Most new phones from major manufacturers that use Windows Mobile as its main OS already come with a customized interface on top of it, no doubt to mask the ugly UI that Microsoft has still been unable to sufficiently fix. If you’re using a WinMo-powered phone without the benefit of an extra GUI (like Samsung’s TouchWiz UI or HTC’s TouchFlo 3D), however, Mobile Shell 3.0 is your best bet to enjoying the same privileges.
According to its publisher Spb Software, Mobile Shell 3.0 can work with all devices running Windows Mobile 5 for Pocket PC and later (including the upcoming 6.5 update). Once you buy it online, you can download the application in either a CAB or EXE format. Installation is pretty straightforward, so there shouldn’t be any problems on that end.
Like current “skins” that come default with high-end Windows Mobile devices, the Mobile Shell gives you a great-looking interface that makes navigation easy, along with a whole lot more in terms of features. In fact, even those already using TouhWiz UI or TouchFlo 3D on their phones can probably benefit from upgrading to this third-party shell.
It offers two primary presentation styles for your homepage – Professional and Lifestyle. You can easily toggle between the two layouts (depending on what you need), with the full ability to customize each one by adding new widgets. My favorite UI feature is the 12-sided carousel, which you can launch by clicking on the small cube at the bottom left of the layout. It allows for launching of various apps, all presented in a sleek, finger friendly manner. An alternate application launcher is also accessible from the homescreen, which offers recently used, favorites and customized program listings.
Email is similarly convenient, supporting multiple accounts with a pretty clever way of presenting them (accounts with unread emails first or the reverse, depending on your preferences). One of the most interesting features is the integration of Facebook into the Favorite Contacts screen, allowing users to automatically integrate the Facebook profile photos of each person in your address book, making the whole process of adding pictures to your contact listings much easier.
At a $29.95 price, Mobile Shell 3.0 is an affordable way to add a great finger-friendly interface to any Windows Mobile device. The benefits you can glean from it, especially since it doesn’t cause any lag on the software, allows it to easily pay for itself many times over.
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