Hi,
I have been using my vario II since December and intend to get rid of it when i can upgrade as windows mobile is really poor. I mean windows is bad enough on a pc let alone a phone!
Anyhow i just want to do something really simple, I would like to add large icons to my today screen for some programs i use a lot like IE and Salling clicker (so i dont have to keep going ot start). Am I missing something really basic or do i have to go through a load of tweaks to do it.
This is why windows mobile is so poor becuase it shouldnt be this difficult to do something basic.
Thanks
WM itself cannot do that. You'll need to install some other software. Try cLaunch.. if you are more adverturous try rlToday.
that is why i hate windows mobile, its not user friendly at all. I mean i just want to add some icons to my today screen, the problem with windows mobile it may offer extra features but its at the expense of ease of use.
e.g. phone profiles, silent etc if i want to activate them on a nokia i just press the on-off button
never mind, i knew what i was getting into when i bought a windows mobile device, when my upgrade comes around i will just get a normal phone and use the vario II as a bluetooth remote control.
Well, you may want to try using the SmartKey, which takes the left key, if you were to press and hold it, it will open the 'Start Menu', and using your D-pad, it is easy enough to open programs.
As for phone profiles, you can press and hold your 'Communication manager' button and it will go into silent mode. If rather than having 2 phone, you may want to try other programs like.. er.. the.. SPB Shell, that makes WM phone looks like normal phone.
to be fair i know i know how to use the phone, i mean all i want to do is change the icons on the today screen so i can just tap on them and load them! I mean its all well and good having 100s of functions but if you cant access them easily what is the point?
I really think people are crying out for devices which are easy to use and ready to go our of the box, not one where you have to make endless tweaks! Windows mobile is certainly not that, perhaps the new iphone will make a difference.
Well, for one thing, WM device has this 'Today' screen which is one of the unique thing that, other devices (e.g. Palm, iPhone) doesn't have. From my point of view and my usage pattern, I'd much prefer the Today screen than a launch pad.
SPB pocket plus or Mobile Shell will let you add icons to your today screen
hi thanks
i have downloaded spb pocket plus and it has allowed me to add the icons, can you just tell me what is better the shell or pocket plus and what are the drawbacks of pocket plus ? it reminds me of norton i.e. it has a massive footprint and wants to take over your whole system! I have tried to reduce it as much as i can.
I used the gprs monitor a few months back and it slowed my system and effected battery life.
thanks for your help though
cLaunch is less fancy, and small. . and free.
HTC home pluginn
The HTC home plugins (the one from the touch and the one from Kaiser) are not exactly what you are looking for but also can help you.
Those plugins change your today screen and add a TAB where you can put 9 favorite applications and launch them by a simple click on the screen, also gives you a contact tab that is usefull ...you can search for those pluggins in the WM6 section... for me it has worked fine.
Regards
the HTC home plug in is god awful ugly tho.
I thought the HTC Home plug was beautiful. I like the new one even more that has a tab for photo contacts! However, I don't use it on my phone because it seems to make everything take twice as long. Uninstalled it and my phone was zippy again. I use SPB Pocket Plus for icons on today screen and SPB Photo Suite for contacts on the today screen.
chaz_redux said:
to be fair i know i know how to use the phone, i mean all i want to do is change the icons on the today screen so i can just tap on them and load them! I mean its all well and good having 100s of functions but if you cant access them easily what is the point?
I really think people are crying out for devices which are easy to use and ready to go our of the box, not one where you have to make endless tweaks! Windows mobile is certainly not that, perhaps the new iphone will make a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep in mind that even with the advanced amount of funtions, they need to be organized somehow.
You also may want to look into PHM Tray Launch. You can have smaller icons placed in the system tray so access your favorite applications. (PM me if u want it, I can't upload it cause of the file extension)
Related
Guys,
Do we have a CAB file for either iLauncher (http://www.sbsh.net/products/ilauncher/index.php?page=summary) full version or something similar that will allow us to create our own shortcuts on the today screen?
