Skin -- Engadget Mobile

skin posts

Motorola introduces the MOTOBLUR Android skin

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 10th 2009 @ 1:18PM

As expected, Motorola just introduced its Android strategy at the Mobilize conference, and it's based around a skin called Blur -- or MOTOBLUR if you're feeling cute. It's built around social networking, and it features live widgets that integrate Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, MySpace, Yahoo, Last.fm and more. Like Palm's Synergy, Blur aggregates all your contacts into a single address book, but it shows you recent status updates along with photos when contacts call you -- very slick. There's also remote wipe and GPS tracking like MobileMe.

Gallery: Motorola introduces the MOTOBLUR Android skin

iPhone graced with HTC's Sense UI theme, beauty ensues

by Ross Miller posted Aug 17th 2009 @ 4:43PM

Sure, Taiwanese HTC Magic owners might be happy today, being promised Hero's Sense UI via official channels, but thanks to the hard work from Redmond Pie deviantART member Justflikwalk, this very stylish skin has jumped species and landed on the iPhone. A jailbreak is required, but once past that hurdle, you'll get a new home page with the ever-so-classy time and weather widget -- which isn't always 73 degrees and sunny, we might add -- a quick launcher for apps / contacts, and of course some modified icons. All pertinent files for the theme and step-by-step instructions are available via the read. Care to gaze upon the awesomeness using the power of moving pictures? Video after the break.

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading iPhone graced with HTC's Sense UI theme, beauty ensues

Palm Prefection iPhone theme lets you have the best of both worlds, kinda

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 16th 2009 @ 7:02PM

So you're an iPhone owner with a massive case of Pre jealousy, but you've got another year left on your AT&T contract. We know you're out there, and we know you're struggling -- you're feeling totally alone and misunderstood, like a lone voice struggling to be heard amongst the din of a thousand push notifications. A gadget nerd without a clan.

You don't have to live this way. You don't have to be trapped into a single touch interface aesthetic by the fear of early-termination fees and loss of Tap Tap Revenge compatibility. You have a choice -- you can jailbreak your phone and install the Palm Prefection theme. You can show the world you're not afraid to mix it up. Sure, you won't be able to multitask for real and no amount of fevered prayer will ever bring a gesture area to your iPhone, but that doesn't mean you won't be taking a stand. Fly high, butterfly. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Palm Prefection iPhone theme lets you have the best of both worlds, kinda

Kent Displays's Reflex LCD Electronic Skin changes colors to match your shirt, lipstick

by Tim Stevens posted Jun 12th 2009 @ 9:17AM

Is that Coco Chanel cellphone applique you got at the mall starting to look a little... last season? Kent Displays Reflex LCD Electronic Skins may be the perfect partner to your fickle ways, changing colors on demand to suit your every mood and/or outfit. The company first started talking them up late last year and now is finally showing them off, flexible single-pixel displays with an eight-color range and the ability to be layered to form multiple color-changing regions, like logos for your next alternative advertising venture. Despite the demonstration videos below these still don't seem to be ready for consumer purchase, rather Kent appears to be looking for manufacturing partners. Hurry up and get those production lines working -- our corporate Blackberries aren't getting any more interesting by themselves.

[Via Engadget German]

Continue reading Kent Displays's Reflex LCD Electronic Skin changes colors to match your shirt, lipstick

HTC Hero build of Android ported to G1

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 1st 2009 @ 3:08PM

The process isn't for the faint of heart, but considering the reward here, the trials and tribulations of hacking the hell out of your G1 might just be worth it. As usual, the bright chaps over at xda-developers have managed to obtain the HTC Hero's heavily-skinned Android ROM and port it to the G1, offering a totally unique look and feel with all manner of enhancements and customizations not found on a stock Android 1.5 build. Getting it all going involves flashing your device, connecting to it with the Android debugger while it's stuck in an endless boot loop, and messing around with some other stuff, so yeah -- if you're a greenhorn you might want to get a pro to take care of this for you and make sure that you're comfortable with the very real possibility of bricking your baby. Hey, it's just a phone, right? What's the worst that can happen?

