I recently switched to a Nokia 3650 cell phone. It's the cool-looking one with the buttons arranged in a non-standard way around a circle, kind of like an old rotary dial phone but not really. What I wanted was a next-generation phone with an integrated camera and bluetooth. As I've been relatively satisfied with ATT Wireless, I went with them again.
The camera part is working out nicely. Having it in my pocket at all times has let me take lots of candid photos I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. It takes 640x480 photos. I did figure out how to get Bluetooth working between it and my PowerBook G4. It was relatively painless, except that I can only upload photos one at a time. It fails when I mark all images and try to upload. So far, so good.
I find the email completely baffling and deeply frustrated. ATT is using its mLife branding all over, and I can't figure out what it is or how it works. Today there's a big color supplement in the S.F. Chronicle pushing it. If I can't get things to work, I can only imagine what it's like for others.
The documentation isn't very helpful and I haven't been able to locate useful online resources. The support forums on the ATT Wireless site are pretty random.
What I'm looking for is someone to explain how all the various service options fit together. Mike McCue from TellMe Networks said he though that mMode mail is kind of like a webmail service, i.e., it's an email service hosted by ATT, that they try to steer people too. What I want is to configure the phone to be a POP client. I think I see where to do this, but it appears to require going through mMode, which doesn't make any sense. You see how confused I am.
Has anyone out there mastered this or can anyone point me to an online resource which deciphers the mysteries.
(Pretty obviously, the problem isn't with me, other than being impatient; the problem is with bad design and poor communication. Before I can critique it, I have to understand it.)
Posted by mitch@osafoundation.org at July 20, 2003 11:25 AMI'm not using my mMode email account, but I do use my 3650 to check my .mac email. Since .mac is IMAP, this works very nicely. I will give the step-by-step instructions from the beginning because I don't know at what point you're having trouble, and it may be of benefit to others.
1. press the menu button (above the 5 and 6)
2. select messaging
3. press the options button (left softkey)
4. select Settings
5. select E-mail
6. select Mailboxes
7. press the options button
8. select New mailbox
9. fill in the various fields:
- Mailbox name: a useful name
- Access point in use: when I select this field, I get two choices for "Default access point", "AWS MMS" and "mMode". I am not sure what these are, but "mMode" works for me.
- My mail address: my .mac email address
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.mac.com
- Send message: I have mine set to Immediately, but this is according to your preference.
- Send copy to self and Include signature are both preference items
- User name and Password are according to my mail account
- Incoming mail server: mail.mac.com
- Mailbox type: IMAP4
- Security: On
- Retrieve attachments and headers are again according to preference.
10. Press the back button (right softkey)
You should now be set up. Your "Mailbox name" should now be visible on the first screen of the Messaging application, after Inbox and My folders. When you select it, you will get a "Connect to Mailbox?" prompt. For IMAP, it then syncs the headers for my inbox. (By the way, I always get a "This site has sent an untrusted certificate. Continue anyway?" prompt when I connect. It seems to work fine after I click "Ok".) I can then select a message header to get the body downloaded.
Note that this email is different from the SMS (Text message) and MMS (Multimedia message) services. SMS messages can only be directly sent to other phones. That is, the "to" field has to be an SMS phone number. There are gateways that can bridge to other systems, but they must also have an SMS phone number. MMS can be sent to the number of an MMS equipped phone, or to an email address. If you want to send a message to an email address, MMS has the advantage of being faster, at least compared to my .mac mail address. However, I send email from my .mac account when I may want to continue the conversation from my computer. The replies can be read from either my phone or computer.
I know this is a long comment, but I hope it is somewhat helpful.
Posted by: Greg Graham at July 20, 2003 03:46 PM
If it's anything like my Sony T300/T-Mobile setup, you have two options: One is to go through T-Mobiles' portal and configure one's account to pull POP mail into one's portal page, which can be viewed via WAP -which T-Mobile calls T-zones. The other is to have the phone's POP/IMAP client commmunicate directly with one's e-mail server via the internet, which is accessed peripherally through the T-zone service -without using the T-zone interface- much like one who would use AOL to get a TCP/IP connection and then use a third party e-mail client to access the 'net. My guess is your phone/provider combination is conceptually the same as mine in tis regard. With mMode being the name of the portal and the network service.
