Nokia E50

Readers' Tips in 2007

Jaro 7. January 2008 :: , ,

I’m really happy that the messageboard has taken off and many of you have been participating in the discussion. You shared lots of knowledge with others, answered many questions coming from new or experienced users. Thanks to everyone who participated, it would be quiet around here without you.

I went through every topic on the messageboard and compiled a list of the most popular/interesting questions and replies. Check it out, you might find answers to some of your questions.

Top Readers’ Tips in 2007

Q: Is there any way to listen to FM radio on the Nokia E50?
A: Check out Nokia HS-2R or install Radio Bee.

Q: How can I create screenshots of the current display with my E50?
A: Try Antony’s Screenshot for Symbian or ScreenSnapS60.

Q: How do I customize a home screen?
A: Go to Tools – Settings – Phone – Standby Mode – Active Standby Apps. (this is where you can change the 6 icon that are displayed on your home screen. If you are using a mailbox, you can select Active Standby Mailbox

Q: How can I update to the latest firmware?
A: Check out this article How To Update Your Nokia Phone Software

Q: Any tips on how to use my E50 as a webcam on the PC?
A: There’s a software called Mobiola that can do that.

Q: Anyone having problems sending E50 SMS text messages? Takes over a minute to send a small one.
A: Try SMS Accelerator. It should speed things up.

Q: I have successfully connected my E50 with my Gmail account but it seems to be downloading “All Mail” rather than just my “Inbox” so I cancelled the operation. Anyone know how I limit it to the half-dozen or so emails in the “Inbox” rather than the hundreds in “All Mail”?
A: Yeah, there’s a way: Menu->Messaging->Press “Options” (left soft key)->Settings->E-Mail->Select your inbox from the inboxes list (I´ll assume it’s called “Gmail”)->Retrieval Settings. There you can set max email size, and how many emails from the inbox. For example, if you select “30”, the 30 newest emails will be retrieved.

Q: Is there any way to change the T9 language from within the browser? I usually do SMS in spanish and internet in english, so I change often.
A: Yes, you can select the T9 language by pressing the edit key which is located on the right side of your phone (the button with a small pencil on it).

Q: The Q8310 had the excellent feature that auto-silenced the ringtone when there was an appointment in the calender. Is this possible on the E50?
A: E50 can’t switch profiles based on the calendar events but I recommend you Best Profiles application.

Q: I’m going to sell my phone. How to wipe all personal data?
A: Just type in *#7370# and follow the instructions. That erases everything personal from your phone. Don’t forget to format the MicroSD card afterwards.

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5 Tips To Increase Your Mobile Productivity

Jaro 19. February 2007 :: , ,

Mobile phones are becoming a very important working tool. Same as desktops and notebooks, mobile phones can do much more than only making calls and sending messages. Today we are able to create documents, send emails, chat, take and edit photos, make videos and a lot more. We spend more and more time working on our mobile devices so it’s important to do it the right way. Here are a few tips to help you increase productivity:

1. Customize your idle screen – I think this is the most effective way to get the job done faster. Place the most often used applications onto your idle screen so you can easily access them. New devices offer high level of customization so get the most out of it. The point is to get to the frequently used applications with as few button presses as possible.

2. Learn to use shortcuts – the chance is that you already use some shortcuts on your pc (e.g. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V for copy/paste). Learn to use them on your mobile too. For instance I use number keys to open folders on my Nokia E50. Number 1 stands for the top left folder, number 3 for the top right folder etc. It’s much faster than using joystick to navigate to the correct folder or application. Every device has different setup so you’ll have to play around and find out what works for you.

3. Use right tool for the job – have you ever caught yourself driving a car and writing a small note on your mobile at the same time? Why not to use a voice recorder? It’s much faster and safer. A few weeks ago I was hunting for a printer going from one shop to another, comparing prices and specifications. Instead of writing down the prices I used the camera on my phone. You should be careful with camera though, some stores don’t like when you take pictures of their products.

4. Get the best software possible – mobile phones come preinstalled with plenty of useful applications but there is much more available out there. Search the internet for 3rd party applications. You don’t have to buy everything. Most of them offer a trial version. Try as many as possible and choose the one that suits your needs. Many times freeware will do even better job than a commercial application.

5. Prioritize your tasks – writing long emails is still more comfortable to do on pc. Leave the more difficult tasks for later when you have access to your pc and do the easy stuff on your phone. That way you’ll get more things done.

These are my tips to work faster and better. What are yours?

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7 tips to extend your battery life

Jaro 21. November 2006 :: , ,

When it comes to batteries it looks like we are at the same point we were 10 years ago. Batteries don’t last longer than a few days. But to be fair to the battery designers we have to admit that nowadays’ smartphones require much more energy than phones 10 years ago. We can’t really compare them but what we can do is use them with more care. Here are a few good tips how to go about it:

Nokia Battery

1. Turn off your Bluetooth – I find Bluetooth to be the most power hungry application; turn it off when you don’t use it

2. Disable sounds and vibrating alert – you don’t really need keypad tones to be on, do you? What about vibrating? It is surely useful on the meetings or in a cinema but most of time you’ll do just fine without it; I usually set up a vibrating profile to be used in places like cinema or theatre and in all other profiles I have vibrating turned off

3. Brightness – lower the brightness of your screen; not too low, otherwise you’ll destroy your vision

4. Setting the Power saver time-out and the Light time-out to the low values will help too (you’ll find them in the display settings)

5. If you are not using an application switch it off – you’ll get a list of all active applications by long pressing the menu button; this is a general rule that can be applied to any device

6. Games – it’s fun to play games on your way to school but they are power-hungry beasts; I can’t tell you not to play games but think about your battery when you are playing

7. Turn off your phone when you don’t use it – I know that for many of you this is not an option and I’m not sure if turning it off and on is even good for your battery but I heard this tip from so many people that I just had to mention it

Buy cheap batteries from Amazon.com

My Nokia E50 lasts 3-5 days depending on how often I use it. I have to say that I don’t play games, neither I browse the internet very often. How about you? How long does your battery last and how often do you use your phone? Do you have some additional tips that could extend battery life? Feel free to add them in comments below.

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Speedlinking 15. November 2006

Jaro 15. November 2006 :: , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi guys, there are couple of posts around the mobile blogs which caught my attention lately. I thought I would highlight them here:

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