Treo 750 usage

Out of sheer boredom, I was using a "brand new" refurbished Treo 750 that I recently received from AT&T via the warranty program. A part of me was curious to see just how long I could go without the Symbian OS on my Nokia E71, and this was the only sensible method.

There was a previous Treo 750, but it had been ravaged from downloading of third party applications and bluetooth file transfers. Despite an installed 6GB microSD card via a miniSD adapter, I would constantly get error messages about insufficient memory and apps such as Internet Explorer were rendered useless. No matter what I tried to do with the phone, it would most certainly become unusable within minutes. As a result, I had AT&T send me a refurb replacement via the warranty program.

I was trying my best to be realistic about the Treo's capabilities and not adopt any high expectations. After all, the Nokia E71 (or the entire ESeries product line) was in a league of its own as far as multimedia convergence was concerned. I certainly did not expect my Palm device to multitask and remain in a stable mode in the past, so why I insisted on pushing it beyond its limits was beyond me. All I knew was that receiving another refurb model with a clean slate gave a second opportunity to work with the old device with patience and common sense. Instead of being disenchanted with what the Treo could NOT do, I was to try and be grateful for what it COULD do.

So far, so good...there was only a 1GB microSD card in the device (with a miniSD adapter) and I appeared to be doing just fine in running a couple apps at a time. The only downside was the limited bluetooth capability which didn't even allow me to transfer files through the air to the Treo 750! Since I couldn't forward vcards from my E71 to the Treo, I chose to spend a part of the night entering all contacts and calendar data by hand. This wasn't too bad since it allowed me to regain familiarity with Treo qwerty.

What turned out to be a pleasant surprise was the playback capability of YouTube videos via the Streaming Media application. The screen quality was not as vivid or clear as the E71, and the volume (although plenty loud) did lack depth and bass with its mono output. The videos did demonstrate suitable play performance with practically no sign of delay, and this was most likely thanks to the 3G network data connection.

The same data connection came in handy for the acquisition of my incoming mail messages via Outlook Mobile. However, it was not on the same level as Nokia Email on the E71. Instead of configuring my Gmail as an IMAP account, it set it up as a POP account. No matter what I happened to do on my Treo 750 in managing my mailbox, it would not register to the main server. Having to delete messages from my Treo and then from my Gmail account online was a bit of an inconvenience, but certainly not the end of the world. As long as Outlook Mobile could remain steadfast in updating my inbox as it was supposed to, I didn't have much to worry about. However, accessing HTML was not a default action when opening new mail, and getting to certain site pages without a mobile version proved to be impossible without a provided desktop version link. I had since then attempted to setup my IMAP Gmail account manually and hoped for positive results.

Later on in the day I continued to find great benefits to the Treo 750's offerings. Qwerty feedback felt really solid and every single keypress registered onscreen. Within minutes I was speeding along in typing with the keypad for text entry just as if I was on the E71. Sound quality was a bit lacking in comparison to what I was used to on the E71, but sufficient nonetheless. I was able to make and receive calls with no trouble and via the earpiece and the speakerphone was of moderate volume (similar to the E71). Incoming messages via SMS worked just fine, and I had to be honest and confess my liking of the threaded conversation layout returning with the Treo. Of course, the graphical emoticons always added a bit of humor and charm to the messaging feature.

Accessing websites via Internet Explorer only involved the mobile versions, and I was not about to try and push the Treo beyond that capability; as long as I could access Facebook and my mobile banking, that's all that mattered. Upon making Google my homepage, I did discover the use of the Windows Live text field on the home screen. Inputting any kind of reference would quickly bring me to search results from Google on Internet Explorer, and I was quite impressed by this. For a long while I had never given this feature a chance (and didn't take advantage of the similar Nokia Search feature either), but I was glad to finally see how useful it could be.

Another aspect about the Treo that I liked was the word prediction software. It appeared to make more sense than that of the E71, and yes I was even willing to admit that. The listing of suggested words just seemed to be more intuitive as I typed along in rapid succession. The touch screen navigation was definitely a feature that I took advantage of in my operation of the device, and the stylus sweep across chosen text for copy/paste functions was a godsend!

