Anyway, “Bob” goes on to tell us about some more evolutionary HTC Windows Mobile handhelds which included the well known Blue Angel, the original HTC Touch, the Titan, Touch Pro, and the Touch Pro 2. He went into a little more detail on his Touch Pro 2 and held it up beside the Wizard to demonstrate how deep HTC’s “Sense/Manila” made it into the system before Microsoft screwed over the Windows Mobile userbase. From there, they moved on to talking about how (little) the messaging program changed over the years and how our messaging habits as a culture have evolved before he kind of got ready to wrap up the video.

Toward the end, he shared how he had tried Android on his HD2, but it just didn’t “feel” the same to him, and while he said he was learning, Windows Mobile is still his “Daily Driver”. After this part, they add in a random clip of their weird girl and she told her HD2 story (ironically, she basically just ranted about why she didn’t like it), and then “Cajun” comes back and talks a little bit more about holding onto his HD2 for the immediate future since he could still run the “modern” Android platform but also be able to use Windows Mobile which he (and still many of us) are comfortable with. To conclude they shared some “deep” thoughts about how since Windows Mobile 6 had no real successor, it will be tough for many of us to say “goodbye” and admit that the platform is kind of almost “dead”, although it will certainly live on here and on XDA Developers for a very very long time.

::AB

Related posts:

1. GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)
2. Smooth YouTube Downloader Updated (version 2.1)(8/31)
3. New Version of CR192 DESIRE ROM Available for HD2 Owners (8/19–Version 6.5.3.1.4b)

::AB

Related posts:

1. Smooth YouTube Downloader Updated (version 2.1)(8/31)
2. GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)
3. New Version of CR192 DESIRE ROM Available for HD2 Owners (8/19–Version 6.5.3.1.4b)

::AB

Related posts:

1. GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)
2. SciLor’s GrooveMobile Alpha 20 Released
3. Elite Series ROM for HTC Diamond Updated

::AB

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1. Grooveshark Mobile Alpha Released
2. GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)
3. Elite Series ROM for HTC Diamond Updated

If you’re still on the CDMA HTC Diamond and want an excellent Light alternative to the stock ROM, 2 Bunny’s “Elite” may be for you. Head on over to the thread over at PPCGeeks.

::AB

Related posts:

1. GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)
2. New Version of CR192 DESIRE ROM Available for HD2 Owners (8/19–Version 6.5.3.1.4b)
3. HTC Releases New ROM For The Diamond

New Version of NICQUE's popular freeware program, GCzII is released

NICQUE, the popular author of Windows Mobile freeware released a brand new version of GczII on July 1st (version “0.2.35.76”). GczII is a popular freeware Geocaching.com client, where you can search for geocaches by Zipcode, cache name, author’s name, trackables, and of course geographical distance from your current GPS location. For those of you not familiar, Geocaching is a sport which (after registering for a free account on their website) allows you access to the coordinates for thousands and thousands of geocaches worldwide. Each geocache is a container hidden somewhere in public which can be located with the coordinates provided for it on Geocaching.com, which can get you around 10-30 feet from the “cache” (from there, GPS is too imprecise and you must use your wits to find the spoils). When you get to the cache (these can be in parks, parking lots, off a hiking trail, etc.), you can sign the logbook and if the cache is physically large enough (the size of the cache varies wildly – usually a small plastic box though), exchange small trinkets. When you get home, you also sign the log on the site.

GczII saves the user the hassle of not only needing to have a separate GPS receiver, but you also do not have to print off countless cache pages or worry about typing the coordinates just perfectly into a secondary receiver. It is a “green” solution, and also much easier.

::AB

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1. winmoFinance Gets Updated To Version 1.8
2. TOUCHTWIT for Windows Mobile updated to Version 1.8
3. Spb Software Minor updates: SPB News updated to v. 2.1, SPB TV for WM – to v. 1.2.1

Looking for a finger friendly, easy to use app to manage pretty much any kind of list. Then Checklist is for you. While not what you would call "feature rich" I was immediately attracted to this app for it’s streamlined and simple interface. It does one thing, and one thing well; manage checklists, plain and simple. The app will work on any VGA or WVGA device and has been tested on WM 6.5.X devices, but my guess is it will also work on WM6.1.

