rest of the contract. Here are some details straight off the Vodafone site

 To say thanks for being a great customer, we'd like to offer you an early upgrade to any one of our new Nokia mobiles on any of our latest 24 month voice plans1. Simply choose any Nokia mobile on any current 24 month voice plan and we'll waive the remaining monthly commitment on your current mobile contract so you can start your new plan early. 

Available to all customers between months 15-23 of their current Vodafone Contract.
Offer ends 30 June 2011 unless extended.
To get this offer head in store or call 1300 301 464 today.

Data Roaming Warning When Changing Phones

Many of us are pretty cluey about how to avoid getting punished by the phone company for rogue data charges. In my case, I get slugged when my 3 connection goes roaming. Some of the things that I make sure on my phone phone is that I do not allow my phone to check emails when roaming. However, when you switch phones, it's easy to drop your guard. Your new touchscreen phone with widgets keep downloading updates from news sites that you will never read, using your internet connection whether or not you are roaming. So this is just a short post to remind everyone to watch their bills and be careful what your phone is doing behind your back.

So what inspired this post? Receiving my 3 phone bill after using a trial phone and discovering a little surprise in my roaming charges.

This one's for you E72 fans - Nokia E6

If you were following various blogs and websites, you would have heard yesterday of the announcement that Nokia is lining up the next E series phone that looks to replace your E72, with a touchscreen Symbian "Anna" version of your beloved phone.

It was only around two weeks ago, we posted our review of the Nokia E7. Some of the comments about how it is more of a two handed phone than what E72 users may be used to. As if to read our minds, the E6 offers everything that the E7 brings to the board room such as: 

USB to go - Allows you to read/edit anything on a thumb drive via your E72 sized device

TV-out - Projects your phone screen on to a TV screen, but I don't think it is HDMI

Joikuspot Premium - An essential app that enables internet sharing by using your phone as an internet hotspot

HD video recording - Filming professional videos of your conference/holiday from your phone. 

The difference? 

QWERTY - a real E72 keypad that you can't accidentally open apps or call people when you are juggling your phone with other things (this is one annoyance I found with complete touchscreen phones like E7 and N8).  

Symbian Anna - Newer version of the Symbian^3 with a new browser and faster/better/friendlier interface. In terms of home screens, you will get five, of which each allows you to vary the size and look of each icon. 

What do you lose? 

Autofocus camera - the 8MP camera is a full focus camera which from my limited experience with the E7 and C7, makes me wonder why we can't just move up to autofocus and forget full focus existed? However, I speak in ignorance having not tried the camera on the E6.. so watch this space. 

Scanner - We lamented this in our post about the E7, but here we go again. How many of you showed off to friends the feature of capturing a business card contacts using the multiscanner on the E72. Well, cherish those moments. 

As I said before on twitter, I am the kind of person who likes to type faster than one thinks, whilst others are the look-and-poke type phone operators. The touchscreens like the N8 and C7 are mostly for the latter and the E6 is for those that like to know where things are ahead of time. We'll talk more about this phone when we get a chance to play with one.

Nokia Ovi Suite 3.1 Now at Betalabs

You can catch the newest update of the Nokia Ovi Suite at Nokia Betalabs. Here are the exciting changes in the new beta which I will definitely download and check it out.

• Update both your phone and newest versions of your installed software in one go.
• Downloading apps, games, and more from Ovi Store is now even simpler. Now, the direct link to the app is sent to your phone. 
• Sync log view allows  you to see all the details that were added, updated or deleted and where each of these changes took place.
• Syncing with Microsoft Outlook has been improved with critical fixes.
• Connections Creating the connection between your device and computer is now more reliable.
• Sending text messages to groups is now possible. You can create contact groups in the Contacts view and easily send messages to all the members of a specific group in the Messaging view.
• Playing high-definition videos captured with your phone takes place in a more optimised and smooth way.
• Keeping track of your map downloads is easy. Click Downloads in the Maps view to view your download queue.

