Posts Tagged s60
Build a wifi signal booster (Hint: Me on national TV!)
Posted by CeeTee in Gadgets, Random Thoughts on January 11th, 2010
So here goes!
I had posted an article on my blog on how to boost your wifi signal with stuff you find easily around the house (for 10 bucks or less!)
I did a collaborative segment on Bloomberg UTV with Aalaap (who has been hosting this blog for me) and here goes!
Things I will do in 2010
Posted by CeeTee in Random Thoughts on January 10th, 2010
A LOT of people make resolutions on New Year’s day and 99% of the resolutions go straight to the crapper. I’ve given this one a serious thought (hence the delay of 10 days) for my resolutions in 2010
Work:
Give an opportunity to my colleagues to take charge at work
Less stress at work
Me:
Lose weight! (about time!)
Come on TV (Done already!)
Buy a smart(er) phone than my Nokia E71. Android? iPhone?
Travel overseas
Go on yet another adventure trip on motorcycles like the Leh Trip 
Buy atleast 1 killer gadget to brag about
Make something official ?
Family:
Buy something really nice for the family
Spend time with friends and family even more
Friends:
Spend time with friends and family even more
Others:
Associate myself with atleast 1 NGO or charity
Latest firmware for Nokia E71 v400.21.013
Posted by CeeTee in E71, Gadgets, Mobile, Tips and Tricks on November 27th, 2009
So, looks like the latest firmware for the Nokia E71 is out. The version is now v400.21.013 which would be available via Nokia Software Updater (NSU). The change log is as follows:
NEW FUNTIONALITIES:
Gimlet v9.5 (v9.5.3.72)
Quick Office 5.3
Ovi Store 1.5 (v1.5.2)
Ovi Contacts – Preinstalled
Mail for Exchange 2.9.176
CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:
Email Setup Wizard update
WLAN Corrections
Internet Radio v1.16 – Increased functionality
Camera functionality improvement
Incoming call hang issue fixed
Turkish SMS character input improvement
Many functionality and Stability improvements in MfE
Support for Russian and Ukranian keymats
Phone activation Baseline updated
Yahoo account hack fixed
GENERAL
Stability and functionality improvements
Email and WLAN functionality improvements
Increased robustness in handling SMS and incoming calls
Memory leak fixes and crashes
Email and WLAN functionality improvements
CALL HANDLING
Fix for Incoming call hang issue and fast call crash
Fix for making emergency call when the phone is locked
CALENDAR/CLOCK
Minor Functionality improvements
Time display correction when the phone is locked
CONNECTIVITY
WLAN functionality Improvements and fixes for crashes
Improvement in WLAN authentication
mVPN authentication improvements and general functionality improvement
CONTACTS/PHONEBOOK
Functionality improvements for search functionality
EMAIL
Email setup wizard updated
Fix for Yahoo account hack while setting up Gmail account through Nokia Email
Fix for mails getting duplicated after restoring backup
Mail for Exchange upgraded from 2.9.158 to 2.9.176
Gimlet updated to v9.5
Many functionality and stability improvements in MfE
Robustness and functionality improvements in email items.
INTERNET RADIO
Improved functionality
Increased application stability
QWERTY KEYBOARD
Usability improvements
Keyboard mapping corrections for Russian and Ukranian keymat
MESSAGING
Improvement in Turkish SMS characters input
Fix for delivery report for SMS with more than 22 characters
Increased robustness in handling SMS
From what it looks like, the firmware 300.21.012 is pretty much stable for me except for a couple of calls resulting in my phone to hang for a couple of seconds. The camera quality on the 300.xx.xxx is pretty decent for me.
Looks like this one will have to wait till it hits my E71 (waiting for a working HelloOX actually )
GoogaSync – Must have application for S60 phones [Review]
I have been depending on my Google Calendar right since I started working in 2006. I had managed to sync my Google Calendar with my Microsoft Outlook.
Also, I have been a huge fan of GoogaSync (then called CalSync60 beta) till last year – Probably the easiest application to have a bi-directional sync with your S60 phone and Google Calendar
CalSync60 beta ended in February of this year if I remember correctly and I was panicking to get an application to sync my calendar with my Nokia E71.
You can find a post on how to do that here
Enter GoogaSync (Yes, the name sounds absolutely retarded). This app has a few let-downs but the advantages clearly makes it a winner
Pros:
Bi-directional synchronization
Really easy to use, syncing can’t be easier than this!
Support for multiple calendars
Automatic / Scheduled synchronization
Provides cost savings by using WiFi when available
Support for hosted Google Apps accounts
Support for normal Google accounts
Standard appointments, repeating events, birthdays and all-day events
Full synchronization and fast synchronization (transfers only changes)
Reminders and alerts
Configurable roaming protection keeps you safe from huge data bills
Secure and easy to use, your account information is not stored to 3rd party servers.
Cons:
Retarded name for an application
Kinda (very) costly for an application that just does 1 thing (Rs 1016 as a one-time payment which comes to around $22)
Initial sync can take up a HUGE amount of data
There is no option where I can download just the calendar entries for upto 2 weeks in the past
Screenshots:
Sync Google Calendar with MS Outlook, Thunderbird and S60 mobile phone and SMS notifications
How to sync your Google Calendar with Microsoft Outlook and Symbian S60 phone
Part 1 : Google Calendar with MS Outlook
1. Download and install Google Calendar Sync
2. Enter your Google account email address and password.
3. Select your sync method (most likely you want two-way syncing) and the sync frequency you prefer. Depending on the frequency of meeting invites, I have set it to 10 minutes
4. Click Save and you are good to go
Google Calendar Sync
Part 2 : Google Calendar with Thunderbird
1. Download and install the Provider extension (Save it to your desktop, opening the Add-ons dialog in either Sunbird or Thunderbird, and dragging the file you just downloaded into the Add-ons dialog. Restart Thunderbird)
2. Now that Provider is installed, you have to add your new Google Calendar. In Sunbird, go to File -> New Calendar; in Thunderbird, it’s File -> New -> Calendar when you’re in the calendar view.
