If, like me, you've ever looked at the user interface on an iPhone on an HTC device with TouchFlo and felt a moment of jealously because your Windows Mobile Professional / Pocket PC device wasn't as cool then I've got some good news for you.

No longer does your phone have to be green with envy, when it can be blue. Blue with the new "Home" interface from Pointui. They modestly describe this little add-on as the definitive interface for mobile devices and, for a usually stylus driven device, the last few days running it on my Wizard have been quite impressive.

A quick summary of what Home delivers is found on the site but to give you an idea of the number of ways this little (and did I mention free) app makes life easier they I'll repeat them here:

• Control your device via touch or your thumb with the directional control
• Smart Lists Navigation ™ with bookmarks allows you to easily locate an item in even the largest lists
• Choose the slide navigation that suits you
• One touch access to calls, email, text messages and music
• Easily see who and when calls were received, made and missed
• Using the Applet Ribbon ™ you can easily access the time, tasks, appointments, calendar and up to date weather forecasts and current temperatures
• Easily manage your sound, wireless, battery and device settings
• Easy create new emails, text messages, multimedia messages, tasks, appointments, documents and spreadsheets
• Load and switch between running applications effortlessly

I should point out though that the software is still in it's early days and has some blemishes but, as the very active forum on the site shows not only are the developers encouraging feedback they are responding and improving at quite a pace (and the build in updater means that you're never too far behind when they do release some improvements)

Despite some of the little hiccups I've found with it in the few days of using it I'm going to keep it hanging around, which is more than I've been able to say for most of the other alternative launcher apps after a few days.

So, what don't I like about it at the moment? Nothing serious luckily (and I've got high hopes these will be addressed)

• No direct link to contacts. There is a (for me) redundant top level icon for the music player. I'd happily trade that for a link to contacts. I'd happily swap the SMS link for a customizable option as well.
• The Mail icon only shows one of the inboxes (I've got three - Exchange, Hotmail and Gmail as well as SMS) ... I'd like to see that take me directly to whatever one is selected on a press and hold, with taps cycling through (or expanding the icon to show what mailboxes have new messages)
• On the Applet Ribbon I love the fact I can cycle to tasks or my calendar, but I hate the fact I can't thumb down on a specific one and have it open. The calendar takes me to today... which can be quite irrelevant.
• There are very nice replacement icons for WiFi, Bluethooth and Data connections... but the WiFi doesn't really show me if it's connecting (or when it's connected which base station)
• While I'm on the subject of the WiFi and other connections... because of the mess of Windows Mobile native functionality and the HTC Comms Manager I end up having to delve into various settings screens just to get things turned on and connecting. Not really a Pointui problem but something I wish they wrapped more intelligently)
• The hardware buttons don't work. This one is a real pain. I've mapped ActiveSync to the voice recorder button and TinyTwitter to the comms button because they're things I activate frequently - but with Home running they get ignored.
• Task manager is great - though it would be nice to be able to stop a program from it as well as switch to it.

My only other gripe with using Pointui's Home is what happens when I hit the end of their customization and revert back to a standard Windows Mobile interface in say Pocket Outlook or Pocket IE (I keep meaning to replace that with Opera but I'm too cheap! At least Skweezer gives readable pages on that screen). It's less jarring than using the HTC TouchFlo  launcher (and of course the iPhone has a consistent UX so it's not really an issue) but it's still something that reminds me that Windows Mobile is starting to show its age, especially on the Professional (touch screen) devices.

All in all there's very little that I'd say is a show-stopper, and it does demonstrate the sort of functionality which could easily be incorporated into Windows Mobile. As the UX is starting to look a little aged (like PalmOS before it) with the new contenders in the shape of iPhone, Android and Series 3 S60 devices from Nokia it's about time WM got spruced up a little... and Pointui is a good step in the right direction.

Edit: Check out this post in the Pointui forums for documentation on some of the customizations that help address some of the issues above.

