Optimizing The Standby Screen for Nokia E61
I really like the standby screen of the Nokia E61. It gives you as the end user a great deal of flexibility in the way you set up the layout.
The standard set up with the left selection key mapped to "Notes" and the right selection key mapped to "Contacts" worked pretty well for me. However, when I started thinking of my own usage pattern I realized that I could sacrifice Notes as the left selection key.
As I have mentioned before I am a data hog. I send a lot of emails and SMS. In order to optimize the standby screen of my Nokia E61 I decided to set it up accordingly.
To change the layout of the selection keys go to Menu > Tools > Settings > Phone > Standby mode
I decided that the best usage of the left selection key was to map it to "New text msg."
You can map the selection keys to any applications and browser bookmarks. The selection is surprisingly large when you scroll down the list of options.
While I was rearranging the selection keys I decided to also also move the the "New text msg" function in the "Active standby apps" setting.
I moved the New text msg function from the 7th spot, last, up to the first spot. This way I have two buttons that provides me with a easy access to creating a new text message. The first way is the one click option of using left selection key and the second way is to use the joystick. This could potentially also be a one click selection depending on where you "park" the joystick selection.
I admit that it is a bit excessive to dedicate two such important keys to one task. I plan to reassign one of key to another function when I have figured out which layout I prefer to use for accessing New text msg.
Needless to say you can map the right and left selection keys and the Active standby applications to any application. I encourage you to tweak the layout and set up of your Nokia E61 to get a more optimized layout that fits with your usage scenario.
August 7th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
I can never see the point of ‘New SMS’ - 99% of my texts are to people who have already sent me messages recently, and it’s FAR faster to simply do a ‘reply’ in Messaging directly.
IMHO!
Steve
August 8th, 2006 at 12:19 am
You can also leave the bluetooth out of your active standby. You can simply use function (blue button) + Ctrl to enable/disable bluetooth.
Regards,
Kenny
August 8th, 2006 at 12:19 am
Ever tried simply talking to the phone ? You can get to the new SMS by simply pressing the button on the left andsaying “New SMS” or “New Email”. In fact you can say any name from your address book and it will dial it.. all this looks a bit silly, but it works great!!
August 8th, 2006 at 12:33 am
New SMS is useful…but 2 keys??
I put Zingles.. a pretty good sudoku game as the first key on the Active Standby Apps.
Anyone know any other good games available for the E61? I’m often killing time waiting for meetings to start, and I probably use Zingles more than any other single application on the phone except email.
August 8th, 2006 at 1:19 am
I wish my E70 had more than just 7 shortcuts on the main page. My 7 are…
Camera
Contacts
New SMS
Messaging
Nokia Podcasting App
MOT English-Finnish dictionary
Notes
…Right now the standby screen is quite static, but in future releases of S60 we’ll see customizable screens. I’ve seen some screenshots and it looks VERY cool.
August 8th, 2006 at 1:22 am
Anyone know any other good games available for the E61?
This free golf game from Nokia is awesome:
http://www.europe.nokia.com/A4149166
August 8th, 2006 at 1:23 am
You guys know that if you hold down the email button - it works as “create email”?
August 8th, 2006 at 3:53 am
I have the europe version, Italian “TIM” brand of Nokia E61, but I really cannot see”Contacts” or the corresponding italian nameof it…. there are six IDENTICAL links to nokia.com, some other operator links and almost every other app in the E61, but THERE IS NOT “COntacts”…. some ideas how to add it?
August 8th, 2006 at 6:57 am
Wait — 7 shortcuts? On my E70 I only get 5! I need 7! No fair! Argh!
August 8th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Well, you’re not alone mate. Even I have “New SMS” mapped to the left softkey and first shortcut. Guys… it’s just usage pattern. Maybe you guys aren’t too much into txt-ing.
August 8th, 2006 at 8:46 am
Thanks for all the good suggestions and comments. Steve, to your point about using reply - there is one feature application I miss on the Nokia E61.
Threaded SMS a la Treo. I’d like an application that saves the SMS I have sent and received in a threaded format so that it becomes more like an IM conversation.
