Skyfire works differently to other mobile browsers in that it shows you the full web site and not the mobile version. It appears to me that Skyfires servers render the page before delivering it. This results in Flash, Silverlight and Ajax content working properly on a Windows mobile device. It has been a long wait.

With Skyfire servers doing a lot of work, I expected pages to download much slower, however I did not find this to be the case. This was especially surprising seeing that I am not in one of the supported or optimized countries. I was even able to watch Youtube videos at a reasonable quality.

Skyfire shows the full page which you can scroll around, or zoom in on text you want to read. I was very impressed that it automatically zoomed in on a text input box when I tapped it. It is very user friendly.

Skyfire probably won’t solve all of your mobile surfing problems, but it will let you view most of the sites that have not been viewable before. My recommendation is to use this side by side with Internet Explorer mobile, depending on the site you want to visit. Saying that, this is still a beta version. There may be bigger plans for the full release. Hopefully the plans aren’t to charge for the product.

I look forward to seeing how Firefox mobile evolves over time. It is looking quite promising. It may be the answer to many of my surfing problems.

Skyfire isn’t supported by all Windows Mobile devices at this stage, but it worked fine on my HTC touch. Supported device information, and much more is available on their website. Grab your copy of Skyfire from Skyfire.com.

Windows Mobile already has remote desktop and VNC options, but Remote Touch offers some benefits over these. Remote Touch is quick, the screen will not shrink to an unusable size, and you can zoom in on the part of the screen you are interested in.

Another handy feature is that the computer screen doesn’t get locked. This allows the computer to remain active after you have disconnected, or you can use the software as a remote control.

Remote Touch works over IP, so after a little bit of port forwarding, your remote desktop is accessible from anywhere with a wireless network connection. There is a client which is installed on the device, and a tiny server that runs on the desktop.

Remote touch is still in Beta so you may come across the occasional bug. On the bright side, you can also expect improvements in stability and features over the coming months. It worked fine for me on my HTC Touch.

For a detailed video on Remote Touch, and the download, visit the authors website.

G-Alarm is a reliable alarm clock for Windows Mobile devices. It is packed with features, many of which I have not seen in other alarm clock software.

You can set up unlimited alarms, a snooze function, use a random MP3 file from a playlist as your alarm, and you can even fade in the music so as to not stun you awake. That’s just the beginning.

My favourite feature of G-Alarm is a maze that you need to complete before you are able to disable the alarm. It isn’t all that challenging, but it will be enough to ensure even the heaviest sleeper will wake up properly. All of the features can be turned on or off, making this program ideal for most.

I have had this on my device for a week while I have been testing it out. I am happy to say that G-Alarm has not let me down yet.

G-Alarm has been tested on a bunch of devices from the HTC range, though it should work on other Windows Mobile devices.

Grab your copy from the authors website, AGEye.de.

There are a couple of ways to restore factory settings. The most popular method requires you to hold down various buttons for set durations, resulting in a frustrating finger tangle. You will need to look up your manual for the specific combination your device uses.

Luckily, there is an easier way that should work for everyone!

Windows Mobile devices normally come with a program called Clear Storage. This program is used to restore your factory settings without the need to use complex button combinations. It is found in the Settings > System tab.

All you need to do is enter 1234 and press YES. This is a very easy way to restore factory settings.

The drawback with restoring factory settings is that all the data and programs on the device will be wiped, including ringtones and software you may have purchased. ActiveSync or WMDC will normally contain the installers for any 3^rd party programs that are installed on the device, and data such as mail, contacts and calendar can be synced up to Outlook. This makes restoration a quick process. It’s hardly worth fault finding when it is this simple.

SnoozeAlarm II is a small program that can turn your Windows Mobile device into a worthwhile alarm clock. The buttons are large, making it easy to configure and set. Most importantly, there is a snooze button which is easy to press when you wake up. The snooze time is also configurable.

SnoozeAlarm II lets you wake up to an MP3 file rather than the default WAV files that come with Windows Mobile.

