02-06-2007, 07:45 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 18
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Spb Software House Mobile Shell
Product Category: Software - Pocket PC Phone Productivity
Manufacturer: Spb Software House
Where to Buy: Mobihand Affiliate Store
Price: $29.95 USD
System Requirements: A Windows Mobile Device, may be downloaded as a CAB file (1.96MB) or as an EXE (2.52MB)
Pros:Improves one-handed operation of Pocket PC Phones;Added features and a tidier Today screen;Smart contact search.
Cons:
Hmm...I'm really trying to come up with one!
Summary:
One of the things I like most about my Treo 700wx is that it allows near perfect one-handed operation, both as a phone and as a PDA. However, due the lesser resolution of its screen when compared to other Pocket PCs, many of the Today screen plug-ins that I enjoy on other models require scrolling in order to be seen. Spb Mobile Shell manages to provide a more intuitive launcher than the Start menu, while combining a variety of desirable Today screen functions.
Read on for the full review!
Yet Another Today Screen Plug-In?
Well yes, at first glance it is; and I wasn't sold on the idea of installing yet another one, either. I should mention that in the past I have installed various Today plug-ins on my Treo that provided instant views of the weather, the time in different cities, and system information. I also use the 700wx's built-in photo speed dial, which is a bit of a Today screen hog - but I like it. According to an early press release, all of these features that I enjoy having on my Today screen would be rolled into one plug-in with Mobile Shell, which promised:
The most important information on one screen;A phone style menu;Weather forecasts;World time;Launcher;Big Dynamic tabs on Today;Color based themes;Smart Contact search; andAuto-hide mode for Today plug-ins.
I'll install nearly anything once, so after a quick backup (with Spb Backup, natch!), I was ready to install.
Tidying Up the Today Screen
One of my pet peeves is a Today screen with a scroll bar on it; don't bother asking why - it's just one of those things that makes me wince when I see it. Usually by the time a couple of Today screen items have been checked, the scroll bar on the Windows Mobile Treo's 240 x 240 screen will have made its unwelcome appearance. In order to avoid seeing it, I have to carefully manage my Today screen real estate. Sometimes this means doing without an item or plug-in that I might have otherwise enjoyed using.
This first picture shows the Spb Mobile Shell Today plug-in. It has four standard tabs: Home, Time, Weather and Dial. Their orders can be rearranged in the program's settings, and more tabs can be added.
Figure 1: Spb Mobile Shell showing the four standard tabs.
Each tab, when clicked either by stylus or with the select button of the D-pad, will expand to show the various goodies contained in its section. We'll start with the Home Tab, which contains an always visible battery meter in its tab pocket, and which when expanded shows the 12 most recently opened applications. There is an option to pin the application shown in this tab - by pressing and holding it with finger tip or stylus - and then choosing that option from within the pop-up menu- or it can be removed from the Today screen entirely In this manner you can somewhat customize a personalized launcher. This is one of the few times that I'll mention where it is necessary to touch the screen while using Mobile Shell.
Figure 2: The 12 most recently used applications are shown in the expanded tab view.
The Time Tab shows the correlative times in three user-chosen cities. The "Next alarm" box shows the next of any three programmed alarms in the WM5 Clocks and Alarms settings. You should know that Spb scored major points with this Time Tab, because San Angelo was one of the included city options. Of course they didn't do it just for me, and of course they had no idea I would be reviewing this software...but let's just say that San Angelo is never on anyone's default time zone list - it just never happens; I usually have to select a city three hours away, like Austin or San Antonio, and well...pffffft! This was a nice surprise.
Figure 3: Three correlative cities time zones, including mine - for once!
The Weather Tab shows the next four days' forecast for one chosen city, and yes - San Angelo was once again once of the options. I'm getting pretty spoiled by the city personalization offered here, let me tell you! Pressing and holding the day's forecast will allow the user to update the city's weather, choose Celsius or Fahrenheit, or change the selected city.
Figure 4: Four days of weather are shown.
The last option is the Dial Tab, and it allows up to five representative graphics or textual entries for often-called numbers. These are the photos that have been selected for an entry either through Outlook or through the WM5 Contacts application.
Figure 5: A mix of graphics and text for five of my most called numbers.
Pressing and holding either the picture or text entry with a fingertip or stylus will reveal a menu of all the available numbers or other options for the contact. Unfortunately, there is no way to call up this menu without tapping the screen; pressing the D-pad calls the number that is specified as the speed-dial choice.