The settings menu offers a few basic options:

• Save on Exit – Don’t think I need to explain this one
• Keep backlight on – Or this one
• Custom Item Height – Changes the height of category and item blocks. The range is from 40 to 100pt in 10pt increments. I like the way it looks set at 60.
• Custom Text Size – Change the text size for category and item entries. The range is 5 to 15pt.
• Display Message Dialog – Turns on/off messages to indicate settings have been changed or data has been saved.
• Allow Grayed Checkboxes – Changes item checkboxes to triple state, where they toggle between; on, off & gray when tapped, to block out (gray out) unneeded checkboxes.
• Show Splash Screen – Think you can figure this one out

GETTING STARTED – The app opens with four icons at the bottom of the screen; Item Vault (more on that later), New – to add a category, Edit – to rename a category, and Delete – to delete a category. The right soft key Menu adds a few additional functions; Change Order – to move your categories up or down in the list, Save – to save your changes and Reconstruct Connection (more on that later). The left soft key Help menu provides a description of the icons.

Tap New and enter a name for your list. Unfortunately Checklist has not been optimized for landscape so you will need to use this app in portrait mode. Every entry/edit screen has the same two icons at the bottom; Disc – to approve or save your entry or X – to cancel. After saving your category (list) you are returned to the main screen. Selecting anything in Checklist requires a double-tap. The first tap will highlight an entry and a second tap will select it. Double tapping a category opens the Items screen. The icons at the bottom of the screen are the same as above, except the first icon (Item Vault) has been replaced with Back – returning you to the main (category) screen. The process for creating items is the same as categories; Tap New, type your item entry and tap Save. You can create as many categories and items as you like. And just as with categories, you can tap Menu/Change Order to easily reorder your item list. The Item/Edit screen adds additional functionality allowing you to copy or move an item to a different category. Nice feature. You check an item by double tapping an entry. You uncheck by double tapping again. No accidental selections while scrolling through a long list. I told you this app was simple.

The app takes a few seconds to load but once its open navigation is quick and responsive. Tapping Delete for category or item entries always brings up a verification dialog to avoid fat finger errors. You can tap anywhere on the item line to select it so "no stylus needed" to use this app.

ITEM VAULT is a hidden category that can be used to store unused item entries or to create templates for commonly used items. When in the Item screen, select Edit. From there you can Copy or Move an item into the Item Vault. Once populated, tapping Item Vault on the Main screen opens the Item Vault "items" screen, which looks just like any other items screen. You can use Edit to copy/move items into a selected category.

DESKTOP – Checklist comes with an optional companion desktop component. Checklist Desktop looks and works exactly the same as the device application. When running Active Sync, you can use Checklist Desktop to Retrieve or Send files to your device, or both I guess. I have not fully tested this feature. It had no problem pulling/updating three category lists from my device and loading them onto the desktop. But I am not sure how well it can synchronize when changes have been made to both lists, etc.

SUMMARY – An easy to use application that eliminates the need to keep lists on snippets of paper all over your house. Good to shopping, to do’s, packing for a trip, gift buying, just about anything. The app is currently at version 2.1, and is very stable. No bugs or issues after several weeks of use. The developer, Dadi68, has resisted requests for added features explaining that Checklist is a simple application and he plans to keep it that way. I did make one request; to have a way to globally uncheck all the items on a list which would be an easy way to reuse a list over and over. Hopefully it makes its way into the next version. You can find the app at XDA-Developers here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=719647 . And if you find this app to be useful, don’t forget to buy the developer a cup of coffee.

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1. Mobility Digest Review: Elecont Weather
2. Mobility Digest Review: Air Display Review
3. Mobility Digest Review: Tmobile TP2 Bodyguardz Review

For those running the classic Today screen or Titanium on their WM 6.X device, you might want to take a close look at Elecont Weather. Of course, its an app so it will work on any Windows Mobile (Professional or Standard) device, but the plug-in is what makes this app extra special. 

INTRODUCTION: Elecont Weather is a virtual weather station, providing; current forecast, 24 hr. barometric pressure, 10 day forecast graph and "per day" detail view, 12 and 48hr; temperature, precipitation and UV views, ice alerts, weather alerts and fifteen different map/satellite views for 67,000 worldwide locations using Intellicast. Possibly with the exception of the Options screens, Elecont Weather is "finger friendly" throughout. Everything about this app is very intuitive. The developer has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about how users will interact with Elecont Weather and put forth a very customizable and dependable application. I have purchased/tested a half dozen $$$ weather apps and nothing comes close to Elecont Weather, scoring high points in every category. And while a few of the "free" weather apps are very good at what they do, most lack critical features including; a today plug-in and automatic updates, delegating them to secondary app status.

