I've gotta hand it to you guys, i've been converted to Nokia. My Windows mobile days are over. 😛
Anyway, one thing that impressed me so much about Windows devices was the "homescreen", and its complete customizability (that isn't a word, is it). Not just the background picture was changable, but i could set it up to show my tasks, the battery remaining (%, not bars), the time, my current profile, the number of messages i'd received, calendar entries, and a list of recently used apps all on the homescreen, no need for a menu. And most of these things were also shortcuts, so if i selected the text that said how many messages i have, i'd go to inbox...
Is anything remotely like this possible on an N series device? Dunno which one i want, but i figure they all run on the same Symbian, so it doesn't matter. I'm waiting for the announcements tomorrow to decide the right one for me 😊
Thanks in advance.
Something like that exists: menu > Tools > Settings > Phone > Standby mode > Active standby > On
See also "Active standby apps" on the same dialog where the above setting is.
Also the FM radio status and music player status are shown there, when active in the background.
Eseries phones has an additional feature for showing messaging Inbox state.
So are there 3rd party "Active standby apps", and if so, is there an extensive range? How much of what i described is possible on an N series phone?
B35tY wrote:but i could set it up to show my tasks
Yes, it'll show todos (but if you have more than 1 todos it'll just show how many are pending).
the battery remaining (%, not bars)
No, just bars. There are 7 bars so it's pretty fine-grained. NB being able to show % does not necessarily mean the battery gauge is more accurate.
the time
Yes 😊
current profile
If it's not the default profile (ie General) then it'll display the profile name.
the number of messages i'd received
You can specify which email account to monitor (or you can specify the SMS inbox), if email account is IMAP you can specify which folder to monitor. It will then display up to 2 message headers and the number of unread messages
for the chosen account.
calendar entries
It will display up to 2 of memo, meeting and anniversary entries.
and a list of recently used apps all on the homescreen
No. But you can define a list of commonly used apps (5-7 depending on model).
And most of these things were also shortcuts, so if i selected the text that said how many messages i have, i'd go to inbox...
Yes.
Is anything remotely like this possible on an N series device?
The above are as-is (ie without 3rd party apps) for an
E70.
I'm waiting for the announcements tomorrow to decide the right one for me 😊
You've got be patient if you're going to wait for the newly announced phones 😃 Eg the N95 is (probably) going to be available in Q1 2007.
Thanks heaps desertrat, you've helped a lot.
Yes, well done desertrat. 😊
On the battery level, no battery life gauge on any device made by anyone ever shows battery life totally precisely. It's not an exact science, for example even if it says it's half full it might actually be mostly full or mostly empty.
To complicate matters, batteries gradually wear down with both age and use, so even if you know how long it lasts at the beginning this time limit will change as you carry on using it.