Review: SpB Mobile Shell 3

Introduction I've always been fascinated by gadgets and gizmos, but it's always been fancy hardware that has really been my passion. Sure I've looked forward to OS releases and alike but generally the cool devices are the things I lust after. All that changed a couple of months ago when from the mists of the Mobile World Congress came an old friend with some new tricks. I am of course referring to the first glimpse of Spb Mobile shell 3. Ever since that teaser I've been harassing Spb's marketing department for more information and a release date. Well the day has come and it seems like the longest download in history. Can it possibly be worth the wait? Read on to find out...........

For your delectation photographs are thumbnails which may be clicked on to load a larger image.
Thanks go out to Spb Software for providing us with a review sample.
For more information on Spb Mobile Shell 3 go to the Spb website: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pock...e/mobileshell/

Installation As you'd expect from a seasoned campaigner like Spb, all the installation options are covered. Mobile Shell 3 should run on all Windows Mobile devices from WM5 up to and including the immanent WM6.5 release. You can download Mobile Shell directly to your device and install as a .cab file or you can instead use a .exe file from your PC. The installation file is nearly 7MB and it'll take up roughly 8MB of your devices RAM (this is for VGA. The QVGA version is a mere 5MB). It's by no means a small application, especially as you'll want to install it to your devices memory rather than an SD card, but it shouldn't leave your device short either. You're also covered if you have either a VGA or QVGA resolution device, as both versions are supported.

Aesthetics I've always found the Mobile Shell Now screen to be a thing of beauty. This latest iteration is no different, but Spb have thrown down the gauntlet. The glass effects on the analogue clock and the incoming items widgets are truly breathtaking. The navigation bar too, sitting below the main window, is also very nicely drawn. In the past I found the Launcher icons a little too cartoony, especially in VGA, they are now crisp and colourful without being garish and overpowering as before. Even the previously "functional" Professional Now screen has been given a welcome facelift throughout. It's very similar to Shell 2 but just a little "prettier". The animation of the carousel feature is excellent too, and this offers and excellent summary of just how easy on the eye the whole application has become.

Configuration While the new graphics and carousel feature alone make Shell 3 a worthy successor to Shell 2 the most impressive improvement has to be the configuration options. Spb has introduced Widgets into the Lifestyle screen giving the user full control of the content and layout. Want 5 analogue clocks on your screen? You got it. Want a direct dial and a program shortcut on your Lifestyle screen? Well you can have that too. Configuration is simplicity itself. There are no xml or ini files to edit. You simply select add a widget, choose from a selection of links to programs, contacts and controls and then place it where you want it. There's even a simple media player Widget that allows you to control your music direct from the Now screen. In the past I loved the look of the Lifestyle screen but wanted the screen lock and sound profile control from the Professional screen. Now I can have my cake and eat it, and it's sweet. Below you can see the configuration for the Lifestyle screen and also the way you move the panels into the positions you want them. I've also stitched together the 3 virtual pages of my own Lifestyle screen so you can see the kind of functionality you can achieve. I tend to use the middle screen the most, and this is the default when you power on etc. The left page serves me when I'm in meetings so that I can see what is going on with my calendar. The right page contains the controls I need to listen to music while I'm cycling. The media panel, comms manager shortcut, sound profile shortcut and screen lock being the major requirements for me here.

It's not just the Lifestyle screen that's configurable either. The Launcher screen offers two layout features, regular and advanced and allows you to add and remove your selections in the same way the Lifestyle screen does. The contacts screen also allows you to have different layouts and image sizes in the same easy to customise way. You really can have your UI the way you want it now. The configuration options are a massive step forward and are very impressive. If I was being honest, and perhaps overly critical I'd say I'd like a little bit more. I'd like to be able to add a full length date screen onto the Lifestyle screen and I'd also like to get rid of the status bar and have the option to move around the icons for the signal strength and data protocol etc. Like I said that's possibly a bit greedy.

Functionality I chose to install Spb Mobile Shell 3 on the O2 XDA Zest for the simple reason that it doesn't contain the various touch friendly OS tweaks you would find on devices such as HTC's Touch Diamond. I decided this would give the best impression of the new version 3 UI that Spb is raving about. I have to admit, from within the Shell the finger sweeps and swipes are almost poetic and the contacts search simplicity itself. The Now screens are very well put together to give you almost everything you need at a glance and the Launcher makes finding applications and settings childs play. I particularly like the new Lifestyle Now screen layout. Want to see too much information to fit on one page? No problem as it offers three screen widths of "virtual" space to customise. You can then effortlessly sweep your finger across the screen to switch back and forth throughout the full width of the page. If you're feeling bold you can tweak the registry too, to make the Lifestyle screen even wider. I tried it with a width of five screens and it didn't affect the performance at all. Another new feature to Shell 3 is the Carousel screen. Much akin to HTC's Touch "cube" from their original TouchFlo it gives you a rolling preview of each of the main screens of Shell and allows you to then jump directly to them. Spb have implemented the Carousel very nicely. They way the carousel is zoomed out slightly means you can see the next and previous screens as well as the one you are looking at. As I said earlier it gives you a very good impression of just how beautiful Shell 3 has become.

