Many questions from a n00b about themes and stuff
 

Hey all,

I have a lot of questions so I will try not to cluther the messageboard by posting several threads and put it all in one. Hope this is ok?

First let me introduce myself. I have never used a PPC but feel the need for it since a couple of years. I wanted to wait for the iPhone, but here in Belgium it isn't available yet and the very pricy unlocked iPhones from France/Germany are not worth it.

I am a Mac-geek, I have a MacBook and an iPod, but I'm willing to set aside my principles and go for Windows Mobile 6. I decided to buy an HTC Touch. I admit, no husle with jailbreaking, easy install of 3rd party apps etc just does it for me.

So normaly, be the end of this year I will buy the Elf.

As I was searching the net, I stumbled upon this forum and was supprised to see you can almost alter everything on a PPC (advantage of WM vs closed iPhone OS). So I have some questions.

I feel the need for a PPC as I practicly live by my calendar. So I want to see the appointments and tasks directly on my homescreen. Further I will use the Touch mainly for (1) telephone, (2) SMS text messaging, (3) emailchecking when Wifi connection available, (4) Calendar/taksks, (5) surfing with Opera.

I saw some nice iPhone like themes and was wondering if I (or somebody for me) can make the following happen:


1] Change the homescreen so I only see:
- digital clock (like the standard one on the Touch) & date
- calendar/tasks of today, tomorrow and soon to come (e.g. next 3 days)
- on the bottom iPhone like buttons for: phone/sms/calendar/mail/Opera and have the phone button show me the number of missed calles, SMS and mail buttons to show me the number of unread messages iPhone style.
- thus masking the start-button on top but still make it available for the very few times I would need another app like built-in-cam/Word/Excel/...
- if possible and if it not makes a to cluthered and busy homescreen, a button for notes/calc would also be nice: so I dont really mind waht comes where, as long as I have the items mentioned under 1] availble at my homescreen and gives it a clean look.

2] When I click the phone-button: going to my contacts like the Touch-FLO cube would show. With a button somewhere to go to the dialer and my contactslist

3] SMS button takes me to the inbox and shows a buttons somewhere to start a new message

4] Have a free (no shareware or paying) app that gives me a keyboard like the SPB full screen keyboard that I can use for SMS, emails, Opera

5] Calendar button brings me to the calendar. Is the WM6 cal good enough or are there better free apps (I use iCal on my MacBook and Thunderbird with Lightning plugin on my Windows XP desktop)

6] Mail button brings me to my mailboxes and shows buttons to make a new email/reply/forward etc.

7] Opera button brings me to the Opera browers. Is it possible to make Opera the standard browser instead of IE?

8] Is that slide-to-unlock app stable nowadays? I'm seeing different opinions when searching this forum...

9] Can I disable GPRS and only use Wifi to connect for emails/Opera? GPRS and stuff is costly in Belgium and the only times I would use emails/opera is when I have acces to a Wlan (Railwaystation, at home, at my girls home, at school)

Probably all of this won't be possible as a whole? But something that resembles most of this would already be nice.
I could live with, for example, only 3 buttons on the home (phone/cal/mail) and acces my other most used apps (sms/opera) by using Touch-Flo...
I've seen some nice iPhone themes and other themes, but I don't really need the very busy and cluthered screen. I like to keep it simple and only show the things I need a lot...

I hope at least 1 person has the courage to read this long long text :)

Thanks in advance for helping me!!

PS, if you answer something in particular, please quote the part of my text you are replying to.


Greetings,
Faan

To give you an example of something I would like, I quickly made this in Photoshop:

http://www.focaldesign.be/xposed/Focaldesign-theme2.jpg

- the phone button should have to bring me to my contactlist so I can flick scroll it and chose the contact I want to call. An dthe red number showing how many missed calls.
- SMS button showing how many new text messages and touching the button should have to bring me to my SMS-inbox
- the mail button shows how much new mail I've got and should take me to my inbox.

Above that the startmenu would be replaced (battery or signal strenght, don't really care), beneath it the standard digital clock and underneath that standard appointments AND tasks due today, tomorrow...

Is the following possible??
I would like the Touch-FLO cube to give me the 3 options: my 10 speed dial contacts (standard) | Notes/Calculator/Opera-browser | new-sms/new-appointment/new-task/new-email/photos/camera

....yes....

'Yes' on what part of all of my questions? :)

According to http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=12746 this should work... I'll have to find out how to make such icons but that's the least of my problems...
Is it possible to link an icon from the cube directly to 'new' email/sms/note etc. Or can I only direct it to the general app where I need to chose another button to create a new one?



Anyone knows if the suggested layout is anyway near possible?
I would really like to get rid of the start-menu, keep the clock and calendar on the front, but have my 4 most used things (phone, sms, mail, calendar) on the bottom in a nice touchable glass-button (iPhone style or dark black glass style).

The top part should be possible using this: http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/for...ad.php?t=11847
But below the clock I would like to keep the calendar stuff so I can always see what appointments and tasks I have that day.
And below I would like thos iPhone-ish 4 buttons...

I don't know exactly the items that you'd need, but in general I think it should be possible to do it. Don't think you'd "get rid" of the start menu as much as mask it, and unsure of getting the EXACT iphone bottom without one of the full out iphone skins...but look at the today screen thread and you'll likely see some icons and screens which should give you ideas of certain combinations of how to make the theme you'd want.

Well, I did a long search on the forum before posting this and I did come accros some marvelous things and themes. Only problem is I don't really like one theme in particular, but would really like to get a mixture of the Wisbar stuff (clean top-bar and digital clock), iPhone theme (4 dynamic buttons for phone/sms/calendar/mail) and the standard HTC Touch calendar show in between (perhaps modded with MoHairSofa Calendar+)

I wish I could help but I'm rather new to the whole skinning thing despite being a long time WinCE/PPC/WinMobile user.

A possible thought from things I've seen around, that may not get it EXACTLY how you like it but may be close is the HTC Home Customizer I've seen here or xda...can't remember which. I think it can do a few of the things you'd want.

The most likely thing is yo'ull have to go peace mail, and I just don't know what apps exactly to search for. Find something that allows you to put icons onto your today screen and you can find some iphone looking ones and place them for those hotkeys. You seem to have an idea for your calender. I think a thing called Phone Alarm can do the clock thing you want.

It may all be possible though simply with Wisbar Advance 3.

:\ Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Thx for your effort Zyphlin!

Of course, not exactly how I want it :) I never intended to demand a skin that is perfectly how I want it. But when I see how people here can convert their whole homescreen to an iPhone interface, I think to myself: "wow, my idea of a good homescreen might be possible afteral".

HTC Home Customizer I heard of but it seems to have the same lay-out always over. I don't like the analog clock and the missed calls/emails etc on the rioght of that clock. Also the icons that go underneath it, I would like to get in the bottom like the iPhone... so I think usng the Customizer would only make it more difficult.
Of course this is all just guessing as I never have used such software...

The Wisbar soft can make my topbar and clock how I want it, but it seems then I loose the calendar items of today. And I have absolutely no idea how soem guys get icons on the bottom like the iPhone skin.

Would it work with rlToday (http://www.rotlaus-software.de/projects/rltoday) ??