10 tips to improve battery life your E71 and E71x

Battery life of the E71 phone is exceptional when compared to other Nokia and other brand phones. I think Nokia has taken a big leap with this.

However, one always likes to get the best from the battery. Nokia tips has a good post on how to increase the battery life of a smartphone which applies to E71 (because it is the smartest ;-) ). What is good about the post is that not only does he give suggestions on what to do but also how to make the changes which are illustrated with help of pictures.

Briefly Mobile Jorge (post writer) suggests the following

• Set your screen brightness to Minimum
• Turn off Bluetooth
• Make sure WiFi scanning is off
• Set your power saver timeout to its least value
• Set your light timeout to its least value
• Set your phone's profile to "Offline" when you dont need to make/receive calls
• Lay off the gaming, music or data transfers
• Lay off the GPS
• Make sure there are no background Applications running
• Lock your Keypad 

For details and how to implement each task you can go to the post at http://www.nokia-tips.com/2009/08/18/10-tips-to-stretch-your-battery-life-2/.

Source: Nokia Tips - 10 Tips to stretch your battery life on your Nokia Smartphone

Technorati Tags: battery,life,e71,nokia,smartphone,increase

Free video calls over the Internet with Octrotalk on your E71

Octrotalk is a Instant Messaging application for symbian phones including the E71, for windows mobile and Windows PC  with video and voice integration. This means that you can make video and normal calls over the Internet using Octrotalk! When I saw it for the first time I did not believe it till I tried it and it works! Octrotalk supports real time video conversations even with low bandwidth and I was able to make video calls over the Wifi connection.

Octrotalk works over works seamlessly over GPRS/EDGE/CDMA/Wifi/Bluetooth data and saves lot of money. Octrotalk supports GoogleTalk/Jabber, MSN, AIM, ICQ and Yahoo.

The features of Octrotalk are

• Always on on major Instant messaging services
• P2P video calling
• Complete VOIP product. Access to PSTN.
• Supports Low Bandwidth Codec (even works with EDGE/GPRS/CDMA)
• Quick file transfer
• Secure and encrypted chat over Google and saving of messages in your Google account
• Access folders on your PC remotely using Octro talk

 

The application is a bit costly at $29.95. However, a trail version is available which can be downloaded at http://www.octro.com/download_octrotalk.php.

I recommend trying out the application for trial purposes so that you can take a peep into the future and see what the future has in store!

Please share your feedback on the application.

Technorati Tags: video conference,video,calls,symbian,e71,nokia

E71 and E72 compared

E72 is going to be launched soon. Here is a brief comparison between the E71 and E72 and you decide if you want to go in for the new E72 after dumping the E71?

 

Feature	E71	E72
Dimensions	114 x 57 x 10 mm, 66 cc	114 x 58 x 10 mm
Weight	127 gms	128 gms
Display	16M colors 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches	16M colors 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches
Processor	369 MHz	600 MHz
Camera	3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels	5 MP 2592 x 1944 pixels
Internal memory	110 MB 128 MB Ram	250 MB 128 Ram
Max external memory	8 GB	16 GB
Audio Jack	2.5 mm (non standard)	3.5 (standard)
Voice cancellation	No	Yes
Price	About $350 (unlocked)	about $411 (unlocked)

 

E72 video

Personally I would not go in for the E72 since I already have E71. However, if I had to buy a new phone I would go in for E72.

What would be your choice?

UPADTE (September 4, 2009)

I came across a post “Why the Nokia E72 Is A Worthy Upgrade From The E71” on Symbian Guru which highlights other changes which I missed on the comparison chart. They are

• Accelerometer
• Better video recording
• 3.5mm headset plug
• MicroUSB charging
• Battery life improvements
• Optical scroll
• Built-in compass
• Dedicated torch key
• Brushed metal backcover (no fingerprints)
• Active noise cancellation.
• Feature Pack 2
• Better default icons
• Pre-installed Nokia Maps 3.0, N-Gage, Nokia Messaging
• Improved multimedia support

To read the full details please read the post.

After reading the post I’m weighing my options and deciding whether to stick with the E71 or go in for E72. I guess little knowledge is dangerous.

