Skyfire rocks

If you haven't heard of it yet, Skyfire is a free web browser that renders websites as they would appear on a computer, and through their server-side technology they are able to do a lot of things most other web browsers today can't, including enabling Flash on websites (letting you play videos directly on sites), allowing zooming into sections of a website, etc.

I've found that while Skyfire isn't a replacement for PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer) which comes with the phone, it is extremely useful to have both alternatives. Skyfire is great at rendering websites as you'd see them on a computer which is useful for media-rich, flash-heavy, and other websites that require you to be able to view dispersed content or interact with the page. On the other hand, text heavy websites such as Wikipedia pages and Google searches tend to be viewed quicker and easier in PIE.

While Skyfire is a fantastic product at the right price (free), it does have a downside besides being clunky on text-heavy sites as I mentioned above. The battery definitely drains quickly when using it. This wouldn't be a big deal if you charge your phone frequently, but it is very noticable when you're out and use the browser to look something up. As could be expected, using it on video and Flash sites (especially something like Hulu or YouTube) will run the battery down pretty quick. You can probably get just under a handful of hours when using Skyfire constantly. Hopefully this will be something that continues to improve as newer versions of the software are released.

Windows Mobile 6.1 released for the Q9C!

This is a great development for users of the Q9C, as 3 days of Windows Mobile 6.1 has made me quite pleased. You can get the update from Motorola since Sprint doesn't seem to be doing it yet (or at least some techs don't know about it) and it's pretty painless to do. I recommend doing the update using the "Via Your Computer" option since the phone will need to reboot and continue installation. There's already a rundown of the new features by Microsoft:

• Instant messaging-like texting
• Improved Internet browsing
• Simpler e-mail and Bluetooth setup
• New Home screen interface
• New Getting Started Center
• Security enhancements
• Easier Wi-Fi connection
• More personal choice

Of those, I've found some great changes. It's nice to have copy/paste functionality in texts, emails, and IE. Texts are now threaded, meaning your conversations get grouped which is much nicer than a linear list of texts where you can't follow a conversation. The phone seems to respond quicker, and I'm pretty certain the battery life has improved. The new Sliding Panels homescreen is really slick and very functional. IE seems to load pages more quickly, lets you zoom in or out on the page, and finally lets you set your homepage without some ugly registry tweak. Most apps from 6.0 still work fine, as do the tweaks.

Bottomline: If you own a Q9C you want this upgrade.

We'll see if I come up with more benefits in the coming days...for one, I've spotted a feature in text messaging that lets you use some predefined messages (you can create your own too) so if you like using a phrase a lot or find yourself sending a "Where you at?"-type text message frequently, it just got even easier.

Shrink the width of the scrollbar

You can adjust the size of the scrollbars to take up less precious real estate, which is especially beneficial for web browsing. In order to change the size of the scrollbars, you can tweak the registry settings under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/GWE. The relevant values are:

cxVScr: This is the width of the vertical scrollbar on the right side of the screen, in pixels. I changed mine to 3 so it is visible enough without taking up a lot of space.

cyHScr: This is the height of the horizontal scrollbar on the bottom of the screen, in pixels. I also changed this to 3 for the same reason.


The other two values (cyVScr and cxHScr) should also affect the scrollbar sizes in the other directions, though I left them at 0 which I believe causes them to fill the height/width of the screen.

Sprint Q9C users getting Windows Mobile 6.1 this summer

Microsoft officially announced Windows Mobile 6.1 today, also releasing the fact that Sprint plans to update all current Windows Mobile 6 phones to 6.1, which is great news. Particularly because 6.1 has truly useful improvements that will make everyday tasks easier.

Major Improvements from 6.0:

• Getting Started Center
  
  • Get help setting up your new phone—from e-mail to a Bluetooth headset, so you can start using it right away.
  
  
• Sliding Panel Home Screen
  
  • The home screen has a whole new look. View notifications and calendar appointments. Go straight to the Getting Started Center and settings. Listen to your favorite music and view your favorite photos.


• Threaded Text Messaging
  
  • When you text with a friend or colleague, the messages are threaded together into a single conversation, so you can view the entire conversation as you type.


• Internet Explorer Mobile Zoom Support
  
  • Zoom in on a Web page to view small text or images.


• Internet Explorer Mobile Page Overview
  
  • View an entire Web page at one time, navigate to a specific segment, and then select that segment for a closer view.


• Cut, Copy, and Paste
  
  • Select and copy text from Web pages in Internet Explorer Mobile. And cut, copy, and paste text in e-mail and messaging.


• Home screen music and photos
  
  • Music can be played/paused and photos can be viewed, all on the homescreen itself

Sprint's press release lists Summer 2008 as the date for updates to existing devices.

Move your Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) Cache to SD

You can get Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) to store your cache, cookies, and history to a storage card instead of to your phone. This is a really good thing because otherwise the cache can grow quite large and slow down the phone unless you clear it out regularly. In order to point PIE to an SD card there's just two steps, but one of them is a registry hack which can be risky if you've never done one before.

First, use File Explorer in ActiveSync or the File Manager on your phone and make 3 folders on your storage card like this:

\Storage Card\ietemp\cache
\Storage Card\ietemp\cookies
\Storage Card\ietemp\history

Also, make sure to clear your current cache, cookies, and history through PIE so you don't leave lingering files on your device.

Then, use a registry editor (you can find one called PHM for free) and go to
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

Edit these values:
Change the Value Data for Cache to \Storage Card\ietemp\cache
Change the Value Data for Cookies to \Storage Card\ietemp\cookies
Change the Value Data for History to \Storage Card\ietemp\history

After that, make sure to restart your phone, and you should be good to go.

Surprise Keyboard Shortcuts, Part I

I expected there would be a better way to quickly move down a webpage in Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) than breaking your thumb on the scroll wheel or the down button on the D-Pad, and it turns out I was right. Hitting 8 triggers a Page Down, while 2 triggers Page Up.