Nokia BH-903 Review: Part 2 Keys, Performance and Conclusions

In my first post about Nokia BH-903, I talked about what makes this stereo Bluetooth headset unique among its competitors. To recap, it’s a 32-g headset with an in-the-ear style which is compatible with various V2.0 bluetooth profiles, comes with an OLED display and an internal FM radio, and provides more than 9 hours of music and talk time.

 

Keys

When you’re dealing with an ultra-light stereo Bluetooth headset, you should accustom yourself to its tiny keys and buttons, too. The BH-903’s keys can be found in two different locations. Music-related ones are located near the OLED display (that is at the end of two cables which connect the display unit to the earphones), and call-related ones and the microphone are on the small apparatus near the right earphone.

 

The OLED display and its surrounding buttons

The unit which is tightly attached to the end of the headset cables houses the display and a few buttons: IMG: Nokia BH-903 display and keys. Here Nokia engineers have tried to build the unit like a standard handset so as not to reinvent the wheel and make the lives of BH-903 users difficult. With this analogy in mind, if you take the main unit in your left hand, you’ll notice the Power button above the display (at the top of the unit). Holding it down for a few seconds switches the headset on, which is confirmed by a short beep heard through the earphones. To switch off the headset, hold the same key down for a couple seconds and you’ll hear a different beep to indicate that the system is no longer active. Also, the Power key can act as the lock/unlock key; that is, if you briefly press and release it, the headset is locked. To unlock the headset, you should do the same. The lock/unlock process is accompanied by two distinct beeps, and the OLED display helps you identify the lock/unlock status. At first, you might want to familiarize yourself with the display indicators, but the more you use the BH-903, the less you refer to the display.

The frequently mentioned OLED display is below the Power key and occupies about one-third of the attached unit. The display mimics the feel and look of a standard handset display as closely as possible. For instance, as you turn on the headset, the famous Nokia logo appears on the screen. By the same token, as you recharge the battery, the charging indicators can be seen there. When the headset is on but not used for about 10 seconds, the display goes to the power saving mode. In this mode, the display turns off for about 5 seconds and turns on for about 1 second at regular intervals. To activate the display when it is in the power saving mode, you should press any key.

Just below the display, a square area can be seen which houses several buttons. Most of these keys aren’t tactilely visible. The Previous/Rewind key is on the upper left side, and the Next/Fast forward key is located on the upper right side. These also act as the Scroll keys when the headset Menu is active. Just below these keys you can easily touch the slightly raised Selection key, useful when working with the menu. More interesting, however, is the touch-sensitive Volume key surrounding the Selection key. You should move your finger around the Selection key on the touch-sensitive area clockwise to increase or anticlockwise to decrease the volume, and the headset uses distinct beeps when the volume can no longer be altered either way. This is quite innovative and appeals to the style-conscious. The volume can easily be altered after spending a couple of minutes with the headset.

The Stop key is placed toward the bottom of the square area on the lower left side, and the Play/pause key is on the right side. The Menu key is situated below the square area toward the bottom of the main unit, and is useful when you want to access different functions of the headset such as the music player, the FM radio, recent calls and settings. By default, the headset turns on with the music player in the foreground and whenever you access music-related functions on your handset, the headset also switches to the music player. Just to clarify, the Settings option allows you to adjust the display brightness, manage Bluetooth devices, set the auto-keylock time, select a desired language and reset the headset. The headset settings can also be reset by holding down the Power key and the Answer/End key at the same time, and pressing the Selection key to confirm the operation while the headset is switched off. Finally, the charging socket is located at the bottom of the unit on the opposite of the Power button.

The call buttons

The small control near the right earphone houses the midget microphone on the back, the Mute key on the side, and the relatively bigger Answer/End call key on the front. When someone calls, you can press the Answer/End call key once to accept it, or twice to reject it. When no call is in progress, press the Answer/End call key twice to call the last dialed number. Pressing this key once ends a call during a conversation. The built-in microphone can also be used for audio-recording in spite of the fact that the microphone quality doesn’t match that of the handset microphone.

