TamsPPC – the Windows Phone Blog

I first saw Brian Fling’s book on Mobile Design and Development on a local connection. Mark A. M. Kramer, an Austrian maven of the mobile computer scene read and praised it – can the tome stack up in the largely empty area of mobile user interface design books?

Brian starts out by looking at the history of mobile and the mobile landscape as it is today. Long-term followers will not find much new stuff here, but it nevertheless makes for an interesting read.

He then moves on to “mobile strategy”. Topics include questions like “What is special about mobile”, the influence of “context” also is explained in some detail. Finally, various options for creating a mobile app are explained – some of them are somewhat obscure and definitely aren’t something you deal with every day.

The next part analyzes the design process for mobile applications. These chapters are what make the book really interesting – you are introduced to design, prototyping and user testing methods for touchscreen and non-touchscreen applications.

The second half of the book looks at the design and creation of mobile web sites: frameworks, compatibility et al get covered in extreme detail. Native application developers are largely left twiddling their thumbs…

As usual for O’Reilly, the book is well-written and readable even for non-native English speakers. Code examples are provided in various web languages; an ample amount of images is included for clarification where beneficial.

In the end, Mobile Design and Development is a great book if you want to create a mobile web app. Creators of native applications can’t use half of the book: if you are interested in the mobile design process, it is a good if somewhat paper-heavy tutorial. Web heads, on the other hand, should buy it straight away…the 23$ shouldn’t hurt…

Use the discount code VISKEEPER to get 20% off the product’s list price in the TamsShop!
Password managers are dime-a-dozen – good password managers are rare now that Resco has discontinued its IDGuard product. Can VisKeeper stack up?

Starting VisKeeper for the first time presents you with a pretty thorough “introduction”. It is shown as a series of notes stored in the program – not at all a bad idea.

VisKeeper generally adheres to the “template-and-object” design. According to SFR, they had it first – but it was made really popular by SPB Wallet. It defines that you first create a template specifying the fields needed:

And then fill in the fields in order to create an entry.

Entries can be arranged into folders, and text notes can be stored everywhere:

A very basic search tool is also included:

One of the most impressive features of VisKeeper it its ‘image password’ – a tap sequence on an image of choice can be used in Vislieu of a password:

Unfortunately, you must activate the password manager manually. If it is not “armed”, everybody can access your stored password by following the tutorial sequence.

Another thing which made me angry is that the program forces you to use the UI in the language set up in the Prefs. As I use an Austrian locale, this means that I am stuck with German – other programs allow you to choose the language in a more flexible fashion.

This review looked at VisKeeper version 3.2.2 on an XPERIA X1 running its stock distribution of Windows Mobile 6.1. The program needs 1228KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

In the end, VisKeeper is an extremely useful password manager once you wrap your head around some of its peculiarities. Being forced to activate the password manually is stupid – other than that, there’s little not to like. The price of 10$ for the stand-alone and 20$ for the PC-enabled versions is humane.

SPB Pocket Plus is a feature-rich today plugin that allows you to basically control your whole system from the today screen. It is skinnable and fully customizable.

If you choose to install via Activesync(a CAB installer is available on SPB’s website as well), you are given the option to choose what elements of the program to install. The choices are; Today Plugin, Button Mapper enhancement, File Explorer enhancement, Internet Explorer enhancement, Enhanced save/open dialog, safe mode, smart scrolling, and Switch Programs(Alt + Tab). For the purpose of this review, I only installed the Today plugin which was 1.83 MB, but if you chose to install other componentshere it would be a larger installation. Only 2.49 MB for all features though, so this app leaves a relatively small footprint compared to a lot of similar apps out there. Also, after choosing which bits you want to install, it will ask if you want to install the trial or the registered version. If you purchase the program and have a key, here is where you would enter it after selecting “Install registered version” and clicking Next. After that, you will see a screen asking if you’d like to try a 15-day trial of SPB Diary & SPB weather. If you choose to install these as well, the installer then proceeds to download them at that point.

On to the plugin! On your today screen SPB Pocket Plus gives you 5 main tabs upon first installation.

Home tab- Battery meter, brightness meter, file explorer, Word, Excel, Notes, and Powerpoint.

Media tab- WMP, Pics & Videos, Bubblebreaker, Solitaire, Screen-off button, Mute button, and a Sound settings button.

