I recently got myself an E51, thinking that since it's been out there for a while and recently got a firmware update, it would be stable and well-tought-through. Main buying point was the built-in SIP client, since I tried fiddling with Fring on a Sony Ericcson P1i before and it was way too cumbersome for everyday use.
My needs are as simple as they seem obvious to me: While on the road, I want to make VoIP calls via the best internet connection available to me. That's it. Too much asked for?
For a test: I selected "always on" for my Sip account, picked my home network as a standard connection and made sure to check "internet call" for my call preferences. So I dialled a number, the phone made the connection via my VoIP account, and I was able to talk. That easy! Wow - so I thought.
1. To save battery life, I decided to deactivate "always on" for my Sip account. Now that's where the first two bugs come to bite you: Now, when you dial a number, the Nokia phone will simply go ahead and make a regular phone call, even though the call preferences are set to "internet call". You can overcome this bug by sacrificing convenience: Instead of just punching in the number and hitting "connect" you can go via the context menu and choose to make the internet call that the phone should be doing by itself. Second bug after you hang up: Nokia's sip client won't disconnect you from your VoIP provider anymore. This bug can also be overcome by sacrificing convenience: Toss out one of your standby menu applications, replace it with the "internet phone" system option. After each and every call, hang up, then go to the menu and thoroughly disconnect.
2. Next step: Leaving home, and entering the office, where you also have WiFi. Trying to make a call, Nokia's Sip client tells you that "the" Wifi connection is not available. Options: Make the call via GSM, or make no call at all. Only alternative: Dig through the phone configuration and reconfigure your VoIP account. Of course, that means when you get back home, the phone will tell you once again that "the" Wifi connection isn't available. I found a workaround for this, too, and from here on convenience is going way downhill: Instead of being able to dial directly (which we already sacrificed in step #1) or going via the context menu, you actually have to visit the "internet phone" system option after AND before your VoIP call. Because connecting via "internet phone" indeed seems to be the only way to be able to choose an available WiFi connection.
3. So having all of this figured out, you finally dare to take the E51 out on the road. Trying to make a VoIP call from a place that hasn't WiFi, you're in for the next surprise: Where's my UMTS connection? Turns out that the menu of available connections will only show you WiFi connections, nothing else. So once again you'll have to dig down to your VoIP provider configuration and change the default connection to your GSM provider. What happens now is that, every time you want to make a VoIP call, you start connecting via UMTS. Then you need to cancel that connection attempt, and after that you are finally presented with a list of possible connections (this time it's UMTS and WiFis together). If there's no WiFi available you can then go ahead and connect via UMTS anyway.
Nokia, are you kidding me?
Somehow I imagine Batman's Joker sitting somewhere in a top level office at Nokia viciously plotting all this. Well at least it would mean that *someone* is enjoying it - I am certainly not.
I have even tried to use third-party software (WeFi in particular) to somehow make this phone usable. For those who aren't familiar: WeFi creates a single access point (Automatic - WeFi) and will then connect you with the best WiFi connection actually available. This will actually work for all internet applications on the e51 - except for the SIP client. Because if you choose WeFi as the default access point and try to make a SIP call, the phone will tell you - you guessed it - that "the" Wifi connection isn't available but hey, how about a regular GSM call?
Concluding this post, I am somehow hoping that someone will tell me what a douchebag I am, that I have overlooked the essential configuration of my phone and that Nokia's SIP client is actually usable. I am really looking forward to this! Please! - Anyone?
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