[Thanks, Ash]

"WM7 Titanium Project" adds glory, glitz, glamor to 6.5

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 17th 2009 @ 6:52PM

Commercial and grassroots efforts to reskin Windows Mobile are nothing new, but we were particularly taken aback by the "WM7 Titanium Project" that's coming together over on xda-developers (where else?) with the goal of crafting a Windows Mobile 7-like experience from a device running 6.5. Of course, no one's exactly sure what version 7 is going to look like just yet, but that's not going to stop folks from taking a stab at it -- and we've got to say, when random individuals can make WinMo-based user interfaces look this good in just a few weeks' or months' worth of fiddling, it really does make you wonder what the hell Microsoft is doing up in Redmond with its gobs of money, talent, and time. Unfortunately, the skin's only compatible with WVGA devices running cooked 6.5 ROMs right now, which limits your selection pretty significantly to say the least -- but WQVGA is in the works, so stay tuned.

[Thanks, Mikeo]

Velocity Mobile details its WinMo skin

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 8th 2008 @ 10:33AM

Following a spring handset announcement, Inventec buddy Velocity Mobile is now ready to get into the nitty gritty about the software it has thrown together to cover up Windows Mobile's ancient roots. The interface looks a good deal like the early build we'd seen before, but with a bit more spit and polish -- and Velocity is quick to point out (as it always has been) that the UI can be seamlessly updated over the air without so much as troubling the user with a PC sync. We'd still take TouchFLO 3D over this, but does it beat the stock WinMo 6.1 look? That's an unqualified "yes."

[Via phoneArena]

T-Mobile to let users craft their own Gekko shells?

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 16th 2008 @ 12:00PM

Geckos don't have shells, but Gekkos will -- and it looks like T-Mobile is going to be serving up an unprecedented level of customization for its latest Sidekick. Hiptop 3 is showing mockups of what appears to be T-Mobile's shell creation site, a special little place on the internets where users will be able to design their own Gekko (aka Gecco, aka Sidekick 2008, aka "please just release this thing already") skins, which in turn will likely be outsourced to Skinit for manufacture. Considering the Sidekick's line wild, crazy, and creative target demographic, it seems like a great idea and a potential gold mine of secondary revenue for the carrier. Who's going to be the first with an Engadget shell, hmm?

ASUS showcases "Glide" UI for Windows Mobile

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 5th 2008 @ 6:26PM

Tough time to try to hype a new skin for Windows Mobile, we'd say, what with juggernauts HTC and Sony Ericsson both trying to knock balls out of the park with TouchFLO 3D and the XPERIA's shell, respectively; that's not stopping ASUS from giving it a go, though. The Taiwanese manufacturer has chosen Computex as the stage to officially take the wraps off its "Glide" UI concept, the first shot of which we saw in the leaked shots of the P560 a few weeks back. Features of the shell include ASUS Today, a home screen replacement; Anytime Launcher, a straight-up app launcher; EziPhoto for photo management and EziMusic for a glorified media player. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but hey, can't blame 'em for trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, hodgepodge edition

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 22nd 2008 @ 2:27AM

Lest the danger (or non-danger) of cellphone use stray too far from your mind, here's a trio of recent studies to get the juices flowing again. First, the best news: an Australian researcher has come up with a five-point ranking system to lay out the likelihood of getting cancer from partaking in various substances and activities, and if that system has any basis in reality, cellphones are "unlikely" to cause cancer -- so take it for what you will. The second study, thrown down by the Cleveland Clinic, showed a significant decrease in sperm "quality" (as determined by a number of stats) as average daily cellphone usage increased; not necessarily a short-term problem for the users themselves, but a finding their future children (or lack thereof) might take issue with. The third study brings more bad news, showing that human skin exposed to cellphone radiation altered the cells' protein expression, a potential (though by no means definitive) precursor to cancer. As always, your mileage -- and your body's mileage -- may vary.