Control your Pocket PC using the all new iLauncher, packing together the most important set of utilities to better manage your Pocket PC!
iLauncher is an all-in-one application that brings the most powerful utilities that are missing from the Pocket PC operating system to your Pocket PC device in one package. These include: A tab-based launcher Today screen plugin with various information widgets such as battery and memory meters, speed dial shortcuts, screen capture utility and more; A task manager context menu that allows you to track and control the current active applications; A true 'X' button functionality that really shuts-down running applications as opposed to simply minimizing them; A safe-mode protection utility that makes sure your device will always initialize correctly and much more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hawk
yes, wisbar advance desktop
its amazing, and does exactly what you want, also has the option to add meters such as battery or ram and other great stuff, including today plugins, except calendar. Can also be made to look like an iphone [like mine]. It has unlimited possibilities and you can do whatever you want with it. And the best bit, only 10 usd (5gbp) amazing i know! screenshots of mine if you really need them!
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/products.php?prod=WisBar+Advance+Desktop
rory
x
oh yeah, its a great plugin. Well worth the money.
Don't warez.
never seen this before, looks almost identical to spb pocket plus today screen
pff pocketage or WAD(or both)
Recomended
Use Claunch, very similar to iLaunch, only free. Sorry no link, just have to google it.
I have used Claunch for several months om WM5 and it was perfect, but after upgrading to WM6 i'm having some troubles with it. it for sure will not work together with HTC taskmanager 2. it would be very nice if they came up with a stable WM6 version
It is stable for me, now that I use WA3, it sometimes would not appear on my today screen without a refresh before I moved up to WA3, never liked the htc taskmanager much, there are so many taskmanagers, wisbar is the king in my book.
Have any of you guys given this a go yet? http://www.pointui.com/
Its a major improvement over the Standard windows mobile home screen and gives an easier to use interface with your finger.
No ROM cooking involved just install over the top of windows mobile 5 or 6. Its kinda like an improved today screen.
I downloaded it today and I have to say its made me alot happier using the phone without a stylus.
It has just been released and is free to use on any windows mobile device.
Take a look...
http://www.pointui.com/Home.aspx
But it doesn't support VGA devices?? - Mike
Shame it doesnt support true vga 96 dpi......however its really nice looking and i like imput/design ui a lot, wallpaper and color scheme should be user defined.
it does work in 96dpi, kind of, I think we need to resize one or two of the backgrounds to make it work well.
not gone through the jif files yet, I'm presuming it'll be one of those.
they got a fix for that now, a temporary one on their website
Hi,
I have installed this application but I didn't really like it the way I was expecting it to perform. The problem is, I can't get rid of it now. I have removed the program from remove program but it still shows the 'Home' option on the task bar.
Can anyone help me to remove this program?
Regards
SS
sachdes said:
Can anyone help me to remove this program?
Regards
SS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into the program - run 'Update' and one of the options is to remove. Arse about face I know but...
Hi
I am usining it on 128 and 96 dpi
Works fine but when putting in pin for fone the buttons have all tobe touched to see them and then use clear and then enter the pin as u can now see the buutons ???
Any way to fix this ???
good stuff, i like it here ,works good with my HTC PPC 6800
I think once finalized, this could indeed be a killer application for the Athena as it encompasses all areas usually only accessible through the native WM O/S, but in a much more stylish and finger touch pleasing way.
I just got a Sprint Mogul, and I was wondering what the difference was between these two. Should I be using one or the other, or are they made to be used together? I'm fairly new to this, so I'm not quite sure which one I should buy, or if I should be buying both.
Thanks!
I have just the mobile shell, and it severely rocks. Well worth every penny. I tip my hat to the SPB folks.
mobile shell is just that, a shell, adds a nice finger-friendly interface (i found it to be a bit of a ram hog, which sucks with only 64mb)
pocket plus is more of a utility program, it adds functionality to file explorer, PIE, gives you additional button mappings, option to make the close button actually close apps, and safe mode (very useful if you like tinkering with stuff)
they can be used together, or separately (like most SPB apps they integrate seemlessly with eachother) its just a matter of deciding what you want to be able to do
If you go on the site, or somewhere, I forget, it shows the different features of the two to show you why you should buy both, in a checklist format. The only similarity in the two, is they both have a tabbed today plugin. If you had to decide between the two, go with Pocket Plus, it adds the perfect pieces to WM.
