So I just looked up the Nokia E72 on the Nokia website and noticed that it is missing a few things.  First off it won’t have included in the packaging a wrist strap or pouch like the E71 had.  It’s not a huge thing but come on, this is supposed to be a step up from the E71.  I know I know

Second thing is that it is apparently coming in 3 versions, Euro, US and a third I believe is APAC. What’s missing is the 3rd band on all the handsets.  They are all 4band GSM but only 2band 3G according to Nokia Europs Spec page.  Your options are

• E72-1 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 900/2100 HSDPA
• E72-2 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900 HSDPA
• E72-3 Quad-band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100 HSDPA

Now I was under the impression this handset was going to be tri-band 3G.  Am I reading this wrong or or does the HSDPA count as a band?  If so what wave length is it?  I’m just trying to figure out which model to get.

Alert: This just in: I was told my a Nokia employee that we will not see a US/NAM version of the E72 released anytime soon.  I am extremely disappointed about that and don’t really know what to think.  I’m now perplexed what to do and what model to get.

AT&T has a secret plan that most people don’t know about and are never offered publicly as far as I know.  Most people pay $15/month for unlimited internet with a dumb phone and $30/month for internet with a smart phone like a Nokia E71x or iPhone.  Well over the weekend I was on the phone with AT&T and the rep I had was very nice and offered me a great deal.  It is $10 per month for unlimited internet the only stipulation is that you’re on a family plan. Now you’re going to ask “but Jeb don’t you use a smart phone?”, the answer is YES.  But because I tell AT&T I have a dumb phone they give me the $10/month plan.  According to the rep you get the same speeds and she believes (I can’t guarantee) 5GB of data is your max.  So bear in mind Unlimited Data has a fair use policy (just like Unlimited Drinks).

This would be a great plan for people who want full access with email (emoze for example), web-surfing and maybe some Qik video broadcasting but don’t want to pay the outrageous $30/month smart phone fee.

NOTE: @brian_stabile told me on Twitter that you may also need texting plan to be eligible for this deal.

I am suddenly infatuated with having 3G again.  I have been carrying 2 phones around lately because I really like my E71 but equally enjoy having 3G speeds on my device so I have the E75 for that.  The other night though I was driving home from watching the Lakers basketball game and nothing was on the radio so I pulled out the Nokia E75, fired up the internet radio and was chillin to Soma.fm in the car for the whole ride home.  No hiccups or pauses for the whole 30 min drive.  I’m suddenly back hooked on 3G and don’t want to go back to EDGE.  I’m not sure what to do honestly.  I hate to go thorough the work of selling my white E71 Euro version and buying the white US version but I really want 3G speeds.  Anybody have a white US E71 in perfect condition that wants to trade???

Anyway here’s to 3G!

Being my second trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress I have a bit of advice.  If you or your company needs access to 3G or needs to make phone calls/sms, I suggest Yoigo.  I got my Yoigo sim last year at a store called OpenCor.  It is just a few hundred yards/meters from the entrance to MWC.  If you walk out of the congress and make a right on Gran Via it’s about 2 blocks up.  The address is Gran Via de les Corts 407-409 and it’s on the left side.  You will need ID to purchase the sims, I used my US drivers license.  One thing to note, MAKE SURE TO SET THE PREFERED LANGUAGE ON YOUR PHONE BEFORE YOU PUT IN THE YOIGO SIM.  Otherwise it will switch it to Spanish, I learned the hard way.

Anyways, I got mine last year for 10Euro and it came with 10Euro on it already.  I also added 10 more and was set for the entire week.  The rates as of last year, to the best of my understanding are as follows
1.20Euro/day gives you unlimited 3G
.12Euro to all Spanish numbers
.30Euro for all international calls
.00 for Yoigo to Yoigo calls
.10 SMS to anywhere including Spain
.30 MMS to anywhere including Spain

This seems like a very good deal to me at least.  Last year most of us had some call and 3G quality issues on the first day of MWC but after that it was fine.  It seemed like they had to catch up to the influx of all the new subscribers.

I highly recommend Yoigo.   If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

UPDATE: OpenCor along with MANY other establishments in Spain are closed on Sundays.  So don’t plan on picking up a sim or top up cards from them on Sunday.

Lookie lookie what I got my hands on.  It’s the Nokia N85 iSync plugin for Macs.  I can not vouch for this app but it does come from Nokia.  I have not used it yet because I don’t have an N85.  Hint hint, if someone wants to send me the N85 I would be eternally grateful.  Anyway, here is the LINK to the download.  I hope it helps and please let me know if there are any hiccups.

By the way, I am hooked on the N85 for a few reasons, it is Feature Pack 2 which means it has one of my new favorite features Contact List switching.  Switch between your built in contact list and the Sim card list or view both at the same time.  Genius.   My other favorite feature of this device and a huge plus to it is the triband 3G.  This means it will work in most big cities in the US and in most other countries of the world.

Wow, one of my favorite companies, that I think has enormous potential just took a huge step. I think it’s a good direction, maybe not where I was hoping but still a good direction.

Truphone just launched 1.5cents to the US and Canada. They are offering a monthly plan of $15/month for 1,000 minutes. This is really great for world travelers and people just wanting to make inexpensive high quality phone calls from their mobile phone. I get the feeling that this does not include free incoming minutes (I hope I’m wrong) which is quite disappointing but still movement going the way I would like to see it go. Small baby steps are still step. EDIT, I am happy to be wrong this time. I must be jaded by the big US telcos, I figured, of course they’re going to charge for anything they can. I’m very happy to report I was 100% wrong. In true Truphone class and style, they are keeping with their standards and not charging any differently on this new plan then they have in the past.

If you don’t know what Truphone is, it’s a mobile VOIP service provider. They run off of Nokia N and E series devices over wifi and 3G and on the iPhone over wifi only (let’s not get into Apples/AT&Ts stupidity now). Truphone recently purchased a global roaming sim card company and is selling that service to now.

Truphone keep up the good work and please continue to progress with your plans. I would personally like to see free incoming calls and SMS to start. EDIT, MY MISTAKE, Truphone is so sophisticated and forward thinking they NEVER charge for incoming calls or SMS (except on the iPhone).

It’s confirmed on Jaiku by a friend of mine Jonathan Greene from Atmaspheric Endeavors  that the Nokia E71 in fact has a US NAM version for the public.  This is great news for AT&T users waiting for the next s60 smart phone.  I was privileged to play with it a few months ago and it is HOT (like Paris Hilton says).  I am just happy that it is starting to trickle down and out to the public.  I am so excited about this phone, I think it will change the face of Nokia for the business user.  There have been some great corporate devices over the years but the E71 will bring QWERTY to age for Nokia.  I hope I get to test the US version some more so I can give you more details but if you can’t wait, just go purchase it, you won’t be disappointed.