The Carousel View is a very flash way of seeing all of the pages within Shell. The alternative to the Carousel View and the other way of seeing all the open pages is by using the Tiles View. As the name suggests the Tiles View displays a 3x3 grid of thumbnails each depicting one of the Shell screens. Along with the new features some of the old favourites have had a welcome upgrade too. The weather applet is one of these. The weather in Shell 3 offers many more cities that the forecast can be downloaded for than with Shell 2. You also get a much more granular breakdown as well, showing you four intervals of the day (Night, morning, day,evening) and also four days worth of forecasts.

I mentioned earlier that the contacts search had become simplicity itself, but the new enhancements offer more than just ease of use. There is a Facebook plugin to allow you to pull a photograph from the online community and once you have it, you can then crop and size it within the app to get it looking how you want it. You can also add individual ringtones to the specific contacts now too. There is one more feature I feel I have to tell you about. On the grand scale of things it's not as pretty as some of the others and it won't impress your mates either. It will however save you a fair amount of time. I spent a couple of hours setting up my Shell to get it just how I like it and to save me from doing the same with the next time I hard reset or use a different device Spb have included a backup settings feature. Genius! If I had to be picky I'd say the only problem with the Mobile Shell UI is the age old issue of when you have to drop down to the bare Windows Mobile aspects. Spb have done such a great job on the calendar and contacts etc how about the same touch friendliness for the mail application, or the on-screen keyboard SIP, a la Spb Keyboard. Am I asking too much? Maybe, but this is sooooo close to being Windows Mobiles killer app........

Performance On the Zest Mobile Shell 3 runs swiftly, with no noticeable lag what so ever. I've heard rumblings about issues with sliding keyboard devices and the switch between portait and landscape but personally it ran sweetly (not using a sliding keyboard). The Lifestyle Now screen pans smoothly, and the carousel features spun like a top. Spb have implemented 3D hardware accelerator support and it shows.

Price and Upgrade Policy The price has not changed with the new version. Spb Mobile Shell 3.0 will be available from www.spbsoftwarehouse.com for USD 29.95. If you are an Spb Mobile Shell 2.x owner, you can upgrade to 3.0 for 50% off the retail price. If you purchased previous 2.x version within 90 days of the official release date - you are entitled to a free upgrade. For those of you who are yet to sample the enhancements to functionality and appearance Mobile Shell brings Spb offers a fully operational 15 day trial. More details regarding Spb Software’s upgrades policy can be found at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/supp...de_policy.html

Product Data Sheet Product version: 3.0 Installer size (cab): 6,94 MB Supported languages: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Czech, Thai, Arabic, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Polish, Dutch, Greek, Slovak, Hebrew, Swedish, Norwegian, Finish, Korean, Turkish Registration type: Shareware Release date: April 21st, 2009 Supported OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC and later Size in ROM (qVGA): 4,87 MB Size in ROM (VGA): 7,70 MB

Pros & Cons

Beautiful graphics
Excellent configuration options (Widgets)
Cool 3D carousel
Widget-based photo contacts
Finger friendly agenda view
Call log
Finger friendly profile editor
Ringtone management
Management of contact photos (crop, rotate etc.)
Media Player widget
New launcher
3x3 phone menu is back
Finger friendly settings
Kinetic scrolling everywhere
Email indicators for individual email accounts
Improved task manager
Back/Restore settings
Facebook integration

No configuring status bar on Now screen
No replacement SIP
No email replacement

Conclusion It's rare these days that something you look forward to so much delivers so emphatically, especially in the mobile world. Spb Mobile Shell 3 is an exceptional piece of software and is so much more than just a Today screen replacement; it's almost a whole new UI. Microsoft should sit up and take notice of this, as it really shows what WM can do. It's this kind of functionality we want to see from WM7. As a first dip into the configuration waters I think Spb has done very well and I'd like to see them continue to develop this and maybe give us a slightly more configurable Now screen for a Mobile Shell 3.5 release.... Spb Mobile Shell 2 won truck loads of awards simply because it was the best package on the market. I fully expect Mobile Shell 3 to echo its older siblings success as in my opinion it has now taken the crown. You could argue that HTC TouchFlo3D offers much of the same eye candy and functionality but the fact stands you can't buy HTC's offering and you're forced to see things the way HTC think you should. The bottom line is if you don't have a state of the art HTC device go and buy Spb Mobile Shell 3 now, period. If you do have one, I think you should give this a long hard look anyway. UI's don't get much slicker than this. Excellent.