Complete review of software Series 60 2nd Edition

Now, before we pass to a detailed review of software functions, we should note that some devices may lack these of those capabilities (for instance, voice dial). That is why you should be attentive and learn specifications of your smartphone in a corresponding section.

Comparing with the first edition of the platform, we can claim that insignificant changes happened in the version 2. Now themes are supported, icons indicating signal level and battery charge are more visual, they got three-dimensional. Time and date are shown in standby mode. Icons of the current events are displayed in the right top corner in a small status bar, which may be active Bluetooth, for instance.

A joystick and soft buttons are responsible for navigation. You may replace the functions assigned to all buttons with own ones. With the menu key you can access the main menu, and holding this very key, you get a fast panel with a list of running applications, they are kept in memory. Pressing C in this list, you free memory by closing a selected application.

All menus can be represented as a set of icons or a list. And it's up to you which one to select.

You can switch memory types if you are allowed to view files from various places (card or phone) in an application.

Contacts. The phonebook allows almost any number of entries, and only total memory size is a restriction. You can store Name, Surname (two lines), Company name, Position, phone number, Mobile phone, Fax and E-mail address and IM-client, which totally forms 9 fields for a name. If this number of fields is small for you, add any number from the menu (including postal address, e-mail address and so on). You can enter a long text note for a name; assign a photo to show at incoming calls (not full-screen), bind a voice tag to 20 names (the function surely works well, no problems). And finally, any field can be renamed, for instance, you can rename Position into Birth Date. Search for a name in a phonebook is not limited to one letter. And an icon of a photo assigned is shown in a general list.

Users' groups allow assigning a group signal. And one user can belong to several groups. You can select either all entries in any list (contacts, message list) or tip necessary ones.

Call Log. This menu provides access to lists of missed, received and made calls, and by the way, you set a time period for storing data by yourself (that is a month by default). Call type (voice, data), duration, date, time and certainly a number if determined are specified for each call. A convenient function for call filtering by type (data, GPRS, voice, incoming, outgoing, message). Here call duration and cost is calculated. By the way, call duration is shown on the screen during a conversation.

Messaging. You can create MMS besides standard short messages; also send/receive your mail (POP3/IMAP4/SMTP/MIME2). Own templates can be created for any message, and 10 preset ones are available for SMS. Now I will not highlight all functions in this menu, and the only thing left to say is they work perfectly, no problems with settings appear.

Calendar. Several versions of calendar view are foreseen - a monthly (a corner is marked for a sate with set events), a weekly (with days divided by hours), and daily (hour division also). Only three event types are supported - Meeting, Memo and Anniversary. Alert can be tuned for each of them. And that is all for organizer capabilities - no settings or means for working with events including viewing all entries. So, you see, the organizer is quite ascetic, however many people still will be pleased with its capabilities.

Gallery. All user files are kept here; they are divided into corresponding groups - Pictures, Clips, Sound files. You can use either phone memory or internal one.

Profiles.You can create own profiles from the very beginning, and that seems an advantage over standard profiles, as well as setting behaviour for applications of instant messaging (Presence ability).

Favourites. You can create a tag for almost any file (note, image, sound) and it will be placed into Favourites automatically. Sometimes the function can be very helpful.

To-do. A usual to-do list, where you can set time and date, set one of three priorities and a done mark.

Connectivity. Here are all settings concerning connections, even modem settings and Bluetooth. A real minus is absent Bluetooth indicator on the body, the developers thought that users will either apply Bluetooth function permanently or won't start it at all.

Extras. This menu provides access to several applications at the same time - notes, plain text files (which are created by a user), quite a nice and convenient calculator, converter and clock. The last item includes alarm clock settings, which is quite plain - once, no recurrent events, days and other trifles - minimalism everywhere.

A dictaphone allows recording about a minute of sound.

Chat - An application for instant messages exchange..

Wallet. Here you can store data on your credit cards and personal data. Access to this item is protected with a password, and having lost it you will be unable to open the data.

Themes. You can change not only screen saver, but sounds and icons in a single place. That is all done in one touch. And several themes are present in a model as a rule.

RealPlayer is a standard application for playing multimedia files, the capabilities are ordinary and will please the majority of users. The player now supports play lists (mp3 or mp4 files). A play list format is M3U. Multimedia Framework supports three new codes - MP3 and AAC.

Internet. Here is a browser, which allows viewing usual network recourses, a bookmark manager is present.

Settings. Besides menu language, you can specify language for text input. Items assigned to joystick deviations and soft-keys are adjustable. Screen settings as brightness and selection of backlighting time are present.

GPRS settings, security ones, time and date, and automatic lock.

Tools. Application manager allows setting or deleting applications from the phone's memory or a memory card.

Fast dial - you can set numbers for fast dial here.

Voice commands. Sets commands for predefined menu items.

File manager is a plain manager, which allows copying, deleting and moving files both in the internal memory and memory card.

Device manager -SyncML synchronization.

Memory - you can view the condition of your card and free space.

Location. With the appearance of a capability to locate a terminal, manufacturers start integrating applications, which allow defining the phone's behaviour (whether to locate the phone, or do it with a password, and so on). The appearance of this function mainly eases life to third party developers and provides basic functionality to smartphones.