The camera on my aging K-Jam (HTC Wizard) isn't too bad. It's lower resolution than on more modern phones and thanks to a couple of drops not quite the quality of when I got the phone.

The camera app in Windows Mobile in the "raw" version of the operating system is pretty sparse (most Mobile Operators who brand the device - from HTC to T-Mobile etc - add an upgraded camera. Because I dogfooded WM6 to help make it better for you I'm stuck with the minimal camera functionality) and there's no way even when tethered via USB to use the camera in a phone as a webcam.

Life has got a lot better since I discovered CoolCamera and WebCamera Plus from Ateksoft.

The first app adds a very quick responding and easy to use camera that's over and above any of the pre-installed phonecam applications I've seen to date. Makes me wish I had a few more pixels!

The second adds the ability to use the smartphone camera as a webcam, connected back to your PC via a USB, Wifi, Bluetooth, 3G/GPRS or LAN connection. You can control the settings and functionality from either the phone or the PC app and if you're using something like Windows Live Messenger then the phone can become your connected webcam

One thing about being a newcomer to the US is it's very easy to get lost and confused.

Getting around I'm learning to live with the foibles of my GPS but finding local businesses can be an interesting challenge.

Most of the 411 (information) services I've tried either cost money or make me listen to an ad, and I've not been especially impressed.

Then I discovered that Microsoft Research run their own 411 service at 425-727-2321 if you're local or 877-MSFT-411 (877-673-8411). Remember that as a research project it's not always commercial strength but it accesses the power of Live search so it's pretty high quality.

Then recently we acquired TellMe who brought their 411 service with them. Just dial 1-800-555-TELL and say “Business Search”.  You can get a number and map sent to your phone via SMS. They've also got an app that runs on your phone that you can use to query the service - also a free download. 

Also available from Microsoft Research is a service offering real time traffic / gas prices / weather / and stock prices (The first three are currently only available in Washington State) - just dial 877-MSFT-511 (877 673 8511) to check it out (with the caveats about Research projects from above).

And don't forget Windows Live Search for Mobile which gives you business searches, maps and more all in the palm of your hand.

It's been an interesting day on the interwebs for ways to experience computing in an every day setting.

First Microsoft officially announced Surface Computing (which I can see being the beginning of something amazing), then Palm announced the Foleo which while it's an interesting idea inspired Wired to detail some very good alternatives that don't cost much more and put a heck of a lot more computing power in your hand.

In the last few days we've also seen a lot of talk about flexible displays and dynamic keyboards.

All in all it adds up to lots of gadgets, lots of creativity and hopefully a bright new computing future.

But it got me thinking... what would my ideal mobile computing solution be, and what's my next laptop going to look like.

The next laptop is probably easier to answer given it's not going to involve any paradigm shifting technology to deliver.

Currently I'm using a Sony Vaio SZ390P. It's the latest in a long line of laptops* that I've lugged around with me. It's not terrible but between Sonys inability to care and Vistas hardware related tantrums it's also far from perfect. Over the years though there have been some neat features that I wish could be combined into one unit that I could be happy with

