Do you remember Snake on those old cellphones? Well, to be honest, the default mobile games never got much better. Now we often find Bejeweled spin-offs and Frogger fakes.

There’s a whole different story with Windows Mobile phone games. Because it’s almost like a tiny computer, there are a ton of gaming possibilities. Add that touchscreen, and let the games come in.

Standard free Windows Mobile games are still mediocre, but downloading additional ones is hardly a hassle. Today we’ll present you ten fun games for your Windows Mobile.

Skinz Sudoku

Sudoku is a free Windows Mobile game that should be present on all mobile phones. Although it’s possible on a standard keypad, things become infinitely more fun when using a touchscreen.

Skinz Sudoku both looks good and is an incredible time-waster. You can play sudoku on 4 levels – easy, normal, hard and insane. The puzzles are generated on the spot, so don’t be afraid to run out. For the die-hards among us, it’s also possible to make small number annotations – almost necessary when playing hard or insane.

Tangled Bugs

Tangled Bugs is an incredibly fun game. The concept has previously been pursued in a number of flash games, but it never gets old.

The goal of the game is to make sure none of the threads cross each other. You achieve this by moving around the bugs and rearranging the pattern. Don’t be fooled at first, this game gets incredibly hard – the right screenshot above is merely the fourth level.

Pocket Gravity

I’m not sure if Pocket Gravity can be considered a game. It was actually more of an experiment. But it’s fun to play around with, and that’s what matters.

Pocket Gravity is a mobile physics simulator. Build free, anchored or pivotal shapes and let the laws of nature come into motion. Look at the screenshots above for some inspiration, but the real fun begins when you start making cars and muppets.

Pipes

Most of you puzzlers will recognize Pipes. The objective is to make sure that all tubes are connected in a close circuit, accessing all the little blue nodes. Make sure that water can flow through your structure unhindered, and you clear the level.

Again, there are multiple difficulties; very easy, easy, normal, hard, very hard and insane. Be sure not to overestimate yourself. This game shows you why plumbers deserve their paycheck.

DoubleSkill

DoubleSkill is one of my personal favorites. It’s a combination of a brickless breakout and an unnerving balance act.

With your touchscreen, you both move the top- and tilt the lower bar. Although you have to catch the falling objects every time, you need to be very careful not to drop the lower ball. DoubleSkill is a fitting name, and high scores are a matter of long practice.

Binary

Not generally regarded as interesting for most people, Binary is a game designed for programmers. After all, you need to be able to compute binary (pun intended).

Click on the bricks to switch their value. You can make a line disappear when the Byte’s value is the same as the line number.

3210

3210 is a very original game. Instructions were originally not included (the developer thought they’d confuse the user more than just ‘finding out’) but I’ll give it a shot.

The lower cannon shoots balls in the air. The balls bounce off the surface until they lose their momentum and stop mid-air. Hovering around, the ball will grow until it touches any other surface. By hitting them with other balls, you decrease their value. If you manage to hit them thrice, they disappear.

Score points by making as much balls disappear as possible. You die when a ball crosses, or grows back over your dotted line.

Aquella Ball

Aquella ball is another very familiar free Windows Mobile game. The objective is to ‘clear’ more than 75% of the playing field.

When striking you stylus – horizontal or vertical – a barrier slowly grows until it touches two sides of the field. Have a ball touch your growing barrier is fatal, but a finished barrier is lasting.

BlackFlip

The goal of blackflip is to coat the whole field in a single color – black or white.

Switch colors by tracking a path over the squares. You can track back or cross your path, but doing so will wipe out all progress in between.

Chain Reaction

Hitting the screen anywhere sets off an explosion. Reaching any of the white dots will set off consequent explosions. The goal is to ignite as many of the 50 balls as you can, with that one hit.

Each game consists of three rounds, with the points adding up. How to win? Try to reach 150!

These are just ten free Windows Mobile games. Visit XFlib Games for ten more! Do you know any other cool mobile games? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Just to help you inch just a little bit closer to that cloak and dagger lifestyle, I’d like to offer 4 Windows Mobile downloads that you can use to transform your regular mobile phone into an honest-to-goodness cool spy gadget.

Cool Spy Gadget #1 – A Room Bug To Record Conversations

In many countries and in many situations, it may be illegal to record a conversation without the knowledge of those involved. This is at least true if the conversation is being transmitted over the phone. If this is illegal in your country, don’t do it! Otherwise, if you just happened to leave your cellphone laying around in a room where there just happens to be an interesting conversation going on, that’s not really your fault now, is it?

NoteM is a Windows Mobile app that is supposed to serve as a voice note-taking tool, but left recording in an inconspicuous place, it could pick up some very interesting conversations.

This software is a simple recorder, and it doesn’t do anything fancy like ftp the file to your web server or email the audio to you automatically, but if you install a 2GB or larger storage card in your SD (or micro-SD) slot, you’ll have plenty of storage to save hours of recorded audio without a problem. The screen on the left is before any recordings are created. Just press the red “record” button and walk away. Recordings are stored in MP3 format in whichever directory you choose.

Cool Spy Gadget #2 – See In The Dark With Sonar

It may seem like science fiction, or something you’d expect to see on Ghost Hunters, but with SonarCE you can transform your Windows mobile phone into your own personal sonar device. The way this application works is that it emits the sonar signal from the device speakers, and reads echo to the microphone. It’s pretty impressive, and according to the programmers it is accurate at, ” around 5-10 cm at distance of 10 m.”

During my own testing with an older model Cingular 8125 running Windows Mobile 5, I found that it was a little difficult to get used to, but what I really liked was the cool screen.

The one annoying thing about this mobile app is that it requires a little bit of tweaking in terms of scale. However, there’s an automatic “search offset” feature that goes through a cycle of pings and calibrates the device for you. The website features a useful setup guide that’ll help you at least get the sonar working to the point that when you move close to an object, you’ll notice the difference on the sonar display (even if you don’t really know anything about how sonar works).

Whether or not the tool would ever be very useful is debatable, but I suppose if you ever find yourself in a completely pitch-black room and you don’t want to crash into any objects, this cool little mobile app could help. Beyond that, it’ll at least be a very neat feature to show your friends and family how cool your phone is.

Cool Spy Gadget #3 – Disk Encryption Software

Every spy needs a safe place to store sensitive data, and the best way to store your critical files that you don’t want anyone tampering with is in a hidden, encrypted “virtual disk” that no one can find or access but you – with the appropriate key.

To accomplish this task, a neat free application called FreeOTFE4PDA will do the trick. The software supports a long list of encryption algorithms and supports various cypher modes and security tokens. Your volume will be created without a signature – virtually invisible to anyone looking for it.

Configuration is fairly simple, as you can see from the screens above – and it works well by simply using all of the default settings. However, for security experts who understand and are looking for a product that offers deeper security, the functionality is there. This is one of the best free applications out there for completely encrypting any data that you want to store and transport on your trusty mobile device. If you don’t understand data-encryption though, skip installing this app because you could make entire folders disappear without being able to retrieve them again.

Cool Spy Gadget #4 – Remote Video Streaming

Recently, I wrote about using VZOChat to integrate videoconferencing into your blog. One of the items in that article that I touched on was setting up the videoconference with your Windows Mobile device configured as a webcam, transmitting your end of the video while you talk to your blog visitor face to face.

However, another very cool use of this software is to convert your mobile device into a video and audio surveillance gadget. This may not be very practical over the cellular data line because first of all, you could rack up some crazy data use charges, and secondly the quality of the video won’t be that great (as you can see from my example in the blog article). With that said, you could configure your phone with VZOchat and then set it up with the camera pointed at the room that you want to monitor.

The software will pick up sound from the microphone, so you’ll be receiving and transmitting both. All you have to do is make sure your phone is connected to the Internet through your Wi-Fi network and that the VZOChat software is running (it doesn’t have to be connected yet).

Just make sure the software is configured on your phone to automatically accept incoming calls, as shown above. Then, go to another room or anywhere else where you have an Internet connection (it doesn’t have to be on the same home network), and go to your VZOchat account. Keep in mind that you’ll need two VZOchat accounts -  one account for your remote connection, and a different account for your cellphone. Go to the video call page for your cellphone profile, and you’ll see the call button as shown here.

The moment you select “Start videochat“, you’ll establish a connection with your remote mobile device that will trigger both the camera and the microphone to activate – recording everything that’s going on in the room and streaming it over the Internet directly to you. Here, I’ve set up my cellphone as a remote webcam in the living room to keep an eye on who keeps stealing the TV remote control. Looks like someone already stole it…

The screen you see above is what I saw on my PC across the property in our other building. I could keep my cellphone running in this room in order to watch and listen to everything that’s going on. With a cellphone just left lying around somewhere, no one would ever know that you’re using it as a surveillance device. Again – make sure that this sort of activity is legal in your area and in your situation!

All four of these gadgets offer some cool ways that you can transform your Windows Mobile device into a fun and exciting gadget that you can use for far more than just making phonecalls and checking your Facebook account. Do you know of any other cool Windows Mobile apps like these? Have you tried any yourself, and what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Image Credit : Dunechaser

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One of those occasions was very recently. With its own mobile operating system, Google has been challenging Windows Mobile (not much of a challenge) and the iPhone.

If you’ve got an HTC Windows Mobile phone, you might not have to buy yourself another device to enjoy the hype. But install Android on your Windows Mobile device instead. Nevertheless, porting this operating system has proven a tedious task, and not all phone types support it yet. Newer GSM devices will have a better chance, and to date CDMA is scarcely supported.

Right now it’s not yet possible to boot Google Android as the default operation system. Instead we’ll be using HaRET, a Windows Mobile boot loader. Note that we’re not running or emulating Android in Windows Mobile, but using it to reboot the phone into Android.

1. Gathering Files

Different phone types require different base Google Android files. Even for supported phones, the files will be scattered over different sites and developer areas. I will supply links for some of the most popular HTC phones.

• HTC Diamond
• HTC Vogue/Kaiser/Polaris/Nike
• HTC Raphael/Fuze/Touch Pro

Again, if you don’t see your phone listed, don’t give up. Do a Google search with your own model – because it’s a user-generated wiki, some major advancements aren’t listed on the site yet. When going off-site, always double check your sources, making sure that you aren’t downloading any malicious content.

Download the Google Android files for your phone type.

• The latest Android bundle/files for your phone type
• HaRET (executables)

Most sites will supply file bundles, others will put a directory of files online. If need be, download all of those files, we’ll be telling you which to use in the next step.

2. Installation

If you’re already running a custom ROM, you might want to format your phone. Conflicts can occur when double-modding, and you’re probably going to be using Google Android anyway.

