The program ships with the two default screens shown below. These are independent of the actual device: non-smartphones are also treated to the Signal gadget; additional applications are not added per default:

Fortunately, adding new gadgets is easy. WInterface allows you to add status gadgets, programs, contacts and even files:

Gadgets can be arranged on multiple pages in a fashion similar to an iPod touch…the boys at Vito’s even copied the “wobble” effect:

Whenever the program starts up, a page showing gestures is displayed. These would theoretically be able to speed up app launches significantly: if they would work. I tested them in a variety of programs on my rx4240 and could not get them to do their bidding:

A slide-to-unlock feature is also included. Unfortunately, it sometimes slowed down the start-up of my PPC by up to 3 seconds…

Like most other VITO applications, the program supports a variety of languages:

This review looked at version 1.15 of WInterface on an HP iPaq rx4240 running its stock distribution of Windows Mobile 5.0. The program needs about 2MB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

Cutting a long story short: WInterface attempts the impossible - and does it to some extent. Even though gestures are not recognized as accurately as on a multitap screen, the program nevertheless brings the iPhone app launch experience to the PocketPC. If you think that your life would benefit from this, be prepared to part with 20$ in the TamsShop…

In the last installations of our StyleTap review, we looked at what StyleTap could do. This part focuses on something entirely different…how fast is StyleTap compared to a real handheld?

Palm OS handheld speeds usually get measured via Speedy, which is a very popular(and fast…30secs max per test) benchmark that gives pretty accurate data. At the first glance, my 400MhZ ipaq is about as fast as a classic 144MhZ Tungsten T:

However, comparing the benchmark details shows that the ipaq is much slower Graphics-wise, while it beats the TT hands down in memory and CPU-related tests:

PalmPi reports a calculation time of just seconds, which is a record value never ever seen before on a Palm OS handheld. Our sister site TamsPalm has loads of PalmPi results - visit them there for further comparison!

Accessing SD cards is really fast. The values below are much higher than the ones the memory card scored in real Palm handhelds - apparently, the ipaq’s highspeed SD card subsystem speeds up VfsMark to new heights.

Overall, StyleTap’s emulator window could be the fastest Palm OS handheld ever - if it didn’t have the huge bottleneck in the graphics routines. As already shown in previous parts of the review, games suffer badly from this. Nevertheless, StyleTap is more than fast enough for productivity applications…

PhatNotes for WMS
PhatNotes WMS for Outlook

From day one, handheld computers were intended to store textual data : the very first handhelds actually were clamshell devices like Atari’s now-famous Portfolio. Thus, a plethora of text processing apps was created - while some of them just concentrated on editing, other applications also deployed their own storage formats. PhatWare’s PhatNotes is of the second variety…but can it stack up?

After starting the program for the first time, a plethora of Windows pops up. The window on the left shows the available container files, the window at the top contains the notes and the window at the bottom contains a preview. While this layout may work well on VGA screens, my rx4240’s QVGA screen can’t really handle it:

Notes can be formatted:

Voice samples can be attached too notes with relative ease. Users of PhatPad can even embed hand-written doodles…unfortunately, there’s no way to do that without PhatPad (which costs an additional 40$ - a pricing policy I personally consider outrageous):

Alarms can be assigned to notes, too:

Notes can be “colorized” in a fashion similar to Microsoft’s Outlook - this makes finding individual notes easier:

A context analyzer tool detects numbers and email addresses automatically:

A plug-in for the Today screen allows you to access recently-edited notes quickly:

Unfortunately, the program does not allow you to export all notes to industry-standard formats like txt or doc. However, individual notes can be exported to txt and rtf when opened:

Screen rotation works very well:

This review looked at version 5.3 of PhatNotes on a hp ipaq rx4240 running Windows Mobile 5.0. The program needs 1434KB of memory and works well from an external memory card!

In the end, PhatNotes is a well-programmed application that unfortunately adheres to a concept will be swept away by the sands of time. As storage cards become bigger and bigger, the overhead of storing individual text files becomes negligible (and offers higher security in case of data corruption). Leaving the issues outlined above aside, the program offers everything needed to manage rich-text notes - if you can live with the idea of database files, give this (very expensive - 40$) app a spin!

The images in this review were made on a Palm OS device as InsaniQuarium Deluxe was incompatible with our screenshot solution!

AstraWare’s initial InsaniQuarium turned out to become a smash hit and a true evergreen. The company thus released an update called InsaniQuarium Deluxe - is aquarium management still as much fun as it was back in 2002?

The game’s core idea involves the management of an aquarium. However, fish drop coins instead of waste…collecting the coins then makes you richer.

