Don Tolson
08-22-2007, 04:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-logo.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Software – Electronic Wallet<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <A HREF = "http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com" target = "blank"> Spb Software House</A><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <A HREF = "http://www.mobihand.com/pocketpcthoughts/product.asp?id=12452" target = "blank"> MobiHand</A> (affiliate)<br /><b>Price:</b> $29.95 USD A fully-functioning 15-day trial version is available.<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6 Classic or Professional device. Windows 2000/XP/Vista for desktop version. Will support both VGA and QVGA displays (no mention of Smartphone display support). Available in a wide variety of languages.<br /><b>Specifications:</b> Download is approximately 8mb. Spb Wallet takes approximately 3.2Mb on the PPC. Desktop version requires approximately 18mb, including all options. Wallet size: 500K for 220 cards, 2.7M for 2500 cards.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><br /><li>Lots of card templates provided, plus ability to create your own<li>Quick 'lock and exit' function provided<li>Finger-friendly interface provided<li>Most Used cards view provides quick access to cards you need to get at quickly.<br /><br /><b>Cons:</b><br /><li>Card look can't be changed once template selected<li>Import feature only available through desktop version<li>Import works inconsistently, even with 'recognized' cards.<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b><br />While Spb Software House is well-known to all of us as a premier developer of PPC-based software, they are a relative newcomer to the electronic wallet arena, where there a number of already well-established competitors – <i>eWallet</i> from Ilium Software, <i>CodeWallet</i> from DeveloperOne, and <i>FlexWallet</i> from WebIS. While Spb produces some amazing and innovative applications for the Windows Mobile world, can they bring anything new to the electronic wallet? What does Spb Wallet bring to the table that others don't?<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Introduction</b></span><br />For those of us who rely upon our personal digital assistants for keeping track of our personal information, having a secure facility for storing the myriad of passwords, lock combinations, and PINs which are now part of everyday life is crucial. Most of us rely on some sort of electronic wallet application which stores this information in an encrypted file on our device. There are a number of them which have been around for quite a while now and through numerous iterations. Spb Software is a a bit of a latecomer to the field with their product, Spb Wallet. So, let's take a look at what makes their offering different.<br /><br /><span><b>Installation</b></span><br />Two installation packages are available – a desktop .EXE file containing both the PC and PPC versions, and another .CAB file with just the PPC version. The desktop installation package is typical of Spb products - providing a simple and straightforward way to select the various pieces you need.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-load.gif"><br /><i>Figure 1: Desktop Installation screen.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-functions.gif"><br /><i>Figure 2: Additional functions (desktop related) included in the desktop installation procedure.</i><br /><br />The .CAB version is for downloading/copying directly to your PPC, then double-tapping the file to start the installation procedure. To complete registration, you need to access the Registration option on the Menu (right) soft key.<br /><br />I won't go into too much of a discussion of the desktop version of Spb Wallet (after all, this <i>is</i> a PPC-based site :-)), but the desktop version provides basically the same functionality as the PPC. The primary difference is that with its increased available screen real estate, the desktop can provide it all on one screen. The desktop version also includes the import facility (more on this later) and integration with Internet Explorer.<br /><br />As is normal with most Spb applications now, the visual interface is clear, uncluttered and appealing. I'm quite impressed by the visual designer they have working for them. Now that I have a Windows Mobile-based phone, I'm beginning to appreciate the advantages of one-handed operation (i.e. no stylus required) and it's nice to see the software vendors responding with interface designs which support this. Spb, in particular, seems to understand this best as almost all of their new products include touch interfaces with buttons and icons large enough to be handled by the fattest of fingers.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Creating Your Wallet</b></span><br />When you first run Spb Wallet, you are given the option to open an existing wallet or create a new one.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-start.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 3: Starting off with Spb Wallet the first time.</i><br /><br />After you have created your first wallet, Spb Wallet remembers this after you leave, and when you return, it goes directly to the password screen for the last opened wallet.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-enterpw.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 4: Password request screen when you re-start Spb Wallet.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-pwentry.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 5: Entering alphabetic password characters.</i><br /><br />I'm not really a fan of this keyboard arrangement for input of wallet passwords. The letter keyboard is arranged in alphabetic order and you must press a separate key to get the numeric keyboard to appear. Thus, if you have a password with letters and numbers in it (a preferred option to gain greater security), you're constantly having to switch back and forth. I understand why this has been done to accommodate the finger interface, but I would have preferred a typewriter-based keyboard with slightly smaller keys, with both the letters and numbers visible at the same time. I've seen it done before in other products.<br /><br />You can, if you wish, utilize the standard soft keyboard provided by Windows Mobile to input the password, eliminating the need to go back and forth between alpha and numeric characters. However, intermittently I've found this to not work properly (even though the asterisks show up for each key press), and you have to resort to using the stylus.<br /><br />By default, once all the characters of the wallet's password are provided, Spb Wallet automatically opens the wallet. Personally, I'm moving away from this feature since I think it encourages guessing at passwords until you get one that works. Spb is one step ahead on this one though, as they provide a configuration option (discussed in more detail later) to either leave this operation as the default, or require the user to tap the Enter button after completing the password.<br /><br />The overall structure of the wallet uses the common card within folder structure, but it is possible to place folders within folders and I didn't see any limit to the level of embedding you could create. Depending upon your preference, you can either display each folder level separately, or in the more traditional hierarchical tree structure.