First, let’s put the files in place. Connect via USB and navigate to your phone’s root (this is the mother-folder, the highest directory level). After unzipping your Google Android release, transfer the files you’ve just downloaded. Putting them in any other directory won’t work. You should have something like this:

• HaRET.exe
• zImage (kernel file)
• Initrd.gz
• default.txt
• rootfs.img
• system.img/system.sqsh (Android OS files)

It’ll help to shorten filenames. Some have a date or programmer suffix that can be deleted.

Next, configure your default.txt. Open the file in Notepad and make sure all the values are right. How do you know? Check out a list of Boot Options here. You might need to change phone model, screen resolution, internet access and the like. This will take the most time, but if you keep your eyes open, it isn’t a hard job.

Finally, disconnect your phone and use your Windows Mobile file manager to locate HaRET.exe (it should still be in your phone’s root). You might want to add it to your applications shortcuts. Open HaRET and press Run.

HaRET will reboot your phone with the Android files. Perhaps in the (near) future, we might be able to install Google Android as the standard operating system. But even though progress is unstoppable, it moves at its own pace.

Did you like the tutorial? Let us know in the comments if you experience any problems. Or better yet, direct that at the your phone type’s site. They’ll be able to help you with the really technical business.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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It was actually writing that article that made me start thinking about other uses for my webcam. Then, as I sat there staring at the cellphone – an old HTC 8125 with just a 1.3 mega pixel camera – I started to wonder if there was a way I could convert this little phone into a portable webcam that could stream video from anywhere in the world where there’s a cellphone data network.

That curiosity and a little bit of Internet research led me to VZOchat, an interesting free online service where you can configure your own video chat account and whenever you’re online you can receive direct video calls from anyone.

So, what does this have to do with turning a Windows Mobile smartphone into a remote webcam? Well, the VZOchat service also offers a mobile version. This means that people can trigger a video conferencing call to your mobile phone, but it also means that you can set up your cellphone anywhere you like, and then fire off a call to the phone from your computer which will enable the streaming video feature of the VZOchat software on your phone!

Want to spy on the room where you accidently “left” your phone? Maybe you want to stream a really cool rock concert to your friends with your cellphone. The potential uses for streaming live video from your cellphone are unlimited. As if that’s not cool enough – there’s one more little feature that VZOchat offers – the ability to embed the video call feature directly into your blog or website so anyone can video chat with you straight from your blog.

I’ll cover each of these features in this article. Let’s get started.

Setting Up Your Own Private Videochat

When you first sign up for your free VZOchat account, you’ll instantly have access to a special web page where you can find your embedded videochat room. You don’t even have to install any software on your PC, only a plugin for your browser so that the videochat room works properly.

Yes, I know I look tired. I’ve been staying up all night writing this article!

Now, VZOchat is actually a video chat community, so if you want to you can set your status as public and let everyone on the social network see your profile and call you. I’m not exactly that much of a social butterfly, so I left that feature disabled – I’m only here for the cool Internet video chat software.

All you have to do to call another user on VZOchat is click “start videochat” and type their name. For my purposes – I want to initiate a video chat with my cellphone, and I want the cellphone to pick up automatically. So step two is setting up the mobile version of VZOchat on your Windows Mobile device (Windows Mobile only).

Setting Up VZOchat As a Cameraphone Webcam

Once you download and install the CAB file to your mobile and you log in using the credentials that you signed up with, you’ll see the following screen on your phone.

At this point, the green bar means that you’re online and ready to send or receive video calls. This means that you can remotely call your phone with your computer, but first you have to tell your phone to automatically pick up the call. Do this by clicking on “Options.”

Most of the settings within options are pretty self-explanatory. Most of the calling features you want to configure are in the “Integration” menu item. When you click on that icon you’ll see the following screen.

As you can see here, you can integrate the software to work with Outlook Mobile and the Today Screen – but what you really want to make sure to click here is the option to “Automatically accept incoming calls.” Once you do this, you’re ready to remotely fire up your cellphone as a remote cameraphone webcam!

To test this, I placed my old Windows Mobile 5 PDA on my kitchen countertop facing a Halloween art project my wife and kids created – a small tree with ghosts hanging on the branches. Running back across the house to my laptop (I seriously ran, I was that excited), I clicked on the green call button and watched as the software initiated the call. Suddenly, the video window changed to a view of what my cellphone was pointed to at that moment.

Now, I should mention a few things about this image. My particular camera is ancient, and a 1.3 mega pixel camera is hardly comparable to the sort of resolution available on most modern smartphones. Secondly, I noticed my image updated about once every 5 seconds or so, which I believe was related to my data upload speed over the cellular data line – and I hardly had a signal in my house. Again, a newer model will most likely perform much better.

Finally, if you do decide to use this technique to convert your cellphone into a cameraphone webcam, make sure you either have an unlimited Internet data plan or your phone is connected to the Internet over Wi-Fi.

Embedding the Video Chat Feature Into Your Blog

Now that we’ve accomplished the first task. I want to show you one more amazingly cool feature with VZOchat that had me smiling from ear to ear – the ability to embed a calling box into your blog or web page so visitors can initiate a video chat with you. Here’s how it works.

When you’re logged into your VZOchat account, click on the “widgets” tab at the top.

Here, you’ll see two options. The first is a neat little VZOchat widget using the iframe tag that lets you embed your profile call gateway into your blog, which I’ve done here on my blog FreeWritingCenter.

Now, the value of just offering such a feature on your blog or website is tremendous. Allow visitors to interact with you directly to discuss a topic you’ve blogged about. Or, maybe you have a tech support website and you could use this feature to let your clients contact you directly video chat right from your web page.

The one drawback with the widget is that when they click on it, it opens a whole different window on VZOchat for your visitor to talk to you. If you want them to stay right at your site, you can use the VZOchat Webclient code instead – and visitors can have a video chat with you right on your own web page.

Here’s me having a chat with myself right on my blog.

After about 10 minutes, I found myself pretty darn boring, so I just hung up on myself. The embedded video chat is still there, as is the sidebar call feature (for now). I’m going to leave it there to chat with MUO readers and others unless I find a better service at some point. If it’s still there and I’m online, go ahead and give me a call and let’s chat!

Can you think of any cool uses for turning your mobile phone into a cameraphone webcam? What about using the service in your blog, or combining the two features so visitors can call you on your mobile? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Buses add an additional layer of transportation goodness that allows one to see buildings and parks without walking long distances on crowded sidewalks or deal with the oppressive heat of NYC summers.

Here are 6 great tools with NYC subway maps to help you navigate your way around NYC using the web and free applications.

Have a Windows Mobile phone? Try Metro, a personal favorite of mine. The interface is easy to use, the results are accurate, and you can get directions for over 300 cities, including New York City.

The NYC version offers directions to and from over 700 stations, tourist attractions and every subway line. It is also available in multiple languages, which makes it a great choice for international travelers.

HopStop is a great free website with accurate and comprehensive directions throughout the New York region. Need to use the subways but want to minimize the walking time to your destination? Then HopStop is for you.

It offers the ability to select whether you want more street walking over transfers, subway only, bus and subway directions, no regional rail and more. The features HopStop’s search algorithms offer make it worth visiting the site.

You can also get a free HopStop app for your iPhone, use HopStop via SMS or access the HopStop website from your Blackberry or PDA.

MTA Mobile is a text-only version of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s website, which gives you access to NYC subway maps, service notices and schedules from your smartphone or web-enabled device. All you have to do to access the site is go to MTA.Info from a mobile device. The site will automatically format itself for your device.

Trips123 looks a lot like HopStop on the surface, but it has some cool features that HopStop lacks – such as live traffic updates.

I also like the Planned Events page, which makes it easy to find out about directions and service diversions for scheduled events at the Meadowlands, Yankee Stadium and other destinations within the region. Their links section is really second to none, with links to every transit provider in the region, so you can stay up to date with schedules and service offerings.

Are you curious to know what traffic is like on a Saturday afternoon on 5th Avenue and 23rd Street? Pull up Trips123’s live traffic cameras and check out the speeding taxis, walking pedestrians and buses as they get to their destinations!

Only for the iPod, Nano and iPods that feature video, Zsubway is a free set of photos of the entire NYC subway system map. You can easily upload the photos to your iPod using iTunes and use them where ever you go. I like Zsubway because it isn’t as obvious that I’m lost as if I was using a paper map, and I can use it underground, where cell phone signals don’t work. Sorted by line, you can quickly find your way using this handy map system.

Using the familiar interface of Google Maps, Google Transit makes it easy to find transit directions in NYC. Type in your origination and destination addresses and press ‘Get Directions‘. You’ll get 3 proposed sets of directions, along with a Google map, so you can use Google Streetview to make sure you know what the subway station and your destination will look like. The map is easy to print and read if you are accustomed to Google Maps for driving directions.

Any suggestions? Let’s hear it in the comments!

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Luckily, if you have a Windows Mobile device and you’ve signed up for an unlimited data plan through your cellular provider, then you’ve got an excellent option to set up your laptop wireless Internet access through your cellphone from anywhere you have a cellular connection.

James recently reviewed a cool app called JoikuSpot Light, which transforms your mobile phone into an Wi-Fi hot-spot. Without a doubt, JoikuSpot is probably the best solution. However, if you aren’t able to get JoikuSpot working on your device and there are no other similar options available, you may find yourself pulling out your USB cable and trying to remember how you configured your Cellphone to serve as an Internet modem for your laptop. In this article, I’m going to offer Windows Mobile users an easy step by step guide that you can refer to any time you need to configure laptop wireless Internet access through your cellphone.

The following procedure is grouped into three steps. First, setting up the laptop and the cellphone for Internet sharing, rather than connecting via an application like ActiveSync. Second, configuring both the laptop and the cellphone for the Internet connection, and finally, initializing the connection. Once you’ve completed steps 1 and 2, you’ll never have to do them again. The next time you want to access the Internet with your cellphone you simply “redial,” and you’re online. This particular setup is based on the HTC manufactured series of windows mobile devices. In my case I still use the now-ancient HTC Cingular 8125, however these steps work for the later models (and most Windows Mobile devices will also be similar).

Step 1: Getting Things Ready

The first thing that you need to do before you can establish a laptop/modem connection is to kill the current application that’s handling communications between your laptop and cellphone. In my case, I’m running ActiveSync, so I kill that process using the Task Manager.

For ActiveSync, you just find wcescomm.exe and kill the process. If you’re particular Windows Mobile device uses another application, you’ll need to find the process name and make sure that you kill it. Secondly, you’ll need to also shut down the communications software on your phone. In the case of ActiveSync, in Windows Mobile you go to Start -> Settings -> System -> Memory -> Running Programs, and then if ActiveSync is listed you’ll need to stop the process.