• Good size/weight ratio. I think 15" is about right. 17" get's to be unusable on a plane, but 12" makes you squint.
• Performance. I don't want to care who makes the chip, or how it's rated, or how many gigabytes of RAM it has. I just want it to work so the operating system and apps are as near to invisible in my perception as possible.
• Battery life. It's a laptop. I should be able to use it on the go, all day (real all day) without having to stop services, shut things down and panic because I didn't bring a whole life support systems of cables and chargers.
• Storage. Give me a big enough hard drive. Doesn't need to be terrabytes (ideally by the time I get this someone will have worked out a decent sync/replication solution so I can use the network at work and home and in the cloud as a virtual hard drive)
• Removable Media. Support lots of them. 95% of the time I don't need to carry around the DVD player but make sure I can boot from flash drives or attach to a DVD drive on the network to install software. I don't know if my next camera will use SD, xD, miniSD, microSD, MemoryStick, MemoryStickDuo, CF (type I or II), something magic using an ExpressCard slot or whatever. Ideally the camera (and every other peripheral) will connect (and recharge) using a standard USB 2.0 mini cable so I won't care... but just in case make sure I can attach a reliable, quick memory reader (though if it's built in and I don't have to carry it around just in case I'll be happier)
• Decent keyboard. Real keys that move properly, and enough of them. Don't make me use obscure arcane Fn/Alt/Shift combos to do something obvious like Delete (Apple BootCamp - I'm looking at you now) and coupled with that a decent tracking device that's not too sensitive that the mouse jumps around all the time but that is responsible enough that when I want to move the mouse or click somewhere it works. If it can avoid giving me carpel tunnel syndrome at the same time (so I don't have to lug around a separate keyboard and mouse) that would be great. Ambient condition aware illumination for the keys would also be very welcome - makes it so much easier to use in a darkened room. A combination of the Apple solution with timeout and the Microsoft proximity sensor would be great.
  
• Media Keys. Play|Pause, Fwd/Rwd, Stop, Vol+/-, Mute, properly mapped so I can use them in Windows Media Player, iTunes, Songbird, Pandora or whatever I want. Reliably. Especially the volume ones. If I can use it as a Zune without having to power the whole machine up that's a real bonus. I really like the idea of the MacbookPro remote control but make sure I can slot it into the case and use it there (while it charges) and use it from across the room.
• Webcam with decent resolution, a driver that can cope with backlight and general poor ambient condition and for video calls ideally some face tracking software to at least try to keep me in frame so I don't have to bolt myself to my chair.
• Secure fingerprint reader and/or other biometrics (face recognition?) - something that IT will be happy to have used, not worried that someone with a jelly bean will be able to break.
• Plugs and connections. I'm usually WiFi connected so make sure it's reliable and works with the full alphabet soup of ABG and N, and Bluetooth 2.0. Of course, every now and then I'll need to connect to a wired ethernet so make sure I don't need a multitool to get the cover off (or back on). I also want decent outputs. VGA (d-sub), DVI, HDMI, S-Video/RCA. It might be mobile but that means I might want to watch a movie from my laptop on a hotel TV rather than squinting at the 15" screen... (referring back to media keys from above... in this scenario hopefully Joost or whatever media app I'm using will support the remote keypress because they're standard and published right...)
• Touchscreen. It's a personal thing but I like being able to reach out and touch some things. Going from my K-Jam to the PC seems retrograde because I can't push on-screen buttons! The problem with most TabletPCs now-a-days is that they're underpowered and overpriced compared to their clamshell cousins (and only the Origami class UMPC machines get to run the Origami experience which IMO is a real shame)
• An Operating System and driver stack that works. 100% reliably. No Blue Screen of Death because of a USB device being plugged in. No problems sleeping, suspending or hibernating - it should be instant and invisible to the user. Vista is really good (ironically the best sleep performance I've seen is on a MacbookPro) and almost at the OSX level of never having to care (and Vista does give me a bit more control). Docking and undocking (I like docking stations. not having to plug/unplug a dozen cables every time I sit down is great) should be totally seamless so I can shut the lid and undock as safely as pressing the undock button, waiting while it does some magic then selecting sleep from a menu. Require no more thought than my phone.
• Indestructible. It doesn't need to survive an explosion but the day to day knocks and drops and spills that a laptop living with someone who's in and out of TSA queues at airports, works in cafes, has a dog and daughter running around at home...
• No flashing lights. When I'm not using the machine I want all the lights to go out. Keyboard, Mouse, Power, whatever. If I'm in a hotel room and can't sleep because the thing keeps winking at me and lighting up the room I'm going to take a roll of duct tape to it. If you're going to have a glowing logo (Apple) or internal lighting (Dell XPS) let me change the color and brightness (including an off option) through a simple software app. The former stops me annoying people, the latter to save some battery ergs.
  

