Nokia Beta Labs

"What do you think we should do next, to make it mind-blowingly amazing?"

Make it run on platforms other than Windows. I use Firefox all day, but this being a Firefox extension doesn't help because it's Windows-specific and I'm not using Windows.

It seems it's not 100% compatible with PC Suite.

At least when I connect my N95 PC suite shows it as disconnected.

Also it seems to cache ALL information (SMS's Addresses etc) EVERY time you connect so it takes a long time for it to be fully connected.

I also had a problem when selecting "Send SMS" from the contacts pane - it then switched to the SMS pane and asked me which number to use (showing both the number listed for mobile and office (maybe only mobile is needed?)) but when I clicked select it did not insert it as receipient.

1. Make it compatible with PC suite so I can still use that to transfer files to my phone etc.

2. Make it work faster when connection the phone (otherwise I might just use PC suite which does many of the same things).

3. Make it Pop-up received SMS's (I thought it would do that but it didn't work).

Lovely program. Got it faults, but the gist of it is great. Can't wait to see improved versions, such as the stuff mentioned above.

I do think it would have been better if it was a minimalistic Windows program that stays in the tray, instead of a browser plug-in. Then it could have a pop-up for recived SMS's, similiar to MSN Messenger. Not to mention to have the program on all the time, and not only when you're browsing. So it's possible to see at any time when you get a SMS, as long you sit by the compuer.

Seems to be exactly the same as the mobile web server, yet have less features. What gives? What is the value in this versus the MWS?

hello,

i don't test it yet but after reading the comments, it miss alot features that i hope for.

signal sms on pc would be great.
i like the pc suite and that i can write sms via my pc. but i don't get a popup when i receive a sms.

i see this feature on a mac with isync+SE k750i. it's too cool after beeing afk for lunch and come back to my pc. and see a popup with the sms i get. even if my mobile is in my jacket.

i am at work currently so will will test it later today or tomorrow.

greetings

luxus aka kai löhnert

Barely installed it, here's my thoughts:

1. If it's truly merely a browser plugin, there's no need for it to be a .exe file. Delve into the Firefox documentation to figure out how to install it without needing to be a .exe file.

2. It appears to require PC Suite. Why? That doesn't really make sense to me, personally.

3. Given that this is the Beta Labs, and we're typically a bit more educated than typical internet surfers, is there really a need for the detailed installation instructions? Read this, this, this and this, then you can install. Show of hands from the testers, did ANYONE read the documentation?

The good:
the web app is very polished and I like it. I'd like to call a number, add it to my contacts or send a text from the web (similar to skype but using my mobile) as described in the help pages but it's not working in Firefox.

What I was hoping:
Background: Google is currently offering tons of online memory and Nokia wants to shift to services, can we have some online space for our text messages...
A server hosted (not local) service that would synch my contacts, text messages and other things online (OVI?).
Why don't you get rid of the text backup functionality in Pc suite, copy all local messages from my phone to somewhere on a Nokia server, add sms management and synchronisation and I will even click on ads of my Nokia web account 10 times a day ;-) (at least I would not mind).
Instead of installing the application on my local computer, can we have only 1 mobile app to install if not already there and put everything else on the server... and use wifi or 3g as medium.

Google is already half there with email (and contacts), Yahoo with pictures, Nokia?

Thanks for the tons of applications from Nokia beta labs.

I didn't test it yet as my Vista is messed up right now and I'm stuck on XP SP1. So, my first suggestions:
-Make it available for XP SP1 if it's possible.
-Add support for Opera. It's a very popular browser.

Error showing: '=40' insted of '@' in contacts.

Excellent concept, lovely interface. A few bugs I can see (using the Firefox settings):

1. I cannot reply to an SMS for some reason. I select "reply" from the pop-up menu and nothing happens.
2. Some messages from existing contacts display only the phone number of the sender, instead of the full names.
3. Goofy sorting of columns. Some messages from October are appearing near the top of my list.

Looking forward to the evolution of this application, I think it is very useful for those of us who would like to keep up with our phones while sitting in front of a PC (mostly) all day long!

