Zack Mahdavi
07-28-2004, 05:30 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-0.gif" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Personal Productivity, Organizers, Security, Wallet<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.splashdata.com/">SplashData</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore//PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&jid=XBDXX8F4DDBFDCA54AX68B4581A5AE3B&platformId=2&productType=2&productId=124035&sectionId=0&catalog=30">Handango</a> [Affiliate]<br /><b>Price:</b> $19.95 USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b><br />Pocket PC Requirements: Pocket PC 2002 or later, 165k free memory<br />Desktop requirements: Windows 98, ME, NT4, 2000 or XP <br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Supports record for record syncing with Activesync;<br /><li>Appealing and free desktop companion;<br /><li>Very secure 256 bit blowfish encryption;<br /><li>Imports and exports wallet data from and to many formats;<br /><li>Compatible with many other OS platforms.<br /><b>Cons:</b><li>Each card supports only up to 6 fields;<br /><li>Numeric password field doesn’t display any feedback to user. <br /><b>Summary:</b><br />SplashData has long been known for making top-quality, well-designed software for the Palm OS community. Now, SplashData has introduced one of their best selling applications, SplashID to the Pocket PC community as well. It comes with an abundance of useful features, including the ability to sync record for record with the handheld - by far the most interesting feature in my opinion. But how does this program stack up to the mature Pocket PC wallet applications? <br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Installation</b></span><br />There is nothing complicated in installing SplashID. The installer sets up the included SplashID desktop program and installs the program on your Pocket PC. Also, a SplashID sync conduit is installed in ActiveSync. This allows for SplashID to perform record for record syncing! <br /><br />Users of eWallet, FlexWallet, CodeWallet, and other wallet programs, know that these programs are limited to syncing the individual “wallet” file. Although this syncing solution is fine for most cases, users can run into a brick wall if they make changes to both the Pocket PC and the desktop without syncing. SplashID is the first Pocket PC application to support record for record syncing. Now, you can make changes on both your desktop and Pocket PC SplashID wallet. When you sync, SplashID will synchronize the wallets together just like how your calendar or contacts are synchronized. This feature blew me away! Kudos to Splash Data for taking the time to sit down and solve a difficult problem! <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-1.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: SplashID, which supports record syncing, installs a conduit in Activesync.</i><br /><br /><span><b>The Desktop Interface</b></span><br />SplashID includes a desktop program in the $19.95 price. The program makes data entry easy with its simple and intuitive interface. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-2.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The desktop interface is very appealing to the eye.</i><br /><br />Like other Pocket PC wallet applications, SplashID makes use of the familiar “card” analogy. For those of you who have large wallets, SplashID allows you to arrange your cards into categories. I set up two categories, a “Personal” category and a “Work” category. Unlike Two Peak’s Flexwallet, SplashID doesn’t support subcategories. However, I personally think that this makes the program more intuitive, but that is a personal preference. <br /><br />Creating a card is easy. Clicking the “New..” button displays a dialog box with six fields for data. You can assign a category to a card in this menu. Also, you can quickly customize the fields of the card by selecting a “type.” SplashID comes with over 15 types, including a “Credit Card” type and a “Memberships” type. If you don’t select a type, the fields will be named the default “Field N:”, where N is a number from 1 to 6. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-3.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Creating a new card.</i><br /><br />Here, I’m creating a card of type “Web Logins” and category “Work” for my new gmail account. Note that this is fake data, so don’t try to log into gmail with this data! Entering data is fairly straightforward. <br /><br />Notice that the password field has a black “dot” next to it. This means that the field is a masked field, and will be masked in the card. Sometimes, I have trouble thinking of good passwords; it’s probably because I’m not a very creative person. SplashID allows for me to stay uncreative by generating passwords with a “password generator.” You can specify the size of the password, what symbols are allowed, and whether the password should be pronounceable. I found that this method is very effective at creating new, unique passwords. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-4.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: The password generator can help in creating unique passwords that you will remember.