OPTIONS: Elecont Weather offers a long list of configurable options, like: 12 different 1, 2 or 3 line Today screen plug-in views, 38 different Units combinations (temp, pressure, wind speed, etc.), 6 different animation configurations (5 sec. to infinite), 13 different languages, 6 different icon collections and 12 different themes/color configurations. There are also options to show/hide; arrows, barometer, low temperature and city selection on the plug-in as well as configuring; sound, vibration or double touch, a really nice feature when trying to flick through your cities without inadvertently launching the app. You can configure the size and color of the text and background on the plug-in as well. Additionally, you can tell Elecont Weather when to automatically update for each of the following; GSM, WiFi, connected to PC or when Roaming. Options include; Manually, every 10 or 30 min, every 1, 2, 4, 8 or 12 hrs, or each; midnight, 4, 6, 8am or 8pm. You can even set a global time range for updating; like not between 11:00pm and 6:00am. Finally, you can tell EW what kind of connection to use, proxy settings if needed, and allow/disallow EW to create a connection to the Internet. Hey, I did warn you that it’s a long list.   

PLUG IN: The plug-in is not your typical five day forecast which IMHO is useless. Does anything change more than the weather. I don’t care what the little icon says four days from now cause it’s bound to change at least a couple times before then. Tell me what is happening now, including any rise/drop in pressure, wind speed and humidity, today and maybe tomorrow. Anything beyond that is nothing more than a guess. Elecont Weather gives you several plug-in options for 1, 2 or 3 lines depending upon your space availability, although 3 line is the most robust and best looking view. Views include; hour by hour (condition icons with temp by hour), three day (condition icons and high/low temp), three day-detail (now view: condition icon, barometer, temp and 3 day condition icons with high/low temp) and one day-detail view (now view: condition icon, barometer, temp, condition, and wind). For all of the views, a swipe left to right will bring up the next city in your queue (you can identify as many cities as you like) and a swipe right to left will display the next; 3 hours, 3 day group or day for the selected city up to the full 10 day forecast. With all that detail you almost never need to launch the app, although you will probably want to anyway. The weather indicating icons (sun, clouds, rain, snow, etc.) animate when active only for the time set in Options, as a means to conserver battery power and resources. Speaking of the battery, EW has negligible impact on battery drain, unlike at least one other popular weather plug-in that will remain nameless. The Elecont Weather plug-in runs a process in the background, consuming about 600K and 0.05 to 0.30% of CPU. One of the best features is the plug-in time stamp which tells you how many minutes, up to 120, since the last update. After 120 minutes, the plug-in reports updates in hours. Great when you want to know if the forecast is stale.

Speaking of updates, every other weather app I have used or tried with automatic updates utilized the Notification Queue to manage periodic updates, usually every one or two hours in my case. As any longtime WM user knows, the Notification Queue is unreliable at best and invariably, my weather app would just stop updating without warning and without indicating on the plug-in that it had. It would usually take about a day for icons to start disappearing from the plug-in, requiring me to launch the app and maybe toggle the update settings to recreate a notification and start the process over again. What good is an app that automatically updates the weather if 50-75% of the time the weather is not up to date. Not very. Elecont Weather uses a whole different process to run updates, not associated with the Notification Queue. Don’t know how it works, but I can tell you that it does and very reliably. And if for some reason it misses an update (I have it set for every 2 hours) it will try again, and again. And if your GSM connection happens to be off when an update is due, EW will establish a connection, run its update quickly, and promptly close the connection, whether your device is awake, asleep or whatever. All very efficient. A beautiful thing to see. I have 4 cities defined and update every 2 hours (12 times per day) which adds up to about 200K daily (not including map/radar views). Not bad.

The Titanium plug-in is a bit less robust but still provides an easy to look at view. The non-highlighted view shows a weather icon (sorry, no animation) with current temp and condition. Tapping the tab displays the Now view, with icon and high/low temp for current and the next three days. A swipe left or right moves forward/back through your cities. The city and update timestamp is visible at the bottom of the tab. Just like the Today plug-in, a double tap will open the application.

