China Phones! I wouldn’t have given them a chance some months back, but that is changing as the chinkos are manufacturing better looking and more functional phones. It is looking like we no longer can afford to ignore them.

I remember one of the first China phones to hit the Nigerian market. A friend had brought a unit and asked me to help install useful mobile applications and to configure it for internet. Do I have to say that we were not able to put any application on the phone and also didn’t succeed in configuring it for internet? Simply put, the phone was useless.

Fast forward to 18 months later, a completely different person asked for the same thing- to help install useful mobile apps and configure for internet on his China phone. My initial response was, “There’s no use, it won’t work”. But she begged and I decided to give it a shot. The first thing I did was to manually input internet settings. Once that was done, I launched the browser and to my amazement it loaded well. The browser even loaded a social networking site like Facebook. This was the first surprise. The second was that the phone gladly accepted Java applications and they worked well on it.

It has been an upward trend for China phones since then. They are getting more and more matured as the days go by.

However, what I dislike about these phones and wish will change is the use of brand names of other mobile phone manufacturers by the people behind some of these phones. An example is the “Nokia N99i” (pictured right), which is by no means manufactured by Nokia.

These phones I dare say are now good enough to have their own brand names, and with their current pricing scheme, these phones will continue to do well in emerging markets. Some of them are already doing this, and we have brand names such as i-mobile.

China phone, anyone?

Anyone remember Mobitel Nigeria? Yes; the CDMA operator that ran into troubled waters after the late President/CEO and telecoms veteran, Mr. Alaba Joseph, died in controversial circumstances in his office in September 2005. At the time, the company was facing a takeover bid from Intercontinental Bank Limited.

Well, there’s good news – Mobitel seems set to bounce back!

According to a news report by Technology Times, a consortium led by Omni Ventures Limited, a Lagos-based ICT services company which has acquired the entire operations and undertakings of Mobitel Limited is moving to return the phone company to the telecoms market.

Omni Ventures has now sealed a network rollout pact with VocaTel of Israel to return to its market for fixed and wireless voice, data and value added services targeting niche markets of SMEs and high-end users.

At a time that things are generally on the downward trend, this is a blast of fresh air. We need more competition and more innovation. Perhaps Mobitel’s return can supply just a little extra bit of that.

Source: TechnologyTimes: Mobitel Seals Network Rollout Deal

I am not particularly a fan of the Symbian s60 v3-powered Nokia E75 QWERTY slider. So far as I can see, it is a new phone with dated specifications and runs on a dated OS. Sorry Nokia.

Dayo seems to be more compassionate towards the E75. But chalk that up to the fact that he hasn’t got an E90 (a proper communicator), so he can’t tell what a fake looks like. Yes; I’m beefing….

But for the benefit of those who can’t wait to get their hands on it, the E75 is now available in Nigeria, and is selling for around N90, 000 (you can order a piece directly from the Mobility Nigeria phone store and it’ll be delivered to you free; call 08084391076). And if trends over time is anything to go by, it should cost significantly more at the Nokia Store at VI.

Interestingly, the older and certainly original Nokia E90 (probably the last of the communicator clan) costs between N5, 000 and N10, 000 more, and you’ll get a better QWERTY keyboard, more internal memory, and a much better camera (never mind the 3-megapixel count on the E75). Yes; I’m beefing some more…

This claim that the E75 is a decendant of the Communicator family is a joke. Right? Right? Someone please tell me its a joke….

Okay, back to topic, if you want a much slimmer and pocketable device than a 2-year old brick-like communicator, and want to also be able to brag that you use a 2009 device, call 08084391076 right away to place your order and you’ll soon become an object of envy by friends and foes alike. The “Transformers” factor as you switch from candy-bar mode to slide-out QWERTY mode will help too.