Let me know if I turn out to be correct on this guesstimate please.
Regards,
Jake
Posted by: Jake at July 20, 2003 07:59 PM
I'm an activist. Among other things I use the 3650 to email photos from protests and demos to my camblog site (polizeros.textamerica.com). The photo can be online literally 60 seconds after I take it.
I'm still exploring the phone. The web browsing is ok, good for news, especially Reuters. Two way text messaging is useful (check upoc.com for a variety of msg'ing grousp and services)
However I can NOTt get Bluetooth or infrared to work. The Bluetooth connection itself works, the devices pair. However Nokia PC Suite can't find the phone. Aargh. Any help appreciated.
Posted by: Bob Morris at July 20, 2003 09:12 PM
If you can get a GPRS connection to the open Internet from your GSM operator (some only provide braindead GPRS-to-closed-WAP-services), the 3650, 7650 and other Series 60 phones support IMAP over SSL just fine: http://mac.against.org/space/mac.2003-03-16
(Other more graphically-minded folk can check out my Image Upload hack for PHP at http://mac.against.org/space/mac.2003-06-15 or the Python version done by Christopher Elkins: http://www.christopherelkins.com/weblog/archives/2003/07/06/pynokimg_01.html)
Posted by: Rui Carmo at July 21, 2003 02:54 AM
Bob: I have managed to get the Nokia 3650 to talk to PC Suite via bluetooth. I posted the steps I took at http://82.181.novustelecom.net/blogs/biketrouble/archives/000047.html . YMMV, but hopefully it'll give enough clues to get it going.
The 3650 is a terrific device, but setting almost any GPRS phone up for something other than what your service provider expects can be pretty frustrating as neither the manufacturers or the service providers seem to want to make it easy to find the information. I went through this with the T68i as well as the 3560, so the second time around I knew what to expect. I'm now using mine with .mac e-mail on Fido GPRS in Canada (where the 3650 is not yet on sale) so there is some hope. I seem to recall using this page to set it up: https://secure.mouse2mobile.com/clients/nokia/americas/email/ (again YMMV.)
Posted by: Mark Allerton at July 23, 2003 06:51 AM
Here's an important tip: AT&T Wireless tech support people, don't have the slightest idea what the capabilities are of the phones they sell.
The Nokia 3650 has a fine POP3/IMAP client, I love it dearly (though it has some minor flaws but overall I'm very happy).
But don't ask AT&T tech support to discuss it with you. All they know about is mMode, which is (you are correct) basically a webmail-like proxy, in which (gasp!) you have to give AT&T your POP account name and password.
I actually had an argument with a tech support rep at AT&T named Carlos (which ended with him hanging up on me), in which he denied that the 3650 had a POP client, and insisted that there was no way to check your email on the phone other than with mMode mail. I was stunned at not only his lack of knowledge but his arrogance at trying to convince me how wrong I was about "just how Email works on these phones".
The message is clear: It is Nokia, not AT&T Wireless, whose brand we are learning to love and identify with.
Posted by: Bryan Field-Elliot at July 23, 2003 02:15 PM
Hello Mitch,
I'm sorry that you've encountered so much difficulty getting your POP3 email to work in the Nokia 3650. I would be more than happy to assist you with setting this up and making sure it works. Unfortuantely I cannot post my work e-mail address or phone number but I've sent you an e-mail with my contact information if you would like to give me a call or send a reply.
Sincerely,
Nate
AT&T Wireless
Advanced Network Services
Posted by: Nate at July 23, 2003 04:45 PM
If Nate or other Att. Tech is monitoring this please respond. My wife and I have been with Att.
3+ years. Our $29.99 plan is perfect for us.
However our Nokia 5165's are tired. Reception not what it was once. In store Rep. tried to stroke me
that I had to go up Ten Bucks a month to go next
generation. Then I get home and see paper add for
four next gen. phones on our $29.99 plan. We just
want a phone that talks. I drive a fuel truck and
have no desire to shop Ebay going down the road with 8800 gals of gas on my back. Is there a next gen. phone that excells at talking and I don't have to worry about bumping a button and getting dinged for web time? Marketing should not forget about folks like us, our numbers are greater than they think. Happy with plan, just need new phones and don't need a clerk trying to get upgrade commision out of me.
