Hey there ladies and gents. It has been seven days since I first got my grubby paws on the Alpha pre-release of Nokia’s much awaited Messaging app for S60v5. Before that, my mailing needs were served by a combination of the built in mail app (which was inadequate, but was my only choice at the time for reliable Gmail retrieval) and Mail for Exchange (for fast push Email).  I also tried Seven push mail (which was okay, but not without its problems) before settling into this combo.

The only problem with the Default Messaging + MfE combo was the fact that I still did not have my main, all important Gmail account pushed to me (I had to go off and retrieve it, or set for auto-retrieval, which works but is just not cool). Plus the Default client was also kinda flaky to me to say the least.

And the fact that funning MfE on immediate push (no time interval) ate into my battery like a hungry anteater on an anthill, a problem that Seven shared as well (but MfE was much, much worse at it).

I knew Profimail was a good alternative, but then that was not really push email and paying for a Mail app was a bit, well, unrealistic for a financially challenged (read: poor) student like me. Already my application allocation for the month had been squandered away by Gravity.

So, a free push mail app that works well. I was happy when I heard about the rollout of Nokia Messaging, but felt a bit cheated later when I found that the 5800 (and thus all mobiles on the S60v5 platform) was not supported. Hence the extreme joy  when I heard that a version of Nokia Messaging for S60v5 was out in Alpha Preview and was given out on Twitter (Oh, thank God for Twitter!). I quickly hurried and jumped on the train.

Rather then bringing you a post containing simple few paragraphs of “what do I think of this app”, I feel it’s better to write down what I have observed: a quick collection of my thoughts (accompanied by some pictures) during the course of this week (sorted in the order that they were conceived), using Nokia Messaging for S60v5 in real-world conditions.

• I have no idea whether the Nokia Messaging Website Sign-Up form design itself was flawed, or I had difficulty making sense of it – but I spent the next hour or so trying to figure out which box was for my Country Code and which one was for my Phone Number. Was using Opera Mini, maybe that’s why (EDIT: They seem to have fixed it now, or I was using OperaMiniMod at the time – OMM, good as it is, renders pages very badly).

• Initial mailbox setup = long minutes watching Nokia Messaging zoning out for a few times on my crap GPRS/EDGE (changing on a “as-it-likes-it” basis) while trying to retrieve my Gmail settings.

• Nice Icon for the app.

• Looking at the retrieval settings (and the battery sucking prowess of MfE still fresh in mind), initially set the app to poll the servers every hour rather then full push.

• This app needs kinescrolling (kinetic scrolling) and a smoother moving interface (everything’s a bit jerky), but as for the buttons and everything else, it’s miles better then the Default.

• Fonts are large and instantly legible. Being a tad smaller (or better, configurable) would have been better though.

• Running it parallel with the Default Client, and finding out that Default Client is quickly becoming merely a backup. Using Nokia Messaging more and more.

• This thing handles attachments well, but does not display Pictures inline within mail ala Gmail/Thunderbird, probably due to no HTML support.

• Tried Pseudo-Push (instantaneous polling / IMAP IDLE / Whatever Nokia is using) after a few days, found that it works wonderfully! Much less battery drain compared to MfE, even on 3G (but I keep it in EDGE most of the time) and near instantaneous pushing both in and out. I limited it to push real-time from 9am to around 12am though, just to keep the battery from dying when I sleep.

• The tap-hold context sensitive menu is genius (something like it should be everywhere in the general system GUI – was one of WinMo’s strengths). But it’s a tad too sensitive + the laggy interface = slight fail as you try to tap and the context menu comes up.

• Ditched the Default Client completely after 3 days, MfE after 4. Nokia Messaging is working THAT well, Alpha/Beta as it is.

• Without the Default Client = no notification bubble OR icon, just the sound. Any way to bring only the bubble/icon back? Or better, have something on the sparse 5800 homescreen?

• Adding a new mailbox to Nokia Messaging is a breeze, although it still chokes sometimes on GPRS/EDGE.

• The interface REALLY needs kinescrolling and a some fat trimming of the codes to make it snappier. REALLY.

• Autorotation works fine, but wished that it would be more useful (REAL fullscreen – without the top bar as in in Web – would be nice).

• Psuedo-Push misses some mails sometimes. I wonder why? Maybe should go back to the Default Client as a last resort backup, just in case.

• Even with the slight misses, push-in and out is generally better then the version of System Seven I was using, and even trumps MfE most of the time.

• After all this time, I STILL have no idea how to use the flags and WHAT to use it for. Sad.

Here’s some more screenshots from Nokia Messaging Alpha/Beta for S60v5 for your viewing pleasure:

Anybody currently using Nokia Messaging right now? Sound off in the comments and tell us what you think!

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