Personalize the Today/Home screen

The best way to do this on the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 2003 or later) or Smartphone (Windows Mobile 2003 or later) is to use the Pictures application. First copy a JPG image to your device. Find the image you want in Pictures′ thumbnail view and select it to display it in full—screen view. Edit the picture if necessary and then pop up the Tools menu and select ″Set as Today Wallpaper…″ Adjust the Transparency level (lower numbers for a more solid image) and tap on the OK button to set the image as your Today screen background. On the Smartphone, open a full-screen view of the desired image in Pictures & Videos, press the Menu button, and then 5 to edit the image. When you’re finished, press the Menu button again, and then 3 to use the image as your Home screen. This allows you to select the part of the image you want to use as the background and adjust the transparency level. (The lower the transparency, the more solid the image—lower settings work best.) When you’re done, press the Finish button.

You can also select a background image for the Today or Home screens using the Today / Home screen setup utility. On the Pocket PC, press Start > Settings > Today; on the Smartphone press Start > Settings > 4 Home Screen. Then select the background image options. Note that you cannot adjust the transparency level using this method and the resulting background image, especially on the Pocket PC, appears washed out in many cases.

Another way to change the Today screen image on any Pocket PC (2002 or later) or Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone is to select a different "theme." Individual themes include a color scheme for menus and a background image for the Today screen. On the Pocket PC, you select themes from the Start >Settings >Today configuration utility. On the Smartphone, you select themes from the Start > Settings > 4 Home Screen utility. ThemeChanger (http://homepages.inspire.net.nz/~gambit/) is a free program that makes it easier to change Home screen themes on the Smartphone.

You can download additional themes for free (or for purchase) from PocketPC Themes (pocketpcthemes.com), Web McDeb (mcdeb.com), and other sources. WM Themes (wmthemes.com) has Pocket PC and pre-Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Home screen themes. Finally, Smart Phone Themes (smartphonethemes.com) is a great source of pre-Windows Mobile 5.0 Home screen themes. (More Themes sites are listed on our Best Sites Web page: pocketpcmag.com/_top/bestsites.asp).

You can also add "plug-ins" to the Today screen that let you modify the way information is displayed on the screen, or add features to the screen.

Battery Pack Pro (omegaone.com) shows remaining battery life in hours and minutes on your Pocket PC Today screen or Smartphone Home screen. It will "peak" a warning when your battery is low. Journal Bar (Pocket PC only: omegaone.com) displays weather, news, stocks, movie times and reviews, TV listings, and sports scores in small scrollable windows on your Today screen.

Spb Pocket Plus (Pocket PC only: spbsoftwarehouse.com) adds tabs to the Today screen that let you quickly access information about your battery charge, memory use, and more. Spb Softwarehouse also offers Spb Diary, a plug-in that places Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes information on your Today screen. Most of the actions related to these applications can be performed even without leaving the Today screen. PocketBreeze (Pocket PC only: sbsh.net) also adds enhanced plug-ins for Calendar and Tasks.

Finally, WeatherPanel (Pocket PC only: tonaya.com) and other plug-ins add a weather bar to the Today screen, which displays weather forecasts for selected cities. These are automatically updated every time you sync your Pocket PC.