Video: iSwish puts the iPhone UI on any Windows Mobile phone

While you can argue that Windows Mobile is feature-for-feature and spec-for-spec superior to OS X on the iPhone, Apple's mobile UI is certainly more fun to use. So if you're running WinMo with a hankerin' for rubber band-like scrolling, jiggly icons, screen flicking, SummerBoard themes, and even simulated multi-touch pinching of photos then you're in luck. Flick Software Research is set to release its iSwish interface and iZoom pinch software in beta come "early May." Hey Flick, here's a hint: Dell Axim != sexy demo hardware... or maybe that's the point. See the action after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Evan Acosta @ Apr 30th 2008 3:02AM]

PWNED!!!

[Saad Rabia @ Apr 30th 2008 3:05AM]

Hell yeahhh. lol.

[Michael LaFramboise @ Apr 30th 2008 4:27AM]

pwned?

the only thing I see here is irony... its ironic how first all you hear and bashing and whining for all the WinMo users, and next thing you see is them trying to replicate every single feature... I'm not trying to defend Apple or attack WinMo users, but you know what they say, "imitation is the greatest form of flattery", or something along those lines...

[clak @ Apr 30th 2008 7:55AM]

I can't wait for someone to try to sync this baby to iTunes.

"WTF? Load my iTunes music, motherf*cker!"

Then they try to buy music from the imitation Wifi Store.

"This f*cking button doesn't do anything, motherf*cker!"

Then they try to download a cool app they see in Apple App Store.

"It won't work with WinMo? Huh? Motherf*cker!"

They try to use Visual Voice Mail.

"Motherf*cker!"

iTune Movies?

"Motherf*cker!"

And then one of their friends show up.

"Hey, is that an iPhone? Dude, you said you would NEVER buy an iPhone! Let me borrow it for a second, I need to make a call. Thanks. Okay how do I make a call on this thing? A Stylus? Huh? The iPhone has a stylus?"

[Joppa @ Apr 30th 2008 8:18AM]

Who the hell needs itunes when you can just drag and drop songs and movies to a WinMo phone?

Visual Voicemail has been emulated for WinMo also.

The stylus is an added option, not a requirement.

I wish I could say "nice try" but it wasn't. Your just another uninformed iPhone user, or as Apple calls you folks: suckers.

[clak @ Apr 30th 2008 8:50AM]

You guy are a riot. You never think things through. Is Microsoft supporting this effort? No? Then what good is it? If Microsoft isn't supporting it, there will always be things that don't work quite right with the UI.

To me, iSwish isn't much different from PointUI. I have a friend that used PointUI and I always ask him how's it working out for him. Last time I saw him, he had uninstalled it. Why? It kept crashing his Treo.

I've said this before and I'll say it again, the cool stuff is being coded for the iPhone. No one's coding anything cool for Windows Mobile.

[vdogg89 @ Apr 30th 2008 9:38AM]

hmm I always kinda figured the multi touch was the hardware not the software.

[roole @ Apr 30th 2008 11:27AM]

This is sad. No, pathetic.

Some non-MSFT third-party has to do this?

It's time for companies like MSFT to pay out every cent they spend on their supposed "R&D" as dividends to shareholders.

[ssuk @ Apr 30th 2008 2:30PM]

clak, you're an obvious troll. And an incredibly bad one at that. Shut up.

[DssTrainer @ Apr 30th 2008 8:36PM]

Quote: Evan Acosta
pwned!


Couldn't be said any better! iZoom/iPinch software puts it right over the top. Release a WinMo phone with capacitive touch screen now, and iphone is fully and truly owned.

[matt @ Apr 30th 2008 3:02AM]

an axim is not a phone.

[jon @ Apr 30th 2008 3:09AM]

good point

[JohnTitor @ Apr 30th 2008 3:34AM]

the Axim never dies
mine is still lasting and the kinda value the Axims had, I seriously think Dell would have done better to modernize them with a simple added GSM phone functionality than to cut them off
heck you can even see how Apple took their basic design added some better materials and made millions as usual

[Stuart Russell @ May 1st 2008 7:52PM]

Agreed, but there are phones later on in the video... the Axim just has a nice display that looks good in videos... (640X480)

[Brad @ Apr 30th 2008 1:50PM]

I still love my Axim. Rocking out with a 640x480 screen, CF and SD memory card slots - I use mine to look at photos direct from my camera when I'm out and about - it beats those other photo viewers hands down.

[TW @ May 1st 2008 2:56PM]

Actually with WIFI going, the Axim can be used to make free phone calls with the SJPhone app and the right VOIP data used!

[kobaj @ Apr 30th 2008 3:09AM]

where to download?

[Darren @ Apr 30th 2008 3:15AM]

That's some nice iPhony going on there.

[gad get @ Apr 30th 2008 10:45PM]

Genius.

