Exchange Experiment part 2: Symbian 5th

After having a pretty good time with the E72 for a few days to test Exchange syncing, I was curious to give Symbian 5th edition another try. WOW! After all the trash I had talked in past years about that particular OS and there I was reunited with it! However, it was only to be a temporary arrangement since I was still preparing myself for the upcoming arrival of the E7. Honestly, I did not want to leave behind the efficiency of Sports Tracker with Nokia's amazing GPS reliability...unlike the Captivate. If I could hold on to using a Nokia device compatible with Sports Tracker until I found a suitable GPS tracking solution for my cardio, then so be it!

Just like the E72, the recent N97 mini was also packaged as the Driver's Edition with a bundled car dock and auto charger. Other than that, all else was the same with the device build and remaining accessories. Aside from yet another qwerty keyboard with great tactile feedback, there was the suitable remote headphones with tactile controls for music, volume, and calls. Unlike the E72, the box looked exactly the same as I remembered from my previous review unit.

Turning on the phone brought back memories of using Symbian 5th edition, and the realist from within was relieved to not have it permanently. Like with any electronic device, there was always a possibility of the honeymoon period wearing off. The more quirks a model had in both hardware and software could quickly determine the duration of that honeymoon, and the N97 line was no different. Euphoria was the word for the day until OS freezing and memory errors started to become commonplace. Once I departed from the two N97 models, I not only cursed the existence of 5th edition...but I vowed to never use it again (or maybe until a major overhaul was done). Either way, at that time there was nothing promising about the OS, especially with Android coming out of the woodwork and iPhone still conjuring nerdgasms in geeks and non-geeks alike. Back then was a different time, and I was so far doing fine with returning for another round with what I had considered a huge failure. Now that I made full circle back to 5th edition on that smallish 3.2inch resistive touch screen (my gosh it feels like obsolete technology already), I could learn to appreciate aspects of the NSeries unit. There was an E72-like simplicity of the N97 mini in comparison to my Captivate once again, and it did feel refreshing in its own right. However, instead of being boring with a non-touch interface, it somehow breathed more life into Symbian as a next generation product. I was never a developer of mobile operating systems, but I could assume it was never easy for any one hired to do so. With that said, I did come to realize the evolutionary gap between 3rd and 5th edition. While touch Symbian did not inspire me to turn speechless with fluid graphical animations from software features, it did have a more get-to-the-point-of-being-a-phone sort of feel about it. Sometimes gadgets seemed to bite off more than they could chew in trying to be everything to everybody, but somehow Symbian continued to be marching to the beat of its own drum. From a positive aspect, I could at least be honest and declare the N97 mini insufficient for my needs (even with the qwerty and GPS), but still be able to appreciate what it brought to the table as a media-conscious phone.

Exchange had been working perfectly so far, and that fueled my eagerness to see the arrival of the E7 as soon as possible. Still having a link with my Google data via server kept me in the know in a much better way than GooSync or Google Sync ever could. Despite a couple of issues with email creation lacking support on certain models and the inability to sync more than one Google calendar, I still considered it the best resource for branching out beyond Android.

Enjoying that N97 mini with its great qwerty brought just as much joy as the E72, and I found that I liked both for different reasons. While I could get used to both keyboards fairly quickly, the ESeries bar felt the most comfortable and convenient to use. Having a stationary form factor and compact dimensions allowed my thumbs to speed along in prolonged writing. I just had to pull out the phone from a pocket and let my thumbs hit the keys running! However, that was not to say the NSeries mini was behind in any manner. To its credit, the keys did offer more width which could be a plus along with additional UI navigation from a touch screen. Overall, I was simply having a great time being able to write to my heart's content on a hardware qwerty while taking a break from the Captivate.

In a couple days or so, the N97 mini would have to be sent away...but this only left me pondering over which non-Android hardware qwerty device I could get next! That Exchange experiment was definitely a great idea to break the boredom of sitting around and waiting for an E7 or a hardware qwerty Android!

