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< Esato Forum Index > General discussions > Other manufacturers > nokia e65 '3' black version - a comparison and discussions Bookmark topic

i've recently got a black nokia e65 from '3' australia. would like to share with you all regarding this fine phone, even though the phone itself is a bit old and all that. as stated on the topic, this won't be a review as we have many of those already. rather, this is a comparison between the '3' version and generic models (for this purpose, i shall use an unlocked and unbranded model from nokia singapore to compare). so here we go =)...

the black e65 is an exclusive to '3', the generic colours being mocha brown and red. i've heard that you can get black e65's in the phillipines, unlocked and unbranded. however i can't confirm on that. for prices on current plans, please check with the '3' website. mine is AUD10 for a 24 month tenure, with a minimum monthly spend of AUD20.

differences between the '3' version and generic e65.
- the '3' version is made in finland, while the generic version is 'made by nokia'. what are the differences between the 2? i'm not sure, though some has argued that finland models have a better build quality. this is not the topic of discussion however. what i've noticed is that build quality on both models are excellent in general. the '3' version suffers from slight 'play' to the right when in slider closed mode, however the slider mechanism is stiffer as i perceived with the '3'.

- the materials used are similar, with the velvety plastic bordering the front panel and the leather-like finish to the battery cover retained from generic versions. however, i do think the black version looks better when placed against the silverish panels, though it's only from my personal opinion =).

edit: the silverish panels on the front scratches very easily, even from wiping with a stiff cloth. so users might want to be aware of that one.

- branding wise, there isn't much on the surface apart from the '3' logo on the bottom front panel and below the camera on the battery cover. the branding is minimal cosmetically, and does add to the aesthetics of the phone i feel.

- software-wise, there is not much change in terms of branding applied. the phone can be UNLOCKED for free by '3' on request at any point of the tenure. there is a '3' start-up and shut-down screen, and some icons have been changed. however, you can get the normal icons back when you switch off the '3' theme to a generic theme. the font has also been changed, to a slightly squarish font from the generic. however, this doesn't affect the looks much, they look rather pleasant to me.

- the menu arrangement has been altered slightly in the '3' version. however they can be shifted back with the 'move' function. there is no blackberry connect/quickplayer and a few other softwares on the '3' version. these can be downloaded and added later on. and with all '3' phones, there is a link to 'planet 3' and '3 e-mail'.

my thoughts on the phone branding is that it isn't too obvious, which is a good thing. however, there is more to come. '3' has made some changes to the phone settings, which causes problems ranging from a slight nuisance to severe inconvenience. more to come in the next post.



[ This Message was edited by: bodum on 2007-07-23 16:20 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-22 13:00:16
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as from the previous post, there appears to be no major changes aesthetic-wise between the black '3' e65 and the generic versions. look deeper however, and there are major problems which '3's' inbuilt-settings have caused. note that my firmware version is 1.0633.18.01 11-01-07 rm-208 on '3' australia, and i am using my simcard from maxis malaysia.

- the first thing i noticed is that the phone keeps trying to connect to 'planet 3' every 10 seconds or so. there is no effect on my call charges as data transfer would somehow fail. however this has a HUGE effect on the battery life, mine currently lasts around 1 day at the most with average usage (30 minutes calls, 5 minutes video-calls, some sms, wifi, gprs surfing), which is nowhere near the generic version. also, this fills up the log with the irrelevent entries, resulting in some calls not being registered anymore after a day or 2 usage. this is a fatal flaw, as i cannot find some numbers or track some calls made from the day before which i need.

edit: after countless settings changes to NO effect and 5 restarts, the phone has stopped trying to connect to 'planet 3'. no idea why though, even though this is a good thing. so i won't be restarting the phone anymore for fear of it coming back. what does restarting do for symbian phones anyway? clear memory?

- there is no option to switch between dual-mode and 2G band, even though network search is changed to manual. i believe this feature is locked by '3'. this has some effect on the battery life, though scarce. a more major effect is that sometimes calls are dropped and fail to register when i switch between 3G areas and 2G areas, as the phone takes a few seconds before switching bands automatically.

- there are 3 browsers on the phone, which is the normal nokia browser, the 'planet 3' browser which is a copy of the normal browser and a WAP browser which can be found in services menu. sometimes, changes made to settings for either of these browsers can result in inconsistent effects, like some changes might not register even though the setting is manually made, and some changes might be carried over to the other browsers. is this a symbian error or '3's' fault? i am not sure. this is my first symbian nokia =).

other than the above stated, the '3' settings does not cause much other problems. normal calls and sms and surfing works fine. however, the problems stated above might be considered major for some, enough to turn them off from getting the phone. although the major cause appears to be the '3' firmware, i have no idea if a reflash to generic firmware would be a cure. anyone? also, nokia has resisted from publishing newer firmwares that fixes these problems for the e65 (to think that SE was bad with the p990?). my opinion is that although the phone works fine with '3' networks, the unlocking is a null point of relevence as to these problems. any discussion welcome, cheers =).




