Spb Pocket Plus 2.5

Supplier:SPB Software
Product:SPB PocketPlus 2.5
Cost: $19.95 with 20% off for exisiting SPB Customers.

SPB have released an update to the very popular PocketPlus. The product now stands at version 2.5. In this review we will take a look at the complete product and make you aware of the changes in this version.

SPB were once again, very kind in forwarding us an advance preview copy of SPB PocketPlus 2.5. For all existing users this is a free upgrade. Existing SPB customers can avail of a 20% discount off the normal retail price of just under $15 bucks.

Read on for more...







PocketPlus Features

• Today Plug-in: Tabs. Battery, backlight, memory indicators, program shortcuts and launcher
• File Explorer: ZIP support, "Folder Up" button, Storage card format, and file properties
• Close Button: The close (X) button really closes programs, and a running task manager
• Pocket Internet Explorer: Multiple windows, full screen mode, save as, and view source
• Misc: Taskbar battery indicator, extended Pocket PC themes, backup/restore, and repeating alarm support.

And introducing

• Plug-in support: Embed your existing SPB Products into PocketPlus tabs and reduce the space needed on your Today Screen. Currently supports SPB Weather, SPB GPRS Monitor, and SPB Finance.

Upon installation from your PC, you are offered a trial version or the ability to register immediately. Straight away I'd say this is a handy feature as you don't have to tap or hunt n' peck on the SIP keys to enter a registration code. Installation after that is very straightforward. A pop-up option on the device after installation asks you want to use the integrated ZIP support within the default file explorer. After confirmation you will be asked to reset your device. The plug-in then registers itself to the Today Screen and presents a number of tabs and icons within the plug-in.

Most items can be configured without the need to open up the settings screen directly, tap n' hold on any space of the plug-in will produce a context sensitive menu. i.e. if you tap n' hold on an icon, you will see a pop-up menu relating to that
icon. Or if you tap n' hold on a status monitor you get a pop-up menu relating to that monitor.

Jumping straigt into the settings screen you are presented with five different configurable options. Each item can be enabled or disabled as required and further options can be set by tapping on the 'feature options' button.






Tapping 'feature options' for the close button will present anoter multi-tabbed settings screen. From the first page you can select those items that you would like to see when you tap n' hold on the close button. (note that you can
acutally tap n' hold in the close button space if you are not running any programs) Some of my chosen options are

• Soft Reset - A simple tap resets without the need to prod around the reset hole with your stylus.
• Suspend - Turn off the device with a screen tap. Avoids the need to push the power button.
• Close All - Stop all currently running programs.
• Close - Really close programs instead of the default minimize.
• Today - Jumps to the today screen.
• Options - Opens PocketPlus options screen.

Tapping on the 'Button' tab at the bottom of the page, presents options for taping, tap n' hold and gestures. This allows you to control what happens in the close button area. (A gesture, is when you tap on the button and then drag the stylus towards the bottom of the screen.)

On the 'Exceptions' page you can specify that PocketPlus close button should minimize selected programs instead of closing them. On phone edition devices this is a really needed feature as the phone interface can never be closed, and additionally if you really close your messenger application then your messages (sms or email) may not get sent. So, these two applications can be configured for minimize instead.







Looking next at the feature options for Pocket Internet Explorer. Using PIE on a small screen can be troublesome with lots of vertical and horizontal scrolling. SPB have taken this into account through the inclusion of 'Full Screen' mode and Windows Mobile Second Edition support for landscape viewing. This opens the entire screen for browsing and gives PIE about 15% more space. Additionally, PIE normally only allows one window to be open, but PocketPlus overcomes this limitation by allowing multiple windows to be opened simultaenously.

The feature options control how the PIE plug-in work, but you need to open PIE to actually use them. Once PIE is running you will have a new PocketPlus icon and menu to work from.






I'll skip over the Today Plug-in options and come back to it later in the review. So skipping along to the Taskbar Battery Indicator feature options we get a screen allowing you to adjust the height of the indicator from small to large. This is a great feature as you can see the taskbar from most applications so at a glace you will know how much battery is remaining.

