Doug Rausch
03-17-2004, 06:30 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie1.gif" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Productivity Software<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.multiie.info">Southway Corporation</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.multiie.info">Southway Corporation Website</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $14.95 USD<br /><b>System Specifications: </b>302K storage memory required, Pocket PC 2000 or higher<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Tons of features;<br /><li>Large number of customizable options;<br /><li>Multi window support - tabbed access, open new windows in background; <br /><li>Integration with Skweezer, Nyditot;<b>Cons:</b><ul><li>None</ul><b>Summary:</b><br />MultiIE v3.0 by Southway Corporation Ltd. is a great program that significantly pushes up the usability of the Pocket IE built into your Pocket PC. The feature set it adds enhances your Web browsing experience to get you to the information you are looking for faster and once there makes it much easier to navigate. Download the trial and I think you’ll find it a keeper.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>So…What’s the Requirement?</b></span><br />It seems like I’m continually on the lookout for new ways to enhance my Pocket PC Web browsing experience. I spend a considerable amount of time browsing the Web when I’m at my desktop PC so it seems only natural that Web browsing is one of the things that I would want to do when I am away from my desk with my Pocket PC. But, if Web browsing is a natural thing to want to do with your Pocket PC, why does it seem like it's one of the most unnatural things to do successfully and without pain? Even though more and more sites have versions built specifically for the mobile user (like Pocket PC Thoughts) trying to navigate a Web site and get useful information out of it can sometimes range from aggravating to downright impossible. Recently I reviewed <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19807">PIEPlus</a>, an add-on to Pocket IE which in addition to other features did a nice job reformatting Web sites to read easily on your Pocket PC screen. <br /><br />Aside from reformatting the Web site (not a small task) and the ability to have multiple sites loaded at the same time and accessible through a context menu, PIEPlus didn’t do too much else to enhance my ability to navigate and extract information from a multiple Web site environment. I’d like to retain the ability to get more information on the screen at one time but add to that navigation aids and information capture capabilities.<br /><br /><span><b>Enter MulitiIE v3.0</b></span><br />MultiIE from Southway Corporation is not a new application but the latest version (v3.0) really piled on the new features. Once loaded, MultiIE makes several small, but notable, changes to your PIE screen.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 1. MultiIE main menu.</i><br /><br />The first thing you’ll notice is the additional icon added to your tools bar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping this brings up MultiIE’s main menu. MultiIE allows you to have several Web pages open at the same time and in addition to being tabbed for easy selection at the bottom of the screen the Web sites are listed at the top of this menu. Additional options allow you to open a new blank window, close the window you are currently viewing, open up a new window with one of four of your preset Web site shortcuts, save the Web site you are viewing (text file, HTML only, or HTML complete), rotate the screen, view the Web site in full screen, and finally set MultiIE options (more on these later).<br /><br /><span><b>Quick URL Builder</b></span><br />You will also notice at the top left of the address bar an icon of a world with a pencil on it. Tapping this brings up MultiIE’s quick URL builder menu. Those of you tired of writing www, and .com or .net will like this feature.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 2. Quick URL Builder.</i><br /><br />The menu contains several quick cursor movement actions but my favorite feature is the ability to tap one of the stock empty Web addresses and only have to type the main portion of the site name you are addressing.<br /><br />The developer has really made an effort to include most URL components so that almost all site addresses can be quickly built.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie3.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 3. More domains.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie4.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 4. More country domains.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>Enhanced Go Button</b></span><br />On the right side of the address bar, next to the go icon, is an arrow for a drop-down menu. These choices allow you to use the address bar text as the source text for Web searches, etc.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie5.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 5: Enhanced Go Button menu.</i><br /><br />For example, if I type Pocket PC in the address bar, and select Search Web – Google, on the drop down, I will execute a search on Google for Pocket PC.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie6.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 6: Search Google for Pocket PC.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie7.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 7: Google results.</i><br /><br />I have to admit, I love this feature, and it’s a real time saver. Gee, Pocket PC Thoughts is only ranked behind Pocket PC magazine and Microsoft…have to see what we can do about that :D .<br /><br />In addition to several types of searches, if you have a Skweezer account you can use this feature to quickly view Web sites through that service – in effect giving MultiIE a built-in screen reformatting capability. Keep in mind that you are still using the Skweezer service but MultiIE sure makes it one heck of a lot easier to get there.<br /><br /><span><b>But How Does it Look on its Side?