Develop Bugs

Alternative UIs?

I have been doing some looking around already, even before I got my Touch HD or joined this forum but I don't seem to have dug up much so far.
Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, I don't know - I'm still rather new to WinMo, so it's a distinct possibility.
Basically, I'm not hugely fussed on TouchFlo.
I mean don't get me wrong, it's not terrible and I can think of far worse interfaces but half the reason I went for a WinMo handset was to be able to customise and tweak it.
So whilst I'm far from hating my phone, I am wondering if maybe there's something better out there.
So far, in terms of alternatives, I'm aware of the Xperia panels (which currently don't work on the HD), whatever exactly the name is of Samsung's UI that runs on the Omnia (which I just don't like the look of), something called 'PointUI' (which seems to resemble a rather simplistic TouchFlo clone, from what I've seen in screendumps) and Winterface I think it's called (but if I wanted a phone with the iPhone's UI, I wouldn't've bought an HTC).
I'm also aware that other companies who also make WinMo handsets have their own UIs as well but the only one I've read anything about so far is the UI that Asus use and what I read wasn't good. Plus, obviously, there's the UI for the up-coming TG01 but it doesn't really jump out at me.
What I'm wondering than is if there's any notable exceptions from the group I've listed, or even any not-so-notable/relatively unheard-of ones.
I'm just looking for something... different. I know that's not much to go on but I suppose the truth is that I don't really know myself what I'm after.
Something that stands out is probably about as close a description as I can offer up.
Any help or advice will, of course, be greatly appreciated.
edit: apologies for posting this in the wrong place.

You could try Wisbar Advance Desktop with one of the WVGA skins you find here, or even make one yourself.
WAD is highly customizable, you can create almost anything you like.
Another UI is Bell UI, which is pretyy similar to TouchFlo.

hello,
on my side I have chosen UltimateLaunch. Quite satisfying for its simplicty and customization possibilities.

I actually did not like TF3D at first, now I've been seduced by it !
BUT, I have SecondToday running so at a touch of my right softkey I have a new today screen which now is full of PocketBreeze and various other today plugins on the vertical Tabs.

Cheesy Dave said:
I actually did not like TF3D at first, now I've been seduced by it !
BUT, I have SecondToday running so at a touch of my right softkey I have a new today screen which now is full of PocketBreeze and various other today plugins on the vertical Tabs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My objective (when I stabilize my installation ...) is to have the TF3D as a plugin inside the first Tab of my UltimateLaunch UI.

You could try some of the cubes,
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Cube

Cheesy Dave said:
I actually did not like TF3D at first, now I've been seduced by it !
BUT, I have SecondToday running so at a touch of my right softkey I have a new today screen which now is full of PocketBreeze and various other today plugins on the vertical Tabs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just set this up a day ago - works very well indeed. 2ndToday is launched from the Left softkey (as detailed elsewhere in this forum) and pocketbreeze can fill the screen nicely.

manila versus spb mobile shell 3

here is something that i need your opinions, and it concerns spb mobile shell 3 and manila. based on what i have seen on the forum, it appeares most people use manila a lot because when ever a cooked rom is released by any one of our master chefs there is always mention of either something not working on manila, and judging by the number of concerns that people have towards manila, it appeares to me that most people actually use it a lot. i myself however the first thing i do, when ever i flash a new rom is to disable touch flo, which i believe is manila and instead use state of the art spb mobile shell 3, however, i just need your own opinions as to why you would just either manila(touch flo) instead of spb mobile shell 3 thanks

i use spb about one month and my opinion is , a very good program!!!!

Personally, I disable TF3D on every rom as well. In fact, I look for the versions without TF3D.
I really like TF3D, how everything is laid out and how it gives really easy access to so much information and ties so deeply into everything... However... it is slow.
Every time I'd start up my device I'd have to load up each tab once into the ram so I'd get fluid movements when I need it. (Contacts tab takes several seconds to load up the first time.) Not only that, I found myself disabling nearly all the tabs. As cool as it was, it was just too heavy for me when I only need really basic information.
I used SPB Mobile shell 2 back on my Hermes for the longest time, nearly the entire lifespan of the device, truly a great program. (That was until TF2D came out, then everything changed.) Allowed really quick access to the most important information without getting in the way of normal windows mobile. Sadly it wasn't very pretty no matter how many skins one tried.
SPB Mobile Shell 3 however, seemed very awkward to me. Accessing simply information was a pain and involved complex maneuvers to get to something that should be very simple. The 3rd version while filled to the brim with eye candy is bloated for me. All I need is a today screen, calendar, contacts and programs. I don't need a carousel nor do I need an absurd amount of buttons or cool animations to get me there either.
My choice:
Titanium on wm6.5
It has enough eye candy for me and is very simple and very fast. I'd kill for a full calendar on the today screen, but thumbcal off the appointments tab does enough for me.