THE APP: When you open Elecont Weather it always starts on the Main screen with City selection across the top, Now and 10 day Forecast/Temp icons down the left edge and Current (Now) Weather Conditions with 10 Day Temperature/Conditions graph. Tapping the graph cycles through; barometric pressure or high/low temperature for the past 24 hours and back to 10 day graph. Current (Now) conditions include; temp, pressure, wind speed/direction, humidity and visibility. Tapping any Day icon along the left edge changes the view (and starts the icon animation), providing a more detailed forecast with; high/low temp, wind speed/direction, chance of precip, UV Index, humidity, sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, moon phase and a day/evening forecast. BTW, Elecont Weather works equally well on VGA and WVGA devices. If there is too much info to fit in the top or bottom forecast boxes, tapping the box will bring it forward allowing you to view the content. To change the current city, tap the left/right arrows at the top of the screen or tap the current city and select a new city from the drop-down list. All of the relevant weather info changes instantly.

ADDING/CHANGING CITIES: Adding or editing a city is simple. Tap Menu/List of Cities. Here you can rename your city if you prefer and also indicate whether you want each city to display on the Today screen. Nice if you only want to see your current city in Today but multiple cities within the app. You can also "delete" an existing city. Tap "Add city" to get started. A predefined list of popular countries is displayed, with your last selection selected. You can tap Other Countries to see the full list. Tap OK and an extensive list of Cities/States appears in alphabetical order. Save yourself some trouble and rather than trying to scroll this extensive list, start entering your city in the box at bottom and the list will filter down based on the letters you typed. When you see your city tap it and you are done. Or just enter a zip code and EW will find your city for you.

NAVIGATION: The are three icons along the bottom of the screen. The first always takes you back to the Home screen. The Clock icon opens 12 hour view which displays as a clock face, showing the current conditions, and temperature+forecast icon for the next 11 hours. Tapping the clock face cycles to show; precipitation or UV level over the next 11 hours and then back to the temperature screen. Umbrella and sun icons tell you which view you are in. A fourth icon is visible at the bottom of the screen in this view which takes you to 48hr view. This view gives you an hour-by-hour look at; condition, high temp, precipitation and UV level. A graph at the bottom of the screen shows the UV index and high temp over the next 48 hours, with an icon that moves along the temperature line, depending on which hour you tap. Condition, as in; cloudy, scattered thunderstorms, sunny, clear, etc., is displayed based on the hour selected.

The last bottom screen icon will glow red and show any weather alerts (if there are any) when tapped. The icon also doubles as the radar/map selector. This is a brand new feature for Elecont Weather and is still a work-in-progress. The screen has 15 buttons for views like; current satellite, current temps, current precips, AM/PM precip forecast, current winds, humidity, sunshine/max or min temp for tomorrow, radar, infrared satellite and forecast total precip. Tapping any button will launch your web browser and display the associated map. Tapping your (hard) back button will take you back to EW where you can select another button to view a different map without having to close your browser. Not perfect, but a good start. In any of the views, the City selector is always visible so you can jump around at will. No waiting for info to refresh. Everything is as current as the most recent update, which is displayed on the Home and 12 Hour views.

SUMMARY: Overall, a well thought out weather application that gives you all the info you will ever need. And IMHO the absolute best Today plug-in, as well as one of very few bug free Titanium plug-in’s available. The app is constantly being updated with enhancements. One of the most recent was integration with the ever popular S2U2 Screen Lock, a very good thing. The developer actually reads his forums and usually replies within 24-48 hours. You can get Elecont Weather directly from the site http://www.elecont.com/weather-for-pocket-pc.aspx for $9.95 or Windows Marketplace for $9.99. Both sites offer a fully functional free trial.

FYI, the app is large (4.5MB+) but don’t let that scare you. A lot of that is themes and alternate icon packs. Go ahead and load it on your Storage Card. Perfectly safe and suggested. The primary components of the app get loaded into a folder within \Windows (about 2.4MB) and data is stored in Application Data. Another first for a Today plug-in app; EW will completely uninstall, even when active, should you no longer want/need it. The developer recommends uninstalling for updates (which is fairly frequent) and it works like a breeze.

Related posts:

1. Mobility Digest Review: A look-see at Weather 2.0 by SPB
2. Mobility Digest Review: Seidio Multi-Function Battery Charger
3. Fizz Weather Review

Having an extra battery handy for our power hungry devices (sorry iPhone fanboys) is always a welcome option. But not having a simple way to charge it creates a real hassle. Charging one battery in your phone and then switching out and charging the second is no fun, especially because you need to remain tethered for hours and hours. And the charged spare battery loses juice while it sits around waiting to be used. Stand alone chargers are OK but as soon as you replace your device, your investment becomes obsolete. Wish there was a charger that would work with my current device battery as well as future batteries. Well, my wish has been granted.