Internet tab- Text messages, Internet Explorer, Windows Live Messenger, and 3 smaller icons for Internet Sharing, Activesync, and Remote Desktop.

Programs tab- About 100 tiny icons for EVERY program that is on your device.

Tools/settings tab- Buttons for soft resetting, changing themes, screen-rotation, clock/alarm settings, and 5 smaller buttons- Remove programs, Screen settings, Today settings, Button settings, and regional settings.

Buttons & links can be removed or added to your preferences. Same thing with tabs, you can delete the default tabs or add your own custom tabs. You can set it to auto-arrange items so you don’t have to rearrange them yourself after customizing, and you can add any link to any screen, whether it be a program, file, folder, or even a contact. The program launcher tab was my favorite, you can launch any program on your device from those tiny little icons. I also thought the screen brightness slider was a nifty little widget, and it worked quite well. There are a bunch of different skins available from SPB’s website as well. The come in EXE form so you will need to install via Activesync.

Performance- SPB PP was amazingly fast. I usually use HTC Sense, AKA Touchflo 3D, so I’m used to a bit of a lag, but this plugin was extremely snappy. Screen taps were immediately registered, and programs & settings launched almost instantaneously. I noticed zero lags, even with my phone underclocked to 384 MHZ.

There is really not much more to say about this program, it’s pretty straightforward & incredibly simple to use and customize. To customize or change skins, all you do is tap & hold, and follow the dialogs. I found this program to be thorough but not overwhelming, and the skins are a nice touch. I didn’t notice any bugs during use. It’s a very solid program, and I highly recommend it.

Use the discount code WERNINGSCODE to get 20% off the somewhat steep list price of 30$ in the TamsShop!

Here is the second part of Kristin Werning’s review of Resco Contact Manager. Those of you who missed the first part can find it here…
RCM features a dialer skin that replaces the default dialer. It has large buttons and displays your last dialed calls, much like the default dialer. There is an SMS button next to the number buttons, which when pressed allows you to instantly compose an SMS to the highlighted phone number.

You can also save numbers in your call history to your contacts. There is also an option to have RCM replace the standard caller ID with a custom full screen caller ID with slide-to-answer. This feature can be disabled in the settings menu, but if you want full screen caller ID, here you go.

RCM replaces the standard Outlook text messaging app with a much smoother, more intuitive interface. Anyone Windows Mobile user who texts a lot has most likely grown frustrated with Outlook at some point, so it’s really nice to have RCM ‘fix’ text messaging. Usage is much the same as Outlook, but faster, smarter, & easier on the eyes.

You can view messaging statistics, place calls, and export your messages in CSV or XML format. Very neat. I can think of at least 3 times in the past where I could have really used this function so it’s a wonderful feature to have. Texts can be displayed either individually or threaded.

This review looked at the 2nd edition of Resco Contact Manager, on a Touch Pro 2 running MightyRom. It takes approximately 3mb of memory. It will not run from a storage card, as far as I know. I attempted to install it to my card, but got a message urging me to install to main memory.

I’m sure I’m probably missing some things, but that should show you just how many features this program really has! It is easily the most powerful & complete contact manager available, in this reviewers opinion. One more neat feature- it’s skinnable. Though I was not able to find any skins online, there is a black one provided with the program, and I believe I read somewhere that there will eventually be a skin editor. I did not encounter any lockups or crashes while using this program, you can tell Resco spent a lot of time polishing it to perfection. The only minor glitch i did notice was that sometimes the bluetooth/wifi controls on the today plugin did not always work right. I had to manually go into the bluetooth settings to change my visibility one time, and another time my wifi remained on after I set it to off via the plugin.

I am a touch cookie to impress when it comes to Windows Mobile apps. I have high standards & very little tolerance for glitches or shoddy programs, and I am really impressed with this Resco Contact Manager. You do not have to be a businessman to find it useful either, it’s good for both business users and casual users who just want a more intuitive interface. I highly recommend it.

Resco Contact Manager(hereafter abbreviated to RCM) is a very robust, thorough program, so this will be a relatively thorough review. It has so many features it is almost overwhelming at first, but once you spend a little time playing around with it, you learn how it works rather quickly. Everything is pretty self-explanatory, and there are no confusing or hidden menus or useless options you will never use.

