Ask The Reader: What’s On Your Today Screen?
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To TouchFLO or not to TouchFLO? That has been my question over the past week. I have not used a Windows Mobile phone that had TouchFLO 3D until I picked up the Fuze last week, so I wanted to give it a shot. Other than the AT&T bloatware, most of the screens are useful and very impressive with how they are presented. The weather application is really amazing in both the way it shows the current weather and the transitions. Graphically, everything is really top notch. You really have to see a video of the screen transitions or play with TouchFLO yourself to realize how much effort HTC put into it. I think a good portion of Windows Mobile users will get a lot of use out of TouchFLO 3D, but I am not sure that I am one of them.
TouchFLO just does not present enough information for my needs. The multiple types of information it does provide requires you to constantly swipe to another page and then possibley swipe up or down to get to what you want. I usually do not have time to deal with all of this. Add to this the AT&T tab, the ugly grey theme, and the fact that the music tab never did actually work for me and I had to start putting together my own Today Screen setup.
Now I do think Microsoft has something they can learn from TouchFLO 3D. I did absolutely love the simple options you get when changing to landscape\sliding the keyboard open. I would really like for Microsoft to give users the option of setting up a seperate Today Screen setup when changing orientations. There are a lot of nice plugins that I use in portrait that I really do not need in landscape. I would like to have the option of setting up a seperate setup that fits each orientation so that it takes full advantage of each.
So, what’s on my Today Screen? Read on…
With the VGA resolution, I think the date/time looks great once you reduce the font size down. After that I have SPB Traveler set with headers and times off and only showing my default city. Next is SPB Diary, which keeps my day organized without ever having to launch an application. Finally, I have BeeJive’s today screen plugin at the bottom to keep me informed of any IMs I may have missed. While it is not just on the Today Screen, I am also using Batti as my battery monitor which you can see at the very top of the screen. The theme I am using is the normal black theme from SPB Mobile Shell. I usually try to keep a very basic theme set since the actual information is the focus of my Today Screen setup.
I really feel that for me, taking advantage of the VGA resolution of my Fuze by putting everything on one screen is best. This is one of the reasons I always felt lost when I tried to use the iPhone 3G as my primary phone. So many people seem to think that Windows Mobile and the typical Today Screen are outdated, but I hope that Microsoft keeps it as customizable as it is today so that information freaks like me can keep themselves organized with just the Today Screen.
So, what’s on your Today Screen? Give us the breakdown or link us to a screenshot in the comments below. I know that I always learn of something new everytime I start browsing what other people use to keep themselves organized, so I am excited to see what we can learn from each other.
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I am using a combination of SPB Plus, SPB Phone Suite, SPB Shell, SPB Time, and SPB Weather. Do ya think I like SPB products or what?
I too have the same problem with TouchFLO. I like seeing all my information at a glance. So, I’m using SPB Mobile Shell for program launching and SPB Diary for information viewing.
Im using tf3d for eyecandy and spb Mobile Shell as my left softkey. Not 100% certified however
I’m using a self-created WAD2 theme based on the Blackberry Bold. It’s probably the most practical UI I’ve ever used.
Eric can you share the theme. I got icens but never used them?
I will check back here.
For years I used to be a “load the world on my Today Screen” with a Program Launcher (Spb or SBSH), Pocket Weather, and Pocket Breeze for calender and task information. Then, I tried TF2D on my Cruise and I absolutely loved it. Now, I have the Diamond and I am using stock TF3D. TF is so finger and d-pad friendly, I don’t mind switching to another screen for weather or contacts. The only mod I made is clicking on the day event on the home screen brings up Agenda One.
I hope you’ll say a little more. Do you mean if you get a Fuze, touchflo doesn’t allow or won’t work with third party today plug ins? I settled on SBSH products years ago (have them all on my TILT now) and would want them on ANY phone i got. Also, they and others are now making apps that have sliding screen effects. Are too many “Flo” systems going to conflict? Please say more.
David, that is exactly right. TouchFlo3D does not play well with third party apps which replace Windows Mobile/TF3d’s included functions. You can launch other programs from the launcher screen, but you cannot set a different calendar as the default program, or a different weather program to display on that tab.
I am sure, as JNGold implied, that there are hacks for this, but you should not have to hack the registry to be able to use a different calendar progra, etc…
Doug
I played around with many combinations of programs and the HTC home customiser but never got what I wanted. Then I started using rlToday and it is just what I want. I have the top third of the screen showing the Time, calendar, missed calls etc and 6 quick launch buttons. The bottom two thirds contains SPB Diary with SPB weather integrated showing my upcoming week very nicely. I’ve also removed the bottom bar to give me more screen size (the functionality is still there on the keypad anyhow, so I didn’t lose anything).
Perfect! for me anyhow….
What benefit do you get from using Mobile Shell… ?
On my Samsung i760, I’m using Wisbar Advanced for enhanced / Cascading menus, date+time, battery / memory on task bar, enhanced task bar. My Today screen has a single line SPB PhoneSuite, PocketBreeze for the remainder of the screen. PB top-horizontal tabs for calendar, contacts/Contact Breeze, Pocket Weather, Tasks and Notes. PB integrates with Pocket Informant 2008 for enhanced PIM funtionality.
My today screen has only one plugin: PocketBreeze, showing my appointments and tasks for 7 days. That’s what I need, when I look at my PDA, I want information, not a big clock and nice buttons. To launch applications, I use iLauncher which is configured to put shortcuts to the most used applications in the tray.
@David Gray: Your 3rd party apps will work fine, but you have to turn TouchFLO 3D off. It takes up your entire Today Screen, so you cannot enable other 3rd party addons while it is enabled. You disable it by unchecking it as a Today Screen addon just like you would for any other addon.