</b></span><br />Another area where MultiIE does a great job of integrating other applications is in screen rotation. To take advantage of this feature you must have the Nyditot Virtual Display application installed. MultiIE recommends using the Resize Desktop profile (320x320 res, zoom set to default) to rotate without reboots. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie8.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 8: Using Rotate feature, portrait view.</i><br /><br />For this capture I’ve set up Nyditot as recommended for MultiIE, everything looks good except you’ll notice I’ve lost my sound control, and more importantly my close button.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie9.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 9: Using Rotate feature, landscape view.</i><br /><br />To get this landscape view all I had to do was tap Rotate Screen in the MultiIE menu and immediately I have a rotated screen – with no reboot! Loosing the close button is a problem, but you can quickly change your zoom in Nyditot to get it back temporarily. Again, a nice job integrating other applications into MultiIE.<br /><br /><span><b>Still Need More Space, Try Full Screen</b></span><br />MultiIE also provides the ability to hide all the address bars, window tabs, scroll bars, etc. so that you can use your full screen for viewing a Web page. If you look at the extreme bottom right corner of PIE when using MultiIE you will see a tiny triangle drawn across the corner of the screen. Tap that and everything other than the Web site goes away. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie10.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 10: Full Screen view.</i><br /><br />Nicely implemented and if you need to scroll the screen just use another of MultiIE’s features – tap and drag on the screen, the page you are viewing will scroll with your drag. Another option is to use one of the many tap and hold context menus that MultiIE provides.<br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>Tap and Hold menus.</b></span><br />MultiIE provides several tap and hold menus to allow you access to just about all program features.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie11.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 11: Basic Tap and Hold.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie12.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 12: Link Tap and Hold.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie13.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 13: Graphic/Link Tap and Hold.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie14.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 14: Selected Text Tap and Hold.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>Mega-Options</b></span><br />If you didn’t like the way MultiIE implemented a particular feature there’s a pretty good chance you can change it through the options menu. One of the things I look for in an application is the amount of usability prior to changing any options, just how fast can I get to work. MultiIE scores big here, plenty of customization but the defaults get you a long ways.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie15.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 15: Page options.</i><br /><br />Here you can set things like what you want to see when you open a new blank window, what application you want to use to view page source with, and some common registry setting hacks such as how you want PIE to be identified to Web servers, enabling ClearType, and showing JavaScript errors.<br /><br />One feature I found that I really used in MultiIE was the ability to load a new page in the background. I could tap & hold on a link, tell it to open the new window in the background and I could go on reading the foreground page while my new selection was loaded. MultiIE allows you to specify how you want to be notified when the background page is loaded. Here you can tell it to play a particular sound or to bring the window forward once it’s loaded.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie16.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 16: Tab and Address settings.</i><br /><br />Here you can specify how many window tabs you want at the bottom of the screen, but more importantly if you didn’t like the URL builder choices or the go button menu shortcuts here’s your chance to modify them. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie17.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 17: Screen options.</i><br /><br />Lots of ways to specify what you want to see on your screen for controls and what you want to hide in exchange for more real estate.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie18.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 18: Configure Hardware buttons.</i><br /><br />MultiIE supports mapping of your hardware buttons for immediate access to program functions.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/rausch-feb04-multiie19.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 19: Preset configuration.</i><br /><br />Easy to update your preset Web sites and where you have access to them.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />I find a lot to like about this program and not much to hate, or even dislike. My Web browsing sessions seem more productive as I can get where I’m trying to go faster, I can navigate the information easier, and capture what I need and move on. I’d like to see built-in screen reformatting rather than having to go through a service like Skweezer, but that’s not a knock on the current program as much as a wish list item for the future. <br /><br />This is the second program I’ve looked at that expands on the features of PIE (<a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19807">PIEPlus was the first</a>) and both offer capabilities that I’d like to keep, unfortunately you can’t use them both at the same time as they both use the same hook into PIE. I’d like to see more programs like this that expand on the basic capabilities of the software I already have loaded rather than have to add complete new applications. Granted sometimes the supplied software isn’t even worth expanding, but as long as it’s sitting in ROM why not use it (or let me uninstall it and use the space).