Introduction

Nokia doesn’t have a version of the Ovi Music Player for the Mac. Its a long time coming but Mac users are not completely left behind. There is still Nokia Multimedia Transfer, which allows you to do the following with your Nokia mobile:

• Transfer music & playlists from iTunes
• Transfer and copy photos and videos from iPhoto
• Sync bookmarks
• Transfer files from your Mac

Setup

The application is available in two versions, 1.4 .2 is for MAC OS 1.5.8 (Leopard) and 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard) and 1.3 Beta, for Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger). You can connect Nokia Multimedia Transfer via Bluetooth or the data cable. I used a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music for the transfer.

Music

You can transfer all DRM-free content from iTunes to your Nokia mobile. Protected music and audio books cannot be transferred. Once you select “Enable iTunes Transfer” in the Device Settings, all playlists, podcasts and music are now visible in Nokia Multimedia Transfer and you can choose what you want to transfer. Before transfer, you can choose to change the encoding, to save space on your phone’s external memory. But I prefer to leave the encoding undisturbed, but if you really want to save space, suggested encoding is Apple’s AAC 128 Kbps format.

Its important to note that this is music transfer, not sync. Sync lets you transfer meta data of your music files from the mobile back to your primary media too. The downside to not having sync is that play counts, last played and other meta data, that’s useful to create dynamic playlists in iTunes cannot be updated. I would ideally like to keep all my media content n iTunes and use multiple devices for playback.

Its a long way off before I migrate lock, stock and barrel to Ovi Music Player because its not in the same level as iTunes, as of today.

Album artwork, embedded in the mp3 file will be transferred but not album artwork created using iTunes’ get album artwork feature.

Photos & Videos

Nokia Multimedia Transfer also lets you transfer photos from iPhoto to your Nokia mobile. You can not only transfer photos but also Events, that are created in iPhoto. You can also choose to resize the images before they are transferred to the phone to save disk space.

In order to import photos from your phone back to iPhoto, click the “Enable this devices as a digital camera“. With this, whenever the device is connected, iPhoto is automatically started, if Nokia Multimedia Transfer application is open, and you can import the images to iPhoto.

iTunes and iPhoto videos can also be transferred immediately when the Nokia phone is connected to the Mac. Videos playable by QuickTime and are not copy protected can be copied. Nokia Multimedia Transfer also lets you transcode the videos before they are transferred, to make them playable on your Nokia phone.

Sync Bookmarks

With Nokia Multimedia Transfer, you can sync bookmarks between Safari and your Nokia internet browser. Bookmarks in a bookmark folder with your device name, say Nokia 5800, in Safari will be synced with the bookmarks on the device. When you change your bookmarks in Safari or on your device, Nokia Multimedia Transfer will synchronise your bookmarks on both.

Transfer Files

You can browse the contents of your device from your Mac and transfer files to and from the device using the Nokia Device Browser. I suggest that you use this only for files like application executables, etc and not media files. For media, use only iPhoto and iTunes transfer.

Conclusion

Nokia Multimedia Transfer is no where near a comprehensive multimedia desktop application for the Mac to sync with the Nokia device. Its a testimony of the market share of Mac versus Windows. Nokia obviously has a large team working full time for the Windows platform. Ovi Music Player, Ovi Suite and other applications run on Windows and they are more feature rich. But for a Mac user, Nokia Multimedia Transfer is better than nothing. Its still a good application, if you’ll forgive the lack of basic features like music sync etc.

In this second part, we are going to explore applications which convert videos for playback on Nokia S60 5th edition mobiles, specifically the Nokia 5800.

In Part 1, we reviewed SmartMovie,  a commercially available from video player for playback on the Symbian device.

We will look at three applications for video conversion. All these applications were installed in a laptop running Windows XP SP2 with 1 Gigabyte of RAM and a 1.66 GHz processor.

1. Videora Nokia 5800 Converter
2. Handbrake
3. Nokia Internet Tablet Video Converter

Videora Nokia 5800 Converter 5.00

Videora Nokia 5800 Converter can be downloaded here. It supports H.264 VGA 1024kbps Stereo/128kbps and MPEG4 VGA 1024kbps Stereo/128kbps formats.

Conversion of an avi file of approximately 800 Megabytes in the H.246 format takes approximately 45 minutes but when encoded with the MPEG4 format takes nearly 2.5 hours. Videora has different versions for N97, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and various other mobile phones and iPods.

There are two modes you can choose for conversion, Simple Mode and Power Mode. In the Simple Mode, you just have to specify the file to be converted, the location on the hard drive where the converted file has to be stored and you are on your way.

Successful playback using the RealPlayer on the Nokia 5800 was a hit or miss. RealPlayer played back some files successfully back but it failed to play a few files. To find that playback failed after waiting for more than an hour converting the video is quite frustrating!!

Handbrake

Handbrake is an open source multi-threaded video transcoder that accept practically any type of video as a source. It supports many video formats that can be picked using various built-in presets that are categorized under Apple, Basic, High Profile and Gaming Consoles. I picked the Basic category and the Normal preset under this category for my conversion.

