TouchFLO 3D 2.6 previewed, loved for its colorfulness

Windows Mobile seems to be making the headlines quite often these days. While the upcoming WinMo 6.5 is getting closer than ever to release, a leaked software build of the next version of TouchFLO 3D by HTC has been previewed on video.

Bringing much more pleasant looks and boosting the usability of the underlying OS greatly over the last couple of generation of HTC devices, the TouchFLO 3D is certainly a favorite around the office (strictly WinMo context speaking though). And the next reincarnation looks even more appealing bringing more color and some more nice touches to user-friendliness.

The most notable changes at first sight are the new icons that are used for changing the tabs as well as the new image gallery and music albums browsing. There are also nicely large and thumbable shortcuts added on a number of tabs such as the Internet tab, the People's tab and most notably the Home tab. Those last shortcuts allow you to bring almost any function of your handset at only a click distance.

The clock on the Home tab has also been modified and is now almost identical to the one found on the HTC Hero. The icons also seem heavily influenced those on the Android-running handset. Changes have also affected the Calendar tab and the Weather tab, which as the reviewer says is better integrated with the interface now.

If there's anything bothering about the videos it's certainly the sluggishness of the interface, when demonstrated on the HTC Touch HD and the HTC Touch Diamond2. Yet we are pretty certain that when all the i-dotting and t-crossing is done, it will be a whole lot more smoother on the rumored HTC Leo, which should be the first officially released handset to come with the new TouchFLO 3D UI.

Here's a brief summary of the most notable changes that the TouchFLO 3D 2.6 brings around:

• New colorful icons
• Local weather information added to the Home tab
• Most links throughout the tabs are bigger and more thumbable
• Image gallery tab now has landscape mode
• Peoples tab is more thumbable with no need for flicking
• Music player tab has landscape album art browsing
• Calendar tab has several new view modes
• Web browser tab displays saved links as thumbable buttons
• Settings tab features even more extended settings and digs even deeper in the underlying WinMo than before

But if you're interested in the nitty-gritty details, we'd bet you'd like to see the demo videos themselves.

Detailed TouchFLO 3D ver. 2.5 preview:

Further changes in TouchFLO 3D ver. 2.6:

Source