Find something you like? You can buy it and download it right away.

Here’s where the magic happens. Travel Info does more than just repeat back what you’ve put in – through the Nokia Intellisync server, the Travel Info feature goes and finds your destination’s local weather; driving directions between all your appointments, restaurant reservations, and your hotel; and flight info details, all based on the itinerary that you entered. Then, with just a click you’ll always have all the updated information about your trip

Anyone who uses it wonders how they ever lived without it. In fact, some start using it for appointments around town instead of waiting for a business trip.

Now your turn – what mobile apps do you use for travel information (directions, weather, flight) while on the road? Please post a comment here.

For business plans, the deadline for submission is November 16, 2007 and for mobile applications the deadline is January 28, 2008. Prizes include free Nokia phones, the chance to pitch to mobile industry venture capitalists, and promotion on Nokia application catalogs.

On mobilerules.org you’ll find sample business plans, full details, and a competition schedule. Questions? Submit them at info@mobilerules.org.

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?

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.

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!

I use this setting all the time. It’s even handy when you’re just walking or doing anything where averting your eyes isn’t smart. And, yes, you can insert a joke here about walking and chewing gum at the same time. When you hear who is calling, it’s easy to decide whether to need to stop what you’re doing and take the call or just keep going.

You’ll find the setting in Profiles (select Main Menu| Tools | Profiles)
• Highlight the profile you want to use. Typically this will be General (on an E-series phone and “Normal” on an N-series phone)
• Select Options | Personalize (on E-series and “Customize” on N-series)
• Scroll down to “Say Caller’s Name”
• Select it to change the setting from “off” to “on”
• Select “Back” on the right soft key.

You’re done!

Please post any other ways in which you use your phone in “eyes-free” mode.

What to do? Point your phone’s browser to SpotScout [NOTE: currently test marketing only in Boston, New York, and San Francisco]. SpotScout is a Web-based service that takes a holistic view of the parking problem. It’s allows drivers to quickly find available spots (via their phones or PCs) but it also lets parking garages alert drivers of their availability and it even gives owners of individual private spaces the opportunity to rent their spots in small time increments.

Another US-based parking information site is Wheretofindparking.com, currently focused on Boston and New York City. Wheretofindparking offer tips on where to look and not to look for parking. It also offers a mobile site for browsing via phone. Both of these sites plan to launch in other US cities in the near future.

Don’t live in or near one of these cities? That’s why this is a blog! Please post any similar phone-friendly parking Web services that you use and tell us what city you’re in.

Dan Shugrue of Nokia S60 marketing stumped several tipsters including myself with this tip at the Chicago event.

How do force a new line in a text message?

Enter three zeros on the keypad while in the text message (SMS) editor. The cursor will jump down to the next line. This allows you to make a new line or “paragraph” in a message or simply let you put your name at the bottom of your message in the appropriate place. Try it and add a little professional polish to your next text message.

True – you can do most of these things on an S60 phone without TeamSuite. But, TeamSuite beautifully collects all the most frequent team-based tasks all in one application. Now, TeamSuite has become my own personal “killer app” that I use just before I set out on my daily commute or when I’m walking down my office hallway between meetings. With only a couple of clicks, I can dial into a regularly scheduled conference call or send a broadcast message that I’ll be a few minutes late.

I’ve seen blog posts saying you can download the TeamSuite software from the Nokia Catalog (aka Downloads on E-series phones) applicaton download service. But, I couldn’t find it when I looked while writing this post. If you know the specifics please post a comment here.

For the category of mobile business, Nokia has a whole software group inside its Enterprise Solutions business unit. This group produces Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite (wireless email, PIM and file synchronization, and device management) and Nokia Intellisync Call Connect for Cisco (VoIP for mobile devices), and other business-oriented applications.

You can find out more about Nokia’s Enterprise Solutions phones and software at Nokiaforbusiness.com. There is also another entry point for the same site formatted specifically for phone Web browsers at Nokiaforbusiness.mobi.

Full disclosure: I work in the Enterprise Solution software group, so sue me if ramble on too long about the cool products we make. On second thought, don’t sue, just post your comments on the blog. ;-)

Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 on your mobile phone and you can quickly perform a local (based on you saying your city and state) search all by voice. You can say a business name or a category like, Chinese food, and the service quickly returns matches in your local area. While listening to the search results list you can ask for the address and phone number (say “Details”) and ask for a listing to be sent to your phone (say “Text Message”).

I’ve already added it to my phone’s speed dial.

Times have changed. Yes, you can still configure your phone using these provisioning services, but you may not need to. You can configure a Nokia phones running the 3rd edition of S60 without relying on a PC by using a tool called the Settings Wizard.

On the S60 main menu, find the Tools folder, open and look for the Settings Wizard. The wizard will figure out which service provider you are connecting to and ask if you want to set your multimedia messaging and Internet browser settings automatically. It can also help you configure S60’s email client to retrieve your POP email account’s mail.

If you purchase your phone directly from a service provider these settings often come pre-configured. If, however, you’re the type of person that frequently switches phones, the Settings Wizard will help get you running on a new phone quickly.

MoMo stands for Mobile Mondays. It’s a kind of grassroots jam session about mobile technology, and it’s up and running in several major cities around the world. MoMo always takes place of the first Monday of every month, hence the name, but it switches locations each time like a roving party. Browse the link above to find one in your area. The Boston MoMo, near me, can be found here.

Each MoMo session features presentations and demonstrations from individuals or companies about a mobile project, product, service, or business. There’s always time for Q&A, and there are often snacks.

In Boston’s MoMo, I’ve learned about startups and products in my local area that are very exciting – but usually not yet covered by the local mainstream press.

In case you haven’t heard, the Nokia Flaghip Store is state-of-the-art retail. Not only is it the place to learn about smartphone, accessories, and the like, from knowledge staff, it’s also flat-out cool – with wall-to-wall multimedia displays, ambient music, and mood lighting. It’s quite a bit more than your neighborhood phone store.

I’ll be there along with Nokia S60 Blog Master Phil Schwarzmann, the guy who runs all of Nokia’s S60 blogs. The staff will be closing the store early for this special event. There will be food and drink and the chance to gets your hands on some cool new – new as in not available to purchase yet - Nokia smartphones. You can also pick up a free copy of my book 101 Cool Smartphone Techniques.

We promise – no PowerPoint slides, no “suffer through this hard-sell time share sales presentation before you eat” torture sessions. Think food + phones + fun.