I am looking forward mostly to the improvements to the synchronising Nokia with Microsoft Outlook which should be an essential arrangement. Syncing usually scares people because of the potential to lose everything in one go. Hopefully this phobia has also been taken care of in this new update. 

Redefining Success E7 Competition

If you lined up 20 people from the street and asked them what they think success is, their answers will explain the colourful and fascinating world that we live in. Nokia's E7 that has recently been launched wants you to remember that "Success is what you make it", similar to the Nokia N8 promotion "Its not the technology, its what you do with it". Both approaches reflect the different people that use Nokias in very different ways to reach their goals and make it big in the way that only they know how.

So it is with great interest we will watch the development of the latest competition from Nokia which asks the world, how do you define success? E7 is not a measure of your success, it is the tool by which you reach success. Successful people don't rely on their phones to define success, but to achieve success. And with phones like the E7, you can see why we don't need 2 million apps. The E7 is for those looking to achieve success, not just pass time.

How do you define success? Leave a comment as I am personally very interested in how you all respond to this. However, don't forget to enter the competition which you can reach at www.youtube.com/nokia. There's a $10,000 carrot to keep you interested.

For a sample video, check out this video about a Nokia product designer in Hong Kong and see how he measures success in his life very differently to most of us.

 

Partial Web Browsing Experience on E7

There seems to be some issues with the Nokia E7 displaying some parts of websites. For example, below is a photo of the E7 displaying this blog. The Google Ads do not show up. Any ideas? Also, images on the blog have a black border around them and further down the blog, one of the images seemed to be blacked out. However, we understand that a new browser is on the way in a firmware appearing somewhere on the horizon.

I tried my page on the just released Opera Mobile 11 on the Nokia E7 and the blog appeared perfectly fine, no image borders, however the ads did not appear. Is this a Google hates Nokia for not joining Android thing? Anyway, enjoy the ad free viewing experience on the Opera Mobile browser. Another interesting thing about Opera Mobile is that "fast-forward scroll" button that appears when you scroll through a page with your finger. Pressing it takes you to the bottom of the page. Oh did I mention portrait QWERTY keyboard on Opera? Yes, it is possible and it works well.

7 More Reasons the E7 is Business Class

It arrived at the door signed off by CEO of Nokia Stephen Elop and a customised graphic with a quote from MyE72 printed on the screen of the E7. Before we got to the phone, credit certainly had to be given to Nokia Marketing team. The E7 was touted by a famous blogger as a business device that you can proudly place on the boardroom table and six months later, that view has only been futher reinforced with our extended play of the E7. 

In our previous write up, we mentioned the Top 7 reasons why the E7 means business. They reasons were (1) the Super sized AMOLED CBD screen, (2) Unnecesarily good hardware, (3) Business-level security, (4) Multiple-email support (5) Convenient USB connectivity, (6) Go anywhere GPS and navigation and (7) Touch screen+keyboard combination. 

But of course, you want more reasons! In this post, we'll cover some of the other features on the business end of the E7, seeing as you have probably already read about the E7's mass-market appeal and that's why you're here. Here's 7 reasons you can let your son keep your iPhone.

1. Microsoft Exchange on the E7

At work, we have campus wide wireless internet access which is free to use to access emails. I used the New New Mailbox widget to add my work email address which connects via a Microsoft Exchange server. I used the Mail for Exchange, entered the server and domain details and it was happily feeding me emails as they came in. Worked without a hitch. 

2. Anti-theft on the E7

It was the remote locking on the e series phones that really surprised me, a feature that often does not make it on the spec sheet. 

Remote locating - However, the Nokia E7 has taken anti-theft even futher, including the ability to remotely locate where your phone is! Let's say you left it at work and you weren't sure if it was stolen. You ccan check where your phone is by sms your mobile number with a code and the phone will tell you where the phone is. 

Remote wiping - If you are a Nokia executive and you realised that your phone HAS been stolen, there is a good chance that much of the information on that phone is now compromised. To stop the thief from selling the prototype information to Engadget, you can send an SMS to your phone to wipe the phone of all its data... did you catch that? via SMS!

Now I understand that there are things a thief could do like take out the SIM card or whatever, but the idea with this built in app is a great move by nokia to win the executive and flying first-class market. 

