Well, before I proceed on explaining you what to do, I must warn you that this article is for use by advanced users. Although, the changes (that will be made according to this article) are reversible, I advise caution.

Ok, many of you corporate network users are aware that there are proxies running on your networks to allow access to the internet. If you happen to be one of the those unlucky chums, this article is for you.

First up, we need to find out if you have a Wi-Fi access point for your network. If yes, then you need to find out the security access settings (if security is enabled) and second, if this is a DHCP network or you have to manually configure the settings?

Your choices will be (after you log on to the network):

1. If Wi-Fi access point is DHCP enabled, then your phone should automatically acquire an IP for use on the network and you are good to go.
2. If the Wi-Fi access point is not DHCP enabled, then you need to get the IP for your phone. (we will address the manual configuration later when we configure the proxy)

OK. So far so good. Now, if your phone got an IP automatically (as per pt. #1 above) then you would look to set your proxy settings. While people who need to assign an IP manually, need to follow an extra step as follows:

1. Open your Menu ( this is done by pressing the menu key on your N97 mini) and then to “Settings”
2. Under “Settings” Go to > “Connectivity” > “Destinations” and finally to “Internet”. (phew!!! that was looooong!!!)
3. Now, select the access point from the list that you want to configure. Let’s call it “CORP” (in this example).  Now, open CORP settings by clicking on it two times (like you double left-click on your PC).
4. You will now see the settings for the access point. That’s good. Now, click on options button at the bottom left of the screen and select “Advanced Settings” from the list. This will take you to the advanced settings.
5. In Advanced Settings, You will now see four settings, namely IPv4 settings, IPv6 settings, Proxy Server Address and Proxy port number.
6. For those whose phone already has an IP set by DHCP, please set the proxy server and proxy port here and then just click OK or Back and close the settings screen and return to the Home Screen and you are finished and ready to use your network at work. For those whose phone needs manual assigning of an IP, please go to next step.
7. For setting the phone’s network IP manually, click on the IPv4 settings option in the Advanced settings from step 5.
8. Now, click on Phone IP address and set the IP that you got from your network administrator. Click OK and then set the network DNS by going to DNS addresses and then setting your primary and secondary DNS (if any). Click on OK and exit and then return to Advanced settings menu and set your proxy address and proxy port if you haven’t already done so. That’s it!

There you go. No one told me how to do it. I found out and now I share the same info with you people. Hope you liked it! Please share your comments and don’t forget to tell your friends about this blog!

Ok. Well, technically this is day 4 but practically it is day 2 as I spent two days without being able to use the iPod (as I was busy with office work).

So, with that behind us, I would like to mention a couple of things I noticed in my iPod touch as compared to my N97 mini. Please note that the comparison that I am making between the two devices is limited solely to the UI and other app stuff.

This doesn’t consider the phone, GPS, and other such stuff not present on the iPod touch.

Well, moving on, I must say that most of the apps I use on my N97 mini are available for the iPhone OS also (and which I mentioned on my first post). Having said that, I must mention that I was impressed by the following on my iPod touch:

• Good internet experience when compared to the slow built-in browser of the N97 mini.
• Great touch response (again an area where Nokia does not deliver as expected in a high end device like the N97 mini)
• Good email client (Nokia’s email client is ok but compared to the iPod’s, it still needs to smoothen out some things). Not to mention that I could access my corporate email on the iPod (you see, my corporate email is not on exchange but third-party managed). Nokia’s Email service doesn’t support my work email as of now. (boo -hooo!!)
• Wi-Fi configuration is really great and also supports most of the diverse authentication protocols I have come across when I visit my project sites (Nokia are you listening on this one?). Even though my Nokia N97 mini has configuration options for a proxy but the authentication given to the phone doesn’t work well, it seems. I am still verifying many more options on the iPod and therefore more on this as days pass by.
• Good processor on the iPod makes it quite responsive (Nokia could have done a lot better if they had used a 600Mhz+ processor on the N97 mini themselves).
• Pinch zooming and other features are good.

