My Favorite Windows Mobile Tweak

Choosing a Windows Mobile hack or tweak for me is not easy because I use so many of them on my Glofiish X500 that I actually have a list of tweaks I should apply after every soft reset. Like Dale Daniels’s tweak, mine also goes back to basics. Actually, it’s something that was available in Windows Mobile 2003/SE editions but later removed from Windows Mobile 5 (and 6). Can you guess what it is?

In case you only started using Windows Mobile from WM5 onwards, then you might not be familiar with my choice. It’s actually the New Menu. Windows Mobile 2003/SE did not have the softkeys that you see in current WM5/6 platforms. Instead, it had a new key that you can see from the screen shot above. By tapping on this new key, you could easily create a new Word document or email or text message or note or whatever your heart desired (and was a part of that menu). However, with the introduction of softkeys in WM5, this feature was removed. Which was rather sad for me because I relied heavily on this feature. For one, it increased productivity. Instead of having to go into Word Mobile and then tap on New or go into Message and then tap on New, I could just tap on New from my Today screen, scroll to the option of my choice (be it a test message, email, or document) and easily enter the information.

Thankfully, Saman created an application aptly called WM5NewMenu. Don’t be fooled by the name because it also works on WM6. However, unlike it’s cousin in the WM2003 version, this one is more powerful.

Besides just allowing you to create new items (in the form of appointments, task, email, etc), it also allows you to choose which application to use when creating those data. For example, I use Pocket Informant 8 as my PIM so if I want to create a new appointment, I want it created using PI8’s interface. And WM5NewMenu allows me to do just that.

Creating new items is not just what it does. It’s also a launcher. As you can see from the screen shot above, I have also added a new set of menu that deals with my PIM. So instead of going into Start > Programs > Program I Want To Run, I just use my softkey and navigate using my DPAD. You could do the same and create as many shortcuts as you want.

And don’t worry about implementation. While Nate Adcock’s favorite tweak will help you configure your softkeys, WM5NewMenu allows you to configure it from within the application. So you don’t have to worry about fiddling with the registry anymore. So there you have it. The tweak I can’t live without most on my Windows Mobile device. What’s yours?