3. VPN on the E7

The Nokia E7 allows you to connect to a Virtual Private Network, for example a secured workplace network. However... I haven't managed to do this yet as the VPN that I have access to, does not have a web URL from which devices can extract a 'policy'. Therefore I have not tried this out yet and leave it to you to make comments if you have. 

4. HDMI on the E7

We're clearly hitting the big time when we have a phone that carries the capacity to link up with any projector or TV that is HDMI enabled. As with all other E series phones, QuickOffice comes installed on the Nokia E7 so you don't need to be told again that this turns your E7 into a mobile office. What probably DOES need you to know is that you can run a simple powerpoint (emphasis simple enough to view well on the E7 itself) on a big screen using the E7 (no computer needed!). 

5. Camera on the E7 

First of all, my disappointment. One of the best features of the Nokia E72 has been dropped in the design of the E7 which was the Multiscanner and Business Card reader. The camera on the E7 is no longer an autofocus camera, but a fullfocus camera. In spite of my disappointment, I've listed this as a noteworthy feature for the E7 because of the speed at which the camera can capture images using fullfocus. In the end, it is, after all, an 8MP camera with HD video capabilities which is much more than business users were probably expecting anyway. 

Using the USB, HDMI and Bluetooth on the E7 at the same time!

If the presentation is on a thumb drive, plug it into your E7 (via the adapter) via the USB and pull up the presentation. Use a bluetooth keyboard to sync with your E7 so that you can control or make changes comfortably with a larger keyboard. Hook up the E7 via the HDMI to your projector/TV and you have yourself a projector and laptop in one device. 

6. Boardroom essentials on the E7

Hidden behind the Settings -> Phone, there hides a simple feature called Turning Control. If you left your phone on during a meeting, and someone important calls in, but the people in this meeting are also important.. what do you do? For some phones, the awkward shuffle trying to turn the phone off will leave one embarrassed, or if you choose to reject the call, you could leave the caller very unhappy on the other end. For the E7, all you need to do is turn the phone over and the phone will go silent and stop vibrating. The person on the other end keeps ringing but your meeting is fine to continue.. and no one is upset. 

7. And when you're finished with the E7... you unplug all the cables and fold down the keyboard, you have yourself an aesthetically appealing, solid device to tuck into your suit pocket. 

Photo taken with the Nokia N8

The Nokia E-Series Evolution

Well it is finally the time to have a good look at the Nokia E7 but first, let's have a rewind back through the development over the past few years in the Nokia E series. I'll only start at my first Nokia E-series which was the Nokia E65.

Back in 2007, I commenced my E series journey by upgrading from the ever stylish blue light 8250 to the Nokia E65. This opened up the world of syncing my mobile with the computer and accessing VOIP on your mobile. Also on the E65, we could wirelessly connect to a WLAN and surf the internet on the phone! The E65 also brough in the ability to bring your office with you by enabling us to edit Powerpoint, Excel and Word documents easily on a mobile phone  for free on QuickOffice.

Then after two years, I made the very difficult decision to choose the Nokia E63 over the E71 as my next phone. The financial decision was easy as the E63 only tied me down to a one year contract. I planned this because I felt that whilst the E71 was a good phone, there were some very simple but useful differences that convinced me not to lock myself into a 2 year contract with the Nokia E71 vs 1 year E63 contract.

The Nokia E63 had a really nice keypad. I even claimed it was the best Nokia has ever produced! One could really crank out SMSes at an unreal speed because of its unusual raised triangular keypad. It would be my first QWERTY keypad and initally I yearned for the T9 but the E63 keypad had me sold. The E63 allowed users to use the flash as a torch, unlike the E71. One more decisive factor was the 3.5mm headphone jack that came with the E63, unlike the E71 which for whatever reason, only allowed weird 2.5mm headphones to be used.