RCM replaces the default Windows Mobile contacts app, AKA Outlook. It replaces it with a visually pleasing, finger-friendly interface that scrolls like butter with a mere flick of the finger. When you open the contacts, you have buttons at the bottom of the screen for favorites, contacts, history, SMS, and keypad.

Tap & hold on a contact and you get a nice little popup with options to Call the person, send them an SMS, send the contact via bluetooth, SMS, MMS vCard, or email, edit the contact, delete it, or link the contact to your Facebook account.

If you choose to link it to your Facebook account, it takes you to a login screen where you enter your email & password, and there is an option to remember your password which I found pretty neat.

Unfortunately, I rarely use Facebook and have long since forgotten my password, so I was not able to test the performance of the facebook integration. I would prefer Myspace integration as well, hopefully that will be added in future releases .You can completely manage your contacts with this program- add & edit contacts, add/delete photos, even take new contact pistures on the fly & add them instantly. In a nutshell- LOTS of options!

RCM features a today plugin that has all sorts of functions. It is actually my favorite feature of the whole program. It displays the time, your alarms, contacts(faves, SMS, call history, and Email), connectivity(Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular radio), sound profiles, and a lock button which initiates the default phone lock. It has a transparent background, which is nice if you use custom wallpapers on your today screen like I do.

When you switch to landscape the plugin reorients itself instantly, no lagging that I noticed. The sound profile option is really cool, you can completely control your sounds from the today screen. It even allows you to select your ringtone on the custom profile tab. My favorite thing about the today plugin- the buttons are customizable. Tap & hold and you get a popup menu that allows you to delete and add shortcuts. It allows you to add individual contacts, connectivity icons, the keylock button, applications, or documents. You can have up to five rows of stuff in this plugin. Very cool! I use HTC Home as a program launcher normally & this is able to completely replace it. Note- this plugin will not display if you are using TouchFlo 3D.

Tune in soon for Part 2!

RNS::’s HiLauncher for Palm OS can be considered the staple food of Palmary launcherness – it remains the most commonly used “start menu” for the operating system. Microsoft’s decision to abandon the classic start menu on WM 6.5 motivated RNS:: to port…can HiLauncher stack up in the new environment?

After setting up HiLauncher, the product immediately displays a “basic configuration wizard”. It allows you to configure the most essential things immediately:

Once this is done, the program takes over the start menu immediately. Customization happens via a control panel which is displayed in the Programs view:

Unlike the traditional start menu, HiLauncher supports a variety of special items. Things like status indicators and toggles are a non-issue:

As are multi-level folder hierarchies:

Customization can be done in an extremely flexible fashion – the shots below show a few of the available font settings:

Unfortunately, replacing a core system component never is easy. For example, the default programs view still omits all programs on the start menu – if they aren’t on the RNS menu, you can’t access them anymore.

This review looked at version 1.0.1 of HiLauncher on an XPERIA X1 running its stock distribution of Windows Mobile 6.1. As the program needs but 500k of memory, it should definitely go into RAM to reduce latencies.

In the end, RNS’s HiLauncher is a must-have for all who dislike the WM 6.5 start menu. All others have to evaluate the benefits against the somewhat high cost (15$ without rebate) and the speed penalty of replacing a core Windows component – I personally feel that the added possibilities are worth the minimal extra delay…

PackT can be considered the newest kid on the block of tech publishing – consider them the APress of “design-related technologies”. Their book on “User Programming for Busy Programmers” hit my desk. But can the 80-page booklet stack up?

William Rice starts out by looking at a few “common myths” of the trade. What is user training, what isn’t it? Who needs to be trained?

Afterward, the book takes a strictly wizard-like approach. A repeating template not dissimilar to the one found in use cases takes you step-to-step from nothing to running user demo, which can be deployed to third-party instructors.

Style-wise, PackT is different from other, more “established” publishers. Their visual presentation is more “to the bone”, and less playful – the whole book didn’t contain a single image. Nevertheless, it was well written and easy to understand.

In the end, I predict that PackT has a bright future ahead of it. This book fulfills its need – if you have just been enlisted to teach at an university or often write manuals and online help systems, you definitely can benefit from it. The price of 13$ for the paperback is ok…

Introductory books for Visual Basic .NET are dime-a-dozen. Unfortunately, this is not true for books which are focused on the mobile aspects of the language. APress’s tome is a classic – can it still stack up?

