barely fatal

So, it took me nearly two weeks to patch my xda Orbit the way I want it. While you would usually leave your normal mobile phone the way it was designed to be, maybe change the colors a bit or the background image, you can seriously alter the appearance of a Windows Mobile device. Furthermore, since it’s a small computer you can install programs and tweak the registry almost any way you want. The perfect geek tool.

I would love to show you what my little digital friend looks like but I don’t have a camera on my hands I’ll post some photos later. Anyway, facts first. The xda Orbit comes with a 200 Mhz ARM processor, Windows Mobile 5, a 2 mega-pixel camera, Bluetooth, wi-fi, headset and GPS (Tomtom 6 Navigation software). I don’t really need the Tomtom, but I don’t mind it anyways. The Orbit doesn’t have a keyboard, so you have to use the 320×240 touchscreen, the scroll wheel, trackball and soft buttons. Well, the trackball is was too small and sensitive to be useful, but the touchscreen works like a charm. It’s a little slow out-of-the-box, but as said, you can tweak the registry and I can run multiple programs simultaneously with no problems. Size-wise, it’s hardly bigger than other modern phones with bigger screens, I was positively surprised. It weights about the same as my old Nokia. Can’t say anything about the battery lifetime yet.

It comes with a 512MB microSD card. I replaced that one with a 2GB card, the Tomtom maps (Germany and Benelux) take up about 400 MB already. Windows Mobile 5 lacks a few features that improve usability, like a task manager or an application launcher. With this kind of device you can really combine a few others in one – with the right software installed. There are some suites you can buy, but since WM5 has been around for quite a while now, you can find a lot of freeware sites, too.

 

Here’s a list of apps that I find very useful. They are all free, I won’t link since the websites change often anyways. Just google, you’ll find plenty.

• cLaunch – great tabbed app launcher for the today screen
• UI Tweaker – lets you adjust system colors etc. on the fly
• ThemeGenCE - theme generator for WM5, can also create landscape backgrounds
• vBar – very small, very light task manager for the task bar
• Task Manager – Mobile version of the Windows standard task manager
• XnView pocket – mobile version of the popular image viewer with many features
• Virtual Earth Mobile – satellite imaging, maps (requires internet connection)
• TCPMP – versatile media player
• Skype – well, the name says it all
• Minimo – mobile version of the Mozilla browser, with tabs
• KeePassPPC – password safe
• Friday Shopping – lets you manage your shopping lists
• Hitchhiker - automatically scans, configures and joins open wireless LANs
• WiFiFoFum - another WLAN scanner
• AlarmClock - well, an alarm clock
• deltaTimer - countdown clock
• Total Commander – THE file manager
• Pocket UFO – the classic UFO game for your mobile, with all features
• Crimson Fields – Battle Isle clone
• Doppler Mobile / Hubdog – subscribe and download RSS feeds and podcasts directly

The last point should be noted. I can download podcasts directly from the internet using any wi-fi connection. No need for iTunes!

In short, the device can play and sync music, browse the web, download and sync my mails, contacts, tasks and calender, run games and … it’s also a phone. Ten more years and these devices can replace laptops.