Sixty phones
news and opinions about Nokia Series 60 Symbian phones and other high-priced Finnish trinkets
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Seven Always-On Mail Review
Seven's internet edition of their push mail is a tremendous product. I honestly don't think I've encountered another must have piece of software like this in the three years I've been using S60 phones. This service turns your phone into a blackberry, essentially, and is not a carrier-dependent service. Some brief thoughts on the service:
1) Setup. Very simple process for pop/imap users -- nothing more than signing up, installing the .sis file from their website or from Handango, and entering your server info. I had a bit of a problem during the "test" phase when they see if your mail server is compatible -- it gave me an error message, yet when I signed in on the website to check the status of my account, it showed that the service was working fine. I think this had to do with the fact my server username is username@domain.net, not just username like most pop serviers.
They provide a thirty-day free trial use. The only drawback is that the software is not updated for any N-Series phone, including the N70 and N90, according to customer support. I have installed on my 6681 with no issues. They are working on an updated version for the N70, and say they will have a version for Symbian 9.1 ready in "mid spring."
2) Integration. The Seven app uses the built-in S60 email program, unlike other programs such as Profimail, which is a real plus for me. Profimail is a fine program, with some display advantages over the built-in client. However, there are little problems that the lack of integration causes, such as lack of vibration notification and softer font display than the built-in program provides, that make it unsuitable for my use. Seven mail shows up in your inbox, and the app automatically sets the settings in the built in client for use of the service.
3) Frequency of download. The service downloads mail to your phone from the server on average every four minutes. I find this to be perfectly adequate for my use, although sometimes the service can get a little sluggish and take up to ten or fifteen minutes. This has only happened to me a couple of times in the last sixty days I've used the service, so it's not a significant issue.
4) Dependability. I find this service to be as dependable as blackberry.net service - it's yet to go down. I'd say more dependable, but I haven't used blackberry.net in several years.
5) Display. This is one area where they can improve -- because it uses the built in email client, there is no html display of email content. But I can live with this because I'm happy with text display.
6) Attachments. Sending and receiving attachments works very well. Because of their use of data compression, I find that sending and downloading attachments is faster than performing these functions without Seven.
The only bad thing about the service is that it has become like a pair of 'golden handcuffs' for me when it comes to phone upgrading -- I won't buy a new phone until it is supported by Seven. This is probably a big plus - at least on my budget.
$49.95 per year at Handango.
Edit: I've also thrown open the door for opinions from Howard Forum users here. ¶ 8:50 AM
Seven's internet edition of their push mail is a tremendous product. I honestly don't think I've encountered another must have piece of software like this in the three years I've been using S60 phones. This service turns your phone into a blackberry, essentially, and is not a carrier-dependent service. Some brief thoughts on the service:
1) Setup. Very simple process for pop/imap users -- nothing more than signing up, installing the .sis file from their website or from Handango, and entering your server info. I had a bit of a problem during the "test" phase when they see if your mail server is compatible -- it gave me an error message, yet when I signed in on the website to check the status of my account, it showed that the service was working fine. I think this had to do with the fact my server username is username@domain.net, not just username like most pop serviers.
They provide a thirty-day free trial use. The only drawback is that the software is not updated for any N-Series phone, including the N70 and N90, according to customer support. I have installed on my 6681 with no issues. They are working on an updated version for the N70, and say they will have a version for Symbian 9.1 ready in "mid spring."
2) Integration. The Seven app uses the built-in S60 email program, unlike other programs such as Profimail, which is a real plus for me. Profimail is a fine program, with some display advantages over the built-in client. However, there are little problems that the lack of integration causes, such as lack of vibration notification and softer font display than the built-in program provides, that make it unsuitable for my use. Seven mail shows up in your inbox, and the app automatically sets the settings in the built in client for use of the service.
3) Frequency of download. The service downloads mail to your phone from the server on average every four minutes. I find this to be perfectly adequate for my use, although sometimes the service can get a little sluggish and take up to ten or fifteen minutes. This has only happened to me a couple of times in the last sixty days I've used the service, so it's not a significant issue.
4) Dependability. I find this service to be as dependable as blackberry.net service - it's yet to go down. I'd say more dependable, but I haven't used blackberry.net in several years.
5) Display. This is one area where they can improve -- because it uses the built in email client, there is no html display of email content. But I can live with this because I'm happy with text display.
6) Attachments. Sending and receiving attachments works very well. Because of their use of data compression, I find that sending and downloading attachments is faster than performing these functions without Seven.
The only bad thing about the service is that it has become like a pair of 'golden handcuffs' for me when it comes to phone upgrading -- I won't buy a new phone until it is supported by Seven. This is probably a big plus - at least on my budget.
$49.95 per year at Handango.
Edit: I've also thrown open the door for opinions from Howard Forum users here. ¶ 8:50 AM