It's a fairly long list but pretty much all these things exist today. It's just getting the combination right that seems to be the challenge. My T27GP had great media keys, the Macs have perfect power management, the Thinkpads were robust. Mac and Asus (and others) have media remotes, there are plenty of docking station solutions... I just want someone to line the pieces up and then work on making sure all their Vista drivers are rock solid.

Then I've just got to work on finding the seamless LAN/Cloud storage solution that's smart enough to make sure I've got what I want where I want when I need it.

Oh, and my perfect mobile solution... pretty much as above but ideally in a smaller form factor for managing email and reading on the bus, but unfolds/unfurls to do real work in a cafe and docks at home/office to a smart base station that gives me all the computing power and screen real-estate I can ask for. Ideally paired with a minimalist clamshell phone handset (and an elegant SPOT watch) working in perfect harmony to give me simple voice calling and messaging everywhere I go.

Vaio SZ390P, 15" and 17" MacBookPros (sadly loaners, gone back to their owner), Vaio T27GP (Still using), 12" RevA Powerbook (on my daughters desk), Vaio C1MT (PictureBook, still using), Compaq E500, Compaq Presario, IBM ThinkPad (about 3 of those), IBM P75 and P70, Toshiba T6400

Okay, so I dogfooded WM6 on my K-Jam, but now I can officially grab WM6 from T-Mobile for both my HTC Wizard (known on T-Mobile as an MDA) and Storms Dash.

Sweet ;)

Now just got to find time to do it, and then re-install everything else on my phone!

Update 7 May: Upgraded Storms Dash. Went without a hiccup and the phone is working a treat. Fixed the niggling problem she was having with volume dropping during a call which is good news.

Update 8 May: Realised the MDA update wasn't for WM6, just the AKU2 updater for WM5 :(

I used to use a voicemail service in Australia that let callers speak with a human being and I would then get an SMS/text transcript with the numbers I needed to call. When I signed up with T-Mobile I was disappointed to find out that a similar service didn't exist.

Then through Guy Kawasaki I discovered SpinVox. Simply by diverting my unanswered calls to their service their robots take the message and transcribe it (I suspect humans are involved in final quality control because it's so good) and I get an SMS (with the correct caller id if available), an email and what's even better the option to go and listen to the original message as well.

Unlike traditional email I can go directly to any of the saved voicemails by it's unique index ID (listed on the SMS and email notification) rather than having to wade through the contents of my inbox (just like the iPhone is promising).

What makes SpinVox cool, rather than just really helpful, is the additional services - you can leave yourself a memo (with an option to broadcast it to a list of recipients) or even use it to transcribe your message to a blog post.

It's a great example of technology combined with intelligence to deliver a simple, useful service. While it's not earth shattering it makes the everyday tasks of handling voicemail on my mobile that little bit easier. While I can only imagine where Microsoft Office Communicator is going to end up I hope it's as simple as this... I'd love to be able to use this as my Skype voicemail service as well, and add IM notifications through Skype and Windows Live Messenger...

Since moving to the US I've become a real fan of MSN Mobile. Leaving aside that fact that data plans are affordable here, the information on the service is great - simply looking something up, or getting directions has become really easy.

My GPS isn't always the most reliable source of information so I've been using Live Search for Mobile to find the places it can't but now that the new Mobile MSN portal is available in beta I've been using the online services much more.

Mail, news, weather and local information. In the palm of your hand when you need it. What more can you ask for? Well, I'd like more web pages optimized for mobile browsing (hint Wikipedia... you have good information but often unreadable on a smartphone)

Once you've found a page then you can use deepfish to get a much better view on the content...

After reading a bit about the iPhone in the press recently I decided to give one a try. I made a couple of calls  and on Friday night hopped in the car to go and pick one up.

As I'm not into geek box porn I was more interested in getting my hands on the toy, getting it charged (yup, it doesn't ship with a charged battery so 14 hours of toe tapping while you wait for it to juice up) and making my first call.