</i><br /><br />The interface displays a list of your cards on the left with card detail on the left. URLs are clickable and load in your default browser. You can narrow the cards displayed in the list by selecting a “Category” or a “Type.” When “All Types” is selected, the field labels are marked “Field 1”, “Field 2”, and so on. When you select a specific type, the category labels change to the field names of the selected type. <br /><br />All in all, I found the desktop interface to be very intuitive, clean, and useful. <br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>The Pocket PC Interface</b></span><br />The Pocket PC interface is just as easy and straightforward to use as the desktop interface. The main window shows a “field preview” of your cards. The row color and header color are customizable to suit your tastes. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-5.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 5: Your cards and a tidbit of information are displayed in the main window.</i><br /><br />Also, the fields that are shown in the list view can be changed. Here, I have decided to show “Field 4” instead of “Field 2”. You can apply the view changes to either all of the types or the specific type you are viewing. This is handy if you want to view different information for different types. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-6.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 6: The data shown can be changed independently for each type.</i><br /><br />Clicking on a card shows the full details of the card. Unlike the desktop version, the URLs in the Pocket PC program are not clickable. Also, I found the font to be rather large on my QVGA screen. I think smaller font would make this detail view a little more pleasing to the eye. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-7.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 7: The text is rather large in the detail view.</i><br /><br />You can fully edit or create new cards in the handheld version. In fact, all the features available on the desktop version are available on the handheld! You can generate passwords, create cards, modify types, etc.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-8.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 8: Editing a card is rather straightforward.</i> <br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Security</b></span><br />This is an area where SplashID shines. SplashData, unlike the other Pocket PC competitors, uses 256bit Blowfish encryption, which translates to a very secure method for storing important information. The competitors use 128 bit encryption, which is arguably secure enough for most people. It never hurts, however, to have extra strong encryption; users who have been waiting for a more secure wallet solution should definitely turn to SplashID.<br /><br />SplashID supports numeric and alphanumeric passwords. I personally prefer numeric passwords since they make retrieving information faster and easier.<br /><br />Entering a numeric password is slightly annoying with SplashID, however. The buttons are nice and large, but there is nothing on the screen to let you know how many keys you have pressed. Sometimes, you might accidentally hit a key twice or not at all. A user wouldn’t know if he made a mistake since SplashID provides no feedback. It would be nice to have either a “number counter” which shows you how many digits you’ve typed or the standard “masked password” view. Surprisingly, however, I found that I rarely entered a wrong password.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mahdavi-jul04-splashid-9.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 9: The numeric password view does not provide feedback as you type.</i><br /><br />Both the handheld and desktop versions of SplashID can be set to “auto-lock” after a certain number of minutes. This adds extra security to protect your valuable data.<br /><br /><span><b>Import and Export Your Life</b></span><br />eWallet users can import their data straight into SplashID. I imported my own eWallet wallet into SplashID, and most of the cards imported just fine. SplashID parsed some cards incorrectly, but having the ability to import even just 90% of your cards can be a major time saver. Also, SplashID can import many other formats, including comma separated files (CSV). In addition to being able to import data, SplashID can export your data for backup purposes.<br /><br /><span><b>Weaknesses</b></span><br />There’s really only one weakness that bothers me, and that’s the limitation that all cards can contain a maximum of six fields plus a note field. I prefer the flexibility of the other Pocket PC wallet programs that can handle a variable number of fields per type. This is useful for things like bank accounts and health insurance cards that have a lot of information stored on a card. I hope that SplashData will introduce the ability to have a variable number of fields per type in a future version.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />All in all, SplashID is truly a great wallet and identification program. It’s the first Pocket PC wallet program to support record for record syncing, which in itself is worth a thousand chocolate bars. Also, the program is simple and intuitive, has great security features, and most importantly, is backed by one of the most well known developers for the Palm OS platform. This release from SplashData clearly indicates that they are committed to the Pocket PC. So if you’ve been waiting for a wallet program that supports record for record syncing, this is the program for you!