Video: How To Customize The N97 Homescreen Widgets

by Mike Macias on June 20, 2009

n97-homescreenNow that I finally have my hands on the Nokia N97 I can start showing you my own video demonstrations of the Nokia N97 and it’s many features. To start things off I’m going to show you how to customize the N97 homescreen. Right now I think I have the homescreen how I want, however sometimes this changes day by day based on what I’m doing or where I’m at. As you can see to the left I currently have my 4 shortcuts at the top, Gmail, RSS Feed, Favorite Contacts, and Music Player.

Sometimes when I’m in the social mood I’ll add the Facebook widget or Gravity (Twitter) widget to my homescreen so I can keep up in real time. If I’m in another region of the country it would be wise for me to add the weather app to my N97 homescreen so that I can be sure I’m not gonna step into a thunderstorm or extreme heat with a sweater on. If the LA Dodgers were playing today I’d grab an RSS feed from my favorite sports blog to keep me up with the game and set it to update every 15 minutes.  This way I wouldn’t have to keep hitting refresh, now I can just glance at my homescreen. That reminds me… I’m still waiting for a good Symbian sports scores application.  Hint hint wink wink ESPN or Yahoo Sports.

Enough jibble jabble. Lets get to the video. This is my first ever video blog so bear with me. To be honest with you I think it’s pretty good. The video was shot with the Nokia N82 and I even managed to add the title on the device. Beautiful.

Nokia N97 Homescreen Demonstration:

(if you can’t see the video in your RSS reader, view the full webpage)

And there you go. I hope you enjoyed the video. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about the N97 homescreen and I’ll be sure to answer them. I’m also taking requests for other video demonstrations.

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Mike has written 84 articles for your enjoyment.

On The Web: http://twitter.com/mikemacias

About: Mike is the editor-in-chief of N97fanatics.com and a huge mobile fanatic. He also runs MaemoFanatics.com and the popular E71fanatics.com. Contact him via email at contact@n97fanatics.com or at his Twitter page.

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    [...] Macias di N97 Fanatics ha da poco pubblicato un video nel quale spiega brevemente come personalizzare la homescreen del [...]

  • oz

    nice how to video, couple of questions though,

    how do u animate the swipe in landscape mode? mine just changes without the sliding animation

    does your n97 sometimes not turn on the backlight when u slide the unlock key?

    which theme are you using :P

  • oz

    another question.
    how can i get that blinking message notification in the top right corner, mine just stays static

    thanks

  • Samantha

    Hi there, I deleted my facebook application (as it was showing error messages, and I thought maybe if I reset/delete it it would run smooth) butn now as result I can no longer choose to have it on my homepage. Do you know how I can 're-install' facebook maybe?

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    1. For sliding animation go to themes > general > options > theme effects.

    2. Sometimes a takes a few seconds for the backlight to come on. Seems the firmware update fixed that.

    3. I'm using Fissure by tehkSeven. Find it in the Ovi Store or by going to http://themes.tehkseven.com > it's awesome!

    4. I had that problem as well. I have AT&T and someone told me it was a problem with my SIM card. I didn't have this problem on my E71 but who knows. They gave me a new SIM card for free (same number of course) and all is better. Hopefully this helps.

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    Hi, I think you can reinstall the facebook app in the Ovi Store. Have you tried that?

  • oz

    thanks mike, i just updated the phone, and its working way better now, though there are some quirks that still need to be worked out.
    i will look into getting the new sim for the phone.
    i have two questions for you.
    1) using the facebook app how do u set a picture, from the gallery, as the profile picture.
    2) i use nimbuzz for im messaging, however i am unable to send files to other ppl anymore, just says not supported. is there any other application out there that allows me to send files.
    thanks again, for all your help and the awesome site.

  • julian22

    mike, i noticed you got the flashing SMS alert in the notification area.

    were you able to resolve this problem? i know a solution. let me know!

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    Yes, I just went down to AT&T and asked for a new SIM card and they gave me one for free. Problem is now gone!

  • Aimal

    Hi

    I just bought an N97 and have a few email accounts like my yahoo, gmail and hotmail added onto it.Is it possible to add all of the email accounts as widgets on the home screen, if so how?

    Thanks

  • Aimal

    And also the compass is not being displayed, i hav followed the instrctions to the letter but am getting nowhere, any suggestions?

    Thanks

  • demyxxx

    Can't get gravity tweet to show up on home screen as widget.. I have it installed but i dont have it showing up in the add content. Someone help pls?

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    Within the application go to “Info & Updates” and install the latest version
    of Gravity. Then you'll find the widget when editing the homescreen.

  • bryanboy

    i bought gravity earlier and i'm also experiencing the same problem. also, i can't for the life of god find “info & updates” in gravity!!

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    Come on guys! Look at the first screen you see when you launch Gravity. Drag your screen down to the block that says “Info & Updates”. it's right below “Images” and right above “Add Account”.

  • caseyn97

    Hey great video.

    The thing I can't figure out about the homescreen is how to add apps that I just downloaded. It seems like it only lets you choose from the 10 or 12 apps that are built in when you get it. But if you download new apps you can't put them on the homescreen. Any idea how to get newly downloaded apps to populate to the home screen editor?

  • demyxxx

    got it fixed.. i bought it for like 10 bux at the ovi store.. turns out some site(not sure which) was giving it out.. so i donwloaded that one, and I got it installed as a widgs… I'm so happy:) thx!

  • HH

    Hi
    i have contacts in my SIM card, but i can't finde them when i put the SIM in N97.. how can i copy them to my phone memory?

    thanks!!

  • norman

    any reply on your question re the newly downloaded apps? i'm having the same problem….

  • tony

    Hi there.

    Can you tell me if its possible to get two email widgets on the home screen? When I try to install a 2nd one, the email app doesnt appear as an option in the list of apps, though it did the first time!

  • http://www.n97fanatics.com Mike Macias

    Nope, it was never possible.

    Cheers,

    Mike Macias

  • arlenemc

    Hi Mike, Thanks for all your information … I have a couple of questions.

    1) how do we change the shortcut key in the bottom right of homescreen – next to the dialler button?

    2) Our facebook app just will not work – reinstalled – upgraded firmware etc .. but still getting “incorrect signature error 104″ on all 3 of our N97s :c(

    Thanks again :c)
    Arlene

  • arlenemc

    Hi Mike, Thanks for all your information … I have a couple of questions.

    1) how do we change the shortcut key in the bottom right of homescreen – next to the dialler button?

    2) Our facebook app just will not work – reinstalled – upgraded firmware etc .. but still getting “incorrect signature error 104″ on all 3 of our N97s :c(

    Thanks again :c)
    Arlene

  • Jeff

    hi my home screen wont display the short cuts or clock etc. when i click on edit to add it says full although there is nothing there. how do i sort this thnx

  • syafa

    mike, my analogue clock,calender and profile (on the top of homescreen) is gone. Can we fix this?

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