Honestly, I had developed a whole new respect for the old Treo 750 despite my preconceptions about it. Once I really took the time to understand it with an open mind and realized that everything can't run like a Nokia, I was hardly disappointed in it's performance. However, despite all of these findings I soon found myself placing the SIM card back into my Nokia E71 and feeling right at home once again. The time with my refurbished Treo 750 may not have lasted long, but it was certainly an eye-opening experience.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Canon HF100 HD Camera

At this moment I am EXTREMELY excited to be the owner of a Canon HF100 camcorder! Never in a million years would I have ever imagined ending up with such an advanced device! I just so happened to be lucky enough to know a professional photographer who recently purchased the new Canon HF S100 model and no longer had a need for the previous model HF100.

This quest for a new camcorder began when I became frustrated with the focusing performance of my iSight camera and Canon SD750 digital camera. While these cameras performed just fine for the average wide shot, tight shots were constantly plagued with blurry views. This proved to be a great disadvantage for reviewing gadgets and attempting to provide detailed footage at close range. In the midst of tax time, I decided to consider using a portion of my refund to buy a reasonably priced camcorder. With a price ceiling of $300, I was definitely regretful of the previous sale of my old Panasonic GS-300 MiniDV camcorder that had been reliable through many past TRENT SENSE episodes.

I was limited to a small number of camera models and preferred to use flash memory as my recording media. While I had no objection to using MiniDV tapes, the only way to import footage from this media was to use a FireWire cord which was not supported by my MacBook Aluminum. I then figured that flash memory would allow me to connect a video camera via USB or simply place a card into a reader to import video files. For what I needed to do with shooting TRENT SENSE videos, I couldn't afford to be too picky with potential models...but I did want to remain focused on the Canon brand if at all possible.

After some online research, I came across a refurbished Canon FS100 for a little over $200 on Tiger Direct. While the FS100 was a standard definition model, online reviews appeared to be promising from camcorderinfo.com and CNet. The SD card media compatibility was a worthwhile draw for me along with the attractive pricing. The Canon FS100 may not have been an advanced device, but it was suitable for my primary need to provide tight close-up shots of gadgets for video reviews. To make the situation even better, I discovered that a local Sears store had some refurbs available of this same model for $300. For that price I could easily get a new camera alternative, so I was hoping that I could print the Tiger Direct flyer and ask Sears if it could match the value of the online deal. I couldn't buy right then since I had to wait for my tax return, so I eventually found out that all refurbs had been sent away from the Sears store. As much as I had anticipated this particular Canon, my expectations had been immediately dashed and I needed another plan.

Instead of having the comfort of my home and MacBook to do in-depth online research, I found myself doing impromptu comparison shopping with my Nokia E71. Walking into a store, I saw what was in stock, listed the candidates on Nokia Active Notes, and then looked up online reviews from my E71 web browser. I understood that this was unnecessary if I still wanted to get the FS100 from online, but a part of me still preferred the instant gratification of in-person purchases.

Upon walking into a Target, I found that the selection of camcorders was paltry at best. However, there were a couple of models that did stand out:
Sony DCR-SX40 $270 new
4 GB internal memory
Carl Zeiss lens
Record to HD or Memory Stick
touch screen LCD display

JVC GZMS120AUS dual model $300 new
Dual SD card slot
LED light
Laser touch controls
YouTube mode
Blue color

While I did like the build quality, Carl Zeiss lens, and appearance of the Sony, I didn't like being limited to the more expensive proprietary media of those memory sticks. JVC seemed to be an average grade offering, but I wanted to keep looking before making a decision. I then went to a nearby Best Buy and recorded the following data:
Best Buy
Canon FS200 flash memory $329 new

JVC Everio MS130 $350 new
LED light
16GB internal memory
SD card slot
Blue color
Laser touch controls

Canon FS20 $350 new
8GB internal memory

Samsung SMX-F34 $300 new
16GB internal memory

Panasonic S26 flash memory $300 new
sliding lens cover
Optical Image stabilization

Panasonic SDR-H40 $250 new (sale from 350)
40GB HDD
SD card slot
Optical Image Stabilization
sliding lens cover

Best Buy of course had a wider range of available models which included new Canons that succeeded the FS100 that I had been fixated on. I even came across a Panasonic with a built-in 40GB harddrive for a good price AND an SD card slot for an amazing sale price, so I thought this was going to be my final choice. For some reason, the JVC and Samsung models appeared to give an impression of inferiority in comparison to Canon, Sony, and even Panasonic. Even though choosing one of those two brands wasn't likely, I wanted to at least read the reviews for some consideration. At this time, I must say that I was better off alone since the store associate didn't know ANYTHING about the cameras that he couldn't get from simply reading the display cards.