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia N97 Mini

Nokia E7 Anticipation

"If the E7 with its new touch Symbian S^3, sliding qwerty, and 4inch screen can have Exchange and similar GPS performance, I would definitely consider leaving the Captivate."

I made that statement in a previous blogpost and most certainly meant what I said without a shadow of a doubt. As a current Android user, I did realize that all was not satisfactory in the land of Google and its range of GSM hardware. I felt I was not really in a position to do anything about it, and thus became tolerant as other features tickled my fancy. Even though items like a large SuperAMOLED display, revamped TouchWiz interface, flawless Google data syncing, and native social network support seemed great at face value, they were only distractions to hide the truth. That ultimate truth was that I was growing bored of Android. However, as if addicted to the pros of what Android offered in its touch-only models, I was more willing to set my issues aside and be content with not writing any more blogposts or using GPS tracking for cardio. I had decided to bend like a reed to the will of my Captivate's limitations, and I did not realize the scope of this until I began using the E72 for my Exchange experiment.

Being introduced to Exchange granted me a revelation that Android did not have to be the one and only OS if I wanted Google syncing on a phone. I was aware of other sync alternatives and even tested some, but discrepancies turned me off from wanting to use them again. Exchange was the first syncing engine to flawlessly measure up to the prowess of Android itself in regards to keeping my PIM data in check. To see this as proof positive for myself on the E72 (in addition to having a hardware qwerty again) really opened my eyes.

I was fully aware of the E72 no longer being a desired offer despite its pros, so the next best thing seemed to be the upcoming E7, Desire Z, or even the Galaxy S Pro. After initial comparison of these three prospects in my mind, the E7 naturally won out. The Galaxy S Pro was thought to be an obvious choice, but it was only available for CDMA and I was still cautious of Samsung's horrible GPS problem. HTC appeared to have done something right with the Desire Z, but I still wanted to have a 4inch display. I would be lying if I said that I did not miss Symbian, so that could have been a factor in my choice to focus on the E7. Even though the touch OS on the N97 and mini model was not the most hospitable, I still wanted to hope that S^3 would bring some worthwhile improvement. The skeptical realist from within wondered if S^3 would only be 5th edition in sheep's clothing, but the optimist welcomed the chance to see the E7 and its new features. A non-removable battery and lack of microSD card slot also seemed to be potential downfalls, but I still wanted to give it a fair try. For not having a card slot, I figured the USB-on-the-go feature could suffice to connect the E7 to my 32GB thumb drive for multimedia! I was also drawn by the silver aluminum build paired with black, tactile qwerty keys, for it instantly reminded me of my MacBook Aluminum model. Reading about ClearBlack technology being introduced on its 4inch screen suddenly began to take some thunder away from Samsung's SuperAMOLED, but only time would tell with reviews and inevitable comparisons. A part of me was willing to bet money that GPS performance would be stellar on the E7 just like the E72. With the Captivate, I would probably have more luck following a homing pigeon to reach a destination!

I had to admit that much excitement was getting generated for the E7 as I continued writing about it, and I then stopped with a sudden thought. Was this the same trap that I had set myself up for with the N97? Not really. With the N97, I was under the impression it would be perfect from misleading commercials in addition to my fanboy anticipation. I had probably worried about possible cons, but in no way did I expect such a different result in real world usage from those promos. Typical phone issues occurred with that model, but no device is immune to them...not even my Captivate. I believe that what bothered me the most was feeling as if Nokia had overpromised and underdelivered. I felt tricked and cheated when swiping those home screens or opening apps did not happen as fast as they did in those commercials. That was a hard lesson worth learning in being able to openly question a device even when it has pristine marketing. I felt more prepared than ever before to expect (and possibly accept) flaws in a new device, for there was no such thing as complete perfection over general satisfaction. That could be the only viable explanation as to how I tolerated the Captivate for so long. The E7 would turn out to be unsatisfactory or otherwise upon my review of it in the future, but being able to say hello to a new Symbian and new E-Series gadget could make it worthwhile.