Once you’ve stopped the communications software on both the laptop and Windows Mobile phone, you’re ready to establish the connection between the laptop and phone as an Internet modem.

Step 2: Connecting The Cellphone As a Modem

The only real configuration required in Windows Mobile in order to set up your device as an Internet modem is to enable the “Modem Link.” The Modem Link configuration can be found by going to Start -> Programs.

Once you’re inside the Modem Link configuration, just change the Connection setting to USB. It’s likely that your other settings are already configured, however if they are not just make sure that the Access point name has the name of the connection you configured on your mobile device for Internet access. When everything looks good, click “Activate” at the bottom, and the “Status” at the top should change to “Active.”

If your device is already connected to your laptop, you’ll get the “Found New Hardware” wizard pop-up immediately. If you’re not yet plugged in, then now’s the time to do it.

Just make sure that you select to install from a specific location so that you’ll have the option to manually select your driver file. Click next.

On the next screen, you’ll click the browse button and go to the folder where the driver file is located. In my particular case with the Cingular 8125, and for most HTC mobile devices, you’ll need the USBMDM.INF driver file as well as the HTC USB Modem Dialer application. Both are offered as a free download from xda-developers.com. Download the zip file and put them wherever you’ll remember. Then in the Windows Wizard screen above, browse to the directory where you extracted the INF file. If your Windows Mobile device is non-HTC, check with the manufacturer for a USB modem driver for your device.

The Wizard will recognize the device. Depending on your particular device and the version of the driver, you may see the error message above. Just click “Continue Anyway.”

Finally, the driver’s installed and you’re ready to start using your new Mobile USB Modem anytime you want to, and anywhere you have a cellular signal!

Step 3: Initializing the Internet Connection

To establish your new mobile Internet connection using your laptop, run the executable that you downloaded from the link above. Regardless of your device or your cellular carrier, you’ll typically always need to enter a User Name and Password. You can access that information (if you don’t already know it from setting up Internet use on your mobile device) by contacting your cellular provider and asking for the User Name and Password to use with your Internet data plan.

Enter those details into the USB modem dialer, and after a few moments it’ll inform you that you’re now connected. Yes, that means that at this moment, even while you’re sitting in the middle of the lake with a fishing pole in one hand, your laptop is now connected to the Internet via your cellphone signal. It may not be lightning fast – but when you’re desperate to submit your latest article (or check on your team’s latest game results), sometimes such a connection is all you need.

Have you ever configured your laptop with an Internet connection through your cellphone? What configuration or software tools did you use to accomplish the task? Share your insight in the comments section below.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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With that in mind, one of our long-time staff writers started working on a PDF manual covering everything a Windows Mobile user could ever need.

We’re proud to present this 50-paged monster to you — The MakeUseOf Windows Mobile Guide, written by Karl Gechlik, from askTheAdmin.com.

This guide starts at the very basics of Windows Mobile, and quietly builds up its pace to a more advanced level. Whether you want to (re)discover the most basic features and applications of your device, extend it with new applications and tools, or even flash a custom ROM, the Windows Mobile Guide comes to the rescue.

Download the Windows Mobile Guide now, and read it on your computer today, or even on your phone! This free PDF is brought to you by MakeUseOf, no strings attached.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Is there a better way of making a cool statement than with a device that’s now a part of our anatomy? I guess not.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at ten websites which let us browse, select and download the choicest free mobile phone ringtones – without pinching a penny.

In mentioning these free websites, I have gone for the ten which lets us download free mobile ringtones to the PC rather than send it through the data carrier (in most countries for downloading data, carrier charges apply). So you can download the ringtone to your PC and then transfer it to your mobile phone – 100% free.

Some of these sites are inclusive of other nice things (themes, wallpapers, games, etc.) too, for your mobiles.

1. Zedge

14 million users sharing their stuff through a slick interface. The site is powered by the community of users who make and upload the ringtones. The ringtone collection, 300,000 strong can be downloaded to the PC or the phone without the free signup. Check out the site’s Phone Specifications and Zedge Content Compatibility Index (it’s a huge list) if you are not sure about the downloads not working with your mobile. The site also supports iPhone ringtones. An added plus are the online tools to make ringtones, themes, wallpapers and screensavers.

2. Mobile9

Another site with the community behind it. Get all the goodies – free downloads of themes, wallpapers, ringtones, screensavers, software, games, videos and logos. With 100,000 MP3 ringtones, it’s a wide collection. A free signup entails you to download without a 10 second wait. As in any web community, members can have their own profile pages, can comment and share. You can check the compatibility of your model in the Phone section of the site though a cross-section of makes are supported including the iPhone.

3. TonesAll

TonesAll.com is a MP3 ringtone user-sharing community where all content is licensed with the Creative Commons Public Domain license. The site mentions the following supported brands – Nokia, Motorola,  Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG,  BlackBerry and iPhone. The ringtones are pigeonholed into categories; some like Pets & Animals, Sayings or News & Politics you may not find anywhere else. The free signup makes you a community member and gives you instant download without the 20 seconds of wait. Members can also create groups which is an assortment of ringtones.

4. MadRingtones

This web service is slanted as an online ringtone creator. You can create a personalized ringtone from your favorite MP3 song or YouTube video in just 3 clicks. But to avoid even that labor, you can download a ringtone from the over 300,000 already available. The ringtones work with almost all the phones and gives you the option of four formats – mp3, amr, ogg and m4r (for the iPhone). Embed and share on your blog or on social networks like Facebook.

5. Mobango

A mobile sharing community with the same flavor as the earlier mentioned sites. It’s a click worthy destination for all types of mobile content especially applications and games. The other unique social aspect is that you can search for users by age, sex, country and make and model of phone. Connect to them through the site and share your media. Mobango also offers 2GB of free storage for your mobile content. You can also flag you uploaded files as public or private.

6. CellMind

A well designed mobile social site on the growth path. Though it has an infinitesimally small ringtone collection, it is well structured and worth a look see. You need to register (free) to download wallpaper, themes and ringtones. The site also features online wallpaper, ringtone and screensaver makers. The other plus is the online storage provided by the site for your uploader/created files.

7. MyTinyPhone

With over 125,000 ringtones in its database, the site is not tiny. All ringtones are free to download on your mobile or PC. A feature is the Flash based ringtone maker which lets you upload a MP3 file (max size of 8MB) to create your own tones. With a free signup, you can store the tunes and share it with your friends. The only irritant is the popup ad which keeps opening up in a window.

8. MobileToones

Not very different from the other mobile social network communities except in its interface. It comes with a mobile discussion forum, a mobile review section and a blog. To download the MP3, Polyphonic or AMR ringtones one has to go through a short free registration. The collection is limited (approx 400+).

9. Brinked

A free online ringtone sharing community which is very similar to MadRingtones, though with a sober interface. You can create ringtone from a song or a YouTube video. Though the collection is not as vast, it is a neat site on the growth curve. Browse for ringtones among the Reggaeton, Raggae, Techno, Rock, Rap, R&b, Pop, Original, Country and TV & Movies genres. Download in MP3 / WAV / OGG / M4R format or share it in the social networks.

10. Tonzr

If you still haven’t got the ringtone you want then why not do a simple search. Use Google, Yahoo or a specialized ringtone search engine like Tonzr. Presently it has indexed nearly 10,000,000 ringtones. Search with a keyword and on the results page you can select the mode of download. The nice little tidbit are the suggested like tones just below your selection.

The supported carriers are – Sprint, Nextel, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Alltel, US Cellular, Cellular South, and Cricket. The SMS and MMS features are also for these selected US only carriers. Tonzr is presently testing for compatibility with iPhones.

It is true that mobile downloads is a world within the world of the web. For every paid site, there are a clutch of free options. The 10 websites for free ringtones I have put down here just add to the previous ones we have brought for you at MakeUseOf.com. You can check out a few like MyxterTones, ToneShared and the really unique Ultrasonic-Ringtones.  Or if you feel like making your own ringtones, Mark shows you how to do it with Audacity.

Our ringtone section features a lot of online tools and apps if you want to make your own ringtones.

Which website or mobile social network is your most frequented? Do you like to make your own music or are you happy with a download? Let us know!

Image: Geek and Poke

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Instead of attempting to circumvent the school’s computer system to access YouTube, you could always make use of that cool little Windows Mobile device you were able to convince your parents to buy you for your last birthday. No matter where you are – sitting on the bleachers at the football game, riding the bus, or sitting way in the back of the class during an exceptionally dull lecture – just enable your wireless Internet connection and start watching hilarious YouTube videos on your phone!

How to Get on YouTube at School with Your Mobile Device

If you have a mobile device that’s installed with Windows Mobile, and you’re lucky enough to have a decent mobile Internet plan, there are a number of methods you can use to post YouTube videos, such as this MUO review of Cellspin – an app you can use to post to eBay, Facebook and YouTube. However, YouTube itself now offers the ability to both play videos and broadcast your own videos from your mobile phone. This feature now allows anyone to instantly stream realtime videos directly to YouTube.

No more waiting until you get home so you can load it onto your computer and upload it to the website. With this feature, you can instantly post witness accounts of a natural disaster or government atrocities no matter where you are or where the nearest computer is. If there’s a cellular provider with a mobile Internet plan, this YouTube feature turns you into a walking online witness through which the whole world can see the sort of things that you see every day. Start telling your story through video images streamed directly up to YouTube from your phone.

Whether you choose to “play” or “create” on YouTube from your mobile phone is up to you, but both features offer very cool opportunities. Now you can watch videos while you’re sitting and waiting for your name to be called at the restaurant. Capture a video of a crime in progress (don’t get too close) and feature it at your YouTube account before even the local media has any clue what’s going on.

How to Play YouTube Videos On Your Mobile Phone

Playing YouTube videos on your mobile phone is easy. All you have to do is open up your mobile web browser and visit “http://www.youtube.com.”  If you visit from a mobile device, you are automatically redirected to the mobile version of the site. This mobile version of YouTube will work whether you have Windows Mobile of just an Internet-enabled cellphone.

You can search through videos or browse the front page of the newest ones. Watching videos from the mobile version of the website includes two technical requirements that you need to be aware of. Your mobile device needs to support RTSP streaming, and your cellular carrier needs to allow streaming video on your device. Now, if it doesn’t work on your mobile device, don’t despair. As you can see, there’s an option to download the YouTube application to your mobile device. If you do have a Windows Mobile device, then you’ll want to consider clicking on that “download application” link, as the mobile application version of YouTube is much more functional (and better looking).