Hit with a number of other models, all I could do was list them accordingly and go to a local cafe with free wi-fi to do online review reading on my MacBook Aluminum. After an hour, I had narrowed down my choices to three: Canon FS200 and Panasonic SDR-H40 from Best Buy, and the Sony DCR-SX40 from Target. The Canon was basically a new version of the FS100 and seemed to be able to meet my needs just as well as my Canon SD750 digital camera. The Panasonic just seemed to be too good of a deal to pass up for the price, and I still remembered how reliable my old Panasonic GS300 had been for me in the past. Despite the proprietary memory, I couldn't ignore the Carl Zeiss lens and touch screen LCD controls of the Sony model. It was then a matter of finding out which brand yielded the most potential in video quality. This was when I began doing more online research in addition to asking the opinion of knowledgeable store associates and my photographer friend. One more aspect that I had to consider was iMovie compatibility, so I did some searching of the Apple Support forums as well. At the end of the day it was deemed that Sony and Canon would offer the best video quality, so I finally felt ready to make my choice once and for all...or at least I thought I was ready.

In the middle of Best Buy, I suddenly was struck with the prospect of going big. I thought to myself, why not make an investment in a model that appeared to have more features even if it was a bit more than my price limit? This was when I discovered the Panasonic H80 60GB model for $400. Despite not having read any reviews, it just seemed to have this new-car gloss that was more alluring than the average looking Canon and Sony in my price range. I figured that I could still put my faith in the Panasonic brand and have the benefit of huge harddrive storage. I was about to call over a sales associate just when I suddenly received a new text message.

That message was from my photographer friend informing me that he was selling his camcorder since he had recently purchased a new Canon HF S100 HD model. When he told me the name of his old camera and the price at how much he was willing to sell it to me, I was SHOCKED and stood frozen in the middle of Best Buy! Instead of settling for a standard definition camera, I was offered a chance to invest in my first Canon HD camera!! Upon reading reviews from Amazon.com, CNet, and camcoredrinfo.com, I was definitely on board with buying this camera from my best friend!! Another great benefit was that I could trust the condition of this preowned gadget!! The next day, I was pleased and ecstatic to become the owner of a Canon HD camera that had been priced at 800 to 900 dollars brand new!! To make things even better, I also did some comparison shopping and got reasonably priced tripods and a storage bag.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Nokia E75 Review

Nokia Email problem still exists.

I recently received an email from someone who appeared to be a BlackBerry user disenchanted by his recent email experience with the Nokia E71. I had to respond as honestly as possible, even if it did mean putting my E71 in a bad light:


Trent:

Based on your youtube review of the e71, I bought it in late December.  I returned it 7 days later because I couldn't get the email client to work as good as my blackberry does.  I was just reading your last post about the difficulties with the syncing of emails on your e71.  I'm puzzled.

I've been doing some research and came across an interview from the Finish dude at NOKIA in charge of messaging.  He said that NOKIA plans to get Blackberry Connect for the e71 soon.  So, my question(s) to you:  what do you think of this?  Is it gonna fix the email performance of the e71?  I ask because I have the Curve 8900 and the email client is so good that I get my emails on it more quickly than on my computer's Outlook.

So, when do you think the e71 will be up to snuff?

James Walker

---------------------

My Response:

Honestly, I really don't know when the Nokia Email client will be revived back to its original status of reliability. I currently put up with the latency problems of the so-called push email service because I really do like the Symbian OS. I have used BlackBerry devices before, and the user experience isn't nearly as well-rounded for me as it is on the Symbian Nokias. I actually like the appearance of Symbian as well as its performance with native applications such as Quickoffice and Nokia Sports Tracker. I had tried to go back to even the basic Messaging folder to use email, but I was so used to the advanced interface of Nokia Email that this solution was destined for failure anyway.

