Nokia Maps 3.09: Tips & Tricks

Here’s a short video from the folks in Finland giving you tips on using Nokia Maps.

Nokia Belle Feature Pack 1

Here’s a short video the boys in Finland came up with to explain what’s coming up in Nokia Belle Feature Pack 1

Enjoy!

 

Music on the E63

The E63 can also be used as a music player. On long trips when you aren’t expecting many calls or network service is down the E63′s massive battery can keep you entertained for hours!

The problem is the earphones that come with the phone are rather quite useless.

You do however have alternatives.

Nokia Stereo Headset WH-701

The Nokia Stereo Headset WH-701 should be the first on your list. They have a wonderful tangle free cable, allowing you to start using them very quickly and easily and they offer great stereo sound with soft rubber earpads that cut out background noise.

This allows you to isolate yourself from the sea of noise coming from the hustle & bustle of an office or the drama that is public transport.

The 701′s also have, in addition to the call answer/end key, Play/pause, Previous track,  Next track and Volume up/down keys which is awesome since the E63 does not have dedicated volume keys (You can, however, at any time adjust volume on the phone by holding down the shift key and using the D-Pad up or down keys )

The WH-701 should set you back between Ksh. 3,000/= and Ksh. 3,500/= and is available in Nairobi at Zetort Communications, Ground Floor, Hilton Arcade

Zetort have friendly, knowledgeable staff and they have a wide range of accessories, I recommend them wholeheartedly.

You can also get them at Nokia Premium Partner outlets  or the official Nokia Accessories Dealer, Techmart.

If the price has put you off, you may also want to consider the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-205′s,

Nokia Stereo Headset WH-205

They have the same great sound quality and tangle free cable design and are available from between Ksh. 1,500/= and Ksh. 2,000/= (Ksh. 1,800/ at Zetort if you ask nicely)

The catch? They don’t have the volume button and music controls. They still have the noise reducing rubber earpads and the great sound quality of the WH-701′s and can be used with any other devices that have a 3.5mm audio port, such as your other phone (I know you have one!) your iPod or your laptop etc.

I personally use the WH-205′s, they came with the E7 I reviewed last year and I just HAD to buy myself a pair after I returned the review unit. The Bass Output is AWESOME!!

Once you use them you can never go back to your standard earphones!

Just like anything else made by Nokia, the earphones are quite hardy. They’ll take a beating, you don’t have to take special care of them, just throw them in your pocket or your bag and go!

Both sets come with 3 additional sets of earpads, the WH-701′s come with an adapter for 2.5mm ports (like the E71′s).

What are your favourite earphones? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Safaricom gets cheeky this Easter!

An “Easter egg” is an intentional hidden message, in-joke, or feature in a work such as a computer program, web page, video game, movie, book, or crossword.

The term was coined by Atari after they were pointed to the secret message left by a game developer in the game Adventure.

It draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunts observed in many Western nations.

Safaricom recently created an online Customer Care Self Help portal. The portal allows customers to get quick answers to common challenges that they may encounter while using Safaricom services or access additional information related to products or services.

The customer care online portal - (click to enlarge)

You can access the portal by visiting http://www.safaricom.co.ke/help/

I did this recently and discovered that the folks at “Shrek” (The loveable big Green Monster that is Safaricom) have a great sense of humour!

Embedded in the site are a number of Easter eggs, each triggered by searching for certain Key words.

Searching for “Fake SMS” brings up a series of colourful bubbles which bounce around the screen, the largest one welcomes you to the site. Clicking on any section of the site spawns new bubbles.

Screenshot - "Fake SMS" - (click to enlarge)

Searching for a Canadian mobile phone manufacturer we cannot mention by name on this blog, reverses all the text on the page , see the screenshot below

The results of a search for a range of devices made by a Canadian company that competes with Nokia ~ (Click to enlarge)

Coming closer to home, a search for the term M-Pesa also yields some interesting results, actual Easter eggs appear all over the screen!! Check them out below

M-Pesa Easter Eggs - (click to enlarge)

Searching for “Top-Up” revealed easter eggs following the cursor around the page.

The Top-up cursor trail - (click to enlarge)

The last Easter egg noted is triggered by searching for the word “Bonga Points”. This reveals a small “tear” in the top right hand corner of the page, pulling on the tear shows you devices that you can obtain by redeeming your Bonga Points.

Easter Bonga Point Offers REVEALVED!

This is an interesting way to get people to use the portal, which aims to shift Frequently Asked Questions away from the customer care voice hotline, leaving it to deal with unique  problems that face Safaricom customers.

If you actually have a valid problem you need help with, you can turn off the Easter Eggs by clicking “EASTER OFF” on the top left hand corner

So the next time you discover you have won Shs. 1,000,000/= in a competition you didn’t enter or you need information anything from redeeming bonga points to buying data bundles, head on over to www.safaricom.co.ke/help

Learn how to update your phone software using Nokia Suite

Nokia Suite allows you to move photos, videos, music, and more between your phone and PC.

It is important to download and install THE LATEST version of the Nokia Suite, the latest versions allow you to get software updates for your phone, back up important content, and download apps, music, and free street maps.

To download the latest version of the Nokia Suite go to http://www.nokia.com/nokiasuite

Nokia Support has prepared a short video to help with the process.

Here you go!

Meltemi – Nokia’s possible low end solution

The Wall Street Journal today reported that Nokia is shifting its programming efforts toward creating software for its low-end phones.

Unconfirmed reports state that the project is a Linux-based operating system code-named Meltemi, the Greek word for dry summer winds that blow across the Aegean Sea from the north.

It has been assumed that “Meltemi” was an internal codename for  Nokia’s upcoming Windows Mobile phone.

If true, the project will be led by Mary McDowell, Nokia’s executive vice president in charge of mobile phone division.

This move seems to be in line with Nokia’s strategy, specifically its renewed approach to capture volume and value growth to connect ”the next billion” to the Internet  in developing growth markets.

This strategy was to be driven by Nokias Symbian platform, but the variant used on its feature phones , Series 40 (s40), is taking a beating from competing low-priced android devices, a move to Meltemi may solve this problem.

Enable secure authentication on Safaricom – Symbian^3

Secure authentication on your Symbian^3 device is required to ensure smooth running of your Gravity Client.

Safaricoms default internet settings use normal authentication.

Here’s how to enable secure authentication on your Safaricom internet connection on a Symbian^3 device.

First, disconnect all active data connections, you cant edit an access point while its active. The easiest way to do this quickly is to put the phone in “Offline” mode

Once this is done, hit the menu button.

Menu

Navigate to settings

Settings

Select connectivity

Go to Settings

 

Select Destinations

 

Select Internet

 

Select the Safaricom Access point from the list. It should be Priority 1 on your device (I use Airtel) and change Authentication from Normal to Secure.

NB: Be very careful and change ONLY THAT ONE SETTING leaving all the others intact.

Error Message : “Unable to complete installation from memory card. To install the remaining applications please go to application manager”

Do you get this message every time you switch in the phone or insert your memory card?

Chances are theres a rogue app lurking on the card.

To get rid of it, remove your card, put it in a card reader (or alternatively navigate to the memory card with the phone connected to your PC via USB cable or bluetooth)

Go to the PRIVATE folder on the memory card and delete any unfamiliar app, the rogue one in question is usually called 10202DCE.sis

That should sort you out.

 

Find out more about that pesky bug at Nokia Support Discussions