Within the YouTube mobile application, most of the videos play clearly and with very little skipping – especially if you’re connected onto a Wi-Fi network.

If you’re only on the cellular data line, you may need to give the videos some time to download to your device before you click the play button.

Uploading Your Mobile Videos Directly to YouTube

Now, uploading the videos you recorded with your device is almost as easy as downloading videos to watch. All you need to do is sign up for your own YouTube account (you can connect it with your Google account). Once you do, YouTube will provide you with your own mobile email address ending in “m.youtube.com” where you can send your videos to get instantly published under your YouTube account.

Setting this up takes just a matter of minutes. Then, turn on the video capture feature of your mobile device, send the video file to your mobile YouTube email account, and you’ve just instantly posted your own mobile email to the Internet without the need for a computer. Now that’s sweet. To test it out, I took a 17 second, blurry video of my skinny cat who was lounging in bed. In less than 5 minutes of emailing the video from my phone to my mobile YouTube email account, the fuzzy video of the silly little critter was up live on YouTube!

All I’d have to do is increase the resolution of my video capture and I could become the next online Oliver Stone! Just imagine the “compromising” situations that you could capture your friends in at school – and then publish it on YouTube instantly for the world to see!  Now, no corner of the world is safe from the snooping video-camera eyes of the mobile phone crowd. Be afraid… be very, very afraid.

Have you ever used any other tools to instantly post video from your mobile device to the Internet? Share your own tips in the comments section below.

Not using a Windows Mobile device? Grant shows you how to stream live video from almost any cellphone or you could check Qik out.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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The last time I was in France, I had an approximate conversion rate in my head for French Francs to the United States Dollar. When I got back to the office and handed in my expense reports, I realized I was very wrong about my conversions. It turned out the rate I was using was wrong. So, every calculation I did was also wrong.

To make a long story short, I wound up spending more than I was supposed. I won’t say how much but someone was not happy writing that cheque! If I had this fancy smancy currency converter called CurrencyConv installed, I would have known that the cab driver was charging me way more than he should have!

If you have a Windows Mobile phone, you can download the application using the link above. It works on Windows Mobile 6, 6.1 and 6.5. The best part about the application is that it retrieves the rate information when you start the program! It also has what looks like every currency imaginable. So, the next time you are in Sri Lanka or Nicaragua, CurrencyConv will have you covered!

The small 38.4KB cab file needs to be downloaded to or copied to your Windows Mobile device. Then, you install it by clicking on the installer file like so:

It will ask you if you want to install the application on your device’s memory or on your storage card. The choice is yours and it really does not matter. Once the application is installed, you will find a new icon on your Start Menu like so:

Click on it to get started. By default, there are some wacky currencies that I have never encountered before. But don’t let that discourage you – it only means that the program has every possible option you will ever need! And it converts 3 currencies at at time!

Simply pull down the drop down menus to select 3 currencies. Next, enter a value in any one of the three fields at the top. The program will then automatically convert that into the other two currencies. I was VERY impressed!

So now, I know 1000 French Francs is about $225, not $125 Maybe this will help some one (or lots of people) out there have a much better trip!

If you are on your computer, XE.com is the leading currency converter. Aibek wrote about it a long time ago, you should check it out.

Do you have a similar app you are using on your mobile device? Well if you are you should definitely share with us in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Have you ever been away from your desktop and needed some information that was on it? Have you ever needed to shutdown your computer or do something underhanded while away? What did you do? Run home? Ryan, showed you how to restart or shut down your PC over the Internet but I am going to show you how to control your PC from your Windows Mobile phone.

Well, this is a much better solution! Our solution comes installed on most Windows Mobile Devices with touch-screens but some carriers cheaped out and did not include it. For those devices, you can still grab the remote desktop client from here.

We have previously covered other options like VNC and you can read about that here, and even remote controlling your Windows Mobile Device from your computer, which is the reverse process of what we are trying to achieve here.

Remote desktop can be found on your Start Menu and it looks like this:

Once you open the Remote Desktop application, you will see a screen asking you for your connection information. If you have ever used Remote Desktop from your computer, it is very similar. You will need to know your username, password and your domain. You will also have to make sure that port 3389 is opened and mapped to your desktop that you want to connect to. If you are unsure of how to do this, you can check out this web site on port forwarding.

Once you have the prerequisites worked out, you just need to launch the application from your phone and fill in the details.

You can see from the screenshot above that I obscured my information so you hackers out there don’t decide to DOS my servers! But after you fill in your computer name, username, password and domain you have the option to select the check box to save your password.

Then, you can hit the Options button and see what your options are…

You can choose either 256 colors for a faster experience or 16-bit colors for a truer desktop-like experience. You may also select for the remote desktop to run full resolution on your device or have the remote screen scaled down to fit your mobile device’s screen.

You can also map your storage to the remote machine as well as play sounds on your device or on the local computer. You can also disable the sound all together. Try the options out and see which combination works best for you.

When you are done tweaking, we are ready to give our remote connection a try! Are you ready?

And just like that…

We have our desktop on our mobile devices, and we can do whatever it is we needed to do – just as if we were sitting in front of the machine! In other word, I have full control over PC from Windows Mobile phone. So, I can open up files, start a downloading a torrent or control my music! This is simply awesome and seeming it is already installed on your device – you should give it a try today! Let us know how it went for you. If you have any questions, please shoot them in the comments section.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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This is a royal pain in the ass, to say the least. I have tried lots of different programs to remove duplicate contacts on Windows Mobile devices in the past and had issues with all of them. They either didn’t work or they caused me more problems then I started with. But Contact Cleaner takes the cake.

This application and was written by Phil Chuang and I discovered it on the Windows Mobile Forum called Xda-Developers.com.

You can download the tiny cab file from his website here. The original link requires you to sign up, this one does not.

The application works on Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1 and 6.5 (for you early adopters). I tried it out on my Windows Mobile 6.5 HTC Fuze.

Simply download the application and save it to your storage card or device. Then, browse to it on your device and run it.

Upon clicking it, you will be presented with the normal Windows Mobile installation screens. You can install it either to your main memory or your storage card. As you can see, it only uses 106KB of memory.

Once the install is complete, you will find the application in your Start Menu. It does not go into a folder so it should be at the bottom of your list like so:

I knew right off the bat that I did not have any duplicates. So, I created some near duplicates before I began to run the application, just to test it out. These contacts just had identical names as other contacts and no information (so they would be easily distinguished).

I left the default options to delete exact duplicates during my scan and hit Start. You can also choose to let Contact Cleaner find your dupes and delete them at the end. But it only deletes exact duplicates, meaning the data has to be exactly the same in both. If one has a second phone number but the first does not, they will not be deleted. This is exactly what I need!

I hit Start and was ready to rock and roll:

It ran through all of my contacts, letting me know if dupes were found as it went along.

Perfect. Just as I hoped, it found my 6 duplicate contacts (that only have the same name) and did not delete them. You can continue on to view and remove duplicate contacts but I decided to duplicate a contact and run it again.

I created an exact copy of this contact and synced my device. I then re-ran the application.

It found and deleted it! Nice. Do you use something to remove duplicate contacts on your Windows Mobile device? Do you have a duplicate horror story you want to share with us? Do so in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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When I first started out, I was using a very slow beta that was horrible. But now, my WM 6.5 beta is very stable and all my friends are getting jealous.

So, how do you know if WM 6.5 is right for you? Until now, you relied on word of mouth and reviews but now Microsoft has released their newest Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows Mobile 6.5. Included in this package is a Windows Mobile emulator that allows you to run Windows Mobile 6.5 on your PC.

It is meant for development of software applications but don’t let that stop you from downloading and trying out the newest mobile operating system.

Here is a screen shot of my Windows Mobile 6.5 desktop:

That is the Titanium interface that is very slick, loaded up with Titanium Weather and a custom picture of my reason for living. That’s it, the rest of it is right out of the box! So now, if I have sparked some interest you can mosey on over here and grab the WM 6.5 Professional SDK package.

After installing it, you will have an emulator on your start menu like this:

Clicking on the Standalone Emulator Images will show you several emulators like this:

Choose any one of them and you are off to explore the wonderful world of Windows Mobile 6.5.

It takes a moment to boot up but when it is done you will see the above home screen. Go ahead and try Windows Mobile on your PC – it ain’t like you are going to break something! Hit the Start menu in the upper right hand corner to check out the honeycomb interface like so:

Everything is useable, except for the phone and internet but you can customize it, mess around with the settings and get a feel for it. I could never see myself going back to 6.1! Take it for a test drive and let us know your feelings in the comments.

And please, keep your “It’s no iPhone” jokes to a minimum!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Well, it is officially out of beta now and I are going to give you a run down of how it works.

Skyfire will work on Windows 5, 6, 6.1 and 6.5 devices (for you early adopters!). If you have a beta version installed, please uninstall it before beginning. That led to some issues for me. Also, you will need to register for an account with SkyFire. So, if that is a deal breaker for you then just keep moving.

The whole process is a breeze and there is really nothing to set up other than downloading, installing and registering.

I simply browsed to http://get.skyfire.com from my AT&T Fuze. And was greeted with this screen:

My Windows Mobile devices has a touchscreen, so I selected that option. Then, I hit the download button and was on my way.

I clicked Open and was prompted for the target location to store the file. I choose Device so that it can run as quick as possible. I clicked Install and the installation process began and finished very quickly.

The next screen asked me if I wanted to install a Home Screen Search Bar. I left the box unchecked and continued on my way.

Finally, the installation completed and I saw this screen:

I hit Launch then accepted the EULA and a warning that the application uses a lot of data so if you don’t have an unlimited plan, BEWARE!

My homepage loaded and then I are ready to give it a go. And by go, you know I am on my way over to Hulu to see if I can get my mobile entertainment on.

But alas, I had to log in or create an account first. If you do not have an account, click Create Account and follow the prompts.

OK, just a minor speed bump, and I am back to Hulu.

That is it! The page was already showing me content! Skyfire decides to pick this particular time to show me how to zoom! Simple enough but I want to watch me some TV! I chose a Family Guy episode from the homepage and was on my way.

Within seconds, I was watching the episode live! Then, I realized I had no sound on my Fuze I tried turning the volume up but it was already all the way up. I restarted my phone and within 2 minutes I was back to the same episode, this time with sound!

Simply awesome. Now, I decided to give YouTube a go.

The quality is not amazing but hey, it is working!

Lookey lookey! It’s working beautifully. Well I uh um… Gotta go do some research. Enjoy! And as for the comments, how about telling us what your favorite mobile browser is?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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This is awesome for me as I do a lot of my work and writing on my Windows Mobile Device. I have a HTC Fuze aka the Touch Pro.

