Nokia N95

I work for Nokia S60 software, but I have the need to rant about some software issues that require attention. At least it has worn me down on patience and utter disappointment with the user experience of the Personalization application. I’m uncertain if it’s only this particular application or the whole software in general, but something like this shouldn’t happen. This is related to the Application Manager…The end result: I had to flash the the phone to get it back to factory settings.

I have flashed my Nokia N95 many times before, but I’m wondering if the transfer of my data backed-up on my memory card is one culprit of this problem. The thing is, sometimes I install and uninstall trial applications and themes for testing of the UI. At times, it doesn’t uninstall everything, especially in the Personalization application.

I test themes on a regular basis as I need to provide platform themes to our customers. Of course, I’m not the only one involved in this work; we have a team to do that. With every new platform software release, we are required to provide default themes. The platform graphics unfortunately gets replaced by the brand graphics, which are Nokia brand graphics that end-users see after purchasing any S60 device.

The Problem:
There are themes that do not get uninstall fully and remained listed in the Personalization application’s Themes list view. Why is that? Even after I have successfully uninstalled some themes from Application Manager. It drives me crazy because I need to install updated theme variants with the same name. Therefore, it wouldn’t install on top of the existing theme, which I’ve supposedly uninstalled.

After going through the software update procedure, the phone is restarted. It prompts me the usual: location, date and time. Then I locate the Memory Card application where I previously backed-up all my phone data. Next, I restore the data to the phone, hoping that everything I ever had in my phone will magically show up after the software update. I think this is where the problem lies. Any uninstalled themes that is restored, will get listed in the Themes view. When I go to the Application Manager to uninstall them, the theme in question is not listed for removal, to my dismay. That means, it can not be uninstalled.

The Solution:
Well, I couldn’t stand viewing the theme list that contained uninstalled themes, yet still functional. The worst case scenario was to flash the phone back to it’s factory settings. Even if I just set the phone back to factory settings in the Settings application, it will not do the trick. The themes are not going to uninstall on its own. Frustrated, I had to flash the phone because I have done it many times before and know what I’m doing. Nowadays, Nokia provides a handy PC application, the Nokia Software Updater, which end-users can download and update the S60 software on their own accord, if they are confident enough. Prior to this method, end-users had to take their phone to the mobile phone shop and have one of the salesperson handle the updating procedure. Therefore, the availability of the Nokia Software Updater is a lifesaver, so to speak.

Apparently, as I discovered the listed themes that can not be removed by using the Application Manager, I had to reflash the phone once more. The most important data to me were my contacts as I don’t really care for my messages. Well, they are important, but my contacts are more valuable. Even if wanted to, I couldn’t back up my messages as the option is nonexistence. My calendar events can always be synchronized anytime I connect the device to the PC via usb cable.

Actually, I had the choice of leaving the phone in its avoidable messy state as I had no major problem with the software, but I just couldn’t deal with it.

Final Thoughts:
Accessibility and seamless user experience can not be underrated, underestimated, and undervalued. Otherwise, we’ll see Nokia brand erosion, as it might have already occurred since iPhone entered the market. Users have become more and more savvier and are adopting to new technology even at a faster pace than 10 years ago. High demand is in personalization. I’m just wondering when the smartphone will adopt or will ever adopt the Web 2.0 mindset.