version i tried was ugly, unworthy of the screen and resolution HD has, also confusing, didn't like the layout, contacts look....actually, didn't like anything
TouchFlo is simpler and better looking, really shows the screen in all it's glory and i could spend time just flicking through it to see how pretty and smooth it is, the new calendar, weather tab, people tab, sms tab....i'm shallow :/
now i use Titanium, both pretty and easy to use and customize :/

I prefer Manila. I do not have bugs on my rom. I tried SPB MS 3 but it's not as smooth as manila, no way. Icons has to load every time, then I do not have the "smooth" impression. However, scrolling in MS 3 is very fast.
For now, Manila is the best interface I tried. This is just my personnal opinion, not a judgement of MS 3.

thanks a lot guys i have used spb for a while and i must admit the new version spb 3 is the best and it is very fast as well in my opinion. i think once you learn how to use it, it does become very easy to use, ecspecially the new widgets, but what then are the advantages you guys see in manila

SPB Mobile Shell 3
suisen said:
version i tried was ugly, unworthy of the screen and resolution HD has, also confusing, didn't like the layout, contacts look....actually, didn't like anything
TouchFlo is simpler and better looking, really shows the screen in all it's glory and i could spend time just flicking through it to see how pretty and smooth it is, the new calendar, weather tab, people tab, sms tab....i'm shallow :/
now i use Titanium, both pretty and easy to use and customize :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don`t know which version you have tried, but if it has been version 3, I guess that your comment would be completely opposite. When you try the third version, and you still like better TouchFlo - then it is only question of taste...

it was, it was green, green should be illegal....those tabs at the bottom left and right are ugly, but nothing compared to those icons in between them Contacts tab cannot compare with the TF3D People tab, weather widget cannot compare to the weather tab, point by point it's just not as pretty, glossy, shiny, eye-candy, TF3D and Titanium are both a very functional eye-candy....everything is 1 or 2 pretty icons away
i like things simple but shiny, SPB MS is neither :/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3844438&postcount=1117

I am using both for about 4 weeks. Spb Mobile Shel 3.0 for work and Manila after work. I wish i could change the taskbar of spb to manila style or even to make the background complete black and not grey so i would use only spb.

I did try them all and right now I am using manila with certain tabs active ... sms, music, internet, photos and vids, progs and thats it. plus sometimes i activate a program that i just keep there for certain times its called winter face a very light smooth application that gives you an iphone like interface and its free.
i used spb keyboard and paid for it and replaced it now with fingerkeyboard which is free but far better and the same happened when i tried spb 2 and 3
now i have no spb application on my HD and i am happier
I think i will stick manila and winterface till i get Titanium on wm6.5 when winmo is officially out

I did try them all and right now I am using manila with certain tabs active ... sms, music, internet, photos and vids, progs and thats it. plus sometimes i activate a program that i just keep there for certain times its called vitto winter face; a very light smooth application that gives you an iphone like interface and its free.
i used spb keyboard and paid for it and replaced it now with fingerkeyboard which is free but far better and the same happened when i tried spb mobile shell 2 and 3
now i have no spb application on my HD and i am happier

Both TF3d better
I have used both .. answer :
TF3D is more intergrated eg with TXT's pictures and music .
with the shell you have use the phone own txt inbox and not the raher cute scroll in tf3d , this is the same with the music etc..
I want everything in one place .. and if possile not have to see the under bonet ..

Enjoying PointUI Home2 over Touchflo or SPB etc. Check it out.