The Seidio Multi-Function Battery Charger changes everything. Instead of a dedicated charger for a specific battery, this "why didn’t I think if that" device is comprised of two components; a base and a battery charging plate which is designed for each specific size/shape battery (pretty much everything is 5V today). Currently plates are available for; TouchPro2/Tilt2, Droid Incredible/Evo, Droid2, Eris/Hero, Nexus One, Touch Diamond, TouchPro/Fuze, Tilt, etc. More plates are added as new devices hit the market. Simply pop out one plate and pop in the other and you are ready to start charging. This feature alone would make the charger worth its $29.95 price tag (for base and one plate or $12.95 for a plate alone) but there is more, plenty more.

The Multi-Function Charger lives up to its name as you can use the flip-out, two prong AC plug or connect (with an optional standard USB cable) to any USB port. There is a switch on the side of the charger that allows you change power sources. Additionally, you can plug the charger into an AC outlet (I presume with/without a spare battery) and use the supplied USB to Mini USB (or micro USB) cable to charge both your spare battery and device at the same time. Ingenious. That means this spare battery charger can serve double-duty as an all inclusive travel charger. BTW, the charger handled both my standard and extended capacity battery without issue, as I am sure it would with any extended battery as they all have the same footprint/pin configuration (per device design).

There is a single LED on the front of the unit that turns RED when you insert a discharged/partially discharged battery and changes to GREEN when fully charged. I would not consider this a quick charger, as it might have taken a bit longer to charge my spare battery. But that can be explained with the specs: Input 100-240V, 0.2A – Output: to USB Port: 5V, 1A Max (same as a standard device charger) – Output: to Battery Port: 4.2V, 500mA Max (for a slower trickle charge). Input to USB Port: 5V, 500mA (when charging spare battery via USB). The charger measures: 3.875 x 2.50 x 1.06 and weighs in at about 3.0 oz. (base & plate).

Glad to have found an accessory that won’t become obsolete (like the spare batteries) as soon as I grow tired of my current device. Definitely a keeper. You can find the Multi-Function Charger along with spare/alternate charging plates at Seidio’s site, http://www.seidioonline.com/ or at other online retailers.

Related posts:

1. Mobility Digest Review: HTC Tilt 2 USB Sync and 2nd Battery Charge Cradle
2. Mobility Digest Review: Philips Emergency Phone Charger Power2Go SCE2110
3. MiLi Releases Power skin, the World’s Thinnest External Battery & Protective Case for iPhone + MiLi PocketPal, the Smallest Foldable USB Charger in the World

• Customize the app to make it yours.
• Safely store your data and receipts on your SD Card or anywhere you desired.
• Creating a new expense or revenue entry
• Take picture of your receipt or check
• Since your spending pattern is uniquely to yourself, you can add or remove your own Category, Merchant, and Payment to shape the app to your own needs.
• If ever your Merchant list gets too long, there’s a quick search function to help you find the Merchant you need.
• You can sort all of your transactions by: Day, Month, Year, Category, Merchant, Payment, or Revenue/Expense
• Besides the Total Amount for all transactions, the Total Amount for the same sort (depends on your sorting) is also shown.
• Expenses are displayed in Red, Revenues are displayed in Green.
• With multiple pages, you can swipe your finger across the screen to change page, or use the slider by first tap on the page indicator.
• You can export current transactions to Microsoft Excel friendly file format, or import exported data back for mobile viewing.
• When there are many merchants (or category depends on your sort) across multiple pages, you can easily get to any merchant you want to view via Overview. To activate, simply tap on any of the green title.
• Whenever you are on a business trip, travel, or simply keep track of your monthly transactions, you can Manage Transaction Periods.
• You can export any period to Microsoft Excel friendly file format for editing/printing, or import exported periods back for mobile viewing.

Maximus Mobiles winmoFinance Version 1.5 Requirements & Supports:

• NET Compact Framework 3.5
• Windows Mobile 6.x Professional
• QVGA, VGA, WVGA Screen
• Landscape support
• ApptoDate support
• Release Date: January 05, 2009
• Current Version: Version 1.5 build 100105

You can download a trial version of winmoFinance version 1.5 for free and check it out for a limited time or purchase the full version for $5.99. This looks some really cool software for a great price! I just got a copy of winmoFinance 1.5 and I will be doing a full review right here on Mobility Digest so stay tuned!

CLICK HERE to check out Maximus Mobile’s winmoFinance Version 1.5.

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