An avi file with running time of nearly 2 hours takes over 2 hours. The video codec was H.264. In the output settings, you can select the format of the output file as M4V, MP4, AVI, MKV and OGM. I’d prefer MP4. An avi file converted to M4V format failed to play on the S60 device. I didn’t try any presets under the Apple category.
Successful playback was once again a hit or miss. Playback of videos converted using some presets, like the Classic failed. Pick the Basic category under the Normal preset and it works!

Nokia Internet Tablet Video Converter v0.32

The Nokia Internet Tablet Video Converter is home grown application from Nokia available in Nokia Beta Labs that converts videos to the .mp4 format and works perfectly well with all Nokia phones.

It doesn’t confuse you by giving a myriad options of video and audio formats to choose from. The Video quality can be chosen from one of the 4 options that a layman can understand, Low, Good, Better and Best. Of course, each option corresponds to a particular bit rate of audio and video and a encoding at specific frame-per-second (fps). The bit rate for the Low video quality is 200 kbps video, 64 kbps audio at 24 fps. The bit rate for the Best video quality is 860 kbps video and 128 kbps audio at 30 fps.

It takes over an hour to convert videos but the time it takes to convert a video and the size of the video also varies based on the video quality. Choosing the Low video quality means the smallest video converted in the shortest time. Playback on the Nokia 5800 was always successful when converted using the Nokia Internet Video Converter.

Conclusion

Overall, my experience of converting videos to play on the Nokia 5800 was not very pleasant. What irked me most was how long I had to wait for videos to be converted to the required format. And I’d come to know only at the end of the whole process that playback wasn’t successful.

The applications throw you a whole bunch of options that are overwhelming. I would like to try out each one to determine which is the best, but video conversion with each option would take at least an hour. You simply can’t think of loading your S60 device with a couple of movies at the last minute, when you embark on a trip.

I’d recommend Nokia Internet Tablet Video Converter for its simple interface and 100% success rate.

More thoughts on video playback on the device

Videos playback using RealPlayer was a pleasant experience on my Nokia 5800. Frame loss was low and did not interfere with my visual experience. If you try to fast-forward, it takes a few seconds for full resolution to set in in the new playback position.

RealPlayer does not remember playback positions which is painful because navigating to the right point of the movie is cumbersome.

Video playback is a huge battery draining task for the mobile phone. Prepare to recharge your S60 device within a day if you are going to watch a whole movie.

You probably know that the 5800 XPressMusic has an accelerometer that automatically changes the screen from the Portrait to the Landscape mode when you rotate the mobile device. But there are two other useful settings on the 5800 XPressMusic. You can flip the mobile face down and instantly silence an incoming call or snooze and alarm.

The Sensor settings on the Nokia 5800XPressMusic can be found here. By default, Sensors are enabled on the mobile.

Menu –> Setting –> Phone –> Sensor Settings –> Turning Control

In the first accelerometer supported device, the Nokia N95, third party developers created an application called FlipSilent (because Nokia didn’t support it in the earlier devices).

I recently came upon an application from Dr.Jukka called Key Lock Clock. But its not a signed application and can only be installed if its Symbian signed.

This is for the S60 5th edition mobile devices like Nokia 5800 Xpress Music and N97. You can now see the clock even when the device is locked by just pressing the application key. This lights up the screen for a few seconds and the Clock is displayed prominently.

Additionally this application can be used as a Table clock when the charger is connected. To enable this feature just set the “Lights on while charging” on. Also if you think that the screen lights are too bright, you can adjust it with the “Lights intensity” option.

Fortunately, Symbiansigned allows you to sign applications online, for your device’s IMEI. They also email you the application after signing it. All you have to do is enter an email id, provide your IMEI and a signed application is in your inbox in a few minutes. Try it out.

While installing the device, you may get some warnings that may be ignored. Symbiansigned assumes that you are a developer who wants to sign a device for testing and lets you know about it. Key Lock Clock works great on my 5800 Xpress Music. Get it for your Nokia touch mobile.

Here is my list of essential S60 applications. I install these applications everytime after a ‘hard-reset’ of my device because I use them the most. They are not in any order of preference. Not all of them are five-star applications and many of them have not even been reviewed by us at BestofSymbian.

I would very much like to read your list too. Please do post your list as Comments. And remember that my list is purely utilitarian. 

1. Handy Taskman

Task manager for S60 apps. Absolutely essential. Use it view applications running in the background, check memory usage and start or kill apps.  It has a neat and uncluttered user interface. Handy Taskman by Epocware is available here. Second Choice: Jbak TaskMan is free and is quite good.

2. Nokia Email Service

Nokia Email supports push email allows you to have upto 10 different multiple accounts. Its quite handy when you are on the move. Nokia Email is available here.

3. Vufone

I need to have multiple backups / sync of my phone’s contacts, messages, documents and calendar. For the backup on the cloud, I use vufone. Read our vufone review here. Second Choice: Ovi from Nokia is good but I found too many glitches in the Contacts sync and I use it as a secondary backup. Google Sync is another option.