I was getting a little bored and irritated at the way Touchflo was making everything so hard to get to.
I put everything back to standard Windows for a while but it obviously wasn't particularly very finger friendly (although not as bad as everyone made out).
I tried SPB 3 but tbh it looks and feels amateur and the UI wasn't as clean as I'd have liked.
I then came across the free version of PointUI Home2 (http://www.pointui.com) and its a really nice replacement for Touchflo. (It also seems to use less memory and is definitely faster.
It has panels like Android which are actually usefull, ie.e displaying all email summaries for an account on homepage etc.
There is a big development community and there are many apps and themes that make it looks and work very nicely. Lots of sliding transitions, and an almost full graphical UI replacement for commonly used menus like start and settings.
If you haven't yet, check it out.
here's a fairly decent run through video (although it does look and work a little better on my TP2 and the default theme is nicer than on this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXIy_9fZBa4
All the Themes available (inc android, sense etc.): http://community.pointui.com/topic/themes-the-themes-store
All the Apps available: http://community.pointui.com/topic/applets-the-applets-store
Probably the best theme, PointSenseUI: http://community.pointui.com/topic/pointsense_s2u2

I used Home on my phone from 1.0 to soon after they released 2. The one thing I couldn't get over was the screen rotate lag on my Tilt. I'm sure that's less of a problem on the TP2 (or I hope?) but it drove me away from it.
That said, each revision from the PointUI team made the program get better and better. There are a ton of UGGGLLLYYY themes but of course there's a gem every now and then. I used the "Seven" theme, I think.
I think the coolest feature of Home2 is how anyone can make an applet. And while some are butt-ugly, some are really nice looking and amazing. It's worth checking out at least for the sheer number of cool apps people add to it.
I (still) don't have my TP2 but I'm going to give TF3D, Chome, and Home2 a fair run. Home2 is a really nice looking program and I don't care if it makes me 10% less productive on my phone, aesthetics can enhance my experience enough to make up for that.

Im finding it is very responsive and enhances my phone greatly.
I've paid for the pro version, and the threaded messages and message timeline feature is worth that alone. Basically you can have a timeline of messages, including all emails and sms all by time, brilliant.
It is very beautiful and i also use 7even. I don't have auto rotate enabled as i dislike rotating displays unless i pull out the keyboard but everything else is great.

Initial impressions and many problems (long)

Just came from my Tilt to the Tilt2. Having lots of problems. Device is slow and a bit painful overall.
Background: Not a "chef" level enthusiast but comfortable upgrading ROMs, registry edits, general customization, good device organization/maintenance, etc. Been using WinMo since my trusty PDA2k. Definitely a big HTC fan overall. I was really excited to get this device as on paper it seems so much better than my Tilt. I had my Tilt for quite a while (~2+ yrs) and ended up sending it back twice to HTC for repairs. Each time they fixed something and broke something else. I finally got so sick of the non lighted keyboard (that they broke) I "upgraded" to the Tilt2. Needless to say I have been spending a lot of time here since then...
1. How many folks are sold on TF3D? Sure it looks great, a nice iPhone ripoff but does it really make you more productive, faster, offer a more intuitive UI, etc.? I'll have to say my impression is no. I am certainly giving it a chance. One big gripe is that is was fairly easy with WM 6.1 and a good today screen customizer to get access to everything you needed on a single screen. Under TF3D - no way. How many clicks or gestures does it take to start a new text message? How many to get to your tasks/to-do list? Why do all of the icons in the "top bar" such as BT, 3G, volume all go to the same useless "Notifications" menu? Very keen for feedback from some longer term TF3D-ers.
2. Phone: Used a lot of BT connection to my car system for hands free today. Dropped calls like mad. Way worse than doing the same with my Tilt/WM 6.1. General call quality is substantially improved including clarity, volume and speakerphone. But what the heck how much does quality really matter if you are dropping like mad? To me these devices are phones above all and that means phone and BT should be rock solid. With HTC they simpy NEVER seem to be. I suppose this could simply be AT&T in San Diego but the comparison with the trusty Tilt was so much worse I don't think it is signal strength. How about the slide gesture that is required to take a call? That is clumsy, why not just a red and green screen button, sure I know you can use the hard buttons but I prefer the larger easier to see screen based buttons. Perhaps the justification is less accidentall accpeted calls while reaching into pant pocket...
3. General speed, stability: Not good. Tilt/WM 6.1 was quite a but snappier. Tilt2 hangs more often and many apps are a lot slower. One staple app for me is Resco File Explorer. It is so slow it is almost useless. Just like laptops/desktops CPUs get faster, you get more memory but the overall experience and speed does not really improve.
4. IE: Sure the zooming and panning via TF is nice but when you don't want to use the mobile version of google the page is never loaded at a good size, the cursor does not seem to default in to the search text box. I seem to have to pan and zoom before entering a search. Am I really that much of a noob? Also, I just can't seem to loose the stylus and select URLs with a finger or fingernail. It seems there is a minimum required zoom level to click URLs. In general web pages load substantially slower than with IE in WM 6.1. I need to spend some more time with Opera (or others?) but not happy thus far at all.
5. AT&T bloatware: Removing it requires going through a highly manual process or using a fairly highly customized ROM. Ugh.
6. Clock: Both the fact that you can not change the clock size and the annoying auto-flipping numbers "feature" when the today screen refereshes are enormous oversights IMO. Also main TF home clock does not match clock in the top bar. They can be off by 1-3 minutes.
7. Screen ocassionally gets locked in landscape after keyboard closure. How many versions of hardware and software will it take for the HTC/Win folks to get this right? Why do we need the Gyrator or other software to get this to work like it should out of the box?
There are tons of positives for sure. One huge one is how clear the device talks to your desktop when connecting the cable (sync, disk drive, interner sharing). So much better here than prior WM versions. Of course the screen in general is crystal clear and a real beauty. Keyboard is quite good as well. The in call phone menus are great too.
I'm keen for any encouragement, general advice, ROM advice or specific advice or fixes for any issues above. Thanks.