Technorati Tags: e71,e72,comparison,nokia

Now produce video shows with your E71 using Kyte

Kyte is an application that allows S60 phones to produce and distribute video and pictures to multiple online and mobile destinations simultaneously. The channels are broadcast at kyte.tv.

Using Kyte you can

• Live streaming video – one click live streaming with chat messages real time
• Recorded video – Produce videos and pictures and upload them to your channel. This allows you to control your content editorially.
• Pictures - Select video and pictures from your phone's gallery and broadcast them to your Kyte Channel.

It is pretty simple to set Kyte up. All you need to do is go to m.kyte.tv on your S60 phone including E71 and click on the “start producing” link to download the Kyte Producer for S60. Once you have the Kyte producer on your phone you can start broadcasting live.

One of the features I really liked was the ability to share the pictures taken by your phone on your channel. Also the ability to edit content like add effects, titles and filters to your content makes it a compelling service to use.

I tried producing a show which you can see here. I wanted the show to be shown under a different channel called E71 which I was not able to do. If anyone does not how to add a show to a different channel than your default channel please share the information in the comments.

So what are you waiting for go ahead and start producing your own show.

Technorati Tags: broadcast,live,e71,s60,camera,phone

Using VOIP on E71

I have been fascinated by the option that is available to users of E71 to use it as a SIP VOIP phone. Some of the advantages of using E71 as a VOIP phone are

• Cheaper calls as calls are made over the VOIP interface
• Integration of your E71 with your personal exchange
• Seamless integration since the E71 automatically detects the availability of the exchange when you in the range and switches the protocol from the local network to VOIP and enabling you to make cheaper calls automatically.
• Receive or answer VOIP calls using your E71
• Your E71 becomes a true communication device that allows you to Email, SMS, MMS, make cell phone calls, browse the Internet and make VOIP calls.

 

John Rogers at Geek.com has come up with a post which is a tutorial on how to setup the E71 as a SIP VOIP client. However, let me warn you that this is not a simple process and those who are experienced should try this out. To get started you need a personal Asterisk PBX. There is a tutorial on how to set up one on geeks.com.

If you are the geeky kind try this and let us know if you are successful.

Technorati Tags: e71,voip,sip

Options for Facebook on E71 or E71x

e71 is a great phone as it allows a lot of applications to be added to the phone to enhance the user experience and get more out of your E71.

Facebook is one of the popular destinations for Internet users and this is confirmed by the fact that Facebook received 87.7 million unique visits last month (July 2009) and the visitors from US grew by 14% in the same month!

OPTIONS AVAILABLE

So what are the options available for accessing Facebook via E71? There are a few.

Facebook App for E71

Since the latest firmware update the Facebook application is available as a default application on E71. As soon as you update your firmware Facebook would be available under installations folder (My Space is the other application that is added in the latest firmware). Some of the users argue that this application is nothing but a link which opens the Facebook website in your browser. That is true and if you like doing that (going to the browser and going to m.facebook.com) you are more than welcome to do that.

With the Facebook application or mobile interface you can

• Post status updates
• Review notifications
• View newsfeeds
• Comment on friend's status
• Search for Friends
• View and write walls
• View photos
• Poke friends
• See events and Groups

If you are having trouble updating the firmware of the phone you can download the application here.

Download Facebook app for E71

This is an old version of the app. I will be uploading a new version this week (June 13, 2010). Sorry for the inconvenience.

THIRD PARTY apps for accessing Facebook on E71

Though there are lots of third party apps that allow you to access Facebook I would like to mention my top 3 here. They are

Fring

Fring is a mobile internet community and communication service that allows friends to connect, share experiences and enhance their online communities together. They have lots of addons and one of the addon is Facebook.

The Facebook addon allows you to

• See your friends,
• See your groups,
• Get and send requests,
• Get and send notifications
• Get and send messages
• View photos and albums of friends (sorry no uploading allowed)
• Fring is free
  

Download Fring

Gravity

The latest version Gravity (Version 1.20) – which is one of the most popular and best paid application for Twitter – supports Facebook functionality as well.

Gravity allows you to

• view your friends feeds
• post your own status updates
• comment on your friends updates
• view photos and albums your friends have posted (sorry no support to upload photos to Facebook as of now)
• Gravity is a paid application and not free.
  

Download Gravity

Snaptu

Snaptu is a free mobile service that offers you a selection of fun and useful applications.