The FM radio

One of the benefits of a so-called cabled wireless stereo Bluetooth headset is that its cables act as the antenna for the built-in FM radio. To use this feature, press the Menu key and select FM radio. You’ll immediately hear the familiar sound associated with FM receivers.

To search for radio stations, hold down the Forward or Rewind key for about 2 seconds. To stop the search, you should press the Stop key. When the headset finds a station, the station starts to play and the name, frequency, and signal strength of the station are displayed. According to the BH-903 manual, the station name is displayed only if the station supports the RDS (Radio Data Systems) technology. Anyhow, to save the station in the headset, hold down the Play/ Pause key, press the Forward or Rewind key to move to the desired memory location, and hold down the play/pause key. To move among saved stations, press the Forward or Rewind key repeatedly. To pause listening to the radio, press the Stop key, and to resume listening, press the Play/Pause key. Finally, to stop listening to the radio and exit the radio, press the Stop key twice. I’ve found the voice quality to be pleasantly acceptable.

It’s worth mentioning that using the FM radio requires the memorization of these functions for the visually impaired because the headset doesn’t offer an accessible interface when it comes to using the radio. The same can be said about accessing the Settings or the Recent calls option from the menu.

 

Concluding remarks

With all the details interspersed, you might be wondering if Nokia BH-903 is my desired headset. To be quite frank, it’s not. It’s true that with the BH-903 you get an FM radio, an OLED display and an ultra-portable unit, but I’ve never been a fan of in-the-ear headphones/headsets because I find this wearing style problematic, to say the least. Due to the fact that the headset uses small earphones, the audio quality it provides noticeably fails to match that of the over-ear Nokia BH-604 and Nokia BH-503. I’m bold enough to claim that the BH-903 isn’t for audiophiles; rather, it’s been designed to meet the needs of frequent commuters who want to carry as light and portable a headset as possible. Neither can it filter out surrounding sounds as efficiently as the aforementioned headsets. Also, as hilarious as it might sound, I’ve noticed that the BH-903 requires a pocketed shirt to house the display unit comfortably. Otherwise, the highly desirable OLED display would shamelessly move leftward and rightward when you take a stroll or you have to hide it under your shirt. Finally, I’ve found out that the BH-903 is quite sensitive to key touches; that is, the sound you hear through its earphones tend to lose or gain extra pitch as you press a key on either the handset or the headset. This also happens when the headset is connected to a compatible Bluetooth-enabled computer: namely my Dell XPS M1210 notebook which has Windows Vista SP1. All in all, Nokia BH-503 still remains my preferred stereo Bluetooth headset.

All said, I should admit that the BH-903 functions quite efficiently compared with other in-the-ear units on the market, and what I’ve mentioned regarding the BH-903 is typical of all in-the-ear headsets. Other than that, Nokia BH-903 has a high-quality microphone which is perfect for both telephonic conversations and audio recording. If your number-one need is a light headset with an OLED display, don’t hesitate to purchase Nokia BH-903.

 

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Comes with an OLED display,
• Offers decent battery life,
• Has an FM radio,
• Locks its keys manually or automatically,
• Allows accessing the “recent calls” list,
• Is highly portable,
• Appeals to fashionmongers,
• Enjoys innovative touch-sensitive volume keys,
• Uses distinct audible beeps and visual cues to indicate different actions,
• Comes with sturdy cables.

 

Cons:

• Its cables might get in the way sometimes,
• The in-the-ear style doesn’t provide a totally secure wearing experience,
• Offers average audio quality,
• Doesn’t have an accessible interface for the visually impaired,
• Would have been more comfortable with tactilely identifiable keys.

Best Safe Updated to V2.00

SmartphoneWare just updated yet another application to V2.00, and this time it’s Best Safe’s turn to make its users happy. Best Safe for S60 3^rd Edition handsets allows you to protect your sensitive data and is quite handy for the security-conscious. The new release offers these new features and bug fixes.