It because of this that I see no choice but to be tolerant of the Nokia Email's recent lackluster performance in syncing incoming emails from my Gmail account.  Sad to admit...but this is true. I could update the software on my E71 and hope for the best, but since you had returned the E71 in 7 days...this would seem a foolish move. To go through the trouble of erasing everything on the phone's memory and reinstall apps just to encounter the Nokia Email problems again would really irritate me. I guess I am trying to make the best of the situation, for it's not like Nokia Email isn't working at all...it's just slow to sync and does so when it feels like it. Maybe I've become a Symbian fanboy, who knows?

I don't think that BlackBerry Connect will have anything to do with the performance of the Nokia Email client. They seem to be just two separate things altogether. It would be really unfortunate if BlackBerry Connect ended up with better email sync capability than Nokia Email...funny, but really unfortunate.

How do you like the BlackBerry and how long have you used it? Is the BlackBerry email client capable of handling attachments like documents and even music files? I have considered the BlackBerry Bold since more and more I have been reliant on my emails more than anything, but I am afraid to let go of the other E71 benefits: GPS, Sports Tracker, Quickoffice, music player, 16GB card compatibility.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

-------------------------------------------

To this day since I had last declared the Nokia Email latency problem as being solved, it has come back numerous times a day. It normally takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for an email to be properly synched to my E71 via the Nokia Email client, and this is quite disturbing since I have the sync interval set to "soonest". For some odd reason, my Nokia Email client has lost its sense of IMAP "push" email service and just syncs whenever it darn well pleases to do so.

However, I find myself locked in a state of smartphone limbo, for it seems that there isn't any other smartphone OS available that can please me in the same way as Symbian S60. In addition to the reliability of Symbian's performance in menu navigation, there is the reliance I have on certain apps such as Quickoffice and the Nokia Sports Tracker...not to mention the best multimedia quality from any mobile camera (not exactly from the E71, but most high-end Nokias in general). Symbian basically grants a computer-like capability to the Nokia device, and the only other comparable operating system happens to be Windows Mobile...to a certain extent. In the midst of using my E71, I have sadly become tolerant of the poor performance of the Nokia Email app...and I may have officially turned into a Symbian fanboy. I simply cannot see myself with any other OS at this moment.

Spending money on another gadget that is not a necessity seems like a trivial undertaking with the amount of debt that I have to tackle. Continuing to partner up with WomWorld for exposure to Nokia devices and making a formal request to join AT&T's beta testing program will satisfy my urge for new tech toys and prevent E71 boredom.

It seems that the only logical solution left is to completely upgrade the OS of my current E71, and I may consider it with time. We will just have to wait and see.

Trentonn Smith
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Nokia Email situation.

During the course of a few days, I had been experiencing late syncing times with my incoming email. Even though my inbox was set to be synched at the soonest time interval (replicating push service), there would be times of 30 minutes to an hour where there would be no activity from Nokia Email at all. This would be acceptable if there weren't any new emails being sent to my Gmail account at that time, but this was not the case. My iPod Touch email client would account for new mail with no trouble, yet my E71 would remain silent. I really began to have concerns when 9 new emails had been ignored by the E71 and flawlessly acknowledged on the iPod Touch and my MacBook Aluminum.

Resetting the inbox to the server seemed to work, but only temporarily before the problem reared its head once again. In the midst of much frustration, I made the choice to delete the Nokia Email app from my E71 device and adopt the native S60 Messaging client as my primary inbox. I figured that going back to basics was the next best thing to updating the E71's firmware. After hearing about a few negative aspects of the updated software for the E71, I felt that staying with my current version was in my best interest.

Being without the visual aesthetics and advanced features of the newer email client did seem to be refreshing as I handled text-only entries in the Messaging folder. Incoming mail was set to be synched in intervals of 5 minutes, and this worked just fine throughout the day. But no matter how much I tried to be content with it, I simply could not do without the benefits of Nokia Email. While it was not perfect, it still possessed some great qualities that I missed: smaller font, better graphical interface, advanced email organization, native HTML support, predictive contact input for message recipients, and push email.