I really hope someone comes out with an app like that. I’d be the first to buy.
Ray,
Glad to hear that I am not alone
August 8th, 2006 at 9:20 am
I also have an Italian TIM branded e61 and I also can’t find the contacts!!! At least now we know it’s a TIM firware issue! Anyway I miss being able to just type the first letter of the contact to call from standby mode and being taken to the contacts menu automatically (like my treo did). Anyway to activate this function on our e61?
August 8th, 2006 at 10:26 am
“Guys… it’s just usage pattern. Maybe you guys aren’t too much into txt-ing.”
I maybe do 30 a month, which is a bit of shame when you consider my account gives me 1,100 texts per month….
August 8th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Hi Charles,
That’s what I have too. I am determined to use every single one of those
August 8th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Hey - keep up the good work.
Just came across this theme - similar to “white”:
http://www.d2k.hu/ig/S60v3/
August 8th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
All i want is my emailbutton to start profimail instead of the default client is this possible?
Great weblog visit it at least 7 times a week
Mausse, netherlands
August 8th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
The delay in the left button in the standby screen (this for manual keylock) is really a bummer
August 8th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
I have the Italian Tim E61 too and I can’t get Contacts to appear in my Active Desktop or on the left and right keys either!
What I miss is the MessageSaver application I had for my 3650 which allowed me to save multiple meaningful sms (okay, I’m a girl…) to my Powerbook instead of beaming them one by one.
August 8th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
I got it and love it! you did again Ed!
August 8th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
During a call and using the menu system the right key is switch to Back to the call screen so I wouln’t place a function that could be needed during the call on it.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
My standby screen also shows the last 2 SMS that I got. However, it shows them, even though I have read them already. Is there an option to tell the standby screen to show unread SMS only? I did not see any option like this…
August 17th, 2006 at 7:43 am
I have an E61 on Cingular US. Works great but cannot get SMS to work.
Any chance you know the set up? Is it the phone number or message center that must be changed? Any help? Visuals appreciated.
Great blog.
August 17th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Hi Gregory,
I’m currently on vacation in Paris so this will be a quick one. It sounds as if the message center wasn’t provisioned properly. The setting I use for SMS Msg Center (Cingular) is:+13123149810.
You change it through Messaging > Settings > Text Message > Message Centre in use
Hope it works.
Cheers
August 19th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
I have the tim e61 too. it looks like ‘contacts’ was the first choice on the menu (maybe someone can verify?), and tim replaced it with ‘livetv.tim.it’.
what utter morons.
not to mention, 600 years of the best art/design in the western world and the tim theme is so shockingly fugly.
tim is so expensive too, at least we get canalis on tv every 5 minutes. woot.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:44 am
update: the http://livetv.tim.it actually works as the ‘contacts’. they just changed the name.
also, if you want to just change the wallpaper of the standby screen, make it 320 x 198 and it will fill the screen up to the top and bottom bars.
September 1st, 2006 at 6:39 am
very intersting page!
I want to thanks guiscard for the suggestion about how to activate “contacts” in standby screen of the TIM version.
An interesting information could be how to modify this silly text (http.livetv…). Guiscard?
Another confirmation shuold be abput the possibility to list the contact after selecting the green button and the initials of the name to call (another interesting feature from the treo).
At last many thanks to this blog for the reference.
dex
September 10th, 2006 at 2:55 am
how you do these screenshots?
September 10th, 2006 at 9:04 am
Hi Dr,
I wrote about it here:
http://www.e-series.org/archives/44
September 18th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Hello All!
First off, incredible website/ blog! Informative, accurate and helpful. The way it should be done. Bravo!
Here’s my question: I cannot figure out how to include my email inbox on the standby screen. When you initially set up your email(s), there’s an option that you can select that will show whichever email inbox you choose on the Standby screen. I did that but when I did the hard reset for the firmware update (I havent seen much difference but then again it was SOOOOO stable before that, that I may just not have noticed the improvements!) and resynced my data, the inbox on the standby screen was nowhere to be found! So I figured that it should be an easy enough fix since this device is so easy and relatively intuiative but I can’t find the feature ANYWHERE! This one has got me stumped so please help!!
