I agree...nice eye candy that doesnt have a good functional feeling/design....seemed to slow my cell down aswell. If the lag was fixed & it was set where u could arrange ur icons liking as u would a pc it wouldnt be so bad.
So you need SPB Mobile Shell. You can arrange the icons however you want. You can even change the icons if you want.
I agree about not liking the today plugin part. I personally liked more info on the today screen as well as hard buttons for access to apps (treo pro was great about this).
I like the 'Today' function, can not stand TF3D. Looks pretty but I can't function with it. I like an old school layout, when I want to read my messages I want to read my messages, not see some funky preview in a tiny window because its printed on a fake letter etc etc...
Been using computers nearly my whole life @ 33, and I just like simple and FAST. Don't reduce my already paltry 2.8" screen.
I find that while yes, the today screen has less "data", it functions quite well in terms of touch. The "buttons" are big enough to hit without accidently hitting something else, and overall it looks more clean. Plus it displays what I want it too. Mainly missed messages and calls.
It's overall easier for me to get to what I want even with the stupid looking start menu they implemented. Yes, it looks dumb, but it functions quite well to me. This is probably because I haven't overloaded my phone with a ton of apps like some folks.
For this, I could see how the launcher or more customized menus could work better. For me, not really.
When our 5 powers combine, we summon Earth's greatest champion: Captain Planet. Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole.
I find that while yes, the today screen has less "data", it functions quite well in terms of touch. The "buttons" are big enough to hit without accidently hitting something else, and overall it looks more clean. Plus it displays what I want it too. Mainly missed messages and calls.
It's overall easier for me to get to what I want even with the stupid looking start menu they implemented. Yes, it looks dumb, but it functions quite well to me. This is probably because I haven't overloaded my phone with a ton of apps like some folks.
For this, I could see how the launcher or more customized menus could work better. For me, not really.
While I certainly don't have anything against the new Start Menu layout, the real crime, IMO, was removing the "Recent Programs" list. I tend to launch apps from that list more often than from the Start Menu. Why not at least a bar of recent program icons across the top (sort of like how non-touchscreen WinMo devices do the recents list). The bar could be about as wide as the soft key labels to minimize loss of screen real estate, yet still be "fingerable."
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Todd Allcock, Microsoft MVP: Mobile Devices 2007-2011
6.5 is nice, not great. i think the htc overlay is what makes wm pass for me. i cant see how much longer wm can make these small upgrades while apple and especially android keep on upgrading their os's at such a rapid pace?!?
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Apple iPhone 5 64GB, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD, S III, HTC Ville, Sony Xperia Ion
While I certainly don't have anything against the new Start Menu layout, the real crime, IMO, was removing the "Recent Programs" list. I tend to launch apps from that list more often than from the Start Menu. Why not at least a bar of recent program icons across the top (sort of like how non-touchscreen WinMo devices do the recents list). The bar could be about as wide as the soft key labels to minimize loss of screen real estate, yet still be "fingerable."
SPB Mobile Shell fills 3/4 of the screen with finger friendly icons for your recently used programs (when you hit the launcher).
You hit the "Launcher" icon, and the screen that opens has a "Favorites" section taking up the top 1/4 of the screen. You can configure this to have whatever you want in there, but the default is Programs, Settings, and Task Manager. Than the bottom 3/4 of the screen is the "Recently Used" section. And even better, if you finger scroll down, it has pretty much everything you've run with the most recent being closer to the top.
So it's basically the reverse of the stock interface's big start menu with a few small recently used icons. It has a huge recently used screen, with icons at the top to get into the regular programs and settings menus.
SPB Mobile Shell fills 3/4 of the screen with finger friendly icons for your recently used programs (when you hit the launcher).
You hit the "Launcher" icon, and the screen that opens has a "Favorites" section taking up the top 1/4 of the screen. You can configure this to have whatever you want in there, but the default is Programs, Settings, and Task Manager. Than the bottom 3/4 of the screen is the "Recently Used" section. And even better, if you finger scroll down, it has pretty much everything you've run with the most recent being closer to the top.
So it's basically the reverse of the stock interface's big start menu with a few small recently used icons. It has a huge recently used screen, with icons at the top to get into the regular programs and settings menus.
They did an awesome job there at SBP... top notch.
my point is that Microsoft.... a gazzilion dollar company can't design something better than that ? forget better.... why make it worse?
IMHO, the issue is their design goal of making products "different", instead of "better". Vista is a great example of that and one would have thought that Microsoft would have learned its lesson from that fiasco.
As pointed out with great examples here in this thread, the "different" designed into 6.5 isn't at all better, and in most examples even worse.
Hopefully, Microsoft will finally learn the lesson, rewind a bit (like they did with Win 7), and come up with a "best" with WM 7.
IMHO, the issue is their design goal of making products "different", instead of "better". Vista is a great example of that and one would have thought that Microsoft would have learned its lesson from that fiasco.
As pointed out with great examples here in this thread, the "different" designed into 6.5 isn't at all better, and in most examples even worse.
Hopefully, Microsoft will finally learn the lesson, rewind a bit (like they did with Win 7), and come up with a "best" with WM 7.
That is your opinion but I would disagree. The 6.5 changes IMO are a vast improvement over the previous menus and today interface. However, I agree they can do much better and I'm confident they will with WM7.
put me in with the group that hates the 6.5 UI changes... I've gone back to 6.1 every time (at least 6 WM devices)... I sure hope that WM7 is a *total* rewrite/redesign of the UI with really smart people behind it, because the 6.5 stuff seems like it was designed by amateurs, fresh out of design school, with no real world experience in how these devices are actually used...
similarly, I also disapprove of the merging of the WM and Zune UI's... the WM market is primarily business and professional-oriented... the Zune is a consumer entertainment device... drastically different needs. I hope MS doesn't try to force professionals into an entertainment-oriented device, because WM will lose what little market share it has left... at least figure out a way of address both segments instead of presuming they are the same...
put me in with the group that hates the 6.5 UI changes... I've gone back to 6.1 every time (at least 6 WM devices)... I sure hope that WM7 is a *total* rewrite/redesign of the UI with really smart people behind it, because the 6.5 stuff seems like it was designed by amateurs, fresh out of design school, with no real world experience in how these devices are actually used...
similarly, I also disapprove of the merging of the WM and Zune UI's... the WM market is primarily business and professional-oriented... the Zune is a consumer entertainment device... drastically different needs. I hope MS doesn't try to force professionals into an entertainment-oriented device, because WM will lose what little market share it has left... at least figure out a way of address both segments instead of presuming they are the same...
The Zune UI sucks. Same goes to the windows media center.
They should've just copied SPB mobile shell.... they need to buy the company and just use that.
Originally Posted by pimppoet
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