Cell Adictus

Nokia E71x to launch on 4 May, check out all the E71x guides

The last we heard, the Nokia E71x was coming to AT&T in April or May for $99.99 after rebate and contract. I had a tipster send in some valid looking information that shows a 4 May launch date so let’s go with that for now. I also received several PDF documents for the E71x that should answer just about every question you have about the device before you get it into your hands.

PDF documents on the AT&T Nokia E71x:

• NokiaE71xDatasheet
• Nokia E71x Getting Started Guide
• Nokia E71x User Guide
• Nokia E71x FAQs
• Nokia E71x Tips and Tricks
• Nokia E71x Job Aid (2-page document that looks to assist AT&T employees)

There is some great information in these documents and I may just have to swing by my AT&T store to pick one of these up. This purchase could also help to support getting more Nokia S60 devices here in the US, right? I am always looking for ways to justify my purchase

I spent some time with the E71x at CTIA and think it should do well when people see it in the store next to all the other forward facing QWERTY devices. The sleek black stainless steel design and performance should bring a few people to the S60 platform.

Review: Nokia Extra Power DC-11 is the coolest charging pack around

People like me who live on their mobile phones need a source of power to keep us going longer than a day (or two if you have an E71 or E75). All of my Nokia devices have removable batteries, but I don’t have spares for all of them so I look to other sources. In the past I have used an older model Proporta Universal Charger, but I also had to carry a USB charging cable to connect to my devices. While at CTIA a couple of weeks ago I was given a fabulous new charging solution I wanted to tell you about. The Nokia Extra Power DC-11 unit does not appear to be available on the Nokia USA site and in my searches it actually looks to have very limited availability. I saw it on the eXpansys site for about $63, but don’t see it anywhere else right now.

The cables and charging port are found along the sides and ends. Nothing but the labeling info is found on the bottom. On the top you will find a small bright LED light that will flash white while the DC-11 is charging and glow white when it is topped off. There is also a small button below the light and after connecting your Nokia device (or other device that charges via microUSB) you need to press the button to “turn on” the charging unit. The light will flash on and off while charging up your device. When your device is fully charged, the light will go off and newer devices (like my 5800 and E75) will have a pop-up appear telling you to unplug the charger. Did I mention that the device is only 0.43 inches thick and faced in brushed aluminum so it feels fantastic in your hand and easily slips into a pocket?

The Nokia Extra Power device has a 1500 mAh battery to provide you with up to one full charge for your mobile phone. You can actually use it to charge up two devices at the same time, but you will not get two full complete charges out of the unit. What makes this a slick solution is that it has two 4.45 inch cables with a standard Nokia 2mm male connector on one and a microUSB male end on the other. These two cables and connectors wrap around the length of the DC-11 and slide into the ends securely for seamless travel position.

You need to connect a Nokia 2mm charger to the DC-11 to charge it up. You can actually connect a charger to top up the DC-11 and then connect your two devices to the cables and charge up all three at the same time. Recharging of the DC-11 can be about 2 hours and 45 minutes from empty to full. There is no standard USB cable that you could use to charge it up, which may be something to consider in the future if people find access to a USB port is more common than having a Nokia charger. I have Nokia chargers at home and work so I am perfectly happy with the DC-11 design.

Now, if you do want to charge up the DC-11 via USB you can pick up the Nokia CA-100 USB charger. My buddy Rafe gave one of these to me back in December and I use it with a USB adapter to charge up my phones in my car. It has a USB port one end and a 2mm plug on the other with a black plastic piece that lets you close everything up nice and tight for travel. The CA-100 is available on the Nokia USA site for $34.95, which seems quite expensive to me for such a basic accessory. I would love to see these included in the retail packaging when you purchased a device and personally I would like one of these rather than more wall or travel chargers.

Best of SPE, 12 April 2009

Do you have post-CTIA-syndrome? Feel like all the hot new smartphone news happened two weeks ago and not much has happened since? Wondering if you have the strength to make it through another day without a pithy overview of everything that happened in the smartphone world last week? Easter feast have you feeling too lazy to do anything but peruse enough smartphone news to fill out a short novella?

Fret not, our best of SPE news roundup has you covered. Get clicking!

Android Central

SPE Roundtable Podcast 04: CTIA Wireless 2009 Recap!