Fish must be fed. Feeding a fish for some time makes it grow:

The bigger a fish becomes, the more coins it drops. Earned money can then be invested into food upgrades, laser power or new fish. The three images below show the food getting upgraded:

One new feature found in DeLuxe is an auto-tapper that eventually gets unlocked as you purchase upgrades. It allows you to tap-and-hold instead of having to tap the screen multiple times:

Unfortunately, aliens prey on the inhabitants of your aquarium. The various types of alien have its own strengths and weaknesses…while some can be killed with lasers, others must be overfed:

Due to various additions like carnivores and star catchers, elaborate economies can be constructed. In such aquariums, few fish feed other animals which then generate precious diamonds:

The “hard cap” on population size found in the original InsaniQuarium has been lifted. Instead, the game limits the amount of inhabitants by stuttering graphics and starvation…there is a point where food cannot be dropped fast enough to keep all inhabitants alive:

The final goal of the game is the unlocking of so-called pets. Pets hatch from eggs that must be purchased for ever-rising prices, and can then perform a variety of helpful things:

This review looked at version 1.0 of the game on a ipaq rx4240 - the game always ran in landscape mode and filled the full screen. It needs about 5945KB of memory and can be run from an external memory card. Stability-wise, the game was decent…it didn’t crash, but sometimes had issues with the recognition of on-screen taps. Nevertheless, it remained playable at all times. The start-up time of about 7 seconds was annoying, but bearable…

In the end, InsaniQuarium is an excellent game even with the technical issues found in version 1.0. Even though the deluxe version adds nothing worth noting, it remains a very addicting piece of software. All gamers who don’t own its predecessor are hereas officially encouraged to download the free 30min trial of the game…and should expect to pay the 20$ required for the full version(don’t forget our InsaniQuarium deluxe discount code SEASOFTAM).

• The Home screen shows a clock, an alarm clock, missed calls and upcoming appointments.
• The Mail tab shows a preview of recent mails in their envelopes. It only supports one mail account.
• The SMS tab is similar to the mail tab.
• In the Calendar screen you see the table of a month, upcoming appointments and the number of tasks.
• The Weather tab shows either a picture of the sun, of clouds, etc. and the current temperature of your location. On a second page, it shows the weather for the next three days. Your location can only be set manually at this time (how to change location).
• The Music screen shows a song with its album cover. On my device, it shows the song which is currently played in MortPlayer.
• In the Contact screen, you can add favourite contacts to a list. Throttle Launcher shows images of these contacts.
• In the Programs screen, you can either display a full list of installed applications or a favourite list.
• The Settings screen allows you to set up Throttle Launcher and system settings.
• Unfortunately, the Photos screen did not show anything on my device.
• The Comm Manager screen is similar to HTC’s Comm Managers. On the second page, it has a keylock, a reset button and shows some stats.
• The Internet screen shows favourite internet sites.

You can change settings for all tabs, for example which mail account to use or where your fotos or music files are.

The developer metions support for Flash, Direct 3D and TrueType. There is also a plugin which can display Flash animations on the home screen. And because of its theme support, you can even change the look from HTC to iPhone, Windows Mobile 7 and others.

The application worked so far, the only problems were that the photos screen did not work and that the whole application was rather slow. The developer also warns that the application needs more power and thus, that it may decrease your battery’s power. Some of the settings also seem difficult to me: For example, you need to type in the name of your mail account. There is no list where you could choose one or even more. Other settings just have cryptic names.

Beside this, I could not find bigger problems. The other ones may be fixed in a final version. Nevertheless, I would only recommend this application on a faster machine. If it is too slow for you, it would be better to use another HTC screen or the “old” home screen. But first, go to the homepage and give it a try!

Torch Mobile - Iris Browser

Iris Browser is like a small Safari, which also has the WebKit engine. At the moment, it is only a public beta. I tried version 1.0.9 some months ago, which was not very stable. However, it could handle all pages I opened and was not too slow. There is no Flash support, but it is compatible to plugin files which use the Netscape API and the homepage of the developer mentions a Flash plugin.

This morning, the updating service installed version 1.0.13. It didn’t crash, but on one big site, the phone didn’t react for about one minute. After that, it worked again. But I have to mention that the phone’s memory was almost full, so this may have caused the problem.

My opinion: Interesting browser with nice features (Tabbed Browsing, graphical effects, zooming), but not stable enough yet. If there is a plugin which can show Flash animations (or other plugins), the developer should write a manual how to install them. So, if you want a good browser, give it a try, perhaps it runs better on your phone.

Skyfire

Skyfire’s technology can be compared to Opera Mini. It also uses a proxy server which does the job of the rendering engine. It shows the “image” which has been rendered on a Windows XP server with Firefox 2.0. This way makes the use of the Gecko engine possible, which - in my opinion - renders some sites a bit clearer than WebKit. One negative aspect of this technology is that you cannot access intranet sites, another one is, that many people are worried about their data protection. But on the other side, you will probably find no site you the browser has problems with. Flash 9, QuickTime and Java belong to supported contents.