1) When I call someone - I want an option to start the speaker of the phone. This way I can leave my hands on the keyboard :)
2) Also, it would have been super awesome if I could do all of these things from the command line. I can't wait to do a Start->Run->"Call gf speaker" and have my girlfriend on the line.
3) Same for SMS. It would be soooo cool to send SMSs from the command line. Can't wait already.
4) The log of the SMSs and calls is nice. But I want to export it to excel more easily. Do some statistics over there.

My review of the PC Phone is here:

http://migs.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/nokia-pc-phone-turn-your-pc-into-a-...

MiGs

I know you probably was expecting something like this, but: Make it for Mac please!

How about support for Opera?

It should probably (eventually) be part of PC Suite, there's no need for yet another systray icon. In fact, even as a standalone app, I think it doesn't even really need to be in the systray at all, it's just a bit annoying. Actually, my N95 8GB is showing as connected to Nokia PC Phone, but NOT connected to Nokia PC Suite anymore.

In the Nokia PC Phone Settings dialog, Cancel should be the right button and OK the left, not the other way around.

Another thing: On the Start menu, it should be in the Programs->Nokia->Nokia PC Phone folder with the other Nokia apps, not in Programs->Nokia PC Phone.

Only for Windows :(

Great software app. I liked the text messaging function. I couldn't make a call from anywhere within the software (Messages, Calls, Contacts) using my N75 (at&t). Much to like. Look forward to improvements.

Well done... save my time when typing message.

Don't ignore "Flock" browser please. It is getting more and more popular. Hopefully, it won't take too much work porting because Flock and Firefox are based on the same code.

It is a pity that not all S60 phones are supported yet. I would have liked to try it, but my E65 is not on list of supported phones...

If you have the time, you could also add support for Avant Browser. It's not that popular, but still people use it.

Hi,

thanks to NOKIA Team this is great :) but...
this will be good if we can you our cellphone remotely for example in our home 1 pc and 1 nseries phone connected to pc/usb and ill go in the internet cafe and browse for a website and send sms :)

regards

PC Phone is a great addition.

As people have already mentioned some kind of pop up would be great for text messages, missed calls etc.

Great application. Keep up the good work!!

Hope to test another beta version of this app soon!!

Thanks

Excellent!! This is an application I'm sure a lot of us will embrace and use extensively!
Being responsible for about 400 cellphones in my company I'm eager to implement new and efficient way of communication for my colleagues, and Nokia PC Phone is an important step in the right direction. Being able to make and revieve phone calls without touching the phone itself is very efficient, and saves a lot of time and hassle during busy days at work.

But it has to work seamlessly together with other applications, and I guess this will be improved in later versions.
A few errors:
- Somehow the speech does not get through to my headset when using PC Phone. (Nokia N95, cable connection to PC, wired headset HS-40). Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Can't really trust the PC Phone then. The other part can hear me, I can't hear them. If I disconnect the headset I still can't hear anything in the phone, but when I turn on speaker phone the sound comes through. No, there is nothing wrong with the headset or the phone. Latest phone firmware.
- Can't make outgoing call if phone number in contact is stored with space between some digits - for instance between international prefix and rest of the phone number. This is a common notation in MS Outlook, and PC Phone should just filter spaces and other irrelevant characters from the phone number before dial attempt. Sending SMS works, phonecalls not. Should be easy to fix.
- I'd like to see more functionality in the PC Phone Tray application. It would be nice if the popup menu of the Tray Phone had an option to make a phone call and send an SMS without having to open the web application. Just right click on the tray icon, selecting "Contact", "Make call..." or "Send SMS" and having a simpler interface popping up, not the full screen web page.
- From time to time the contacts and messages don't show up in the PC Phone window. I'm not really sure why - I guess it works again after some restarting.
- I'm not sure about the web interface... We are used to integrate the phone with Outlook for syncronizing contacts etc, and it would be natural to have the PC Phone inegrated with Outlook in some way rather than making it a separate web application. Or let's have both ways! I like the Tray application, that one should be developed further!

