Windows Live Hotmail Now Available For The Nokia E71, Along With HTML Email

As many of you already know I'm a huge fan of the Nokia Messaging application. A lot of people gave up on the application when it wasn't doing so good. By not doing so good I mean it wasn't pulling email, random disconnects, lost passwords, etc etc. If you've tried it recently you'll notice that many of these problems are now a thing of the past. I haven't had any problems with it for about four weeks now.

Just today Nokia announced that Windows Live Hotmail is now available for the Nokia E71 through Nokia Messaging. Here's a few excerpts from the press release:


Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will enable the Nokia Messaging push email service in May

Espoo, Finland - Windows(TM) Live Hotmail®, one of the world's most popular web-based email solutions, is now available on Nokia Messaging, the service that enables people to access their personal email on their Nokia devices*. In May, Nokia Messaging will also be supported by the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia's first mass-market touchscreen device, adding to the tens of millions of popular Nokia devices in the hands of consumers that already support the service.

Nokia Messaging is currently free to download and set-up, and supports the world's most popular email accounts - Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL Mail - and accounts from thousands of other email providers. Easy to use, it enables access of up to 10 personal email accounts on a Nokia device, and through one single icon. Once Nokia Messaging is set-up, email accounts can be added to the service directly on the phone, as well as via the Nokia Messaging website (http://email.nokia.com).

I personally haven't tried out hotmail on my E71 because I haven't had a hotmail account for 2 years. I'm sure many of you will be excited to try this out. Let us know if you have any problems or shortfalls retrieving hotmail from your Nokia smartphone. This updated version still doesn't include HTML, all I can say is it's coming soon. This version INCLUDES html email support - FINALLY!

Download: email.nokia.com

E71 Business Email: Mail For Exchange Updated To Version 2.9

The fellas over at E-series.org reported the news a few weeks ago that Mail for Exchange has been updated to version 2.9. In case you haven't tried MFE, it's Nokia's solution to checking your Microsoft Exchange business email from your E71.

Release Notes Related to Nokia E71...

• Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, are disabled by default on new installs. This is to prevent users from inadvertently losing Calendar, Contacts and Task data.

• When editing your Out of Office (OoO) message on the the device, Mail for Exchange retrieves the current OoO message from the server when the setting/tab is accessed and OoO is set to "Yes", instead of periodically as in previous versions. This may cause a short delay and requires connectivity with the server.

• Much better battery life in adverse network conditions. If the Mail for Exchange client can’t maintain a connection to the Exchange Server, it automatically switches to polling every 15 minutes. The client will switch back to Always on at the next scheduled period.

• Mail for Exchange setting tabs are no longer dynamically displayed, instead all tabs are always displayed.

• Manage your device by name instead of IMEI via Outlook Web Access (OWA) email client (if account allows). Users of OWA can perform device management features on their phone clients such as wiping the device. The phone model name is now visible in the status field. This is helpful for users who are synchronizing several phones.

• Pictures in contacts are now synchronized.

Personally I use the Seven application for my Exchange email needs.

Click here to download the latest version of Mail For Exchange for the Nokia E71.

For more Nokia E71 email solutions check out the Email Discussion category.

Typing On The E71: Predictive Text Or Standard Input?

Screenshot0015 Typing on the Nokia E71 has become extremely pleasant as of late – ever since I enabled predictive text and have become more comfortable with a QWERTY keyboard used with my thumbs. I have always been a huge T9 fan coming from the Nokia N82 and N73 so making the transition to a QWERTY smartphone was actually a challenge for me. I’m extremely fast on a normal keyboard, typing nearly 80 words per minute, my brain just needed to be trained to apply this to the mobile phone. Between the daily rigors or work, play, and life in general my brain took it’s time learning QWERTY.

When I first received the E71 I was ecstatic to see that predictive text was present and turned it on immediately. After a few days I realized that I was having a hard time because I wasn’t looking at the screen to see what it was predicting, instead I was staring at the keyboard looking for where to land my thumbs. So for the past 7 months or so I turned off predictive text and just used standard text input. Between training myself on the E71 and reviewing the Nokia 5800 the past few months I’ve become very acquainted with the QWERTY keypad that the world is raving about. Woo! Finally catch up with the times Mike!

Here Is Where Predictive Text Comes In

About 4 weeks back I decided to enable predictive text just for the hell of it to give it a second chance. Ever since then I haven’t looked back. Since I no longer have to focus on my thumbs and where they are on the keypad I can now look at the screen and what my Eseries device is trying to predict. I would say right now it is right about 85% of the time. For the times that the word is incorrect I simply push the up or down button and a list of words comes up that I can choose from. If I think that takes to long, I can continue typing my word and the predictive text becomes even more precise.