Found the page:
http://www.spbclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3941
I have pocket plus and have tried mobile shell. Personally, I didn't care for shell. I believe you can still download and try them both. Do that then decide if you want to buy any of them.
I used shell and phone suite and i have pocket plus but i don't think i like it as much. the one thing that I love is pocket plus and shell is when you lock it you can unlock using the bottom soft key which makes more sense i think. You can download 15 day demos and test it out but I took them all off because they do seem to leak memory.
The only programs I had was shell phone suite and live search and i'd get down to 3500kb in like 8 hours so I had to wipe it and have stock 3.1.2 with nothing added and it's a lot faster.
For those of you who have used BOTH, would you please comment on the value of using MS and P+ together, and specifically HOW you use them together?
I own P+ and have used it extensively on my HX4700. So I realize it has many utilities, like the browser extension and whatnot. The key reason I liked it was because when I used it on my PDA in a car mount, I could make the icons bigger (like TomTom and Contacts) so when I'm driving, I wouldn't crash.
But I'm having a hard time understanding why you'd want both. If you don't need the additional functionality in PIE (because I use NetFront), if you don't need the button mappings, and since there's a very finger-friendly task manager in MS already, I just have a hard time seeing the sense of installing MS and P+ together.
It seems to me that MS is the far better tool for a phone, which will be used mostly by fingers, where P+ seems to be more geared to a stylus and "power users". Therefore I'm inclined to think this is the way to go for me, despite the fact I already own a license of P+.
For those of you who are using both, would you please talk about why, and what value you find in Pocket Plus vs. Mobile Shell? Maybe I'm missing something.
Thanks!
I have used both, and find that a better combination is actually Mobile Shell and Phone Suite (another SPB program). That is the perfect combination for easy touch access to most frequently needed items all displayed very tidily on the today screen. Backlight, photo-speed dial, alarms, weather, missed calls, voicemail, texts, emails, comms manager, and ringer profiles are all neatly shown in just the top third of the screen. I should try to get a screenshot of mine...
Pocket Plus I found very useful for my Dell Axim, which was just a pocket pc, not a phone. Of course, I did a whole lot more with the Axim, and it was much faster and had a lot more RAM than a Titan. Pocket Plus has good features, but I think it has too much unnecessary stuff for a pocket pc phone, especially one short on RAM like the titan.
Hope that helps
Heinous said:
I have used both, and find that a better combination is actually Mobile Shell and Phone Suite (another SPB program).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. I did install the trial version, but found that again, it simply duplicated the utility of what Mobile Shell already gives us. I found that all it did was to pull some features away from Mobile Shell and put it on the Today screen. I think what would make more sense for me is to do away with the 'Today' screen altogether, in favor of using Mobile Shell alone. Is there any way to do that?
Heinous said:
Pocket Plus I found very useful for my Dell Axim, which was just a pocket pc, not a phone. Of course, I did a whole lot more with the Axim, and it was much faster and had a lot more RAM than a Titan. Pocket Plus has good features, but I think it has too much unnecessary stuff for a pocket pc phone, especially one short on RAM like the titan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Like you, I've owned an HX4700 and found PocketPlus indispensible. But, by and large, I used it primarily to make my most frequently used programs easily accessible. One screen was named 'Car' and the icons were BIG so that when it was in my car cradle, I could navigate. But I don't find that the TyTN has less memory than my HX4700, though, so far as I can remember, and I find it to actually run faster in real use.
I think I'm coming down to trying to figure out what to do with the default 'Today' screen. It seems to have no value when used with Mobile Shell.
I'd appreciate hearing ideas on what aftermarket plug-ins I can put there that actually have value, or how to get Mobile Shell to take the place of the default Today screen.
Thanks!
I use both P+ and MS. The Today plugins are disabled for both, and I limit the today screen to Messages, Tasks, and Calender entries.
For P+ I use the Pie extensions, file browser, X Button, and File Manager improvements. MS handles the actual phone usage.
They do overlap a bit but I find that having both is a great utility
Hi there,
I know this has been discussed over and over, but I cannot seem to find the answer without installing third-party applications:
I would like to have more items in the Start menu. Normally this wouldn't fit on the screen, but with the brilliant HD screen there can be at least 4 more.
Is there a way to do this without installing other applications. Can some registry-tweak help perhaps? Any help welcome!
