Here's a brief look at a new Windows Mobile user interface that's currently in development. The Infinity UI is widget-based, and it very much has an Android-type feel to it. Want a clock? Add a clock. Want program shortcuts? Add program shortcuts. As we said, it's still in the very early stages, so things are a bit unfinished. But this is one we're going to keep our eyes on. Find out more and download the alpha here. And peep video of the Infinity UI after the break. [via XDA]

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Gone are the days Windows Mobile fans had to settle on the "stock" Today Screen. Third Party user interfaces have grown in popularity and capability over the past year to give you plenty of choices for your Windows phone. Choices that include SPB's Mobile Shell, Vito's Winterface.  Proprietary interfaces have also increased in popularity and capability such as HTC's Touchflo 3D and Samsung's Touchwiz. The variety isn't limited to Windows Mobile Professional and those who fancy Windows Mobile Standard have a few choices as well.

So, what's your favorite user interface? The Windows Mobile Today Screen has come along way and may very well be tops on many user's lists. Choose your favorite in our poll then ease on past the break to see some of the choices available for your Windows phone.

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MyHome is one of the many Home Screen replacements that developers have come up with to make Windows Mobile more user friendly. (Read my original review here.) While the software doesn’t get the face time of things like the various flavors of HTC's TouchFLO or even SPB Mobile Shell, it did have some very cool features like haptic feedback. There were however, some areas where MyHome fell way short of the mark. The biggest downfall was the complete failure to support landscape devices. This is particularly hard to swallow with the popularity of HTC’s Touch Pro devices and others that have a similar form factor.

To see what steps SHBT has made from version 1 to 2, follow the break.

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Widgets. They seem to be every where these days (there was a day when they were called icons). If you're a fan of widgets, you might find FEWidgets Ultimate something of interest. Created by XDA Developer's Forum member nicodega, FEWidgets Ultimate is a user interface very similar to Samsungs Widget Home Screen.

Follow the break for more information on FEWidgets Ultimate and a few screen shots.

[Read: Fuze Mobility]

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There's been a bit of hullabaloo over some recent UI shots linked to from I Started Something that originated from designers at the Microsoft Advanced Technology Center. ZOMG, is it Windows Mobile 7?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! Eh, maybe. Maybe not. As Long Zheng puts it: 

What many people don’t know is that the ATC has been largely responsible for the user experience design of Windows Mobile. This however is no longer the case as WM 6.5 was their last project.

So, that's that. There's also some more clarification in the ISS post in that not all of the concepts were specifically designed with Windows Mobile in mind. And remember, folks, this is all conceptual stuff. Yes, there are design cues from some other leaked UIs that we've seen, and it's possible that we'll see some of this in a future version of Windows Mobile. But let's not be counting our chickens before they hatch just yet.

Here's an interesting look at how User interfaces (or user experiences) come to fruition, and how difficult it can be going from an designer's vision to actual implementation. In this video from a Win CE presentation at Computex in Taiwan, there's talk of bringing better tools to designers to lessen the load on developers.

Without getting too terribly technical, let's just say that there's a good possibility that we could see some of this stuff future versions of Windows Mobile. You'll recall that Windows Mobile is based off CE, so we're not quite talking apples and oranges here. And we know of at least one designer [via UX Evangelist] who is working on the Windows Mobile 7 interface using this very markup language.

The simple, simple version? Watch the video. (Silverlight required.) Read more about it here. It's cool stuff. (And we love the "concept HTML rendering engine," which you know as a browser.)

Via wmpoweruser

Probably one of the larger complaints about Windows Mobile is how it's lacking a bit of the shiny. In other words, the user interface could use a little sexing up. In this session from Tech-Ed, Andy Wigley and Andrej Radinger talk a little about what developers can do to spruce things up.

Actually, we're being coy. The name of this video is "Can Windows Mobile UIs Look as Good as the iPhone? Yes, They Can!" And the description:

True, the standard controls in the Visual Studio Toolbox look a bit 'Windows 95-ish', but armed with some fairly simple programming techniques, a little knowledge of how controls get painted on the screen and the skills of a decent graphic artist, Windows Mobile developers can create applications that look great--and enjoy the far superior productivity that developing with the .NET Compact Framework gives you.

Interesting stuff. Give it a look-see here.

We've been fairly impressed with PointUI, and a few of you chimed in that you liked Home2 Free when it was released as a beta earlier this year.

Now the paid version of the skinning utility is out, and here's what you get for $19.95:

On the surface you’ll see additional functionality with a Contact Card with Details and Personal History, a Messaging screen that allows for custom viewing options, Folders in your Favorites and a growing list of Customization options including, Haptic Feedback (on some devices), Auto Lock, GSensor Support (HTC devices only) and Automatic Update checking.

Check out more about PointUI Home 2 Pro here. [via Tilt Mobility]

Chances are if you've been using Windows Mobile for more than a week, you're ever searching for a better user interface. Options like SPB Mobile Shell and SBH's iLauncher are excellent but leave a small hole in your wallet. That left a pretty big door for PointUI to saunter through, and for the most part it impress us when we did a full review a year ago.

Now released is a beta version of PointUI Home 2. It's still free, though there will be a "Pro" version coming later with more features. There are cabs available for QVGA and WQVGA (320x240); VGA and WVGA (640x480); and a panel for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. Get the whole lowdown from the PointUI Web site.

(Thanks, Chris at Mobile Tech Addicts and everyone else who sent this in)