GSM mobile operator, Etisalat, has launched a package that delivers a bundle of services including:

• 3MB worth of FREE browsing monthly
• free midnight calls to other EasyCliq members
• Facebook update service via SMS
• MMS uploads to Facebook gallery
• 10 FREE MMS monthly
• Free downloads of wallpapers, ringtones and screensavers from the Etisalat portal
• Talk ‘n’ Share
• Bonus on incoming calls: 5 minutes of incoming calls gives you 1 free minute bonus airtime
• SMS to other EasyCliq members: N5; Send one and get one FREE
• N0.40 per second to other EasyCliq members peak; N0.25 per second off-peak; N0.50 per second to all others

To enjoy the service, purchase an EasyCliq pack, which gives you four SIM cards that you can share with the individuals in your clique. The numbers in the pack are sequential too, so its easy to remember them.

More details:
- EasyCliq Pricing
- EasyCliq Services

In the first part of my review of the LG KS360, I examined the form factor and multimedia. In this second part, I am examining the internet capabilities, email, and other features.

Internet

The KS360′s built-in browser is by a company named – guess – Teleca. Ever heard of them? Didn’t think so. But they’ve been at the mobile browser thing since 1999, with the world’s first WAP 1.1 browser, though its development process started in 1997. Surprised? There’s more.

Teleca’s global market share was 14% as of 2007, and held 3rd place in mobile browser field. More than 600 million of mobile phones are equipped with Teleca products, and many of the excellent browsers built-into Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson phones are the handwork of Teleca.

Teleca has also produced a browser that’s a worthy competitor to all of Opera Mini and Mobile, Nokia Webkit and the iPhone’s Safari. Don’t take my word for it; see Dennis Bournique’s review of Teleca’s New Browser – Wow!

I know what you are thinking. No; I have not been paid to market Teleca. Or LG

Anyway, Teleca recently rebranded to Obigo.

Okay, I’m done with history class. Does the the Teleca/Obigo browser on the KS360 pass the test? It does a good job but it is just not the most capable of browsers.

Browsing dedicated mobile sites on the KS360 poses no problem, and browsing not-so-heavy HTML pages is not either. However, the browser runs into a wall when you attempt to load a very large page and displays an “out of memory” error.

I mean, this means I cannot do any serious work on that browser. I cannot log into Alireta‘s web-based client admin area. I cannot do any cpanel operations, et al. Add this to the fact that the browser is also a wee bit slow in loading pages.

The KS360 impresses me in many areas, but this limitations of the browser is a deal-breaker for me. It would serve a casual user of the mobile web quite aptly though, so its up to you to decide whether it will do.

However, if a website has been deliberately designed to be mobile-friendly, the Teleca/Obigo browser in the KS360 handles it beautifully well.

Email client

POP3 and IMAP4 email clients are supported. Attachments to email can be fully downloaded. The KS360 also has an auto message retriever that searches for new mails at set intervals and announces new mails with a tone/note.

There is an issue I have with the mail client. For some reason I am still not able to deduce, the mail client does not show me an up-to-date list of the most recent mails on my server. The list it presents always has the most recent week’s mails missing.

This is a deal-breaker for me. My most recent mails are important to me. Whether this is a server issue or a device isssue is not clear, though I doubt the former. All other email clients I have used work flawlessly on this score.

Photo Gallery

LG has provided a very sleek image gallery. The user can choose between 4 viewing styles, including thumbnail view, two 3D view options, and a list view. The 3D view options are stunning, though things can get sluggish a bit when viewing images stored on a a heavilly loaded microSD card. I had a 2G card in the phone.

There’s also a slideshow view option.

Organizer and Office features

Surprise; surprise! The KS360 comes with office document viewer, giving the user the ability to view MS Office documents. For a phone in this price range, that’s a deal.

Battery Life

The battery just lasts and lasts. Quite impressive.

Java

Other features:

- Voice Recorder
- FM radio
- Calendar
- memo
- Games
- Calculator

Conclusion

The KS360 is a noble effort from LG. The feature set is extensive, and the user interface nice and simple. But if you make extensive use of the internet and email, this may not be what the doctor ordered.