Thanks in advance!
No one...?!
No one have the urge to have more startmenu-items too.?
I personally hate menu style of launching application. Tried such utility before on a VGA device, not sure if they still work on a WVGA device.
Small menu is one such program. It's free.
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-smallmenu-3-19.html
I much prefer to use something like iLauncher, or SPB Mobile Shell. They are more finger friendly, and takes less effort to launch IMO.
I agree...
Yeah i agree, i have tryied a lot af different 3´rd party aplikations over the years but i allway turn back to SPB Mobile shell og SPB Pocket Plus
Thanx for all the kind replies..
But as I said, I do not want to install any third-party software. I Like the Startmenu as it is, I only would like to ad a few buttons.
Any one else have a tweak for how to do this?
Really no one wanting more items in the Startmenu?
Anyone who knows how this can be done?
(see the first post)
I use my WM device for work (currently TOUCH HD), and TASKS is one of the most important things I can think of for a work device.
I currently use SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 which does a wonderful job with tasks (with the tasks widget).
What can one do with the HD2 to be able to work with tasks ?, the option that I heard given was to change a softkey in the main MANILA screen to link for a tasks program, but the big minus here that in order to see your tasks you have to press a button and wait for a program to load, while it is much more convenient and efficient to be able to see your tasks (and appointments) just upon device activation.
To top everything, HTC said they didn't give an option to disable MANILA on the HD2, so I'm not even sure it will be possible to use Mobile Shell 3.5 on that device, and even if someone will find a way to disable MANILA, I'm not sure you will be able to control the device well enough with the capacitive screen...
Without a convenient and effective way to use tasks, the HD2 will become just another leisure device, like the iPhone.
honestly what version of mailla has supported tasks? I cannot remember one that has...
Also the loading time of the tasks app for me is less than 2 seconds on the leo it should be near instant!
Also have they actually cut the tasks app out in which case whats above has been pointless?
Noam23 said:
I use my WM device for work (currently TOUCH HD), and TASKS is one of the most important things I can think of for a work device.
I currently use SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 which does a wonderful job with tasks (with the tasks widget).
What can one do with the HD2 to be able to work with tasks ?, the option that I heard given was to change a softkey in the main MANILA screen to link for a tasks program, but the big minus here that in order to see your tasks you have to press a button and wait for a program to load, while it is much more convenient and efficient to be able to see your tasks (and appointments) just upon device activation.
To top everything, HTC said they didn't give an option to disable MANILA on the HD2, so I'm not even sure it will be possible to use Mobile Shell 3.5 on that device, and even if someone will find a way to disable MANILA, I'm not sure you will be able to control the device well enough with the capacitive screen...
Without a convenient and effective way to use tasks, the HD2 will become just another leisure device, like the iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure it will be possible to use MS 3.5 on HD2, although I understand your point. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if (or should I say when ) someone comes with a solution.
honestly what version of mailla has supported tasks? I cannot remember one that has...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think no version. But for those of us who use the phone for work, and hence need tasks, they gave the wonderful option of defeating MANILA and installing a productive UI that support tasks.
Also the loading time of the tasks app for me is less than 2 seconds on the leo it should be near instant!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter how fast it loads, it will never be as productive as pressing the "ON" key and seeing all your tasks immediately in front of you (HTC understood this need regarding appointments, but not tasks, what imbeciles...).
Moreover, I can guarantee that you will not be able to operate well WM tasks program on the HD2, I can hardly control it well on the HD with a resistive screen and my fingernail.
Noam23 said:
It doesn't matter how fast it loads, it will never be as productive as pressing the "ON" key and seeing all your tasks immediately in front of you (HTC understood this need regarding appointments, but not tasks, what imbeciles...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol but yeh, they dont see them as an important fact to be used, cant be helped really.
Noam23 said:
Moreover, I can guarantee that you will not be able to operate well WM tasks program on the HD2, I can hardly control it well on the HD with a resistive screen and my fingernail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh well i have problems on mine and its qvga, i found that adding the start/end times helped alot with finger use, on the front screen at least...
I've been using Pocket Informant since its inception. I'm assuming I'll be able to use it just fine with the HD2. It's all a matter of adjustment.