Saturday morning I grabbed my trusty Windows Mobile K-Jam tapped out the digits and.... success, the iPhone was ringing.

Initially I wasn't that impressed with call quality - there seemed to be a bit of a delay and voice was clipped but after a few seconds it seemed to settle on the network and, while not perfect, wasn't too much of a problem.

The handset feels quite flimsy compared to the K-Jam or the RAZR but very similar to the usual DECT home phones - we'll have to see how well it survives it's first drop!

My only other grip is dialing out requires me to enter the country code and area code, so even when calling locally I have to prefix it with +1 425 which is a bit annoying, and the Skype contacts are not immediately visible unless you copy them to the local contacts list. I know it's only one extra click but seeing as most of the time this is going to be used with Skype it would make sense to make it easier.

Yes, use it with Skype. You look confused. This is the iPhone I'm talking about. No, not the over hyped offering from Apple but the Linksys VoIP iPhone :)

While I'm keen to see the new marvel from Cupertino at home we're trying a pure VoIP solution to see if it's practical and usable, and so far it seems to be. With SkypeIn we have numbers both in the 425 area code and one for folks back in Australia. With SkypeOut we can call anywhere in the world for 2.1c/min and Skype Unlimited gives us unlimited outgoing calls here in the US.

So far it has been fairly trouble free. There are some options you should look at to involve quality of service (QoS) on your network (if possible increase the QoS for the Skype port - randomly assigned when you installed Skype, and set port forwarding to direct Skype TCP and UDP traffic on that port to the specific machine where Skype is installed).

Our Skype PC is connected via WiFi and the DECT handset allows roaming so the experience is pretty good. Of course (just like the cable VoIP offering that costs significantly more) we won't have 9-1-1 coverage but with mobiles I think we're reasonably secure.

I'd like to see the Skype integration become more seamless, and the need to dial the +1 for local calls go away but so far the process has proved to be fairly reliable and painless.

The only major improvement I'd like to see would be one handset that can connect to both Skype and Windows Live Messenger and let me use my preferred VoIP service or talk to users on either service seamlessly

So, imagine the scenario. You're walking down a busy street and you see a poster for a band, movie or an event that catches your eye. You don't have time to stop and write down details. Even if you do you've got to remember to look it up on the web when you get home.

Now imagine being able to take a picture of the poster with your camera-phone, click a button and get information there and then.

Well, it's not imagination any more thanks to a new Microsoft Research project called Lincoln.

Thanks to some very powerful image libraries and clever server side technology doing the heavy lifting they now have the ability to do pretty fast image recognition with some pretty average comparison images - my phone has a 1.3mp camera with a pretty dirty lens. No zoom, no flash etc, but I was able to take a snap of a poster on the wall at work and seconds later have details of the even available to me. It even worked when I downloaded the image to my machine and took the picture of what was displayed on my screen!

The lookup works on images uploaded and made public by anyone, so it's not limited by what Microsoft choose to upload but anyone can put up an image of their event poster, CD release, DVD cover along with relevant information and when a user searches for it in the real world they can find out about your event or see Amazon reviews of your DVD.

I know there have been efforts like this before to connect the real world to the interweb, but most have relied on QR Codes or invisible (to the naked eye) printing - but they require on specific printing techniques or compromises on the artwork, whereas this can be used retrospectively to webify existing material.

I'd love to see magazine advertisers do this as well - so rather than having to look for and remember their URL when I read the magazine in a reception area I can simply snap a quick photo and look up all the details when I have a moment.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

But these days a phone very rarely is.

I was sitting in Starbucks sipping a double cinnamon latte with whipped cream (something I don't often do, but I was in a silly mood) using my phone to connect to their WiFi hotspot to check my email and browsing the web to get the latest weather reports and then play a quick game of Su Doku.

It occurred to me that the one thing I hardly ever did with my phone these days was make a call!

It's become so much more than just a way to annoy people in restaurants!