One year was soon up and it was now time to look for a new phone. It wasn't hard because part of my planning was to get the E63 for one year and use the time to wait for the E72 to drop in price. And the timing was perfect, because when the E63 contract was over, the E72 dropped to being on a $29 plan (from $49)

In terms of advancing the corporate smartphone user, Nokia hit the nail on the head with the Nokia E72, combining the best features of the E71 and the E63 to come up with a phone that has style which no phone has beaten since. What was new was the ability to import business cards by "scanning" them with the E72 camera! All the details - address, phone number, email address will all be imported into a contact record on your phone in the right categories! You could also scan a page from a book and the phone will use its 5MP auto-focus camera, to OCR the whole page and you can edit it on your phone! The GPS was vastly improved on the Nokia E72 as well compared to the E71 and well, the E63 didn't have a GPS but we did manage to find a way :) A summary of why I chose the E72 is here but in the end, this was a phone that did it all. The show-off drawcard of the E72 was that you could even turn the phone over or tap it to snooze an alarm or silence an incoming call! It was such a good phone that although I now also own a Nokia N8, I am still predominantly using the E72. However, we always want more...

So now we have  come to the next step in the Nokia E-volution and that is the "giant leap" to the AMOLED and CBD display, gorilla-glass enabled, Symbian^3 empowered, N8 channeling, Nokia E7! Now business users can get secured email, VPN connections to their Microsoft Exchange servers, a massive screen to surf the web and more little features that we are going to dig out of it! That's for tomorrow.

But to end this post, after around two hours of writing, maybe its your turn to talk. What were your thoughts on the E-series journey and if you have been along for the ride, at what stage did you join us?

Nokia C7 "Astound" Press Release - Free Apps on Vodafone

Sydney, Australia – 22 March 2011. Stylish and social, the Nokia C7 is now available in Australia through Vodafone and 3 mobile.

Nokia’s latest smartphone, the C7, is a beautifully designed, feature-rich touchscreen wrapped in polished stainless steel and glass with a vivid 3.5 inch AMOLED high-resolution capacitive display.

Vodafone users have access to thousands of useful apps from the Ovi Store and from the 4^th April 2011 until the 31^st May 2011, all apps in the Store will be on us^[1].

For those who want to stay close to their social networks, the Nokia C7 provides live updates from Facebook® and Twitter directly to the homescreen.  Users can post simultaneous status updates across all their social networks.

Other features of the Nokia C7 include:

 - Access to consumer and business email through Nokia’s range of messaging services
 - An 8MP camera, HD video and 8GB internal memory to capture, store and re-live precious moments
 - Sharp videos and images on the vivid 3.5″ high-resolution capacitive display
 - Great usability with three homescreens which can be customised, easy viewing and switching between multiple apps, pinch to zoom, flick to scroll and tap to select finger gestures
 -  Access to Ovi Maps with free, lifetime navigation and turn-by-turn voice guidance²

The Nokia C7 is available in two colours, Charcoal Black and Frosty Metal, from Vodafone for $0 upfront on a $29 CAP over 24 months (total min cost $696)² or $0 upfront on a $45 Vodafone Infinite plan over 24 months (total min cost $1080) ³. All Vodafone Infinite plans are available on both 12 and 24 month contracts and feature infinite standard national calls made in Australia⁴, infinite text to personal mobile numbers here and to overseas from Australia⁵, and infinite social networking on Facebook®, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and MySpace within Australia⁶.

