Mobile WidSets - Mobilize Your Web

By andy | May 13, 2008

It’s always handy to have the Internet in your pocket, Apple pride the iPhone on that fact. Well with not having an iPhone, but having a Nokia n95 I don’t see why you can’t “have the Internet in your pocket”.

Having an unlimited data rate certainly helps, and with Mobile WidSets it makes the whole mobilizing of the web such a simple task.

What are WidSets
WidSets is a basic service which allows you to create widgets, this service enables you to bring information from the web directly to your mobile handset without having the browse each individual site. This speeds up information gathering and searching. Ideal for following your favourite blog, news site, RSS feed.

Simply install WidSets to your handset and you’re ready to go, time to start finding those useful widgets (or creating your own)!

What are Widgets…
Widgets are single “mini applications” that grab snippets of information from the web, this gives you a brief update from you selected source. You can then venture further to read the whole article or submission, this is all done inside a widget - so no need to close down WidSets or open your regular mobile browser just to find out some information.

Costs…
It is advisable to only stay connected / leave the WidSets application open if you are on an unlimited data rate plan with your cellular network provider. The actual cost for WidSets is nothing (free) however data is only downloaded to your handset under your providers terms and conditions / pricing.

Installation : Getting Started
Just for people who are unsure on how to get started with WidSets simply follow these steps…

Go to www.widsets.com
Select some of the widgets on show (to get you started)
Click “Download the client and picked widgets”
Fill in your registration details (and agree with the T & C)
The top option is quickest, fill in your mobile number. Click next at the bottom.
You will receive a text message on your handset, follow the link to download and install the application.

That is the installation complete, next is for selecting widgets! Upon opening the application you will be asked to accept the terms of service, once this has been accepted the preselected widgets will be loaded. Each widget has a number of settings which can be configured, this can range from web service login credentials to simple settings like the number of news / blog items to show.

Example Widgets
Below are a few sample widgets which you may wish to try out…

GeekAnt - Another technology and web related blog (I had to include my own widget)!
flickr - Flickr public image viewer.
Twitter - Twitter from your handset.
Push Email - Get email on the move, directly to your handset.
Lots of News…
Many Games…
And Much More…..

Developers…
Developers get the chance to create their own widgets from scratch, there is a full sub site of WidSets set up for developers. The SDK is also available from WidSets. WidSets also advise looking at the Nokia Forums for further development resources.

Conclusion
WidSets Developer Logo WidSets is a good application to enable quick browsing of information without having to open a web browser, the usability could be better with more options and settings. One annoyance is every time you open the WidSets application it asks for permission to connect, there could (and should) be an option to always permit this connection - with a default access point selection. Another handy feature would be stand by notifications (visual) rather than just the audio alert! Generally a good application.