LauncherX for Windows Mobile
Many of us who “defected” from the Palm os to Windows Mobile, missed some of the things that made Palm so user friendly, like the availability of numerous third party launchers. One extremely popular such launcher is LauncherX from GoTreoSoftware. Now the LauncherX architect, Jeff Gibson, is joining the ranks of the Palm disenfranchised, and taking a shot with Windows Mobile.
LauncherX for Windows Mobile is currently in beta, and while it’s definitely not ready for prime time, it’s already a great improvement over what you find on Windows Mobile.
According to Jeff:
“My goal for LauncherX is to redefine how users will access applications, configuration services, running applications and data on their Windows Mobile devices. The Palm platform was a wonderfully simple platform to use and productivity was high because of its user interface design. Windows Mobile provides a great multitasking foundation but unfortunately provides a horribly complicated user interface that stifles productivity. LauncherX for WM will change this paradigm. LX will allow WM users to have simple and instant access to applications, the data for applications, running applications and device configuration information. LX will introduce Smart Tab(tm) technology to the WM user interface. No longer will you have to fight your device to find the data you are looking for. With Smart Tab technology, the data will find you!”
In other words – welcome back to tabbed launching! Just take a look at the bare bones:
Application tab
Custom tab
A Settings tab gives you access to all your settings, without the need to go through Start and then through the individual settings options. This can be a real time saver!
Settings tab
In addition to launching apps, LauncherX will allow you to launch media and documents directly. The plan is to eventually give the user total control over what directories/folders to scan for media so that you can have a tab for your photos, a tab for your music, and a tab for your documents. I’m very excited about the ongoing development of this application!
The LauncherX settings themselves are still rudimentary, but well under way. Currently you can add custom tabs, hide tabs, and set the background color and/or image to any tab. All of this will eventually be totally user configurable, and (ideally) easy.
While the LX screen now has an option to exit to the Today screen, I’ve found – at least for now – that running it in a window, rather than full screen allows you to simply click the OK button for the same result in fewer steps.
Options dialogues
Stay tuned for further LauncherX updates!
Written by Alli Flowers - Email
December 28th, 2008 at 9:32 am
[...] on Windows Mobile according to Alli, you can read the about the software with screenshots over at Just Another Geek Site. Technorati Tags: launcherx,windows,mobile,software Share and [...]
December 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Expected GA release for LX for WM: 6 weeks.