• Now all application views support dynamic screen size change (rotation) correctly.
• The problem with some cards view previously leading to a crash (wrong buffer size calculation) is fixed.
• Now the folder selection dialog shows folders in the same order as in the main view.
• The problem with closing Edit card dialog when application loses focus is fixed.
• Card view: possibility to show menu by joystick button press is added.
• Note/card name generation to be displayed in the main view is changed. It gets the first line from the note/card and cuts the leading spaces now.
• Search results view: deleting note by pressing “C” key is added.
• Displaying incorrect icons in select template view is fixed.
• The problem with searching in large notes/cards is fixed.
• Symbian Signed.
• Now available in English and Russian languages.
• Edit note view changes:
  • Last line (partial) drawing is fixed.
  • Copy/Cut/Paste commands are added.
  • Font size selection is added.
  • Possibility to change appearance is added (Skin based or black/white).
• Security changes:
  • The problem with some cards’ invisibility after password changes is fixed.
  • Change password is transaction based now. If something goes wrong during the operation the whole operation is rolled back.
  • Password setup is in Unicode now (no more problems when you type password in Cyrillic, Chinese, etc).
  • The application behavior when you try to set up an empty password is fixed.
• Export/import changes:
  • Export/import is completely made over with various fixes.
  • Export/import data is in Unicode now (no more problems when you have data entered in Cyrillic, Chinese, etc).
  • Export/import is now transaction based – if something goes wrong during the operation the whole operation is rolled back.
  • The problem with buffer allocation when importing large cards is fixed.
  • Delete all data command is added.

  As you see, many of the new features and fixes are similar to the ones found in Best Jotter 2.00.

Best Jotter Updated to V2.00

SmartphoneWare has released V2.00 of Best Jotter for S60 3^rd Edition handsets. Best Jotter is a perfect tool for creating notes, memos and reminders, and allows the export/import of notes. You can, for instance, save your notes in a TXT file for use on your PC. In addition, you might password-protect your database and make use of the application’s rich clipboard functionality. Best Jotter 2.00, which is fully accessible with Nuance TALKS&ZOOMS, offers the following new features and bug fixes.

• Edit note view:
  • Last line (partial) drawing is fixed.
  • Copy/Cut/Paste commands are added.
  • Font size selection is added.
  • Possibility to change appearance is added (Skin based or black/white).
• Export/import:
  • Export/import is completely made over with various fixes.
  • Export/import data is in Unicode now (no more problems when you have data entered in Cyrillic, Chinese, etc).
  • Export/import is now transaction based (if something goes wrong during the operation the whole operation is rolled back).
  • The problem with buffer allocation when importing large notes is fixed.
  • Delete all data command is added.
• Security:
  • Change password is transaction based now (if something goes wrong during the operation the whole operation is rolled back).
  • Password setup is in Unicode now (no more problems when you type passwords in Cyrillic, Chinese, etc).
  • The application behavior when you try to set up an empty password is fixed.
• Search:
  • The problem with searching in large notes is fixed.
  • Search results view: deleting note by pressing “C” key is added.
• Note name generation to be displayed in the main view is changed. It gets the first line from the note and cuts the leading spaces now.
• Now folder selection dialog shows folders in the same order as in the main view.
• All icons are re-designed, they look better on high resolution devices now.
• Now all Jotter views support dynamic screen size change (rotation) correctly.
• Symbian Signed.
• Now available in English and Russian languages.

What’s the Most Efficient Blacklister in Town?

Before moving on any further, let me clarify a point outright. I have a lot of respect for companies like Epocware and SmartphoneWare which make the Symbian S60 market quite competitive by producing a wide range of applications for this platform. In fact, the success of the Symbian OS is, for the most part, attributable to what these companies creatively provide. The purpose of such comparisons is to both stir up competition and inspire Symbian S60 users to know these applications better.

At any rate, I’m sure everyone needs a good blacklister on their handsets for many reasons. It has become a must-have application on my N82. If you also want to use such a handy feature, you can try a few applications to see which one suits your needs. I know of two blacklisters which do their assigned jobs elegantly: Handy Blacklist produced by Epocware and Best Blacklist by SmartphoneWare. The former costs $19.95 and the latter costs $9.95.