Let’s take a look at WLW Mobile Beta and how it works.

First, we start off by visiting the product site because this is a third-party application and not originally written by Microsoft.

We download the application which is a ZIP file that can be extracted to your device. You can store it anywhere but to execute it you need to browse to it using your File Explorer. Browsing to it you should see a screen similar to this:

From here all you need to do is hit that WLW.exe and it will launch. No installation necessary. After launching it for the first time, you will be greeted with this screen prompting you to set up your settings like so:

I clicked OK and the settings window popped up. The default settings will work for most blogs. You can also change the language between English and Czech.

I clicked Save settings and was ready to set up my Wordpress account for publishing to http://www.askTheAdmin.com, my personal Blog. To enter account information, I clicked on the Account Manager button as you can see below:

Now, we are ready to write a test post. I clicked OK and went back to the main menu. From there, I choose New Article and away I went!

When I was done, I hit next and saw a screen asking me if I want to publish this post or any others I have drafted on my device.

I hit Publish and the article was on its way to the Web after confirming the account I want to use. At that point, I got a Czech pop-up which said this:

It gave me two choices: OK or Cancel; but what the prompt said… I had no idea! So, I hit OK!

I checked the web and the post was there in all it’s glory! I logged in to my Wp-Admin and deleted it. Now, I know I can post articles on the fly from my handheld device! Sweet!

Not using Wordpress? Learn how to blog to Blogger from your cellphone.

Do you have another mobile blogging tool that you want to share with us? Well, what are you waiting for? Do it now! Leave them in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Yes, I said “for free” and “from Microsoft” in the same sentence again! This little application installs on your Windows Mobile Device and then you can set a schedule for your data to be synced to the cloud. I am talking everything here: from text messages to contacts and back to audio and documents. This is awesome!

If you destroyed or lost your phone, restoring your data has never been this easy without having to sit in front of a computer with active sync.

Let’s see how it works.

First, we download the application directly onto our device by browsing over to http://myphone.microsoft.com/install and letting it install. Once it is installed ,you will need a Windows Live ID (your Hotmail account will work). The setup wizard will start and you will see this screen:

Simply click next and then accept the agreement to continue.

After you click Accept, you are ready to either enter your Windows Live ID or sign up for a new one. You can sign up for a new one by clicking the link that says “Create New Windows Live ID” at the bottom of the screen.

If you are going to have MyPhone sync on a regular basis, you will need to check the box next to “Save Password”.

You will see a confirmation that you have logged in successfully and your device is then configured to work with MyPhone.

You will be able to choose how you want to sync: either automatically on a schedule or manually. If you choose manually, you will need to open the MyPhone application on your phone to sync.

Your sync will start, and you will see each item sync as it goes. Contacts, calendar, photos, text messages, videos, audio and more.

After you are all synced up, you can browse over to http://myphone.micrsoft.com from your PC to view your data. Let’s check it out.

And of course, if you want to restore a device with your data, all you need to do is install the application on your device. After logging in, it will pull all your data back to this device. You can add multiple devices and keep them all in sync.

Are you using this or another similar service? Let us know in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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The first step is buying them a Windows Mobile cellphone. The next is loading it with the coolest downloads that any college kid would love.

1. Give Them Instant Access to Blogs With HubDog

In today’s academic world, students are gathering just as much information for research and homework help from blogs as they do from other “official” informational sites.  Blogs often provide valuable links and resources, but with added commentary that helps students understand concepts.  Bloggers are almost free tutors for college students, and blogs have become an invaluable resource.

One of the best mobile apps to stay connected with your favorite blogs is HubDog, which provides access to blogs and news, as well as an integrated music and video podcast player.

I mostly use Hubdog to stay on top of the latest gadgets and technology news, but if you click on “Discover,” there are countless topics you can choose from. As you can see on the right, the blog and news updates are displayed in an easy to read format on your mobile screen, with nice clear pictures and easy touch screen or keypad navigation.

2. Use vTap To Watch Videos Or Research On Wikipedia

Every time I find myself trapped in an airport terminal, or waiting in a doctor’s office, I find myself firing up vTap to pass the time.  Travis previously reviewed vTap here. Whether it’s passing an hour between classes or looking for the latest news, vTap offers students access to thousands of streaming video clips.

The video content students can access through vTap include categories such as news, sports, movies, music and more. Trust me, it’s impossible to get bored with this app on your mobile phone, and the feeds are constantly updated with new content all the time.

I’ve attempted to use mobile video streaming sites before, and I’ve always been disappointed by quality. To test vTap’s video streaming capabilities, I downloaded a clip of the trailer for the movie Twilight.  To my surprise, using a standard AT&T cellphone data network, the file downloaded in under two minutes and the video quality was surprisingly good.

The screenshot above doesn’t do it much justice, but considering the screen size and the fact that the video was streamed over a cellphone network, the quality was better than any I’d seen before. Although keep in mind that vTap serves an international audience, so read the titles carefully so that you know what language the videos are in before you download it.

And should students have the need to conduct instant research on Wikipedia in class?  vTap now offers instant, searchable access to all Wikipedia content. This fact alone makes vTap an extremely valuable mobile research tool.

3. Access to Instant 24 Hour Streaming Radio With Mundu Radio

At the very center of almost every student’s life is music. College students listen to music while walking to class in the morning, while waiting between classes, or while working out at the gym. One of the greatest benefits to having a Windows Mobile device is access to the Internet, where there are countless sources of streaming radio stations broadcasting 24 hours a day.

Mundu Radio gives students the ability to plug headphones into their mobile device and transform it into a music machine, no matter where they are. The application provides a long list of music genres to choose from, and a nice clean player interface with simple controls to play and stop the music or adjust the volume.

Let’s face it, most students don’t have the cash to keep buying MP3’s to download. And the last thing you want is your kid dumping their scholarship money (or your savings account money) into music downloads. Mundu radio lets a poor (or frugal) college student listen to great music 24 hours a day without spending a dime.

4. Find Wi-Fi Hotspots Anywhere With WeFi

Now here’s a secret for parents considering purchasing a Windows Mobile device for their kid, but unsure about the expensive monthly data charge. Another alternative is to do what many mobile laptop users do – go hunting for Wi-Fi hot spots.

WeFi lets you search for an active network within range, where you can run unlimited data transfers at no cost.  David mentioned WeFi in our article about WiFi hotspot finders, and Tehseen reviewed it as well. These days, there are free Wi-Fi networks everywhere, and most universities have Wi-Fi across an entire campus.

WeFi offers a useful Wi-Fi map tool on their website displaying free Wi-Fi networks near you.  Just have a look at the Boston area for example – no problem finding free Internet access there!

The application, installed on the mobile device, has a nice, simple interface and is easy to use. After installation, it includes a status display on the “desktop” that shows the current wi-fi network that’s connected as well as the connection status.

Launching the application (as shown on the right), displays all of the available hotspots in your area, and lets you choose which network to connect to, as well as entering any login details if required (like on a university network.)  With this app, a student can quickly connect to any free hotspot with just a few clicks.

5. A MiTo Doodle Pad for Those Boring Classes

Every student ends up taking one of those classes – the boring lecture or the terribly dull class where there’s any place else that you’d rather be. The solution for that boredom is the addictive MiTo Team Paint app. Pull out your mobile phone and launch this paint application, and get to work doodling your work of art.

The application lets you pick whether you’ll draw with a pen or a sprayer, and you choose from 7 basic colors, or use the RGB selector for more color options.

As you can see, some of us are a bit more gifted in the “art” department than others…

6. Always Stay Connected When You’re Mobile With Fring

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last. There are few mobile apps out there that have the functionality and capacity to keep you connected with all of your social networks in one easy to use application. Fring pulls it off in style. Aibek listed it as one of 20 apps that should be on your mobile and David listed it on his 5 cool mobile apps list.

This particular mobile app gets high reviews for good reason. These days, students have accounts on many social networks like Facebook, Skype and MSN. Having an application that gathers all of those contacts in one place where you can chat when you’re mobile is a very useful tool.

Adding your networks is as simple as clicking on the icon and entering your logon credentials. Even the Facebook display shows your current status, friends, and all of the details listed under your account.  The tabs on the bottom let you flip between chat sessions with your friends. This particular mobile app is a student’s dream come true. They’ll never need to spend another moment offline again.

Are you a college student with a Windows Mobile phone? What are your favorite mobile apps? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

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One of the best features of Evernote is how easy it is to add things to it, and how many platforms Evernote supports. It’s awfully close to ubiquitous, with some the best and most availability of any application I’ve ever used.

Of the many ways to do so, here are six easy ways to add things into Evernote:

The Web

Evernote is, first and foremost, a Web application. Using the Web interface from Evernote, you can create and edit notes, as well as upload files and images to go along with your notes. There’s a Web Clipper for clipping web pages and snippets, and Evernote’s interface can serve as everything from a writing tool (with a lot of styling options) to a total file-manager, all right from the Web interface.

Desktop Version

Evernote offers downloads for desktop versions of the application, with Windows, Mac, and even portable versions available. Once you’ve downloaded the application, in addition to your notes always being available offline, adding notes becomes even easier.

You can easily create notes, add files, and organize all of your notes. The desktop versions even let you take screenshots and save them into Evernote, where they then become searchable (one of the coolest features of Evernote).

Windows Mobile

Not always at your computer? Me neither. Luckily, Evernote has you covered, offering a bunch of different solutions for your phone.

My phone, as well as many others’, is a Windows Mobile phone – with a great application available from Evernote. Once the application is downloaded to your phone, you can add notes by text, by recording voice notes, or by uploading pictures from your phone’s camera. You can even upload a file from your phone (great if you get your email on your phone), and have it available right from Evernote.

iPhone

The iPhone application is a new, but fantastic, application from Evernote. Once installed on your iPhone, you can create notes right from your iPhone or iPod Touch and have them uploaded to Evernote.

You can upload pictures, or even take voice notes (much like the Windows Mobile version, but native to the iPhone).  Notes can be marked as “favorites”, making them available to you even offline.

One tip I really like? Taking screenshots of the iPhone, and then uploading them to Evernote is easy, and great for explaining iPhone applications like this one.

Email

For those who aren’t carrying smartphones or iPhones, but still want to use Evernote, email is the solution for you. Every Evernote account comes with a dedicated email address, to which you can forward emails, send files, send notes, and anything else you can think of to put in an email. It’ll all be available to you in Evernote, and easily manageable and searchable.

Instead of letting your Inbox fill up, try pushing everything to Evernote, and keeping your email clean. To find your Evernote email address, go to “Settings” and look under “Emailing your Memories.”