TF3D is cute, but IMO not useful.. You're right, that stupid "flipping numbers" thing is beyond stupid. What the hell is it really doing? Every time anything changes, it flips random numbers around. Perhaps if the device and graphics were uber fast it wouldn't be bad, but it's.... well, daft.
If your phone is dropping calls, that's hardware/radio, not Wm 6.5...
Personally I had my Tilt 2 about 3 days before I moved my SIM from my Tilt to my Tilt 2. In that time I was setting it up, adding my programs, updating random stuff to go from QVGA to WVGA. Along the way I used TF3D a little, but it was mostly just aggrivating so I went back to Pocket Plus where I can use my Today Screen plugins that I love.
There's a whole thread about not using TF3D, I think you should just read it, I think it covers most of your gripes ;-) TF3D is just a Today Screen plugin, you realize that right? If you want, disable it, use what you used in WM 6.1. It should all work, assuming resolutions or other compatibilities, but personally all of my today screen plugins worked.

swamp2 said:
Just came from my Tilt to the Tilt2. Having lots of problems. Device is slow and a bit painful overall.
Background: Not a "chef" level enthusiast but comfortable upgrading ROMs, registry edits, general customization, good device organization/maintenance, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're comfortable flashing ROM's - try some of the offerings from the chefs here. I used my T-Mo TP2 stock for about 2 days before flashing. They make a huge difference in both performance and usability. I'm partial to AthineOS and NRG's ROM's, currently on the latest AthineOS with WinMo 6.5.1 (Start and OK on the bottom - very finger friendly) TF3D 2.1, as of last night. I use a product called Sashimi (Google it) which automates flashinbe by auto-configuring all my apps, wifi, ActiveSync, customizations, etc. I can now flash a ROM and be up and running as if nothing happened in about 30 minutes. The custom ROM's are all mostly tweaked for speed, and are absolutely faster than my stock ROM was.
Opera is head and shoulders above IE these days, get a copy of 9.7, it compares very well to the Safari browser on the iPhone - the best mobile browser IMHO.
I've had a Tilt (numerous WinMo's actually), iPhone 3GS (still have it), Android G1 (still have it), and think right now this phone beats most.
The one area I will agree is very buggy still is the landscape flipping. I just make sure I'm in a very compatible program (Opera, Mail, Garmin, etc) when opening the slider, and then stay away from TF3D while landscaped. It's a bit of a PITA, but worth it for the awesome keyboard.
Don't give up, this phone has a ton of potential.
-JS

