Congratulations. You’re probably sitting with your Nokia E71 in your hands right now – or you have a different Symbian S60-based telephone, in which case this post will have relevance for you too. This post will for starters cover the applications I have and use with great pleasure on my own Nokia E71 – comments and additions, however, are very welcome!
At the very bottom I have a few requests for applications I’m looking for as well!
So let’s get started!!
Communication:
Email: E71 comes standard with an e-mail client which also includes Nokia’s own mail for exchange. No need for special apps here – the E71 does a fine job as it is already.
UPDATE (13/4/2009): w0nk0 alerted me earlier today to an alternative app for HTML-addicts. The app is ProfiMail from “Lonely Cat games”. I’ve just run a brief test of ProfiMail and see both pros and cons of the application. The main pro seems to be its ability to support HTML email – something that Nokia aficionados have long asked Nokia to do something about. In addition it supports pushmail, but Nokia has similar services with Nokia Messaging for consumers and Mail for Exchange for the business users. And now for some of the cons: Profimail holds many features and offers great flexibility. My experience as a first-time user was that ProfiMail fails to deliver simplified organisation of information. In fact when I didn’t manage to create a connection to my POP3 server via either a wireless LAN or my 3G connection, I uninstalled the application. Good news is they let you try the application before you buy – maybe my experience had more to do with me than with the Lonely Cat. Get ProfiMail here: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=profimail.
Chat: Nokia loads the E71 with a software called “IM”. I assume it’s supposed to be some sort of instant messaging application. For most people this will not do, and so alternatives are required, such as:
- Nimbuzz (preferred): An excellent chat application that allows communication with contacts on the following networks: Windows Live, Skype, Yahoo!, Facebook, Google Talk, Orkut, AIM, MobileMe, MySpace, ICQ, Twitter (updates), Gadu-gadu, Hyves (Dutch social network), Giovani, Jabber, studiVZ/meinVZ, and schülerVZ. Nimbuzz also allows you to use a bunch of SIP services, and configure your own in case you preferred SIP service isn’t listed. Outbound calls can be done with SIP, SkypeOut or your normal mobile service provider, giving you international calls from your mobile for nearly nothing. Nimbuzz was recently upgraded to version 2.0 and can be found at http://www.nimbuzz.com
Other applications in this category include: Fring (interesting alternative to Nimbuzz), Windows Live, Skype, and Palringo. Like Nimbuzz and Fring, Palringo combines several services in one application. It falls short, though, with no SIP and only Windows Live, YIM, AIM, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, Jabber, Google Talk, Facebook (Alpha), and iChat. Palringo also has a location based service, which I’m not all too sure what to do with…
SMS: Various applications exist to tweak your sms experience. If you must then check Nokia Conversation for threaded sms. Get it here.
- My preference for sms is a small application from Norwegian Mobile Nordic called SMS Preview. It gives you a 30-60 second preview of any sms as it arrives without the need to press any buttons. Get it for your mobile phone here: http://get.smspreview.mobi.
Call Recording: Yes, you might want to do this now and then for a variety of reasons. In any case there are several applications for this as well. My preference is:
- TotallRecall from KillerMobile software: allowing silent recording either hot-button activated or automatic of any mobile conversation. This application is free to test, and will cost you $13,50 to buy. Get it here.
Web 2.0:
- Blogging: Wordmobi is a WordPress blogging application, which fulfills the most basic needs of the mobile blogger. The most current version 0.7.0 was released in early April 2009. Get the application here. Wordmobi requires installation of Python, which can be found here.
- Twitter: A lot of discussion on this topic was put to rest recently when Mobileways.de released the impressive Gravity client for twitter. Mobileways provides a free trial of their roughly €10 application. It is by far the sleekest Twitter client for Symbian to date and well worth the €10 pricetag. Find it here: http://mobileways.de/products/gravity/gravity/.