I don't think Dieter and I are quite fully recovered from our CTIA Wireless experience in Vegas last week, but thankfully podcasting isn't that difficult!! To debrief from the events, the Smartphone Experts crew got on the Skype-waves last night and recorded up a Special Edition CTIA Wireless 2009 show. There's a little something for everyone in this episode. Take a listen. We hope you enjoy. Show notes after the jump!

read more

CrackBerry.com’s feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. SPE Roundtable Podcast 04: CTIA Wireless 2009 Recap!

Smartphone Experts Roundtable Podcast #4 — CTIA 2009

Join Dieter, Kevin, Rene, and Phil as they discuss CTIA and the other big news coming out of the smartphone world in the past few weeks.

• Download it directly with this link
• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe directly to the Podcast feed with your favorite Podcatcher here
• Listen to it here with the player above

Show notes after the break.

• Phil Nickinson for WMExperts
• Rene Ritchie for The iPhone Blog
• Kevin Michaluk for CrackBerry.com
• and Dieter Bohn for PreCentral.net

WMExperts

• Snap! Hands-On Impressions, Video of the HTC Snap
• Marketplace Microsoft gives more marketplace details! Themes!, Upgrades to 6.5!
• Propel Pro Hands-on: Samsung Propel Pro

PreCentral.net

• Classic Classic PalmOS Emulator: Video Walkthrough
• SDK opened up a bit Web 2.0 Expo: Palm Reaches Out to Developers – Extends Invite to Apply for Early Access Program<
• Mojo Messaging Mojo Messaging Service for webOS: More than Just Push

CrackBerry.com

• App World Goes Live – http://crackberry.com/blackberry-app-world-goes-live
• Storm Discontinued – http://crackberry.com/blackberry-storm-officially-discontinued
• BlackBerry gets Shazam – http://crackberry.com/shazam-blackberry-app-world-surprise

The iPhone Blog

• Next Gen iPhone Taking Shape: 3.5mp camera, video recording, voice control, digital compass, and the leaks just keep on coming!
• Google Giveth Gmail and Gcal Goodness: New WebApps leverage advanced WebKit features
• (Google Voice Mobile App: looks pretty sweet as well)
• Music Prices Go Variable: iTunes changes to tiered music single pricing, but so does Amazon MP3 and Walmart.
• AT&T Cracking Down on iPhone users without iPhone 3G plans?

Nokia Experts

• Nokia E71x
• CTIA 09: Nokia release Point & Find beta for camera-enabled devices

Android Central

• Not big at CTIA — again! — what gives?

Credits

Special thanks to gmz for the song Parametaphoriquement, licensed under the Creative Commons at CCMixter.org

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Smartphone Experts Roundtable Podcast #4 — CTIA 2009

iPhone, Skype, and Dumb Pipes: The Future of Cell Carriers

Macworld has a great article up today about the arrival of Skype on the iPhone (and soon the BlackBerry) and what the widespread availability of VoIP (voice over IP) clients — which eschew the traditional phone lines to send talk via data instead — means for cell providers like AT&T, Verizon, O2, Rogers, etc. who’ve made tons of traditional money billing us all by the minute.

One common future seen for cell companies is that of “dumb pipes” — like DSL or cable companies that provide bandwidth but few if any premium services. Verizon shows how far (and foolish) they’ll go to avoid that fate:

“We have moved away from unlimited data plans,” Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam said at a question-and-answer session at CTIA. “The excitement of an over-the-top application like (Skype) in an unlimited environment means one thing to a customer. In an environment where you’re paying for every byte, that means something totally different.”

I wonder, tongue only partially in cheek, if McAdam used to work for the music or movie industry? Our own editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, freshly returned from CTIA shared his thoughts:

Dear Verizon: You always become what you most fear. To wit: dumb pipes. Love, the inevitable.

Sounds good to me. Let’s make a deal, carriers. You supply the bandwidth, keep the bits open and neutral, and I’ll pay for the service same way I pay for my electricity and plug in whatever gadget I want. Deal?

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility, the iPhone’s US carrier, seems almost on a page with that already:

“The way the world is going, it’ll just be, ‘How much data do you want to buy?’ and you do whatever you want over that data.”

Check out the complete article at Macworld for more, and let us know what future you want for your data below…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone, Skype, and Dumb Pipes: The Future of Cell Carriers

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