The game works boht in MS Smartphone and Pocket PC and it looks like this:

… where you can see that it is well designed because it can be used single-handidly with regular keypad, however tasks are not overly difficult:

To learn more about this game click here and to download it click here.

This free game may be good way to occupy your children and since it is completely free there is no reason to complain.

Source: mamobiles.com

With the new release of Mobile Shell, the developers of Spb Software House are offering an Extreme Makeover for your Windows Mobile 5 device. If you compare Windows Mobile 5.0 with Pocket PC 2000 it is obvious that there have been no significant changes to the user interface. Sure, the Pocket PC OS looks nicer, but the concept remains the same: graphically simplistic design, line by line view in the Today screen, icons, Start Menu, Programs and the Control Panel. The Pocket PC platform has not been significantly changed in terms of the user interface, while use conditions have changed a lot. The developers at Spb, a world leader in Pocket PC software, decided it was time for a WM5 Extreme Makeover and set out to close the gap between the existing Pocket PC user interface and the one users expect from such a smart, modern and powerful device. Utilizing feedback from hundreds of thousands of users of their products and their years of experience as a leader in the field of mobile user interface, Spb Mobile Shell was born.

Pocket PC 2000

Windows Mobile 5 (6 years later)

Spb Mobile Shell (Now Screen)

Testing Environment:

• Spb Mobile Shell was installed on my Dell x51v. Installation was straightforward via the .exe file provided by Sbp.
• See bottom of review for screenshots and video of this software on a Cingular Palm Treo 750.

Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep:
This is more than just another 3rd party add-on that allows you to alter the appearance of your device. Mobile Shell is an open platform application that creates the next generation user experience. Casual users will appreciate the increased ease of navigating their WM5 device. Power users will appreciate the speed and flexibility built in to Spb Mobile Shell. The three main components to Mobile Shell are:

1. Now Screen: access your most critical information at a glance
2. Spb Menu: access to all your device functions via a soft button
3. Today Plug-ins: A resident tabbed area on the Today screen with big dynamic tabs. Four default tabs to give detailed information and provide additional features such as Smart Launcher, Weather, World Time and Photo Dial.

Features:
Spb Mobile Shell targets people who need the power of a Windows Mobile phone, but are not happy with the standard Pocket PC user interface. It is designed with phone users in mind. One of the smartest features of Mobile Shell is the Now Screen. Most users turn on their phone because they want to check the current state of the device (i.e., time/date, missed calls or messages) or to take some type of action (i.e., respond to a message, make a call, browse the Internet). The beauty of the Now Screen makes it easy to do all of those tasks with a quick glance. Even more importantly, the Now Screen provides the quickest and most direct way to respond as needed. For example, you can open your Inbox to read new emails with just a tap or with a couple of hardware key clicks. In most cases you don’t even need to leave the Now Screen. After you take your device from your pocket, just check the Now Screen and put it back away. However, if you want to do something different from the actions available to you directly from the Now Screen, that’s easy, too. Just press the green button to bring up the dialer, press the Spb Menu soft key to get quick and efficient access to all device features, or just close the Now Screen and return to the regular Today screen (or the last active application).

Spb Menu

The Spb menu adds some much needed features to your Pocket PC, such as smart contact search, but also gives you convenient access to all existing device features. For example, you can not only launch your camera application, but can also preset the shooting mode (Video, Sport, Photo, MMS Video, Contact Picture etc.). Without such a menu you would need to launch your camera application first and then use camera UI (which is pretty slow and not that intuitive) in order to set the desired mode.

Today Plug-In
Spb Mobile Shell includes a Today plug-in with the following features: Smart MRU (Most Recently Used) program launcher with the ability to pin items, photo speed dial, Basic weather forecast (a light version of Spb Weather), World-time in 3 cities and next alarm (a light version of Spb Time), and a battery indicator and innovative backlight control that is optimized for using with a stylus.

Additional Features:

One-Handed Operation – This one of the most important functions of a device that doubles as a phone. All Spb Mobile Shell functionality can be accessed with the D-pad and soft-keys. And if the user prefers the touch screen, all elements are large enough to be tapped without a stylus. One of the features I like most about the Mobile Shell Today Plug-In is the use of large dynamic tabs that are big enough to tap with a finger and also support custom plug-ins so that you can add your favorite plug-ins in the tabbed area, too. The tabs are big but they are not useless. The thumbnails in the tab header show the most important information. For example, the Time plug-in thumbnail shows the current time, the Weather plug-in thumbnail shows the current weather and the Home plug-in thumbnails shows the current battery level. This reduces the number of cases when you need to actually open a tab and keeps your valuable Today screen real estate free from unnecessary clutter. I am a minimalist. I like my Today screen to be neat and tidy!

