The 81-day experiment

Day #65 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 in summary

Today was the last day for the Nokia E62 from Cingular. Tomorrow I will start using a new device and the 81-day-experiment continues. So it is time to summarize my experience with the Nokia E62 from Cingular.

The Nokia E62 is a “business” device with some multi-media

 The full QWERTY keyboard, the e-mail, web browsing, PDA functions, and office applications (including the ability to edit documents), combined with the fact that it does NOT have a camera, make the Nokia E62 from Cingular a true business device (you can refer to day #47 on September 29, 2006, for additional comments on the smartphone cameras and related security concerns in the business world).

In addition however, the Nokia E62 offers the music and video playing capabilities as well as the recorder to record voice notes and save them or e-mail them. These additional multi-media capabilities are definitely a plus (for more details about the voice recording and sound quality, please refer to day #62 on October 14, 2006).

How about usability?

In terms of navigation, at the high level, the device offers nicely streamlined navigational capabilities. The joystick, the menu key, and the e-mail key, together with the phone keys and the right and left selection keys, make up what I would describe as a straightforward and intuitive interface.

However when I got into the details of the user interface, and started to do more than just navigating, I felt that there were too many steps involved when accomplishing certain tasks. At some points, I wished I wasn’t being prompted yet one more time to make a selection or confirm a previously made selection. This aspect of the device (too many steps involved) reminded me of the Treo 700w which I used earlier in the 81-day-experiment.

Another factor is that the device is slow and occasionally, you can't tell if it is "stuck" or still doing something. This is an issue I had with the T-Mobil MDA which I also used earlier in the 81-day-experiment. I had to reset (reboot) the device once, which also happened with the Treo 700p and T-Mobile MDA.

Final thoughts on the Nokia E62 and the Symbian OS

Overall, the way I would describe the Nokia E62 and the Symbian OS is that they have the right idea, and the implementation still needs some work. When the issues I mentioned above are addressed, this can become a fine device. It reminded me a bit of the Treo 600 which has been significantly improved with the Treo 650 and most recently the Treo 700p (the Palm Version). The same is possible with the Nokia E62.

Tomorrow, a new day, a new device!

Day #64 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62, tethering, e-mail, attachments, technical support

When we use technology, we generally have our wishes on how technology can be improved (we also wish that technology providers would listen more). This is the post I ran across recently by David Pogue from the New York Times where David listed some of his readers suggestions for what cell phones should do:

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/11pogues-posts-5/

I am sure you have your own wishes too about the smartphone you are using, and you probably have a lot more to say about it. If you want to share your experience on the 81-day-experiment, you can write to me at [email protected] to get the necessary information.

Technical support call still going

I called Cingular technical support to try to resolve some of the outstanding issues but without much progress yet. I was transferred to the next level support, and then was told that they will call me back after they research the issues further.

The issues I am dealing with relate to a) “tethering” (which means using the Nokia E62 as a modem for my laptop), b) e-mail not being pushed automatically to the device, and c) the Excel attachment error I got earlier.

The technical support team at Cingular however has been very responsive and is keeping me updated on the status of the issues. It is also understandable that when dealing with a new device (the Nokia E62 was just introduced recently to the U.S.), research and issue resolution can take longer.

Tethering with the Nokia E62

It seems that the problem is that this is a feature that needs to be enabled which may require that I switch to a different data plan. In addition, it seems that new drivers are available. So once it is determine which data plan would work and which drivers are necessary, I should be on the way, and able to use the Nokia E62 as a modem for my laptop.

E-mail connecting and disconnecting

Another outstanding technical support issue relates to e-mail. Even though I did enable the BlackBerry Connect option, my e-mail is not being “pushed” to the Nokia E62. I still have to manually retrieve it. When I retrieve e-mail, the device needs to connect (which takes a few seconds), and then when I leave the e-mail application, it needs to disconnect.

It seems that there are still some settings to be made on the Cingular/BlackBerry website relating to the device PIN number and IMEI number. So this is in the process of being done.