Today screen interface suggestions

WM Prof 6.1 - TP2 - T-Mobile
Trying to figure out what to do about the today screen. I have gone between HTC TouchFLow3d and WM and am not overly happy with either. Left HTC because their contact screen does not return you back to the previous selected contact. I am new to touch screens and it can be painful to finally get to the right contact. Then accidently select the contact above or below, click on back and be returned to the As. WM is just plain ugly.
What are some suggestions. I hear about sbd and cookie. What other interaces are out there and what do you use or suggest?
THanks

I disable Sense and use WisbarAdvancedDesktop 2 to get exactly the interface that looks like I want. There you can build the today screen nearly totally free. Look here for examples:
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=60

SPB Mobile Shell: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/
Inifinity: http://forum.ageye.de/viewforum.php?f=57&sid=2353928fca9fe6940d2bc2f845891662
Titanium (new Windows Mobile Theme).

I think you'll find that the SPB that burton linked to will probably be a lot more comfortable to use, it runs a lot leaner than Sense does, and is just a lot more approachable...but still very powerful when it comes to customizing. And, there's pre-built themes you can apply if you find one that suits you.

If you really like customizing and lots of functionality, you may like Pointui Home2 which I use. See my sig for details... it's memory footprint to comparable to Spb MS too. The theme/suite I use in Home2 is one I coded to look like WP7, but have real functionality not just look nice/flashy.

i am leaning towards a commercial, paid interface to replace TF3D. need it to be pretty stable. i have already spent so much time playing with this phone that my family is about to mutany. so betweem spb and pointui how would you rate their stability, ability to customize, and ease of customization - and anything else to compare.
wm 6.1 prof
tp2 - t-mobile
tf3d 3.0

thebrenda said:
i am leaning towards a commercial, paid interface to replace TF3D. need it to be pretty stable. i have already spent so much time playing with this phone that my family is about to mutany. so betweem spb and pointui how would you rate their stability, ability to customize, and ease of customization - and anything else to compare.
wm 6.1 prof
tp2 - t-mobile
tf3d 3.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly haven't used the pointui interface myself yet, but I can say that SPB is ultra-stable (especially compared to TF3D and Sense), and presents a nice small load to the system resources. It's been around for years, and even ran smooth and stable on my previous HTC phone, the Wizard, which had barely a third of the processor power and memory capacity that the TP2 has. It's also about as easy to configure as a phone GUI can be, and extremely flexible and customizable....there's literally dozens and dozens of themes and styles available for it, both here and across the net, all of which are extremely easy to apply and/or switch between.
I'm not saying anything bad about pointui, I just don't know it. However, I do believe that SPB will have more "ready-to-use" stuff to find than pointui, just based on how often I see them.
Also, SPB allows you a free trial version, so you can give it a try without committing

sirphunkee is correct about Sbp MS. Compared to Pointui Home2 it is much easier to hit the ground running with it and is more polished overall with lots of customization. Both it and Pointui are very stable on just about any device. Both can get away with low memory footprints since they offload larger sized images to storage memory, though I'm not sure if MS can, but Pointui allows you set the image threshold to either use more memory for speed or more storage if you need memory to run more apps or stay stable. I've used all flavors Pointui and all the other UI's and I aways come back to Pointui, since it's scripting engine is just as powerful (C#-based) as MortScript allowing for extreme customization and speed at the OS level. Sorry rambling... to sum it up there are many UI's/Today plug-ins that are great and varied. I'll list some, but besides TF3D/Sense, Titanium the most integrated for WM the 2 imho that are at the top are Pointui Home2 and Spb MS3.5.
Here some others to try...
1. HomeScreen++ formerly BatterStatus very powerful Today plugin and great for integrating standard today screen with most PIM info or just having single screen for all important info.
2. iLauncher
3. ThrottleLauncher
4. Infinity
5. And more...
Again to me MS and Home2 are the best and both have trial versions that don't really expire. Go with Home2 if you need more functionality (PIM-wise) and love to spend time customizing otherwise go with MS3.5 if you want instant eye-candy and shorter prep time customization-wise. Both have all the basics and more to start off and both have great support communities (I'm a community dev on Pointui forums). Whichever you choose, these two, or some other will be a great choice.