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This page is for anyone thinking of migrating to the Nokia
6630 with a view to using it as their main smartphone, communications and
entertainment device.
 Treat Yourself
If you're in any way serious about using a
Nokia 6600 (or any other Symbian smartphone) as a business and productivity
tool, treat yourself to a Bluetooth keyboard. The
ThinkOutside one works a treat and
will see you typing at up to 60 words per minute on your smartphone. There are
several others, including
one from Nokia. Go
on, you know you want to...- Ignore those 'Exit' buttons!
Yes, the 6600
only has 12MB of execution memory (i.e. RAM), but you can still have most of
your Series 60 apps running at the same time, which means no delays while
applications are launched. The trick is to ignore those 'Exit' buttons. When
you need to switch to a different application, press the Menu ('Applications')
button and select it from there, leaving the current app running. Or use the
tip below to switch between running programs directly.
 Must-have
managers
The two utilities every computer user needs are a system task
manager (i.e. what's running) and a file manager. The first is easy: just press
and hold the 'Menu/Applications' button (for more control, grab
DevMan). For a file manager, run,
don't walk, and download FExplorer.
- Share your photos
Never mind the Kodak Online
(or similar) services usually bundled with your smartphone, why not share your
photos with others for free? Apart from GPRS transmission charges, you can
moblog very easily from a Symbian OS smartphone. Read on
for details.
- Pump up the brightness
Make sure you increase
the screen from the default brightness to its maximum. Yes, there's a tiny hit
on the time between battery recharges, but in the meantime you'll see some
glorious colours. Go to 'Tools | Settings | Phone | Display | Brightness' and
adjust away. Of course, for night-time use, your smartphone can double as an
emergency torch or, if you're actually reading from the screen, you can use the
same setting to turn the brightness right down to save being dazzled.
- Steer clear of MP4, OK for DVD
When preparing
video clips for playback on the 6630, make sure to use the standard H.263 codec
and not a variant of MPEG-4 (as used in some other parts of the Symbian world).
If you're not sure, simply stick to using the free
Nokia Multimedia
Converter 2.0. And if your video source is a DVD rather than a home-brewed
AVI or MPEG, use DVD-to-Mobile, whose
Series 60 version is quite excellent.
- Keep it secret!
Yes, there are dozens of
Series 60 password/PIN/secret info databases, but I've yet to find one that
satisfactorily syncs fully across to the desktop/PC (essential, both for
initial input and for accessing your data should you lose or break the phone).
My workaround is to keep confidential information in a text file in an
encrypted ZIP archive, see here for details. On
the 6630, this file opens happily using ZipMan and Notes (or YEdit, if your
file is quite large).
- Speed launching applications
On any Menu
(applications) screen, you can press any of the numeric keys to instantly
launch the application or shortcut in the corresponding position on the 3 by 3
icon grid displayed. For example, pressing '7' actions whatever's in the bottom
left grid slot. (This only works for the first nine icons in any Menu
screen)
 The mobile Web
The web browser built into
Series 60 is very competent at handling simple HTML sites and you can keep your
GPRS bill way down by restricting yourself to mobile-friendly pages. Start your
browsing journey at the 3-Lib web guide and all
should go well. - Imaging basics
Viewing images is a staple
function of nearly all Series 60 smartphones, but make sure you know all the
shortcuts. With a photo on-screen, press '5' to zoom in by 25% in increments.
To zoom out, press '0' in the same way, or press and hold it to zoom out fully.
You can rotate the way the photo is viewed anti-clockwise by pressing '1' or
clockwise by pressing '3'.
- Faster numbers
Whether it's entering a PIN
number into a security app or entering a phone number, it's right pain to have
to multi-tap each number key to get past the assigned letters and onto the
numbers. Much easier is to hold down a number key for half a second or
so - you'll find the right number is entered directly.
 The ones you love the most
If you get fed up
scrolling down the Menu screen lookng for your favourite applications
again, why not shuffle things round so that the apps you use the most
are clustered right at the top? Highlight an icon and use 'Move', and you'll
find you can re-insert it anywhere in the list. If you have lots of favourites,
make the most of the folder system (e.g. 'Games') and then put these folders
near the top of the list, for speedy access. |
