The Phones Show Chat Forum

Forum for Phones Show Chat and Phones Show listeners and viewers.

See http://www.pscforum.co.uk/forum/index.php

The Phone Show (Video) & Phone Chat (Audio)

I’ve known Steve Litchfield for what must be about 18 years! Since he soon become one of the biggest names amongst Psion Palmtop enthusiasts. Steve these days produces some really great video and audio shows covering reviews etc on a wide range of smartphones; accompanied by Tim Salmon and a group number of other contributors.

The Phone Show (Video)
Programme: 122, 07/10/10 – Nokia N8, Motorola Flipout.
Programme: 121, 22/09/10 – New phones galore, Android v Symbian… the real world.
Programme: 120, 11/09/10 – The Top 5 720p-shooting smartphones, Nokia E5.

Note – many more great, informative and interesting video podcasts are available from http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/

The Phone Show (Audio Chat)
Chat No. 57, 04/10/10 – Nokia N8 (Symbian), HTC Desire (Android) and more…
Chat No. 56, 27/09/10 – Nokia E63, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Flipout, Sony Ericsson X10 Mini and more…
Chat No. 55, 20/09/10 – Nokia E7, Kev abandons the iPhone 4! and more….

Note – more many great, informative and interesting audio podcasts are available from http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/chat.html

Highly recommended! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Nokia N97 Mini – my current smartphone

This has got to be my quickest change of devices, it must have been, within one month, I fell in love with my new Nokia E55 but then decided that I really needed a fully QWERTY keyboard mainly due to the large amount of data entry I do with a smartphone and so have now fallen for the Nokia N97 Mini. See Nokia’s (N97 Mini) Spec. Buy the way, look out for my E55 on eBay, ecuse the plug!

Ok, where shall I start… I didn’t fancy the N97 Classic due to the bad press over the scratched lens problem (even though Nokia Care Centres have a fix) also didn’t like the wasted keyboard space with the D-Pad on the left. So, the N97 Mini runs the powerful Symbian S60 5th edition and is currently at software v.11.0.045 (dated 14-01-10).

What I like best:

• The overall size (113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm @ 138g);
• The very usable full QWERTY keyboard;
• The very useful Key/Screen slide lock;
• Nice Speakers (stereo?), Volume Up/Down, Camera Key, Central 3.5mm Jack;
• Nice Touch Screen – good with finger tip or PDA stylus;
• Nice Menu Key.
• What I’ve yet to get used to….. sliding open the keyboard, practice makes perfect! 🙂
• Oh and one software plug… Ovi Maps is just great! 🙂 🙂 🙂

What am I using the N97-Mini for: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Email, Texts, Voice Recorder, FM Radio, MP3(Music)/MP4(Video) Player, Podcasts, Web Browser, Photo/Image Album, BBC iPlayer, Camera/Video, Facebook, Skype/MSN Messenger/Twitter, SatNav, Word/Excel/PDF viewer, YouTube, London Underground Map, Dictionary, Converter, Calculator and last by no means least… Phone Calls! (I did say earlier that I considered myself a power user!) I wonder how long I’ll use the N97-Mini for???

Need some help with a Palmtop or Smartphone device?

I’ve been using Palmtop Computers and more recently Mobile Smartphones for 21 years now! Supporting users of: Symbian Smartphones, Psion Palmtops, Palm, Blackberry, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, iPhone & iPod Touch and Android devices, otherwise known as PDAs, oh AND the great new PsiXpda UMPC with:

• TECHNICAL SUPPORT & TRAINING…
• Transfer of data from old PDAs (E.g. Psion, Palm, Pocket PC etc) to new PDAs (E.g. iPhone, Blackberry etc);
• Synchronisation of PDA data (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks & Notes) with PC software (E.g. Microsoft Outlook);
• Back Up of data on to PC/Mac or memory card;
• Configuration of email;
• Advice on upgrade options and
• MORE! (BUT, PLEASE NOTE – I don’t sell PDAs/Smartphones OR repair them)

Look no further, you won’t be dissapointed! get in touch with Ozzie on +44 (0)7889 374086 or via an email to ozziehallosman [at] btinternet [dot] com, also see http://www.palmtopman.com. I trust you can understand my email address (to avoid spamming software!!!).

