ALL I EVER WANTED

Every now and then, and it doesn't happen nearly as often as it should, you stumble across a piece of technology so brilliant in its simplicity, you can't comprehend how you ever got along without it before.

These are those, "Why didn't I think of that?" things that are obvious, but only obvious once somebody else has done them.

Two notable examples of this in my life are MySky and LightSpeaker.

Imagine being able to access your TV guide and then digitally record what you want directly from it at the push of a button. On 2 channels at once. For the whole series. Even if they change the schedule time. Brilliant. Of course, MySky is now just one of a whole collection of similar services now available, but when I first used it I was totally blown away. Even the Domestic Manager thought that particular remote was pretty useful.

Then there's LightSpeaker. Wireless speakers built into LED lights that simply screw into your existing light sockets. An instant, wireless, multi-zone sound system you can't see. Also brilliant.

The really important thing with these two examples is they both work. All very well having the brilliantly obvious idea, but if it doesn't actually do what it promises, or it only SORT OF does it, that's no good. It should either just work, or forget it.

So what does all this have to do with phones?

If you've been reading some of the previous editions of this blog, you'll know I've been weighing up the various merits of the Samsung Galaxy SIII, the Nokia Lumia 820 and the Nokia Lumia 920.

Today I announce my winner; all of them.

To be honest, technically it's the Galaxy SIII, but only because I've turned it into a Windows Phone.

Let me explain by saying today's blog is more of an app review than a phone review. The app is called Launcher 8 by the Qihang Dev Team. Not only does Launcher 8 make my S3's home screen look like my Lumia, it actually works even better than the original.

Here's what I love about Windows Phone 8: the way it looks and the way you navigate around it. What I love about the S3 is the way it actually works - browsing, uploading, downloading etc.

As it turns out, the Samsung's Android OS let's you put a home screen over the top of existing one that really is a dead-ringer for WP8.

Launcher 8 displays your apps in the Windows Metro Style, but it doesn't stop there. It replicates the now iconic People/Contacts tile which randomly flips over little pictures of your contacts. It let's you display your favourite pics as a little slideshow on the photos tile, just like WP8. A simple swipe to the right reveals all the apps you haven't already pinned to the home screen, again, just like Windows. Here's the kicker though; unlike the home screen on your average Lumia, all the tiles are completely customisable. You can call them what you want, make them whatever colour you want, assign a Metro-style icon to them or just a picture of your own choosing.

It gets better...

Although you've now made your Samsung LOOK like a Nokia, you still want some of those Android widgets on the start screen, right? Not a problem - in fact, you can even resize them to fit exactly how and where you want. This is literally the best of both worlds.

I can't recommend this app highly enough. In fact, if you're a Lumia 800 user, considering upgrading to an 820 or 920, Launcher 8 could well be the reason you go with the Galaxy S3 instead.

Pity it's going to be obsolete in about a month's time when the S4 hits the shelves. Ah, well - that's phones for you.