New E71 Software Now Available - Changelog Here

Was synchronizing my E71 when I got a pleasant surprise - I got a message that new software for my e71 is now available!

My previous version was 410.21.010 and the new version is 500.21.009.

I am upgrading right now and will be posting my initial impressions after I try it out.

Stay tuned.

Here is the changelog:

Change Log for Nokia E71:

NEW FUNCTIONALITIES:
Following baselines/functionalities have been upgraded.
•    Maps 3.03 Lite which has Free Navigation support
•    Music Player upgrade
•    Quick Office v6.2 which has Office 2007 support
•    Ovi Store upgraded to 1.6.0.18 and Download! Removed
•    Lotus Notes traveler v8.5.1 -> Localization support is present only for 10 languages.

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:

•    Windows Live removed from the memory card
•    Ovi Suite included in Memory card
•    CS Helps baseline upgraded to fix localization issues
•    Start Up settings baseline upgraded
•    Ovi Store Link provided in “Set Up Internet Telephony”
•    Download! removed
GENERAL
•    Portuguese Localization issues fixed
•    Functionality improvements in E-mail configuration
•    Qwerty keypad improvements

CALL HANDLING
•    Emergency call termination with RSK key corrected
•    Corrected Bluetooth link drop when an outgoing call is made in a carkit

CALENDAR/CLOCK
•    Fix for Israel written instead of Jerusalem in World Clock
•    Corrected Argentina names issue in World Clock
•    Corrected localization issues in world clock

BROWSER
•    CMCC Java application download corrected
•    Fix provided for accessing a link that has appended space characters

EMAIL
•    Fix provided for selecting desired mailbox when multiple mailboxes are configured

QWERTY KEYBOARD
•    Key mapping issues fixed

MESSAGING
•    Nokia IM chat: Localization support provided for Malay and Indonesian languages

A New Object Of My Desire - The Samsung Galaxy S

It is so hard to turn a blind eye to all these newfangled stuff coming around.

Maybe I should stop reading my RSS feeds because knowing what's on the horizon tends to create a feeling of anticipation despite trying to pretend that I don't need anything new.

Case in point is the Android invasion. I have been wanting a Android for the longest time but I am stopped in my tracks each and every time I see the memory on the phones. I wanted the HTC Desire even before it hit the Philippine shores and now that it's here, I saw the spec sheet and all my desire faded away.

The problem now is that I went to Globe Trinoma last weekend with my eldest daughter, a sort of Daddy day with her. My purpose there was to just load my Gcash account to keep my prepaid line alive but I always get the latest matrix from Smart, Globe and Sun whenever I am near their shops. Call it a sort of technological masochism.

So I get the matrix, then I also collected the brochures - yes it's like an addiction, and I make the mistake of picking up the brochure of the Samsung Galaxy S which is currently a Globe exclusive.

My first reaction when I read the specs was THIS IS IT! My Android phone has arrived.

Why is this the case? Well my problem with the other Androids had to do with the small onboard memory. This Samsung I9000 Galaxy S has 2GB ROM, 512 RAM and 8 or 16 GB Storage in the phone. Not unlike my Omnia I8000 which is 16 GB of pure bliss.

Some other great features of the Galaxy is the screen which is 4 inches worth of SUPER AMOLED. Granting, it is a bit less than my HD2 which has 4.3 inches of screen real estate but that's a bit more than the I800 at 3.7 inches.

Fast forward to today. In an attempt to make my vision board work overtime, I downloaded many photos of the phone and read all the reviews.

GREAT! One review states that this is probably the BEST PHONE IN THE WORLD!!! How can I resist??

Come August 2, the exclusivity of Globe will end, which means that my friendly neighborhood cellphone store will put it online at outrageous prices. If I can resist it for a few weeks (which is easy because I have no money to buy it anyway) the price will go down by about 20%. I can't wait....

Footnote: My only worries about the Android has to do with proper syncing with Office 2010 in a way that will not screw up the data on my Windows Mobile phones. Thankfully, the HTC HD3 is on the horizon and is one of the incoming Windows 7 smart phones. With all these new phones, the Iphone 4 is going to get a run for its money.

Some links:

GSM Arena Galaxy S Page

Mobile Phones UK Review Of the Galaxy

GSM Arena HD3 Rumors Page

The Sun Broadband Wireless Speed Of The Day

Gave Sun a couple of days to do something but to no avail.

Here is the SBW Scorching Speed Of The Day

SBW Sun Broadband Wireless Mounting User Complaints

Digitel and Sun have apparently been turning a deaf ear to the growing multitudes of people complaining about their service. They have lost so many subscribers already and they still have not pulled their ads, nor fixed their problems.

Read all about the user complaints here:

Sun Broadband Wireless Users Thread on TipidPC


THE SCORCHING SPEEDS OF THE 3 MBPS SBW SUN BROADBAND WIRELESS

PLEASE SHARE YOUR COMPLAINTS, EXPERIENCES AND COMMENTS ABOUT SBW SUN BROADBAND WIRELESS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

I'll send the forum links to SUN to see if they can do the decent thing and act on our complaints once and for all.

