PocketBreeze V5.2 from SBSH

Review: PocketBreeze V5.2 from SBSH





Supplier: SBSH Mobile Software
Product: PocketBreeze V5.2
Cost: US$19.95 Competitive Product discount available (-50%) here
Supplier Web Site: SBSH
Supplier Product Web Site: PocketBreeze
Supported OS: Windows Mobile 5 & 6!, PocketPC 2003/SE, PocketPC 2002
Trial Available? Yes, 12 Days
Packages Available: Windows Installer (contains all versions) 6.97MB, PPC2002 cab 2.04MB, PPC 2003 cab 3.1MB, WM5/6 cab 3.13MB






Introduction

SBSH Mobile Software is one of those great developers that really works with the user community to create applications that are both genuinely useful and extremely well written. They produce a number of great applications and the only two applications I use on my Today Screen are both from SBSH - that's how flexible and useful their applications are.....

PocketBreeze is a very flexible Today screen plug-in that allows you to see quickly many different 'sets' of information contained on your device. At the very least it is an excellent integrator with the PIM data on your device (Calendar, Contacts, E-Mail, Tasks). However, if this is all you use it for, you are missing a trick! The true flexibility comes from the integration of other plug-ins into PocketBreeze as Custom Tabs.

So read on for all the delectable detail




Installation

V5.2 comes as various downloadable packages. If you have a Windows PC and ActiveSync installed, you can download the full package containing all three versions. If you are on the road or have a Mac, all the respective cab files are available too. Top marks to SBSH for that!

I installed the WM5 version on both an O2 XDA Orbit (HTC Artemis) which has a qVGA screen and an O2 XDA Exec (HTC Universal) with full VGA resolution. Most screenshots are from the XDA Exec.

As PocketBreeze is a Today screen plug-in, it is recommended to install to main (Storage) memory to avoid any issues with delays in loading from Storage Cards. At about 1.7MB its not too heavy a burden though!

Once installed you will have the Plug-in on the Today screen and the Calendar, Messaging and Tasks plug-ins will have been disabled. By default the layout is set up with vertical tabs as in the screenshot right. This is fine for Portrait type devices such as the Orbit but a pain for Landscape devices such as the Exec. Thankfully this is easily remedied with a trip to the Options (more later).

SBSH also include a Theme for the device, in the My Documents folder, called PocketBreeze.tsk. This is because the application is skinable too with many third party 'skins' available from the links on the SBSH PocketBreeze web page. This is easily installed by going to the Today screen and selecting Settings and then Today. The theme should appear in the list.











Configuration!

With this release SBSH have changed the configuration due to the old system becoming unwieldy with the vast selection of customisations and options available now. This is a Good Thing!

The main groups of settings are as follows: -

General, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Contacts, Messages, Special Events, Fonts, Colours, PIM, Tabs and Categories

In addition, under the menu you have 'Import Settings' and 'Export Settings'. These are extremely handy when you are happy with your settings as you can Export them to a file ready for the worst happening or for when you have done a hard reset and re-installed PocketBreeze and within seconds your original settings can be Imported and everything's as it should be!

Most of these are self-explanatory but the one I want to pay particular attention to is the Tabs configuration as this is where the flexibility and usefulness of the application can be pushed.

Personally I don't like my device's Today screen to be too busy and stuffed with Plug-ins. That's why I like PocketBreeze! Once installed, applications that you install that come with a Today screen plug-in can be shown as a TAB in PocketBreeze. So as well as my PIM data, I use PocketBreeze to have three of my other useful apps easily accessible without having their Today screen plug-ins cluttering up my screen and having to scroll around etc.

My personal favourites are PhoneAlarm, Spb Backup and Spb Weather. These were all added by using the TABs configuration and selecting 'Add Custom'. Wonderful piece of programming that offers true versatility and flexibility to the device!

The lower screenshot to the left shows just one of my usual Today Screen plug-ins as a Custom Tab. Nice and simple, isn't it?




Calendar

Calendar is one of the standard Tabs in PocketBreeze. It is configurable to show a number of days events in the future and can be shown either expanded or collapsed. My personal preference is collapsed so I can see at a glance what days I have events and roughly how much of the day is occupied by them. If I need detail a quick tap on the '+' expands to show the day's events. If you then tap and hold on the event you get a context sensitive menu allowing such things as reschedule, open event, delete event, beam etc. Its very well thought through.

It means unless you are inputting events, you rarely need to use the in-built Calendar app. This tab is the interface for basic viewing and adjustments.











Messaging

Messaging is one of the standard Tabs, installed by default. Again highly configurable but by default shows ActiveSync Mail, SMS and MMS contents at a glance. It also has context sensitive menus by tap and holding on an item. A flexible tab that I find immensely useful with push e-mail active.




Contacts

Contacts is one of the new Tabs in V5.2 and is a cut-down version of ContactBreeze from SBSH but integrated directly into the application. Again useful in that you can scan through all your contacts without opening the in-built app.

A tap and hold on any contact brings up the now standard contect menu. From here you can call or e-mail the person, edit, delete or open the contact. The other point to bear in mind here is the filtering options. If you use categories in Outlook on the desktop, these get carried over to the device when synched. You can then filter on your categories.

Another crucially important feature here is the ability to use the D-Pad on the device to select and call a contact. No need to try and use the stylus. Great for one-handed use!

There is also a set of tabs along the bottom to quickly jump to certain letters for quicker searching/access. For example, if you tap on the 'mno' tab it filters all contacts that contain the letter m, n or o in them. Tapping a second letter tab adds this letter to the first. So tapping the 'ghi' tab will now further refine the filter to show contacts with either an m, n or o with a g, h or i immediately following it. Very powerful and useful.









Using Custom Tabs

Showing how to configure Custom tabs is beyond the realms of this review but is easily done using the configuration options as detailed above.

The reason for custom tabs is plain and simple, to keep your Today screen uncluttered. I use three customs tabs, two of which are shown left. They would all ordinarily end up on the Today screen if not using PocketBreeze. They show up as little red heart icons by default which can be a little confusing if you have a few on there but I stick to three and always in the same order so I don't get confused. For those that might want to change the heart icons, you can do so by doing a tap and hold on the icon and you get the option to set it!

This is one of the most powerful and versatile features of PocketBreeze.







Pro's

Great for organising your Today Screen
Very flexible
Expanded or Collapsed views
Other Plug-Ins can be incorporated
Skinable to match your device theme
All settings can be safely exported



Con's


Quite a hefty memory footprint at 1.7MB
Takes time to customise fully









4WM Rating

92%







Conclusion

There are programs out there that give customised Today screens, manage Today screen plug-ins and all other manner of customisations. For me PocketBreeze stands out as it is so configurable and powerful with so much flexibility that it could look daunting to new users. I say stick with the default tabs for a while to get the feel of the application before then really delving into the guts of the app, the configuration. Make sure you export the settings when you get to a stable configuration as it could take hours to put them all back in later if you don't!

Its a wonderful way of getting at the power and functionality of your device. I think we'll all agree, Windows Mobile could still do with some development on usability. PocketBreeze just collects access to all these functions into one highly configurable and customisable Today screen plug-in.

A hearty recommendation!