But its specifications, general performance and price makes this phone a recommended one for anyone on a budget and looking for an all-round device.

From the developer’s website:

Ozone is a world-class mobile browser that offers great performance and outstanding mobile browsing experience for S60 and UIQ based phones.

Ozone’s features make it one of the best in its class. From the open-source WebKit engine, Ozone not only delivers advanced features such as client-side database support, application cache, zooming and multiple windows, but also provides the best web-standards compliant experience that’s available.

* Intuitive UI and page navigation
* Multiple windows
* Zooming and panning
* Pop-up blocking
* Auto-complete URL editing
* Desktop/mobile mode switch
* Netscape scriptable plugin
* Low memory footprint, works in devices with only 64MB RAM
* Offline Web Applications support including the latest mobile Gmail for iPhone and Android

And more: high performance disk caching, fast image decoding, favorite icons, bookmark management and advanced HTML, CSS and JavaScript (SquirrelFish) support.

The browser, which is still an Alpha release, is available for Symbian s60 and UIQ devices.

Ozzone startpage

First Impressions
I did a quick run on the E90, and the interface is smooth and pleasant. I couldn’t login to the Facebook full website when I tried that, but the site was well rendered. heading for Yahoo, I was redirected to the yahoo mobile site. But the mobile re-direction did not work for Alireta.com and MobilityNigeria.com (another mobile browser for mobile web designers to worry about), but fortunately both sites have links that allow the user to force the mobile versions.

The application suddenly terminated itself while I was attempting to navigate a page on the MTN Nigeria website. But then, this sort of thing is to be expected from an Alpha release.

I’ll have a more detailed review as soon as I can squeeze the time.

Download from the [mobile] Ozone website.

Over the years, there has been varying amounts of scaremongering with regards mobile viruses. Those of us who are able to objectively look at the situation keep refuting the scares. This time, the scare is coming via the BBC World Service.

According to a Digital Planet podcast (28/04/2009), researchers from the U.S. think that mobile phone viruses are set to increase.

Says Prof. Barasbi of Northwestern University in the United States:

Once 10% of us share the same operating system, phone viruses could spread within hours via Bluetooth or text.

Scaremongering is almost always based on bits of possibilities combined with the ignoring of other facts and factors. So, let’s examine the facts and factors in this instance. I will be using the Symbian OS to illustrate my points, seeing that its a platform I am very familiar with.

Fact 1: A number of mobile OS platforrms already have more than this “critical” 10% share. Symbian had 47.1% in 4th quarter 2008; Blackberry had 19.5%; Windows Mobile 12.4%; and iPhone OS 10.7%.

On a global, all-time count, Symbian alone certainly exceeds 10% total share.

Fact 2: That a virus breakout could spread within hours via Bluetooth and SMS (or any other media) doees not mean that it will happen. Symbian OS, for example, is built up such that an application (legitimate or rogue) CANNOT be installed or run without the conscious permission of the user.

Fact 3: By definition, a virus is self-propogating. The Symbian OS does not allow this. Current “viruses” for Symbian are not actually viruses. Malware yes; virus no.

Simply put, a Symbian phone (by way of example) cannot be infected by a virus without the phone user deliberately authorising the actions of that malware. The much talked about application signing process behind Symbian makes it very difficult for a rogue application to get into my hands.

To make this short and simple, there are mobile OS platforms that have exceeded the 10% “critical mass” presented by Prof. Barasbi that have existed for years, and the virus outbreak hasn’t happened.

It hasn’t happpened, partly because unlike PC viruses that run without permission, mobile OS platforms are generally more secure, because 3rd party applications cannot run without the permission of the user.

After years of hundreds of downloads, bluetooth messages, incoming SMS, installations (including trial runs), I am yet to face one single virus issue on any of my Symbian devices.