Any Phone, Anywhere

It seems a fairly safe assumption that most of us have cell phones, or at least are near a phone most of the time. If that’s the case, you can add notes to Evernote using only your voice. There are a number of applications (Dial2Do and Jott are two of the best) that will let you add notes to Evernote by saying a few words. Just pick up the phone, call a number, say your piece, and let one of these applications transcribe them for you and add them into your Evernote notebooks.

Anytime you need to remember something, there’s bound to be a way for you to put it into Evernote. If not, just write it down or take a picture – Evernote takes those too.

How do you add your notes into Evernote?

Photo Credits: rscottjones, JonJon2k8

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A while ago MakeUseOf published a quick Yahoo! Go Review, which offers a good overview of what’s included in Yahoo! Go. Below, you’ll find some sample shots from the application and a description of the kind of mobile connectivity you can accomplish by using this application.

Yahoo! Go Keeps You Connected to All of Your Online Activities

Once you install Yahoo! Go, the first thing you’ll notice is a pretty cool, well-designed “carousel,” which lets you scroll through the list of applications that are loaded by default.

The nice thing about the carousel is that with just one finger, you can scroll left or right through your applications. Depending on your phone’s keypad or navigation buttons, you can then “select” that application to open it.

Yahoo! Go comes preloaded with a number of basic apps like email, weather and maps, but you may also want to add specific applications that you use a lot, like for sites such as Yahoo Buzz, Facebook or eBay.

To add more widgets, you can scroll to and select the “add widgets” application.

Here you’ll find a long list of applications, ranging from very cool to very lame. For my purposes, I’ve added Facebook, eBay, Yahoo Buzz and several other small apps like a tip calculator, Yahoo Answers, and a shopping tool for checking product prices. There are enough applications in the library to really tailor Yahoo! Go to the sort of things that you like (or need) to do when you’re on the go.

Using Popular Applications Like Facebook and eBay

My favorite part of using Yahoo! Go is the fact that I can immediately connect to a simple mobile version of Facebook and eBay, two applications that I use a lot. Facebook takes a little work to get set up – you need to submit a request on the mobile app for a PIN, which you receive when you log into your account on the Internet.

Once your account is set up, reading Facebook updates from your friends (and adding your own) is easy, and very addictive!

As you can see above, on the screen to the right, you can quickly update your status from your phone, updating your friends and family instantly without the need to find a computer.  You can also scroll down to view your friends updates and even post comments to their “wall” from your phone.

Another application I use constantly is eBay. This app is excellent for when you’re shopping, yardsaling, or at an auction and you want to check out what similar items are going for on eBay. Setting up this app is nowhere near as complicated as Facebook, you simply sign in and you’re good to go.

If you’re into buying a lot of items on eBay, the “items I’m bidding on,” and “items I’m watching,” sections will give you an advantage. No matter where you are, you can keep an eye on when the auction for items you’re interested in are going to end, and you can time your final bids accordingly.

Common Yahoo Widgets

Of course, I find that I use the more common Yahoo widgets the most. If you’re normally a Yahoo user anyway, and have a Yahoo email account, news settings, and weather preferences, you’ll get much more use out of Yahoo! Go. For example, whenever I’m bored in a doctor’s waiting room, I always find myself pulling out my phone to read the news.

Within the news app, you can also select specific news sources that you’re most interested in. For example, above you can see that I’ve added two feeds from a couple of my favorite paranormal websites. If you’re more interested in what people are saying, rather than mainstream news reports, then Yahoo Buzz is the place to check out. Of course, you can access that from Yahoo! Go as well, as you can see on the right in the image below.

On the left, above, is the calendar application, which is plugged directly into your online Yahoo calendar. This means that when you’re in your office and you’ve entered a list of appointments and event dates that you don’t want to forget, you can access those calendar entries from your mobile phone by using the Yahoo calendar widget.

Useful Yahoo Widgets For Travelers

Whenever I’m on a trip, the apps that I find are the most useful are Yahoo! Maps and Yahoo! Weather. It helps that both applications save all of your normal Yahoo preferences from when you use them online, so even when you’re on your mobile device, all of your normal location settings are preloaded for you.

Unlike Google Maps, Yahoo hasn’t yet integrated cellphone triangulation technology into them so that you can zero in on your current location, but Yahoo maps does have the ability to utilize any GPS technology that you might have installed on your phone. As you can see above, you can display weather for multiple locations at once, and of course you can look up the weather (and forecasts) for any location in the world.

The “OneSearch” widget is the heart of Yahoo! Go. From this one location you can perform a quick search for phone numbers (like the local pizza delivery place), access your address or phonebook, or quickly read up on the latest news.

While there are plenty of choices out there for mobile users, Yahoo users in particular will find Yahoo! Go to be one of the most reliable and useful ways to stay online even when you’re on the go.

Do you use Yahoo! Go, or do you prefer other mobile all-in-one applications?  Share your opinion in the comments section below.

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That’s why I’m still on Windows Mobile, along with a massive portion of the rest of the world. Windows Mobile is one of the most-used mobile operating systems, but it’s been largely pushed aside as the iPhone has become more popular. The iPhone has all its great applications, but there are a number of fantastic, useful, fun and plain cool Windows Mobile apps as well.

Here are five free applications for Windows Mobile, many of which have iPhone counterparts, but that do their job at least as well as they do on that Apple-thing.

Evernote

My favorite “external brain”, Evernote helps you remember everything. With Evernote for Windows Mobile, all you’ll need on you is your cell phone. Just fire up the app, and you can create notes from pictures, text or voice. Search and browse your notes, share and edit them, and manage your head right from your Windows Mobile phone.

Unlike the iPhone (as best as I could tell), there’s also a link to upload a file, which means you’re able to send files to and from your Windows Mobile phone. It’s perfect for when you need to remember to buy something, how much something costs, something you need to do, or just about anything that comes into your head that you’d rather not fly right out.

Fring

Fring is the mobile IM client to end all mobile IM clients. It connects to most major instant messaging networks- AIM, Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the like. If you’ve got a Wi-Fi enabled phone, there’s even another killer feature- Skype. You can make VOIP calls with your cell phone, using Fring’s Skype support, and not use your minutes or plan, but simply by picking up a wireless signal.

Even without Wi-Fi, though, Fring’s a killer application for instant messaging, and can even update your Twitter status for you.

Tiny Twitter

Even though Fring can update Twitter for you, odds are Twitter users will want a bit more. That’s where Tiny Twitter comes in. It’s a Twitter cleint for Windows Mobile that also works on any Java-enabled device which covers some serious ground. Using Tiny Twitter, you can tweet without hitting your SMS bill (though you will incur some data charges without a data plan).

Tiny Twitter allows full access to your Twitter timeline, makes replying and messaging easy, and the “Inbox” view gives you a simple way to see and respond to tweets directed at you. Tiny Twitter’s the perfect Windows Mobile app for tweeting on the go, and is actually better than anything I’ve found for the iPhone.

The Core Pocket Media Player

TCPMP, as The Core Pocket Media Player is known, is the best way to watch movies and listen to music on a Windows Mobile phone. You can use it to stream media (again, watch the data charges), or to play a huge variety of formats of both video and audio. It’s a no-frills application with a small memory footprint that’s dead simple to use, and one road warriors won’t want to be without. Especially when you add the use of a memory card, TCPMP works with your phone to make it a killer media player- small screen or no small screen.

Kevtris

What fun is a phone you can’t play with? The iPhone has a ton of great games, but let’s be honest – there’s never been a game as wonderful as Tetris. The blocks, the twisting, the narrow misses that leave you tearing your hair out – it’s just glorious.

If you have a Windows Mobile phone, you needn’t ever be without Tetris again. It’s a free download called Kevtris, and is a blast to play. There are three levels of play, and several different games you can play as well – all similar to Tetris. It’s a fantastic time-waster, and a game I like better than anything the iPhone’s thrown at me.

I’ve been a Windows Mobile user for a while now, and thanks to these applications and more, I don’t plan on changing anytime soon. There are applications to do everything that I need, for free, and plus – I just love having an actual keyboard.

Are you a Windows Mobile user? What applications do you have, and which do you envy of the iPhone?

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However, I never found any opportunity when I really needed a low-resolution digital camera, but I found myself in countless situations where I really could have used a phone with the global positioning feature.

Google’s mobile version of Google Maps has always offered the ability for mobile phone users to call up Google Maps to view the map of a particular location or search for driving directions. Later, Google added the ability for users who had a GPS-enabled phone or Smartphone to locate their current location through satellite triangulation.

This is a very cool feature of Google Maps, and one that sets it above most other free mobile mapping applications. However, since such a small percentage of Google Mobile users actually own a GPS-enabled phone, Google decided to add GPS Tracking to Google Maps. It’s an amazing technology that offers any cellphone user, regardless of GPS functionality, the ability to zero in on your current location. Google Maps does this the moment you start up the application on your cellphone, as shown here on my Cingular Smartphone.

That little blue dot in the middle of the map is the magical location icon that represents your current location. If you have GPS on your mobile, the Google Maps accuracy is phenomenal. If you don’t have GPS on your phone, Google triangulates your position using the three closest cell towers. There are both pros and cons to using this approach in order to identify your current location. The only con is that the accuracy of GPS is usually within only a couple hundred feet. The accuracy of Google’s new “My Location” features can range as wide as 5000 meters. The pros, however, are:

• “My Location” works faster than GPS, since cell towers are quicker to access than GPS satellites.
• The positioning feature works anywhere your phone can reach a cellphone signal, including indoors.
• Unlike when you use GPS, your phone’s battery will not drain any faster than normal.

Use Google Maps Mobile to Plan Your Trip

The feature of Google Maps that I personally use the most is the Satellite View. In this mode, Google Maps switches to the popular Google satellite imaging feature, where the map is replaced with a real satellite image of your location (dated back a few weeks or months.) My next order of business was to switch to Satellite View and then map out some directions.

Here you can see the amazing clarity of the satellite view. The menu items show all of the things that you can do with Mobile Maps, including mapping out driving, walking, or transit directions, showing local traffic patterns (if you live in or near a city), using GPS, marking favorite locations, and even options like locating the map for any address listed in your phone’s contact list. My next step was to determine directions and distance for me to drive from Southern Maine to Los Angeles, California.

Look at that, only 3,077 miles, and just under 48 driving hours. The resulting directions are straightforward; and if you’re confused, you can just click on any one of the steps, and Google Maps presents that portion of the route for you, in either satellite view or map view.

The route display is highlighted on the map, just like you would highlight your own paper atlas when you plan for a long road trip. As shown in this map, Google Maps sticks to the major roads and highways, and attempts to identify the fastest and most direct driving route for you.  No more spending hours pouring over maps the night before a trip.  With the click of a button on your Smartphone, Google does all of the planning and routing for you.

