This falls into the "do this if you're bored" category, but it's cool nonetheless. Here we have a Vista-like skin running on Windows Mobile, that brings over many elements from Vista such as the proper Start menu, widgets, the tray, and desktop icons. This mostly serves as a program launcher but there are some useful elements as well (such as memory and battery meter, weather window, etc).

For full and detailed instructions, check out the thread at Lakeridge Software. If you want to run this for more than 14 days, you'll have to pay $15 for the Wisbar Advanced Desktop. Note that it only works on QVGA devices, and should not be attempted by Windows Mobile novices.

On your HTC Touch Diamond, Touch Pro (or variants) and Touch HD, as well as on devices featuring HTC's Album Player, several supported videos (like 3GP, WMV, MP4) play back through this particular HTC Album Player. Playing back files this way, you’d notice that the video played back fills the screen, but is missing some parts of the movie.

Tap the video and the HTC Album Player controls pop up, with the time and progress display and various buttons: Previous, Play/Pause, Stop and the Aspect ratio button on the far right. Tapping on this particular button will cycle through three video playback modes: zoom to fill (default, which will zoom in to the video height and fill the entire screen), stretch to fit (which will stretch the entire video - distorting it - so it fills up the whole screen) and normal (which plays it back maintaining the aspect ratio, so you’ll probably notice the top and bottom black bars besides the full video). You might not see any changes though if your video’s aspect rate is the same as your device’s display (aka 1.33 or 4:3 for VGA and QVGA and 1.66 or 16:10 for WQVGA and WVGA).

If you've got the XPERIA X1 from Sony Ericsson, you may have noticed that you can't change the email signature for your default account. Well you can change it, but as soon as you reboot, it will go back to the default "Sent from my Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1" signature.

In order to remove this feature, use File Explorer to browse to: My Device>Windows>Startup. Then select the file named "SignatureReplace" and choose Menu>Edit>Cut. Then browse to another folder and paste the file elsewhere, Now you can change your signature in the Messaging application and it will stay that way after a reboot.

Sony makes some great hardware on the PC side. However, with the upcoming netbook announcement at CES in Las Vegas, many question Sony's understanding of the market. In a market dominated by many netbooks with high end features around $600 and many entry-level netbooks costing around $400, Sony is rumored to be releasing a $1000 netbook according to Electronista.

Netbooks, created as smaller, portable, and cheaper alternatives to full-scale laptops, are designed for people on the go who needs more power than a smartphone could offer but prefer something more compact than a laptop.

Sony's netbook, with its rumored specs, are supposed to be on the high end. It will feature a high resolution 1600 X 900 display, which some sources have said may be an 8-inch OLED. At its core, the Sony VAIO P netbook model will use an Intel Atom processor, have 3G connectivity built-in (though users will have to pay for monthly service), and GPS.

According to VentureBeat, they have gotten Android to successfully run on an Asus EeePC netbook, with most of the drivers working and functional. Mike Benton over at AllShadow.com tipped us of the news, and the concept looks cool and very functional at this stage.

The concept, which brings the Linux-based open-source operating system to a larger screen display and more full featured keyboard, is similar in concept to Celio's implementation with the REDFLY. The main difference is that with Android on a netbook, the OS actually resides on the netbook; REDFLY's solution actually tethers a Windows Mobile device to the added laptop-like hardware, much like how you would connect a display and keyboard to a computer.

Given the EeePC's larger screen, it seems that Android supports different screen sizes and scaled relatively easily. Given's Linux's existing drivers, it seemed that VentureBeat was able to get a lot of hardware components on the EeePC working without having to create new drivers from scratch:

Android’s Linux core makes experimental compilations like ours possible. For example, compilations require something called drivers. Drivers are programs which are needed to communicate an operating system like Android with various computer hardware. There are already a lot of Linux drivers, and Linux is able to run on a lot of different computer architectures. Otherwise we’d have needed to build our drivers from scratch.

Since the Android Market isn't yet available, VentureBeat was not able to test out that feature yet.

We can probably expect Android to show up in netbooks probably around 2010.