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E72

GPS performance on E72

I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the performance of the GPS lock on the E72!! Getting a steady signal happened almost instantly just as I had remembered on the E71 in years past, making Samsung look like an utter joke with its recent trouble. Once the E72 found a lock, it remained solid and did not experience any severe distortion. Another thing I noticed was that this E72 had come bundled with a car dock!! After being informed by a Twitter follower and then verifying on the NokiaUSA site, it turned out I had the Drivers Edition of the E72.

Ovi Maps worked great as an alternative to Google Maps, but another app that caught me by surprise was the all-new Sports Tracker offered with a revamped online interface. Having that E-Series phone as a running companion to track my route was so much better than the faulty nightmare I took on with my Captivate. GPS data closely matched my iPod Nike+ results, and not once did I feel the need to check its progress while it was in my pocket. Just when I thought the magic was over, I then got a chance to see the Sports Tracker site on the web! The older version during my ownership of the E71 was not bad, it just did not measure up to Nike+. All of that had certainly changed, and I was convinced that Nike+ finally met its match. I even concluded that Sports Tracker surpasses Nike+ due to its native support of accurate GPS tracking. Setting up an account online could be as convenient as using my current Facebook profile, and sharing results on social networks like Twitter was possible as well. The site was intuitive and did not seem to suffer from graphical overkill in the eye candy department like Nike+, which made for a smoother web experience. I was really tormented at that point, for I wished I could swap GPS modules between the E72 and Captivate! Honestly, the Sports Tracker experience was almost enough motivation to sell off the Samsung to keep the Nokia. The fact that a flawed GPS was allowed to slip through the fingers of Samsung was inexcusable and infuriating! If the E7 with its new touch Symbian S^3, sliding qwerty, and 4inch screen can have Exchange and similar GPS performance, I would definitely consider leaving the Captivate.

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E72

E72 Experiment: Day 2

On day two of my E72 Exchange experiment, I hardly had any issues at all. Contact and calendar entries all reflected the exact same information that was on my Captivate and iPod Touch, and it was even great to hear appointment reminder chimes from all three in unison. There was one problem with email creation no longer being supported on Exchange even though downloading/reading incoming mail was still possible. Setting up a separate Gmail inbox via Messaging appeared to be the only solution. Either way, I was pleased to see my contacts and calendar entries synced without fail! Thankfully, I did notice Exchange syncing on its own throughout the day after I had customized settings accordingly.

Thoughts began running through my head as to what potential smartphone could be waiting for me to adopt next. There was the tempting Nokia E7 with a 4inch touch screen and full hardware keyboard or the upcoming HTC Desire Z with a sliding qwerty. I did not have to stay joined at the hip to Android to get a phone with tactile buttons and Google account syncing! In one fleeting moment, it seemed as if the mobile industry was my oyster (as long as I had Exchange), but reality soon hit me with a revelation: the most worthwhile phone OS was Android, and the Captivate offered the best hardware features thus far.

I was not really surprised at my missing Android, for it had proved to be a most useful OS in my daily phone usage. Even if I was mesmerized by the upcoming Nokia E7, there was not doubt that Android with TouchWiz had been the most fulfilling OS for me even without a hardware qwerty. Even if I was stuck with the Captivate on a two-year AT&T contract, the only other device I was moved to save money for was the unattainable Epic 4G on Sprint. Even with the horrendous GPS flaw (THAT STILL HASN'T BEEN FIXED WITH THE SOFTWARE UPDATE) and lack of hardware keyboard, there were plenty of good points about the Samsung model that I adored. I could not help but forgive Samsung of its transgressions whenever I watched a movie on that 4inch SuperAMOLED screen, listened to music on that 32GB of total storage capacity, easily shared content via native interfacing with social networks, or browsed the web in all its pinch and zoom glory.