3. You’re now looking at the Create new calendar wizard. Select “On the Network” and hit Continue.
4. Choose Google Calendar as the calendar type. The Location field requires the XML flavor [important] of your calendar’s Private Address, which you can get by opening Google Calendar and choosing Calendar settings from the drop-down next to the calendar you want to access.
5. At the bottom of the settings page you’ll see the Private Address section. Copy the XML link and paste it into the Location field in Sunbird or T-bird.
6. When you hit Continue, you’ll be asked for your Google Calendar username (your Gmail address) and password. Enter it, give your new calendar a name, and hit Continue.
7. You’re done.
Click to enlarge
Part 3 : Google Calendar with S60 phone
1. Open GooSync
2. Register for a free account (The paid accounts are not really worth the money)
3. On the homepage, click on ‘Configure’ (Remember, the free version of GooSync syncs only 1 calendar)
4. Enter your phone number and you will be receiving the Sync settings via SMS
5. Save the settings and you are ready to Sync
Click to enlarge
Part 4: SMS Notification (Incoming SMS is entirely free in India)
1. Open Google Calendar in Firefox or Internet Explorer (Wont work on Opera)
2. Click Settings
3. Click ‘Calendars’
4. Click on ‘Notifications’ for your primary calendar
5. Set default reminders as SMS – 2 hours before each event (Can customize it per your requirement)
6. Click on ‘Set up your mobile phone to receive notifications’
7. Enter your phone number. You will receive an SMS with a confirmation code which you will need to enter in the same page in Google calendar
8. You are done
Google Calendar Settings - click to enlarge
Disclaimer: Please ensure you have taken a backup of your Google calendar before trying this out. I have configured atleast 3 of my machines with Google Calendar and they have worked fine for me.
My top 10 Symbian S60 applications
1. Google Maps
The latest version of Google Apps lets you find directions (though not entirely accurate). The AGPS is not a very big hog on your GPRS bills (thanks to the ability to switch to a raw map view). Latitude is one more feature that lets you share your location (and your friends location) on 1 place. Layers are another addition to Google Maps recently where you can add layers of your choice in terms of Terrains, Wikipedia, 3D buildings, etc
Was taken by me when I was on my way to my Leh trip http://twitpic.com/8khjb
2. Fring
This application is a no-nonsense all-protocol chat application. Supports AIM, GTalk, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and a few more. It also lets you make VOIP calls and status updates to Facebook and Twitter. My personal favorite
Alternative – Nimbuzz
3. JBTaskman
This is a very simple task manager for your S60 phone. Gives you the control over your phone. Task startup rules, task switching, phone info, etc. A MUST have for every geek who owns an S60 phone
4. Screenshot
Very simple application that just takes a screenshot of the current display on your phone. It is a little tricky to set up the Screenshot key since my E71 does not have a dedicated camera button. I use the backspace button to take the screenshots, open JBTaskman and kill the Screenshot application process. Simple !
Apologies for the retarded GIF image
5. RSeven
Something that I was looking for to avoid the very buggy and incredibly bloaty Nokia PC Suite. This one lets you take a backup of all your SMS, contacts, call log, images, sound files, etc to their website. Their website then displays a sweet timeline of when the stuff was saved/arrived on your phone.
6. Swim
Another very simple application that automates the sync application on your S60 phone. The timings are quite tricky and they are relative. If you set the schedule to ‘Every 12 hours’, it means that from the point you select that option, Swim will automatically load up and Sync your phone. I have set it to ‘Sync every 12 hours‘ at 1.15 am/pm (thats the time I am usually home for lunch or sleeping)
7. Traveler
Lets you keep track of the temperature in your city and the wind conditions. Also supports currency exchange rate updates which are downloaded from the server. A very annoying bug is that this applications always asks me to update my city and timezone when I start it up. I stay in Mumbai, but whenever I start the application, the city gets reset to ‘Delhi’.
8. iON Battery Timer
Ok, this HAS to be the awesomest little utility EVER. It displays the juice left in your battery and the sweetest thing is that it tells you the time in which your battery will run out. And trust me, it is bloody accurate ! $10 per IMEI. TOTALLY worth it. You can install a trial version for 7 days and check it out. It’s BRILLIANT!
Capree.iON.BatteryTimer.v1.02.S60v3.SymbianOS9.x.Unsigned
9. Opera Mini
This section will hold the super ups of Opera Mini 5 Beta. Installed it yesterday and trust me, Opera has failed to disappoint. I mean, how can they have tabbed browsing on a mobile browser ? Very slick interface and very smooth animation. These small things really DO matter. Touchscreen S60 device owners will truly enjoy this application. A couple of negatives (though this is a beta version) has to be the lack of Opera Link (syncing all your bookmarks, passwords, history, etc) across browsers (I have Opera 10 as my primary browser, so this helps). The dictionary on my E71 also can not be used in this application. I am sure the Opera developers will be implementing it in the final version. It is awesomely fast (thanks to the Opera proxy servers) and is incredibly light on your GPRS bills. Watch out since this browser will definitely start a revolution in mobile browsing.
Opera Mini 5 Beta running on Nokia E71
10. IRRemote
Ok, this app is an on-and-off for me. Most of the times I cant find the TV remote or I am too lazy to get up and bring it myself. Solution ? Kick start this application and you can literally control your TV ! Channels, volume, presets, EVERYTHING. Also supports ACs, DVD Players, Hi-Fi systems, Radios, etc
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