Nokia Smartphone Hacks

Chapter 8. Improve the User Interface

Hacks 43–49: Introduction

The Nokia smartphone user interface (UI) is designed to make the best use of both the audio and the display elements on the phone. A well-designed UI increases user productivity on the phone and makes users more likely to use their phone’s entertainment features. But different people have different ideas of what makes the best UI. Because a smartphone is a highly personal device, the smartphone UI must be highly customizable to match everyone’s needs.

In this chapter, you will learn how to customize your phone’s UI to your liking. I will also cover tips on how to obtain and create art elements for your custom UI.

Change Sound and Alert Settings on the Fly

Using profiles, you can change your phone’s sound and alert settings with several quick clicks.

A profile is a collection of settings for the phone’s ring tone, alert tones, sound volume, and vibrating alert. Using profiles, you can quickly change your phone’s settings to adjust to your surroundings. For example, when you enter an important meeting, you can switch your phone into the Silent profile, which silences the ring tone and turns off all alerts, in one operation. On most Nokia devices, lightly pressing the Power button on the top of the handset brings up the available profiles. You can either use the navigation pad to select different profiles or simply tap the Power button multiple times to move the selection highlight down the list of profiles. Once you select ...