-Bob-
rebecker said:
I've been using Pocket Informant since its inception. I'm assuming I'll be able to use it just fine with the HD2. It's all a matter of adjustment.
-Bob-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, you provide a solution that requires you to launch a program in order to see your tasks, this is dramatically less efficient than seeing the tasks right on your main screen.
I think we need to face it, MANILA is not productive, never was, never will be. It looks sweet and that's it. If you want to be productive, you won't sacrifice 50% of your main screen for a clock, leave 1 line for appointments, and zero lines for tasks (not to mention the idiotic idea of swiping your fingers miles in order to get to important features of the device, which is inaccurate, leads to errors, and makes it harder to use the device with one hand).
If I wanted a "closed environment" where people decide for me what I want to see and how I want it to be presented, I would have gone with an iPhone. WM devices suppose to be all about customization and free choice, but HTC completely misses the mark here in their desperate try to produce an "iPhone killer".
Noam23 said:
Again, you provide a solution that requires you to launch a program in order to see your tasks, this is dramatically less efficient than seeing the tasks right on your main screen.
I think we need to face it, MANILA is not productive, never was, never will be. It looks sweet and that's it, it's all about eye candy and wow factor. If you want to be productive, you won't sacrifice 50% of your main screen for a clock, leave 1 line for appointments, and zero lines for tasks (not to mention the idiotic idea of swiping your fingers miles in order to get to important features of the device, which is inaccurate, leads to errors, and makes it harder to use the device with one hand).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had the tasks on my screen even now with Spb MS (MS Tasks are buggy on my TyTN II). So, I guess we all just have different ways of working and different needs in our phone. I actually never had my calendar on the main screen either because I don't want anyone to see at a glance who I was meeting with next (again, an individual requirement based on my job needs).
I believe the items at the bottom of the screen can be cherry-picked (maybe even reordered) for individual preferences.
While I haven't tried this phone, I see no negatives when compared to my 2-year old phone and several positives, including web browsing and speed. And I AM impressed with the eye-candy.
-Bob-
hey noam23
I don't like manila, not only because of tasks but just in general I think that spb ms does a better job of letting you customize.
I'm sure that someone will make it possible to turn it off and/or make it possible to run spb ms. that will be a crucial thing for me for sure.
I'm sure some
Before my Touch Pro went back to be fixed I had SPB set up as a soft key. I can't remember how I did it now but it was perfect for how I wanted it. It would be nice if you could add the SPB icon onto your main screen on the Leo.
So let me get this right: you want to be able to see tasks on your home tab. But Manila doesn't support them and you can't switch it off?
I think I have a solution for you: buy another phone! Simple isn't it?
a better solution is to replace the win6.5 lock screen with s2u2 it will show the tasks as soon as you turn on the phone
THE GRIZZ said:
a better solution is to replace the win6.5 lock screen with s2u2 it will show the tasks as soon as you turn on the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting... the question is how doable is this ?
Is it fact that we will not be able to use SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 on top of manilla??... to get best of both worlds
rebecker said:
I've been using Pocket Informant since its inception. I'm assuming I'll be able to use it just fine with the HD2. It's all a matter of adjustment.
-Bob-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me to. I have concerns about PI's usability on a capacitive screen. I use it on an even larger X7500 (albeit at 128 DPi) and it's pretty unworkable without a stylus.
I was going to get a Leo straight away but I think I need to wait for a few reports on how it gets on with these business style applications.
Of course you can disable sense/manila...
You can also use the new MS titanium or nothing at all if you want..
What kind of fool would think that you can't?
then get another phone, pretty simple. i need winmo for work so i couldnt get an iphone, u need tasks for work dont get the leo.
its amazing to me how much people complain about things that arent even out yet
Hmm can't there be a sort of Tasks Widget to be used with the Sense UI?
Why buy another phone? And why a Tasks widget? (the thing discussed is to having tasks ON the home screen(s). 'fards' say that SPBMS will work on HD2 so that is a pretty good solution
I think that when HTC says officially that the new manila was not like the olders and that will be impossible to disable, maybe this manila on hd2 have drivers or software running in background with the multitouch for other programs or so, so I dont think until I see that we will can use MS3.5 or similar as soon as we get the devce