Corey
September 18th, 2006 at 7:53 am
@Corey Harville:
Did you enable it here: Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Phone -> Standby mode -> Active Standby Mailbox? (Perhaps it is called differently on your phone. I simply translated the German names to English…)
This is where I had to switch it on again, after firmware upgrade on my E60.
Regards,
slowjoe
September 28th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
How do I change my standby screen, I’d like to get rid of the calculator which i rarely use and put in another app that I use more often
October 1st, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Is it possible to have a shortcut fpor Menu-Installations on the Standby Screen? Can’t find any. Thx
October 30th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
I want to be able to remap the side-buttons!
November 14th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
[...] Vinit writes: “There are a number of steps you need to take to make a text msg. In addition, when typing in a name to SMS the device doesn’t auto complete the name or number. Well I just assigned one of the soft keys to “new sms” just like the tips and tricks section says and just for fun I tried typing in half a name e.g. instead of Adam Smith, I typed Adam, wrote my msg then hit send. The e62 came up with a list of all the Adam’s in my address book and asked me to select one of them. Its one less step rather then trying search for the contact before sending the msg.” [...]
November 15th, 2006 at 8:08 am
Mausse, at least Profimail will work for you. It won’t work on the E62 and the author doesn’t know why…probably something Cingular has done.
The problem I have with email is that, with the inbuilt app, when you receive an email and the name of the person is displayed in FROM, you cannot reply to the email unless you delete the person’s name and type in their actual email address…Very, very silly.
Anyone know a work-around for that one?
December 6th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
My phone (Orange France packaged model) does not permits to choose the active standby apps. (This option in my setup menu is replaced by “mailbox when standby mode is active”).
Is there a way to get this option back ?
and is there a way to export these kind of settings to another e61 ? (i will ahave to setup few e61 for my company.
January 20th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Where did you get that black/grey theme?
January 20th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Hi Mike,
I can’t remember the name but I am pretty sure it is on my Nokia E61 E62 theme page (link on the main page).
January 28th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Hi,
I have an E65 and can receive SMS text messages, but can’t send them. I use Cingular as my provider and have set the following:
Messaging > Settings > Text Message > Message
+14084728368
However, it still fails. Any help on getting this working would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
February 3rd, 2007 at 9:38 am
Your article is very informative and helped me further.
Thanks, David
March 11th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Hi,
When I start a new sms message and like to send a contact with mobile number within this message how do I do this?
There is just one option possible: insert - template.
I had an Nokia 6230 and this phone have the option insert - contact, so I just have to select a person out of my contacts and voila!
Is there someone who has a solution for this?
Thanks!
March 16th, 2007 at 1:53 am
@hermie:
The only way to insert a contact that I know of:
while in the message writing screen
1) press menu key (you will switch application)
2) select contacts
3) find desired contact and select it
4) options->use number->copy
5) pres and hold menu key (to get task manager) and
select text msg (so you get back to your message)
6) hold the pencil key and press paste
I know this is quite a workflow, and I am also not happy with it, but so far, I think this is the only way to do it.
Anyone has a better ideal?!
keywords: symbian nokia e50 insert contact phone number sms message
March 19th, 2007 at 1:21 am
Update:
great shortcut if you own a E50:
steps 1+2 can be made with just pressing the “speach” button (above the pencil)
so does step 5
August 7th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Hi, I’m interested in the theme you used inside this post.
May I know where I can get it?
Regards.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:38 am
Good tip. Helpeld me to set up the shortcuts.
IT would be great if you could help me setting up yahoo IM and gmail email on my phone.
Thanks
Vishal
June 24th, 2008 at 9:06 am
all symbian sets have this limitation of inserting contacts in the sms. On the other hand they convert the contact in sms when sending visiting card from contact menu which makes it compatible with all hand sets. So all it needs is one more sms for contact info rather then going through long but paste process. Peace