E70 owners can come out of hiding

[slitchfield]

Just a note to say that Nokia seem to have fixed the problems bedevilling E70 owners with regard to firmware updates and that the Nokia Software Update service seems to work - I updated the editorial E70 successfully!

Read on in the full article.

[jay_cee]

Any comments on the new firmware? Better RAM management perhaps?

[slitchfield]

Yes, I should note that this list is self-compiled and is in no way official:

RAM seems better managed generally, and performance is improved in some areas, especially switching between keyboard open and closed modes

In addition, the flip controller needs roughly 2MB less RAM

The Java runtime also needs roughly 2Mb less RAM

In Sheet, you can now insert functions correctly into cells from a function pick list.

The setting to decide if you want a mailbox shown on the active standby screen is now in Settings, where it should have been all along

There have been quality improvements to stereo audio output (i.e. music), at the expense of a lower volume, though 8-(

I suspect that Backup/restore and Wi-Fi now both work better, though I haven't had a chance to try them yet.

In short though - the E70 is now back to where it should have been on launch. I'm going to have to rewrite my E70 review though 8-)

Steve Litchfield

[rgphilpott]

Hopefully Nokia will put the newer version onto our NSU-broken E70's they have in for repair ... :-)

[amv13]

I just did the update, waited till it was finished, and I LOST EVERYTHING IN THE PHONE!!! All my settings, numbers, emails, everything! Can anyone help?

[amv13]

If I go in through pc suite I can see my multimedia info on my mini sd card but no settings or email...And luckily I had all my contacts and calender info in outlook...

[slitchfield]

Originally Posted by amv13

I just did the update, waited till it was finished, and I LOST EVERYTHING IN THE PHONE!!! All my settings, numbers, emails, everything! Can anyone help?

Err.... but one of the screens in the update process makes you click to agree that you've taken a complete backup of your data!!

Assuming that you've done a PC Suite or Memory card backup, just use the 'Restore' function.

Steve

[alehoy]

Updated my E-70 with the new firmware. Here are my early observations:

Good:
1. The lag time is dramatically shortened when opening flip.

Bad:
1. Several applications do not run anymore -- Blackballer, Total Recall, ImageSnap, etc... They just refuse to run. I havn't tried re-installing them yet though.

2. Media Player volume greatly diminished. I have to turn up the volume way up to hear the songs. They really bungled this big time...

3. When downloading files in the Web Browser, it wont' prompt to save the file. Instead it will display the contents of the file and fill up your screen with garbage. This is another deal breaker :(

That's it for now. And oh, do be careful to backup your data first before doing the update or all your data is gone forever.

Have I known the problems this firmware would introduce, I wouldn't have applied it. But then that's the price of being on the edge

Any way to restore the old firmware?

Thanks.

[slitchfield]

>>1. Several applications do not run anymore -- Blackballer, Total Recall, ImageSnap, etc... They just refuse to run. I havn't tried re-installing them yet though.

Do so, I bet it solves the problem. All my third party apps work perfectly so far.

>>2. Media Player volume greatly diminished. I have to turn up the volume way up to hear the songs. They really bungled this big time...

The extra volume on old firmware was a bug, I think. Now they've made it the same quality and volume as on the N73 and most other 3rd Edition devices. If you want more gain, use the +6db boost in OggPlay - works for me.

>>3. When downloading files in the Web Browser, it wont' prompt to save the file. Instead it will display the contents of the file and fill up your screen with

Hmm..... no idea on this one!

On the whole though, I'm very pleased with the new firmware.

Steve

[fig7]

I suspect Nokia have reduced the volume because they have realised that if they don't do that the built-in graphics equaliser will distort some tracks. It does on my E60, which doesn't seem to have the audio fixes (even though I've patched it to the latest E60 firmware). But the solution isn't to reduce the volume! What you need is a variable pre-amp to bring the level down a bit before you do the equalisation. (For example, you'd want to reduce the overall volume more if the user is using the bass booster, because that preset adds a lot of dB to the bass frequencies)

I'm currently using my E60 with OggPlay's volume boost set to -12dB to get rid of the distortions!

With the new firmware Steve is right that you can use OggPlay's volume boost to increase the voume. Unfortunately adding +6dB might be enough to distort the audio again! I think OggPlay needs to have a more variable volume boost...

[dsb]

When I run the NSU I get the message no update available for the phone, my firmware level is 1.0610.05.07 is this the latest?

[alehoy]

Nokia's decision to lower down the volume seems too extreme.

I mean the volume is just way too low that you practically can't hear anything from the earphones in a moderately noisy room.

The Music player becomes useless once you try to use it in a noisy subway.

BTW, what version of Oggplay r u using for your E70? I'm using ver. 1.7 but the Audio Gain does not work. I chose 6db and even 12db but the volume remains the same.

And how true is the info that the Nokia NSU team is pulling the firmware update off the website as they found out a lot of defects? Hope they can fix these issues ASAP as the Nokia E70 is really the best smart phone out there today, bar none.

[rgphilpott]

> And how true is the info that the Nokia NSU team is pulling the firmware
> update off the website as they found out a lot of defects?

Is this a reference to the firmware that was withdrawn earlier in the week because it "killed" many of our E70's, or do you mean that they are also pulling the "fixed" version that replaced it?

[fig7]

OggPlay's volume boost only works for oggs, so I suspect you are playing mp3s right?

There is something you can try that may help.

Start OggPlay. Set OggPlay's volume boost to 0dB
(this is so that both oggs and mp3s will get the same treatment)

Start the music player
Go to the equaliser and create a new preset
Name it "Boost all"
Set all the sliders to the maximum
Activate the new preset
Switch back to OggPlay (leave the music player running)
Play some mp3s: they should now play louder (hopefully)

[slitchfield]

Currently running OggPlay 1.093 and getting good results with +6dB boost. The Music Player-in-background solution does work but is too much hassle.

Steve