Unless you have been sleeping under a rock around here, then you know our very own Brandon Steili recently released his first app to the iTunes App Store.  Personally, I found that gCalWall was exactly what I needed: a program that would put your calendar on your iPhone/iPod Touch lock screen.

The last time we met to discuss this program, I mentioned two pretty significant criticisms of the program.  One was Apple’s problem, and one was Brandon’s.  Well, I am happy to report that Brandon took this criticism and addressed it in the latest release of the program.  Specifically, gCalWall is now able to download multiple calendars from your Google calendar.  As someone who uses about a dozen different calendars, I can tell you that this will make the program infinitely more usable for me, and probably for many of you as well.

Unfortunately, Apple still imposes unreasonable restraints on developers, meaning that Brandon is unable (not unwilling) to add any kind of automatic refresh.  Come on, Apple, this is ridiculous, let Brandon give the people what they really want.

Check out gCalWall at the iTunes App Store, still for the low price of only $0.99.

When I reviewed Spb Wireless Monitor 3 a few months ago, I called it one of the most important utilities for anyone with a limited data plan.  Yet, I found that it still had room to grow, with a number of features not reaching their full potential.

Well, for a second opinion, let’s take a look at what Clinton Fitch of Clinton Fitch(dot)com had to say about this fantastic program.  One thing he did which I thought was great was to look at both the Professional (touch screen) and the Standard (non-touch screen) at the same time, meaning you could see how the program worked on both types of devices.

In his review, Clinton concludes:

As you can see, Wireless Monitor is extremely powerful in monitoring and reporting your usage of your data connections on your Windows Phone.  The improvements in this version are substantial and the robust reporting and alarm configuration settings should prevent excessive overages for users if they are configured properly.  If you are one who needs to make sure you don’t go over on your data plan each month, Wireless Monitor is really a no-brainer.  If you are an unlimited data plan subscriber, this application can help you see trends in your usage so you can adjust as necessary.  Either way, Wireless Monitor should be on the short list of every Windows Phone owner’s must have list.

Check out his full review, which is chock full of pictures both on the HTC Advantage and the ultra-portable HTC S740.

Hands up who has ever been unimpressed with the Windows Mobile user interface…?

OK… hands down,HANDS DOWN, that injection of BO into my olfactory system is as shocking as smelling salts!

The honeycomb, or bee hive look for Windows Mobile was supposedly, an inclusion, and a finger friendly advantage. What is obvious in the design, is the extra space around shortcuts, that will allow the most ham fisted of us to successfully negotiate a program shortcut using one finger. It seems though that users have nixed and superseded the fugly, and have gone with some sweet eye candy

have a look at the changes that real WinMo users have made to the 6.5 interface, it’s looking a little less ugly now!

Go to Engadget to  view the Video overview

For most of my time using Windows Mobile, I’ve preferred an integrated PIM management solution, but lately I’ve been looking to some of the more finger friendly solutions, to solve this information management problem. Most of these I would describe as PIM pods, they focus on a particular aspect of your personal information, and bring a slick look to that particular information.

Well, Phone Genius from Panoramicsoft is a new application from a little known company, [I had never heard of them before], that delivers a Contact/Call management program, that I’ve taken quite a liking to.

It’s a nice package with a great today screen plug-in and lots of smooth animated transitions, as well as an eye pleasing look! Let’s go a little deeper, shall we?

Read More …

Patrick over at JAiB already has a review on Pocket Informant (released only yesterday), so if you’re curious about how many features really made it into this release or why people think PI is such a big deal, then you’re going to want to head on over there. It’s a really thorough look, considering he’s only had one day since launch!

So far the screenshots are looking pretty good, but I’m not sure how much I’d use a new PIM without real push notification support. The price is also something I need to get used to — I haven’t bought anything over $10 since Beejive a few months ago. However, if you’re going to get PI — the introductory rate of $12.99 will probably be the best price for a little while.

Hit up the full review here.