What do they share?

Handy Blacklist and Best Blacklist enjoy a number of similar features which have been implemented a bit differently. Both applications can run as a service, meaning when you open them for the first time and later close them, they can remain in the memory and perform their job without appearing in the usual list of background tasks. Handy Blacklist and Best Blacklist (which has the unadorned name of “Blacklist” on the phone) rely on two different lists to allow or reject calls: a black list and a white list, or in the case of Handy Blacklist, an allow list. Best Blacklist can have an unlimited number of black lists and white lists, but Handy Blacklist only allows the addition of multiple allow lists and makes use of just one black list. In Best Blacklist, you should first enable what the developers call “Service” by pressing “Key 2″, define the members of a black list or a white list, and then activate that list in order for the phone to allow or reject calls. When pressed, “Key 2″ enables and disables the service, respectively. In Handy Blacklist, on the other hand, you simply define the members of a desired list and activate it to make use of the application, and there’s no need to enable or disable Service first as it doesn’t have this option anyway.

Handy Blacklist

Handy Blacklist has two tab sheets:

• Lists,
• Log.

The first item in the “Lists” tab is called “Black list” and cannot be deleted by the user. The second item, by default, has the name of “Allow list”. Multiple allow lists can be created and removed here. If, for instance, you press “Key 1″ when the focus is on the “Allow list”, you’ll see the following options:

• Activate,
• Timed activation,
• Edit,
• New allow list,
• Rename,
• Delete,
• Set reject action,
• Settings,
• Help,
• About,
• Exit.

Some of them are self-explanatory, but some aren’t. For instance, the “Timed activation” feature allows you to activate a certain list for a specified period of time. Also, the “Set reject action” option allows you to define the behavior of the application when a call is rejected. You can opt to simply reject calls with short beeps as if the line were busy or send an SMS to the person whose call gets rejected. With Best Blacklist, you can’t send an SMS message to the rejected number.

Upon adding numbers to an allowed list, the Add submenu helps you select numbers from the following places:

• Recent calls,
• Contacts – using the first tab sheet of the Contacts application,
• Contact group – using the second tab sheet of the Contacts app,
• Manually.

When you want to add numbers to your black list, a couple more options are added: “Private numbers” and “Unknown numbers”. Unlike Handy Blacklist, Best Blacklist cannot add numbers to its lists from recent calls. Also, the Settings option in Handy Blacklist allows you to enable or disable the option of adding a rejected number to the black list – this is missing in Best Blacklist.

The second Handy Blacklist tab sheet, “Log”, is useful for reviewing blacklisted numbers. Here you can clear the log, call the person whose number was blacklisted, and, as a unique Handy Blacklist feature, send an SMS message to the focused number in the list.

Best Blacklist

The power of Best Blacklist resides in its capability to create multiple black lists and white lists without any limitations. It has one main window which displays your lists. Pressing “Key 1″ on a list displays the following options:

• List, submenu:
  • Activate list,
  • Add list,
  • Edit list,
  • Delete list,
  • Move up,
  • Move down.
• Edit list,
• Scheduler,
• View log,
• Misc, submenu:
  • Register,
  • About.
• Close.

Best Blacklist has a unique feature called Scheduler whereby you can define the schedule for each and every list you add. For instance, you can set the application to activate a list at 8 A.M. on Mondays and activate another at 9 P.M. on Tuesdays. This is missing in Handy Blacklist. You just specify the time, the date and select a list for a schedule to function. Moreover, as you see in the options above, Best Blacklist can alter the position of each item in the list, but Handy Blacklist doesn’t.

To get a brief overview of rejected calls, Best Blacklist displays the number of rejected calls as opposed to the number of accepted calls in the main window. So you might hear something like “Rejected: 3/5″ whenever this window gains focus.

Which one is better?

Who dares to declare a winner in this tight competition? Handy Blacklist V3.0 has a couple more features such as flexible log management, adding items from recent calls, and quick inclusion of a rejected number in the black list, but this comes with a +$10 higher price. Best Blacklist V1.02 fights back with its -$10 price tag and unique features such as the Scheduler and the addition/modification of all list types. You might find it interesting to know that Handy Blacklist offers a comprehensive manual as it is installed, but Best Blacklist doesn’t have online help. If you’ve tried both or have selected one of them, let us know what your reasons were in the Comments section.

Note

If you use Nuance TALKS&ZOOMS screen reader on your handset, you can label the icon which displays the active or inactive status of a list in both applications. This icon follows the name of each list, and you should label two icons in each application.

WOM World Now Covers Eseries Handsets

As you might have noticed in my various posts, WOM World is my favorite web site because it acts as an all-inclusive hub for blogs which cover S60 handsets. Till recently it used to cover the developments related to Nseries handsets, but now it also keeps an eye on Eseries smartphones. This is a good piece of news owing to the fact that the Eseries handsets can now gain a good deal of limelight. As such, from now on I’ll use the phrase “WOM World Nokia” rather than “Nseries WOM World” to refer to this service. To Siobhan, Colin, Dons, Amy, Robbie, Richard and others, keep up the good work!

Nokia BH-903 Review: Part 1 How Shall I Describe Thee?

Have you ever tried to divide stereo Bluetooth headsets into different categories? If so, you might have come up with several benchmarks such as price, battery life, wearing style, portability, audio quality, range of Bluetooth profile support, and so forth. One or more standards of that sort might also play a role in your purchasing decision. However, these days another factor is increasingly pushing itself into our list, and it is use of an OLED display (or lack thereof). Such displays have become popular because they need very little battery power and don’t make their accompanying devices hefty.

When I decided to buy two Nokia stereo Bluetooth headsets, I tried to avoid headsets with OLED displays at all costs, and that’s why I went with Nokia BH-503 and Nokia BH-604. As a visually impaired Symbian user, I was afraid of not being able to utilize the features such headsets provide. Also, I was a tad concerned about their battery life.

 

The BH-903 and a turnover

When few days ago I received my Nokia BH-903 package from WOM World for trialing, I was so frightened by the OLED display and touch-sensitive volume keys that I decided to spend some time with the headset before publishing my reviews — I wanted to provide everybody with an objective viewpoint. The Nokia BH-903 comes with a pretty small package, reflecting its miniature size: IMG: Nokia BH-903 package,
IMG: Nokia BH-903 package half opened,
IMG: Nokia BH-903 package opened. The BH-903 is a sleek stereo Bluetooth headset which weighs 32 g: IMG: Nokia BH-903. It, I believe, is aimed at high-end customers with its +$200 price tag because currently you cannot find a smaller stereo headset with such a wide array of features in Nokia’s lengthy list of accessories. In fact, the BH-903 is as small as its wired counterpart which ships with the N82: IMG: Nokia BH-903 and N82 headset side by side. Had the BH-903 not been a Bluetooth headset, I couldn’t have told them apart by virtue of touching both.

Back to the features which make the BH-903 unique, it is an in-the-ear headset whose earphones are attached to the display unit via two relatively short pieces of stiff wire: IMG: Nokia BH-903 earphones and strap. It looks as if the BH-903 were a conventional wired headset with its connector removed. Basically, to wear the headset, you should place the strap around your neck and put the earphones into your ears. To adjust the length of the earphone cables, you should pull the cables toward or away from the earphones. A small apparatus can be found on the right wire (near the right earphone) and houses a microphone and a couple more keys which I’ll talk about in a later post.

 

What to expect from Nokia BH-903

These are just a few features which make the BH-903 a desirable stereo Bluetooth headset.

Weight:

• 32g.

Operating times:

• Talk time: up to 11h.
• Music time: up to 11h.
• FM radio time when connected to phone: up to 11h.
• Standby time: up to 150h.
• Charging time: 45 min to full charge.
• Talk time, Music time,FM radio time after 20 minutes of charging: up to 9h.