- Web 2.0 publishing: CellSpin is a free and easy to use mobile blogging app that lets you blog photos, audio, video, and text to WordPress, Blogger, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, YouTube, Live Journal, MySpace, and more! This very powerful application is like a publishing house on your phone. Publish literally any kind of content from anywhere at any time. Get the application here: http://www.cellspin.net. Alternatives include Shozu, which disappointed in several ways…
GPS and Location-based applications: One of the best things about the Nokia E71 is how the makers managed to put an internal GPS into such a sleek design. Having a GPS opens for location-based services and applications such as maps, navigation, searching for friends’ locations etc. The best application on my E71 are:
- Nokia Sports Tracker: Ideal for walkers, joggers, runners, cyclists of any kind, in short anyone who does distance based sports outside. The GPS will help you track speed, distance, pace, and averages of those + calories burned, put it all in nice graphs, give you a map of where you are/have been training AND share that near-live with anyone who you want to watch where, how fast and how far you’ve trained. Download here: http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/main/download.do
- Google Maps with Google Latitude: This two in one application evolved from the original Google Maps application which in itself is pretty good. Google Maps lets you see where you are and search for points of interest anywhere. With Latitude, however, Google Maps becomes an entirely different application. Latitude lets your contacts know where you are on a Google Map – or were you were the last time you updated it. Very interesting start of location-based-services from always interesting Google!! Download here: http://m.google.com/maps.
- Alternatively you can use Nokia Friend View, which does more or less the same thing and can be downloaded here. During non-scientific testing Nokia Friend View did seem to load maps much slower than Google Maps. In addition one could imagine many Nokia users going to Nokia Friend View, while many users of anything will use Google Maps. Lost that battle Nokia – on to the next.
Media Playing:
Now we’re going to have a closer look at which special applications you might want to get for playing media on your E71. The E71 is an OK media player when you have little other options and you can actually enjoy a movie if you have a pair of headphones with you and some time to kill:
- CorePlayer Mobile: Plays this interesting range of video formats: H.264 (AVC), AVCHD, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-4 part 2 (ASP), DivX, XviD, WMV*, Theora*, Dirac*, MJPEG, MSVIDEO1. That’s just such an impressive list and I haven’t found comparable applications anywhere. Download it here!!
- YouTube: Now there are some things that CorePlayer Mobile is just OK at. One of those things is Youtube. So the guys at Youtube have developed their own app – the YouTube app. It does a decent job at viewing YouTube videos over any type of internet connection. Only things missing is an overview of your own account and an upload feature. Get the YouTube app here: http://m.google.com/youtube.
- Internet Radio: In one of the most recent firmware updates to firmware 200.x.x.x Nokia included the “internet radio” application in the update. You can tune in to any station in the overview via the internet connection on your phone. Make sure to make a backup of your data before you upgrade to newer firmware.
Various applications:
- Google Translator: Excellent translation tool for your S60-based Nokia. Attempts to determine which language you’re translating from and just allows you to select your target language. Works pretty well and is downloadable here.
- Google Docs: The well-known Google Docs application now with editable documents also on Nokia S60 phones. Find it at http://m.google.com/docs.
The most interesting single application developer seems to be either Nokia or Google. Find all Google applications for S60-based Nokias at http://www.google.com/mobile/nokia_smart/
I am looking for:
- Good Facebook application
- Solid GPS Navigation application
- Comments and additional insight on all of the above applications and application categories.
Comments 28
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I still haven’t tried nimbuzz, but have you tried Palringo and or slick as IM alternatives? haven’t found anywhere which compares them and gives a solid answer as to which is best!..maybe I’ll have to do it.
Nice list (which I found via Twitter search btw), I will recommend it to new E71ers that I am evangelizing for a lot ;).
I would highly recommend you to look into ProfiMail for email. I also thought the Nokia clients were pretty good until I tried that one. It has full HTML support, pushmail and an interface with intuitive keyboard shortcuts that makes it the fastest email client I ever used, even on a desktop!
W0nk0
I am really enjoying your project of listing the apps. It is needed.
I would add Scribe to that Blogging section.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Perfect timing for this article as I am just about to start setting up my newly purchased E71!
I’ve installed SMS Preview in E71. However, the cannot read the content in the review box when an sms pops up. The letters are like small rectangular boxes. Do you know what probably causes this? Is it the setting of my phone?
Thanks
Have you tried amaze for the gps? (www.amazegps.com)
You really should mention the buddy cloud app which it an GPS and Location-based application. http://www.buddycloud.com I use it since several month and it’s getting better from version to version, so it’s still beta.
Author
I will! 🙂
Good recommendations. However you left out a few that I would also have included:-
Amaze GPS – a full and free GPS application with inbuilt maps. Works well with the E71 and has won several awards.
Imichat – enables free video calling with IM on the E71 and also between PC’s and mobile with the desktop app. It’s freeware and works well.
Octrotalk – Full IM client (MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, Jabber, ICQ) with sip calling, voip calling between Octro contacts, and full video calling (with audio). Also has a phone to web video capture tool. The video calling is the main advantage of this software and it works very well. Free trial for 2 weeks then shareware license one-off payment at $29.95.