Caveat:
I cannot hold brief for individuals who patronise cracked applications. That is one sure way to open yourself up to mobile malware. Stay away from sites that promote hacked or cracked applications you are safe.

In addition, simply don’t accept unsolicited files via Bluetooth, SMS or MMS, and you are good. Even if you do, no mobile phone malware is able to install itself without your consent.

I have been using Nokias for years. I have used a significant number of Nokias over the years. As such, I have been a loyal user to this manufacturer, and this also means that I am in the know about the trends with Nokia.

But I am fast getting tired of what seems like Nokia’s inability or unwillingness to change with the times. Okay, they do change a bit, but they are not innovating fast enough. I am very particular about Nokia’s high-end offerings (mostly smartphones), so be sure to read my piece within that context.

1. Give us adequate RAM
What is the point of touting multi-tasking on a device when the user is just going to run into an “out of memory” error soon along the line?

I am not talking about some 4 year old phone, but recent releases like the 5800 XpressMusic and the embarassing flop, the N96.

2. Fix S60 UI Sluggishness
S60 has been known to be sluggish for years. Competing platforms are often snappier. And is there a sworn oath by Nokia executives to the effect that they must not authorise adequate processors for their devices?

For example, the N97 is already outdated before its release with a 3-year old processor. Compare the upcoming Samsung OmniaHD with that and you get the idea: a powerful, power-saving 600 MHz processor on an S60 device! Previews already refer to the snappy interface on the OmniaHD.

While Nokia sleeps and trundles on, it is very clear that the very first snappy Symbian S60 device in years will be the Samsung OmniaHD. Anyone wanna bet otherwise?

3. What is Nokia doing with Web?
I find it a contradiction that the Finnish boys have been marketing the mobile web on their devices since Adam, yet have one of the most sluggish web browsers in the smartphone world. Yes; S60 Web, with all its other capabilities, is sluggish and can be frustratingly slow at times. This may or may not be a fsallout of the underpowered processors that most Nokia smartphones are equipped with.

But whatever it is, having to be slowed down by my mobile web browser when I have a speedy 3.5G or WLAN connection is not endearing.

4. Nokia is stretching its resources in too many directions.
Yes; this has its advantages, as Nokia is able to sell different flavours of what is essentially one device to different people. But it does not look like it is helping Nokia channel the right proportions of resources into development and innovation.

5. Please fix “Download”
Download is the application on Nokia’s smartphones that is supposed to serve as an application store. I use the word “supposed” because, “Download” just doesn’t work. Plus, it is very user-unfriendly.

Nokia had years to improve this, but never did. Then Apple came along and worked wonders with its app store. Okay, Nokia, we will forgive you if you copy Apple again on this one. Just make it work.

6. S60 5th Edition UI is inconsistent
If you are going to copy, please copy right. Nokia’s S60 5th edition is a slight improvement on its older sibling, but having played with it a bit, i find certain inconsistencies in the interface.

At one level, you tap once to move to move to the next level of the menu. At others, you have to double-tap. Excuse me, but such inconsistencies can be disorienting to users.

I would have thought Nokia would adopt the now dead UIQ’s method. Tap to enter. Tap and hold to pop up an options menu. Works well.

7. Finally, Nokia seems to be going retro these days with internal memory.
Older smartphones had as much as 150mb internal disk, and many of Nokia’s new offerings provide much less. Think 5800 (80mb) or the E75 (50mb for a 2009 smartphone!), and the just announced E52 (60mb!).

What are the guys at Nokia thinking?

The majority of nokia’s smartphones are outdated before their release. Take the N97. This and other Nokia devices are already outgunned by many other competing devices from different manufaturers even before their releases (underpowered processors, outdated user interfaces, 3-year old camera specifications, meagre RAM and internal memory). No way!

It feels good to finally have my say on this. Samsung, LG, Apple and HTC are parading a nice array of mouth-watering devices, and I am beginning to feel like I am stuck in the stone age with Nokia’s latest efforts.

