Unduly Noted

Don’t get me wrong, this is a great phone. But of course EVERYTHING that AT&T get’s their hands on has to be saturated with whatever BLOATWARE they feel useful.

Let me also start by warning you. Symbian apps can be expensive (if you came from the iPhone app store, and are a whiner). But here’s the difference…you will actually use them more than once. ie: they are worth it.

For starters, make sure you have the latest firmware in your E71x (or if you have the version below stop there, unless I take away this warning)
Hit the Home button once, Go to Settings, Go to Device Manager, Choose Options, Choose Check for Updates (check both servers Cingular or Cingularlab). As of this post the latest (and only update yet) was V 03.28. Knowing AT&T (no the E71 firmware won’t work with this) it might never have another update.

FOOTNOTE: Whenever using the internet on this device I choose the MediaNet connection instead of Proxyless, it seems a bit faster.

Tethering (Via WiFi)
After updating lets go ahead and do the most important thing. Make the phone a tether wonder boy (or girl).
Enter Joikuspot Preimum (Joikuspot Light if you only want http and dont care about a landing page)
This software by FAR surpasses anything I have ever used on the iPhone.
There are several ways to install software on symbian phones.
1. Connect your phone to the computer via bluetooth and send file to it. It will show up as a text, install from there.
2. Use the PC Suite software (Windows only) that came with it. I never use this as I am on a mac.
3. Connect your phone via bluetooth and drop the file in the phone internal or external memory. Then open it up with the great X-Plore software. X-Plore is a very nice, and much more than just a file browser. Just highlight the Joikuspot file and click it to initiate install.
Once the program is installed reboot the phone. Open Joikuspot (in your applications folder)
It will ask if you want to allow sharing. Choose Yes. Next it asks which connection, I have the best luck with MediaNet. Give it a few seconds and you are good to go. Open your laptop and choose the wifi Joikuspot00:00:00:00:00:00 network. The numbers at the end of that are your phones wifi card mac address. Once in Joikuspot feel free to change the network name and even put on some encryption (options/settings).
The only problem I ever have with this app is that the damn thing wont shut off sometimes even though it says it is closed. You can download a task killer or just reboot your phone. For now I do the latter.

Threaded SMS
If you came from an iPhone you are going to hate non threaded SMS. It’s ok, Free-iSMS (DOWNLOAD) is here to the rescue. BUT, and it’s a big but, this damn app isn’t signed.
Two things we can do (I have done both, and they work).
1. Make a $5 donation to the Hello0X2 developer and get an invaluable tool that will enable to you install and run unsigned apps.
Go to the developers website and fill in the info. Donate $5 and wait. It took a few hours to get the download link after paying. Run the software and follow instructions. After it is installed go into your applications folder and open ROMPatcher+. Click “Installserver_FP2 and Open4All_RP+” this should make them green. Exit out and run the i-sms installer successfully.
2. This is a 1 time fix, I recommend the above method in case you need to install unsigned apps in the future. Go and get an account from OPDA. After creating an account login and click on “My Certificate”. Now choose the big orange button “Apply cer”. Fill in all the details. Now for all you impatient bastards this takes a good 12 hours for them to process, it’s worth the wait. Go back to “My Certificate” in 12 hours and check to see that it has a green check next to you IMEI. You can download the cer and ket files and sign it from the phone with an app, or just have them sign it (faster). Click on “Signing Softs”. If you uploaded more than one EMEI choose which one you want. Next choose the i-sms file you downloaded earlier. Submit & Upload. They will give you a download link in a few seconds. Go ahead and install your newly signed app. NOTE: If you don’t feel like paying for Hello0X2 you can download the unsigned version from the site and then sign it just like we did with isms. I prefer supporting the developer of a great tool.

NES SNES Emulator
Once again. These cost money, but, unlike the iPhone these run amazingly well (flawless with the sound off).  VNES and VSUN. $9 and $19. Might seem a little steep, but these puppies are very well made and thought out. I choose the SNES because of super mario all-stars. After you procure your ROMS, just do a sendfile from the mac (bluetooth) and this program automatically adds them after opening it. How cool is that! Once in the program saving and restoring game states are insanely fast. You can also remap the buttons to your comfort.

AUTO GPS (Tracking the phone in case it is stolen)
Phonelocator. A very cool free app that updates your phones GPS location automatically at an interval you choose. With some of the smart battery options enabled I honestly don’t notice a difference in battery drain. After installing the app, set it up to your liking. IMPORTANT: The first time you run the app it needs to open Medianet to link the phone to the account. If this does not happen, try again or remove the app and reinstall. After linking the phone open your computer and login to see it on a map.

Other apps worth noting
Google Maps. Installs and runs great. I have used it for trips and to get me out of a bind.
Skyfire. Installs and runs great. Point your phone browser to this. Good if you want to watch some video sites where the flash lite in your MediaNet browser wont work. (No Hulu, they, as in Hulu Suits, killed it…Super BS)
Opera Mini. Super fast (image compression on their servers) web browser.
Opera Mobile. More of the full web experience, but slower than Mini.
JoikuBoost. Not available for the E71x yet, but keep an eye out for it, will be amazing.
RoadSync. $49.99 but kicks the pants off Nokia’s exchange client.

Tips
Get rid of the stupid demo’s and bloatware here.

Transfer Music, Pictures and Video
I will host the app here on my site as I see it was removed from the European site. Nokia Multimedia Transfer for Mac OS X. If you are on windows feel free to enjoy/not the Nokia PC Suite (and use those instructions) that came with your phone. I happen to like the Mac version better. Very self explanatory. Lets you sync via USB or Bluetooth. Sync all your stuff or create albums/playlists to sync.