Sure, the screen's small and you might have to scroll and squint a bit, but if you've got to read documents while you're on the go, something's better than nothing!
Working with office documents while on the run might seem tedious at first. Most mobile phones have keypads that don't exactly lend themselves well to text input, but I've often found myself wanting to read them, especially when I receive attachments via email. With the help of some affordable software, you can view, and in some cases even edit, documents that start out life on a PC or Mac.
I have been using Quickword Viewer ($14.95 from http://www.quickoffice.com/) to view documents while they are sitting in the Inbox on my Nokia 6600, waiting to end up on my computer when I get back home or into the office. Quickword also can read Palm DOC eBooks. Quickword is fast, and can run at full screen to show the most that any document viewer really can show on a Series 60 device. Quickpoint Viewer ($14.95) is also available, and will let you view PowerPoint documents on your phone.
You can take things a step further with Quickoffice Premier ($49.95), which can read and write Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files. However, it requires a newer Series 60 device. If you are using an older device, such as the Nokia 3650, you'll be limited to Quickword and Quickpoint.
RepliGo (http://www.cerience.com/) is another option. It syncs your documents back and forth, similar to the Documents to Go application available to Palm OS users. RepliGo requires a PC to perform conversions, leaving Mac users totally in the cold. (Though like many Mac users, I'm used to getting kicked in the stomach by software developers now and then, so this doesn't really bother me much.) The RepliGo viewers are available for free, which is good news for folks who spend money on the converters, since it makes it possible for anyone with a supported device to view the converted office documents.
Like RepliGo, the Mobipocket Office Companion (http://www.mobipocket.com/) converts your office documents to a format that you can view on your phone. The reader is free, but you'll need to buy the converter ($19.95; $29.95 adds Access, FrontPage, and Visio support).
SyncML allows you to synchronize a Nokia phone with almost any PIM database on computers and servers.
The Nokia PC Suite and Apple iSync both initiate the synchronization session from the computer over a local network connection (e.g., a Bluetooth connection). But many times those are not sufficient. Here are some examples:
The client-based solutions do not allow mobile phones to directly synchronize with popular workgroup servers, such as the Microsoft Exchange server.
Few Nokia-compatible synchronization programs are available for different flavors of Linux and Unix desktop computers.
Apple iSync does not synchronize any Series 40 device with a Mac computer. It also does not support all popular Series 60 devices.
The Nokia PC Suite does not always work properly for all PCs and all phones.
SyncML, a generic XML-based language for expressing data exchange in a synchronization session, provides the answer. Many Nokia devices are capable of initiating synchronization sessions to SyncML servers via general Internet connections (e.g., TCP/IP over GPRS). A SyncML server communicates with several synchronization endpoints over TCP/IP connections using SyncML. Most commercial PIM databases support SyncML. Check your Nokia phone's manual to see if it supports SyncML.
If your Series 60 phone does not have built-in support for SyncML (e.g., Nokia 3650), it is still possible to add SyncML support by installing new native software on the phone. Nokia provides Symbian-based SyncML software for the Nokia 3650 free of charge (see http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,5371,00.html).
The SyncML servers enable the device to synchronize with a large variety of backend data sources that do not have native Nokia support. Here are three examples:
Run a personal SyncML bridge
The open source MultiSync program synchronizes a Nokia device with the Ximian Evolution (or Evolution 2) PIM software on any GNOME-based Linux system. You can download MultiSync from http://multisync.sourceforge.net/. Then you need to run MultiSync on your personal Linux computer, together with GNOME Evolution. The mobile phone connects to MultiSync via GPRS Internet and synchronizes with Evolution through MultiSync. A tutorial on how to configure Multi-Sync with a Nokia 6600 is available in the wiki knowledge base at http://multisync.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php?Nokia6600Instructions.
Run a dedicated SyncML gateway server
The open source Sync4j Project (http://www.sync4j.org/) and Synchronica (http://www.synchronica.com/) provide software for dedicated SyncML gateway servers. They synchronize Nokia devices with work-group-based PIM servers, such as the Microsoft Exchange server. You can run the gateway SyncML server to provide synchronization services to many mobile users. Data in the Microsoft Exchange servers can then be synchronized to almost any Windows or Mac computer using native synchronization software.
