Reviewer: Andy Mason (Warthog)

Product: Spb Mobile Shell 1.0

Developer: Spb Software House
Price: USD $29.95
Rating (5 out of 5)

With the new release of Mobile Shell, the developers of Spb Software House are offering an Extreme Makeover for your Windows Mobile 5 device.  If you compare Windows Mobile 5.0 with Pocket PC 2000 it is obvious that there have been no significant changes to the user interface.  Sure, the Pocket PC OS looks nicer, but the concept remains the same: graphically simplistic design, line by line view in the Today screen, icons, Start Menu, Programs and the Control Panel. The Pocket PC platform has not been significantly changed in terms of the user interface, while use conditions have changed a lot.  The developers at Spb, a world leader in Pocket PC software, decided it was time for a WM5 Extreme Makeover and set out to close the gap between the existing Pocket PC user interface and the one users expect from such a smart, modern and powerful device. Utilizing feedback from hundreds of thousands of users of their products and their years of experience as a leader in the field of mobile user interface, Spb Mobile Shell was born. 

Pocket PC 2000	Windows Mobile 5 (6 Years Later)	Spb Mobile Shell (Now Screen)

Testing Environment:

Spb Mobile Shell was installed on my Dell x51v. Installation was straightforward via the .exe file provided by Sbp. 

Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep:

This is more than just another 3rd party add-on that allows you to alter the appearance of your device.  Mobile Shell is an open platform application that creates the next generation user experience.  Casual users will appreciate the increased ease of navigating their WM5 device.  Power users will appreciate the speed and flexibility built in to Spb Mobile Shell.  The three main components to Mobile Shell are:

1) Now Screen: access your most critical information at a glance

2) Spb Menu: access to all your device functions via a soft button

3) Today Plug-ins: A resident tabbed area on the Today screen with big dynamic tabs.  Four default tabs to give detailed information and provide additional features such as Smart Launcher, Weather, World Time and Photo Dial.

Features:

Spb Mobile Shell targets people who need the power of a Windows Mobile phone, but are not happy with the standard Pocket PC user interface. It is designed with phone users in mind.  One of the smartest features of Mobile Shell is the Now Screen.  Most users turn on their phone because they want to check the current state of the device (i.e., time/date, missed calls or messages) or to take some type of action (i.e., respond to a message, make a call, browse the Internet).  The beauty of the Now Screen makes it easy to do all of those tasks with a quick glance. Even more importantly, the Now Screen provides the quickest and most direct way to respond as needed.  For example, you can open your Inbox to read new emails with just a tap or with a couple of hardware key clicks.  In most cases you don’t even need to leave the Now Screen. After you take your device from your pocket, check your most important information summary (i.e, missed calls, new email, weather, etc) via the Now Screen and put it away. However, if you want to do something different from the actions available to you directly from the Now Screen, that’s easy, too. Press the Spb Menu soft key to get quick and efficient access to all device features, or just close the Now Screen and return to the regular Today screen (or the last active application).

Spb Menu

The Spb menu adds some much needed features to your Pocket PC, such as smart contact search, but also gives you convenient access to all existing device features.

Today Plug-In

Spb Mobile Shell includes a Today plug-in with the following features: Smart MRU (Most Recently Used) program launcher with the ability to pin items, photo speed dial, Basic weather forecast (a light version of Spb Weather), World-time in 3 cities and next alarm (a light version of Spb Time).

Additional Features:

One-Handed Operation – This one of the most important functions of a device that doubles as a phone.  All Spb Mobile Shell functionality can be accessed with the D-pad and soft-keys. And if the user prefers the touch screen, all elements are large enough to be tapped without a stylus. One of the features I like most about the Mobile Shell Today Plug-In is the use of large dynamic tabs that are big enough to tap with a finger and also support custom plug-ins so that you can add your favorite plug-ins in the tabbed area, too.  The tabs are big but they are not useless. The thumbnails in the tab header show the most important information. For example, the Time plug-in thumbnail shows the current time, the Weather plug-in thumbnail shows the current weather and the Home plug-in thumbnails shows the current battery level. This reduces the number of cases when you need to actually open a tab and keeps your valuable Today screen real estate free from unnecessary clutter.  I am a minimalist.  I like my Today screen to be neat and tidy!

Password Protected Device - Many companies require all their employees to use a password with their devices.  So many modern Pocket PC devices (especially phones) are protected with a password. To check some simple non-confidential information you need to enter your password first. Why do you need to enter your password just to see how many unread emails you have? Or to check what today is? Or to check the battery status? The list goes on and on.  Spb Mobile Shell gives you the option to show the Now Screen before the password prompt with non-confidential information. This improves usability a lot without compromising security.

Landscape Mode - Spb Mobile Shell interface has been specially optimized for landscape mode:

Adaptive skins – Spb Mobile helps you avoid theme “confusion” by introducing the new concept of adaptive skins.  Spb Mobile Shell will change its skin when the device color is changed.  All of the skinable parts of the Spb Mobile Shell user interface (menu, Contacts screen) are also automatically changed when a user chooses any one of the sixteen included color schemes. 

Conclusion:

I’ll spare you the hyperbole.  The developers at Spb simply got it right with Mobile Shell.  This software could top the list of the “must-have” software for all WM5 devices in 2007.  Novice users will appreciate Mobile Shell's simplicity.  Power users will appreciate its flexibilty.  It looks gorgeous.  It is incredibly fast.  Pocket PC users will enjoy it.  WM5 Smartphone users will wonder how they managed to live without it. 

Pros:

• Now Screen: All WM5 phones should have this feature!
• Maximized for "out-of-the-box" usability - download it and GO!
• Speed - instant response (80ms) when navigating through menus and options
• Light versions of Spb Time/SpbWeather built in
• One-handed navigation
• Dynamic tabs that provide useful information at a glance
• Compact layout saves valuable Today Screen real estate

Cons:

• none to report

Many thanks to Spb for providing a review copy of Mobile Shell

Product version: 1.0

Supported languages: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Czech, Dutch

Supported OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC and later