Sashi, my hairdresser has been asking me to write about telephony for as long as I can remember. I never did, nor did I return to the salon, where he used to work now that he has migrated to Japan.
Knowing that he keeps abreast of things technology, especially where mobility is concerned … here’s one for you Sashi! For one who styles my hair, from dark brown {original colour} to jet black, strawberry blonde, through platinum {thanks to Anita Sarawak really!}, Sashi is the other hyper-creative person I personally know who is into the latest gadget, and software – and non, he’s not on Facebook, or any of the social networks nor is he interested in those – he says that life is too fascinating to waste ‘time’ on, being coup up in front of a personal computer. Seeing how he keeps himself on the edge of things – 3 and now 4G broadband services are the in-thing for people his age.
Where do marketers go to and whom are they loosing out to, if they do not take the time to speak to these young generation who are hooked onto all the platforms you can permissibly imagine. The Internet is one thing mobile networks the other.
Here’s why you need these on your mobile phones, symbian or otherwise …
I personally have both Gizmo5, and Nimbuzz on my E75. Frustration overload, the Nokia E75 comes with SIP Telephony, but trying to use Skype on it {as of writing} is a no-no. You either sign-up with Fring, or the above two, to ‘parlez’ your way out of hefty phone bills when calling abroad, or when abroad calling elsewhere. Nimbuzz grants you the facilities of calling, chatting, messaging, and sending files on the go free. It combines all your buddies from Skype, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, and Google Talk — you can literally make ‘free’ calls on the same network. Like Skype, you would need to purchase credits when you’re calling outside the network to both mobile numbers, and landlines, and yes, it is worth subscribing to it, when most of your contacts have the client installed in their devices.
Nimbuzz works on all three platforms – your phone, web, and desktop. So if you’re a travelling professional – you might want to seriously consider other alternatives to Skype. Between the two, I enjoy Nimbuzz primarily all my facebook friends’ telephone numbers {subject to privacy settings} can be downloaded to my desktop Nimbuzz when calling via my MacBook, or via a client installed in my E75. For power tweples, your updates can be streamed to your Twitter account as well.
Skyfire
If you do not have a landline, and would like to call a landline number in Malaysia for example, it will only cost you about eight sen only, and that is the same rate you would call someone in Rome, Italy. As for calling mobile numbers to say Malaysia, it’ll cost you about twenty sen/minute, and about RM1, 20/minute to Rome. Unless you know exactly where you’re calling and savings is your number one priority, you might want to consider Skype-Out. All in all, there’s tremendous savings compared to your local service providers.
Google recently acquired Gizmo5, and until things settle, I can’t say much. Working similarly to Skype, Gizmo5’s charges are slightly costlier than Nimbuzz. If you’re within the same network, and you’re calling via desktop or mobile to a friend on Gizmo5, calls are free. But if you have to call someone without a Gizmo5 account, then calling to Malaysia via Gizmo, would cost you about twenty sen/minute to landlines, and forty-four sen/minute to mobile numbers. You might consider Gizmo5 for your calls abroad, or when abroad calling home to Kuala Lumpur, or elsewhere in the world. Gizmo5 works on three platforms – your hand phone smart or otherwise, your desktop and your Internet tablet.
HandyWi is a connector – in other words, it’s not just a connection manager, but a platform where after connecting via WiFi, or 3G or 4G, you’ll access several applications {apps} which include your favourite eateries, or ‘landmarks’ and Google Maps Mobile, Route66, Nokia Maps – its an interesting piece of software which you might want to consider downloading – currently it works on Nokia, and Samsung only.
Available for fifteen Ringgit Impetus software has created an application that enables users to save power. Did you know that mobile charger consumes electricity as long as it’s plugged in to the wall socket even when it’s not charging the mobile device? If you’re concerned with global warming, you might want to play your role at alleviating the condition of your planet in the long run.
With twelve months renewable protection for firewall, sms anti-spam, and antivirus, Norton Smartphone Security safeguards your privacy against mobile threats, and costs you about one hundred ringgit. Contact your local Norton reseller to get your Smartphone secured. Pioneer in mobile security, F-Secure, my favourite is a complete security package which includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, a firewall and a remote control anti-theft feature that safeguards your confidential information even if your phone is lost or stolen. Advanced automatic security updates keep the phone constantly protected against the latest threats. Costlier than Norton’s Smartphone Security, it is I believe one you would seriously consider for both your personal, and professional protection. F-Secure Mobile Security costs about two hundred ringgit yearly, renewable for personal use.
The other application I enjoy using, and is installed in my E75, is Psiloc’s World Traveller – a smart application for keeping you abreast about weather condition, flight tracking, foreign exchange, world time and … Travel Safe – where your credit or charge card, ID & Passport, license and other important information are secured, and encrypted in a virtual vault. Developed in more than ten world languages, what could be more perfect than that {for now, as of writing!}?
If you happen to be unlike me, who prefer working on your Smartphone instead of the portable carry-all-have-all-applications-in-one-heavy-hardware-and-wished-why-you-allow-yourself-the-displeasures-of-life, you might want to consider MobiSystem’s Office Suite that supports Microsoft Office 2007. Mobile Systems is a leading mobile dictionary and reference publisher and covers literally thousands of applications for both non-smartphones as well as PDAs.
Skyfire is a downloadable, free mobile web browser. Currently, Skyfire runs on Windows Mobile {smartphones and PPC} and Nokia N and E Series {Symbian S60, 3rd Edition} phones. Skyfire has been deemed one of the six must have apps for a Windows mobile although personally, I still prefer Opera Mobile on both my devices.
Why is WaveSecure hip? To activate WaveSecure on your device, you need to enter a user name, a 6-digit PIN and a mobile number. Once activated, you can secure the device and also back up Contacts, SMS, Calendar and Call Logs online. It’s hip because it secures your phone in case the inevitable happens – like putting it on top of your Ferrari, and driving away, or misplacing it somewhere for a quick espresso!
There is soft key “Option” which allows you to lock the device. The soft key also has options to check for updates or to get a new PIN. Online, WaveSecure allows you to perform all the operations you’d normally do it with your device. In addition, if an unauthorized SIM was used, you could retrieve all the SMS and Call logs and with the information, tracks the crook. WaveSecure cannot be uninstalled without entering the password that has been entered when you signed-up for the service. This is a good feature and strengthens the security of your device. And if you twit, you might want to consider these applications for inclusion in your next install updates… Hahlo, Twitterrific, Twibble, and Gravity
Enjoy!