I have heard of an application called Second Today (but have not tested it yet) that allows you to swap from 2 different Today Screen setups. Think of it like virtual desktops for your phone.
@RussB: The one part of TouchFLO 3D that I liked was the launcher screen. I use Mobile Shell to replace that. I have it customized to get me to my Inbox and Internet quickly since the Fuze does not have hardware buttons for these tasks. I have my PTT button set for Alt-Tab (yes, I do run enough apps that I need this) and Camera.
I tend to agree with the article… I do like the theme though…
I have been looking for years to get more on the today screen, not less but not use a stylus to get to it “3 flows deep”. I have never had a problem with using a stylus at all. My biggest complaint ever about a stylus was the telescoping thing they put in the T-Mo MDA. Once I got back to a sturdy stick in the Tytn II, I was just ducky!
As far as contents go… PZP Profiles maintains the top position and as far as finger friendly goes, is probably the closest I have without going hog wild. Next on the list is the standard Messaging plugin, then Pocket Plus with 7 horz tabs (the closest to flowing to a new “page”, then the old standards for Calendar and Tasks.
Almost everything I have on here can use the dpad as well, so if I am in a real bind for hands and can’t get the stylus, then the dpad is 95% as good.
I want more real estate, not less that changes faster/better/whatever.
Personally, I think the stylus is one of the things that is a plus in WinMo, not a minus.
@Andrey
I’ve been having a nasty issue with packaging to share it, but you can look for it on Lakeridge’s forum for WAD2. A preview is already up. My name on there is oscarbum.
I’ve had my Fuze for about a week now and am still up in the air over the decision whether to keep it and its TF3D or just turn off TF3D or if I’m not going to use TF3D just go back to my Tilt. My biggest issue with TF3D is that the Weather tab is crap, IMHO. It gives you temp and a picture of current condition and a very simplified 5 day forecast. Having been a WeatherPanel user on my Today screen on my Tilt (which gave me immediate access to current conditions in detail, detailed forecasts, weather warnings, and radar and satellite images that I could put in motion), the Weather tab just doesn’t do it for me. After a good amount of research, I now realize that there is no way (at least not yet) to substitute some other weather app for the weather tab. So, I’m going to turn off TF3D for a while and play with the Today screen and see if I want to keep the Fuze or go back to my Tilt.
The other issue I’m having with the Fuze is that it does not show all my calendar appointments in the Home tab, only the single next appointment, even if I have 2 or more scheduled for that day. I don’t get that at all.
@Gary: For me the VGA resolution is worth keeping the Fuze. I miss the scroll wheel and buttons from the Tilt, but the Fuze runs better than my Tilt ever did. The flush screen is a huge plus to me too. Good luck running without TF3D…I think you will like a full Today screen with quality addons on a VGA resolution. Try out SPB Diary or SBSH PocketBreeze to resolve the calendar view issue. You may also try reducing the font size in settings since this does affect the text on the Today Screen addons.
Thanks for the suggestions Brett. I agree about the VGA screen, it is a beautiful display.
I bagged Touch Flo after the first day with my Fuze.
I have replaced it with SBSH Pocket Breeze running in full screen mode with the tabs hidden.
I have defined 2 tabs that I switch between with a swipe left or right across the screen.
Tab 1). phoneAlarm (pocketMax.net) running the 2day4pay skin. This gives me automated phone profile control, immediate visual status of things like number of pending messages, BT and WiFi Status, time and current weather. It also gives me access to the 15 apps I use most with no more than 2 screen touches, a task switcher and the last 10 or so calls in or out.
Tab 2). The SBSH Standard Calendar Tab with the monthly calendar pinned to the bottom 1/3 of the screen below a display of timelines and weather forecasts for the next 7 days on my calendar. The weather is integrated from SBSH Pocket Weather.
There is a link here and the screen shots are about 3/4 of the way down the page: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=445795&page=3
The nice thing about using phoneAlarm is that you can set it to support Touch Flo. In that case the left softkey is set to “Manila” and you are just a touch away from making an iPhone user green with envy that a phone can have such a graphically rich interface and do so much.
That looks like a really good setup. I may have to try to do the same thing with SPB Diary or give SBSH Pocket Breeze a try. Being able to swipe over to a launcher screen could be helpful…but it may be redundant with the way I am using SPB Mobile Shell.
I took a look Doug-looks great. I think I would have to retire from work to get all that set up.
On my today screen:
- Quickmenu battery percentage/free RAM readout (up in the top right corner where the X button is on running programs)
- SPB Phone Suite (large icons)
- Weather Panel with Stardock animated weather icons
- TodayAgenda, functions very similarly to the main feature of SPB Diary (displaying all current and upcoming appointments in one today plugin, but is 100 percent free and much lighter on resources
- MVBklight, simple today plugin that allows quick, easy access to change the backlight brightness from the today screen
Thank you for all the suggestions and info above.
Here is my question. I LOVE my Fuze so far, and I think the animation and the way TF3D works is very cool, but I need something similar to what Brett posted above, with MANY options on the home page and as much info as possible (call info, multiple email accounts (3 or 4 at times), appointments, weather, google, news, sports, stocks, etc).
What is your opinion for the best program out there to add to the phone that can give me the option of all of the features I need PLUS the cool touch screen animation effects that my FUZE can offer. If I eliminate the cool touch screen features then there was no point in getting this phone IMO.
I look forward to your responses and feedback. Thanks!
TF3D + SecondToday (running Spb Diary)
E, can you give me some info how SecondToday interfaces and works with TF3D? I’m assuming that it sits as a program that you have to launch to get to the actual second today screen?