Hosted SyncML services
FusionOne's MightyPhone service (http://www.mightyphone.com/)is a hosted SyncML server that synchronizes mobile phones with Outlook or Lotus software on a Windows PC. To use the service, you need to open an account on the FusionOne web site for $3 per month (a free trial is available). Both the mobile device and the PC synchronize with the hosted account. Hence, the account always stores the updated PIM data and acts as the middleman to propagate changes from the phone to the PC or vice versa. For instance, if you make a change on the phone and synchronize it to your MightyPhone account, the change is propagated to the PC the next time the PC software synchronizes with MightyPhone. When you make changes on the PC and synchronize them to your MightyPhone account, the service sends an SMS message to the phone to alert you to initiate synchronization to keep the phone up-to-date.
On a Nokia Series 60 device, the synchronization process is handled by the Sync application (accessible from the Connect Sync menu). The Sync application holds one or multiple synchronization profiles. Each profile contains the settings for the SyncML server, the data set to be synchronized, the target databases, and the synchronization policy. You can create a new profile for your SyncML server or edit existing profiles via the Options menu. It also shows that contacts and calendar data are to be synchronized. The Remote Database values are specific to the SyncML server. In this case, the "address-book" and "calendar" values refer to the GNOME Evolution address book and calendar programs managed by a MultiSync instance.
To start the synchronization process for the selected profile, you can use the Options Synchronise menu item.
Synchronize your Nokia Series 60 smartphone with a Mac OS X computer.
The Nokia PC Suite does not run on Mac computers. Fortunately, iSync, the default data synchronization program on Mac OS X, supports synchronization with some Nokia Series 60 devices. Please note that you cannot synchronize Series 40 devices with a Mac computer via iSync.
You can find a complete list of devices supported by iSync at http://www.apple.com/isync/devices.html. Even if your device is not listed, it is still possible to hack iSync configuration files to get around artificial limitations imposed by Apple. For instance, to set up an unsupported Nokia 9300 with iSync, visit this site: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050422125043439.
To use the iSync program, first you should make sure your phone is connected to the Mac computer. I recommend a Bluetooth connection for Nokia phones. The iSync program's main window displays all the mobile devices that are currently being synchronized with the Mac. For example, the list could include all paired Nokia Series 60 phones and all connected iPod devices. Click any of the device icons to configure their synchronization settings. If your device is paired but it does not appear in the list, you can use the Devices Add Device menu to search for it and then add it.
You can choose to synchronize any of the listed devices by clicking it and then clicking the Sync Now button. If you click the Sync Now button without choosing a device, it goes through all the listed devices one by one and tries to synchronize them. If a device is not available, iSync silently moves on to the next device, but gives you an error message at the end.
The iSync program uses TCP/IP port 3004 to communicate with the phone. Make sure you have that port open if you have an active firewall on the Mac.
For Nokia Series 60 devices, iSync synchronizes all the contacts (including thumbnail pictures) to the Mac Address Book program, and synchronizes all calendar items and to-do lists to the iCal program. Email messages are not synchronized.
Using a Nokia Series 60 phone as a bridge device, you can synchronize a Windows PC and a Mac computer. This is a three-step process. First synchronize the PC with the phone, then synchronize the phone with the Mac, and then synchronize the phone with the PC again. The first two steps guarantee that the changes on the PC are passed to the Mac, and the last step ensures that changes in the Mac are synchronized back to the PC.
Synchronize the Contacts list, calendar, to-do list, and email messages on a Nokia device with PIM applications on PCs.
When PDAs first came out in the 1990s, their killer feature was the ability to synchronize PIM application data between the mobile device and the PC. PIM data typically includes contact business cards, calendar items, to-do lists, and email messages. A typical synchronization workflow is as follows: the user adds and updates PIM data directly from the PC using the full-screen keyboard. Then, she simply synchronizes all the changes to the mobile device and is ready to go. While on the move, she makes changes to the PIM data on the device (e.g., to add new business cards, receive email messages, or update the calendar). At the end of the day, she simply synchronizes all the changes made on the mobile device back to the computer.
