live mesh for mobile

I’ve been testing Live Mesh for Mobile for almost a week and I must say it’s very impressive. The product is still in beta and except for some usability problems, it’s working like it’s supposed to. Also, this product is only available for US and UK users, however I managed to pull some strings off and get on the program, heh (Actually, here’s the trick, just install this CAB file on your Windows Mobile 6.x device, and your Windows Live account should be US – i.e. the country on your profile should be set to US – then fire up your mobile’s browser to this link). Here are some of the screenshots that I made:

Live Mesh icon on a Windows Mobile device 

You will need a Windows Live account for your Live Mesh. If you have your old hotmail account, you can use that.

Once you’re in, the Live Mesh mobile client will list all of your Mesh folders. Just like on it’s desktop counterpart, you can add folders that you can sync in your own mesh.

Pictures are automatically synched on my desktop PC

If you’re asking what can you do with Live Mesh on Mobile, I’ll give you a very cool scenario. The ‘My Picture’ folder on my phone is included on my ‘mesh’ therefore whenever I take pictures, It is automatically synched to my PC. No need for manual transfer. No wires, no fuzz.

fring!

I recently discovered this app called fring. Basically, it’s a “mobile Internet service & community that enables you to access & interact with your social networks on-the-go, make free calls and live chat with all your fring, Skype®, MSN® Messenger, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!™ and AIM®* friends using your handset’s Internet connection rather than costly cellular airtime minutes“. With just a few hours of using it, I must say it’s awesome! I had an application like this before called IM+. It was good but not free. I tried the 30-day evaluation copy but I was too lazy to purchase the actual product. I used to have it on my iPaq 6325 until it was stolen.

Right now I’m using Samsung i600 with Windows Mobile 6.0. Great smartphone but there’s no built-in IM here (ugh), so I tried Skype Mobile but it’s not compatible. I also tried Yahoo! Go but only version 2.0 (current release is 3.0 beta) is compatible with my phone and this version did not include the messenger. So I sadly retreated to Yahoo! Mobile Messenger which is so frustrating because you have to refresh the page to check for new messages. My main IM app right now is Yahoo! Messenger so finding an app that support it is the main consideration. Recently, I’m thinking of dumping it for Skype. Yahoo! services suck these days. Yahoo! Photos was shut down. Then they also pulled the plug for 360, which was my only social networking site. Damn it, Jerry what’s happening! If selling the company to Microsoft would mean better service, then I’m all for it.

Anyway, I can’t believe it took me this long to learn about this software (though it’s still in beta)! So far it’s really good. UI is well-polished, elements are well placed  – It’s perfect for a smartphone with QWERTY keyboard like mine. I like the cartoon-ish touch here. It’s also snappy and responsive, almost like you’re on a PC. And here’s the real treat, it supports video calling!

So I think I’m gonna stick on this one. Anything other than Yahoo mobile messenger is better. And if you have a Smartphone of Pocket PC you should get this one. I highly recommend it! iPhone users, fring is also available for you and it’s the first VoIP app for your phone, click here.

Update:

To install fring on your phone:

1. Fire up your phone’s web browser to http://www.fring.com .
2. Click the ‘Download’ link. The site will automatically detect what kind of phone you’re using and will give you the proper installer.
3. Follow the installation process
4. After the installation, you will need to register and subscribe to the services that you want to use (e.g. Yahoo!, Gtalk, MSN, etc.)