REVIEW: brand new SOTi Pocket Controller Professional 6.0
We all know the, without doubt, BEST “let’s control a Windows Mobile device from a desktop PC” solution, SOTi Pocket Controller Professional capable of controlling both Pocket PC's and Smartphones. Now that they have just released a brand new, 6.0 version, I’ve given it a very thorough test ride (current, tested version: 6.01 build 1256). Read on to find out whether it’s worth upgrading!
Note that the excellent Windows Mobile site Just Another Mobile Monday has already published an excellent review. Please make sure you read it. In the current article, I “only” show what has changed over the last, 5.07 build 966 version (and, for SP users, I give you some genuine registry hacks to hide the icon of the old Pocket Controller from the task bar). I also provide you with some benchmark so that you will know everything to decide whether the new version is worth upgrading. You may also want to read my all-in-one roundup of all the comparable solutions HERE.
Availability
It’s available HERE. A single-device license costs $35.95. If you have purchased Pocket Controller-Pro during the last 10 months, you are eligible for a free upgrade. Otherwise, you get a 20% discount if you've purchased Pocket Controller earlier.
Should you have more than one Windows Mobile devices, you need to purchase a license for each of them, should you want to access them via Pocket Controller. This isn't an issue with the vast majority of the Windows Mobile users out there, having only one handheld, "only" supergeeks and gadget fans having more than one device.
Compared to the old, 5.x series,
The pros
Fully fledged registry editor – currently, the only one registry editor to flawlessly work with WM5+ devices, as opposed to the free Mobile Registry Editor 1.1 (of which, the long-promised, new, 1.2 version doesn’t seem to be released). It supports everything a decent registry editor should support: import / export (using version 5 compatible with Resco Registry Explorer), search and is way faster than MRE. (See the Windows Mobile Registry Editor Bible for more info.)
Image snapshot capabilities are vastly enhanced: PNG is supported and GIF are saved compressed. No need to save your images to BMP files and, then, in a separate session, convert them to PNG’s (or, probably, GIF’s). Not that the latter would be THAT complicated: I’ve, for example, created a simple batch file just calling ImageMagick to make this stuff automatic.
The video capture capabilities have also been enhanced: now, it’s also able to record into WMV files (not only AVI ones), should you prefer the former to the latter.
On MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile 6 Standard) models, the Soti icon isn’t any more displayed on the task bar (in addition to the above screenshots, HERE is an Oxygen screenshot; compare all these screenshots to my previous Smartphone shots).
Note that , with previous versions, you could also do the same with importing THIS registry file and restarting your phone (results visible HERE). This hack has been, as usual, discovered by me; it just involves setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Apps\ SOTI\ PocketController\ enabletray to OFF.
The client CPU usage is a TAD lower, 32-33% as opposed to 33-34%, under exactly the same circumstances. In the screenshot, the first 3-4 minutes have been taken using the new (another screenshot of this case HERE; as can be seen, it lacks the PocketController icon in the top right corner, also showing it’s the new version), the last 3-4 minutes with the old version, quickly swapping the two versions in between. Note that if there is no remote controlling session, the CPU will not be used.
The User Interface is far prettier now: the new Vista style UI, which also now has a New Skin Display Mode (i.e. Skin in Window) that was not possible in v5.07.
The Skin Catalog has also been completely redesigned; for example skin downloads are much faster now, you can also do things like download all skins for a manufacturer with a single mouse click and preview all skins without having to download each skin one at a time and then click on each skin to look at it. Also added is the capability of showing the specifications for a device in the Skin Catalog in addition to its picture. At present, however, the data of a few devices data is populated. As an example, look at the Intermec CN3 device in the Skin Catalog.
Now, for some other stuff I don’t actively use / need: it supports advanced security options (for example, remote wipe), advanced printing and a lot more; see THIS for more info on new / enhanced functionality.
Still not changed / enhanced
You still can’t use the keyboard / mouse with the HTC Vox – as opposed to the HTC Oxygen
The Task Manager module hasn’t changed at all. This means you can’t expect anything like acbTaskMan or any, more advanced task / process manager / monitor tool. (See THIS for a complete review of these tools.)
The draw mode isn’t enhanced: it only supports hand drawing (shot of the older version HERE) – there are no ways of using for example circles / ellipses (to emphasize something) or making some text (for example, e-mail addresses, names etc. in a contact list) illegible. This means you will still need to post-process a LOT of images to make a lot of personal information unreadable.
On the other hand, you don’t need to keep Ctrl depressed on the keyboard any more to continue drawing, which was a definite problem with the earlier version (which just deleted handmade drawings upon releasing the Ctrl button; this also means, with the old version, you can’t use the Ctrl-D shortcut to quickly bring up the screenshot window, unlike with the new one).
The remote console is as simple as before; it only knows very few commands. Not that it should be a complete reimplementation of the file system tools of the venerable MS-DOS, anyway.
About 100k more (built-in - as before, being a service started at startup, it can't be installed to storage cards) storage usage (understandable if you think of for example the brand new functionality like remote wipe)
Note that Intel 2700G (3D accelerator in the Dell Axim x50v / x51v; see the Screen Capture Bible for more info on the related problems) screen capture-wise, I haven’t found any differences. The problems are mostly based on the fact that a given game’s hating ActiveSync. As is pointed out in the Bible, you can be successful at making a game run with Pocket Controller being active; for example, with Call of Duty 2, to do this, you need to only activate Pocket Controller after you’ve started a new game or loaded a previous one, not before (otherwise, the game may hang in the menus).