Synchronization is a two-way updating process. It merges the changes made on both ends of the synchronization (e.g., the computer and the mobile device) since they were last synchronized. If an item is updated on both the computer and the mobile device, a conflict can emerge. In this case, the synchronization program prompts you to resolve the conflict. Or, the conflict could be resolved according to a predefined policy. For example, you could specify that the synchronization program always use the version on the mobile phone when there is a conflict.
Synchronization is typically initiated by the desktop computer and processed by the synchronization software on the computer. The computer acts as the main repository of all your PIM data. It backs up the data in the mobile device and supports advanced PIM management features not available on small devices. In addition, mobile devices can synchronize with each other by using a computer as a common repository.
I discussed methods to exchange individual contact items between devices and desktop computers. Synchronization automates the process by tracking the changes on multiple devices at the same time.
The Nokia PC Suite contains a Synchronise program, which helps to synchronize contacts, calendar events, to-do notes, and email messages from your phone to the Microsoft Outlook or IBM Lotus applications on a Windows PC.
If you want to transfer several phone numbers from one Nokia phone to another, you can just save each into the SIM card, swap the card to the other device, and then copy the SIM contacts to the phone's Contacts list. Figure 6-16 shows how to save a phone number from the Contacts application to the SIM card. Note that you must open the contact and select a phone number firstthis will not work if you've selected only a contact from the Contacts list.
You can also speed-dial contacts that are stored on your SIM card.
A SIM card stores only 250 contacts. Each SIM contact can have only one name and one phone number (this is why you must select one phone number before copying it to the SIM directory). No street addresses, email addresses, notes, or thumbnail images are stored on the SIM card.
On older Series 60 phones, such as the Nokia 3650, you must open the SIM directory application (select SIM SIM direct. from the Main menu) to work with the contacts on your SIM card.
The SIM card is especially useful when you upgrade to a new phone. You store your most important set of phone numbers to the SIM card. When you upgrade your phone, simply insert the SIM card into the new phone. The new phone now has the same phone number as the old phone, and it has access to the Contacts list from the old phone.
Exchanging electronic business cards in meetings is not only cool, but also efficient and reliable.
Often, we need to send contacts from one phone to another to avoid retyping the information. For instance, if you meet someone in a conference hall, instead of typing his address on your phone keypad, you can ask him to send his electronic business card directly to your phone. Then, when you go home, you just send the card to your PC for backup.
Exchanging business cards via Bluetooth is great if you forget to bring a business card or run out of them at a meeting.
In your phone's Contacts application, just highlight or open the contact you want to send, and then select Options Send… on a Series 60 device or Options Send bus card on a Series 40 device. You can choose from several data connection options to send the business card.
The data transport options for sending business cards from the phone are as follows:
The "Via text message" option composes an SMS message containing the text contents of the business card. The SMS message can only be sent to another mobile phone with a valid phone number. The recipient can view the business card in the message Inbox and save it. But the thumbnail images are lost.
The "Via multimedia" option creates an MMS message with the business card encoded in a file attachment. The thumbnail image, if available, is included in the file. The message can be sent to a phone number or any email address.
The "Via e-mail" option is the same as the "Via multimedia" option, except that it can be sent only to an email account. But it does not incur the per-message service fee many operators charge for MMS messages.
The "Via Bluetooth" and "Via infrared" options beam the business cards, including the thumbnail images, to a nearby device. If the recipient is a Nokia device, you can follow the instructions for receiving a business card over Bluetooth from a Mac in "Transfer Contacts from a Computer". If the recipient is a PC or a Mac, the business card appears as an incoming file in .vcf format with embedded thumbnail data.
Bluejacking is a prank that uses Bluetooth to send images or messages disguised as business cards to strangers in a crowd. The Nokia Sensor application helps you identify potentially interesting people in a crowd.
Some wireless operators' portal web sites support remote provisioning of contact data. You can simply load a web form in your desktop computer browser to fill out the contact details and then click the "send" button. The contact information is sent to your phone number via a special SMS message. You can review its contents in the message Inbox and then save it to the Contacts list on the device.
The benefit of the web-based approach is that it is platform independent and requires no configuration. You can use any computer browser to access the portal and send the SMS message to any phone. However, most web portals do not support thumbnail images in business cards. Also, depending on your service plan, the wireless operator might charge a small fee (e.g., 10 cents) for each SMS message received on your phone. So, use this option with caution if you need to send a lot of business cards.
