Why Nokia E65? Mobile Google Maps replaces GPS

When I first bought the Nokia E65, I was contemplating forking out the extra $500 for the N95 which came with the GPS. After weeks of contemplation, I decided the GPS was not worth it, would be a drain on the mobile’s battery life and adds to the weight of a phone. Good move! Because Google Maps has just unveiled new mobile phone software that can calculate where you are (see this article from news.com.au http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22841712-462,00.html ) I haven’t tried it out but maybe there are other E65 users out there that have already downloaded the latest update to google maps for E65.

Why Nokia E65? Video

The video feature of the Nokia E65 is quite impressive. The frame rate is 30 frames per second which is pretty high for a mobile phone and comes out quite well on the computer when replayed. The videos can be recorded in 640x480 mode which is VGA mode. Also a handy feature is the PAUSE button for the video mode, which allows you to temporarily pause your recording and restart it when you have something else to record. With the NOKIA Bluetooth sync enabled, you will see the video played back when you go near your computer as the computer detects the new video file and sets out to download and play the file. On holidays this can be quite useful (no need to carry an extra cable) and surprising when you suddenly hear your laptop playing your video file without your prompting.

Why Nokia E65? Check ANY email on ur phone quickly

If you have a GMAIL account and an ok data plan, you can use your phone to go to www.gmail.com to install the GMAIL application for your phone. Once it is set up, you can check your gmail account just by running the application. 

 

If you are using another POP3 email account (eg with an ISP like iinet, bigpond or optus), you can set a rule in your microsofy outlook (or other email software) to automatically forward a copy of all incoming emails to your GMAIL account. That way, assuming you have a server or you leave your outlook on at home, you can check your email from your phone, just by opening up the GMAIL application. This is handy if you are expecting an important document and

1. you need to see the content while on the road or

2. you need to forward it to someone else urgently

 

DISCLAIMER: The GMAIL application does require a connection to the internet through your mobile phone provider so it will cost you. The advantage of this application is that you may be charged more for use of a POP3 account to check your email from your phone, directly from your ISP. However, the GMAIL app only requires a WAP connection. Even better, if you have a free WiFi connection detected by your phone, you can connect to that and check your email for free! Sure you may be able to connect to your ISP email account via a webmail account but then you have to type in your login and password using your phone!

 

Another word of warning, GMAIL app for mobiles does not allow you (at the moment) to save your attachment. That means excel spreadsheets get warped by the GMAIL viewer on your phone and you cant use your mobile office program to edit or view the files that you get off GMAIL.. Hopefully this will change soon.

 

 

Reminders using Camera

I’ve mentioned earlier that Bluetooth can be used to automatically synchronise calendar, notes, contacts etc with your computer and your phone. Also I think I mentioned that you can automatically upload your photos from your phone to the computer via “STORE IMAGES” feature in the Nokia PC Suite. One cool thing that the PC Suite can do is when it stores new photos, they can load up those photos in the NOKIA multimedia player so you can see the pictures straight away. But did you realise you can use this feature as a REMINDER tool?

 

Lets say you have a bill that you need to pay online. Rather than set up a calendar reminder, you can take a photo of the bill and when you turn on your computer and your phone is nearby, the phone and computer will sync and automatically load up the picture of the bill that you need to pay. On seeing this you can remind yourself to pay the bill. Interesting use of the camera?