[Via textually.org]

Read - "Cell Phones No Cancer Risk, Study Says"
Read - "Effect of cell phone usage on semen analysis in men attending infertility clinic: an observational study" [Warning: PDF link]
Read - "Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin"

Treo 500v sports a revamped Windows Mobile interface

by Joshua Topolsky posted Oct 16th 2007 @ 11:51AM

For all of you fervent Treo fans chomping at the bit to get your hands on the 500v, here's an interesting piece of information which may stir "things" deep inside your mind and body. Apparently, the Windows Mobile-equipped smartphones will be touting a UI that's a pretty big step away from Microsoft's staid and standard operations. According to a slow, yet detailed video we've seen, the new interface will be pulled together using a completely revamped "start menu," (similar to the UI which Samsung is employing on its SGH-i620) which gives you much faster access to applications and settings, and has a completely new look. Menus and application icons also appear to be a departure from what we've seen in other WM devices, giving the interface a wholly unique aspect. Check the video after the break and see for yourself.

[Via pocketnow]

Continue reading Treo 500v sports a revamped Windows Mobile interface

ModMyiPhone releases web-based skinner

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 16th 2007 @ 12:01PM

Goodness, these hacks are getting so slick and easy to use that we're really not sure it's appropriate to call them hacks anymore. ModMyiPhone has outed a rather impressive web-based home screen skinner, allowing even the most timid of iPhone users access to the wide world of iPhone modding. Besides the extensive selection of stock icons, users can upload their own, position them in the order they wish, and add a custom background while they're add it. The app spits out an .ipb file -- install it on the handset using InstallIPB (see the site for details) and you're good to go. Make your skin for free while you can, though; the site's suggesting that it may need to move the service to a subscription model depending on how popular it becomes.

Pocket PC gets iPhone makeover

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 1st 2007 @ 1:39PM

While skins to make your Pocket PC look like a little more like the iPhone are nothing new, they've got nothing on this full-on interface change an enterprising programmer created for his E-TEN M600 smartphone. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to pretty up the exterior of the device, but it does manage to successfully emulate some of the iPhone's more notable bells 'n whistles, including its trademark finger-touch scrolling, its slide-to-lock feature, and its now-familiar menu system, all of which was apparently written in PPL (Pocket Programming Language). It also appears to have had the not unexpected side effect of bringing down its creator's site (linked below). Possibly as a result of past brouhahas, it seems that the software won't be going very far beyond that one lucky E-TEN anytime soon, although you can check it out in action in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Joel]

Continue reading Pocket PC gets iPhone makeover

JGUI crafts Vista skin, looks better than Crossbow

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 1st 2007 @ 11:09PM

iPhone skins are pretty much a dime a dozen at this point -- Pocket PC included, much to Apple's horror -- so why not switch it up with something a little more... shall we say, in the "in the family?" Polish firm JGUI has thrown together a skin for Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs that mimics Vista (which we hear ain't bad looking) with a Sidebar clone complete with gadgets, Aero-esque taskbar, and a totally retooled UI for all of the phone's major functions. The screen shots look fabulous (with the possible exception of our mohawk-sporting contact here) and, from what we've seen, put Crossbow to shame in the eye candy department. Note to Microsoft: "Get your ideas for Photon here." The Today screen is freeware and the entire package is available for under $25 -- not bad compared to, say, Vista Ultimate.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

Pocket PCs can look like iPhones, too

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 17th 2007 @ 10:32AM

So maybe you're not the Palm OS user by day, closet iPhone fanatic by night type. No, that's not you at all; you're the Pocket PC user by day, closet iPhone fanatic by night type. Totally different breed, we understand. The cats over at xda-developers have cobbled together a means to get the Windows Mobile Pocket PC of your choice looking pretty much like an iPhone -- if you let your eyes go out of focus, that is -- using a combination of apps and skins. Of course, none of this makes Apple too happy (as evidenced by the removal of the screenshot from the forum), but aren't the folks using these hacks just rearing to buy an iPhone in June anyway?

[Thanks, Denys]