Instant My Location Updates at the Touch of a Button

If you drive for a few hours and want to determine where you are, just open up Google Maps and press 0, or click on the little magic blue ball at the lower right corner of the displayed map. Google Maps performs its cellphone tower triangulation magic, and you’re instantly swept to the map that shows your current location. It’s like having your own personal navigator and mapping system right on your cellphone. Who needs a GPS unit now?

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It’s also inevitable, especially under any build of Windows, that you chance losing your data. Notwithstanding the inherent faults in Windows, having all your life’s info in a device that can be dropped, stepped on, kicked, flung accidentally while speaking in an animated fashion (git her done), melted, forgotten and otherwise mistreated can be very precarious.

Yes, people use ActiveSync to “sync” their data up to a computer but what if you want to do it on the fly or you simply detest Microsoft ActiveSync? What if you are a Mac or Linux user?

The need for a backup solution for Windows Mobile has arrived. Along with it is the need for our beloved readers to have access to a totally FREE solution that will allow them to breathe a little easier next time something happens to their phone. Outlook is both costly and sucks up your memory and does not help our everyday users on the go.

Enter PPCPIMBackup. This tiny little program, with its itsy-bitsy little footprint, does everything you need in a PIM backup solution. Scheduling, an intuitive and simple interface, and the level of depth to name a few; it has all the options you could think of for a PIM backup and more. After all is said and done it will give you a single small file with your data in it.

As the picture shows, it handles appointments, call logs, contacts, messages, tasks, speed dial AND it also sports a nifty little custom field, which you can set to a filter for certain file types or you can choose a folder, or subset of files. This program really has everything one would need in a backup solution.

Best of all I can back up to my memory card while I am outside, keep a copy of my installable files with me and always be good to restore my information on the fly! This baby even does scheduling!

The backup took mere minutes, but the peace of mind involved in knowing my PIM data is safe is priceless. All the options, shown left, are pretty much self-explanatory.

PPCPIMBackup supports file compression, scheduling and best of all, it can be installed OTA (over the air, for you noobs out there) which means you don’t have to run it through ActiveSync for it to work. In fact, the program has such a small footprint it ran right out of HTC Zip’s temp memory. The process took less than 5 minutes and ran smoothly all the way through. Although I’m pretty sure if I ran the backup using compression, it would have been slower, but I have TONS of appointments and contacts and even uncompressed, the file was tiny at a mere 218k.

Though in all fairness, had I enabled attachments in the backup options, I’m sure that 218k would have been much more.

To use “PPCPIMBackup” simply extract the ‘exe’ file from the zip and launch it directly on your Windows mobile device. That’s it. It couldn’t be any easier now could it?

What do you use for Windows Mobile backups? Shout us out in the comments.

And a special thanks goes out to my buddy ‘Commodore64′ aka Mikey Meyer for putting me on to this wonderful app.

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After I tell you what I don’t like, I’ll tell some things that I really do like about it! Feel free to tell me if you agree or disagree!

What I don’t like about the iPhone

Number 1 – No ability to cut and paste or copy and paste!

This is my number one complaint. There is no way to cut or copy or paste! Come on now Apple, what were you thinking? This is a feature that was very successfully implemented in Windows SmartPhones and is in every computer application in popular use. There is no way to copy items from a web page, email or any other application and then paste it elsewhere! This faux pas just boggles my mind.

Number 2 – There’s no proprietary BlueTooth stack that will talk to my Bluetooth Keyboard

I got very used to using my ThinkOutside Bluetooth Keyboard with my Windows SmartPhone. If I had to type more than a few words, I unlimbered the keyboard and in mere moments I was typing away. In fairness to Apple, I have gotten used to “typing” with my index finger on the virtual keyboard on the iPhone, but there is nothing like typing on real keys. How about it Apple, can you bring the Bluetooth Stack up to standards that everyone else uses? It would also be nice to be able to use my stereo Bluetooth headset with iTunes on the iPhone…

Number 3 – The battery is not replaceable!

OK, this phone is power hungry and I am not always able to run to a charger when it runs low on battery power, and I hate the idea of turning off services just to conserve battery power. My other phones all had replaceable batteries which allowed me to carry a spare, fully charged battery. That way all I had to do was power down, swap the discharged battery for the fully charged spare, power back up and I was good to go.

The other reason I‘d like to see user replaceable batteries is that sooner or later the battery will fail. When the iPhone battery fails it is off to the Apple Store I go, and they will have to send the phone out to get the batteries replaced. How many days will that keep my phone away from me?

Number 4 – Sub standard camera

This is another annoyance that I don’t understand. Most high quality phones today come with 3 Megapixel or better cameras. They also come with image stabilization and auto focus features that the iPhone lacks. But perhaps the biggest disappointment here is the lack of ability to take videos. I realize that there is software available that can rectify that if you are willing to “jailbreak” your phone. But why would I want to disable a feature of a phone that cost so much and take the chance of turning it into a brick?

So Apple, this is where you have missed the boat – big time – in my estimation.

And now on to what I like!

However, there is so much that you have done right that I have been willing to overlook the shortcomings. Here are just a few of what I think makes the phone so great:

Number 1 – It’s a great phone!

The sound quality is so much better than my old Windows SmartPhone that it is a joy to use it. Making a call is a breeze, just tap the Phone icon and you are presented with a number of choices from Favorites to Recent Calls, to Contacts to Keypad. Select one and go. The voicemail Feature does something that I always wanted my phone to do and that is to listen to the voicemail message that I want to hear without going through them sequentially. Apple calls it Visual Voicemail and it’s a gem.

Although I can’t listen to iTunes with my Bluetooth headset, the phone did recognize my Plantronics 510 headset and paired with it effortlessly. The iPhone also paired effortlessly with my wife’s Mercedes in-car phone system. Extra points for ease of use, but isn’t that what Apple’s all about?

Number 2 – The app store

I have downloaded over 55 applications from the store. Most of them were free. Using the apps I can post to my Blog using a free WordPress app that allows me to write a post, assign it to categories, assign tags and even add pictures to the post! That is called “WordPress for iPhone”. I found a free app called Simplify Media that allows me to stream my entire iTunes collection from my home computer to the iPhone. Since I have about 20 gigs of songs and podcasts, this is a great feature for my 16 Gig iPhone! There are a lot more, but you get the picture. The apps really extend the usefulness of the phone.

Number 3 – Exchange Server Connectivity

My day job requires that I be connected to the corporate email server. In fact, during the day, I live and die in Outlook except when I am on the road which is frequently. It was this requirement that kept me in the Windows SmartPhone world for so long as the iPhone’s first version could not attach itself to Exchange. Oh, you could get email from the Exchange server if your company allowed IMAP or POP3 connections. My company does not allow those connections citing security concerns. So, when the new iPhone came with Exchange support I was ecstatic and the implementation has been flawless. The installation only required my Domain name, my user name and my password. Once I accepted the certificate needed by our server (automatically discovered by the phone) I was up and running immediately. In fact, I was synchronizing my phone with our server before I even left the store; it’s just that easy to do.

My contacts and calendar are synced with the server and are available on the phone. If I make a change in either, it shows up in my desktop Outlook and vice-versa. And the email is truly “push” in fact, the phone chimes to announce the arrival of a new email even before Outlook knows that a new email has arrived!

Number 4 – I like the interface

The visual interface is a joy to use. Although it took some getting used to as my old Windows Mobile SmartPhone did not have a Touch Screen (It is a T-Mobile Dash). By the second day of using it I had become proficient enough with it that I was tempted to stop carrying the Dash. By the end of the first week the Dash had been retired. (Considering that I still have two moths to go on my T-Mobile contract, that statement pretty much sums up my experience with the iPhone…I just don’t want to put it down!)

I like the gestures: pinching to shrink a screen, placing two fingers together and then spreading them to expand a selection and of course the flick to move up and down a page. I have become very proficient with one finger typing, especially since I only use two fingers on a desktop keyboard!

Number 5 – Safari

It is so refreshing to have a browser like Safari on the phone! Web pages render just like web pages on a computer screen. Links on the pages work, the navigation of a page works just like on the desktop. My day job requires that I use Internet Explorer on the desktop because of the proprietary applications that rely on ActiveX controls, so the phone can’t help me there, but I have found alternative ways to work around most of those requirements.

So, the overall experience for me has been positive and I wholeheartedly tell anyone who asks to take the plunge and go get one. This is the closet device that I have found to having a fully featured computer in my pocket…without actually having one.

Leave a comment and let me know what you like and dislike about the iPhone. Who knows, maybe Apple will read them and make some changes in the next software release! Do you agree or disagree with what I have found with the phone?

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So why would one want to control their Windows Mobile phone from their desktop?

• Too lazy pick up your phone to make a call
• Writing long sentences on that tiny keypad is annoying
• The need to take screenshots for posts such as these
• Just want to impress the ladies… ok maybe the last one is a stretch.

The list goes on and on. My Mobiler does all this and more for you. It is an application that installs on your Windows Mobile phone and lets you control it from your desktop. The mouse works like a touch on the touchscreen and the keyboard works as an input device. It works via ActiveSync or by IP address to give you multiple options of connecting, giving you the ability for wireless free (wifi) access to your phone.

In addition to raw control of your device, it also allows you to take screenshots of your phone, as well as create a video recordings of your mobile screen. Copy and Paste works as it does on your desktop. A file browser is also included within the program, which makes it easy to upload files to your phone.

I would recommend this program to anyone who has a Windows Mobile device.

(By) Dave is an IT Manager by day and technology consultant by night. He is interested in all things internet but is specifically interested in system administration, network security, history, and backpacking. He lives near Philadelphia with his family. See his blog @ www.systembash.com.

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Step 1: Install a Television Tuner Card

Television tuner cards are pretty easy to get a hold of these days. All of the big box retailers carry them, and they are even cheaper online. You have your choice between internal tuners and external tuners – which typically run over USB 2.0. External tuners used to be inferior to the internal ones, but these days they do quite a nice job and are great if you have a laptop.

Of course, you can only watch TV with whatever channels your cable package provides. The whole cable system and encoding system is rather complicated and beyond the scope of this article, but a general rule of thumb is that whatever your old CRT cable ready TV can get, your PC will be able to get too. High definition is still in the works (copyright concerns from the content owners) but it will be a while before we see this on our PC’s.

Once your tuner card is installed, test it with the software that came with it to make sure it is working properly before proceeding.

Step 2: Download and Install Orb

Visit the Orb Download Page and download the client in the language of your choice. Make sure to download the version with the program guide, unless you want to manually pick which channel you want without guide data.