In the screenshots below I’m trying to spell Saturday. As you can see below the E71’s predictive text picked it up right away.

Screenshot0019

 

What if I didn’t want to spell Saturday? Maybe I wanted to ask him if he’s going to Saturn?

Screenshot0017

As you can see I have a decent amount of words to choose from.

I really believe that the E71 remembers commonly used words and adds them first. It also remembers words that are not in the dictionary, and makes them available to use as predictive next in the future. A friend using my device might find it odd when typing that the first words that my E71 predicts are rather vulgar ;)

Still Not 100% With QWERTY

I know that I’m not at the comfort level I’d like to be with a QWERTY keypad. I’m almost there, but not quite. I fired up my Nokia N82 recently when going out for a night on the town recently (the 5pm camera + xenon flash still kicks ass) and felt a sense of relief when I started pounding out a few text messages.  Even in my recent article about the Nokia 5800, Nokia’s first S60 touch device, I talked about how I’m more comfortable using the touch T9 method rather than the full screen QWERTY option.

I guess I can say that I’m a T9 guy at heard, but my recent love with predictive text on the E71 has made the transition that much easier.

I’m curious about all the readers. Do you turn on predictive text or stick to the standard input method?

Nokia S60 Themes: The Famous Steel Black v3 Out Now, Made For E71



One of the hottest themes to hit the Nokia E71 and S60 devices has recently been updated to version 3. This new version of Steel Black by AttisX brings updated icons, new signal meters, and a cleaner look overall. When I first showed you guys this theme back in December everyone was amazed by it and all the colors available.

But wait, is that it? Just minor updates? NOPE! This is the first theme that customizes the E71 Contacts and Calendar apps. Or at least it's the first that I've seen. Not to mention the homescreen notifications are now customized as well. Check out the screenshots below...






As you can see, AttisX really hit the nail on the head.

There are two versions of this E71 theme. One is free and lacks 3rd party icons. That's the one I'm currently using, although I'm thinking about paying $4.95 for the PRO version which has 400 3rd party icons and many more customizations. Keep in mind this theme also works for the Nokia E66 with the custom Calendar and Contacts.

Thanks to keatisk for posting this over at the Top Themes topic at the E71 Fanatics forum.

If you are new to the E71 and you are getting a certificate error when installing themes, click here to read about the fix.

Click here for more details and download Steel Black v3 for the Nokia E71.

Youtube On E71: Official Symbian Application Now Avaliable In .sis Format

One of the most sought after features of mobile users in today's world is the ability to watch Youtube away from the computer. In the past, us E71 owners and all Symbian users have relied heavily on 3rd party applications like Mobitubia, Emtube, and java applications. They often did the job very good, but there is hardly any support of these applications since they've been out for so long. Mobitubia is still usable, but I believe Emtube has been discontinued.

An E71 reader by Colin (thanks dude!) sent me an email last night letting me know about Youtube's brand spanking new Symbian S60 3rd edition Youtube .sis application. Shocking, I didn't even see an announcement on the Google Mobile blog. It's great to see huge companies like Google and Youtube supporting Nokia E71 and S60 users.

I've been playing with the new E71 Youtube application for about a half an hour now and all I can say is it's slick, fast, and easy to use. I'm getting almost no buffer time with my AT&T 3g data connection. I haven't tried it yet over edge or WLAN, but you do have the option change access points. Only negative I've seen so far is that you cannot download the file after you've watched it. This application uses data entirely, so be sure you have a good data plan or use WLAN.

Check out some screenshots...









Download: http://youtube.com from your E71 browser.

Reminder: If you own another S60 3rd Edition device, this Youtube application also works for the Nokia E66, N82, N95, N96, N85, N78 - pretty much the entire S60 lineup.

Nokia E71 Firmware Updated To Version 210.21.006 - Seems Like A Minor Update

Thanks to reader Vijay for the email yesterday, letting us know about the new firmware update for the Nokia E71 and E66. This update to version 210.21.006 seems to be rather minor, just enhancing a few things here and there. Besides a few readers saying that this fimrware is snappier, it brings a few other updates...
Nokia E71 software version 210.21.006 released

This software release enhances general software maturity and stability. The software release includes: stability and functionality improvements in the following areas: browser, camera, calendar, messaging and VoiP. This software release is available through the Nokia Software Updater: www.nokia.com/softwareupdates. Please note that if you have encrypted your device or memory card, decrypt it before the software update to avoid possible data loss.