Following is what I found quite bad and annoying and made me grateful to not have purchased an iPhone and instead proved my decision to stick to my N97 mini a worthy one. So, here’s a list of things that are bad with the iPod/iPhone:

• The first and the worst: Connect to iTunes to make your device functional and notify Apple of the activation. Not really acceptable, but do we have a choice? Nokia, you are superb…
• Landscape mode is only selectively available in selected apps. This means that there ain’t no landscape mode usage except for some areas like: Safari, Mail, Photos and Video Playback. Other than this, portrait mode is locked in! And they had been blaming Nokia for putting the N900 in a sort of landscape mode lock! Hypocrisy at play here, I guess.
• No good accessories support. I bought a dock which was advertised as “iPod touch compatible” but the stupid thing rejects is as “This accessory is not supported by this iPod”. Damn!
• No multi-tasking (should be solved when I get OS 4)
• No camera (Very very disappointing)
• No GPS (iPod uses the “known” Wi-Fi connection to know your current location) which means that the presence of maps is useless!
• No out of the box full featured apps or games (as opposed to what Nokia offers and has spoilt us with, over the years!)
• No good support (Everything’s covered under a “very limited” warranty as per Apple’s claim). When I asked the retailer at the time of purchase about support, he said I had to go to him and he would then ask for an email approval from the actual Apple service provider (in Riyadh) and then send my device to them by courier (after they approve!). Lousy, you say? Yep, very lousy. Compared to this, Nokia has got us covered (literally!).

Well, that’s a huge list of things I found in 2 days. More to come at a later date. See you then.

Finally, I managed to get myself a brand new iPod Touch 3G, 32GB version! Great thing. But the moment I purchased it, I have been thinking of installing all kinds of stuff on it. Already my music library has been transferred to it. Over 5 Gigs of Indian & English Songs. Plus, apps for Y! Messenger, Skype, Fring, Twitter and Facebook!

My iPod checklist for the days to come:

• Jailbreak
• Install more and more apps
• Configure Mail accounts
• Load my contacts
• More social apps
• Lot’s of games!
• Plus much more exploring to be done

Looks like my path’s cut out. iPod touch was something I had been looking forward to adding to my list of gadgets! Finally, iGot iPod. iPhone can wait until the time I can test all the functionalities of the iPhone OS and compare the same with Nokia’s Symbian OS s60 v5 which is running great on my Nokia N97 Mini.

Comparisons are inevitable. But all that can wait until later. I would be posting comparisons as soon as I am aware of the differences between the two softwares. And, see what all the fuss is about.

In the meatime, I need people to help me jailbreak my iPod touch with OS 3.1.3 installed (yea, I have been googling all day). Any suggestions guys?

Looks like finally we Nokia/Yahoo! users are in for some treat. As per the official blog post, Nokia and Yahoo! are partnering once again (they had previously partnered to offer Yahoo! Go on N series Handsets most notably the likes of N70, N95 and so on).

So, you must be wondering, what’s in it for us: the users? Here’s a brief from the post I would like to reproduce for you:

As part of the alliance Nokia will be the exclusive provider of Yahoo!’s maps and navigation services, branded as “powered by Ovi.” Nokia brings its ample experience in top-drawer, location-based products and maps to Yahoo!’s users. In turn, Yahoo! will become the exclusive global provider of Nokia’s Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services, branded as “powered by Yahoo!.” Yahoo! brings its expertise in world-class internet offerings to the table for Ovi users.

From what I see, this pact is a kind of “switching of services” pact between the two giants. Nokia’s Maps services would power Yahoo! Maps as “powered by Ovi Maps” and Ovi Mail/Chat would be run by Yahoo! in return (also to be credited as “Powered By Yahoo!”).

For us Nokia and Yahoo! users, we would definitely gain. Especially, the crowd which owns Nokia phones and use Yahoo! services.

I can’t wait to see the difference that this pact would bring to the overall user experience.

