The upside of working in IT is accessing and testing all the latest products. The downside of working in IT is testing all the latest products. Somewhere in the middle lies a happy balance - one that sometimes gets tipped either way.
Recently we began testing/using the Nokia E series business range of mobile phones. We haven't been using the Nokia handsets for some time as they lacked the business features. No matter how great the interface and ease of use - they didn't match what Blackberry and Windows mobile could do (and of course the new kid on the block - the iPhone)
So when they finally announced support for mobile synchronisation (think calendars, contacts, emails on the move) we took another look.
Traps to avoid for the uninitiated -
Get the latest copy of Nokia's Mail for Exchange application before you start.
They do not like to synch without an SSL certificate - not reliably anyway. So do put this on the device even if it is a self signed certificate.
Finally and the point of my post - it never ceases to amaze me how patchy the firmware is on phones when they are first released. In the rush to put the devices out in the market/channel they overlook the value of the negative customer experience. Sure it's OK for the early adopters (us) - we expect some hassles. However often these devices are still out of date well into the release cycle and fall into end users hands. So head to the Nokia device update site to pickup the latest firmware for your device - and remember to get the release that is correct for your locale. ie UK / USA / NZ etc.
I'm happy to report the latest update to my Nokia E71 seems to have ironed out the bugs and it is working smoothly now. It's been about 5 years since I used a Nokia - and even longer since I owned a Psion (the forerunner to Symbian OS) Overall I am impressed with the E series range - they have designed devices to cater for all the different types of business users and the consistency across the range is great.
Time to get on and test the VOIP components of the range and update those clients of ours who are using Nokia devices.
Finally - and importantly in this market - I have to say it is significantly cheaper monthly cost than RIM's Blackberrys and much less complex to support - unless customers are adamant they want to keep their Crackberrys we are recommending this new range - along with the Windows/Apple devices. I'm looking forward to RIM's moves to combat the new competition.
-Jeremy
posted @ Thursday, April 02, 2009 2:05 PM