Have you tuned your phone’s active idle screen? With a couple of minutes of easy configuration, you can save several key clicks on your phone everyday. Instead of opening menus to navigate to your favorite application, you can jump directly there using the softkeys or the active idle shortcut bar.

For those of you that aren’t yet fully fluent in S60-speak, “Active Idle” is the name given the “home” or “standby” screen from which you would typically start dialing a phone number. “Softkeys” are the customizable left and right menu keys at the bottom of the Active Idle screen. You don’t need to go along with the default choices; you can make them your own. But, the most important to remember is the productivity boost you get from customizing this launching point.

Clicks add up to seconds, seconds add up to minutes, minutes add … well, you get the idea. Just know this – the time I save using my turbocharged active idle screen let’s me enjoy a relaxing cocktail at the end of the day while you’re probably still working.

Here’s how you can join the productivity party.

• On your S60 phone’s main menu, choose Tools
• Choose Settings
• Select Phone (on E-series phones, or select General | Personalization on N-series phones)
• Select Standby Mode
• Select Active Idle and switch it to ON if it is not already ON.
• Then scroll down and select Active Standby Apps (you may have to re-enter Settings if you just switched Active Idle to ON as switching this setting dumps you back out to Active Idle).
• You’ll see a list of Shortcut 1 through Shortcut 6 which corresponds to the icons you’ll see across the Active Idle bar at the top of the standby screen. Select a Shortcut you want to modify.
• You’ll see a radio button list of applications on your phone, both standard and newly installed applications. Choose one you use frequently so that you’ll no longer need to scroll through your menu to launch it.
• Repeat for each of the Shortcuts on the Active Idle bar.
• Finally, while you’re here, adjust the left and right softkeys. Select Left Selection Key (on E-series on N-series you first select Shortcuts then Left Selection Key). You’ll see the same radio button list as you did for the Active Idle bar. For the most time-savings you should set the left and right softkeys to your most frequently used applications because you’ll be able to launch them with a single click.

I’m most aware of my active idle screen settings when I travel. On the road, I seem most pressed for time and feel the need to quickly check the details of the next appointment, reach a contact, check the weather, or some other urgent task. If I find I’m clicking too much, I tune my active idle screen.

Now your turn – have you adjusted the apps on your active idle screen? What applications have you configured for the softkeys or active idle bar of your phone?

All next week I'll be in Tampere, Finland meeting with people about the future of mobile email. I'll bring my own personal opinions on what's good and bad about mobile email and lots of data on successes and failures of products past and current. But, there's one thing I'm missing. And, here's where you come in.

I'm missing direct feedback from end users of mobile email. And, when I say direct I mean unfiltered by market research, focus groups, and product requirements documents.

So, what do you love about mobile email? What is frustrating? And, what do you hate about it?

When do you use mobile email most? Where? How would you improve your mobile email experience?

Also, assuming there were no technical barriers to overcome, what would you want your mobile email experience to be like? How would you interact with it? What features would you like to see? And how would your mobile email best integrate into everything else your device does?

If you ever felt your input on something was unheard or undervalued, here's your chance. I'll include the comments posted here in the discussions next week.

The stage is yours. The microphone is in your hands.

I'm listening.

What is WiFI and why should you care?

WiFi, strangely, stands for “Wireless Fidelity”. What it really means is a wireless networking (“wireless LAN” or “WLAN”) technology that allows computers, phones, and other mobile devices to connect to a computer network. It differs from Bluetooth (another wireless networking technology) mainly in that Bluetooth usually connects devices to computers or devices to devices, whereas WiFi connects devices or computers to a network.

Why care? Because WiFi technology comes integrated into many Nokia phones, including most E-series phones and “multimedia computers” like the N95. Using WiFi you can, for example, browse Web pages over your phone’s browser much faster than you could even over a 3G data connection. Even better, using WiFi means you aren’t burning any data minutes from your service plan. You can also use WiFi to run “connected” applications like Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite Email.

In case you haven’t noticed WiFi is everywhere, including many home networks, airports, businesses, and coffee shops. With a little setup effort, you can be using your phone’s WiFi connection many places within your regular travel route.

To configure your phone to use WiFi, you’ll use the WLAN Wizard (found in the main menu under Connectivity on E-series phones or on the N95 under Tools). When you launch it, the WLAN Wizard automatically searches for WiFi networks within range. You’ll be prompted to enter the secure passcode information that restricts access to the WiFi network.

If you have a home wireless network, I recommend you start there to get the feel for it. You’ll likely know the security information well. Then try WiFi networks in your local coffee shop or work.

Now your turn: Do you use WiFi on your phone? If so, where and why? Have you had any trouble configuring WLAN access or was it easy to set up? Please post a comment here!