Windows 7 Phone devices will become available later this year. A few lucky people have received theirs for testing, etc… Still waiting on mine :-/

One way to get the Windows Phone 7 experience is by customizing your Windows 7 desktop to show the tile interface which is similar to the Windows Phone 7 application.  There is a popular freeware program on the web called Rainmeter that allows you to customize your Windows 7 desktop. 

This application seems to be pretty robust in its capabilities to change and customize your desktop.  It also supports different skins, themes, etc…  See the finished product in the image above.

Another nice component is the network monitor, office applications tile, and a host of other widgets.

If you woul like more information regarding documentation help and tips/tricks, view their documentation page here. If you would like to get the source for Rainmeter, you can download from here.

Step 1 – Download and install the Rainmeter software.  Here is a quick description from the Rainmeter website - “Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform.  Through Rainmeter, you can enhance your Windows computer with skins: handy, compact applets which float freely on your desktop, much like windows sidebar gadgets, or dashboard widgets for the Mac.”

Step 2 – Download and install the Windows Phone 7 Skin which is called the Omnimo UI. 

1st – Download the Omnimo Windows Phone 7 skin from the link above or from the image below:

2nd – Extract the zip file and run the Omnimo skin by double clicking on Omnimo (see image below)

3rd – Select the Express or Custom Install

 

That is all there is to it.  You should be good to go to start configuring the weather, mail, Office, Network, etc…  You can also modify the Panel, Skin, and Background colors by clicking the + button.

Hope this helps,

Carlos

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