More e-mail attachments on the Nokia E62

When I opened this PDF attachment, I was able to zoom, review the content, and e-mail it to a colleague easily. Opening a PowerPoint presentation was just as easy. You can even add new slides and edit content (I am not sure if I would want to edit a presentation on the small screen under normal conditions, but in case of emergency, I know that I have this option). Word attachments worked just as well and Excel workbooks worked but with a few caveats.

Excel Attachments on the Nokia E62

Today’s Excel attachment gave me a warning (something about the content type, and that I may not be able to save it properly) but then the workbook opened successfully and I was able to view the content and navigate to different worksheets. The previous Excel attachment that I tried to open earlier did not open at all (see day #61 on October 13, 2006). The technical support rep today suggested that it may be that the attachment had some Macros which caused the problem.

Tomorrow the Nokia E62 wrap up

Tomorrow is the last day of the Nokia E62 before I switch to yet another device. So I will be summarizing my experience with the Nokia E62 and getting ready to the next device.

Day #63 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 and Cingula network, open studios in SF

This weekend is one of the Open Studios weekends in San Francisco where artists open their studios to the public (see additional pictures below). It was a nice break from technology even though the Nokia E62 did make the tour with me, and I was able to handle a few calls and a few e-mails along the way.

What I noticed today is that the cell phone reception was better than before (the last few years I have been in the city). As I indicated earlier in the 81-day-experiment, we have many spots in San Francisco where cell phone reception is weak or even unavailable. There were several blocks in my old neighborhood with no signal at all (I was using the GSM network at that time, which is the network used by Cingular and T-Mobile).  Today, the Nokia E62 performed well in these same spots. This is good news for GSM users.

For more information on how some of the Verizon smartphones performed in San Francisco, you can refer to the section “Verizon’s network passes my San Francisco reception test” which is day #7 on August 20, 2006 in the 81-day-experiment. Verizon uses the CDMA network (same one used by Sprint).

More pictures from the San Francisco Open Studios

Here are some additional pictures from Project Three at 2111 Mission Street, Suite 405 (the artists being Mathew Frederick (www.mjfrederickart.com) and Sidnea D’Amico (www.sidneadamico.com).

Day #62 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 appplications, recorder

It is the weekend after all, and some golfing is in order. This is not an outdoor golf course though (see picture on left), it is the golf course on the Nokia E62. For those golf addicts on the go, the Golf Pro 2 on the Nokia E62 comes to the rescue.

Resetting the Nokia E62

I had to reset the device today. It seems that after yesterday’s browser error and attachment error, e-mail was no longer responsive. Resetting the device seems to have done the trick and the Nokia E62 is back to normal. The Nokia E62 is not the only device that I had to reset during the 81-day-experiment so far. I had to do this with the Treo 700p and the T-Mobile MDA.

The Nokia E62 Applications

In addition to the standard applications (Phone, E-mail, Address Book, Calendar, and Notes) and the office applications (Documents, Sheets, and Presentations applications, which allow you to view and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations that are compatible with Microsoft Office) the Nokia E62 comes with a number of additional applications. These include the Recorder (voice recorder), the File Manager, Instant Messenger, Music Player, Real Player, Flash Player, and many others. Today, I got the opportunity to use the Voice Recorder.

Voice Recorder

Today, I used the Nokia E62 Recorder application to record a voice note and e-mail it. I was surprised with the quality of the recording (it was higher than what you would expect from a smartphone). I have recorded voice notes with some of the previous devices in the 81-day-experiment, but I don’t remember getting such a high quality sound.

The Recorder comes in handy when you are in crowded place and it is difficult to “type” a message or a note, or when you are in motion (walking or driving).

On the topic of driving, I talked about “driver friendly smartphones” when I was using the BlackBerry Pearl. If you’re interested in more insights relating to this topic, you can refer to Day #35 on September 17, 2006. And if you’re interested in learning more about the dangers of driving and typing, you can refer to the recent article titled “Danger: Drivers who type” by Kimra McPherson, from the Mercury News, which was posted on October 11, 2006 at: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15729444.htm (The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time).

