I got mail, messaging, texting...

MANILA, Philippines - If there is one thing that I have been asked quite a lot about in the recent past, it probably is just how smart my cellphone is.

Every time I meet up with younger people I know there are always questions about what’s the latest gadget. If I can’t mention a new gadget, then the next question is what new thing my cellphone can do. 

It isn’t always easy being asked questions like these — because I don’t really spend all my waking hours fiddling with my cellphone and neither am I a 24/7 new app geek.

Let’s see, what is it that I like about my cellphone?

I like that it sends text, and more importantly receives text messages. I can make calls. I can personalize it. If I get caught in a situation that I need to take photos I can use the camera. It’s got a big enough memory to store an interview should I be caught in a situation where I would need it to record.

Over the last five years, I have also preferred a cellphone that makes browsing easy and where the push e-mail service is easy to set up and even easier to access.

And this is where I have seen much of the development in cellphones over the last few years. A cellphone ain’t good enough if it isn’t able to get e-mail and if it can’t do social networking and if it can’t browse.

Enter messaging

“Nokia Messaging enables Nokia users (of certain devices) to quickly set up, access, and use their e-mail on their Nokia devices through a service that is optimized for mobile e-mail,” said Rhomel Marcojos, services and business development manager of Nokia Philippines. “What the Nokia Messaging for e-mail does is it provides a push e-mail solution for people who have Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail or for small companies that have POP/IMAP-compliant servers.”

OK, OK.

But, I wonder, as Marcojos talks, if it is easy to set up.

I get hold of a Nokia E75, which has a Smart SIM card, since I was told that Smart recently signed a deal with Nokia to offer Nokia Messaging on selected Nokia Nseries and Eseries devices.

Connections made and e-mail set up done — I log on to my Yahoo account. As expected the Nokia messaging service works and my e-mailed is pushed forward.

I was further informed that the easy-to-use and set up Nokia Messaging service is available on a special data plan to Smart subscribers.

“We want to make mobile messaging as ubiquitous as voice or SMS. Nokia Messaging gives people simple and affordable mobile access to the world’s most popular e-mail accounts. We believe mobile messaging is a critical, must-have feature, and we deliver mobile messaging solutions to a broad range of Nokia devices, all easily activated with a few clicks,” said Benoit Nalin, general manager of Nokia Philippines at the launch of the Smart-Nokia tie-up.

I am happy that I can now easily access my e-mail using the Nokia E75. I also try to do the same procedure on a Nokia N97 mini and it is as easy.

This is not the first time I have configured a Nokia cellphone - but what I do appreciate is that it has become such an easy thing to do.

“Nokia Messaging has three services within it,” added Marcojos. “One is e-mail, the others are chat and social networks.”

Marcojos further explained that the chat part is a service that allows people to have a single access to all their chat services whether that is IM, Yahoo Messenger, Googletalk or even OVI chat.

That’s good news for the lovers of YM. This means that they can chat with folks who are online, although it is not something new. What Nokia has done is to make it easy to configure this service on their cellphones, and to make more Nokia handsets capable of these services.

“The social networks provide a common access to all social networking services,” added Marcojos. “For now we have connectivity to Facebook and Twitter and will be adding other social network services in the future.”

Techie for all

So, I guess what is happening is that everyone can become techie. I know, techie sounds so blah, but I have always believed that setting up push e-mail on a cellphone should be something that anyone can do.

“Just don’t press delete” is my constant reminder to people who ask me what is the worst thing they can do on their cellphones.

I know that for a cellphone, once we press delete all - that’s it, there is no going back.

I experimented recently with a friend and did some setting up for Nokia Messaging on his new Nokia N97 mini.

“Let’s do it,” said 33-year-old Philip.

Out of the box and SIM card installed, Philip gets to work on his N97 mini.

Easy enough. He gets to the N97 mini messaging and creates a new mailbox. He enters his e-mail ad and password, and then just like that he gets connected.

“That was easy,” says Philip. “I have an e-mail.”

Philip tells me that he plans to run a side-by-side test between the N97 mini and his other cellphone, which does e-mail really well.

Kids.

As Philip reads his e-mail messages on his new Nokia I inform him that there is more to come from Nokia.

Aside from the P299 messaging plan from Smart which allows users to access their push e-mail, including attachments on their Nokia cellphones, the chat messaging and social networking will soon be made available on more Nokia handsets.

“Most likely they will become available commercially by the middle of this year,” said Marcojos. 

Not only that, I was given assurance that the Nokia Messaging service, including chat and social networking, will also be made available to cellphones which are already available in the market - not just the new handsets.

Nokia wants to be able to reach as many of its consumers as possible, although Marcojos admitted that perhaps the e-mail service may be more useful to young businessmen. He is sure that the chat and social networking services will be something that even the younger cellphone users will enjoy.

“There will be affordable devices that are targeted to the youth market,” quipped Marcojos. “We want to be able to make sure that Nokia users will always be connected — whether that be for cellphone calls, to check their e-mail or even for chatting and updating their status on the social networks.”

Life is really all about being connected. And, of course, making the right connections.

I guess it is really the way of the future — connections made easier. But more than that, it is setting up these connections that has been made easier. And for that, we love the Nokia Messaging service.