Mike Macias E71 Fanatics N82 Blog

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It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Mike Macias. For those who don’t know Mike, Mike is responsible for publishing some of our favorite Nokia blogs. Do you have an N82, then you go to The N82 Blog, do you have an E71, then you go to E71 Fanatics, do you want general news then there is Symbian Addict. Just writing the previous sentence alone was exhausting, 3 blogs, my friends, but somehow and maybe through magic Mike Macias continues to churn out great content. I’m very pleased he accepted my invitation. Without further ado, Mike Macias.

Tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to start blogging about Nokia?

Hi Jorge. First off I’d like to say – great site! It’s a great addition to the Nokia/S60 blogging community. Well back in the summer of 2007 I became interested in Nokia smartphones mainly because I was sick of my Samsung Sync – it’s a basic phone – I wanted something that can multitask without any problems. I decided to get online and look around and after reading blogs like Darla Mack’s and Symbian-Guru I became convinced that Symbian S60 was the way to go. So I picked up a beat up N73 on Ebay and was AMAZED. I fell in love with the phone and the online Nokia/S60 community and decided to jump in head first by starting Symbian-Addict.com. Months after starting that blog the N95 came out and then the N82. I fell in love with it and decide to start The N82 Blog, and the same thing happened with the Nokia E71 and E71 Fanatics blog.

You worked for Nokia, how was that experience?

The experience was great. I got to work with all the great S60 Ambassadors (RIP) on a one on one basis reading all their stories of them spreading the good word about Nokia & S60 devices and services. I was constantly in contact with them via email and even made a few friends with a handful of them. I gained a lot of knowledge about the mobile industry and also how powerful word of mouth marketing can be.

What are your favorite Symbian applications can you list your top 5 and why you like them?

Oh dang I have so many favorites. Some of them may seem too small to mention, but wow do they make a huge difference in making my daily life easier. That’s what these little smartphones are supposed to do right? Top 5…

Jbak Taskman: Every time I get a new phone this is the first thing I install. It makes multitasking such a breeze and I can make a ton of shortcuts. The great thing is you can configure it to work as your shortpress menu key instead of longpress to see open apps. So on my E71 I just hit the homekey and jback opens with 8 shortcuts and a list of my open apps. If I need to go to the menu (which is rare if you have your shortcuts set up correctly) then I just go to my “Menu” shortcut.
Google Maps: Living in Los Angeles, California we have CRAZY traffic. If you’ve never driven hear…but just heard stories – they are all true. It sometimes takes me 40 minutes to go 10-12 miles just because the roads are so full of cars. Google Maps allows me to check traffic conditions in real time and get alternate routes. I also use Google Maps as a phone directory for finding a business or getting directions. I open this application at least 5 times a day.
Nokia Messaging: I have 3 email accounts being handled by Nokia Messaging. I leave it on from 8am-10pm, receiving/sending nearly 50 emails a day. My emails come through in real time, sometimes faster than a rival friend’s Blackberry.
Slick Instant Messenger: This handles all my messaging needs, connecting to Gtalk and Yahoo. If I need MSN it does that also. I love the interface and love how it shows notifications on my homescreen when minimized.
The last application is a hard one to choose because it means I’m leaving out all the others. For now I’m going with Mobbler. This application allows me to connect to the Last.fm music website so that I can stream radio to my device and also scrobble when listening to the music I already have in the Music Player. Great job by the developers of Mobbler creating such an advanced application.Honorable mentions: Gravity for twitter, Swim for auto syncML profiles, Calcium Calculator, Y-Browser for my File Manager. Those apps are on my phone within the first hour of setting up a new device.

What’s your favorite theme?

Favorite theme? You can’t pick a favorite theme because over time you’ll get sick of it. Of course tehkSeven is my favorite theme maker so his are always on my phone. His latest Qi theme looks great on my E71. Another favorite theme maker is Nahid. His themes are clean and look great on my N82. You can find his work at Nahid-Themes.com. Props to the entire S60 theme community, these guys do a great job and help make S60’s bland interface stand out a little and get a facelift.

What are your thoughts on the future of Nokia and the newly created Symbian Foundation.

Well obviously there have been lots of changes in the past few months, and it seems every day we see another change. I think the future of Nokia is strong, especially with the Nokia N97 coming out. Companies need to keep in mind that it’s not just about what the phone can do – it’s about what it can do compared to the rest of the market. The N95 was revolutionary. Keep it up Nokia – you know your fans want a updated version of the Nokia N82 – don’t forget about XENON flash! About the Symbian Foundation, it’s hard to tell how this will go because we haven’t seen much of a direction. I’d say the more Symbian devices the better, and it seems that we’ve been getting more and more devices announced with Symbian Foundation software. That is great.

What advice can you give to new bloggers?
- Make friends with other bloggers. Help each other out. Link to other blogs.
- Don’t get discouraged it all takes time.
- Quality over quantity. 2-3 quality posts a week are better than 5 short articles.
- Be personal, but not too personal.
- Write about topics that you think people will be looking for via search engine. Be informative more than opinionative.
Which Nokia phones have you used in the past?

Nokia N73, N95 8GB, N82, N78, E71, 5800XM.

What application are you waiting for Nokia to develop and why?

It’s not so much that I’m waiting for Nokia to develop an app, but maybe the 3rd party community. But I’ve always wondered why we don’t have a good Sports Ticker application that I can leave running in the background and “beep” when my favorite team scores. If a 3rd party doesn’t make this – then Yes, Nokia should fill the whole and do it.

What are your two favorite Nokia smartphones of all time and which Nokia smartphone are looking forward to use?

My two favorite smartphones of all time are the Nokia N82 and E71. I take the N82 out for the weekend when I’m hitting up the bar & grill with friends. The E71 is the best phone you can have when you need to get work done away from the computer and stay connected to the world. The keyboard is awesome and the battery life is phenomenal. I’m really looking forward to the N97 and the N86. Both are going to be huge hits.

What is your favorite color, movie, music band, and sport?

Favorite color? Hmm probably blue, but for some reason this changes often. Movie – too many to choose from. I love stupid comedies like Grandma’s Boy, Anchorman, and even Airplane. I also love movies like Sin City, 300, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, the list can go on and on. Same goes for music – I love all sorts of music but if I had to choose it would be Deftones. I’ve loved them since 7th grade. For sport – it’s easy. Hockey is my favorite sport and the Los Angeles Kings hold a special place in my heart!

Thank you for the interview and keep up the great work on your site.