[ This Message was edited by: bodum on 2007-07-23 16:23 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-22 13:23:30
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like you i'm awaiting the firmware upgrade. several things need resolving on this phone. mine is black on 3 uk and the firmware version is the same,
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Posted: 2007-07-24 22:15:00
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just performed a hard-reset using the nokia *#7370# code. this deleted most of the apps in installations folder (skype, 3 launcher, mobile TV, ect.) leaving only quicktime. it also frees up around 10MB, my phone's memory is 60MB now as opposed to 50MB before. however, noticed a slight lag on my phone now when scrolling through menus? this might be just my perception. i have no idea what it does for the RAM though, i do not run taskman applications. the e65's default RAM is 20MB, with the 3 applications running in the background plus my active standby screen, i should have around 16MB RAM give and take?

a quick update. it seems that on my handset, the 'planet 3' malware stops connecting after a few restarts, and leaving it there to fill up the log (my log is limited to 10 days, it usually gets full after a few hours). with the connection no longer active all the time, battery life has improved dramatically, nearly 2-3 times from before. i can get 2 days easy now.
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Posted: 2007-07-25 07:25:07
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biggest problem i have is when cold booting the phone is it freshly installs mobile tv premier scores and mobilcast. this slows it down immensely and there is no way of removing these applications.
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Posted: 2007-07-28 19:11:00
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cold-booting? you mean the *#7370# code for the hard reset? or just a soft reset? as far as i know, soft resets doesn't delete any preinstalled apps, just the settings are restored to factory settings. hard resets though deletes most of the operator installed items. i have mobile tv on mine, and a hard reset deleted the app from the phone completely.

i'm not sure though that the apps take up any RAM. have you checked with taskman? i'm not aware of any apps running in the background on my set, even if it's operator branded. the only annoyance is the constant trying to connect to 'planet 3', which i suspect to be hard-coded into the phone's hardware?

on a side note, i've restarted the phone several times, and i notice that if you go into offline mode before turning on the phone, and then back online when you restart the phone, it would only try to connect for a few hours before stopping completely. my phone no longer tries connecting to 'planet 3' now =).
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Posted: 2007-07-30 01:11:41
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How come you ozzies have all the latest phones over there!

m600 black n white
880i
And more

Best SE you can get over hear is a silver k800 or w850i

[edit] smart arse scottt thinks thats phrased wrongly, so i meant phones on 3
_________________
MY XBOX LIVE GAMERTAG

I LIKE SMILIES
Although some dont seem to like me ^^^


[ This Message was edited by: ..:/Ðanny:.. on 2007-07-31 10:55 ]
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Posted: 2007-07-31 11:36:49
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debranded my e65 to 1.0633.18.01 firmware euro 1 black variant.
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Posted: 2007-08-01 20:50:09
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what are the major differences that you find from your phone now, mob? apart from the removal of the 'planet 3' browser and operator softwares, does your phone perform differently? a comparison would be appreciated.

a few specific points i would like to ask. did you flash your phone using a generic PID code? where did you get it done, or did you do it yourself?

does your phone try intermittently to connect to 'planet 3' with the previous firmware?

does it still do so now? also, can the phone network be set to GSM roaming unlike before where '3' locks it to dual-mode?

and does the phone still ignore the default homepage you set in the 'services' browser, which makes it connect to nokia or '3' website regardless?

much thanks in advance. and a few '3' e65 specific tips for users out there. for user codes (just press the code in the standby screen):
*#7780# - performs a soft-reset on your phone. this resets only the settings on the phone to factory setting, such as your profiles ect. it would NOT delete any user data such as your contacts and so forth.
*#7370# - performs a hard-reset. this completely restores your phone to out-of-factory state, so all settings is reset, and user data and some operator preinstalled items is deleted. some would still remain though, as it is coded into the operator specific firmware of your phone. only flashing to a generic firmware would get rid of those in theory.
*#0000# - shows the software version on your phone.
*#06# - shows the IMEI of your phone.

other settings:
for a boost in wi-fi data transfer speed, you can change the settings in connectivity/wifi. go to the advanced settings menu, and scroll to the bottom line which says 'power saving' or something. change the option to 'disable'. this should theoretically increase your wi-fi speeds, although the downside to this would be a significant decrease in battery life.

these are just a few i have discovered on the e65, anyone got any other tricks i can do with it? disclaimer though, do this at your own risk. i never had any problems doing it on mine, but who knows?

battery life update: 2 1/2 days on 40 minutes calls, 30 sms, and no internet/wap browsing. decent =).

[ This Message was edited by: bodum on 2007-08-01 21:38 ]
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Posted: 2007-08-01 22:05:10
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did it myself using phoenix and a copy of the firmware. advantages are my battery has improved. can set to gsm not dual mode. can change homepage. gained download! application.
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Posted: 2007-08-01 23:55:00
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