I love my Pocket PC, but I don't like having to use a stylus for every simple operation.  This is especially problematic when I am driving my car.  Even though I installed Microsoft's Voice Commander on my hw6925, there is the documented limitation of not being able to issue commands through my Bluetooth ear piece.  With my hw6925 cradled, it is very difficult to press the little button to issue a command!  Furthermore, making GPS adjustments is difficult while driving.  Even when I plan my trip ahead of time, I sometimes need to perfom some GPS related function, and it is just so difficult to deal with a stylus while driving.  So I've figured out another way.

Recipe for an (almost) stylus-free experience
I used cLaunch, a really great free today screen plug-in, to set up the following 8 touch screens:

cLaunch is very flexible and can be configured many different ways.  Here's how I set it up on my hw6925:

• You can have up to 8 different tabbed groups.  I chose to suppress the tabs, even though having tabs would facilitate quicker access to each of the groups.
• To avoid having a scroll bar on the right hand side of the screen, I sized the height of the cLaunch window to 115.  Since I suppressed the tabs, I enabled the feature that allows me to tap empty space on the screen to advance to the next group.

• I made the icons fingertip size and spaced them out so I can tap each icon easily with my finger.  Because space is limited on the hw6925, I chose not to display the names of the applications beneath the icons - if I had displayed the application names, I would have been limited to only one row of icons for each grouping (or 4 icons).  The specific set up is shown in the following cLaunch screenshot:

• You can use default icons or your own icons.  I copied a free set of icons from cLaunch's website to an icons folder on my storage card and used some of these icons.  Many of these icons were shown on a pink background (see below), but you can see the pink background does not show up when used.  When selecting alternative icons, you can use any .exe, .dll, .cpl, or .bmp file, but the icon size should be 32x32.

The Software
cLaunch can be used on 240x320 screens, but there is a .dll file you can download that makes it run on square screens.  If you have a square screen, first install cLaunch to main memory, then copy the 240x240 .dll file into the Windows folder.  You can download the application, the square screen .dll file and the set of icons:

• cLaunch (free)
• cLaunch.dll (for 240x240 square screens) (also free)
• cLaunch icons (free)

When you configure cLaunch on your Pocket PC, your specific configuration parameters are stored in the cLaunch.dat file which can be found in the Windows folder of the Pocket PC.  Once you've got cLaunch configured the way you want it, copy the .dat file to your computer for safekeeping.  You can also copy the .dat file to another Pocket PC......any body want my .dat file?

One minor issue with cLaunch is that whenever I soft reset my hw6925, the Pocket PC does not run cLaunch.  I have to go into Today Settings, deselect cLaunch and then reselect it to get it running again.

Some additional software you might like
I added some additional software to the hw6925 that helps to make it almost stylus-free:

• psShutXP (free) allows me to turn off the backlight, the handheld, or soft reset it all by simply tapping the screen.

• Microsoft Voice Command works pretty well most of the time except for the issue of not being able to initiate commands to Voice Command through a Bluetooth headset.  When using a Bluetooth headset, you still have to press a button on the Pocket PC before you can issue any command - pretty difficult to do while driving.  To get around this issue, I added an icon to the Telephone applications group that allows me to activate Voice Commander simply by tapping the icon.  I have tested this out and found that when my hw6925 is in its cradle in the car, Voice Command can hear me and responds appropriately.  In my opinion, tapping the icon is as easy as pressing the button on my Bluetooth ear piece.

Not completely stylus-free . . . by choice
To avoid getting fingerprints and oils all over the screen and having to constantly clean the screen, I am planning to get a stylus that I can wear on my finger:

• True tip:  I ordered a set of these, and they were too large for my finger.  Despite what the website says, the True Tip stylus really is not adjustable.  I contacted True tip, and they sent me some foam strips that effectively resolved the issue.  Once I got the stylus to fit my finger, they stylus works pretty well.  So if you are a woman or just have small fingers, be sure to also order the foam strips.
• Stinger:  If I can get over the idea of spending almost as much for shipping as for the product, itself, this will be my next choice.  I like the Multi-Metallic colors, so I'll wait a bit until they are back in stock.
• Finger Stylus:  This one looks like it might be more comfortable and since shipping is free, I'll probably try it next.  But I'm not sure I'll like the placement of the stylus tip.

Other Uses
I like my new setup so well, that I have also set up my hx2415 in a similar fashion.  I don't use the hx2415 in the car, but I use it when I am teaching and this setup makes it much faster for me to get to the applications and files I need to access when I am teaching.

Enjoy!

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