It seems that more and more smartphone manufacturers are cottoning on to the fact that Windows Mobile is a dog to use. The latest company to join the "sticking a better UI over the top of Windows Mobile" brigade is i-mate, who are now offering a free download on their site to cover up the notoriously frustrating mobile OS. The skin is powered by Vito Winterface, so it's nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it still offers an extra layer for i-mate users.

Unfortunately, the free download is only compatible with the more recent Ultimate handsets (6150, 8150, 8502 and 9502) plus the JAMA 101, and not the heritage i-mate devices (which were made by HTC).

Also - if you have an Ultimate 8502 or 9502, you can also download Windows Mobile 6.1 from i-mate's site for free. The other handsets in the Ultimate range will be getting the update soon as well, though so don't feel too left out.

Personally, I'm really looking forward to Windows Mobile 7 - while it's nice to try and hide the OS on a phone, in reality the OS itself should really offer all the functionality these extra UIs offer natively, like the iPhone or Android. In the meantime though, at least we have things like this.

[i-mate]

Tags: au | i-mate | mobile phones | os | phones | smartphones | software | ui | vito | windows mobile | winterface