Verdict
If you can get a free update (that is, you’ve purchased your copy in the last ten months), go get it. If you need Smartphone screenshots without the SOTI icon and are afraid (you shouldn’t be!) of importing my registry script, it’s a must. Also, if you need a decent and, as opposed to anything else currently available, working and fully fledged desktop-side registry editor, go get it. The same stands for the brand new functionality like enhanced security / remote wipe – if your particular model / carrier doesn’t support it, you may want to go for alternate means; one of them may be the new Pocket Controller version.
If, on the other hand, you already have the 5.x series, it’s working great with you, don’t need any of the new functionality and you aren’t eligible for the free, new version (because you’ve purchased your copy more than 10 months ago and, therefore, you could only use the 20% rebate), I’d think twice before going for the new version: the underlying engine is only (very) slightly better / faster than the last, 5.07 version (see for example the CPU usage results). It's only at low-speed, for example, GPRS connections (as opposed to the high-speed direct USB connection) that there is a certainly visible communication speed improvement: the data traffic during remote control sessions is a little more efficient (SOTi have switched to using the same technology for their enterprise solution, MobiControl, which can manage devices over slow GPRS connections, so sending less data really matters in this case) I’m not sure whether it’ll worth the $28.76 for a 5.0x user – again, unless you desperately need the new features (remote wipe, desktop-side registry editor etc).
Finally, if you’re a newcomer to Windows Mobile and have NOT ever purchased any version of this tool, go get it – it’ll pay off in everything; most importantly, speed (no other tool remote controller tool supports so high a speed). You will LOVE it, I’m absolutely sure – just don’t waste your time with the other, in most respects, vastly inferior solutions. What you gain by not paying anything for a free remote controller tool, you will easily lose by, for example, having to waste a LOT more time waiting for screen refreshes because of the far worse communication protocol used.
While the Pros are very strong, you've missed out the biggest con... Price.
The app costs $35, but that only licenses it for one mobile devices. If I use it on my Phone, axim, and Ipaq then it's going to cost me a staggering $105! Even if I use it on the same PC.
On the other hand MyMobiler is free... and while it doesn't have a registry editor, or video recording the difference in price means that it is ultimately a far better option if you have more than one device
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I had 5.05 and did get the 20% off on version 6 and am very happy with it. The part I liked the best was it speeds up anything I want to do on my Motorola Q. I have Resco Explorer on the Q but it can be a bit slow (me, not the program) when you are making registry changes and have to switch from one side of Explorer to get to the other and then back again. SOTI's Controller makes this effortless using the PC screen. I also am unable to use the mouse very much on the Q but the left/right/up/down keys work perfectly. I don't remember 5.05 having the explorer on it that accesses the PC, PPC or Smartphone files and folders but maybe it was there.
While the Pros are very strong, you've missed out the biggest con... Price.
The app costs $35, but that only licenses it for one mobile devices. If I use it on my Phone, axim, and Ipaq then it's going to cost me a staggering $105! Even if I use it on the same PC.
On the other hand MyMobiler is free... and while it doesn't have a registry editor, or video recording the difference in price means that it is ultimately a far better option if you have more than one device
I use the same program on my iPAQ 2795 and Motorola Q, am I doing something illegal?:rolling:
Several staff member recommended this app to me, and I've been very pleased with it. One issue I've seen is that if I attempt to do a screen cap without the "skin", the resulting file cap doesn't look right, and I've seen this on two different systems I tested the Windows client on.
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This is an excellent utility. I just purchased 6.0 a month or so ago - it works really well with my Ax. The cool thing about it is I can be developing an application in VS2005 for it and go into debug mode and have the Soti window open to interact with the application while I use the VS2005 debugger. Very cool.
While the Pros are very strong, you've missed out the biggest con... Price.
The app costs $35, but that only licenses it for one mobile devices. If I use it on my Phone, axim, and Ipaq then it's going to cost me a staggering $105! Even if I use it on the same PC.
I'm pretty sure this isn't the case - I'm a registered customer of the 5.x series (unfortunately, outside the 10-month-range) and have always been able to deploy it in as many PPC's, Smartphones and even desktop PC's (my notebook and desktop) as possible.
Several staff member recommended this app to me, and I've been very pleased with it. One issue I've seen is that if I attempt to do a screen cap without the "skin", the resulting file cap doesn't look right, and I've seen this on two different systems I tested the Windows client on.
You mean the built-in screen capture (Ctrl-D) without any additional skin? It has always worked with me, in all versions (aside from the uncompressed GIF problems, but I've always used BMP, and, finally, I've converted it into PNG with ImageMagick) - w/o any problems.
I'm pretty sure this isn't the case - I'm a registered customer of the 5.x series (unfortunately, outside the 10-month-range) and have always been able to deploy it in as many PPC's, Smartphones and even desktop PC's (my notebook and desktop) as possible.
No usage restrictions at all.
Oh dear, I think you aren't legal then, even though the software works you aren't licensed for the additional devices.
A license must be purchased for each mobile device the software is installed on. For more information about volume licensing please contact us at sales@soti.net
If it wasn't for that I'd go and buy it today. Even if I needed to buy a new copy for each PC i'd do that..
But I'm not going to pay $35.95 for an app that i'm going to be legal for once, and unlicenced for twice!!!!
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If it wasn't for that I'd go and buy it today. Even if I needed to buy a new copy for each PC i'd do that..
But I'm not going to pay $35.95 for an app that i'm going to be legal for once, and unlicenced for twice!!!!
Nice to know - I didn't know about it and am pretty sure this wasn't a case with previous versions. I drop them a mail and ask whether this is serious.
If it is, I will need to get rid of it (I have a lot of PPC's and Smartphones and can't shell out THAT much money.)
It was the case with version 5, as I was going to buy it a few months ago.
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