Day #61 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62, web browsing, attachments, impressions

Even though today was mostly an office day, and the Nokia E62 didn’t get used as much, I still managed to take it with me to a lunch meeting, and do some e-mails and Web browsing on the way.

Browsing the Web with the Nokia E62

Browsing has been relatively successful even thought a bit slow on the Nokia E62. However, when it came to performing the more challenging test (filling out the same survey form that I used with the previous devices in the 81-day-experiment), the results were not as positive. I was able to enter the user name and password and login to the survey page, but when I tried to open the page, I got an error indicating that JavaScript needs to be enabled. I checked the settings and found out JavaScript is already enabled. I tried to load the survey form again, but with the same outcome.

Viewing attachments on the Nokia E62

When I got an e-mail with an attachment, and tried to open the attachment which happened to be an Excel workbook, I got a warning message indicating that the workbook contains some unknown data type.

Technical support call coming soon

It seems that some further optimization of the browser and e-mail settings is needed, and this will be the topic of a technical support call soon. This will be the first technical support call to Cingular regarding the Nokia E62.

Impressions so far

It is too early to make any conclusions yet but so far the Nokia E62 reminds me of the Treo 700w when it comes to the “few extra steps” needed to perform certain functions (see the steps involved in creating and saving a document on day #60--October 12, 2006) and of the T-Mobile MDA when it comes to being a little slow and not as responsive (the extra second or two it takes to move between applications and during text entry).

On the more positive side, the interface consisting the joystick and the shortcuts keys that are close by are straightforward and easy to use (see the user interface pictures and description on day #59--October 11, 2006). In addition, the Nokia E62 offers a rich set of applications which we will be getting into in more details in the next few days.

Day #60 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62, selecting a device, more usability

The metro ride to a meeting downtown San Francisco today took longer than expected. In addition, it was “standing room only”, which made me realize that this is a situation where a “one-hand” smartphone could be useful (a smartphone that can be fully operated with one hand). While this may not be a big deal for many users, for some, it may be something to consider. Similar situations may be when driving, or walking with a purse or a brief case.

Be careful with driving though! If you haven’t seen the article titled “Danger: Drivers who type” by Kimra McPherson, from the Mercury News, which was posted on October 11, 2006, you can check it out at: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15729444.htm (The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time).

The Nokia E62 is NOT a one-hand smartphone for a couple of reasons: First its size and second its QWERTY keyboard. Actually, most of the devices that I used so far in the 81-day-experiment do not qualify as one-hand smartphones. The only true one-hand smartphone is the BlackBerry Pearl with its smaller size, small keypad, and SureType™ predictive typing technology (see day #28 to day #36 and the BlackBerry Pearl in 6 Minutes demo video at Google Video ).

Choosing a handheld device

Before I report my observations about the Nokia E62 today, here are a few handheld related notes from today’s activities. One of my clients has chosen to go with a simple electronic organizer (The Sharp OZ-590A Organizer) instead of joining the smartphones crowd. Even though she has an executive position at a large organization (and therefore a demanding schedule and dealing with a large volume of data), she wanted to a) keep her cell phone and organizer separate, b) have her contacts and calendar with her when she is on the go, c) easily synch with her desktop, and d) not have to worry about battery life. The Sharp OZ-590A seems to fit these needs well.

We still decided to go through the handheld devices that I used during the 81-day-experiment so far (the Treo 700p, Treo 700w, Motorola Q, BlackBerry Pearl, T-Mobile MDA, and BlackBerry 8700), and do a little “usability test” in which she experimented with each of the devices to see how they fit her style. This “usability test” (putting your hands on the devices and trying to perform the tasks that you expect to perform in real life) is something I recommend for everyone to do before making the final decision on which smartphone to get. The usability test helped my client confirm that the Sharp organizer is the best choice for her right now, and gave her some insights into the other devices in case she considers combining her cell phone and organizer in the future.