Contract ending in two months, what will my next smartphone be?

Having been a user of PDAs (Portable Digital Assistants) for 21 years now! since the days when Psion Palmtop computers ruled the world 🙂 well, not exactly but certainly when I stopped using paper in my good old FiloFax for my PIM (Personal Information Management) for diary/calendar, address book, notes, to-do lists. Right from the start I soon grew into a ‘power user’ utilising features/utilities of all the models of the good old Psion Palmtop Computers.

Over the last 21 years my use of PDAs and since mobiles evolved into smartphones (my very first one being the world’s first from Ericsson, the R380) has very much stayed utilising the core functionality of PIM with electronic management of Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes. Then soon after mobiles were born, I utilised mobile data comms alongside a PDA at first via the aged Infra Red; for emails and early web browsing. Also synchronising PIM data with Microsoft Office and Photograph Albums.

Then as smartphones evolved my use other than PIM extended to music, videos, photography and file exchange with Microsoft Office Word documents & Excel spreadsheets. Now utilising built-in GPS receivers for Satellite Navigation. 

So, here is a list of what I want to use in my next Smartphone: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes (all in Sync with Microsoft Outlook 2003, must move on to 2007 soon), File exchange/creation of Microsoft Office Word & Excel documents, Multiple Email accounts, Web Browsing, SatNav, MP3(Music)/MP4(Video) Player, QWERTY Keyboard, Alarms, MSN Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, File Manager, PDF Reader, Dictionary, Calculator, Voice Recorder. Screenshot and iPlayer apps. Don’t ask for much, do I! 🙂 I did say I was a ‘Power User’ of PDAs 🙂

Well, to be honest, more or less all the latest Smartphones give what I’m looking for and in some cases a bit more. So now, what OS platform will I go for…? Well, in summary:

• Blackberry – although my use over many months was good, with great PIM functionality, I have the bad memory of RIM’s Blackberry ROM Firmware upgrade messing up my calendar, see my blog. So, Blackberry? No I don’t think so.
• Palm – although, this OS has been resurected in the form of the Palm Pre, I keep moving away from touch screens/pen input to QWERTY keyboards.
• Android – although, I’m impressed with my first insight, the T-Mobile Pulse, again – I keep moving away from touch screens/pen input to QWERTY keyboards.
• Maemo – too new, expected to be buggy, out of principle, don’t want to be a beta tester for new designs, being a power user, I need my chosen OS to be ‘sound’ with minimal bugs etc.
• Windows Mobile – although this is the ultimate match for sync with my desktop PIM from Microsoft Office, I fell out of love with the Windows Mobile OS on my last Samsung Omnia, my experience wasn’t great.
• iPhone – tempted due to the fanastic touch screen utility and lovely large screen, however, I just love a physical QWERTY keyboard.
• Symbian – my current love, in the form of S60 3rd Ed.on my Nokia E55. Very very tempted by the Nokia N97 Mini. All my needs met, nice screen and good QWERTY keyboard.

As I stressed to the sales assistants when I visited a Vodafone and CarPhone Warehouse store today; my priorities in order of importance apart from my full power-house spec is: Maximum (unlimited would be good) Data allowance: for SatNav, Emails/Web Browsing, Minutes and Texts.
In my opinion and as their current posters say “Our 3G network was made for surfing the internet on the go”, 3 give the best data allowance for your money. Unfortunately, 3 only do the Nokia N97 Classic, not the N97 Mini. The Classic is bigger and has wasted keyboard space with a D-Pad on the left.

So at the moment, my No.1 choice is the Nokia N97 Mini…

What I need to decide on is, do I go for a ‘locked’ Vodafone device for free on an 18 month contract and ruin the warranty by getting it unlocked so I can get firmware upgrades when Nokia issue them. From Steve’s great Phone Show video or side-line Phone Show Chat Podcast, I hear that it’s currently at v.11 with fixes to it’s RAM management. Steve’s productions are a great reliable source of information. Or, do I buy any unlocked device from my favourite second-hand store www.cex.co.uk (with a 1yr warantee) or take a chance on www.ebay.co.uk. Hummmm, undecided at the mo.

