Windows Messenger no longer free?

I haven't used messenger on my mobile for a while now. I tried to login today, and I got a warning screen, informing me that there is now a monthly subscription fee (screenshots below) Has anyone else come across this? The cost is 10RMB, does anyone know exactly how much this is? It seems that the charge will be via reverse SMS, which I'm not keen to sign up for anyhow. For the forseeable future, it looks like I'll be sticking with Yahoo messenger which is not chargeable, other than data used.

Yahoo Go 2.0

One application I use more than pretty much any other on my N73 is Yahoo Go. It seems I'm not alone, either, judging by the emails I receive every day. I saw some people posting on various forums that they were looking to get Yahoo Go for their N80 or N73. I have the .sis file and email it out at least three or four times a day to people who ask for it. It works fine on either phone (but apparently not on ESeries handsets)

Today Yahoo announced they are launching version 2.0 of their YGO application. It will include Onesearch, which is a context aware search applciation, at the heart of the application. Onesearch is a context aware search application that is designed to return more relevant searches to queries.

My only hope that when Yahoo Go 2.0 is launched that Yahoo release it for all compatible products from their own website. Make it easier for all to use the product, and more will. Surely the logic explains itself?

New NSeries phones

With CES happening it was almost a certainty we would have some new phones to see from Nokia. And Nokia didn't disappoint. The N93i has been confirmed, there is the N800 and also the N76. Pics and detail below:

N76 Spec list
At only 13.7mm thin the N76 offers a super slim multimedia computer for your pocket. The Spec is quite standard for an N-Series phone these days, 2GB expandable memory, 2.0 megapixel camera, Tri band GSM and 3G conenctivity, Bluetooth, etc. It odes look very good, possibly the nicest S60 flip from Nokia:





















N800 Spec list
The N800 is a Linux handheld style tablet PC. With no built in telephony the N800 is slightly away from Nokia's core product line. It does look to be an interesting product. It has WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, meaning you can connect to the net via WiFi connection or Bluetooth to your mobile handset. You can use the N800 to send/receive email, communicate via IM, and use the built in webcam for video calls.





















N93i Spec list
The N93i offers pretty much all you can get from the N93 but in a slimmer, shinier, silver shell. If there is one thing non enthusiasts always mention about the N93, it's the size. Now, hopefully the N93i will address that issue for those people and take the N93i to a more mainstream audience.

N95 Video

Found over on the nokia blog a quick 2 and a half minute video of the N95 taken at the Symbian smartphone show this week:



And a quick hands on 'first impressions' review over on, I am very sure this handset will be one of my wants for next year.

Two Problems on my N73

I've had the N73 for a few weeks now. And despite there being a few reported problems in forums and on other blogs, my phone has been very solid and reliable to date (Hope I'm not tempting fate)

Two things that I've noticed over the last couple of days though:

1) I stored a lot of themes onto the memory card yesterday. However not all are showing on the list of available themes to choose from. Has anyone else noticed this? How did you resolve the problem? Related to this, in the installation manager not all themes are listed, so there are some I cannot remove. They are nice themes so not a major problem, but an annoyance all the same.

2) Writing an email with the built in email client, if I want to attach a picture I have to scroll through the whole gallery to find the pictures(s) I want. This is very frustrating, and I'm sure wasn't like this in previous editions?
The answer to this problem if you've experienced the same, I've found, is Profimail. This allows you to scan folders in a logical manner, making attachment of items very easy. I do wish the font they used on Profimail wasn't quite so small, though.

N7x Music edition theme

I found this on the E61 Life site this morning (I like the E61 life site, even though the focus is obviously E61 not NSeries. Highly recommended)

I like this theme. I'm not 100% sure whether the theme is N73 music edition or N70. Either way it looks good

Advanced call manager for N73

I downloaded this application for my phone this evening. It allows me to control who I receive calls from. It's one of the most annoying things about mobile phones, is people can get hold of you wherever you are. There's no more quiet time, whenever someone wants to get in touch they just call.

I don't want to turn my phone off. I want the option of being able to make a call should I wish, but choose who I don't have to answer to. Of course, I could always see who is calling from the caller ID and reject the call. But with advanced call manager I have total control over incoming calls.

Advanced call manager allows me to set up a selection of call lists. Black lists for numbers I don't want to receive calls from, white lists for groups of people who I want to receive calls from. So if I select a black list, anyone on that list who calls will be dealt with by a rule I previously instructed. Be that diverting them to my answer phone, or just giving them a busy tone. I can set up different black lists, as I can white lists. So during the day I can avoid calls from certain groups whilst at work, but in the evening and weekends I can avoid work numbers.

Withheld numbers are dealt with separately, you can choose to offer them a busy tone or divert them to answerphone independently of any black list operating at the time. I really detest calls from people who withhold their number. My recorded message on my answerphone informs people who withhold their number that this is the reason they've been diverted. I'll call them back at my leisure (or not, depending who it is)

Other features on Advanced call manager offers allows me to set up different situations depending on the profile I've chosen on the phone, and I can also set it up depending on location too.