Larry Roof and Dan Fergus start their text with a thorough look at the 2003-ish mobile device landscape, the .NET Compact Framework in general and also provide a few hints on UI design. Afterwards, topics like controls, files and XML get covered in painstaking detail.

Once this is done, the book goes on to provide a very thorough introduction to databases. If you ever wondered about how to keep databases in sync, use SQLCE or whatever – your answers should be in here.

Loose ends like help systems, P/Invoke, generating reports with third-party components and even networking are also treated in individual chapters. While this coverage can not be called complete in any way, it nevertheless provides interesting starting points for further study.

Finally, a few appendices cover “small stuff” which didn’t fit anywhere else…

The book’s presentation is somewhat atypical: it is divided into independent chapters, which provide you with a dense mix of code and explanations. It’s a bit strange at first, but understandable – being a non-native English speaker, I had no issues understanding the tome.

Even though the book is now hopelessly outdated in some aspects, I nevertheless consider it a must-have for every Visual Basic developer. If you are developing mobile apps, head over to Amazon and cough up the 21.5$…

Recently, a ROM dump of the XPERIA X2 was leaked to xda-developers. As the hardware of the box is essentially unchanged from the X1, hackers were quick to try backporting stuff…and were largely successful. Sony Ericsson’s TileWave panel is hailed as one of the key features of the new device – but can it be ran on an X1?

An insider source recently provided me with a cab file called “SE Tilwave Panel.cab”, which installed onto my device without any issues. No further CABs were provided. However, getting it up and running is not as easy.

The first step involves opening the panel list, and going into “panel management mode”:

Then, click an empty space and assign the TileWave panel to it:

When this is done, activate the panel. It will take a few seconds to load:

Unfortunately, the panel is not particularly useful. Here are a few shots of its limited offerings:

Getting rid of it is difficult, as the XPERIA panel manager of the R3A ROM is blocked while the panel is running. The only way to switch to a different panel is switching the device on and off again. This must also be done prior to uninstallation.

In the end, I struggle to see much value in the panel. Yes, it works – but I have since booted it off my handset and have returned to the default today screen.

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile has traditionally been an enterprise user’s darling – features like its domain integration made the product extremely easy to manage. However, not all is good: the IMAP client is not exactly useful. Can FlexMail stack up?

WebIS’s flagship product is centered across two views – one of the two is the folder list. It shows all ‘accounts’ on the handset:

Clicking on a folder lets you look at the emails. A Outlook-style preview panel is available for easy viewing:

When opening an email, the sender data is not shown immediately – you have to scroll up for the full scoop:

FlexMail might not be too flexible when it comes to formatting outgoing email. However, it allows for a variety of quoting styles and can even manage and request (!!!) read receipts:

Background downloading of emails is a non-issue. The program presents itself pretty chatty and makes extensive use of notifications:

Power users will be delighted to hear about the multi-window capabilities of the program. They allow you to edit one email and look at another one ‘at the same time’.

Version 4.1 added threaded SMS support:

While this is not bad on its own, it blocks access to the default SMS/MMS tool via the start menu:

For future versions, webIS must definitely overhaul the contact management – if I enter an email address once, I want it cached…even if it isn’t in the address book. Furthermore, the program still crashes from time to time (approx 1 in 1000 emails, device restart required) – this is unavoidable for a HTML renderer, but should be minimized.

This review looked at version 4.10 of FlexMail on an XPERIA X1 running its stock version of Windows Mobile. Memory usage starts out at 5MB, and then depends on the number and size of emails downloaded. Running FlexMail from a memory card is possible, even though RAM installs tend to deliver more speed.

In the end, my delay at writing this review can and should be the best possible endorsement for the program. It has managed my email without one outage for the last year – if you own an IMAP server, throw the 10$ on the table NOW. You would be stupid not to…

Use the discount code DONTGETWET to get 20% off HandyWeather in the TamsShop!
Displaying weather information was one of the oldest usage scenarios for smartphones. Since the humble beginnings, these programs have evolved significantly…some even go as far as to offer animated 3D globes.

All of this is nice and dandy when you are in a club – but when it comes to a panel for the today screen, lean is king. Can HandyWeather stack up?