All in all, there are some issues that need to be fixed before the PC Phone can be considered a stable application, but the approach is good, and I look forward to future releases. Keep it up!

This is a great application . I found out I can not see Chinese contacts in this application . Meanwhile , all the time , I need to install a so called " enhancement driver " , which I do not what is it . You might to make sure this can be mentioned in your instructions . It's still in Beta and some of errors mentio ned already . I 'd like to see a SMS in PC phone can indicated name instead of number only .

My device : E90
Location : China , Shanghai

I think that this concept should replace the existing PC Suite. It will be extremely convenient to manage all the PC Suite functionality from the web browser. Should also support Firefox on Mac

Thanks,

Cheers and thanks for your comments!

We have received a load of comments and email from all of you. Thanks to all who have taken their time to share their thoughts with us!

To answer all your questions, we have updated the FAQ on the betalabs pages. It includes answers to more or less all questions posted to us by Friday last week. Take a look. We will update it similarily in the next batch.

New build coming up : we aim to post a new build tomorrow. The Nokia PC Phone will now include IE7 support too.

Some general comments :

Many of you comment about a need to have a pop-up window for an incoming call or SMS. That actually has been implemented in the build. Go and test it.

SMS search - we haven't yet heard about the SMS search from anybody. You can search the contents of your SMS archive in the SMS section. Pls. comment if you find this useful.

Web calls - we have received some comments about triggering calls or SMS's directly from any Web page. Pls. share your thoughts about that functionality? When do you think that would be useful?

Many of you have given us feedback about compatibility with their phone. Thanks for that! You can find a list of phones that we have tested the software with.

About the N95 : there may be differencies in the phone firmware. In our tests the N95 4GB version performs well. The 8GB version has not been tested. Both versions have different firmware versions.

Happy holidays to all of you from us!

- The Nokia PC Phone team -

I am using a Nokia 3250 with Firefox 2.0. I Love the new App, because I hated it to view messages on my mobile phone. When I'm using my computer, which I use a lot I listen often to music and don't hear my phone. Using this system I can get some feedback. However I have a few points what still needs some work done.

1. The phoning option doesn't work with my phone, I both tried connecting bluetooth and cable. I don't get a popup when I recieve a message or a call, and that is, I my sight, the main function of this program.

2. The new menu, so you can message a text a number shown online, needs some work done. I think the menu is too 'big'. When je click a phone number there comes a huge menu which can get some smaller, maybe a option for someone to choose a menu of color scheme to fit his own needs. I worked trough the style of the page and tried to create my own page, which wasn't easy (a manual would be nice)

3. connecting isn't that handy, everythime I restart firefox and open de pcphone app, I have to reconnect, isn't it possible to keep connected like in pcsuite? Because after reboot the comp I have to install again the app on the phone. Isn't normal, right?

Next some points which are in my opinion outstanding;

1. Editing your contacts in a handy menu, working fast, usefull info like website, address etc.

2. Loving the option to add a contact of a website, handy for instead taking your phone or picking a piece of paper to write down.

Overall, needs some work done, but the app is a keeper!

Thank you for all your input.

We have received quite a lot of personal feedback to our email address and we have tried to reply to all of you who have sent some comments, incident reports or proposals.

What we would like to hear from you is the following :

Now that you have experienced using your Nokia from your PC, and you understand what can be done with this kind of approach - what are the top 3 things in your Nokia that you want to get done from your PC?

Thanks for your encouraging feedback !

Best wishes to you all for 2008!

- The Nokia PC Phone Team -

Great fun to be working and be connected on the same time.
I feel like it still needs some polishing but the overall idea is great.

Answering the phone through the speakers/mic from the computer would come handy.

It's taking a whole lot of time (5mins+) to see any content from my messages everytime I connect the phone due to "cache".
This is annoying. I notice my E61i and my laptop exchanging info forever bedore anything (messages, contacts...) happens.

Overall, it's a B with possibility to become an A+.

great stuff!

Just would like to comment the latency issue :

Many of you have given feedback about it, thanks for raising the importance of the issue. This helps us to prioritize our actions.

