PocketPCAddict Reviews Spb Pocket Plus 2.0

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3089' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/modul...iewtopic&t=3089</a><br /><br /></div><i>"You know how there are those apps that you hear about for a long time, maybe even years, however you never seem to find the time to try them and when you finally do you hit yourself in the head and say "This is great! Why didn't I try this sooner?" It was true for me in using the <a href="http://www.opera.com">Opera Browser</a> and it was true for me with <a href="http://www.resco-net.com/explorer.asp">Resco Explorer</a>. When SPB Software announced they had updated <a href="http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/pocketplus/">SPB Plus to 2.0</a>, I knew their SPB Plus 1.x was popular among Pocket PC users, but I was using <a href="http://www.omegaone.com/PocketPC/BatteryPack.html">Battery Pack</a> by Omega One and didn't really see a reason to try it.</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040609_ppcaddict_pplus2.0.jpg" /> <br /><br /><i>Well, Omega One changed their <a href="http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/modules.php?name=Forums&amp;file=viewtopic&amp;t=2655&amp;highlight=omega">licensing strategy</a>, irritating some long time users of their product -- Including yours truly. :evil: But not only that, I started seeing that a bunch of <a href="http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/pocketplus/themes.html?en">custom skins</a> for Pocket Plus 2.0 were suddenly popping up all over the place written by Juni and other Pocket PC skin experts...So I was intrigued and thought it was time to give Pocket Plus a try. So was I hitting myself in the head saying "Why didn't I try this sooner?" Or was I scrambling for the "Remove Programs" applet in settings to uninstall ASAP? Read the rest of the review to find out ;)"</i><br /><br />Brad Isaac has written a great review with lots of tasty screenshots. His comment about Omega One's Battery Pack is also very interesting. Is there anyone here who switched to Pocket Plus 2.0 from Battery Pack? Care to share any thoughts on the differences, or your reason for switching? :mrgreen:

[AggieJon]

I wasn't exactly upset by Omega One's new licensing strategy, but I didn't really like it. I had been using Battery Pack since I got my first iPAQ, so I had never really looked at Pocket Plus. When they changed the strategy, I decided to check out the other stuff and discovered I like PP a lot better. :mrgreen:
So, in a way it was Omega One's change that made me switch. I notice that Pocket Plus is now beating Battery Pack at Handango, so I wonder if many others were influenced by the change.

[xymantix]

I recently switched from battery pack - primarily due to the tabbed interface and the icon customization. The ability to have several tabs, each with its own combination of small and large icons is a great idea. It really maximized the usefulness without requiring a large amount of screen real estate. Overall my today screen plugin real estate hasn't changed, but I can do a ton more with it. In fact, I haven't gone to the regular old start menu for weeks...

[Sully]

I thought the new policy was wrong. But it worked out because it pushed me to a much better piece of software in Pocket Plus 2.0.

[ajablon]

After Omega pulled their bait-and-switch with the battery pack/battery pack pro b.s., I started looking for another program to use. Worked out well, since SPB does a better job and seems to have customer satisfaction in mind.

[Deus]

Right now PP2.0 is king. I moved from Battery Pack because I like the looks and function. Sometimes I find Today space really valuable and Battery Pack is better suited. But for now SPBPP2.0!

[Jereboam]

Likewise, I was put out by the change in licensing by Omega One and decided to swap. The five dollars might not be much to pay, but I didn't see any real added features for my extra cash, while Pocket Plus 2 offered much more and looks much nicer, and will be perfect for my next VGA-equipped device...

J'bm

[allenalb]

if you really want to try a good replacement for BB, you should give cLaunch a try... it has tabs and is free, unfortunately it's only a launcher, and not a resource monitor...

http://home.pacific.net.sg/~welic/claunch.html

[PpcSoft]

You may also want to try PpcToday Tools V3.0 (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&jid=9837DB96D6D679E792C54A712BD62DAB&productId=68923&productType=2&navTitle=Today&catalog=1&topOption=6&daysOld=1&sectionId=0&platformId=2) if you want a third alternative


Best regards,
PpcSoft (http://www.ppcsoft.com/)

[Jereboam]

I had BB and cLaunch. Both have been replaced by P+...it just looks great and functions perfectly so far, other than a lack of ClearType on the tabs which is annoying.

J'bm

[PR.]

I was using BB, but switched as I found a massive lag after a soft reset with the program bar. I tried SPB+ 2.0 liked the tabs and the fact it saved space on the screen and allowed finger sized buttons for things that I don't need the stylus for (ebook reading/media player)

I purchased it and like it :) my only negative to it is that I find it causes a momentary slow down when I switch on, need to give it about 5seconds for it to be responsive, anyone have a similar problem?

[PocketPC Addict]

I purchased it and like it :) my only negative to it is that I find it causes a momentary slow down when I switch on, need to give it about 5seconds for it to be responsive, anyone have a similar problem?

I haven't noticed this at all, in fact it seemed to speed things up a bit on my device. Are you running any taskbar managers like Wisbar, Icbar, etc? You might want to try to disable them.

[carphead]

I'm always looking for a better program laucher. I'd stuck with Rhinocode's launch for two years as it had a couple of featues that still haven't been better (display all shortcuts in a directory being the main one). But as I find my self using GPS quite a lot the large icons that can be displayed in PP really attracted me.

So PP it is for now, next week who knows! :mrgreen:

[lapchinj]

...Why didn't I try this sooner?" It was true for me in using the Opera Browser (http://www.opera.com)
Ditto. Loaded it up a couple of weeks ago and I've hardly done any browsing with IE. :D

...and it was true for me with Resco Explorer (http://www.resco-net.com/explorer.asp)
I started out with them a couple of years ago and the experience is still great. Besides they are just fantastic people and have fantastic customer ethic. (If you play squash I'm sure you can even get a game going with them. :D

Well, Omega One changed their licensing strategy , irritating some long time users of their product -- Including yours truly...
Ditto :evil: . Yes, changing the product name is one way of changing the licensing and changing the price(it says life of the product). Also being a developer Money is needed to pay the rent and $5 is not terribly much to ask in today’s market. But one of the ways that Omega One built up their client support of the product was to give free upgrades for life (mine or of the product) so I think that it’s only ethical that they continue. They could put a new policy in place and keep the old one for the old customers but that would be an administrative nightmare. I have no problem parting with the $5 since it's a good product but there are business ethics involved (I hope) and this comes in under the heading of a cheap shot.

I think that the best policy which most companies have is "A new major rev increment pays for an upgrade".

Jeff-

[dmjames]

I changed to Spb Pocket Plus from Battery Pack, I like it, nice features. I use an i-mate, some people say that spb plus is the cause of system hangs, and forced hard resets, i have experienced a few. I hope it is not this app, as it is really useful.