Thanks for your suggestion on which phone.
Carey
Posted by: Carey at July 27, 2003 11:16 PM
I'm not an AT&T customer - am using Tmobile but I suspect the setup is similar. Configuring the GPRS (probably mmode in AT&T speak and T-zones @ Tmobile) is a pain. I found that I had to setup my pop accounts through the tmobile web site. with tmobile you can profile whether e-mails trigger an sms message to your cell phone and under what conditions. unless you want it to buzz every time your acct gets an e-mail, configure it to not notify or only on urgent messages.
the messaging client is confusing as there is an Inbox which is linked to your sms messaging account. you need to select options-settings-e-mail accounts to create a new one. as i recall, with tmobile setting this up on the server propogates the settings to the phone.
You might want to download and load Active Today - a shareware third party interface that (I find) consolidates a lot of features and provides me with a better way to overview my e-mail traffic.
Hope this helps (or better doesn't as you've figured it out).
Posted by: Jiri Nechleba at August 6, 2003 08:07 PM
Carey, i would probaly suggest for u to stay on the TDMA/Digital network for the time being if u have a plan on that suits your needs so well. As for what sort of phone to go with on the TDMA network that is reliable and easy to use, i would probaly recommend the Nokia 3560 or 2260. Both will run on your current rate plan, and you will not have to run the risk of rackin up and internet charges from mMode. You will not have to migrate off your current rate plan as long as it is not an expired rate plan, nor will you have to change your phone number. If you dont have any luck purchasing the phone at your local ATT Wireless store then feel free to call into Customer Care at 800-888-7600 and just let them know your would like to go through the "Customer Upgrade Program" to purchase yourself a new phone. We would be more than happy to assist you with that.
Scott
ATT Wireless
Resolution Desk Specialist
Posted by: Scott at September 15, 2003 05:13 PM
Scott, Carey,
let me add my two cents here. I'm thinking about upgrading my tired panasonic cell and for coverage benfit I intend to stay with TDMA. After some email with an ATT rep, here is my conclusion:
Going through "upgrade my equipment" is the most costly option there is. For cost concious there is but one way: to let the contract expire and get new contract (ATT suits me nicely, thank you) going through authorized dealer of your choice. This will save you $50 to $100 over getting the contract directly from ATT and would save you easily $150 over upgrading.
Curious as it is.
Peter
Posted by: Peter at September 25, 2003 07:36 AM
Hello all,
this has been great info! I have just a quick question: is there a java email client like the one on the nokia 6800 available for the Nokia 6200? I would very much like to set up pop mail on the phone like what is available for the 6800. please email me as well if you post here.
Again, thanks
Dan Lewis
Posted by: Dan Lewis at October 8, 2003 10:54 PM
Hi, I'm trying to use the mmode mail ( silly but I have my reasons) but I want to use the nokia java imap client to do it so I don't spend any unneccesary time connected to mmode. Does anyone know the IMAP and SMTP server setup for the mmode account? please email me back if you do, I will be unable to check this forum from work, but I check my hotmail
Posted by: Harsh Karmarkar at October 14, 2003 12:13 PM
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to upgrade to another phone while using the ATT Wireless Go Phone plan?
Posted by: Lenora Jackson at November 27, 2003 05:34 PM
hi guys,
if any of you guys can help me. i have just brought a nokia 6800. i have set up wap but want to set up pop3 for reading my hotmail emails. pls help me with the configuration and i would be very grateful
mtripathico@hotmail.com
Posted by: nishant at December 11, 2003 12:33 AM
Hey I have a Motorola Accompli 009 and am trying to configure an email client acct....i need the ip address' of the pop3 server and smtp server to configure, t-mobile has no clue of there mail ip address when i ask and neither does msn what else can i do to get the ip addressesfor the mail servers?
Posted by: allen at June 17, 2004 07:23 AM