Both the companies are at a difficult juncture in their remarkable success paths. Nokia is facing an onslaught from the various wannabes and they are well equipped indeed (And, you thought being an industry leader was easy! Nokia should learn lessons in industry dominance from Intel), while Yahoo! has been struggling to expand its profits by focussing on areas where it holds expertise. (Fact: Yahoo! is still the most visited homepage on the internet today).

Let’s see what comes out of this exciting collaboration.

Links of Use:

• Yahoo! Yodel Anecdotal (Official Yahoo! Corporate blog)
• Nokia Conversations (Official Nokia Blog)

In the recent open letter about flash written by Steve Jobs, he has mentioned several reasons highlighting “deficiencies” in Flash that has kept them from supporting the technology on their iPhone, iPod or iPad or whatever “i-products” they have.

One of the reasons sighted by Jobs to keep it out of iPhone is the battery hungry nature of Flash, which ironically runs on my Nokia 97 mini without using much juice! (as claimed by Jobs)

Another reason sighted by the so called openness loving leader of Apple is that Flash is 100% proprietary and is a closed system, incidentally Apple itself practices questionable policies with regards to the total control on it’s own products. (cases where developers were barred access to the App Store highlight this).

Talk about openness! Talk about hypocrisy! Steve Jobs, sir, you have achieved dizzy heights in both.

The real reason behind barring Flash from iPhone OS based devices could be that Apple itself would loose a lot of the revenue currently being generated from the App Store (Apple gets a 30% cut from all sales) as it’s a lot easier to develop games and run videos based on it. Plus, there’s a whole bunch of things you could do with Flash.

Be brave, Mr. Jobs, and accept your product’s closed nature. Accept that you fear loosing out on that extra cash that you are extracting from the hapless developers!

Even Microsoft has a few things to learn from you I guess. Nokia has a few thing of it’s own to learn from your so called practices.

I hope the consumers take notice of this and get smart. Think before you choose products from such a company.

Well, just as I delve further into the depth of apps & more on my N97 mini, I found some things not really cool. And, the thing that’s been bothering me the most since the time I started using the device.

It’s none other than the sweet Ovi Store. Nokia’s answer to Apple’s App Store (for the iPhone and iPod). Although I like the simplicity and the evolution of the store which is incorporating user-friendly features and more, the connectivity prompt is the big issue here.

Each time you open Ovi you get a prompt to connect to the internet and allows you to select a method from the numerous displayed in the list.

I know you must be thinking that this is normal behavior but it’s not. I have already set the default connection setting to “Ask before connecting” and that is why this prompt keeps asking me. But the problem here is that the prompt never displays the WiFi connection in the prompt. I have set the priority for WiFi at the top to make sure that I do not use the provider’s connection and incur heavy billing!

Coming back to the prompt, it keeps asking you (atleast 3-4 times) for a connection choice. Well, the choices are limited to all kinds of network connectivity but no WiFi prompt here.

However, there is a workaround (for the time being) that I found. Each time the app prompts you for choosing the displayed access point (which will not be the wi-fi access point), simply click on the “Use another access point” and wait for clicking through another 3 prompts.

This is Ovi Store. Good, easy but naggy. Nagging for a connection choice even though you already selected one. Hope Nokia take note of this and relieves us of the nags once and for all and let us enjoy the store.

Got a sparkling new Nokia N97 Mini mobile two days ago. Before I continue this article, I must say one thing: this phone’s good. I was thinking and even planning to buy an iPhone but a brand new one seemed out of budget and I was not ready to settle for a used one. Solution: the N97 Mini. The N97 itself is a big boy and although there wasn’t a great difference in price between the mini and the N97, the compact size of the mini did matter for me.

The box did not have much to offer (when compared to the N97). The following things came with the mobile:

• Micro USB Charger
• Micro USB Data Cable
• Integrated Headset with music controls
• CD-ROM containing Ovi Suite
• User manuals
• Quick start guide

The following deserved to be included with the phone of the category of the mini:

• Leather case
• charger conversion pin (for use with the old chargers)
• Stylus
• Hand strap

Sigh! They forgot to include the above. I miss them. Ever so that I have been spoiled by Nokia when they shipped the 5800 with some great items (including some of those mentioned above).