Sony Ericsson used to be my second port of call after Nokia, but they are clearly running on 4-year old steam pretty much the same as Nokia is.

This year, I will be shopping around a bit, and I have pencilled down the following devices from different manufacturers and platforms:

1. Palm Pre, running WebOS
2. Samsung i7500, running Android
3. Apple iPhone 3G, running Mac OS X
4. HTC Touch Pro, running WinMo
5. Whatever else catches my fancy

Who knows what manufacturer and OS platform I’ll be using as my primary device this time next year?

Owners of the 5800 XpressMusic here in Nigeria can now update their device’s firmware to the latest verion, 21.0.025. The the best part is that the update can now be done directly on the phone. Bye-bye, PCs, USB data cables and huge downloads.

Over the air firmware update (update done directly on the phone) is simpler, faster, lighter, and less problematic than doing it from a PC. It took less than three minutes to get the firmware on my 5800 updated and the size of the installation file was less than 4MB. If this same update were to be done from my PC, it would have taken nothing less than 40minutes and the file size somewhere around 100MB.

Please note that in order to be able to carry out over the air firmware update, it is best that you have a bundled mobile internet package from your network operator.

How To Update Over The Air
From the phone’s home screen click the dial pad short cut key, then dial *#0000#. The phone displays your current firmware version.

From that screen, click Options and select Check for updates. The phone will alert you of a new firmware version and then select download.

Once the installation file is downloaded, select Install and the new firmware will be installed on your phone. That is it, simple as ABC.

I have noticed a few changes since I installed the latest firmware version on my 5800. The changes include a considerably faster browsing experience on the built-in browser, applications launching faster, and the white menu button breathing at intervals in standby mode (though you’d have to enable that in the notification light settings).

For those of you who actually update your firmware version, please let us know the changes you notice after updating.

Most current mid-tier and all current high-end mobile phones have built-in email clients in their Messaging menu. This means that you can recieve, manage and respond to your emails on your phone. Benefits include having access to your mail when away from your desktop or notebook. You can always fire a quick and short response, and then follow it up with a detailed response later.

Setting Up

1. The email account you want to setup on your phone must be either POP3 or IMAP (the latter is better). This includes Gmail, corporate email accounts, and premium (not free) Yahoo email accounts.

2. You need to have a full internet serviccee on your line via GPRS, EDGE, 3G or HSDPA. WAP internet won’t do. Luckilly, all the 4 GSM networks now offer full internet to pay-as-you-go subscribers.

3. You need to know your mail servers, both incoming and outgoing. These are usually in the format: mail.domain.com, imap.domain.com, smtp.domain.com. There must be two of them, though in some cases the two may be the same.

4. Your email username (usually the full email address) and its password

If you have all the above, simply go into your Messaging settings menu and input them in their respective fields. During setup, choose IMAp as mail service type. If your account does not run IMAP, then opt for POP3. Ask your webmaster or company technical support members for help if necesarry.

Some mail clients offer the option to set automatic retrieval, such that at the set times or intervals, the phone connects to your mail server to download new mails.

Let me know how it goes setting up your email account on your phone. I’ll be here to guide you through the tough spots if you run into trouble.

Casual internet users on the Zain network can now take advantage of Zain’s monthly ‘Zain Lite’ plan at the cost of only N1, 000 monthly.

From Zain:

“Get connected to high speed internet access monthly on your phone by activating GPRS on your phone, recharge with N1000 and migrate by dialing *141*712*4#”

This gives the subscriber a 30-day subscription with a 100mb data cap, so it is perfect for casual internet users for on-phone usage only. This plan suits those who use the internet mostly at the office but would love to be able to check the odd mail, check out their favourite mobile-friendly discussion forum (stay with mobile versions of websites only!), and get bite-sized information once in a while and during weekends outside the office.

Good move by Zain!

PS: Zain, you still need to extend your EDGE, 3G and 3.5G coverage within Lagos please!