I left on vacation a few days back, as I write this I’m in the passenger seat of a giant 12 passenger Ford F350 van.  This thing is a monster but I like it. I’ve been preparing my electronic gear bag (I like to call it my toy bag) and I never know exactly what I’m going to bring until I leave.  I have also been updating the firmware on some of my phones (N85, N79, and N97) and in the case of my E71 I had to reinstall all my apps and have it ready for this big trip.  So I decided to make a list of all the apps I’m putting on my E71.

• emoze – push email – 1 email or facebook account is free, then it’s a yearly subscription
• Taskman – manage the apps on my phone – 1 time fee
• Nokia Email – mobile email – free for now but will start charging for it
• Ovi Maps 3.0 – map program -free with option to buy voice guidance
• Ovi Contacts – mobile IM – free
• Ovi Store – place to download apps for Nokia phones
• Qik – Video Capture and instant upload to the web – free
• Gmail Java app – mobile email – free
• Google Maps – java map app – free
• Skyfire – web browser – free
• Truphone -mobile VOIP (highly recommend) – free within SIP network and paid for other
• Boingo – agrigated wifi service – paid
• Nimbuzz – IM and VOIP – free
• Fring – IM and VOIP – free

This isn’t a complete list but what I put on for this trip knowing I needed my phone to be my single point of communication at some times.

Update: Truphone is my lifesaver. I had nearly 0 reception in my cousins newly remodeled basement and not very good reception anywhere else in their house and Truphone made it possible for me to conduct a few business calls and conference calls I needed to participate in.  I also loved how easy it was to reroute my Google Voice # to my Truphone # in just a few seconds.  Once again Truphone combined with Google Voice (previously Grand Central) saved the day land kept me working.

AT&T has a secret plan that most people don’t know about and are never offered publicly as far as I know.  Most people pay $15/month for unlimited internet with a dumb phone and $30/month for internet with a smart phone like a Nokia E71x or iPhone.  Well over the weekend I was on the phone with AT&T and the rep I had was very nice and offered me a great deal.  It is $10 per month for unlimited internet the only stipulation is that you’re on a family plan. Now you’re going to ask “but Jeb don’t you use a smart phone?”, the answer is YES.  But because I tell AT&T I have a dumb phone they give me the $10/month plan.  According to the rep you get the same speeds and she believes (I can’t guarantee) 5GB of data is your max.  So bear in mind Unlimited Data has a fair use policy (just like Unlimited Drinks).

This would be a great plan for people who want full access with email (emoze for example), web-surfing and maybe some Qik video broadcasting but don’t want to pay the outrageous $30/month smart phone fee.

NOTE: @brian_stabile told me on Twitter that you may also need texting plan to be eligible for this deal.

+ =  Two of my favorite companies and two I have evangelized around the world, literally, have hooked up.  They got together and made a baby called QikRoam.  It is the best of MaxRoam, an internationally roaming sim card providing low price minutes and data around the world and Qik, instantly uploaded video from your phone to the net.  They made it so you can Qik anywhere at anytime for a very reasonable price.

Congratulations to Pat, Bhaskar, Jackie, and the rest of the Qik and MaxRoam teams.

Read all the details here in MaxRoam CEO Pat Phelans blog and purchase your sim at www.QikRoam.com.

In the last week I’ve gotten 2 new handsets and I started thinking what are the apps I always install on every handset I get.

Email: Emoze (client) and Nokia Email Beta for testing, sometimes the Java Gmail app

IM: Nimbuzz, Fring and Ovi Contacts

Maps: Nokia Maps 3.0 Beta and Google Maps

Twitter: Gravity (it’s buggy on the E75) and I use Dabr.co.uk 

Sync: Emoze

Picture upload: Ovi Share and email to TwitPic and Pikchur

Vide: Qik and FlixWagon

VOIP: Truphone and DefiMobile

These are just the apps I can think of right off the bat.  Many of them are in beta but all of them are really great.  What do you put on your phone?  I’ll also try to update my list as I add more to my phone.

The folks over at Qik must be dancing today.  They just went public with the fact that the new touch screen Nokia 5800 Express Music Phone will come with Qik loaded on it.  Qik in my opinion is a revolutionary software similar to FlixWagon.  It gives users the ability to live broadcast whatever they want via their camera phone.  I love this idea and use Qik regularly.  Congrats Bhaskar, Jackie, and the rest of the Qik clan.

Very exciting news for Qik, they have announced that they are starting early beta testing on the Samsung BlackJack and the Moto Q. This is great news for Windows Mobile users. Congratulations Bhaskar and the rest of the Qik team. Good Luck guys and keep up the good work.

A few months ago I was introduced to some very exciting new companies. FlixWagon and Qik. I am getting more and more into these unique programs daily. I was at my cousins 2nd birthday this last weekend and was able to take over 10 minutes of video and the beauty of these applications is that it was instantly uploaded up to their prospective websites. I can’t tell you how cool I think this is.

Though to me their’s a situation that will develop from this. How will news be reported? Unfortunately the first thing that comes to mind for me is how will this effect the reporting of terrorism? Will I be able to watch it live or there abouts on the net as it happens? I remember watching CNN accidently live broadcast a child die in front of my eyes after they were mortally wounded by a suicide bombing. That was a mistake by a major broadcasting company. What will happen to the personal web? Will I be watching this next time there’s a blast? How can we keep children from viewing this kind of thing? Jeff Jarvis talked about his thoughts on this and I must agree with him.

What do you think?

So I am new to Qik, I’m a little behind the curve. I have been using it a bit on and off for a couple weeks now and when I created a video that I wanted to send to the co-creator of the company I was stopped in my tracks. Bhaskar Roy (who I met last week at the Qik/MaxRoam party in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress ) had watched my video and was responding back to me. I was so unbelievably impressed that he would take the time to watch the videos that come in and even respond to one. Bhaskar, that puts you and Qik on a level that most companies can never achieve in my book.

Thanks!