Here's something fun to detract you from work on a Monday morning =D.

I was flipping through YouTube and came across the oPhone spoof that Microsoft did in 2007. It shows a phone based on a circular screen (would this even work?) with three paddle-like input panels. Hey, maybe this is the precursor to the work of the Microsoft Premium Mobile Devices division (which has been silent since its inception 8 months ago). Just kidding - I don't think the world is ready for a phone with a circular display (tell that to Motorola!).

One of my biggest gripes with the XPERIA X1 was the lack of battery meter in a visible spot. To check the battery, you have to tap on the clock, and then you get a crude visual representation of what is left.

Fret no more, dear readers. At the X1 tips article from pocketables point out, with a free download of VistaHide Battery Guage, you can always see your battery status with a quick glance of the top bar. Just place the .EXE file on your device, and run it. This will work with any Windows Mobile touchscreen device, too.

Brandon writes, "I think there's an unspoken race among WinMo OEMs to add as many features as possible to new devices. And hey, we're not complaining. The Omnia i900 from Samsung, which unapologetically looks like an iPhone, has a robust list of capabilities. Features like a wide QVGA screen, up to 16GB of onboard storage, an accelerometer for automatic screen rotation, and an optical joystick for easy one-handed operation make us pay a lot of attention to the device. This is the review you want to read to discover all the neat tricks that the Omnia can do." Read on for our comprehensive review of the Omnia i900!

Overall Rating:


The Good

Gorgeous, thin design

Optical joystick

Incredible camera

The Bad

No inbuilt stylus

Buggy

Pricey (unsubsidized)

On a TouchFLO 3D powered device, such as the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro or Touch HD (and variants), you can easily customize your shortcuts in the Programs tab, by adding/modifying/removing items.

There’s a way you can lock your shortcuts so you won’t accidentally delete or modify them. In order to lock a slot, you need to edit your registry by navigating to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Manila\ProgramLauncher

There you will see 24 numbered folders from 0 to 23. Each one of them has a correspondent in a slot at the Programs tab, so that 0 will be the first one and 23 the last one. In order to lock a slot, enter the corresponding key folder (say key folder 0 for slot 1) and edit the value of IsReadOnly from 0 to 1. You will no longer be able to modify the shortcut on slot 1 within the Programs tab on TouchFLO 3D.

Unlocking - as described by XDA Developers - follows the same procedure, only you need to change the value of IsReadOnly from 1 to 0.

If you're a gadget geek and the thought of being bound to the same device for two years is scary, then a new startup is hoping to put you at ease, offering leasing options for the greatest tech toys. The company--New Jersey based Rentobile--offers phone leases to customers who want to try the latest toys while stuck in a lengthy contract, targeting the gadget-obsessed.

The service doesn't come cheap. According to RCR Wireless, rentals cost anywhere between $20 and $50 monthly, with members who pay a one-time membership fee getting monthly discounted options.

Users of GSM devices can just pop their compatible SIM cards into the phone. CDMA users on Sprint and Verizon Wireless must either call the carrier or visit a store to have the rented phones activated.

The service--similar to a car lease program--is essentially Netflix for your phone. While costly, it could be beneficial to users who may want to try a phone before they buy it to ensure that the device fulfills their needs.

You can visit Rentobile to check out the devices they have to offer.

The Shadow II is now rumored to be called the Shadow 2009 on T-Mobile USA according to The Boy Genius Report. The update, sadly, will lack 3G support. It will be available in two fanciful flavors--either red or white.

You can also visit our sister site, AllShadow.com, for continuing coverage of the Shadow 2009 and other Windows Mobile smartphones on T-Mobile USA.

They say that an apple a day will keep the doctor away. The same analogy cannot be said for the Bold on Orange's cellular network. The Bold, which has been quite stable on AT&T and other networks, are suffering some quirks on Orange according to IntoMobile.

The Research in Motion's flagship non-touch device has been suffering high return rates after having been released on the network for six months. Rumors have it that Orange may pull the Bold from its lineup.