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-predefined.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 6: Predefined structure provided by Spb Wallet when you first create a new wallet.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-lgeicons.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 7: The same predefined, structure shown in 'large icon' format, which is much more finger friendly.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-lgicons2.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 8: View of a folder content in large icon format, showing access to individual cards.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br />At the card level, Spb Wallet uses a credit card visual interface, although a more traditional field display is also available via selections in the Options.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-bankacct.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 9: A typical Bank Account type of card.</i><br /><br />To access all of the fields associated with the card and/or make any changes, you select the Edit function from the right soft-key.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-bankfields.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 10: A view of the fields associated with the Bank Account card.</i><br /><br />The 'Lock' entry on the left soft key (back at the folder screen) provides a quick and easy way to close up the wallet and leave the application (kind of like how we'd like the X in the top right to work, eh???:devilboy:). 'Menu' (on the right soft key) provides options for accessing most of the functions of Spb Wallet (opening wallets, changing the view, accessing templates, password generator, and synchronization).<br /><br />The Search function provided on the Menu soft key is an active one, in which the results are displayed and updated as you are typing in the keywords to be used. The results also include information held in the Help files.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-search.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 11: Results of a search displayed and updated as you type in the criteria.</i><br /><br />There is also a Backup function available which appears to just take a copy of the file, rather than store it in a separate structure, since the wallet file is already stored in a compressed, encrypted format. This provides an easy, convenient way to store a dated version of the file in a secure place, but you could also accomplish the same thing with the copy function from File Explorer.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-backup.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 12: Using the Backup function.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Creating New Cards</b></span><br />Spb has made creation of new cards very easy, with over 60 standard card templates provided in a wide variety of personal information areas – from finance to insurance to dining. Again, the visual aspects of the templates are well designed and very pleasing to the eye.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-templates.gif"><br /><i>Figure 13: Some of the card templates available (screenshot from the desktop version – the same templates are available in the PPC version). The neat thing about having so many templates is that they remind you of things you probably should be storing in your wallet.</i><br /><br />Be careful when selecting a template for your new card though. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the template after it has been selected and the card has been created (e.g. if you selected the wrong one). To change the look, you have to delete the card and start over. I've talked to Spb Software about this, and we may see a 'change template' feature in the next version of Spb Wallet.<br /><br />Once you've selected a template, the application reverts to the View tab of the new card to show what the card initially looks like.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-newcardview.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 14: Initial view of a new card</i><br /><br />Then, you select the General tab to input the name of the new card.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-newcard.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 15: Naming the new card.</i><br /><br />And then tap on the Fields tab to input information about the facility, account, etc.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-newcardfields.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 16: Information fields associated with your favorite restaurant.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-newcardnotes.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 17: You can also provide additional notes on the facility (favorite waiter, expected tips, best table, etc.) and, via the Attachments tab, add a copy of the menu!.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Card Modification/Customization</b></span><br />Spb Wallet also allows you to change what information is displayed on the card view on a card-by-card basis. By selecting the View tab of any card, then deselecting 'Inherit view from template', this opens up the Edit View button so that changes can be made to the card.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-editview.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 18: Editing a card's view. Note that you can add or remove fields, change the images, and select different backgrounds for your cards.</i><br /><br />If you want to change one of the standard templates, this is accomplished from either the 'New Template' option from the File menu (for a brand new card type), or the 'Templates' option from the Tools menu (to change one of the existing ones).<br /><br /><span><b>Import From Other Products</b></span><br />While other ewallet products provide an import feature, they tend to be somewhat limited. For instance, CodeWallet (from DeveloperOne) only allows imports from older versions of CodeWallet. Flex Wallet 2005 (from WebIS) doesn't provide an import feature at all, and eWallet (from Ilium Software) provides a separate utility on the Ilium website to import card information from CodeWallet and Flex Wallet, but it only works on older versions.<br /><br />Spb Wallet's import feature provides support for eWallet, FlexWallet, and CodeWallet but sadly, is only available on the desktop version of the software. So, if you are, like me, using your ewallet solely on your PPC, you now need to install the desktop version of Spb Wallet and go though a three step process.<br /><br />The first step is to 'export' your current ewallet (for this review, I used CodeWallet Pro 6) to a text file using the functionality provided in the existing application (i.e. CodeWallet, in my case). After reading the documentation on the desktop version of Spb Wallet, it stated explicitly that export should be to a text file, so that's how I proceeded. I have heard of some people trying XML but with limited success.<br /><br />The next step is to copy the file to the desktop, start up Spb Wallet on the desktop, open up either a new wallet or one previously created one, and begin the Import process.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-import.gif"><br /><i>Figure 19: Identifying the source of the import file on the desktop version.