The are two points to be made here, one is that smartphones are not for everyone (it all depends on what your needs are), and the other is that it is necessary to experiment with the smartphones that you are considering, and perform your own “usability test” before deciding on a smartphone.

The Nokia E62 today

The Nokia E62 today kept me well connected. E-mail, Web browsing, phone, and taking notes, all came in handy and in this order. Typing on the QWERTY keyboard is relatively easy and as I mentioned yesterday, the main navigation, with the easily available shortcut keys, makes sense. However, there are a couple of areas that are worth commenting on.

The Nokia E62 seems to be slow

Moving between screens and applications seem to take an extra second or two, and sometimes more. When you are in the middle of a series of steps, and then suddenly you have to stop and wait for a bit, this interrupts your flow and makes the device seem slow. I have experienced this when moving between applications and screens, and sometimes during text entry.

More steps than what you would expect

I created a new document on the Nokia E62 today. After typing the content of my document, I wanted to save it. To save the document, I selected the Options key (in this case the left selection key, see picture on the left), then had to scroll down to the Saving Options menu item, which opened a sub-menu allowing me to “save as” or “save as a template”. I selected “save as” and the “save as” screen opened up.

The “save as” screen had the default document name as “Document” and the default location undefined. So I typed the document name, and then clicked on location (by pressing the joystick) to select the folder where I want to save the document.

When I clicked on location, I got a list of the folders, and then when I clicked on a folder, I got one more prompt asking me to confirm the move of the file to the folder I just selected. Now I am back to the “save as” screen, in which I had to select the Options key again, and then select Save from the popup menu.

It still remains to be seen if some of the above steps can be avoided by defining some defaults or enabling some settings, but for now, these are the steps I had to go through.

Day #59 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 usability, creating documents

When the Nokia E62 started to ring in the middle of the presentation that I was attending this evening, I had to quickly figure out how to mute it. That wasn’t easy though. Luckily I discovered the volume up and volume down keys on the side of the device, and I was able to quickly turn the volume all the way down (these are the embarrassing moments that you have to live with when you switch to a new device every 9 days).

The user interface of the Nokia E62

The Nokia E62 from Cingular has some nice shortcut keys that get you easily to the desired places.

First of all the navigation (moving and selecting items in folders, in menus, and in lists) is done with the joystick which is in a way similar to the 5-way navigation key in the Treo 700p, Treo 700w, and the Motorola Q. The Nokia E62 does not have a stylus and a touch screen and it does not have a trackwheel.

The menu key is located on the left side of the joystick and this is how you access the list of applications and settings that are available to you. The e-mail key is located on the right side of the joystick and this is how you access the e-mail application. The e-mail key takes you to the list of e-mail messages which allows you to read, reply, compose, as well as organize messages. I find myself using the menu and e-mail keys quite often. So having them easily accessible right next to the joystick is a good thing.

The left and right selection keys perform the functions that are listed on the screen right above them. For instance, when applicable, on the lower left side of the screen, you may see “Continue”, and on the lower right side, you may see “Cancel”. In this case, pressing the left selection key will continue whatever it is you’re trying to execute, and if you press the right selection key, this will cancel the action.

Finally, the phone and disconnect keys are also close by and they get you to the phone functions quickly.

Creating a document on the Nokia E62

On Day #43 of the 81-day-experiment, when I was waiting in line at London Heathrow, and using the T-Mobile MDA at the time, I was able to successfully use Word Mobile on the T-Mobile MDA to create a new document and capture some important observations. This was a great way to leverage the waiting time and turn it into productive time. Even though I wasn’t a fan of composing and editing documents on the small screen and small keyboards of smartphones, the London Heathrow experience made me realize that there are situations where composing or editing documents on smpartphones can be useful.

Today, I ventured into creating a document on the Nokia E62 in order to capture some ideas while I was on the train. I pressed the menu key, then selected the Office folder, and then selected the Documents application. I started a new document and captured some thoughts and action items and then saved them on the device in the documents folder.

