Eseries

Many of us are familiar with desktop "Widgets" - either through using Dashboard on Mac OS or Yahoo! Widgets (formerly known as Konfabulator)

Now, Widsets has released a service that will bring mobile Widgets to the Nokia E61, and other devices. I've used a lot of mobile applications throughout the years but I have to say that Widsets Widgets is probably the most amazing application I have used so far. The potential for Widsets mobile Widsets (can we call them "Midgets?") is HUGE. I can easily see how this will grow and become a mobile standard.

The strength and magic of Widsets lies in the extreme ease of use, the breadth of useful services, the *gorgeously stunning*  UI and the viral aspect.

In short, Widsets is a simple service that provides useful information available on the Internet directly to your Nokia E61. There are two parts to Widsets - the application you load on your device and a web service you set up and configure on the Internet.

Go to Widsets and register for an account. An SMS will be sent to your device to confirm your phone number and allow you to download the application. 

Once you have set up your account on Widsets you pick and customize the Widsets (Widgets) you want to have access to on your Nokia E61. You can search for Widsets by category, popularity or by name.

The Widsets you choose will be saved to your personalized set of widgets. This user interface is beautiful, intuitive and easily customizable. The way you order the Widsets is the way they will be displayed on the Nokia E61.

There are many existing Widsets but it is also very simple to create and share your own Widsets. Since RSS is the core of the information feed for the Widsets you can grab an RSS and wrap it in a Widget and share it with the rest of the world. Example below is a Widset for Engadget's Wireless RSS feed.

The Widset user interface on the Nokia E61 is stunning. It is so visually appealing that the only way to describe it as "lickable". It is fast, colorful and simply irresistable. After you download the application you will need to initiate a "Reload" to get started.

The Widsets you included on your account on the Internet will be presented, in that order, on your device. If you are worrying about the amount of data you can limit the data usage and track it using the "Traffic Monitor" feature. 

The Engadget Wireless Widset I created in 120 seconds looks like this. I didn't spend any time on personalizing the look and feel of the widgets but it is easy to do. I also customized a Flickr Widset to search and display images of the Nokia E61. 

Nokia has released a podcasting application, primarily for the Nokia N91, but it works fine with the Nokia E61 and other S60 3rd edition devices such as the rest of the E-series.  It should be noted that the application is still in beta. However,  I didn't encounter any problems with the software.

Podcasts can be downloaded via WLAN or GPRS (WCDMA for those who are so lucky). Given the size of most of the podcast I think it is wise to limit your downloads to using the WLAN. The podcasts I downloaded were in the 25-35 MB size and took a few minutes to download - I didn't pay too much attention to download speeds.

The application lets you find and download podcasts in three different ways. You can use the podcast directories that are pre-installed with the application to look for interesting topics. (The directories can be modified and extended by the end user. Just add an OPML file and the new directory will automatically be added to the list of directories.) Just use the hierarchical outline of the directories to find/discover a podcast you think sound interesting.

You will be asked to confirm your choice and the list of episodes, not the full podcasts, will be downloaded. 

Another way of adding podcasts is by using the "Search" function. Just add the name of the podcast or a keyword. 

You confirm your selection and the list of episodes will be dowloaded.

Another great feature is that you don't have to download the full podcast before you start listening to the file. You can start playing what you have downloaded using a "play preview" feature. This is a great way to listen to the first few minutes of a podcasts while you download them in order to decide whether you want to keep them or even continue downloading them.

There is also a feature that launches the web browser and automatically loads the website associated with the podcast you are listening to.

The third way of adding podcasts is by manually entering the podcast URL. It's a bit more of a hassle but in case your podcast is not included in any of the directories this is the way to go.

You can  determine the default access point,  search service URL for the directories, where podcasts are stored, update intervals and other details under the setting panels.

I have two computers, one Mac and one PC. Due to Nokia's poor Apple support and Apple's lack of iSync plugins I haven't been able to syncronize my Nokia E61 with my Mac.

I recently discovered Nova Media's iSync plugins and was about to spend the 10 Euros for their plugin when I came across Eko Juniarto's free iSync plugin. Eko has put together a plugin that is easy to install,works great and is free to boot - thank you Eko!