Starting HandyWeather for the first time pushes you through an introduction wizard, which helps you set up the basics:

Picking a city works well, but is slow due to the annoying animations:

Once the wizard is gone, you find yourself confronted with the following screen:

Tapping around on icons and the menu then lets you access a variety of other options including a detailed 24h “weather radar view”:

The real reason most users install a program like HandyWeather is its today plug-in. HandyWeather’s plugin is lean, and can be customized comfortably to take up comparatively little space:

As for customization, the product generally goes a long way – you can modify everything except for the highly annoying animated transitions:

Unfortunately, Paragon had to add an extra craplet to the launcher:

This review looked at version 4.00 of HandyWeather on an XPERIA X1 running its stock version of Windows Mobile 6.1. The program needs about 3800KB of memory and can be installed into RAM or onto an external memory card.

Turn it around and around, but HandyWeather always remains about 2MB less fat than its competitors. Of course, it also is less flashy – but is very close to an ideal no-frills weather software. If Paragon would allow users to disable the flashy animations, eliminate the annoying icon and would clear up the GUI a bit, we had a clear winner here. As it stands now, the price of 17$ is insane…

HTC’s handsets traditionally had problems with the cameras, while most SE cameras had good ones. The XPERIA X1 is a SE handset made by HTC – whose influence was stronger?

First of all, two outdoor shots – they tend to turn out well:

Medium-range outdoor shots also work out well as long as there’s enough ambient light:

In-doors, getting shots sharp sometimes turns out to be difficult:

As soon as lighting gets worse, images get horribly blurry due to insane shutter times:

At night, handholding an image is impossible:

Macro-wise, the handset is decent at best:

In the end, the X1 finds itself squarely in the middle as cameras are concerned. Some images turn out excellently, while others suck – other manufacturer’s handsets are better…

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 was the first device which went beyond the VGA resolution which had become the standard on high-end Windows Mobile devices of the time. OK – but can it stack up in practical use?

Our first shoot-out partner was Palm’s Treo 680. The X1 has no issue dispatching its (excellent) reflective screen:

HP’s ipaq 4240 has an excellent transflective display. The XPERIA ties:

Finally, a bunch of comparison shots next to a Nokia N96. Its color rendering is a bit off, but the white and black levels can nevertheless be compared:

When it comes to an assessment of contrast and resolution, the XPERIA’s screen leaves little to be desired. 800×480 and a contrast ratio similar to HP’s infamous rx4240 make for an excellent experience – until you venture out into the sun. Even though the strong backlight keeps you covered most of the time, it does so at a high energy cost…a true reflective screen would have been better (but would have had worse contrast indoors).

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 got a fair share of kicking in the initial reviews: the keyboard is unusable, blah, blah. At TamsPPC’s, our XPERIA is now in continuous use for half a year – does it stack up?

On the first glance, the XPERIA’s front is dominated by the large screen:

The keys below the screen are of good quality, but have problems with the coating peeliong off. The X Panel button unfortunately can not be redefined:

The back of the box is plain except for the battery door and the camera:

Removing the battery door reveals the reset button (below the stylus) and SIM door:

Sliding the handset open reveals the keyboard. It got loads of flak – but I have to admit that it works flawlessly for me. Actually, I consider it one of the most efficient keyboards currently on the market:

The top of the handset contains the 3.5″ headphone jack and the power button. This placement is somewhat annoying, as plugged-in headphones tend to get in your way while you type:

Sony Ericsson’s MiniUSB port is on the left side along with the speaker:

The right side houses camera and volume buttons:

A wriststrap can be connected at the bottom:

Finally, a shot of the toothpickesque stylus:

In the end, there is little not to like about the X1. I personally consider it one of the best handsets currently on the market – don’t understand why it was bashed as much as it was…

Please forgive me the delay in getting this review up and running – I was too busy enjoying my XPERIA X1. Let’s see how big the box is:

Our first size comparison victim is a Treo 680. The XPERIA is as long, but significantly slimmer:

HP’s ipaq Data Messenger also has a slide-out keyboard…and is significantly bigger:

HP’s ipaq Voice Messenger is a bit larger, but lacks the slide-out keyboard:

Nokia’s N96 is shorter, but thicker:

Nokia’s XPressMusic 5800 has a similar form factor:

Finally, a few shots next to some classic PDAs. First, the ipaq 3600

Next up the rx4240

And finally an iPod touch

In the end, Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 is an extremely sleek device with a slightly weird form factor. The device is in fact much smaller than it looks. I love it, others hate it – let’s see if the physical properties are easier to rate…