Figure 6: The menu options given when a contact is tapped and held.
As just a Today plug-in, I would be impressed with Mobile Shell, but it is only the beginning...
The Launcher
On my Treo, pressing the button with a Windows icon - the left soft button - will usually launch the Start menu. But Mobile Shell hijacks that option, and instead takes you to a very easy to use graphical launcher. The first view includes Spb's dynamic icons which will either "glow" or change to reflect when the D-pad selection is hovering over them.
Figure 7: The Spb launcher, with various options.
Figure 8: Notice how the Organizer is opened in this view.
Since I just hovered over the Organizer, it makes sense to go ahead, click, and open it. Inside are the various personal information management choices.
Figure 9: PIM options in the Organizer.
Clicking Contacts reveals an alphabetical list of companies and individuals. I was disappointed at first because the usual Pocket PC quick-scroll option which displays a large capital letter reflecting the current position while scrolling through the Contacts list was not displaying.
Figure 10: The default Contacts view.
A moment later, all was forgiven when I realized that the name selection was completely intuitive, and all I had to do to find a contact was enter the first couple letters of their name or the first few numbers in their phone number. Clicking a contact with the D-pad's center select button will bring up the WM5 contact card, which allows you to choose which number to dial.
Figure 11: Entering the first few letters of a name pulls up all possible options.
Going back to the Organizer screen and choosing Calendar opens a menu of options allowing the user to make a new appointment or select a particular view.
Figure 12: The menu options given when a contact is tapped and held.
The following pictures represent some of the other options available from within the Mobile Shell launcher screen; they should give a clear picture as to the easy navigation and some of the results when certain options are chosen.
Figure 13: The view when the tools button is opened from the main launcher screen.
Figure 14: Colored theme choices, there are 16 total.
Figure 15: Options from within the center Start menu of the main launcher screen.
Figure 16: Options from within the Programs folder of the main launcher screen.
Controlling Spb Mobile Shell Options
This is the center hub of Spb Mobile Shell's options, and it is definitely a place with which the user will want to become familiar. It can be reached from the Settings menu of the main launcher screen, or by tapping an holding one of the tabs on the Today screen. The Today Tab offers the choice of allowing the selected tabs on the Today screen to stay expanded or to auto-hide when tapped. If auto-hide is not selected, and the tabs are expanding on the main screen to the user's annoyance, the option to auto-hide can be immediately chosen, also by tapping and holding the offending tab on the Today screen.
Figure 17: Options involving the Today screen.
The Now Screen Tab is the screen that appears when the screen is first turned on. I'll show it in all its glory shortly, but in the meantime, choices may be made as to whether or not it will show first thing, and whether a digital or analog clock will be shown with the other information it displays.
Figure 18: The Now Screen Tab's options.
The aptly named Tabs Tab is where the Today screen's Tabs may be rearranged or new ones can be created. One thing that I wish was possible, and I could not find a way to do it, was to create a quick and dirty specialized list of programs which I wanted to be able to launch from within their own tab without losing the option to display the recently chosen application icons. I did find a way around this, however. Clicking the Add button allows the option to add a tab for just about any program with a Today screen plug-in. I have Resco Explorer installed on my Treo, which has a simple icon program launcher, so I was able to create a Resco Tab. From within that tab I can very quickly access the programs I want to launch, even though they may not actually be my more recently chosen applications.
Figure 19: The Tabs section allows the ability to add custom tabs to the Today screen.
The Theme Tab is a second way to access the setting which controls the overall coloring of the Spb launcher and Today Screen.
Figure 20: Another way to choose on of 16 available colored themes.
The Weather Tab offers the option of whether or not to update weather forecasts automatically or manually with a simple check mark. Remember that cities and temperature grades are changed by tapping and holding the forecast from the Today screen.
Figure 21: The one and only Weather Tab option.
This last capture is of what's known as the Now Screen. It can be set to display when the device's screen is turned on, or it can be accessed by tapping Now from within the launcher. This is a very handy screen which displays the device's battery level, any new email, new text messages, any waiting voicemail messages, wireless signal strength, the time, the day, date and the weather. Tapping the email, text message or voicemail icons will take you directly to their respective program screens. Tapping the weather icon will take you to the Weather Tab on the Today screen, and tapping the time will also take you to its respective Today tab.
Not too shabby, huh?!
Figure 22: The Now Screen in all its glory.
