Smartphone Thoughts: The Cheap Man's Fizz Traveller

If you own a Windows Mobile device then chances are you have heard of Fizz Traveller [Affiliate] or have run across the homescreen weather plug-in for this program. While Fizz Traveller is a fantastic program, unfortunately not everyone can afford it. This is where Google comes into play, by also offering a Web-based weather service. With just a few clicks of the keypad you can have Google serve you up a five-day forecast that is just as good as any other weather prediction software.
If you can afford Fizz Traveller then I highly recommend purchasing it. There are so many fantastic homescreens out there that use the Fizz plug-in that it would be a shame not to have this program in your arsenal. If you can�t afford it though then this tip is for you, so pay attention.

First thing you need to do is open up Pocket IE. Once inside of Pocket IE hit the right soft key button and choose �ADDRESS BAR�. Inside the address bar enter in the URL �htp://www.google.com� and select the option �GO� or hit the left soft key.


(Figure 1a, 1b and 1c shows the process of navigating to Google inside of Pocket IE)

Once Google�s page fully loads enter �weather:[YOUR ZIP CODE]� into the search box and select the �Google Search� button. What should display is a nice five-day forecast like the one in the screenshot below. You will have to scroll around the page a little bit to see the complete five-day forecast, but when you�re going the free route you usually have to work a little bit for the reward.


(Figure 2a, 2b gives you an example of what the Google Weather page looks like)

Now to make things easier on you the next time you want to check the weather we are going to bookmark this page. To do this we will hit the right soft key button to bring up the �MENU� and we will select option three which is �ADD TO FAVORITES�. To keep things simple lets change the name to �Google Weather� and hit the left soft key button to add this to your favorites.


(Figure 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d covers the process of saving your new found Internet friend, Google Weather, to your current list of favorites :))

Now if you want to know what the weather is like all you have to do is open Pocket IE and choose the bookmark you made for Google Weather and you�re in business!

Rocco Augusto is a Contributing Editor for Smartphone Thoughts. When not selling cellular phones for Cingular you can usually find him on the Smartphone Thoughts forums or playing with his HTC Faraday handset.