In the File Explorer feature options you can add additional functionality to the built in File Explorer. These little features make using File Explorer a much better experience see the differences in the screen shots below. Note: the last image is animated.





Finally then we'll return to the Today Plug-in feature options. In my opinion this is the real heart of the program. From here you can add/remove or rename tabs from the Today Screen. This is a truly excellent feature and works by grouping your common items into seperate tabs that can be brought forward by tapping on the tab name. You can also add items to individual tabs by tapping on the 'Items' button. This allows you to choose from Status indicators, programs, documents, system, settings, or any custom file or folder. Each item you enable is then available directly on the Today screen. Note: the last image is animated.



The newest feature of PocketPlus is the ability to use additional Plug-ins that can be added to the tabs pages on the today screen. This allows multiple programs to reside inside the today screen space occupied by PocketPlus. The currently supported list of Plug-ins include SPB GPRS Monitor, SPB Finance and SPB Weather. Adding the plug-in will place it in the list of tabs for the today screen and the options for that plug-in can then be directly accessed by tapping the Plug-in options button. If like me, you are running out of Today Screen space and using one of the supported programs then you can save some space by using this feature. Additionally, you can add items to the Plug-in tab which further extends it's functionality. I noticed that adding SPB Weather to PocketPlus removed the little Sun icon from the Weather tab, I liked this icon as it rotated as a visual indicator when the weather plug-in was receiving updates.






Most settings for PocketPlus can be accessed directly from the Today screen. Some additional features also only exist here so it's worth checking them out too. If you don't like the icon for a particular program then PocketPlus offers 62 alternatives for you!

You can also decide on each icon being normal or large size. For example using the Suspend button on the Today screen with a large icon let's me use my thumb to turn off the device. This is something I use a number of times every day especially just after receiving and ending a call!

Icons can also be dragged around and positioned anywhere on the Today screen which allows total customisation. The overall height of the plug-in is dependant on the amount of rows used for icons. Small icons in two rows will take up less space than large icons on two rows. Yet another feature of PocketPlus is the ability to use Extended Themes which essentially are skins for the status monitors embedded into the theme files. There's a number of included extended themes and additional ones can be downloaded from SPB.



Lastly then there's also one very important hidden option. To access it you must tap on the 'Tools' menu from the options screen, then tap on 'Advanced Options'. In here you'll find the option to enable repeating alarm support. This is something that is not available from the default operating system and in my opinion it's essential. A warning will appear about the alarms not functioning properly on some Windows Mobile 2003 devices, but I've not found any issue with it on the magician. Once you have enabled this option, when you tap ok you will have a new 'Repeating Alarms' option from the main options screen. From here you can choose what alarm sound to use and if it should be repeated or not. You can also specifiy an ascending sound or maximum volume for the alarm, and finally you can decide if the alarm should be used for clock, tasks and to stop the alarm if the battery falls below a configurable percentage.






Conclusion
SPB PocketPlus continues to evolve and gain new features release after release. It's an excellent program in my opinion and well worth the asking price for the Today Plug-in alone, however the additional functionality offered with file explorer and PIE turn it into an essential application for every device. In my use of the program I've not had any severe slow downs or issues but I did notice that the plug-in can be slow to load after a soft reset. One thing about the program really irritated me, that was that the device monitors do not support the Storage Card status on Phone Edition Devices. I found that editing the registry could put it back though, so if you need to know how then reply the thread and I'll add the details.

In the last screen shot I've compiled a small collage of screens not already shown that were taken for this review


For
• Huge return on investment!.
• Very customisable.
• Full screen PIE.
• Zip file support for File Explorer.
• Shortcut launcher supporting large or small and changeable icons.
• Large selection of extended themes.
• Battery status at a glance from most applications.
• Massive amount of options and context sensitive menus.
• Tabbed Plug-in support
• Looks great on any device!
• Real Close (x) button.
• Repeating Alarm support.

Against
• Lack of Storage Card monitor for Phone edition devices.
• Massive amount of options and context sensitive menus (if you don't like that!).
• Can be slow to load on after a soft-reset.





4WM Rating 97%