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Spb Pocket Plus 4.0 ReviewOctober 18, 2007 One of the most award applications available today for Windows Mobile has been Spb Software House's Pocket Plus. This Today plug-in application allows you to launch applications directly from the Today screen, close applications with the X (not just minimize them) and a battery indicator on the Today screen. Now after nearly a year of completely overhauling the application - both inside and out - Spb has released version 4.0 of Pocket Plus. Their Press Release was entitled "Reincarnating The Legend" and it is every bit worthy of that title. The new version brings a complete overhaul of the application, making it in smaller and lighter for storage space and memory use over previous versions as well as a brand new and faster interface. In addition to the Today plug-in, Pocket Plus 4.0 brings a whole new level of functionality to Pocket Internet Explorer with tab browsing and Google searching built into it. Ultimately this new version reaffirms why Pocket Plus is on the Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! Top 50 Application list and a must have application for any Windows Mobile owner. Pocket Plus is installed either directly by CAB file on your device or by Windows Mobile Device Center (Vista users) or ActiveSync (XP users) an requires approximately 2.91MB of storage space on your Windows Mobile Professional (PocketPC) device. This install size is substantially less than the 4.20MB required on the device for version 3.2 and is the first indicator of how much work Spb Software House put into this new version. Additionally, this new version only requires 1.38MB of physical memory to run versus the 2.2MB required for version 3.2. In order to use Pocket Plus 4.0 your device must be running Windows Mobile PocketPC 2003, 2003SE, 5.0 or 6. Pocket Plus 4.0 will work on QVGA and VGA devices alike. While you can install Pocket Plus onto a Memory Card, both Spb and Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! recommend installing it into your devices main memory as performance and loading after a reset can be impacted. During the installation process you will be prompted on which components of Pocket Plus you wish to install and it will give you an indication of the space required for each feature.
Once the installation is completed and you soft-reset your device the new look of Pocket Plus is easy to see. While it is still a tabular layout like that of previous versions, you will note that the icons for the tabs are larger and up-to-date. Spb has done a good job improving the tab functionality understanding that the Today screen is one of the most customized and "personal" areas of a Windows Mobile device. The new work around the tabs included the ability to make large or small tab icons, auto hiding of tab content, plug-ins for other applications into the tabs as well as vertical or horizontal alignment of the tabs. Additionally, if you use your device in landscape mode regularly, Pocket Plus will now realign the tabs automatically to work in that mode making it much more user friendly.
A new feature of Pocket Plus is the ability to label icons on each of the tabs. The ability to label icons is helpful for users who have many of the same or similar icons that represent various items on your device. For example, if you have multiple shortcuts to documents they will have the same icon. Now you can label those icons so you know which document is represented by each icon, saving you time and taps of the screen.
In previous versions of Pocket Plus you could embed the Today plug-ins from other Spb Software House applications into Tabs on your device. This was particularly helpful but clearly the limitation of not being able to embed other 3rd party plug-ins was an issue. With version 4.0 virtually every Today plug-in from any 3rd party developer can be embedded on a tab in Pocket Plus. Add to this that you can use multiple Today plug-ins on one tab in Pocket Plus which makes the application, essentially, the only Today plug-in you would need to use. This is a big step forward for the application and for the user experience. To add a plug-in to a tab, tap-and-hold the icon for that tab then choose Plug-in form the menu. You will see a list of available plug-ins (based on what is installed on your device) which you can tap to add to the tab.
Since version 2.0 of Pocket Plus, Spb has offered Extended Themes to allow users to more customize their experience. In addition to offering the themes themselves, Spb also made an Extended Theme creator which you could use in conjunction with the Microsoft Theme Maker. At best this tool was difficult to use and more often was frustrating for users. It seems that very few made Extended Themes and the tools available could well have been part of the problem. With version 4.0, Spb has essentially eliminated Extended Themes and instead offer users the ability to download new themes directly to their device. Additionally, to lighten the install footprint of the device, only two icon sets are installed when you install Pocket Plus. The rest are available by going into the Pocket Plus options then the Feature Options of the Today Plug-in. From here, tap the Skin tab and choose <Download More> from the pull-down menu. There are about two dozen skins available currently from Spb with more on the way. The good news: Each of these themes are roughly 32KB in size making them storage area friendly! To do the direct downloads your device must be able to connect to the Internet and you have incur charges based on your data plan from your carrier or operator.
If you took the Today enhancements alone, Pocket Plus version 4 would be well worth the purchase price. Spb however did not just stop here: They also made major enhancements to how Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) functions as well making this version almost irresistible. With this version you now have tab browsing in PIE, a feature that has essentially remind on the desktop PC until now. Just like Internet Explorer 7, you can have multiple tabs from multiple sites open at the same time allowing easy navigation between sites. To open a new tab tap the Pocket Plus icon in PIE (next to the address bar) and tap New Tab.
Version 4 of Pocket Plus also brings a new File Open/Save Dialog to your Windows Mobile device which allows you to open and safe a file from any location on your device instead of the default My Documents. This is helpful for those who want to save documents or pictures on a storage card instead of My Documents. While they will not be synchronized with your PC by WMDC or ActiveSync, they will save you precious memory on your device itself.
The last key new feature of Pocket Plus v4 is Smart Scrolling. This feature allows a simple finger or stylus drag across the screen to allow rapid scrolling of information such as documents, contacts or even PIE. It is speed sensitive so the faster you drag the faster content will fly by - which is great if you have a lot of contacts. The best way to describe this function is that it is very similar to the scrolling function of the Apple iPhone. It is smooth and quick and definitely improves the user experience. Along with these new features are the features that have been a part of Pocket Plus in previous versions. Some of these features include the ability to change hardware button functionality (assign different applications to them), a real "close" button and ZIP functionality built into File Explorer. Of these three only the buttons function was modified which will now allow for double functions to be assigned to a button. For example, on my O2 Xda Zinc I have a Messages button. If I press it quickly it opens up Messages on my device so I can read my email. Now I can assign an additional function with a long press of the button. Now if I press and hold my Messages button on my Zinc it will open up Internet Explorer. Essentially it allows every button to do double duty, saving taps on the screen.
Spb Software House spent nearly a year developing Pocket Plus 4.0 and the work is evident from the moment you start the application. This new version brings a whole new level of customization of the Today screen to your Windows Mobile device as well as a more intuitive user experience. Add the enhancements they have made to PIE and you have an application that should be the first application installed on any new device. I have been using this new version for several weeks before the public launch on October 15, 2007 and have yet to find any issues with the application. Everything functions as advertised and I have seen no impact to my device's performance by having it installed. In fact I would say performance has increased with version 4.0 over 3.2. Spb Software House's Pocket Plus version 4.0 is available for $29.95 directly from Spb themselves and a variety of online retailers including the Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! Software store. Pocket Plus is on the Top 50 Applications list and thus qualifies for a 20% discount when you use the coupon code found on the Coupon page of the site. If you have purchased Pocket Plus 3.2 within the last 90 days the upgrade to version 4.0 is free. If you are beyond the 90 days but want to upgrade, the upgrade cost is $14.99. In either case contact Spb directly on their site for information. What I like: Great User Experience, Larger Icons, Plug-in functionality, Improved Speed, Smaller Memory Requirements What I Don't Like: Nothing! Rating (1-10): 10+ Clinton Fitch, MVP-Mobile Devices
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