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Nokia Messaging Gets an Update

I’ve been using Nokia Messaging since the summer across my devices and it’s definitely worth an install if you are looking for a push-like email experience.  The latest update to the service offers a tweak to your settings giving you more control on the handset as well as supporting the just announced Eseries devices.

The Nokia Messaging team has released a patch for Nokia Messaging that is available now at email.nokia.com. This patch does a few nice things, including returning APN selection in the client, the addition of the E75 and E55 to the Nokia Messaging family, and upgrading our notification system for Yahoo! Mail users. [via S60 Blogs]

If you use an Eseries device like the E71 I carry, you can get an additional mailbox on your homescreen for a dashboard into your messaging which is excellent.  All handsets benefit from the web based configuration though which lets you define your mailboxes and then have Nokia Messaging send you a configuration message which activates mail on your device.

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E71 Firmware updated

2009-01-13_2159 - Updating the E71

Last night before bed, I saw the news and updated my E71 to firmware v200.21.118.  If I’m not mistaken, this is by far the quickest we’ve seen a NAM update following the EMEA release.  Excellent!

I’ve been restoring my applications today and so far so good.  I love the two new black and red themes … and see Internet Radio is now baked in along with MyNokia though I’ve yet to see the sign-up prompt.

Firmware updates on the E71 erase everything, so please do a backup if you want to try and retain your existing info.  I tend to just move forward rather than restore from backup, but that’s me …

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Ovi Suite – Syncing Smoothly in Windows 7

One issue I’ve had running Windows 7 was Nokia’s PC Suite refuses to install due to some privilege issues.  I’ve tried a few tricks and it seems it’s just going to fail.  The good news is that Ovi Suite installs just fine (except for Nokia Music  which I will have to try separately in compatibility mode) and brings a sleek UI and connections to the Ovi.com portal.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that my E71 was also able to connect even though it is not listed as a supported device.  The E71 will actually only sync PIM data for the moment though … no media sync through Ovi Suite until it’s eventually supported (right Nokia??).

The real benefit though is that I now have a simple way to connect to my phone for a data connection which is something I do daily during my commute.  I know there are other options but prefer DUN over Joikuspot or Walking Hotspot for a 2 device connection as the connection seems to just work better.

As you can see in the image above, my N79 is syncing while I’m typing this.  I’ll give the rest of the suite a whirl over the next few days, but having this working is a big bonus running Windows 7!

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E71 Firmware Updated

E71 Firmware Update

I updated my E71’s Firmware yesterday and discovered that there are actually two E71 Product codes for the North American version … and only one will see the update (for now).

  • 0559585 – got the update
  • 0569371 – no update

So far, I’m not seeing anything particularly new or different.  When the update was initially reported about two weeks ago there was mention of the new Mail For Exchange client being on board. I’ve found that the version embedded within the firmware (2.5) is actually an older one. If you navigate into your Downloads folder and refresh, you’ll find the newer 2.7 is there.

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T-Zones needs to be taken out back and shot

I have two active phones – A Nokia E71 running on an ATT SIM and an N96 running on a T-Mobile SIM. Because the T-Mobile SIM was initially provisioned for Blackberry service it seems to only have access to the T-zones access point which absolutely sucks. For starters, you can only have two simultaneous connections which means a multi-tasking device like the N96 (or any other N or E Series) bumps into this limit REGULARLY. In ordr to proceed past the warning about reaching the maximum number of connections, you must first request that an “offending application” stop doing what it was doing in order to try again in your current app. I would not be exaggerating to say I see this within 2 minutes of active use and continuously thereafter. WTF?!?!?! I never noticed this when the SIM was in the Blackberry and I’m guessing that because you pay such a premium for Blackberry data service it does not count against the two connections. Additionally the Blackberry really does not actively multi-task so it’s quite difficult to get two things competing to connect on the access point.

I’m aware this should be resolved with a change to my service agreement, but am unable to make those changes myself as the SIM and device are part of corporate plan. Regardless T-Zones is really a poor excuse for a data plan access point. People are using more not less. The limit should be the volume of data, not the way in which you connect.