My first impression from the N97 mini is that the phone has great build quality (when compared to the N97) and has the QWERTY keyboard coupled with a resistive touch screen.

The phone runs on Symbian S60 5th Edition OS which is a touch oriented UI. The phone, as of March 2010, is being offered with free for life navigation with Nokia Maps. Now THAT is the surprise package! Free navigation for life is what I was looking for. Nokia finally has come to it’s senses and given the users what they should have been offered long ago.

Anyway, apart from the exterior finish quality, I am impressed with marked improvements in the UI since the 5th edition was first launched with the 5800 XpressMusic. Kinetic scrolling makes you feel good. The UI could use more enhancements as far as user experience is concerned, though.

On the flip side, some settings are difficult to find or simply tricky. I was puzzled with how to copy my SIM contacts to the phone!

On the whole, I think I am pretty much happy with the phone and hope you also like it. Try the phone and I know you will never dare to be seen without it.

The N97 Mini: Your partner on the Go!

Useful links for you:

• Nokia N97 Mini Official Product Page
• Nokia N97 Mini Review at GSMArena

2009 is truly the year of innovation for the touchscreen based phones. In 2007, Apple set in motion a trend that many ignored. By introducing the ground breaking (well, not exactly) iPhone, Apple set in motion a renewed mass interest in touchscreen phones which until then were considered only novelty toys.

By 2008, rivals had realised the importance of the iPhone and Apple itself introduced a better version iPhone 3G. By end of 2008, the world’s no. 1 phone maker, Nokia, announced the 5800 XpressMusic which gave a stamp of legitimacy to the iPhone’s brand of phonomics.

Following Nokia, other makers introduced their own versions of iPhone beater phones. SonyEriccsson has released the Xperia X1, BlackBerry the Storm, Samsung the Omnia and HTC has introduced the Touch HD.

So, if you plan to checkout which phone is the best for you, here’s an article that compares the leading non-iPhone touchscreen phones on the market and gives you a lowdown of the features available with each phone. It is, then, for you to decide which one suits you the best.

I already have the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic for my entertainment . Great phone for me!

So, after returning from my vacation in India (4th Dec to 20th Jan), I came back to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As I was preparing to leave India, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic was launched there. Each day for almost 10 days in a row, I could listen to non-stop ads for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic on Radio Mirchi (93.5 FM), I was thinking at the back of my mind to atleast check that phone out once I landed in Jeddah.

So, the first thing I did on the very first weekend in Jeddah, I visited the nearest dealer on Palestine Street and asked for the Nokia 5800. To my (pleasant) surprise, the salesman said they had sold out. So, I visited the next outlet of the same dealer and he also told me of the phone being sold out. This handset was selling like hot cakes and I was afraid (and became even more determined to purchase it rather than see it!) that I might not see it for the whole of January.

Anyway, I decided to call it a day after visiting about 10 dealer shops and not being able to find a single piece to look at.

So, on the following Sunday, I glanced an ad for a hypermarket (HyperPanda) advertising the 5800 at a very exclusive price valid for 4 days. I decided to visit the market with a friend. Even though I expected to return empty handed, I found my phone. And I asked him to pack it up in about 5 minutes! That’s all the time I took to order that phone!

So, I am now the proud owner of a great phone; the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic! The phone came with 100 preloaded songs (both English and Arabic). I really missed out on purchasing the phone in India since that would have brought me a collection of 200 songs (English & Hindi).

So, now my collection of phones include (newest first): Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N73 Music Edition.

Before anybody says anything, I will tell you that all these phone are with my family. I have with me the 5800 and the N81 at the moment. Both are excellent phones. I am on the look out for a free GPS navigation software for the 5800. So, if you happen to have any info regarding this, please drop your comments.

Nokia has finally unveiled it’s much touted iPhone rival device earlier code-named the ‘Tube’. The new device is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The phone has a 3.2″ touchscreen device and is intended to be more of a multimedia device as is evident with it’s positioning (under the XpressMusic brand) in Nokia’s lineup.