Unfortunately, Skyfire is still a beta version in a closed testing program and, according to their homepage, only availible for users with a smartphone in the US.

The user agent string is

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1, en-US; rv: 1.8.1.16) Gecko/2007112718 Firefox/2.0.0.16

My opinion: The basic features of the recent version work correctly and stable on my phone. I can also access YouTube and watch videos (with sound). This browser might be one of the best Windows Mobile browsers should be released to the public - if you are interested, you should sign up for the next beta program.

While starting up, the program displays a simplicistic yet cool splash screen. People familiar with Apple’s devices will immediately see whose design Opera (foolishly) attempts to copy.

The program wastes loads of screen real estate when displaying the toolbar:

The toolbars are sometimes hidden automatically:

When entering an URL, suggestions are offered in a Firefox-like fashion. Opera Mobile traditionally had excellent URL prediction - the latest version offers more information, but can display less URL’s at any given time:

Zooming in onto a web site is extremely difficult - each click increases the font size by less than half a millimetre:

Alternatively, some sort of magic tapping gesture can be used for zooming in. I personally wasn’t too happy about it:

Of course, tabbed browsing is available:

This review looked at a beta version of Opera Mobile 9.5 on a hp ipaq rx4240. The program needs 8689KB of memory and can be run from an external memory card. Stability- and speed-wise, the program performed well in my short test and can be downloaded here.

In the end, Opera Mobile 9.5 radically changes the program’s UI…but not neccessarily to the better. The iPod touch’s UI is made possible via a special combination of user expectations, hardware and software, and performs ideally only where thise assumptions exist. Emulating it on other platforms IMHO makes little sense…I’d prefer the old (S60) UI to be honest as it is a lot less annoying.

After starting FlipSide, the program displays a list of albums. Stuff that can’t be catalogized is put into a “default” folder:

Tapping an album cover twice opens a tracklist:

The currently-playing track is shown at the bottom of the screen. The program supports shuffle mode and custom playlists. Other features such as a volume boost or an equalizer are not available.

Clicking “Get Cover” analyzes the currently-selected batch of MP3 files and fetches a matching cover from the internet. I have tested this with a few albums and was successful: the fetch process happens in the background and takes about one minute:

Clicking Extra Info opens a web site about the artist:

This 138KB program is an excellent example of the power of the .NET CF and a feature-rich operating system. Version 1.03 worked flawlessly on my ipaq rx4240 using the .NET CF 2 version deployed by Visual Studio..

FlipSide is an excellent tool for people wanting to add a bit of “visual oomph” to their MP3 collection. It’s unique internet features stand out from the crowd of rather boring(but feature-packed) media players: the price of 20$ is acceptable…

Essentially, the concept and the mini games did not change from the version we reviewed a few months ago - however, the program’s buttons are now bigger and support finger scrolling:

Here’s a small Video showing the program in action. The multiple taps are not due to the program, but rather due to my taping workspace(can’t properly tap the screen):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3785389558371456809&hl=en

In the end, Resco Brain Games Touch is little more than the program reviewed a few months ago - people who already have the product IMHO will not gain much by this upgrade(even though it COULD be a free one…but don’t take this as granted). As for people who wish to get the program now: wait a few more days and get the Touch version with improved handling…

P.S. I have to admit openly that I am a stylus fan - the idea of operating a touchscreen with my fingers is not exactly my cup of tea…

People frequenting MSN Games will probably know Mozaki - a simple puzzler that is insanely amusing. Now, AstraWare has ported the game to touchscreened WIndows Mobile devices - can it stack up here?

Mozaki can be played in two modes - it supports both timed and untimed modes:

However, the game principle remains the same. Bricks appear randomly at the right side of the screen; they must then be moved onto the screen to create lines from the border to the center:

Tiles can be rotated on-screen by tapping them:

If a line of matching colors is established, it disappears:

Ganging up tiles leads to cubes which are worth more points when being removed:

The tile at the bottom right provides with special tiles that are colorless(match all colors) or remove tiles around them:

Replayability is achieved due to the level system. After a few lanes are cleared, the colors at the borders are swapped(adjacent tiles also swap colors); eventually, new colors appear.

AstraWare included a little on-screen-help system - it proved to be extremely useful for me:

This review looked at version 1.02 of the game on a hp ipaq rx4240. The program needs about 2MB of memory and can be run from an external memory card.

In the end, Mozaki is an excellent and amusing puzzler - unlike the smartphone version recently reviewed at TamsWMS’s, this one really is fun to play. Puzzle fans should definitely get it for the hammer price of 9.95$ at the TamsShop(and don’t forget the discount)!