Update: If you are using Mac OS 10.4.7 this might not be working any more. Try this to sync your E61 with your Mac.

Sweet, sweet music - Internet Radio on Nokia E61

In my eagerness to test out the various applications and features of the Nokia E61 I stumbled across an Open Source project for an Internet Radio client for the Nokia E61. (As with most other software - if it works on the Nokia E61 it should work fine on the other E-Series devices and other devices running S60 3rd edition).

The project consists of two files available for download. The first file is a Shoutcast engine and the other file is the Internet Radio client. It was a cakewalk installing the two files. When you launch the device it will prompt you to choose a radio channel.

The application will start buffering, and depending on whether you use the WLAN or the data network, will start playing in a few seconds or more. I used it both on Cingular's MediaNet (GPRS) and using the WLAN connection. The usability on WLAN is great. There were no interruptions and everything was smooth. However, usability on Cingular's MEdia NET was poor. The sound was "choppy" and the application had to rebuffer time after time. This is of course due to the poor transfer rate I was getting over the network.

I have an unlimited dataplan with my carrier, Cingular, so up until now I haven't paid much attention to WiFi. Come to think of it, the Nokia E61 is the first smartphone that I have had that has WiFi built in. It's never been a feature that I have prioritized but since it now is part of the Nokia E61 I thought I should try it out a bit more.

I had no problems getting connected to a Linksys router and an Apple Airport Express. I tried it with and without WEP and it worked fine. I also tried it on a couple of networks in nearby coffee shops without as much as a glitch. There is a public network that I sometimes use that gives me a lot of problem when I bring my Apple PB but it worked fine with the Nokia E61.

I found that the connection manager that comes with the device works great as a WiFi Locator. I also tried PsiLoc's HotSpot Finder but preferred the simple interface of the native Connection Manager. Not only is it easier to use but it is also free - hard to beat that.

At a glance you can see the name of the network, strength of the network signal and wether it is an open network or not.

There is also a detailed view that gives you one more level of information of the network. 

Connecting to the network was very straightforward. I opened the web browser and was asked what connection to use, you can also preconfigure connections so you don't have to decide each time you use a network connection.

You select the desired connection and the device connects to the Internet through the specified connection.

A reader pointed out to me that the Adobe Reader 1.5 is available from Nokia's Asia website - thanks for the tip Nader. (Adobe Reader 1.5 for Nokia E61 Download Link). Having used Adobe on various other handhelds I was eager to install the application and test it out.

Installation was a breeze. I choose to Bluetooth the SIS file over to my Nokia E61 from my PowerBook but you can as easily install it using Nokia's PC Suite or just moving it to a memory card.

Using the device it is possible to access PDF documents received as email attachments, via Bluetooth, on web pages or using the file manager to open documents on a memory card or in the  internal phone memory.

I transferred the Nokia E61 manual, a hefty 100+ pages PDF file to use as a test document.

There are a number of options regarding how the document is displayed. You can specify by percentage the degree you zoo-in or use any of the standard formatting options.

Just as with the Nokia E61 web browser there is a good search tool. The search tool lets you search text within a PDF. This is very useful as it cuts down on time looking for a certain section of the PDF. You simply enter the text you are looking for.

Any found matches will be highlighted. It is also very easy to go to the next instance of the same text.

You can easily navigate within the document using the 5-way joystick on the device or use the "go to" functionality to access a certain page number or any of the neighbouring pages. You can also access chapters in the PDF document using the bookmark functio.

I was impressed by the speed of the application. However, I won't give up my PC quite yet. It's great to be able to access PDF files from the Nokia E61. Either on the web or in an email. I can see how it has the potential to become a life saver (project saver) one of these days but don't expect the same ease of use as using PDF on your primary computer.

Nokia E61 Browser

The last couple of days I have been using the web browser that comes bundled with the Nokia E61 a lot. I've been stuck in training for a week so I relied on the web browser, connecting through WiFi, to catch up on news and web based mail. I've been pleasantly surprised over the ease of use of both the WiFi feature and the browsing experience.