The Facebook app that was/is available via the E71 Download feature is just okay. Oddly enough there is a better Facebook app in Widsets of all places. It allows you to to snap a pic and upload it directly to your Facbook mobile section. Downside is that it requites Widsets to be installed 🙁
Those new to the E71 should also bear in mind that although not native to S60, many Java apps run just fine.
Also, why did you mention CellSpin? When you go to sign up the E71 is not even on their list of supported phones! I emailed them about the omission. It seems odd that the Nokia flagship business phone is not in their list.
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Not sure if this is what you meant by GPS app but I’m using Navmii atm and it works great.
I went with your twitter suggestion and purchased Gravity and I like it allot(ty). Just need to decide on a WordPress client now.
Nice list though.
Nice compilation. You can have a look at my delicious links to look at my E71 finds. Pixelpipe.com works great for a variety of purposes including blogging to wordpress (even other than wordpress.com).
Hey Jakob do you know of any good timed profile applications.. Needs to be automatic, to switch to silent in work hours etc.
Cheers
Mike (Arco Ltd)
hello, i’ve installed the python at my e71. and i installed wordmobi, but its a msgs : “certificate error, contact…..” the point is its not working. why? can u help me?
Author
Did you try to change the date of your device? In addition, are you certain you’re using the most recent versions?
You may also want to try the free @SociallyApp (http://bit.ly/6mFra0) on Nokia phones. It supports Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and integrates with the phone book by showing the profile photos and latest status of the callers during incoming calls. Here’s a review – http://blogs.nokia.com/dailyapp/2010/02/socially-can-tell-you-whats-up-before-answering-the-phone/
Nimbuzz is the best mobile social chat application i ever seen… its really mazing and wonderful… i am really addicted to it….
Author
Yep, couldn’t agree more. One of the best things is that you get it for all major mobile OS platforms.
/Jakob
does anyone know why does the GPS needs internet connection The E71 is suppost to be an A-GPS
My E71 battery runs for about 12 hrs max (out of the box it was about 5 days). I thought it was the battery and bought a new one. But still it runs for 12 hrs max. So I suspect that there is something running that is using energy. I am pretty sure that I have disabled everything obvious.
Is there any tool that I can use to to analyse what is running ?
Author
Hi Bart,
Thank you for your comment.
Send me a message on twitter account ‘thusgaard’. I know a few people I can ask. As an experiment could you swap batteries with a different E71/E72 user?
Do you by any chance have the twitter app Gravity running?
Regards,
Jakob
Hi Jakob,
The experiment is a good idea. Allow me 1 to 2 weeks to arrange logistics, execute and feedback findings.
I do not use gravity.
But I have 2 other annoyances that may be a symptom of extra battery usage.
A When I switch on the phone I get 2 messages (my translation from Dutch to English. So not the “official” nokia message.)
1 Busy with installation.
2 Can’t complete installation from memory card. Go to application management to complete remainder of installation.
When I go to app management I see that all apps are labeled as Installed. No indication that some app is not installed. So my thought is that the installation process is still running in the background.
B Navigation. There is no way that I am able to show my current position. In Navigation mode I ahve a header message saying Waiting for GPS. So may thoughtisthat some process is running and interferes in some way.
Hi,
The swap battery test did not provide relief. (As expected).
In the mean time I downloaded some tools. Of which the free Nokia Energy Profiler is the one that I recommend highly.
This tool shows (amongst others) energy usage, expected remaining battery life, CPU usage etc,.
Thr tool showed me that effectively my phone had about permanentCPU usage of 95% and a permanent energy usage of about 0.55 Watt. The latter is equivalent of about half the power of a phone call, or wifi connection. As a result the tool predicted a battery life of about 12 hrs max. Which was in line with my actual experience.
I was not able to find out which app was actually causing the full CPU usage.
As a last resort I decided to update the firmware (from 300.21.012 to 500.21.09).
I immediately installed energy profiler again.The first 20 minutes are promissing. Average CPU usage now of 9% and an average CPU usage of 0.19 watt. Which results in an expected battery life of about 34 hrs.
Compared to the disastrous 12 hrs max this is substantially better and allows me to have the phone with me around the clock and without the need to recharge during the day.
Google docs will not allow editing. Period. Support and forum post, has yielded no response.
http://www.google.com/mobile/nokia_smart/ or m.google.com just bounce the e 71 phone to a generic google page with no download other than the google search app, which I already have.