Nokia Blog

Firstly, apologies for the length of my post and thanks to Pasha for opening up this blog to other E61 users!

Being a devout gadget fan and all, I’m usually first in the queue for any mobile convergence item that is even remotely interesting. Throughout my technically colored recent years I’ve been an avid Palm user; a devout Windows mobile user and, since my introduction to the Symbian OS on the Nokia N-Gage (remember them!), a steadfast Symbian devotee.

My admiration (& dependence) of the S60 OS was further increased as the 6680 became my mobile of choice. Yet, at the time, I still needed my trusty Qtek S100 for mail syncing, quality web browsing, decent RSS reader and overall screen real estate.

With the introduction of the E61 however, I believe I have found the ultimate in convergence in an elegant package. Since buying the phone 2 months ago, I have found it has easily replaced my aforementioned Qtek and I find myself using it solely as my mobile office. It really is a cut above in many respects. The feature set is incredible in a very slim (albeit wide) package.

Web browsing on the device is a pleasure, the screen is fantastic and, after years poking various touch screens (& losing numerous styli) I found the QWERTY keypad a joy to use and I took to it a lot quicker than I expected. It’s actually faster than graffiti or letter recognition!

However it’s not all a bed of roses. Like many early adaptors, I get frustrated at the lack of updated or new software for the new OS 9.1, and, though I know developers are doing their best, its feels like waiting for a bus.. that doesn’t come.

Increasingly, phones, like the E61 have built in wi-fi making it easier to “sync ‘n’ go” for all sorts of data. We are not limited by network data or GPRS charges and I hope that developers take this into consideration. I haven’t seen may OS9.1 apps that do though..

I like that the E61 has a built in RSS reader out of the box. I DON’T like that you have to be connected in order to read feeds. For example, if I connect via wifi in the AM to get the latest feeds, and then disconnect, I need to keep the application open or running in the background in order to continue reading. If I go back out to the feed list or exit the feed portion of the web browser, I need to re-connect in order to read (or refresh) a feed that I downloaded only moments ago.

As I said the only solution is to keep the app in the background and even then you can only read all the articles in that particular feed. Try opening another feed and it will again attempt to connect. There seems to be no option to read my cached feeds….

So, in summary, the default RSS reader is a terrible “offline” RSS reader. This would not be too bad if there was an option to download feed images as I am used to on WM/Palm devices. With the built in wifi connection, and the ability to choose your access point, you don’t need to incur crazy GPRS charges (although you can if you want -if you have an unlimited data plan for example).

I have tried many various RSS readers, both java and sis based, and none of them currently offer an option to download (manually or automatically) feed images.

Wildpalm the creators of “HeadLine” seem to be the best bet going forward. They support offline feed reading and they have stated that they plan to support downloading/caching of images in future versions, but I wanted to know if anyone out there knows of any RSS Reader developments out there to capitalize on new handsets like the E61. Imagine engadget.com or gizmodo.com in all their shiny gadgetry gloriousness with images of new products attached to the relevant feed!

Am I jumping the gun here? Too soon for OS9.1? I don’t think so. Even if they had an option in the built in reader to allow offline reading of previously cached feeds, so I don’t have to constantly connect when I’m out and about, it would be a considerable help.

Ultimately I’m looking for a reader that allows automatic updating of feeds at a preset time, that also downloads images, and has support for enclosures..

Have I missed a 3rd edition app that does the above? How important is the RSS reader to you? Do you echo my sentiments? Let the RSS showdown begin…