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This page is for anyone thinking of migrating to the Nokia
5500 with a view to using it as their main smartphone, fitness and
entertainment device.
The tiny 5500 has lots to recommend it, from the
incredible ruggedised construction to the built-in torch, from the radio and
sports headphones to the very latest Symbian OS and S60 application versions,
and with smartphone and multimedia functionality thrown in by the
bucketload.
 Buy big and watch that
memory!
Aside from the smaller, 208 by 208 pixel screen, the only real
area Nokia has skimped slightly is in the size of the 'C' disk, i.e. 'internal
memory', at only 7MB. This area of flash memory is used for temporary files by
the OS and by your 3rd party applications. 7MB sounds enough, but with web
caches and application installs, most of this is very much needed. If you start
putting media or third party applications into internal memory, you'll hit
problems very soon. So..... Buy the biggest microSD card you can afford and
install all applications and store all media onto it! You have been
warned.- Don't lose those apps
A few of the S60
applications that normally come in the firmware (ROM) are supplied as
'optional' on the 64MB microSD card. Foremost among these is Web, the advanced
next-gen browser for those on sensible data tariffs. It'll be installed
automatically, of course, but be aware that if you put in your own, larger
card, then you'll need to copy over (using a PC card reader) all the files from
the original disk, otherwise you'll lose these extra applications.
- A cleaner, brighter standby screen
You can do
a lot to make your active standby screen brighter, cleaner and more useful. See
my
tutorial
over on AllAboutSymbian.
 Clearing up the trash
It seems that in S60 3rd Edition,
the entire install SIS files from third party applications get stored on your
internal flash disk (C:), completely unnecessarily. If you've installed several
meaty games or applications, you can easily lose several megabytes in this way.
Use the built-in File manager to navigate into 'Installed files' and delete the
SIS files, to reclaim the space. (It won't hamper removal of the applications
later, don't worry)- Ignore those 'Exit' buttons!
The 5500 has
plenty of execution memory (i.e. RAM), so you can have most of your S60 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.
[Caveat: watch out for intensive apps
like navigation programs or games, which can eventually drain your battery if
left running all the time. For these, you definitely should press
Exit!]
 A better camera than you'd think - if you're not
indoors!
The 5500's camera is essentially the same as in the Nokia N70
and is very high quality if there's enough light. Avoid taking photos indoors
(you'll be disappointed, as with many camera-phones) and take the opportunity
to snap things in sunlight or bright overcast conditions.- The latest and best
Make sure you keep up to
date with PC Suite, as Nokia are fixing bugs and adding bits and pieces all the
time. Most useful is the way you can explore your smartphone's folders
(including your text Inbox) from within Windows Explorer. Very cool. And don't
forget to use the provided backup/sync functions! Keep an eye on the
PC Suite home page
and stay current!
 The ones you love the most
(1)
With the Nokia 5500, there's S60's usual 'active' standby screen,
although it's turned off by default. Turn it on in 'Tools | Settings | Phone |
Standby mode'. Don't just take the shortcuts given, I'm sure you have ideas of
your own as to your most used applications. You can change any of the six
shortcuts in 'Tools | Settings | Phone | Standby mode | Active standby
apps'.
- Hangup = Exit
Don't keep switching back to
the Standby screen using the Hangup button. This was OK on old versions of S60,
but in almost every instance it closes the current application on the 5500 - in
other words, it acts as 'Exit'. If you want to keep the current program running
in the background, press Menu/Apps instead, twice if you want to get to Standby
screen.
- What's running?
The one utility every
computer user needs is a system task manager (i.e. what's running). Luckily,
the basics are built-in. Just press and hold the 'Menu/Applications' button.
For more control, grab Best
TaskMan.
 The ones you love the most
(2)
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. Or use 'Move
to folder' if you want to completely rearrange things. 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. |