Password Protected Device - Many companies require all their employees to use a password with their devices. So many modern Pocket PC devices (especially phones) are protected with a password. To check some simple non-confidential information you need to enter your password first. Why do you need to enter your password just to see how many unread emails you have? Or to check what today is? Or to check the battery status? The list goes on and on. Spb Mobile Shell gives you the option to show the Now Screen before the password prompt with non-confidential information. This improves usability a lot without compromising security.

Landscape Mode - Spb Mobile Shell interface has been specially optimized for landscape mode:

Adaptive skins – Spb Mobile helps you avoid theme “confusion� by introducing the new concept of adaptive skins. Spb Mobile Shell will change its skin when the device color is changed. All of the skinable parts of the Spb Mobile Shell user interface (menu, Contacts screen) are also automatically changed when a user chooses any one of the sixteen included color schemes.

Conclusion:
I’ll spare you the hyperbole. The developers at Spb simply got it right with Mobile Shell. This software could top the list of the “must-haveâ€? software for all WM5 devices in 2007. Novice users will appreciate Mobile Shell’s simplicity. Power users will appreciate its flexibilty. It looks gorgeous. It is incredibly fast. Pocket PC users will enjoy it. WM5 Smartphone users will wonder how they managed to live without it.

Pros:

• Now Screen: All WM5 phones should have this feature!
• Maximized for “out-of-the-box” usability - download it and GO!
• Speed - instant response (80ms) when navigating through menus and options
• Light versions of Spb Time/SpbWeather built in
• One-handed navigation
• Dynamic tabs that provide useful information at a glance
• Compact layout saves valuable Today Screen real estate

Cons:

• Not that bad of a con, but it would be nice if SPB would add the X closing programs to this in case you are not running Pocket Plus and to allow you to select a checkbox to go back to the Now Screen instead of the Today Screen when you exit applications.

Many thanks to Spb for providing a review copy of Mobile Shell

Demo Video on the Cingular Palm Treo 750

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jheNjbPnCYY

Product version: 1.0
Supported languages: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Czech, Dutch
Supported OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC and later

This may have released last year, but the concept it still futuristic. LG has its latest phone with breath analyzer that incorporates an alcohol measurement sensor, handy during late night parties and clubbing to avoid being pulled over by cops. 

By simply blowing on the phone, a sensor will be able to detect your breath and display whether the level of alcohol in your blood is safe to drive.

The LG-SD410, LG-KP4100, and the LG-LP4100 models also come equipped with a remote control for your TV, DVD, and other electronic equipment in the house. 

It’s not often a mobile phone is a hot story in Women’s Wear Daily, but at the Milan Fashion Week, Italian designer Giorgio Armani has announced a mobile phone and other devices produced by South Korea’s Samsung.

In a press release, Giorgio Armani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Giorgio Armani S.p.A. says:

“Today fashion has expanded to encompass our way of life, not just how we dress, but how we design our home, the hotels we stay in, the car we drive and the technology we buy. In fact, we make as much of a personal statement with the mobile phones that we carry or the televisions we have in our living rooms as we do with the shoes and bags we wear or the furnishings we chose to place in our homes. These are all lifestyle decisions, where design and performance are the criteria. Samsung has successfully anticipated the growing role for consumer electronics in our lives, while recognising the importance of self-expression in the development of its products.”

It’s a tiny credit card-sized device with a touch-sensitive 2.6inch QVGA screen, 3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth.

By adapting a haptical UI, users can feel an immediate mild vibration when they touch icons on the display. Being the size of a credit card and a mere 10.5 mm in thickness, the Giorgio Armani-Samsung Phone fits sensuously into a user’s palm.

It sounds like an interesting phone but the cross-industry deal is not really surprising. Samsun’s main rival, LG Electronics, has already combined with Prada, another Italian luxury goods designer, for a mobile phone.

Tip of the hat to Unwired View, which announced on September 13 that Samsung’s SGH-P520 is the Armani Phone. Also, ThisNext published the spec in July, where jfang commented: “Samsung’s answer to the iPhone or LG Prada? Maybe… ”

What Armani added remains to be seen….