During the Orb setup you will need to first set up an account (or log into an existing account).

Make sure to allow Orb to access the internet and press “accept” on any firewalls you may have. It will also ask you to have access to Skype.

Orb requires a pretty fast PC – hopefully you will see two green traffic lights as above. I’ve installed Orb onto a P4 1.4Ghz PC and it barely worked, sometimes I would get a video stream and sometimes I wouldn’t.

Step 3: Set up Orb to work with your Tuner Card

Once you are done with the initial setup, Orb will move into it’s TV configuration stage. This step is only possible if you have your TV Tuner card all ready to go.

Each home setup will be different, so follow the prompts to the best of your knowledge. I personally have a direct cable hookup with no set top box (STB). If you have any questions about this or any of the steps, be sure to post it in comments as there is a wealth of knowlege on this site willing to chip in and help out!

After the hardware part, you will pick your guide and channel map. Enter your Zip code and select your provider.

Around this stage, Orb will begin indexing your media – audio, video and documents. Don’t be alarmed, we will fine tune what Orb looks for later. It picks the most common configuration at this point and starts banging away.

At this point, you’ve finished the installer. But we aren’t quite done yet. We need to set up our network properly to stream media. Most locations have a firewall these days, so port forwarding is essential.

Begin by opening up the Orb control panel:

Right click and go into the “Media” tab and remove any directories you do not want indexed, and add any that you do want to be indexed (and available from anywhere!). It can be your movies folder, anything.

Then click the “More Info” tab. It should look as below:

Since lots of programs use port 80, I suggest changing this to 8080. We’ll need this port, and port 554 for Real/3GPin the next step. Login to your firewall and adjust the port forwarding settings to forward port 8080 and 554, TCP and UDP to your PC. In order to do this you will likely need to have set up a static IP address before. If you need any help with that just drop us a line in comments.

If you need to know your IP address on your network, it is pretty easy to do in XP and Vista. Go to Start->Run and type in “cmd” and press enter. Type “ipconfig” and look for your wired or wireless adapter – the IP address will be listed there.

Save all changes.

Step 4: Visit MyCast to launch your TV stream

Now for the fun part! Visit mycast.orb.com. This works in a number of web browsers – from your own PC to the Wii Opera Browser, from Maemo Portable to Pocket IE to Opera Mini and Mobile. Depending on your device, Orb will either display a flash applet, like on the internet tablet Nokia N800’s Mozilla based MicroB browser:

And the TV Guide:

This guide is both easy to use and also provides a lot of options.

I couldn’t take a screencap on the N800, I just received a Green Screen. But, the video is definately tolerable, it was displaying at maybe 15-20 frames per second.

Likewise, Windows Mobile has it’s own MyCast interface:

Video on Windows Mobile, depending on your connection, is tolerable. On a fast connection I got maybe 10 frames a second. Not stellar but definitely watchable.

On a personal note, last March I used my Windows Mobile phone over Edge to watch some NCAA Games at a wedding. Needless to say, there was a group of guys watching over the screen in the corner. Maybe not the smartest thing to do but definitely satisfying to know your geekiness is getting put to good use!

Of course Orb MyCast is available to any PC with a browser.

The interface is very complete, allowing you access to any media (videos, docs, TV streams … ) you have added to your library in the previous section.

Finally, MyCast is available on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. The browser is similar to the N800 but content typically plays in a flash applet. I’ve personally tested this on the Wii, and it works great.

In Summary

Your media, where you want it on almost every device imaginable. It even works on your old cell phones as long as you have the ability to browse the web and watch 3GP videos. So how much does this product cost, you might ask? Well it is FREE! I have to wonder how a company can offer such a great product, for such a long period of time and not even offer a paid premium version of the product. Using Orb offers Total Media Domination, where ever you go. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did! Just don’t get caught watching the game at a wedding!

(By) Dave is an IT Manager by day and technology consultant by night. He is interested in all things internet but is specifically interested in system administration, network security, history, and backpacking. He lives near Philadelphia with his family. See his blog @ www.systembash.com.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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1. Google Browser Sync – Sync Browser Bookmarks, History, Settings, etc. between diff. PCs

Google Browser Sync is a Firefox extension from Google that can auto synchronize your browser bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords – across multiple computers. It even lets you restore open browser tabs and windows across different machines so you can always pickup from where you left. It’s completely automated, all you need to do is to install it on all computers that you use on a regular basis.

2. SyncToy – Synchronize Files Between PC and USB Thumbdrive

USB drives are great for backups. Want to automate backup to USB process and make sure that files always remain fresh? SyncToy is simple Windows program from Microsoft that provides an easy way to sync files between the hardrive and USB Flash Drive. Check out our step by step guide to sync files between PC and USB thumb drive here.

3. DocSyncer – Sync ‘My Documents’ Office Files with Google Docs

Are you a Google Docs user? If yes, then make sure to give DocSyncer a try. This web/desktop application allows you to automatically synchronize Microsft Office files in ‘My Documents’ folder with your Google Docs account.

Why would you want to use it?

Not only it does it enable you to edit your Office docs (on all of your PCs) through Google Docs, but it also lets you keep documents that are stored on multiple PCs (work, home etc.) always synchornized with the latest version.

4. FolderShare – Synchronize Files Across Multiple Computers and Mobile Devices.

Another free utility from Microsoft. This one lets you synchronize different folders between multiple computers. There are also remote access and file sharing features. Windows only.

5. IM History – Sync chat conversations from multiple IM clients to Web

IM-History is a pretty cool desktop application that stores and syncs IM conversations from multiple instant messengers in one place. Whether you’re on Skype, MSN, AIM, ICQ, at work or at home, you can have all chat conversations securely stored online. Access and search them anytime from anywhere. Read more.

6. Nutsie – Sync your iTunes Music Library to Web and Access it from Mobile

Nutsie brings your iTunes library to your mobile phone. It creates an identical online version of your iTunes library and makes it accessible from your mobile phone or some other computer. The only problem with it is that it may take upto 2 days to generate your library.

7. ShiftD – Sync Notes, Links and Places between Multiple Devices

ShifD is a newly launched service from NY Times. It’s a one of a kind service that can be used to synchronize stuff like notes, web links and addresses (map locations) between multiple devices (mobile, Blackberry, PC, Mac etc.). For instance, if you post a note from one of the devices it will appear on all other synced devices as well. It can be used from the website, desktop client or mobile phone.

8. Mobical – Backup Mobile Contacts, Address Book, Calendar, Bookmarks and Settings

Simple and straightforward over-the-air mobile backup and restore service to automatically backup your mobile phone. Mobical creates an online copy of your mobile contents. You can edit contacts, add appointments, and save notes online and it will sync changes with your handset. Similarly, all edits you make on the phone will be synced with the web copy. Simple and convenient.

9. OggSync -Sync Windows Mobile Phone and Outlook with Google Calendar

Oggsync is a two-way sync between Outlook (or Microsoft Exchange) and Google Calendar(s). That is to say, you can view Google Calendar entries in Outlook and vice versa. For a two-way sync between Gcal and default calendar on your mobile phone see GCalSync.

10. Mozy – Backup Files to Web

Unlike anything above, Mozy is backup tool. It’s a simple, quick, and highly automated program that lets you securely backup important files online. Install it, specify which files you want it to backup, and let it do the work. No need to worry about keeping backup files up-to-date, Mozy keeps them synchronized. See demo video here.

As always, in case we missed any good sync tool please let us know in comments.

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(1) Mobical – Simple and straightforward over-the-air mobile backup and restore service to automatically backup mobile address book, calendar, settings, bookmarks and notes online. Mobical supports pretty much all modern handsets and can be accessed from any web-enabled device. You can edit contacts, add appointments, and save notes online and it will sync added changes with your handset. Similarly, all on-phone edits will be synced with the web copy. Simple and convenient.

More details @ Mobical: Backup Mobile Contacts and Calendar

(2) Bloove – Online mobile contact manager and backup tool. Edit address book contacts, add speed dial settings, make calls, and send SMS messages rite from your browser. Any changes made on the web are automatically synchronized with your mobile and vice versa. Supports only Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. It’s also quite low on data usage and consumes only about 20 Kbytes per hour in idle mode.

More details @ Bloove: Contact Manager for Your Mobile

(3) ZYB – ZYB provides an easy way to backup and synchronize your mobile phone’s contacts, pictures, text messages and calendar events online. Unlike the above two, ZYB is a mobile networking platform that allows you to connect with friends, share pictures, exchange free messages, and follow-up on updates rite from mobile.

More details @ ZYB : BackUp Your Mobile Online

(4) Anywr – Anywr is a web-based contact manager and calendar that offers free contacts and calendar backup functionality. Plus you can use to import contacts from your Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Gmail accounts and sync them with your phone’s address book. For fulll feature list check out Anywr review on MUO directory.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Métro is a free worldwide public transport guide that always sits on your PDA (Palm, PocketPC, Smartphone…). It is a small database application that allows you to download different cities metro information. And it is totally search-able.

From Metro’s homepage:

Metro finds your way in public transport systems in more than 350 cities around the world (Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, any city with a subway & many more!). FREE, FAST & ACCURATE.

No, your mobile won’t be screaming at you to catch the train across the platform because of a sick passenger up ahead. It will not automagically get you to your destination faster – BUT you can manually use it to search for alternate routes when you are in a jam, calculate travel time, or lookup directions in hundreds of cities worldwide. And that’s what it is all about right? Free tools to get something done.

I have never seen a free mobile app with such a wide range of device support. This thing is available in almost EVERY language and for almost EVERY platform. Metro gets loaded up on almost any Palm, Windows Mobile or Symbian operating system (Now with iPhone support here).

Once you download the correct version for you device copy over any data files you think you will need. On first launch the application asks you to choose your database.

You are now ready to search. You can find how to get from one stop to another, major landmarks to stops or other landmarks, shortest distance, least transfers etc… In other words this program is a life saver. When I was in Paris it was awesome. I couldn’t pronounce a lot of the street names let alone speak the language to have someone help me out – so I whipped out my larger then life 2003 HP Ipaq and was finding my way around in no time.

Additional features include:

• Directions and information to major tourist attractions (in selected cities)
• Download and take only the cities you need.
• Easy station search.
• Really complete line & station lists: 575 stops in London, 785 in New-York, 1600 in Tokyo, 1526 in Paris, and so on.

To sum up, The AdmiN gives Metro 4 thumbs up… That is both of mine and my wifes! I have become very dependent on it and do not know how I would cope without it.

Enjoy! And I wish all of you MUO readers out there for this year to be better then last and for all of your geeky dreams to come true!

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