Old E71 firmware:

New E71 firmware…

Looks like a very big difference doesn’t it? The old firmware looks blueish with a lot of grain and the new firmware looks more natural with a lot less grain.

These images has me second guessing my original statements of not rushing to upgrade the firmware. As it stands – I can’t anyways since it seems it’s not available in North American yet.

I would love to see if others of you are noticing an improvement in photo quality. If any of you can link to your before and after photos that would be great. If you don’t want to upload them you can email them to mike@e71fanatics.com and I can try and get them posted in this article.

Enjoy the holiday and the weekend everyone. Oh and big thanks to Nima for posting these photos!

• Opera Mini – Very fast web browser
• Qik – Stream live video to the web and upload to your Facebook from the E71.
• Skyfire – A more advanced browser, a little to chunky for me. Great for heavy browsing, includes flash content.
• Palringo – Free instant messenger; includes Gtalk, Facebook Chat, Yahoo IM, etc.
• Photobucket – Upload your E71 photos to your Photobucket account.
• Flyscreen – RSS reader, twitter, social sites, etc.
• Nokia Magnifier – Use your E71 camera to magnify anything.
• NeoReader – Scan barcodes to get more info on a product.
• Powerboot – Choose applications that you’d like to startup when your E71 starts up.
• HourPower – Have your phone tell you the time every hour or at the press of the button – out loud!

Those are all FREE E71 applications found in the Ovi Store. There are more of course, I just picked up the ones that I recommend. Those don’t include many of the great commercial applications that you can find as well. You might notice that those are starting to get cheaper and cheaper to buy… very cool! Don’t forget you can visit store.ovi.com from your PC browser if you don’t feel like digging around on your E71. Stayed tuned to another post I’m working on to show you all of the applications I have installed on my E71. Sort of like the feature that Gerrymoth was doing over at Nokia Addict (a good read).

Have you checked out the Ovi Store lately? Let us know if have downloaded any cool apps or themes you’d like to share. Don’t forget you can visit store.ovi.com from your PC browser if you don’t feel like digging around on your E71.

* Mail Improved Mail For Exchange
* Music Internet Radio added
* Other improvements My Nokia Application and easy-dialing added,
improved USB flashing and enhanced usability

Be sure to backup your important data before updating.

It seems that North American variants of the E71 have yet to get the update. Hopefully it comes soon.

Click here for instructions on updating your Nokia E71 firmware.

Have you updated yet? Let us know your thoughts.

Nokia Image Exchange

I’m showing you this first since it’s the furthest along in terms of speed and stability. Nokia Image Exchange is more than an application, it’s also a place where you can upload your photos do a server and view them later. It’s completely experimental but I do like this idea. Keep in mind you don’t have to use the upload features, you can just use it as a standalone application.

Video Demonstration:

Click here to learn more about Nokia Image Exchange.

Nokia Photo Browser

This application is more  eye catching than it is usable. Fire up Nokia Photo Browser when you want to show off some glitz and glamour to your iPhone pals. The newest  version is a lot more stable than before and has a few new features like the ability to send to contacts and a few other minor updates and fixes. Keep in mind this is also early beta but I’m looking forward to seeing the continuing development over at the labs.

Video demonstration is on the Nokia 5800xm. Some features will work differently on your E71…

Click here to learn more about Nokia Photo Browser.

Be sure to follow the download and installation instructions very carefully.

Let me know which application you like better. If you have any problems or suggestions leave a comment over at Nokia Beta Labs so you can help make these applications great. Believe me THEY LISTEN!

The above image is the invisibleSHIELD by Zagg for the Nokia E71 & E71x. They sell either the full body shield which is some kind of pre-formed clear plastic or just the screen protector itself. I've seen a buddy have the entire casing on his E71 and at first glance it's hard to tell that it's even there. Personally I don't think I need the full casing but a screen protector will do wonders for keeping the value of my E71. When trying to resell it someday there is a big difference between a phone with no scratches and a phone with clear scratches on the screen. Click here to visit Zagg's website and search for "E71".

There are a few other places where you can find a good E71 screen protector…

Wireless Emporium: Nokia E71/71x Screen Protector Film

Eforcity: Reusable Screen Protector for Nokia E71

Amazon: E71 Screen Protectors

I have also seen a lot of people mention the Clarivue protectors as well.

I don’t have much experience with screen protectors so I’m kind of curious to see what you recommend. Is it even needed? Well, on the E71 I’d say yes. I try and keep good care of my phones and I STILL have a few noticeable scratches.

Do you use a screen protector? If so – what brand and how is it?

Fissure by tehkSeven is a dark colored theme with black and grey patterns and highlights. I’ve been using it on my E71 for the past 24 hours and it is spectacular. It’s been my primary theme on my Nokia N97 for about 5 days now and I’m hooked.

But his one doesn’t come free. Yep – that’s right. It’s time Mr. tehk makes a little bit of extra dough for all the time he puts into his themes, but not to worry the price is very affordable.The pricing for his premium themes are as tehk describes…

The price of this theme is 1 Euro for the default icon version and 2 Euro for the seven icon version.

I plan on selling the complete package for 7 Euros. However, this price is subject to change because I have yet to develop a full seven icon set for 5th edition devices.

This package is to include:
Standard Series (Pre FP1, FP1, FP2 Devices) - Default Icon Version
Standard Series (Pre FP1, FP1, FP2 Devices) - Seven Icon Version
E Series - Default Icon Version
E Series - Seven Icon Version
5th Edition - Default Icon Version
5th Edition - Seven Icon Version

This saves a total of 2 Euros and is a great deal for Nokia owners with multiple devices.

I think it’s worth it to pay for the custom “seven” icon version because that’s a huge reason why this theme looks so dang good. At the current conversation rate 2 Euros comes out to about $2.77 USD.

A couple of screenshots…

Very nice! According to tehk this Fissure theme should be available in 1-2 days.

I’m curious to see what you guys and gals think of the pricing. Would you pay a few bucks for a theme that is top notch?

Click here to learn more about Fissure or find it soon in the Ovi Store.