The first thing that struck me was how similar the experience is with a good, reliable PC based browser and the Nokia E61's browser. So far I have been disappointed with mobile web browsing because of all the comprises you are faced when using a mobile device. The Nokia E61 browser is a non-nonsense, no comprise web browser that gives you the closest experience possible to a PC browser.

The browser is based on Apple's Safari/KHTML's engines. It's fast. Faster than similar browsers I have used on the Treo and faster than the Opera browser. It is also very feature rich without being sluggish or complicated. The browser supports dynamic HTML.  So dynamic menus, rollovers and scripted actions such as AJAX applications works! I tried it with Google Maps and it works great. It was cool to use the Nokia E61 and Google Maps. I'll never get lost again…

The most important industry standards are also supported W3C's HTML, XHTML 1.0, DOM, CSS, SVG-Tiny, SSL, Flash Lite and audio. There is a download manager that effectively handles downloads by recognizing the file type and taking the appropriate actions.

It is very easy to navigate web pages using a very neat feature -  a pointer/cursor that is controlled with the 5-way joystick on the device. It is also nice to see that the browser preserves the original page layout. No longer do you have to suffer by mobile browser messing up page layout.The browser has many nifty features.

One of my favourites is the visual history functionality. It is a cakewalk to go back and forth between sites you have visited. They are preserved as thumbnails so that you can see what pages you have visited.

 
Another favourite is the easy navigation of web pages  by using a miniature image of the web page and thereby reducing the amount of scrolling. You can easily see where you are on the web page.

I was also pleased to see the many robust features you expect on a PC based browser such as pop-up blocking, image zoom-in and save, support for RSS feeds and changeable font size.

There is even a a dynamic search functionality that let's you search text within a web page. This features is very fast and works as you type, taking you to directly to the accurate part of the web page.

My iPod Nano recently bit the dust and went on to wherever gadgets go to rest when they brake down and die. Instead of buying a new 2 Gig iPod Nano for $199 I decided to pick up a 2 Gig Mini SD card for about $60 for my Nokia E61. Not only do I save some money but I also reduce the clutter in my bag by elminating the need for one extra device.

The challenge I faced was how to manage my music libraries and move the music to my Nokia E61. I found a great tool to help me do just that. The free application SyncTunes lets you syncronize part of your iTunes library to an SD card. This is the step-by-step guide.

What you need is your Nokia E61, a Mini SD card and a memory card reader that can be mounted by your Mac. I used a cheap SD card reader from Lexar. 

Mount the Mini SD card using the reader on your Mac. 

Start iTunes. 

Create a playlist for your Nokia E61 and pick the music and podcast you want to include. The built in media player supports MP3/AAC/MPEG4 files.

Install and launch the free application SyncTunes.

Choose the playlist you created and your Mini SD card you mounted using the SD card reader and then initiate Sync. Your music will be copied to the Mini SD card. Then you just insert the Mini SD card in your Nokia E61 and your ready to go. 

I will follow up this post later with more information about headphones, battery life etc. 

One of my absolute favorite mobile applications is Mobimate's WorldMate. It's the second application I install on any device after I set up a decent email application.

I have relied on WorldMate for years now. It's indespensible tool for anyone working and staying in contact with people in multiple time zones and cities. It's a convenient tool to look up the time and even the weather anywhere in the world. The application is rightfully referred to as "The Swiss Army Knife of Travel".

The only thing I have missed as I gave up using the Treo was a good implementation of  WorldMate. To my delight I found that there is a free version of MobiMate for the Nokia E61.

I haven't tried it on any other of the Nokia E-series devices but I think it should also work on the Nokia E70 and the Nokia E60 as well.

However, it works great on my Nokia E61! There are some features missing but this version is absolutely free and the critical features are all implemented - World Clocks, Weather Forecasts and Currency Converter. The layout is also very intuitive and a breeze to use. So for those of you with an Nokia E61 you can download a fully functioning version of  WorldMate from here.

Screenshots of WorldMate on  a Nokia E61: