Month: September 2008

JKE’s Nokia E71 review: (4) the fine print

The E71 is a business phone.

Having said that, it is also suited for those users who actually have to cough up some savings and are looking for a decent mobile workhorse. As opposed to an iPhone (no tactile feedback) or another QWERTY-equipped Windows Mobile phone, the E71 comes with the perfect mixture of (a) usability, (b) design, (c) built quality and (d) connectivity.

However, it still has some flaws that need to be mentioned here and may partly be changed by upcoming firmware upgrades.

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Coming from a Nokia N95, I am of course already spoiled in terms of multimedia functionality. And this although I am one of those users who prefer the business functions over to the multimedia capability. I primarily use my N95 for reading e-mails on the train, listening to some music and taking a few snapshots from time to time (even in macro mode, which is quite decent on the N95). Reasons enough to allow a direct comparison of the E71 with my N95. But mind you – the following observations aren’t meant to be a comparison alone!

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JKE’s Nokia E71 review: (2) Hello world!

If you thought that Stephen Hawking is the only one around with a cool voice, check this out:

(my 2nd video on YouTube btw – am a bit shy when it comes to video blogging…)

If you ever thought about getting an E71 and are still looking for that *special* reason why it’s better than a BB or even an iPhone, this may be a surprising gimmick for your non-geek friends at Pizza Garden on those Furahiday evenings. ;-)

Stay tuned for part (3) of my E71 review!

JKE’s Nokia E71 review: (1) mobile blogging

“I just hope it doesn’t arrive when I’m around”, she said. “…coz you’d spend more time with it than with me”.

Well…

Donna of WomWorld/Nokia contacted me the other day, asking if I’d be interested in testing the Nokia E71 business phone as a blogger. What a rhetorical question…

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[disclaimer: this post is REALLY long! You’ve been warned! :-)]

Continue reading “JKE’s Nokia E71 review: (1) mobile blogging”

THERE YOU GO….

…WONDERING!!!!!!!!! where the **** it has been:

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The parcel.

The parcel containing a Nokia E71 and BH-903 the kind folks from WOM World/Nokia have given me for a short testing period….

..only to realize after 2 weeks of onychophagy uncertainty that the landlord (who lives downstaires in the basement) already received and opened the parcel a week ago – assuming it’s the phone he ordered some time ago.

Dude!

AOB: TwitterKeys are so ?? …

credit card fun

I need a new credit card and my bank offers this special option for an extra annual fee of EUR 3,- where I can upload pictures which are then printed directly on the cc.

Atiriiri…I thought, what fun! Let’s see what my vanity (& a sleepless night, hence the motivation for this beautiful waste of time) comes up with:

1. Kikoi – I’ve actually thought about using this Kikoi image (see header logo on my blog) more often- even with a possible new WP-template.

Kikoi

2. Brokat – my grandmother’s ball gown (I really like the pattern!)

brokat

3. view from the backyard @ Forodha Towers on Nairobi ;-)

Forodha

4. afternoon rain, somewhere between Limuru and Ruaka

Limuru

5. my favourite view on Garissa

Garissa

6. somewhere in Kitengela/Mbagathi. Mzeecedric knows where this is.

Mbagathi

7. Somewhere on the way to Olepolos…

Olepolos

Since I can’t decide which one to choose (1.,6. or 7.?), you are hereby cordially invited to contribute your 2c-comment! :-)

You know these (basic!) VISA cards cost around 20,- EUR / a – so I was wondering whether anyone is actually using those bonus-cards (Gold, Platinum, Amazon, etc.) where you’re given extra miles for any purchase via the card + insurance package? I know the system is totally different from the one in use in the USA, but here in Europe credit cards are not that common (= not everyone has one!) as we also have national direct debit card systems such as the Maestro system by MasterCard.

Gcompris

I’ve played with Edubuntu on the office laptop today and came across this nice suite for kids & boys like me who like to play smart games:

gcompris

If you have access to kids ;-), think they should learn something about computers and don’t want to buy any extra gadgets/toys, then GCompris may just be what you’re looking for.

screenshot selection

“GCompris is an educational software suite comprising of numerous activities for children aged 2 to 10. (…) Currently GCompris offers in excess of 100 activities and more are being developed. GCompris is free software, that means that you can adapt it to your own needs, improve it and, most importantly, share it with children everywhere.”

“In order to promote the use of GNU/Linux, the windows version has a limited number of activities. It is possible to access all the activities for a fee” – which is 20,- EUR. Best option is to use the LiveCD version, or – if you can – try Ubuntu with the Edubuntu add-on package.

Edubuntu has really improved since I’ve first blogged about it in 2005. Nice! My new boss has 3 kids who often play in the office. So I thought about giving them an older laptop with Edubuntu + a mouse and see how far they’ll get with it.