My current way of working with PIM..

Introduction – Having used PDA gadgets rather than paper diaries etc for over 20 years now! since my beloved Psion CM; I thought that some of my blog readers might like to read how I’m currently working with PIM (Personal Information Management) with my current electronic devices: Desktop PC, PsiXpda and Nokia E55 Mobile Smartphone.

On my PsiXpda in Microsoft Outlook 2003 I have 820 Contacts, my Calendar, Tasks and Notes, all this data is synchronised daily with my new Nokia E55 Mobile Smartphone. I also have a collection of Word and Excel documents that I share between by my PsiXpda and Nokia E55. I use Nokia’s PC Suite (v.7.1.30.9) primarily to sync data between Outlook on PsiXpda and Nokia E55, although I do have the latest Nokia Ovi Suite (v.2.0.2.42) on my Desktop/PsiXpda, I don’t use it as of yet.  PC Suite is set up to auto-sync periodically every 15 mins whilst connected via USB. I have tried a Bluetooth connection but couldn’t get a connection to the Internet via 3G/GPRS between by Nokia E55 & PsiXpda.

SatNav (Satellite Navigation) via Ovi Maps is great 🙂 and I’m very impressed 🙂 🙂 🙂 with the way Nokia’s Ovi Maps works with your saved favourites synced with the Ovi Maps server and as such available not only on your Nokia but online on a PC/Mac! I’m getting on with SatNav via Ovi Maps so well on my Nokia E55 that I may well use it as my primary SatNav tool, especially as it’s now FREE which includes voice guidance navigation when driving/walking, traffic updates, speed cameras and more (thank you Nokia) and the fact that my aged Garmin Nuvi 300 needs a £29.99! annual upgrade for safety cameras and a further £59.99! for map upgates.

Day-to-Day use – I use my PsiXpda during my working week from my desk where I use Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Email/Messaging, Word & Excel; as I mentioned before, all changes to Calendar/Contacts/Tasks/Notes are then wonderfully sync’ed onto my Nokia via USB (oh and charging it too). Ensuring that when I go mobile away from my desk, I have all my important data on my smartphone 🙂 For easy text messaging with the great keyboard on my PsiXpda I use the great 🙂 ‘Messaging’ feature within the PC Suite. Text messages can be written/sent/read/deleted from the PC Suite on PsiXpda/Desktop PC whilst connected to the Nokia.

Nokia PC Suite being installed on my home Desktop PC, PsiXpda and family PC (connection via USB Cable or Bluetooth) enables me to update/review my Nokia (not Outlook) Calendar, Contacts, Text Messages, Files (Word, Excel etc), MPs, MPEGs and JPEGs. This is a great quick way of working, alongside Outlook.

Wi-Fi connectivity via my home BT Broadband whilst I’m at home is used by my Nokia E55, making it cheaper and quicker when using Skype (via Nimbuzz), IM and downloading from the WWW.

Backing Up lastly but by no means lowest importance is carried out regularing using PC Suite onto my Desktop PC.

Blackberry now redundant in my ‘bottom draw’, my Nokia E55 actually does more than my Blackberry did! albeit with a smaller screen, but with the 1/2 QWERTY keypad on the E55, data entry is ok; and with QuickOffice as standard on my E55 letting me create word/excel documents :-). So, the question is, will I go back to a Blackberry? eemmm… at the moment, I’m not planning to; especially after RIMs recent Blackberry software upgrade that deleted over 10yrs of my calendar!