At the end of the day, I preferred the Nokia Email client over the basic S60 alternative and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. Being fully aware of this, I reinstalled the newer client to my E71 have moved on. If I should happen to go through the same experience again with latent syncing on my Gmail inbox, I would have to consider updating the firmware despite my personal opinions.

I guess that there is a bit of bias on my part for Nokia, for if this happened with any other device I probably would have had reason to get rid of it altogether. Honestly, there are so many other positive aspects about my E71 that I would gladly put up with late emails for as long as possible. Going through so many different operating systems and devices proved to be an adventure as well a learning experience, and the E71 had won the leading spot. Despite recent malfunctions and even a damning comparison review to the BlackBerry Bold on CNet, I am still standing by my device 100%. It certainly works for me in all that I do every day, and this is all that matters. After my stint with the E75 and upon my refusal of depending on the Treo 750, the E71 is all that I've got at this point...and I don't think that I would have it any other way.

Even with the upcoming release of the N97 and Palm Pre, I feel that I am becoming more practical in my smartphone usage. Having flashy media features in any new device would not be enough to measure up if it cannot meet or surpass what the E71 has to offer. The contentment with this particular model has been previously unmatched by any other device in my history, and I am actually shocked that I would go to such great lengths to hold on to one phone. What can I say...the E71 just works for me. It may not have the best camera for video footage, but I am not in need of a camcorder; it may not have the loudest speakerphone according to CNet, but it is suitable for me; there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, but I can live with listening to music aloud from the speaker; the web browser may not be the best, but it's enough for me and at least supports flash. There will never be a perfect device, but the E71 is close enough for here and now.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

Nokia Email Malfunctions...again.

Once again I am experiencing the same lack of incoming mail from the Nokia Email app on my E71, and I am getting concerns. If this post makes it up on my blog, it just proves that sending emails is not a problem at all...it's the receiving part that has the trouble.

I have already gone through two deletions and reinstalls of this application with my E71, and am at a loss as to what the solution is. Honestly, I am considering the possibility of completely removing Nokia Email and relying solely on the Messaging folder for any future correspondence. This seems to be much easier than trying to adopt a third party app for email support. I have been told of Profimail and have heard of it, but I don't know if it would be worth all of the hassle.

Is my E71 in need of a firmware update or a hard reset? I have no idea. But I do no know that I will do all that I can to not resort to using my backup Treo 750 again.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3

New Nokia Email version 9.05!

For the past few days, I started experiencing trouble in syncing my Gmail account with Nokia Email service on my E71. I noticed that emails were not updating on a timely basis, even when I tried to manually update them!

I had tried to reset the server connection to my Gmail inbox numerous times with no success at all, and so I had decided to completely remove the app from my E71. My plan of action was to go to the Nokia Messaging site and reinstall the Email application, but there was one significant problem. The server to the main site was down and access was completely impossible. Could this have been a major outage problem for Nokia Email service? Was there any other Nokia user out there going through this same predicament?

At first, I had turned back to the native Messaging folder to sync my Gmail inbox on my E71. Fortunately, this was not to last too long.

In about another half hour of waiting, I tried accessing the Nokia Messaging site...and it WORKED! Immediately I prompted a reinstall of the Nokia Email app to my E71 and cautiously went through the setting up of my Gmail account. Before I had started the setup, I saw that there was a newer version of Nokia Email available. Of course, I decided to replace the older 9.04 version with 9.05! Once the application opened upon the screen of my E71, I first noticed one thing: the font of the inbox messages was much smaller than the previous software release. This made for much more information to be displayed on the screen, so I was quickly impressed. Upon clicking on the first entry, I also found that incoming emails are viewed in HTML mode by default when available.

With time as I continue to use the Nokia Email application, I do hope that I can discover more useful features. I am certainly relieved to know that the outage of the email server was only temporary.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E71
TRENT SENSE blogger/netcast host
trentonnsmith.blogspot.com
youtube.com/absolon3