Add as many widgets as you want with Plusmo's mobile app.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Plusmo's mobile widgets application is a cool way to read RSS feeds on your cell phone or PDA, but that's not the only reason it was named a finalist on the Webware 100 list.
In true Webware fashion, Plusmo's site offers hands-on excitement--the chance to publish and share widget mash-ups and create an iPhone widget from templates. Users can also make personal blogs available as a Plusmo widget, and can install a browser bookmarklet or Yahoo plug-in to snag feeds while they surf.
Getting started with Plusmo
Multiple carriers and platforms, small screen sizes, and a glut of information out there make quickly and easily accessing mobile content a downright challenge. That's why interestingly (and wisely), Plusmo steers clear of browser turf wars raging among third-party mobile browsers like Opera Mini (new review) and Minimo (hands-on review); a good move.... Read more
A portal to mobile-configured Web sites is all you get with Frog.
(Credit: CNET Networks)From the many positive announcements written about Frog since May 2007, a fresh, interesting approach to accessing the mobile Web shouldn't have exceeded expectations, especially six months after the initial release. After all, GeekSugar, MobileCrunch, and The Boy Genius Report all gave Frog nods as a viable home page alternative. After trying it out for myself, all I saw of Frog were warts.
Unlike traditional browser solutions that optimize page viewing, Frog adopts a portal model for accessing the Web. Nine quick-launch buttons each take you to a Web site optimized for mobile viewing.
While creating a Frog account online, users can add button icons for favorite sites from scores of options (good.) Four, to be exact. The other five slots are chosen for you and won't budge if you try to swap them out (bad.) However, it might be less of a problem if you already use MSN Weather, Google, Orbitz, RestaurantRow.com, and Fandango steadily and don't intend to swap the orientation on the screen.... Read more
I created this sweet search shortcut for CNET Download.com in Opera's latest refresh of its Mini browser.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Today Opera announced the latest release of its mobile browser, Opera Mini 4 beta 2. What makes this build stand out are some software trinkets designed especially for BlackBerry devices. Webware.com editor Josh Lowensohn described them in a news release. Now it's time to describe their effect on a luminescent BlackBerry Pearl I just happened to get in my possession.
In most cases, Opera Mini 4 beta 2 performed exactly as promised--beautifully fast and with a clean interface. I was able to scroll with the pointer mouse (a hand with index finger extended), play with screen width, and take advantage of zooming and scrolling with keypad numbers.... Read more
Seattle-based ZenZui has licensed a "zoomable user interface" aimed at creating prime real estate on the phone that can help connect road warriors with the information they're seeking.
In this approach, Web content is broken into tiles. At a distance, users just see the logos of the sites they are interested in. As they zoom in, they can get more detailed information, until finally they are viewing information from a single source. Because the phone already knows which tiles a user is interested in, the information can be downloaded and cached on the device, helping eliminate some of the latency associated with today's mobile Internet.
"If you try using the Web on a mobile phone, you would probably agree it's, at best, a painful experience," said ZenZui CEO Eric Hertz. Combine the slow data speeds with a tiny screen and the need to constantly scroll and it's a recipe for slow adoption, he said.
One of the biggest challenges for ZenZui will be to line up willing partners, particularly carriers that are used to controlling the real estate on their phones. ZenZui is launching an early trial of its service, but isn't identifying the carrier it is using.
Hertz said the company does have agreements with several companies to let them use their content in the trial, including Amazon.com, ABC News, and Wired magazine. In a couple of other cases, such as Yahoo's Flickr, ZenZui is using publicly available feeds to create a custom tile.
This summer, ZenZui hopes to broaden its trial to thousands of invited users and expand beyond Windows Mobile phones to those that support J2ME, the mobile version of Java. The company hopes to make money from the tile owners, as well as (potentially) through advertising.
This post comes to Webware from News.com.
- prev
- 1
- next