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-importsource.gif"><br /><i>Figure 20: ...and the location of the exported text file from CodeWallet (copied over to the desktop).</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-importcard.gif"><br /><i>Figure 21: The import process then proceeds card by card through your source wallet, asking what template you would like to use for each. Note, there is also an option (in the lower left) for letting Spb Wallet make it's own guesses as to the template, but I'd be rather leery of this.</i><br /><br />My CodeWallet file wasn't huge – only about 50 cards or so – so I opted to go through each of them and select what I thought would be the best template for each. It was a bit of work and I'd have to say that it was only 'somewhat' effective. A number of the cards worked properly, but many had the info put into the 'Notes' field, even though the Import routine correctly identified the type of credit card (e.g. Mastercard).<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-stuffinnotes2.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 22: Example of Import. Even though it identified the correct type of card, all the info was placed in the Notes field.</i><br /><br />Finally, after all that is done, you'll need to copy the new wallet to your PPC via either the next synchronization cycle in ActiveSync or by copying it manually to the device.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Synchronization</b></span><br />When you create a wallet, Spb Wallet asks you if you want to set up synchronization for it with the desktop (or PDA). If you say yes, it creates a new synchronization category for ActiveSync, so the synchronization cycle is the same as that for the other categories of ActiveSync, dependent upon the setting you've chosen.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-sync.gif"><br /><i>Figure 23: Synchronization of Spb Wallet is done through Activesync.</i><br /><br />Spb Wallet synchronizes not only the contents of the wallet (i.e. your cards), but also any new templates which you have created and/or modified.<br /><br /><span><b>Smart Cards</b></span><br />Spb Wallet also supports what they call Smart Cards in that the information provided on the cards can be used to link directly with other applications/functions on the PPC. For instance, by tapping and holding on a field in the card, the data can be copied to the clipboard for pasting into other applications. If a phone number is displayed on the card or in one of the associated fields, tapping on the number will initiate a call to that number (on a PPC Phone edition). Similarly, tapping on an email or SMS address will initialize a message and tapping on a URL will start up Pocket IE, linking to the appropriate website.<br /><br /><span><b>Password Generator</b></span><br />Like all other ewallet applications, Spb Wallet requires each wallet to be password protected for security. Spb Wallet's password requester goes a bit further than others I've seen, in that it provides an evaluation of the strength of the password provided as it is being built.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-password.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 24: Evaluating your password as it's typed in.</i><br /><br />There are 3 levels of password protection evaluated – weak, medium, and strong. Just typing in all letters with no uppercase will get you a 'Weak' rating. By including a number, I was able to move it up to the 'Medium'. I didn't bother trying for 'Strong', but I would guess that would require inclusion of upper and lower-case, numbers and/or special symbols.<br /><br />There is also a password generator function available, if you can't think of your own.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-pswgen.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 25: Spb Wallet generating a password for you. I don't think I could easily remember one of these – even with a hint.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Customization – the Options Menu</b></span><br />Again, as we expect from Spb, there are a full set of tools to customize Spb Wallet to work the way you want it.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-options-general.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 26: General options, handling things that affect Spb Wallet's diplay. Note that here is where you can decide whether you want the Card Graphic view, or a more conventional field display view.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-options-security.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 27: The security options in Spb Wallet. I like the fact that all of this has been made selectable, so you can establish the level of security you want on your wallet.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-optsclip.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 28: Setting the clipboard to automatically clean out pasted data when Spb Wallet is closed. Don't want that PIN to be accidentally copied over to another spreadsheet or document!</i> :roll: <br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-optsother.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 29: Other options for handling of the display and location of wallets.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Documentation</b></span><br />In a first for any vendor, (I think) Spb has included the documentation for Spb Wallet within each wallet. As a new wallet is created, a folder is created called 'About Spb Wallet' which contains information on various subsections of the application. Most of it reads a bit salesy, but there are kernels of useful information there. You can, of course delete this if you don't want it stored within your wallet and this will save you about 20 kb on the overall wallet size.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-help.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 30: Spb Wallet's Help documentation on the PPC.</i><br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-spbw-helpentry.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 31: An example of one of the 'About Spb Wallet' cards on the PPC.</i><br /><br />Each of the entries are actually specially-formatted cards which provide an overview of the product's capabilities in each of the areas. Unfortunately, the 'More Information' card suggests looking at 'help' for more information, but I couldn't find any other help anywhere on the PPC version. There is a Help file included with the PC version written in the standard Help explorer format, which means it can't be printed out as a complete reference manual. (But you could print out each of the topics & subtopics).<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug07-spbwallet-desktop-help.gif" border="1"><br /><i>Figure 32: Spb Wallet's Help documentation on the desktop.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />Many of the features in Spb Wallet are also available in other products, with the closest match being FlexWallet from WebIS. But there are a number of features which are unique to Spb's offering. If you are looking for an ewallet application, this is definitely a contender. But there's not enough difference here (yet) to make me want to switch.<br /><br /><i>Don is an Associate Director with Fujitsu Consulting and leader of its Enterprise Mobility Community. Even with an ewallet, I'm still forgetting passwords. Where are those biometric scanning devices???</i>