Interfaces:

• Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR specification.
• Headset Profile (HSP) 1.1.
• Handsfree Profile (HFP) 1.5.
• Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP).
• Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) 1.0.
• Phonebook Access Profile PBAP.
• Nokia charging interface with 2 mm jack.

Sales package:

• Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-903.
• Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-5.
• Spare pair of earphone pads.
• Print User Guide.

 

Early verdict

In spite of the fact that I’ve been using the BH-903 quite extensively for the past few days, I want to preserve the description of its keys and performance for upcoming posts. However, at this point suffice it to say that the BH-903 is a fabulous stereo Bluetooth headset, even for visually impaired users. That is, I can now fully control the N82’s music functions via the headset after getting used to its tiny keys. Of course, the internal FM radio is horse of a different color. More on the comparison between the BH-903 and its over-the-ear siblings later . . . .

How to Finish Updating Your Firmware Using Windows XP

As you might guess, today I managed to update my N82 firmware using Windows XP Service Pack 2. However, I didn’t download the whole firmware anew – I used the files I’d downloaded via NSU on Windows Vista. A couple of days ago I reported that the newly released Nokia Software Updater (NSU) doesn’t function properly on Vista for many users. If, upon updating your firmware on Windows Vista, NSU downloads the whole firmware but consistently fails to move it to your handset due to the “Nokia Server Layer” crash which results in NSU displaying something like “15 minutes left”, you can do the following to avoid re-downloading all firmware-related files while using NSU on Windows XP.

• 1. Make sure you can view hidden files on both machines which run Windows XP SP2 or above and Windows Vista.
• 2. On your Windows Vista, assuming it’s installed on your C: drive, go to the following directory:
  • C:\Program Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\
• 3. Copy the following folder which contains your recently downloaded firmware-related files to a safe location:
  • nsl_service_module_00001
  • Of course, this is the name I get with my N82 firmware, and yours might or might not be different. Also, you can copy this folder to a flash drive or a CD because you should later use it on your XP machine.
• 4. Go ahead and install both Nokia PC Suite and the latest release of Nokia Software Updater on your XP machine.
• 5. Having restarted your Windows XP, move the “nsl_service_module_00001″ folder to the following directory, assuming Windows XP is installed on the C: drive:
  • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A
• 6. Having made sure your smartphone is fully recharged, establish a connection between your handset and the PC Suite using the “USB cable” option on your XP computer.
• 7. Run Nokia Software Updater, follow the prompts, and your handset firmware will be updated in a few minutes without having to redownload the necessary firmware files.

With these steps, Nokia Software Updater first indicates that it needs 15 minutes to finish updating the handset firmware, but this time will change to 5, 4 and 3 minutes in a short while. The important point is that you should make sure you have the very latest Nokia Software Updater release on your XP machine, or the redownload/reinstallation process will most likely remove the firmware files. If you need the latest NSU release, use this URL to get the US English build. Needless to say, the NSU language should match your Windows language. To download a proper NSU release for your Windows, check here.

Finally, an upside of this semi-manual update process is that you can update the handset firmware for whatever smartphone whose necessary files you have fairly quickly – just keep your firmware files, move them to the proper folder on Windows XP and update the suitable handset with that firmware release. I finished updating another N82 firmware this way in just 5 minutes. Hope Nokia fixes the newly introduced NSU incompatibility issues with Vista soon.

The New Nokia Software Updater is an Annoyance on Vista

How many times have you experienced the feeling of frustration when all technological enhancements do nothing but nullify your efforts? This has happened to me a few times, but I just had the first incident of that sort in the arena of smartphones. To be more specific, the interaction between the smartphone world and the PC world created this first but familiar feeling.

Two days ago I got the news of the release of a new firmware update, V20.0.062, for the N82. As I reported it here, I decided to update mine in 24 hours in order to make use of its fabulous features and bug fixes. I updated my PC Suite to V6.86.9, connected my recharged N82 to PC Suite, brought up Nokia Software Updater, and was told that I had to get the latest NSU release or I wouldn’t be allowed to continue. Having been a good listener, I downloaded the latest NSU release, installed it, restarted my Windows Vista Home Premium to be on the safe side, and repeated the previous steps all over again. So far so good.