Amongst the applications or services that it supports is Facebook. With Snaptu you can

• Update your status
• View newsfeeds
• Search friends
• See partial friend information and network information
• View photos and albums
• Send messages to friends and
• View your inbox
• Snapto is free
  

Download Snaptu

Do share your experiences of Facebook usage on your E71 phone.

Technorati Tags: e71,s60,facebook,application,download,free

Themes for E71 and E71x – Michael Jackson

Since themes are in great demand I thought of sharing a couple of Michael Jackson based themes. Love him or hate him you have to agree that some of his music was a class above others.

The two themes that I’m sharing are

• MJ Tribute by LS and
• MJ theme Dusty Janeway

Though I would agree that the themes are not out of the ordinary as far as finesse and class is concerned when compared to other themes but for Michael’s fans they are a must.

I have tried these themes on my E71 and they work very well. The first theme seems to be for slightly bigger screen than that of E71. Nevertheless both the themes work well on E71. Here are some screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

MJ Tribute by LS theme for E71 Screenshots

DOWNLOAD THE THEME

MJ theme Dusty Janeway for E71 screenshots

DOWNLOAD THE THEME

(Thanks to Amirul for pointing out the wrong URL. The link has been fixed)

Do let me know whether you like the themes and what kind of themes would you like me to share in the future.

Technorati Tags: theme,e71,free,download,s60

How to replace the faceplate and disassemble your E71 or E71x

 The Nokia Blog has a nice post on how to disassemble a E71 or E71x if you want to change the casing or the faceplate of the phone.

The tutorial is pretty easy to follow as the steps are presented in photos therefore there are very few chances that you would falter.

Let me know if anyone of you face a problem while disassembling the phone.

Technorati Tags: disassemble,e71,open,repair

Technical information of your E71 on your fingertips with PhoNetInfo

 PhoneNetInfo is a free application that you can install on your E71 and will provide you all the technical information on the phone.

To quote the website

“PhoNetInfo retrieves detailed phone and network information such as firmware version; IMSI; IMEI; SIM card and battery status; WLAN IP, MAC, MTU and speed, bluetooth MAC and device class; network mode, name, signal strength, (cell) ID and country code; CPU speed, type and architecture; RAM and ROM; running tasks; MMC & SD Card; supported camera formats, etc”

I have installed the older version of the application on my E71 and it works very well and seems to have a fair bit of information. Below I’m sharing screenshots of the application working on my phone.

If you are the geeky type and want to get technical information of your E71 on your fingertips then PhoNetInfo is the application for you. The latest version of the application is unsigned but the older version (the one that I installed) is signed and provides you with useful information.

Free Download

Technorati Tags: e71,application,free,download,information,technical

e71 from Nokia (e71nokia) on Twitter

Check out the new design of E71nokia page on Twitter at http://twitter.com/e71nokia.

Please give feedback and recommendations.

Thank you for following me on Twitter.

e71 from Nokia (e71nokia) on Twitter

Twibble mobile – Free Client for Twitter for E71 and S60 updated

Twibble mobile is a free Twitter client for E71, S60, Java enabled Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry phones. Twibble has been around for some time and it has grown in stature. I would recommend this client to anyone looking for a free Twitter application.

Some of the features of the Twibble are

• low resource usage
• tweets, replies and direct messages are displayed in separate views (flip with right/left keys or 'space')
• full integration (including automatic refresh)
• Share pictures on MobyPicture and Twitpic (with Mobipicture you can geo code your picture as well – however, this is a little tricky. I was not able to send a picture with the GPS information as the app was not able to find my location and finding the image was a bit of a trouble. I like the way gravity allows you to send pictures). This comes with the integration of image browser to select and upload images.
• search Twitter for users and hashtags
• retweets and quick @ replies
• follow unfollow users directly from Twitter
• full screen mode with resizing of images and avatars if required depending upon the phone screen size
• run twibble in the background
• keyboard shortcuts
• use themes to customize the look and feel of twibble

 

If you have never used twibble before give it a shot and if you used it a long time back (more than 6 months) give it a try – twibble mobile has changed  a lot.

There is a desktop version also available for Twibble if you want a desktop client for Twitter.

Technorati Tags: application,twitter,mobile.e71,s60