The only feature that SnoozeAlarm II doesn’t have which I would like to see is a feature to set the alarm to sound on weekdays only. Strangely enough, the built in Windows Mobile alarm does allow for.

Grab your copy for free from Spoontools.com.

Chronobis is a utility that is a nice workaround to this problem. Chronobis accesses the Outlook Web Access data, and synchronises it with a Windows Mobile calendar client. The only requirement is that you are able to access Outlook Web Access from a public or home computer. This should be available to most people.

Chronobis is still in Beta development, so there are a lot of things lacking over a direct Exchange connection. The sync currently only works with calendar, and it only transfers data to your device. If you add new calendar entries on your device, these changes won’t be transferred back to your Exchange account. This problem can currently be solved with an ActiveSync connection when you are next at your computer. This makes it convenient enough to use.

I look forward to seeing Chronobis evolve. Of course mail, tasks and contacts are important features to sync. There are lots of hints in the software and the forums, that these features will be made available in the future, and that the sync will occur both ways. This will be a real gem if all these features become a reality.

This program is of no use to you if you are already able to connect directly to an Exchange server directly from your device.

Get your copy of Chronobis for free from Chronobis.com.

The interface looks a little challenging at first, but once you change the language to English, it is much easier to navigate. There is a grid showing each hour of the day, with icons for GSM, Bluetooth, Wifi and Sound next to each hour. All you need to do is enable or disable each component, telling WirelessTime when you want things turned on or off. You can edit this screen for “all days”, or each day individually. There is even profile support. 

I was happy to find this as I can now put my phone in “flight mode” overnight, to ensure my clock radio doesn’t make weird static noises while I sleep. The phone turns itself back on in the morning and enables Bluetooth and Wifi to allow any required synchronisation to occur.

I was searching for a utility that would do this same task a while back, but didn’t come across anything. I think this is a good little find. If you use any scheduler that does the same thing as Wireless Time, I would love to hear about it in the comments.

WirelessTime is available for free from FreewarePPC.com.

My Mobiler allows you to use your keyboard and mouse to enter data into your device, via your desktop PC. This will greatly speed up your data entry.

There are 6 hot keys down the bottom of the window that load up your calendar, contacts, email or notes, or you can pick up/hang up calls, all very quickly from your desktop.

One feature I thought was fantastic is the drag and drop file management. If you want to copy a file from your desktop to your device, simply drag it from Explorer onto the My Mobiler window, and it will do the rest.

If you write how-to articles and the like, you may want to take advantage of the inbuilt screen capture or video capture options on offer.

To connect your computer to your device, My Mobiler can use your ActiveSync connection, or an IP connection. With these options, all bases are covered; IP, USB or Bluetooth.

This program is ideal if you find the screen of your device to be too small to use comfortably. This program lets you zoom the screen to whatever size you want.

It is fairly responsive compared to some of the other programs I have used that do the same job. There are some requests in the forum to make this program a sidebar gadget. That would be great. I’ll keep my eye out for future versions of this program, and keep you posted if I find something else to share with you.

MyMobiler is available for free from mymobiler.com.

Google has released a today screen plugin that makes searching so much faster. Once it is installed, you have the Internet giants search bar directly on your today screen awaiting your every whim.

I have always found the Internet to be a little awkward on hand held devices. This is really going to help me get over my mobile Internet phobia. It is now so simple to find the information I want quickly.

The search bar is available for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices. Simply go to http://mobile.google.com from your device and select “Search (Download)” to install the plugin.

Call Firewall may help you control who you speak to. It uses caller ID to detect if a caller is someone you want to talk to, at that time.

Call Firewall is extremely easy to operate. There are numerous modes that you can predefine.

• Accept all calls
• Accept calls from My Contacts only
• Reject all calls
• White List – Accepts calls from contacts in White list
• Black List – Accepts all calls apart from blacklisted contacts

You are even able to respond to rejected callers with a predefined SMS. It sits in the background doing its job, allowing you to get on with whatever you were doing before you were interrupted.

Call Firewall runs on Windows Mobile devices and is available for free from Logic Unlimited.