SBW Sun Broadband Wireless - The Punishment Continues

I haven't written in a while about SBW or Sun Broadband Wireless, but that's not because there was no problem, but because I was happily using my 2 MBPS PLDT that I hardly used my SBW.

The times that I used it though, were sobering reminders of how bad their service was, a fact that I remember with anger, whenever I pay their 1899 bill every month. I have a 3mbps plan and they are giving me speeds that are SLOWER THAN DIAL UP!

So from this point onwards, I will keep on posting my speedtest everyday, until I either get the speeds I am paying 1899 for (3 MBPS) or Sun refunds my money which I have been paying for over a year.

One last point, this is really maddening because I do a lot of business with Sun, paying 6 thousand pesos monthly to them. I can take the occasional bad connections with SUN but the SUN Broadband Wireless is something I cannot take and it makes me feel that I am being cheated every month. How much is my internet worth??

0.19 MBPS for 1399??

I'm Back! The Power Of A Vision Board

The Secret Website

I'm back after an extended absence. Been working nearly 16 hours a day over the past 10 months or so to get things going on the finance side. Thankfully things are a lot better now.

In connection with my humble success, I want to share with everyone here the power of the vision board.

I'm sure many of you have heard of "The Secret". To me it was a nice movie and book which showed techniques like visualization and vision boards to make things happen. I was impressed enough to try and make a vision folder on my PC. This was were I put all the things I wanted from tech stuff to cars. I would visit this folder every so often, add some pictures and remove others as my dreams changed.


Then in a series of events straight out of the Celestine Prophecy (which states that nothing happens by chance, that everything happens for a reason), I got a new client for my writing gigs and we got to emailing back and forth about vision boards.

Imagine my surprise when she mentioned that she had not only met one of the people in THE SECRET movie, but she was able to attend a party at the very house he had pointed out in the movie. At that moment, I realized that life had just let me in on seeing THE SECRET in action!

So I promptly checked out my vision folder and  to my surprise, I got nearly 80% of all the things in my folder. And mind you a lot of these items were just stuff I dreamed of having. It included an Omnia 2, an HTC HD2, a six core processor (instead of a Core i7) and a lot more. I am still waiting for my Expedition, Nissan Skyline Crossover, Skyline R35 and Ducati... hey the book said dream big.

There was actually a list where I put some items I wanted that were actually not things you buy but things you receive and on that point, I received nearly 100% of what I asked for.

The basic principle of The Secret was to ask and you shall receive and believe me, it works.


Check out the movie and read the book.

NOKIA E72 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I went to the Nokia Store in Trinoma last week and was pleasantly surprised to see that the much awaited Nokia E72 was already available.

For those looking forward to buying themselves the new E series business phone that is giving Blackberry a run for its money, you would be happy to know that the price is, I think, even less than the E71 at launch.

Cash Price is 22,258 while Card price for zero (??) interest is 23,258.

It has the usual E series package which includes the case, usb cable and a 4 GB memory card.

So what were my initial impressions? Luckily I had my trusted E71 for comparison and here is the summary:

Size: Essentially the same as the E71. Same sleek form factor.

Weight: About the same too. It's the type of weight that doesn't feel heavy but it imparts a feeling of quality and durability to the phone.

Keys: Much to my chagrin, the E72 keys are much better than my E71's. They are slightly bigger and the layout was changed just a wee bit.  

Appearance: This is the surprise for me, I thought that right off the bat, I would go for the E72 but this was not the case. Whether in black or in beige, somehow it had just about equal visual appeal compared to the E71.

So what is my take on the Nokia E72?

For non E71 users looking for a best in class qwerty smartphone then this is probably one of the best, if not THE best alternative.

In my opinion, it trumps the Blackberry which fails on value for money.

The reason may be the fact that showbiz people here have made the Blackberry their buzz word and their must haves. Since they are not on tight budgets, the price of the Blackberry has remained relatively high.

There are of course some new offerings from Samsung and Sony that will compete directly with the E72 but from reviews so far, the E72 remains at the top of the business phone class.

For E71 users like myself, it's not such a cut and dried decision. 80% of the E71 is on par with the E72.

In my opinion, the advantages of the E72 would be the IMPROVEMENTS to the camera, the keyboard and better gps.

I emphasized improvement because the E71 is definitely not inferior. It's just that the E72 has improved on it.

Personally, my upgrade plans remain the same. I hope to have the Xperia and the E72 soon. Maybe the Xperia could be my Merry Xmas to me :)

As you can see the E72 is not tops on my list. I am still very happy with my E71 and I will not be letting this go, even when I get an E72.

Everytime I tinker with my E71, I still marvel at how well equipped it is and how it has singlehandedly softened the mind of a previously die hard Sony Ericsson devotee.

I hope to be able to do a detailed review of the E72 soon. But till then, if you are in the market for a smartphone in the 22k range, then look no further.

The E72 looks like it will assume the throne of the E71 as the best smartphone.And I can hardly wait for it to assume a place beside my E71 :)