I even decided to e-mail the newly created document to myself, to see what format will the document arrive in. It did arrive with the “.doc” extension, and when I opened it, it opened up in MS Word. Not bad!

Day #58 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 out-of-the-box, fully connected

The Nokia E62 from Cingular is already fully functional. It is sending and receiving e-mail. It is synchronized with my Outlook data, so all my contacts, calendar entries, tasks, and notes are already on it. It is making and receiving phone calls. It is browsing the internet. What else can I ask for?

Compared to most of the devices I have used so far in the 81-day-experiment, this is a record time (most devices took an extra day or two to get them fully functional which included in many cases a call to technical support).

However don’t be mislead. The process of getting e-mail working and getting synchronization up and running was quite involved. There were many steps involved, and in some cases, it wasn’t clear to me if the steps completed successfully. Some leap of faith was necessary to continue with the process even without being certain that I was on the right track.

When installing the desktop software (the Nokia PC Suite) and connecting the device to the laptop, there were some moments of doubt as well. At some point, and after Windows detected the Nokia E62 which I connected to the USB port, Windows installed some drivers and prompted me to reboot the computer, while the Nokia PC Suite hourglass is still on--as if it was still waiting for something to happen. So what do you do in this case? Reboot or keep waiting?

Having said all that, the device is fully functional now and ready for this week’s activities. Tomorrow will be a new day and I will be reporting my observations relating to the device in action.

Day #57 of the 81-day experiment, the Nokia E62 purchase

6 devices down and 3 devices to go. So far I have used the Treo 700p, Treo 700w, Motorola Q, BlackBerry Pearl, T-Mobile MDA, and BlackBerry 8700, for 9 days each. When deciding on the next device, my main criteria was to try something different. The Nokia E62 from Cingular seems to fit this theme of being different quite well.

The Nokia E62 from Cingular

It is a new manufacturer (Nokia), a new provider that I haven’t used in the 81-day-experiment yet (Cingular), and a new operating system (Symbian). And the device is a new device that was just introduced in the U.S. market. I have seen it for the first time in London the week before last, and I have seen it in Germany last week, and it is now available in the U.S., and it is on my desk and ready for the next adventure in the 81-day-experiment.

The Nokia E62 purchase

The device listed for $199 and you get a $50 rebate which makes it one of the least expensive devices I have used so far. The voice plan for 500 minutes was about $40/month and the data plan was about $30/month (unlimited) with an additional $5/month for text messaging. The data plan I selected is the BlackBerry Connect which provides the “push” e-mail capability. There are other options such as the Good Technology solution which also provides the “push” e-mail capability (I might later give this solution a try as well).

The Nokia E62 first impressions

The device offers the capabilities that you expect in a smartphone (phone, e-mail, text messaging, contacts, calendar, tasks, viewing and editing documents, Internet browsing, and more). It uses the Cingular GSM/GPRS/EDGET network. The device does not have a camera which makes is more of a business device than a social or multi-media device (you can refer to day #47 for additional comments on the smartphone cameras and related security concerns in the business world).

The  Nokia E62 runs the Symbian operating system. I haven’t used Symbian before, so I am curious about the learning curve, and also how it compares with the Palm OS, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile operating systems we have seen so far in the 81-day-experiment.

In terms of form factor, the device reminds me of the Motorola Q and the HP iPAQ. It is a little more “boxy-looking” and a little larger than the Motorola Q. It does offer the full QWERTY keyboard, which explains its size.

Tomorrow, the Nokia E62 will be out of the box, and I will be starting to configure it, and getting it ready for the next 9 days.

Adding your “experiment” to the 81-day-experiment

If you are using one of the devices that I have used so far in the 81-day-experiment, I would like to give you the opportunity to share your “experience” with the device on the 81-day-experiment blog. If you are interested in doing so, please e-mail me at [email protected] and I will send you the necessary information.