Even with all that positivity for Captivate, there was no ignoring the fact that actions did speak louder than words in regards to my qwerty preference. An earlier blogpost made from the Captivate some months ago stated how comfortable I was getting with the virtual qwerty. However, that was my first and last posting from the device since then. In comparison to the four to five postings from when I had the BlackBerry Bolds, that was definitely a statement in itself (in addition to the fact that I started writing again on the E72). I simply could not feel the impulse to write without a hardware qwerty, and there was no denying it.

I could honestly say the E72 was no longer the phone for me. As much as I found solace in its stable functioning with Symbian 3rd edition, I had simply outgrown it after getting accustomed with Android touch. The recent adoption of the E72 was for the sake of testing Exchange syncing and nothing more. Aside from the excitement of Nokia craftsmanship, hardware keys, reliable GPS, and LED flash, there really wasn't anything to motivate my keeping it over the Captivate. Using the Sports Tracker app along with a newly revamped online interface came pretty close, but not close enough. The way the E72 operated in comparison to the Captivate was not cause for criticism, for they were two different phones made for different purposes. I became more of a multimedia consumer in addition to being a blogger, so it was only natural for me to be drawn to the Captivate's features. Times were different from those days of praising the E71 and E90, and I could only guess it was the inevitable takeover of the touch-driven phone OS with a large screen. Despite the healthy amount of respect I had for the Symbian 3rd edition OS, I had to be honest with myself as a mobile device user.

As much as it would pain me to eventually let go of the stable E-Series model, it was very necessary. Nonetheless, it was good to get a refresher on the Symbian OS before the arrival of the E7.

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E72

E72 Experiment with Exchange

After the longest time in being with a touch interface on two Android models, I was thrilled to be back with the E72 for even a short period. Typing on a hardware qwerty was a great feeling, and nothing made me happier than being able to pound away at awaiting keys on a familiar phone. Since leaving behind the two BlackBerry Bolds of the 9800 and 9000 for my Captivate, I found myself settling once again for something that didn't satisfy me 100%. This unsatisfactory circumstance was further perpetuated by the lack of worthwhile GSM Android devices equipped with a hardware qwerty. Two major CDMA carriers in the USA had the privilege of sponsoring models such as the Droid, Droid 2, and Epic 4G, but I was forced to choose between two lackluster units offered by Motorola: the Cliq and the Backflip. None of these even remotely compared to the feature set of my Captivate or Nexus One, so I didn't see the point in wasting my time. Not to mention that these same phones were hampered by a most horrible cluster of a mess called MotoBlur that I plan to stay far away from. Despite my admiration for Android, this frustration eventually led me to wondering if I could survive on a non-Android smartphone.

A friend of mine had reminded me of how the iPhone could sync my Google data via Exchange, but I was skeptical at the time. I had already been let down by the unimpressive performance of GooSync on the previous E72 and Google Sync on the BlackBerry Bolds. Tolerating syncing discrepancies with contact duplications and missing calendar appointments left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was certain that Android was the only way to go. However, being away from a hardware qwerty for that much longer started to shake my faith in Android. I seriously considered leaving the familiar OS, but I didn't want to do without the reliability of my Google data being synced over the air. As an experiment, I took my iPod Touch and disabled all PIM data syncing via iTunes in order to rely completely on Exchange. Once I followed instructions found from an online Google search, ALL my calendar, contact, and email data synced to my Apple device flawlessly!! After seeing that activities initiated on the iPod could be synced to my Google account and then to my Captivate, I was overjoyed! For the first time, I felt like I could afford to leave Android behind as long as I had access to Microsoft Exchange. The next logical step was to acquire an alternate phone with such a feature. That is my main reason for taking on this E72 once again.

Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E72