I will prob buy an E61 tomorrow .... Need it for pretty much the same reasons as MapleLeaf as below, and will download truphone asap too for my US trip next week ...

Wireless Internet for when I am not at home
PDA functions
email management
mobile phone (with great roaming)

When I was in the US, I had a Audiovox 6600 with Sprint. When I started spending more time in Dubai, I switched to the E61. There are things I miss about Windows CE, but the E61 sits in my pocket like a regular mobile. It lets me take advantage of international blackberry plans and avoid data roaming fees, it has great voip which saves me a ton on international roaming and I use the thing like a regular phone. With a Windows CE device, I basically used it as a wireless PDA. It was too big to use as a day-to-day phone.

The battery life on the Nokia is way better and I like it better. Don't get me wrong, I have some complaints: (a) I'd like a faster processor; (b) more onboard memory; (c) US 3g compatability. The fact that the phone supports both Edge and 2100mhz UMTs, however, is a plus. Many units seem to support either Edge OR UMTs, but not both. Also the presence of Wifi limits the field.

I like the keyboard better thant he Treos I've tried. My old CE device is stylus based so I can't compare it. The Imates I've played with are faster machines, but they are ones that I have to clip to my belt, am not likely to take with me on weekends, etc. The Nokia is a good compromise on all fronts. It also works just about anywhere. There are not many sect-band phones out there.

A Jas/Jam has a few more frequencies, but that phone streets for close to US$1,000. Conversely, there seems to be derth of SIP based clients for Windows Mobile 5.0. The programs for Version 3.0 have had problems with 5.0. Yes, I know about Skype.

One other sticking point is that I am not sure about a good Blackberry Connect client for Windows Mobile 5.0. While Exchange Server now supports push technology, the roaming plans for Blackberry are very nice.

Off topic but does anyone know why BB data plans cost less that regular edge/gprs data? Is there some kind of compression that is used like with the hiptop?

Guys,

I had planned to download truphone to my E61, but my firmware version is too low for this, and the update function for my region says that I don't need an update

Can anyone else suggest a good VOIP client for the E61 ?

Thanks,

JP

What you need to do is flash your firmware (if your E61 is unlocked) and then update it to the newest version.

Details can be found at http://www.e-series.org/archives/105 Check out my post of Nov 10th and follow the link in my post.

Are you sure about the url link you posted?

I am just getting a Starwood Property Description page.

Mea Culpa, I did paste the wrong link.

Now fixed.

Follow the step by step instructions at truphone.com
They walk you through not only the installation process but the upgrade firmware process too.

http://www.truphone.com/scn/more_info/what_phones.tru

To use Truphone you will need the latest firmware (get this from Nokia Software Update): http://www.nokia.co.uk/softwareupdate/

on the E60 and E61, you will need firmware version 2.0618.06.05 or later.

To check the firmware version installed on your handset, press *#0000#. You can update your phone's firmware yourself by downloading from Nokia Software Update. See our help section for information.

Depending on where the E61 comes from, the Nokia Software Updater may not recognise your own phone and tells you that no update exists, when in fact it does. That is the issue covered in the thread I linked in my post above.

That was also my exact problem, now resolved.

As opposed to the one built in? Since the update I haven't had much trouble with it save DTMF problems.

I did not know this was a problem. I bought mine from my rogers dealer. He sells unlocked GSM stuff too.

General question: Has anyone tried out the e61 with a bluetooth GPS?
I'm looking at buying one and wanted to know what people's experiences have been. I'm looking at the Tomtom 6 navigator with either the tomtom bundled GPS or the holux 240 GPS. Any thoughts?

I've purchased an E60. I am assuming that the E60 is functionally equiv minus the keyboard to the E61.

Can you log into a Tmobile Hotspot say at a Startbucks with the E61? and then use something like a Truphone?

Yes, it should work.

http://www.truphone.com/scn/more_info/what_phones.tru