Conclusions
I am actually pretty amazed that Spb House released this program, because it takes several of their popular Today Plug-ins and offers "lite" versions of each rolled into one very nicely rounded application. I recognize bits borrowed from Spb Weather, Spb Time, Spb Pocket Plus, and perhaps snatches from a few of their other titles. This is a really great program for someone that doesn't need all of the extra features in the other full Spb applications, but it will also integrate and play nicely with the Spb titles I just mentioned and others. I like that it allows such a high degree of personalization while making the entire one-handed mobile phone experience even better with my Treo. Spb Mobile Shell has earned a permanent spot on my Treo.
Judie Hughes, who spent six years earning a reputation as a respected reviewer at The Gadgeteer, has now added "member of the Pocket PC Thoughts review team" to her list of credits. Her site, Gear Diary, continues her exploration of the gadget world with blog entries and reviews of all things geeky.
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02-06-2007, 08:03 PM
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Executive Editor, Android Thoughts
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,233
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Hey Judie - Great Review!
I haven't had a chance to play with Mobile Shell yet (But I've been drooling over it...). Perhaps you can answer a couple of questions I have...
How does Mobile Shell play with other Today Plugins (Does it play at all?) I hate the scrollbar as much as you do, but I would like to put a small plug in below Mobile Shell - is this possible?
How does Mobile Shell play with other Spb titles? You mentioned that it was a "lite" version, but if I have the full version, does the support increase within the program? Or if I'm using Mobile Shell, should I steer clear of full versions?
Lastly, when you click the start menu in the upper left, do you get the classic start menu / program screen or is this taken by Mobile Shell? You mention the button mapping is "hijacked" - can one still get to the built in menus?
Again, the review looks great!
__________________
Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
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02-06-2007, 08:20 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 18
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Hi Jon,
See - just when I think I have covered everything ad nauseam...you find some things I should cover more fully. :wink:
So here we go:
1. How does Mobile Shell play with other Today Plugins (Does it play at all?) I hate the scrollbar as much as you do, but I would like to put a small plug in below Mobile Shell - is this possible?
It plays VERY well. I had removed other programs from the Today screen for the review so there would be no confusion. Here is how it would look:
2. How does Mobile Shell play with other Spb titles? You mentioned that it was a "lite" version, but if I have the full version, does the support increase within the program? Or if I'm using Mobile Shell, should I steer clear of full versions?
If you are using Spb Mobile Shell and you have the full versions of Time, Weather, Plus, etc - there are no compatibility problems whatsoever. These programs integrate fully into Mobile Shell, and they will tuck into their own tabs. Here is Spb Diary, for instance:
3. Lastly, when you click the start menu in the upper left, do you get the classic start menu / program screen or is this taken by Mobile Shell? You mention the button mapping is "hijacked" - can one still get to the built in menus?
You do get the classic Start Menu when you click the upper left corner. The direct button (if your device has one) to the Start menu is hi-jacked, but the manual option is still available.
Let me know if you have any questions or need any other screenshots. Better yet, go download the trial. 
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02-06-2007, 08:49 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 36
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Just for the record, I tested these "fingertip/stylus only" cons on my iPAQ hw6945, and in all cases, if I held down the D-pad button, the popup would appear. So far, 100% stylus-free! 
Great review. I'm really liking this app!
Brian
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02-06-2007, 08:54 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 18
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Quote:
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Just for the record, I tested these "fingertip/stylus only" cons on my iPAQ hw6945, and in all cases, if I held down the D-pad button, the popup would appear. So far, 100% stylus-free!
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Totally not fair! That won't work on my Treo at all. 
It's just a minor quibble - not really a con, and very interesting that it is device specific. Thanks for sharing the info.
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02-06-2007, 09:33 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 7
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For my HTC P3600 (Trinity) The Start button below the scrollwheel is NOT hijacked by SPB Mobile Shell, it opens the usual startmenu...
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02-06-2007, 10:05 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,305
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The button is hijacked on my 8525.
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02-06-2007, 10:07 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,389
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jerry Raia
The button is hijacked on my 8525. |
aah... can this be disabled.? i HATE button hijacking.... :evil:
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02-06-2007, 10:09 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 533
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This app definetely seems to improve one handed control of the PPC. One question though, regarding looking up contacts: IF the "quick scroll" icond does NOT appear anymore, and you have to enter the first few letters of a contacts name, that seems *less* one handed......or am I mis-understanding somethig? Everything else about the app seems great, and thanks for the review!
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02-06-2007, 10:09 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,305
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Hijacked is the wrong word really, it is disabled! It does nothing now!
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Linear Mode