Nokia E55

So!, here are my first thoughts on my latest mobile, the Nokia E55; recently purchased (again from good old www.cex.co.uk) as a companion to run in daily sync with my main (current) PDA, the PsiXpda (www.psixpda.com). When I popped into my local CEX store in Tottenham Court Road, I was simply looking for a ‘candy bar’ Nokia with the best keypad and screen. When I saw the Nokia E55, I fell in love with it straight away…. Read on to see what I’m doing with it so far!
Ok, I had a major clean up of my very old Outlook Contacts and trimmed 1200 contacts down to 900 which fit fine on the E55. I decided to start off a new decade with a clean Calendar on my PsiXpda-Nokia E22 Duo and left my last 8-9yrs in an old Outlook.dat on my desktop. So, along with Outlook sync of Calendar/Contacts, I’m using Nokia PC Suite to sync Tasks-ToDo and Notes; oh and backing up too. I’ve currently only got (and will probably stick with) one of my email accounts being pulled onto my E22 every 10mins; ok not as flash as email on my old Blackberry 8820 but quite adequate. I cancelled by Blackberry Bolt-On package with Orange and instead have bolted on 250MB/month for 3G/GPRS Data. My E22 wakes me up in the morning (after a few snoozes, ha ha) and is used as a Dictaphone to record voice notes on the move. QuickOffice gives read/create of Document (Word), Workbook (Excel) & Presentation (PowerPoint) files. The E55 might just replace my Garmin Car SatNav too! with the E55’s built-in GPS along with Ovi Maps v.3. Instant Messenger (MSN), Skype, MP3 Player, Video RealPlayer, YouTube, FaceBook, FM Radio, Camera/Video, Calculator, Adobe PDF Reader, Dictionary…. gosh, what a lot. A true Smartphone 🙂 did I say initially it was a mobile? I think you’ll agree, what more could I want in such a slim device, which has got such a big screen and big 1/2 QWERTY keyboard 🙂 🙂 🙂
And finally, a brief spec: Symbian OS 9.3, S60 3rd Ed FP2, 116 x 49 x 10 mm, 95g, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, MicroSD, 2.4″ QVGA (320×240) 16 million colour Screen, 3 MegaPixel EDoF Camera, 3mm Jack Socket & 1500mAh battery.

New 32GB MicroSD!

Wow! Just heard that a 32GB! MicroSD memory card is going into production soon. Based on that I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 64 and even 128GB card later this year! Ok perhaps i’m bring too hopeful. In turn let’s hope that hardware designers of mobiles, smartphones, PDAs etc will enable future devices of 32+GB to be usable.

PsiXpda (Linux Ubuntu)

Palmtopman has just picked up his PsiXpda (running Linux Ubuntu) 🙂

T-Mobile Android ‘Pulse’ – Part.1

First impressions:
Bluetooth – as my new Android is currently my secondary device but I’m using it for my calendar along with Google Calendar, having just entered a new appointment on the Android, I hoped to have been able to send the calendar event via Bluetooth to my Blackberry (my primary device). Unfortunately, in the calendar I could find the send option, Oh well! 😦
GPS Reciever – seems to be very receptive, picked up 10 satellites in my home town 🙂 Thought that with past GPSs, I only ever picked up 6-8 satellites….
Keyboard – a useful way of entering numbers from the QWERTY keypad, is to touch your finger on the letter, then slide it down; e.g. for a ‘1’, touch on ‘Q’ and slide down.
Memory Card – a nice surprise to get a 2GB MicroSD card 🙂 and a nice slip case in the box.
Synchronisation – beware, if you set the ‘Auto Sync’ to be automatic: 1) Google Mail, 2) Calendar, & 3) Contacts, it does use data and a big drain on the battery throughout a relatively short space of time. I now only turn this on when I connect to my WLAN.
Touch Responsiveness – holding the ‘Pulse’ in your hand is fine, BUT unless I’m imagining it when I’ve tried to operate the ‘Pulse’ on a desk or in a car mount (ok, a good safety feature here!), the touch responsiveness seems to be almost inoperable! 😦
Weather Forecast – a very nice feature of using the Android Calendar ‘In-Sync’ with Google Calendar is that you can have a four day weather forecast inserted listed with ‘all day’ events :-), showing your selected town and the predicted high/low temperatures in degrees ‘C’ or ‘F’. Also in the Google Calendar on your PC it shows a little pictorial, e.g. sun, cloud, rain etc.