The new firmware update for the N82 is about 99.4MB, and I spent about 3 hours on downloading it. I had to go to a computer center to gain access to a pretty decent ADSL connection as I don’t have one at home. Anyway, as the file was downloaded, Nokia Software Updater started copying the downloaded data to my N82 and told me to wait for approximately 15 minutes. I waited for more than 45 minutes but the 15-minute waiting time was on the screen without any signs of progress. As I was thinking about the next step, Windows Vista displayed the following error message and put a damper on my thought:

Microsoft Windows

Nokia Service Layer Host Process has stopped working

Windows can check online for a solution to the problem.

Check online for a solution and close the program

Close the program

View problem details.

Feeling as petrified as you might imagine, I closed the error window, killed Nokia Software Updater via the task manager, and tried to start the poor N82 which seemed to have been hit by a disaster. I was unable to get the phone rebooted until I removed the battery, reinserted it and tried again. The N82 rebooted with the old V11 firmware release, and I was over the moon!

Having experienced such a huge problem, I was still determined to update the N82. So far I’ve tried five times and have received the very same error message. My extensive web surfing indicates that I’m not the only person experiencing this issue because many users are grappling with the latest NSU release on all variants of Windows Vista. Does Nokia suffer from a paucity of Vista alpha testers? All I can say at this moment is that I’m a bit frustrated due to the fact that neither do I have an XP machine to start from scratch nor do I have enough time to go to a computer center which provides ADSL connections for a fee. This is also a bit strange because the previous NSU release used to work quite well with Vista.

Last but not least, the whole experience has taught me a trick. When you download a firmware update for your Nokia handset, its related files are stored in the following directory on Vista:

C:\Program Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\nsl_service_module_00001.

As I’ve copied the folders inside this directory to a different location, I guess I can now wait for a new Nokia Software Updater release, copy these folders to their proper place after reinstalling the new NSU release and shun downloading the whole firmware update. My claim is based on the fact that at this time and with each update effort, Nokia Software Updater doesn’t download the whole firmware before the error window pops up – it just checks for the update and skips the download phase because the needed files are already on my hard drive and haven’t yet been transferred to the N82. Only time can tell if my so-called discovery is worth rejoicing.

Have you experienced the same problem on Vista? If so, have you resolved it? I’d be glad to know how.

A Company with a Wide Range of Inaccessible Applications

While I was taking a look at a few applications to be reviewed on my blog, I came across X-plore – the famous file browser for 3^rd Edition handsets, produced by Lonely Cat Games. This application is totally inaccessible with Symbian screen readers. Neither can the TALKS Object Viewer detect its text fields, nor can you read a single character inside X-plore. Ashamedly, this is said to be the best file manager for 3^rd Edition handsets. At any rate, I was curious to see if the same is true about other applications produced by this company, and found out that LCG Jukebox which is a Symbian music player, SmartMovie which is a video player, Slick which is an all-in-one mobile messenger, and ProfiMail which is a highly popular S60 email client are all inaccessible. The more saddening fact is that I cannot find the company’s contact information on their web site to see if something can be done about this on their part. This means I didn’t have a good day today.

Nokia PC Suite 6.86.9 is Out

Today Nokia released PC Suite 6.86.9. This new release provides the following new features:

• View your mobile device’s calendar in the main window.
• Forward, delete, and reply to text messages in the main window.
• Experience the fresh appearance of applications.

This new release is 30.9MB – about 5 Megs bigger than the previous 6.85 update. The nice point about this update is that its installation no longer requires labeling graphics with JAWS and a lot of JAWS-cursoring or WE-cursoring (in case you are a WinEyes user). Also, the PC Suite main window is more accessible as icons like “Close window” or “Maximize window” can be announced much more smoothly now. If you want to download the US English release of Nokia PC Suite 6.86, use this URL.