Tekguru Reviews Battery Pack Pro and Journal Bar

[Darius Wey]

<i>"Battery Pack Pro Version 2 &amp; Journal Bar are both very slick &amp; feature rich applications, and provide extremely good value for money in my opinion. The informational displays are clear &amp; concise &amp; functional, and I really did like the historical usage displays that are part of the Power Store function."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050705-TekguruReview.jpg" /><br /><br />Tekguru has just reviewed the latest versions of Omega One's Battery Pack Pro and Journal Bar. If you've been eyeballing these applications, then these reviews may help you out with your purchasing decisions.<br /><br />Links: <a href="http://www.tekguru.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php?article=6474">Review - Part 1</a> / <a href="http://www.tekguru.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php?article=6475">Review - Part 2</a>

[Programmer]

[quote="Darius Wey"]"Battery Pack Pro Version 2 &amp; Journal Bar are both very slick &amp; feature rich applications, and provide extremely good value for money in my opinion. The informational displays are clear &amp; concise &amp; functional, and I really did like the historical usage displays that are part of the Power Store function."


OMG. That hads to be the most busy, ugliest start screens I have ever seen in my life. :pukeface2:

Talk about information overload. Is this where we are heading?

[Darius Wey]

OMG. That hads to be the most busy, ugliest start screens I have ever seen in my life. :pukeface2:

I'm not a fan of it either, but some people like it. Personally, I prefer a balance between information and aesthetics. :)

Talk about information overload. Is this where we are heading?

The beauty of the Pocket PC interface is that it is highly customisable. There are Today plugins available to suit all sorts of tastes and preferences. If you want to shift plugins around, you can. If you want to enable/disable plugins, you can do that as well. ;)

[ctmagnus]

I currently use Spb Diary and Spb Pocket Plus, with Spb GPRS Monitor as an add-on tab to the latter. It's overall a very clean inferface. I try to keep my Today plugins to a minimum while displaying as much info as possible. I read both parts of the review and imo, those screens are just too cluttered.

[ipaq_wannabe]

i am thinking whether there were any performance tests done... i mean, BP Pro 2 is nothing new... it has been around for some time - and sadly, most users would say is that it slows down the device terribly... not to mention that the battery meters still dont give the correct rating (the freeware UpTime would excel in this)...

[iant54]

I've ditched Battery Pack Pro - don't want to pay to upgrade to get items that I'm never going to use! Spb Pocket Plus and Spb Today on my Loox, Pocket Breeze and iLauncher on my imate PPC.

[Jerry Raia]

I keep going back and forth between BP Pro and Pocket Plus. I guess I like them both for different reasons. While the screen above is a mess it doesn't have to look that way. I upgraded mine and like the added weather function. I use the Smartphone version also.

[bjornkeizers]

Ouch, my brain hurts just looking at that screenshot. I only have owner info and Pocket Plus on there - configured with a tiny battery meter, backlight switch, and three, four tiny icons for explorer, hitchhiker, gsplayer, and that's it. I like info, but this is getting rediculous. You need a second today screen to show all those damned plugins.

[fowljr]

i am thinking whether there were any performance tests done... i mean, BP Pro 2 is nothing new... it has been around for some time - and sadly, most users would say is that it slows down the device terribly... not to mention that the battery meters still dont give the correct rating (the freeware UpTime would excel in this)...

Hi there,

I didn't include any performance tests in the review as I wasn't aware of any issues, I noticed no slowdown on my MDA Compact at all whilst using either Battery Pack Pro or Journal Bar.

Cheers,

Jim

[fowljr]

Ouch, my brain hurts just looking at that screenshot. I only have owner info and Pocket Plus on there - configured with a tiny battery meter, backlight switch, and three, four tiny icons for explorer, hitchhiker, gsplayer, and that's it. I like info, but this is getting rediculous. You need a second today screen to show all those damned plugins.

Any chance of a screenshot? I'm always open to ideas!! :)

Cheers,

Jim