1: Offer ends 31 May 2011 (Unless Extended) and available to Vodafone customers using a Nokia C7 handset only. Offer applies only to applications purchased on the Nokia Ovi Store. Standard prices will apply for any application purchased outside of the Nokia Ovi Store – Prices vary and are in addition to your plan access fees. Applications for use only on a Nokia C7 handset. Accessing the Ovi Store, any application downloads, any external links accessed from the Ovi store, and the use of selected applications will incur standard data charges – check your plan for rates. Quality of some services may vary depending on location, device capabilities and network limitations. See www.vodafone.com.au/coverage for details. Applies to usage in Australia only. International roaming is charged separately. Offer not available on all handsets and is subject to handset capabilities and compatibility. Services subject to network limitations, availability and customer locations. See http://maps.nokia.com for full details. 2: Approved customers only. Minimum monthly spend is $29. Early exit fee: $29 x months left on contract. Unlocking fee applies. 3: Approved customers only. Approved customers only. Minimum monthly spend is $45. Early exit fee: $45 x months left on contract. 4: Infinite excludes international calls, Voicemail, 13 / 1800 numbers, Re-routed calls and calls to National (1223) and International (1225) Directory Assistance and some other call types. 5: Offer applies to standard personal TXT/PXT® sent to individuals from within Australia. Excludes premium and re-routed TXT/PXT®. TXT to Pivotel network not available.6: Unlimited access applies if accessed via the mobile web sites (m.facebook.com), (m.foursquare.com), (m.twitter.com), (m.linkedin.com) or (m.myspace.com), Vodafone Central or official applications for compatible handsets from those sites using the Vodafone Live access point (APN). Standard data charges will apply for any external links accessed via the Sites. Subject to handset capability. Facebook is a trademark of Facebook Inc.

Vodafone Nokia C7 Comes with Unlimited Apps!!

Just received a press release from Nokia. Nokia Australia and Vodafone are offering one of the most generous giveaways - unlimited apps downloads from Nokia's Ovi store!

The Nokia C7 is housed in a polished stainless steel frame and a 3.5 inch AMOLED screen. Photos taken on the C7 are up to 8MP with the capacity to film HD videos, comparable to the latest E series phone the Nokia E7. Free voice navigation and unlimited map updates also comes with the C7. Users can get unlimited apps only from the 4th April 2011 to 31st May 2011 and will need to sign up to a 24 month Vodafone $29 cap plan where the C7 comes free.So if you were thinking about a new phone and the Nokia N8 and E7 seem a little to out of your league, this is the deal to go for if you like apps.

Welcome to E7 Week @My_E72

We're heading into an exciting week as we take an extensive look at one of the most anticipated devices - the Nokia E7. This week, we will dedicate ourselves to explore everything about the Nokia E7 without repeating the photos and review points that you probably have already read on other Nokia websites. Keep an eye on Twitter for updates and be ready to get the complete analysis of the E7 from a business perspective and find out how the E7 will change the way you deal.

How can you convince your boss and the tax man that it is a legitimate business expense? Should you upgrade from your current phone to the Nokia E7? Leave questions and comments below or via our Twitter account.

You'll Wish You Never Saw This Video

For those that know me, I love a great marketing promotion. Nokia Australia has hosted one of the best events that I've seen for a Nokia phone. Imagine being able to keep a high performance car for a week, fitted out with the latest in Nokia car navigation technology? How much would your heart be pounding the moment you realised where one of the cars were hidden around Sydney? Could you overcome the angst you'd feel wondering whether you will get there in time before anyone else? I've been reading about the NokiaNav promotion during the past week but it was only after I saw this video, that I realised how much I wish I was there to participate (or even help!) in this promotion, one of the best that 1000Heads has come up with and certainly one of the best in Australia. When will such a promotion come to Perth?

Be the First to See the E7 in Australia!

If you would like to check out the Nokia E7 before it launches in Australia, head over to one of the Nokia E7 preview parties happening tonight!

Location Date Time

Brisbane Nokia Care Centre Level 1, Spring Hill Market Place, Turbot St, Spring Hill 9 March 6.30pm     Perth Nokia Care Centre Shop 4, 2-16 Bishop St, Morley 9 March 6.30pm     Melbourne Nokia Care Centre Unit 2, 440 Elizabeth St, Melbourne 9 March 6.30pm     Sydney Nokia Care Centre 144 Marsden St, Parramatta 9 March 6.30pm

Publicity about this event has been pretty poor so chances are, if there are any giveaways, you just might get lucky! The official website about the preview party is here.

Top 7 Reasons Why E7 means Business

The Nokia E7 is finally about to be launched in Australia so we are bringing forward a review of the E7 we did in September for those that missed it. A Nokia E7 is currently on its way to Australia to be reviewed so we'll an even closer look at it when it arrives. For now, here are the top seven reasons why business users should upgrade to the Nokia E7. 