[Moo2 @ Apr 30th 2008 10:59PM]

i think someone actually made something called iPhony. i saw it on treonauts, i believe. it was some treo forum, idk

[has128 @ Apr 30th 2008 3:15AM]

So, whats the point!?

[Michael @ Apr 30th 2008 3:53AM]

Maybe this will make MeiZu's M8 come out earlier.

[Michael Chastain @ Apr 30th 2008 11:55AM]

Some people want the best of both worlds, so the question is which one is easier:

1. Hacking some of the advantages of the iPhone UI on to Windows Mobile.

2. Hacking the iPhone to have 3G, GPS, compatibility with thousands of 3rd party apps, iR, physical keyboard, memory card slot, stylus capability, compatibility with other carriers like Verizon, stereo bluetooth, full voice control, Exchange compatibility, removable battery, MMS support, tethering, etc..

If the iPhone does everything you need then more power to you. Many of us have needs that go beyond what the iPhone currently offers though, and if we can find ways to make our devices better we'll gladly take them.

[Dustin @ Apr 30th 2008 3:18AM]

I wonder how they implemented the faux-multitouch.. anyone care to explain?

[Dustin @ Apr 30th 2008 3:20AM]

ok nvm I have answered my own quesstion:

iSwish implements an adjacent project of theirs called iZoom, the description of which is:

"At a very low level the multiple touches of a normal touch screen device (i.e. not the iPhone) are masked. Our development team thinks we can make inferences from the data and simulate multi-touch."

They have a tech demo for this functionality on the website

[BChau @ Apr 30th 2008 3:19AM]

Apple UI + WM functionalities. May be interesting to some. I personally prefer the HTC Touch FLO user interface though.

[NC @ Apr 30th 2008 11:13AM]

seriously? I have a Touch Cruise, and the TouchFlo thing is jittery and unpredictable.

But again, the whole phone is a bit iffy to say the least.

[Jeff @ Apr 30th 2008 11:30AM]

I'm with NC.

(it's TouchFlo on the HTC Touch, right? because that thing is a turd.)

[roflercopterer @ Apr 30th 2008 3:22AM]

So this is just a small step up on the skins people have been putting the iphone on wm phones since before the iphone came out?

I don't see the big deal here.

Call me when they have OSX running on WM phones

[ethana2 @ Apr 30th 2008 4:21PM]

Pssh, screw mobile OSX and Windows.

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile

[Ole Gunnar @ Apr 30th 2008 3:29AM]

l2use ≠ instead of !=.

Isn't that just a shell over windows mobile? so you'll still be using the crappy internet explorer, windows media player etc.?

[Marc-O @ Apr 30th 2008 3:21AM]

Newsflash ! It's Windows Mobile, you can use whatever browser or media player you want ! News at 11.

[Greg @ Apr 30th 2008 6:44AM]

Learn to program.

[Andrew @ Apr 30th 2008 3:33AM]

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

[Terc @ Apr 30th 2008 10:21AM]

Yeah, I'm sure it went something like: "wow, I love windows so much, I think we should change from IBM PowerPC architecture to Intel x86 (and subsequently x86_64)" No way did it have anything to do with the relative increase in performance from Intel's line vs IBM.

[mike @ Apr 30th 2008 3:33AM]

So like.. when Windows 95 came out, MS turned all the clunky PCs into 2nd rate Macs, and SJ effectively had a Monopoly with the Apple interface.

And here we are, people are taking Apple's designs, and setting MS's aside, so that every phone looks like an Apple design (first physically, and now in software?

Yawn. So SJ effectively controls how every phone, monitor, and desktop on Earth looks. And you guys say Apple got PWNED? How is this a win for MS in any way?

Ever heard of Mindshare?

*sigh

[Liam @ Apr 30th 2008 3:52AM]

I completely agree, this is a win for Apple not Microsoft. It actually should become a depressing realization for Microsoft that all those people out there who claim to hate the iPhone; end up hacking there other phones to effectively become an iPhone.

Same applies to windows users hacking there system so it looks like mac os x and functions like it. Yet they would never buy a mac, and its not the price that puts people of who i know... weird. Its one of life's mysteries.

[trappy @ Apr 30th 2008 4:06AM]

Sorry, but you got it wrong (but probably you're looking at it from a fan-boy perspective, so you are excused). Apple makes good products, but they cut off one big factor with the all the i-Stuff: the creative individual.

Maybe ... just maybe ... they will realize that if they stiffle and cripple their devices, other competitors who don't will get the best of both worlds. Who would buy a 2nd gen iPhone when you can get a much better hardware with virtually the same design and UI from windows? Why would you want to bother to mess around with one browser when you can install half a dozen on the winmo? Why would you want to use "iPhone Mail" when you have the whole suite of e-mail tools available?

Microsoft isn't exactly what you could call "open" or "open source" - but they're doing a MUCH better job at it than Apple.

[FloppY @ May 13th 2008 2:44AM]

Well said Trappy, well said...

You swung and hit the nail right on the head...

