If the newer, Intel-based Macs can do it, why can’t the iPhone ? Especially after Microsoft’s much-publicized invention of Windows Mobile, there seems no reason why an Apple iPhone can’t run Microsoft Windows, at least so says Steve Jobs. And it looks like, once again, the techno mega-mogul is absolutely right!
VistaPerfection 2.0 is its name, and it’s a mobile Windows Vista platform for use on the Apple iPhone. Well, sort of…
Developed by Spec-Works, an independent software developer, and available at a website called Modify My iFone, VistaPerfection gives iPhone users much of Vista’s look and feel without actually giving them Windows Vista’s capabilities. That means you get the wallpaper, graphics, sound effects, Start Menu, sidebar, and – yes – windows familiar to all Microsoft Windows users (along with more than 90 favorite Windows icons including dock icons), but you don’t actually get the Windows Vista operating system itself.
Other parts of the Windows Vista experience made manifest in this simulator for iPhones are sliders, status bars, badges, task bars, bottom bars, highlight masks, sound schemes, and login/logoff, unlock/lock, and boot/restore items.
Consider it more a theme download, a skin, for your iPhone’s native GUI than a replacement (or supplementary) operating system. The VistaPerfection download is really about interface – designed to make it easier and more comfortable for Windows users to make the mobile transition to Apple.
Now some Windows users hate Vista (as you may or may not have heard). Surprisingly often, in fact, people have been known to uninstall Windows Vista from their PCs and laptops and replace it with the older but preferred Windows XP. And, alas, there is no Windows XP for iPhone – at least not yet.
Of course, one of the biggest complaints from PC users about Windows Vista is that it’s a resource hog. But since VistaPerfection 2.0 is not actually the Vista OS itself but rather just a skin mimicking its interface, users won’t have to worry about that problem slowing down, freezing, or otherwise adversely affecting their iPhone.
Regardless, Spec-Works did a good job of simulating the Vista look-and-feel with their product, as the VistaPerfection interface is sharp, snazzy, and stylish. It’s at least impressive to look at, even if you’re not so keen for the feel.
The one glaring hitch with this software, however, is that it is not yet available as a conveniently downloadable and installable Installer.app file, instead requiring a lot more fiddling around (such as with Secure Shell, or SSH) than most consumers are willing or able to perform.
Fortunately, the folks at ModifyMyiFone heard this call and have already announced the imminent release of VistaPerfection 3.0, available as an installer.app file. Our advice then, for Windows lovers with iPhones, is to wait for v3.0 of VistaPerfection, and leave v2.0 to the techies.