I was hoping to see some kind of menu transistions, Nokia Messaging built in, and maybe even the newly announced Ovi App Store. I'm sure this will come in a future update.

Have you updated your E71 firmware yet? Any changes that I've missed? Personally, I've tried to update my North American E71, and it's not available yet. Seems that the E71-2 will have to wait a bit, hopefully not too long.

Make sure to back up all your data before updating your firmware. For more support and info join the discussion that's going on in the E71 Fanatics Forum.

Nokia Messaging Access Point Problem Fixed, Still No HTML Support


A few weeks ago the Nokia Messaging application was patched, bringing back the option to change your data access point. It was mistakenly left out of the prior update. I have a feeling the servers have also been updated. Before this update my Gmail would sometimes not hit my device and sync for hours at a time. Now it seems that everything is back to normal and my email is reaching me before it hits the inbox on my PC. For Nokia Messaging to really be a success, immediate email retrieval is an absolute must.

Also updated is the Yahoo email support for Nokia Messaging.
Yahoo users will need save their credentials to upgrade their Yahoo Mail accounts so they continue to receive email. Open the Inbox for the Yahoo email address, and select Back. Select Settings on the launcher page. Open the Settings for the Yahoo address. Type the password for this email address in the Password field and Select Back and you’re ready to go.

Lastly, html email will soon be coming to the E71 and Nokia Messaging...
The E75 and E55 feature our first clients that include support for HTML, but don’t worry, we are close to our next release for older devices that includes support for HTML.

You can find the official announcement about this update here. Be sure to leave your feedback in the comments as well.

Another Look At The E75, This Time Next To The E71

I just wanted to touch on this subject one more time. After reading some of the comments from the last article I wrote about the upcoming Nokia E75, it seems people are still happy with the E71 and don't really see the need to upgrade. I kind of have the same feelings, although I really want to see how this slider feels compared to some of the Nseries sliders like the N95 and N85. Comments like this one really make me think... ANGLEofdarkness said,

I like the E71 for the solid form factor and long battery life. After going from a rickety N95 that "went creaky" with a battery that lasted less than a day, I can not say I would voluntarily switch back to a slider phone with a smaller battery. The 3.5mm jack would be nice though ;)

Ricky from Symbian-Guru.com recently got his hands on the Nokia E75 and put it side by side with the E71. It's amazing how the E75 is only slightly thicker than the E71, while the E71 is wider because of the landscape screen. You'll also notice that the slider on the E75 seems to be very solid, especially for being a pre-production model. Click here to watch the video and see Ricky's comments.

Ani from S60 Blog has put together a very handy chart to see the features of the E75 and E71 side by side. Seems the E71 still holds it's own. Click here to see the chart.

Lastly, a discussion has begun over at the E71 Fanatics Forums. Check it out here.

One last time, what are your thoughts? I promise this is the last E75 article ;)

Introducing The Nokia E75 - A Worthy Contender To The E71?

Have you heard the big news? N-Gage is finally coming to the Eseries! That's only on the upcoming devices, like the beautiful new Nokia E75. If you haven't seen the pics of the E75 yet, then you're missing out. Cuz this thing looks damn good.

From the front it looks like a basic candybar phone with T9 input. Nothing wrong with that right?



Turn it on it's side, push the bottom up, and here's what you get...



It includes a full qwerty keypad. You would think it's gonna be too big and bulky but the size is 111.8mm x 50mm x 14.4mm, with a QVGA screen that measures in at 2.4-inches. Not something to cry about at all. The Nokia E75 also comes loaded with the new Nokia Messaging service for slick email and HTML email support. Plus it’s packing a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, high speed HSDPA access, integrated A-GPS with Nokia Maps, and a music player with a 3.5mm standard audio connector.

Check out some video...





The Nokia E75 comes in black, red, and copper. In my opinion the copper is going to be a huge hit since it's so unique. How often do you see a copper colored business device?



Is this the device something that I'd upgrade to? Hmmm, I don't think so. One of the HUGE reasons I love the E71 is the astonishing battery life. The E75 has a 1000 mAh battery, compared to the E71's massive 1500mAh battery. Really can't compare, especially when you want to tether and check email all day, for many days.

What do you think about the new Nokia E75? Would it be a worthy upgrade to your precious E71?

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