We need to still work to cut down the UI latency to a level, which allows for a great user experience. However, the bandwidth from the application through a local bearer over to the phone and back will not be as fast as all of us are experiencing in the high-speed broadband Web.

We will continue our work bearing in mind this technical constraint.

br

- The Nokia PC Phone Team -

how do i stop the ActiveX from being blocked each time i click on the pcphone in the tool bar using IE?
how do i bulk delete all my messages using the pcphone?

hope the next update has full bluetooth support for s60v3? (N95)
thanks
Rich

Though this application has several neat features, the one I'm most interested is the ability to archive SMS messages to PC. In fact, I would've expected this to be part of PC Suite, but alas it isn't. I'm not talking about simple backup here; what I am referring to is the ability to download SMS messages from my phones, consolidate and organize the messages into one or several message archive databases on my PC, and then sync the changes back to one or more phones if needed.

Specifically, I am running into the problem of having to deal with SMS messages on both the in-phone memory and memory card(s). I would like to consolidate these messages in one place, and unfortunately there's no feature in PC Suite that lets me copy messages from one memory/card location to the other. PC Phone comes close to allowing me to do this, but it currently lacks the ability to send messages back to the phone.

The SMS archiving feature that is part of this early release of PC Phone is a good start, but it is currently limited and inflexible. While it works as advertised, the missing piece is the ability to restore/export/save the messages from PC back to a phone. As well, in order for this to be truly useful, there needs to be support added for batch operations (ie-being able to select several messages and apply the same operation to them in one step), the ability to configure SMS synchronization settings, as well as support for user folders (including the ability to create user folders on the PC, move messages into these folders, and then sync all of the changes back to the phone afterwards). But I'll admit that this is a promising start.

SMS management/archiving is a feature which I feel should not be ignored. While the focus from "smartphone" makers these days seems to be shifting towards e-mail, one should not assume that SMS is just for non-business users (ie- kids slacking off while at school) as in some markets where data access is still relatively expensive, SMS is key to conducting business efficiently.

Anyways, I really do hope that you take these suggestions into consideration. I look forward to the next release of this software. Thank you!

Gerald

PS - there seems to be an error in the FAQ (http://pcphone.nokia.com/faq.html):
"If I delete an SMS in the Nokia PC Phone SMS logs, what happens in the phone?
The deleted SMS will be deleted from the mobile phone too. You have also an option to delete the SMS from your phone only or PC only. The SMS is deleted from the phone when the phone is connected."

I could not find the option to select whether or not the deleted SMS also gets deleted from the phone?

Hey it will revolutionaries the way we use our phone because you can directly connect it to some one using instant messenger in near future rather than using all the connectors it makes sense to use this software after it moves out of beta

Will you integrate the app with Microsoft Outlook? That would be fantastic, i.e. initiating a call from Outlook (and perhaps also SMS:ses).

Letting users call from Outlook would appeal to me and other business users who have given up the fixed landline and are using the mobile for all business call!

Best regards
Thomas

Good start. Lot of improvements can be done.Easy to send SMS. We can share information from the web to other people easily through messages.Cut, Copy and (paste) send. Other options of "add to contacts" from the received messages does not work.

Need to work on phone calls feature. Does not work. It will be very good if I am able to get the incoming calls. Mic and headset of the PC is an Excellent option to be considered. The next level can be a call recorder.

All the best and Thanks,
Arun

Looks really great. any chance of a version for the nokia internet tablets - seems like a perfect fit, and people are crying out for something like this.

I've installed PC Phone without Nokia PC Suite. It works great, although slightly glitchy: Sometimes I can delete SMS messages, sometimes I can't (i.e. Clicking Delete does nothing)

For my basic need, i.e. quickly replying to incoming SMS, this would be perfect.

Oh, and I use Nokia 6120 Classic. Too bad the phone log is not viewable :(

Another new version, but still no support for 64 bit XP - and still no date for providing this.

I've raised this before and asked for this information - but my request has received no response - both disappointing and frustrating.

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This is great but it should have support for Linux and Mc too...

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