4. Nokia PC Suite

Nokia PC Suite is not an S60 application but its essential to make the best use of your mobile’s capabilities. So I have included it in my list. Its available at the Nokia website.

5. Flying MoneyManager

During travel, I use Flying MoneyManager to keep track of all my expenses. You can also export the expenses to the desktop in the csv or Quicken format. Its simple and easy to use. It available here.

6. Handy Safe

Store all your personal information securely using Handy Safe. Handy Safe is password protected and has a counterpart application for the Windows desktop that can be synced with the mobile. Its available here.

7. Handy Clock

With a world clock, calendar, alarm, timers and a stop watch, Handy Clock beats the native clock application on S60.  Handy Clock is available here. Second Choice: SBSH Reminders, but not as versatile as Handy Clock.

8. Advanced Call Manager

Its a call manager, as the name suggests. Lets you take control of your incoming calls in different ways – blocks and diverts calls, has a built in answering machine, sends a busy tone, personalized SMS, etc. Lets you create blacklists too. ACM can be purchased here.

9. ScreenSnap

Best ScreenSnap takes a snapshot of the mobile phone’s screen. This is very useful for my software reviews.

11. Y-Browser

An excellent file manager from drkukka. Its free and has some additional plugins and icon packs. Second Choice: X-Plore from Lonely Cat Games is more feature rich but it is not free.

12. Opera Mini

Great alternative to the default web browser to S60 and its free.  Can be downloaded at the Opera Mini page. Second Choice: Skyfire, Bolt – both in beta. Skyfire only works in US, UK and Canada. I couldn’t try it out. Bolt promises full PC-style browsing. I am trying it out now.

13. Fring

Fring is a classic application for free mobile calls, IM with Skype, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo, AIM, SIP, etc. The best available. Get it.

14. Active Notes

Active notes came built-in with my E71 but its now available for all S60 phones here. Its superior to the basic notes application in S60. You can attach images and media in a note and also link the notes to Contacts.  

15. QuickOffice

Active notes is a good application for writing short notes. But for full-blown documentation, QuickOffice is the the “go-to” application. I have written many blogposts using QuickOffice. I also use it to read documents on the go. Second Choice: Office Suite from MobiSystems is just as good. Read our review of OfficeSuite here. 

Honourable Mention

16. MobiPocket Reader

MobiPocket Reader is free pocket e-book reader for S60. There are thousands of e-book titles available for download and its a great way to spend time when you are traveling.

17. SkyeCaller Pro II

An excellent application for full screen caller display that supports audio and video ringtones. SkyeCaller Pro II is reviewed by me here and is available for purchase here.

18. Jomtris

Jomtris is a tetris-like game and its very addictive. Get it here.

19. cCalcPro

cCalc is a full function scientific calculator and beats the S60 default calculator hands down. There are two versions, cCalc, for regular keypad devices and cCalcPro for qwerty devices. Get it here.

20. Nokia Conversation

Conversation from Nokia is an add-on application that allows you to follow your communication with contacts as streams of conversations, which it organizes, based on individual contacts. Read our review here. Download it here.

Well, you actually can’t completely avoid it! But here is a way to make it a non-issue for your day to day use.

The most common complaint of S60 is the directory structure down to many levels, sometimes more than six. And one has to press the ‘back’ button several times to get to the idle screen. It’s not really a pain as it is made out to be.

S60 is a multi-tasking OS. Therefore several applications can run in the memory and it’s only limited to the total available RAM on the phone. Latest mobiles pack upto 70 mega bytes of RAM and that’s more than enough for several applications to run simultaneously.

Install Handy Taskman which will show all applications running on the mobile and also the list of recent apps. It can be invoked by long-pressing the Symbian Key or Home Key (recent E-Series mobiles have this in place of the Symbian Key).
So if you open a bunch of applications, just keep them running. Go back to the idle screen and make a call or whatever. All the apps are still running in the background!

You can kill an application from Handy Taskman and you can also start new application or recently closed applications from Handy Taskman.

There are also other tools that can show the running tasks – e.g. Tracker and Jbak TaskMan.

Have you been trying to install an application on your Symbian smartphone but it ended up in getting a certificate error? Don’t mind, there is an easy way to solve this problem. Here is the solution:

1. point your device to the “Application Manager” and open it
2. click the left soft key to open the options menu
3. from the list choose the point “Settings”
4. switch the option “Software Installation” to “All”
5. switch the option “Online certif. check” to “Off”

Pretty easy, wasn’t it? Additionally I have to tell you some little things about executing these instructions.

First you have to remember that certificates for applications are there for security reasons. If “Signed only” is choosen you can just install applications that have trusted certificates, that can only be obtained by enterprises. If Software installation is set to “All” you can also install self signed applications. That means, that the software author created the certificate by himself.

Secondly you have to know, that certificates are not the most important point when it comes to security. Once you installed an application, you may have noticed that you were warned against some features of the phone that will be used by the application. They are called capabilities and can be allowed or denied during the installation. So be careful which capabilities you allow for an application, because some of them can lead to costs or damage your system. You can find a list of capabilities at Forum Nokia.