Overall advanced call manager gives me total control over the calls I receive, or choose not to receive. It's definitely on my top 10 applications list.

Nokia N Series Music range

If there's one thing that's certain, the current 'big thing' in mobile technology convergence is adding a decent music player to a mobile phone. People wondered what the next steps for mobile phones would be. We got cameras. The networks wanted to cash in on MMS, but that never really took off. But taking pictures on a mobile phone? That's pretty much a normal thing these days.

The trend for improving cameras in phones continues. And now the target is digital music. Nokia will point out that all their recent phones were music capable. From the 6230i onwards, a decent music player has been avaialble. The new N Series music phones focus on the music capabilities.


First, the New N91 music.
The first N91 offered an integrated 4GB hard drive. The new N91 music has dispensed with this. And replaced it with an amazing 8GB hard drive, offering capacity for up to 6,000 songs.

The N91 music offers dedicated music keys, synchronisation with Windows media player& bluetooth connectivity support.

N73 music
With memory cards of up to 2GB available, the N73 has capacity for up to 1,000 songs. The N73 music has integrated stereo speakers, and synchronises seamlessly with windows media player. With support for MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ & WMA you can choose how you take your music with you.


N70 music
Finally, in the 'new' N Series music range is the N70. The N70 uses the DV RS-MMC memory card format. This offers capacity of up to 1GB. The N70 is not a new handset, but has been given the same colour change as the previous two handsets (all now available in a rather cool looking black)

Not much excitement on the N Series music phones. Sure, the N91 with an 8GB hard drive is a nice touch, and seeing the N73 in black looks good, but the N70? Good phone no doubt but I would have hoped for a bit more than recycling an old handset.

Nokia N75

Another of the new handsets announced from Nokia this week in the N Series range. The N75 is the smallest N Series handset to date.

The N75 incorporates a 2.0 megapixel camera with LED flash and 16 x digital zoom and an advanced music player, has 3G connectivity and has Nokia's new web browser, all inside a slim clamshell style phone.

The music player supports the following formats: MP3, M4A, AAC, AAC+ and WMA. On the outside of the phone you find keys that allow you to control the music player with the phone shut. With the N75 attached to a PC, one touch of the music key acts as an instant link to stored music. The N75 also has an FM radio an built in stereo speakers.

The main screen of the N75 is a 2.4" QVGA screen with 16 million colours. Offers an excellent view screen for the 2.0 megapixel camera.

Doubling up as a mini TV screen, the N75 offers MPEG-4 video playback in widescreen mode. It is also possible to view streaming video in widescreen.

The N75 is initially expected to be available in the US from Q4 2006

New N95

It has been a busy week for Nokia N Series phones. Two new models announced, and three existing models given a bit of a spruce up.

First, the Nokia N95. Pictures of this handset were around on the net a few months ago, and the handset was rumoured to be the N83. Now official, the handset shows an impressive list of features.

The N95 really does live up to Nokia's billing for the phones, Multimedia computer. The N95 incorporates a 5 megapixel camera, has integrated GPS and supports the 3G high speed data upgrade, HSDPA. Don't get lost on the acronyms, all you need to know is 3G, with a bit of a turbo boost.

The N95 takes it's multimedia tag seriously. Take photos, view photos. Record and view videos. Listen to songs. Watch music videos. Play films. Play games. Browse the internet.

The N95 sports an innovative 2 way sliding mechanism. Open the handset in the normal way, and you will see a standard phone keypad. Slide in the opposite direction and you get access to the multimedia keypad, for controlling music and video playback.





With cameras, people are learning, megapixel isn't everything. A poor lens is as culpable for producing poor pictures as a low megapixel count. The N95 has no problems here, coming equipped with a Carl Zeiss lens. Capture print quality photos and near DVD quality videos. The photos and videos can easily be viewed on a compatible TV thanks to the N95 supporting UPnP.

Connection wise the N95, as well as being 3G & HSDPA compatible, also has Quadband, EDGE and W-LAN connectivity. The 2.4" QVGA screen offers 16 million colours, the handset has stereo speakers & a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The N95 has the new Nokia web browser built in, and offers a widescreen option for web browsing.

There is so much the N95 offers, it truly is a multimedia phone. It's expected the N95 will ship in Q1 2007 with a price of around €550

Nokia N Series

I've decided to start this blog as a bit of a personal indulgence. I'm a bit of a nut about mobile phones, and in particular I'm a fan of the Nokia N Series.

Nokia have been pushing the N Series as a brand for quite a while now, setting the handsets apart from the normal mobile phones. For Nokia's part, they are more than mobile phones. Talk to anyone from Nokia and they talk about mobile multimedia computers. You can see why they would say this, but it's a bit of a mouthful.

I currently use the Nokia N73. I work for a mobile phone retailer, and get to use and own a lot of mobile phones. The N73 is a very good handset, equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera, with Carl Zeiss lens, a large, clear 240 x 320 QVGA screen, built in email client, one of the best web browsers to be found on any phone in the market currently & many more features that I'll post about over the coming weeks.