You can put your toys away now, Nokia finally has a business device that you can proudly place on the boardroom table. You've probably seen this around in the past week on various blogs and review sites but as we all know, it's not all about the number of megapixels or the speed of the processor, so what is the E7 like for a business user?

1. Screen Size First of all, and most importantly, the screen size is very big, much bigger than an Iphone 4 and with the ClearBlack Design, the display is crisper and also saves more battery life. The screen size makes viewing websites much easier. Bloggers also checked the Adobe Flash version which is supported by E7 and yes, it supports 10.1, which means flash websites willl load up fine.

2. Hardware Much of the hardware specs match the Nokia N8, however the camera is an excellent 8 megapixels which is more than enough for a business user but not the crazy 12.1 megapixels squeezed into the N8. Neither is there a mechanical shutter in the E7 or a carl zeiss lens. However, HD quality video @ 720p is possible with a phone that is meant to be for business users - so you CAN have some fun on your business trip. 

3. Security The Nokia E7 comes with business-level security such as the ability to remotely lock your phone (not new), wipe confidential data easily, memory card encryption and map-tracking for stolen phones.

4. Emails Microsoft Exchange servers and Lotus Notes users will rejoice at the ease of connecting the E7 to your company's systems and free access to QuickOffice, the mobile equivalent of Microsoft Office will enable you to edit documents, presentations and excel spreadsheets on the go. The built in email application will allow you to check multiple (I heard 10?) email addresses at all times, with push email supported (move over Blackberry).

5. USB connectivity One major feature is USB on the go which will enable you to transfer someone's documents from USB to your phone or view photos/documents from a USB thumb drive. Hey, you could even play a movie stored on your thumb drive!

6. Big screen GPS Well we finally have it. A big screen GPS receiver that will also come with free updates of NAVTEQ powered maps, which can be downloaded to your phone before heading overseas.

7. Touch screen E7 does bring Nokia business phones into the touch screen era which admittedly took a while but its great they didn't leave the QWERTY keyboard at the design labs! You can now flick through your emails, swipe through a city you are visiting, pinch and zoom on a website and still text on a real keyboard.

There is so much more but I did say seven, so read up more about the E7 here and share your favourites in the comments below. If you are a serious business user, leave a comment about where you are coming from, your position and whether the E7 does it for you. 


See the N8 side by side with E7

Where in the World is the Nokia E7?

Last week, the world embarked on a global search for 7 Nokia E7 devices given away in the "Search for 7" promotion. Clues were provided on www.nokia.com/e7/searchfor7 which sent people scurrying in five cities around the world and setting Twitter ablaze with discussion. It was a very well run promotion by Womworld Nokia not only encouraging people to check out the Nokia E7 but also embrace the use of Ovi Maps more. Take a look at the highlights from the Search for 7.

OnePartners handling Nokia E7 marketing in South East Asia

A Sydney advertising company, OnePartners, has been appointed to lead the Nokia E7 campaign in South East Asia to drive customers to the Nokia Catalyst program which links entrepreneurs together via a social networking framework. This follows OnePartners' successful launch of the Nokia N8. Keep an eye out for an E7 near you.

E72 pros vs N8 cons

I've been using the Nokia E72 and the Nokia N8 side by side and every time I thought about giving up my E72 to solely use my Nokia N8, certain advantages that the E72 has over the N8 come to mind. 

E72 pros vs N8 cons

• Chatting - I've given the N8 a good few months but I still find it quite tedious compared to my Nokia E72 to send a text or chat with someone or update gravity. When using Fring, for example, you cannot see the chat screen while you are typing a response. Swype is good and makes the experience of texting / chatting much easier but it is also a little difficult compared to a QWERTY keyboard on the Nokia E72. 
• From 0 to Search Using Voice Search Google voice search does not work on the Nokia N8 as it is a touch screen with no keyboard. For now, the fastest way to do a google search with one hand is to (first, have Google application installed, then) hold down the Call key on the Nokia E72 and speak out your search. Before you know it, your phone is searching the net. Works very well with Google Maps as well, making it much easier to operate with one hand. I use this most for looking up business phone numbers while I am on the go (eg to do a price or availability check or something). 
• Calendar I have to admit that I have not really used the N8 calendar all that much but my initial impressions were enough to put me off syncing my E72 calendar entries to my N8. Perhaps a little underwhelmed so I decided to keep using my E72 for appointments 
• The Torch Once again we are making a very big fuss about what many will think is trivial but if you look at the power of the E72 torch which is brighter than maybe three LEDs put together (I think), you will understand why this is mentioned. The E72 torch feature continues in the next E series phone with the Nokia E7 but the N8 will have to settle with wandering in the dark. 

