 Doesn't the lack of many simple features that are available on the desktop computer annoy you? So many simple features are missing from the PocketPC operating system and I think that Microsoft intentionally left them out for at least one reason and that may be so people will have a reason to upgrade in the future. Luckily for us, we have SPB Software House, who provides a program called SPB Pocket Plus and it attempts and succeeds at adding many of these missing features and, in the end, make PocketPC's much more easier to use and useful.
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One of these great features is a nice list that can be pulled down by several activities that can be set in the wonderful options page of the program. As you see in the picture below, this menu displays all of the currently running programs, a close button to close the program you are currently using, an easy way to switch to another application, and a wealth of options, along with an options button to control the interface and other aspects of the program. I think that this menu is so important for PocketPC's because there is not really an easy way to switch between applications like there is on the desktop. Probably the only way that is pre-installed on most devices is the iTask button, unless you go through a long list of steps to get to the settings page with this information. Other than displaying the programs that are running, there are other options such as backlight adjustment.
The main options screen for SPB Pocket Plus can be seen in the image below. I am really impressed to see how all of the options are so carefully organized and combined into one single page. Most other programs force the user to use various areas of the operating system to edit options to different parts of the program. Among the enhancements that you will find, one of which is the ability to add icons to the today screen and other things, such as meters that display your current battery status, memory usage, etc., or a bar at the very top of the screen that displays battery status as well. The today screen addition also allows dragging and dropping of icons to move them around, tabs that allow items to be categorized, and large icons. These are all very helpful and make operating the device much quicker because I am no longer required to go to start > programs > (type) > and then click on the program. Even then, I have the menu open below the program, which probably slows my device down even more. The reason I said type is because I categorize my programs into categories such as Business, Games, Media, and about 4 others to keep things neat.
I have now arrived at one of my favorite features of this program. One reason why the other features are not my favorite is because before getting this program, I had used other similar programs that had similar functionality. Those programs did not include this next feature, full-screen pocket internet explorer. I understand that it does not provide a huge amount of additional website viewing area, but when combined with Tweaks2K2 (allows the scroll bar's size to be decreased), I seem to get much more space and it is much easier to browse the internet. The VGA screen also is very helpful and SPB Pocket Plus has excellent VGA support. In most cases, I used to use SE_VGA to increase the overall resolution to decrease the size of the top and bottom bars, but with full-screen internet explorer, there is no need to use SE_VGA because the bars disappear completely and the best part is that I don't have to perform a soft reset each time I want the bars to disappear. This is a better solution than simply making the bars smaller, and its easier as well!
Even with that amazing feature, SPB didn't stop there. They added another feature that allows multiple pocket internet explorer browsers to be open at once! Finally, you can save an image from pocket internet explorer and even view the source of a document. It is hard to believe that I was able to function without this software. These features are so helpful and I have come to expect them since Windows includes them.
This program also provides many other features. These include better alarm support with more options, ZIP support, enhanced file explorer, ability to format storage cards, file properties in file explorer, and more. Some of these final features, such as zip support and a better file explorer, are not extremely useful because I already have a 3rd party file explorer that has many of these features, but this is by far a better value than what I am using. One more feature in file explorer is a "folder up" button that will move you to the previous folder you were browsing.
This is a great program for most every PocketPC user and it is jam packed with tons of great features that are sure to satisfy your needs better than the standard operating system does. The price is not too out-of-line when you consider everything you get and I really am pleased to see how well all of these features are implemented into the operating system. There are not too many changes to most of the operating system or appearance other than what you will use, such as the added icon in pocket internet explorer that allows full screen mode activation or switching between screens (multiple pocket internet explorer websites open at once). This program also does not take very much memory (about 1mb) and it runs relatively quickly.
 Addition: This is how I have my device set up. It works so well and I absolutely love using SPB Pocket Plus. I have actually stopped using some other competetors, which I won't name here, but this program doesn't slow my machine down nearly as much. I am even considering trying SPB Weather because I think it would fit in well with SPB Pocket Plus. Since that snapshot, my schedule has gotten a lot more busy (I just formatted and everything wasn't entered) and I also added a third "Bonus" tab, but this program is amazing. You may have noticed I don't use the battery meter at the top of the screen, and this is because I don't really need it. Every other feature I especially like and use. One more change is that I used Tweaks2K2 to hide the system time, giving me even more space up there. |