[eggothewaffle @ Apr 30th 2008 7:11AM]

And it's rather amusing that with all this talk of "windows users hacking there system so it looks like mac os x and functions like it," one of the features Apple fanboys love to point out quickly is how easy it is to use Boot Camp so you can play all those fun games again.

[fred @ Apr 30th 2008 7:39AM]

Oh enough with your damn "rant"

Why are you so pissed off because some talented programmer actually managed to replicate the iPhone UI on a variety of devices?

A real geek would be impressed. An Apple fanatic goes on a rant about Apple will sue, sue, and sue some more. You end up sounding like a Scientology whack jobs.

Let's see what your talent is other than acting the part of Apple's whiny roadie.

[Liam @ Apr 30th 2008 8:30AM]

trappy why would i want a dozen different versions of mail and a web browser when the ones i have work perfectly fine? I have no problem with people doing it but it just confuses me when these particular people moan about os x and then change there os to look like it. By that i do NOT mean all windows users do it, just a select few.

There was no rant, just an observation. I was not pissed off at all, if you think i sounded pissed off then you obviously speak a different language, or at least have a different understanding of it.

Also you say that a windows mobile would have much better hardware then a 2nd gen iPhone, yet you don't know what hardware it will have, you just assume it will be worse.

Yes boot camp is good and i use it for the unreal engine. What is wrong with that? I am not hacking my computer to function differently. I am just using a tool that came with it. If i however changed how my mac looked and functioned then you would have an argument, but as it stands you do not eggowaffle.

Also i am sick of this whole "fan boy perspective" thing that everyone goes on about. Its pathetic and childish. If we are going to start calling Apple users fan boys then we can narrow every single person down to some kind of fan boy. Fan boy is the oldest and most tired excuse for a reason why someone likes something other then windows. Its almost as old as the whole "does it play doom" thing.

[Mark @ Apr 30th 2008 11:56AM]

I think the thing that you're missing is that most WinMo users WOULD say that the iphone has a better interface. The reason why we didn't go for an iphone includes: they cost vast amounts more, third party software is practically non-existant(sure, you can void your warrenty with jailbreak and get SOME of the functionality of WinMo), even with jailbreak and such you're missing out on gps-navigation capabilities, you can't use any random song on your computer as a ringtone, instead you have to pay apple to do it(twice), you can't use a 3G connection(yet, at least), for some of us the iphone is simply too big, you can't customize the interface, you can't watch flash animations from the web browser(skyfire for WinMo can do this), etc, etc, etc. So, instead of buying an iphone, we can buy a WinMo device and emulate the iphone interface on it and then have all our added functionality with the iphone interface at a lower cost.

[Sean @ Apr 30th 2008 12:35PM]

Liam, you seem to miss a crucial point here. Nobody (or very few, anyway) is criticizing the iPhone's INTERFACE, but it's LACK OF FEATURES/USABILITY. Cut and paste, anyone? A basic thing that should be on any device of this type, and there are many other examples. Hell, Apple even failed to put a removable media slot in the damn thing. You could argue that it isn't needed because of data capacity, but even cheap SanDisk mp3 players have a card slot, even with 16GB onboard.

The iPhone's UI, however, is generally regarded as a work of art. OSX isn't being imitated here, just it's UI. There is no reason to imitate embedded OSX's lack of usability and these developers realize that. So, basically, one gets the best of both worlds: The iPhone's user interface, and WinMo's (currently) superior usability.

So, no, nobody is trying to make WinMo into OSX. Put the crack pipe away and think clearly through the crack-induced apple-euphoria. Apple does make some nice things, but all that glitters is NOT gold.

[Andy @ Apr 30th 2008 4:09AM]

Gah ! When well people learn that skinning in interface is not the same thing as actually running that interface. Arguably, the graphical appearance of an interface is the least important aspect of it - what really matters is how it all holds together, it's consistency, how 'deep' the design goes into the system design.

This is exactly the same as skinning Windows to look like Mac OS X.

A polished turd is still a turd.

[Jeff @ Apr 30th 2008 11:49AM]

word.

lipstick on a pig.

[Andy @ Apr 30th 2008 4:12AM]

...and while I'm ranting, do these people not think Apple is going to sue the arse off them ? Those UI elements are copyrighted, if not patented, by Apple. You can't just steal someone else's design like that, whether it's a computer UI, the design for a new car shape or a pair of pants. There are laws to protect innovation you know...

These guys are clearly talented, so why not direct those talents in more productive directions than plagiarism ?

[pilto101 @ Apr 30th 2008 4:24AM]

why put iphone interface when u can put on android, an os with limitless possibilities!

[ecobore @ Apr 30th 2008 4:37AM]

Yeah, until Windoze mobile crashes!!!

[Ryan @ Apr 30th 2008 3:12PM]

i am an iPhone owner and user, and can tell you that safari crashes on me atleast 4-5 times a week, GUI shakes / locks up atleast once or twice a week..