Have a look at what the N8 has over the E72 here.

Key Points in the Nokia Microsoft Strategic Alliance

• Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as its primary smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

• Nokia will help drive and define the future of Windows Phone. Nokia will contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.

• Nokia and Microsoft will closely collaborate on development, joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

• Bing will power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter will provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.

• Nokia Maps will be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience.

• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements will make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

• Microsoft development tools will be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

• Microsoft will continue to invest in the development of Windows Phone and cloud services so customers can do more with their phone, across their work and personal lives.

• Nokia’s content and application store will be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

Today We Wake to a New Nokia

When a company "leaks" an internal memo that describes its current position as like being stuck on a burning oil platform, you kinda know big changes are about to be announced. In the moments following the leaked memo, Nokia and Microsoft (yes, Microsoft!) held a join press conference to announce a strategic alliance between the two companies that will be worked out in the coming months.

It seems that the leaked memo was to prepare the hearts of the Nokia faithful of drastic changes to the company but few would have expected this. Nokia has long been a leader in the mobile phone wars with regard to their hardware development which has often produced superior phones. However, its been the lack of development in the software or apps over the last few years that has seen relatively novice players Android and Apple gain a growing market share in what used to be the incumbent's bread and butter. 

Microsoft has also struggled in the past few years with carving their share of the growing market for mobile devices and only recently announced a "game changer" with the WindowsPhone7 (WP7) mobile operating system which was enough to make the industry stop and take notice. Following this, a Microsoft executive was chosen as the new CEO for Nokia and the conversations that many felt were inevitable has brought the company to a very big change in direction. Symbian, which has been the heart of Nokia from the beginning has now been sidelined and the future of Nokia seems to be with Microsoft. Here is the announcement of Nokia and Microsoft entering into a strategic alliance.

Market reaction

On the day of the Microsoft and Nokia announcement, the sharemarket reacted by selling off Nokia shares causing a 14% drop in the value in one day. Microsoft hardly moved, only dropping 0.91%, possibly indicating that the alliance is better for Microsoft than for Nokia. Interestingly, Stephen Elop still holds an estimated $US7 million worth of MSFT shares. 

Nokia share price dips following announcement

Why we are not panicking...

This has been a big change for Nokia and the immediate gut reaction on the net is that Nokia has sold out to Microsoft. However, as many bloggers watching Nokia may have noticed, these recent events followed a prolonged period of silence from the new CEO as he worked to get an understanding of where Nokia is. It is after this careful fact-finding mission that Stephen Elop has concluded that Nokia's future is with Microsoft. 

Perhaps the decision is not based on his former ties with Microsoft but the conclusion reached after speaking to developers, engineers, marketing, middle management and consumers. Consider also that he would have predicted the backlash and cynicism that would eventuate if he decided to steer his new ship towards his previous company. Would it be worth the criticism and perceived bias? Apparently, the conclusion is yes.

U..S..A  U..S..A
Also Nokia watchers will know that the US media has never really warmed to the mobile giant and even now, Nokia phones are very rare offerings amongst US mobile networks. Maybe its the number of CEOs speaking in a non-US accent that has held down the news mentions. Microsoft, however, is one of the greatest icons in The States. I believe this alliance will also benefit Nokia in the US market (and of course, entry into the US mass media) as much as it is about Microsoft making billions of dollars on Nokia. The ocean provides endless possibilities. 

Mentions of "Nokia" spikes on Google News following announcement