TamsPPC - the PocketPC Blog » Software Reviews

SPB TV – the review

Tam Hanna — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:55:51 +0000

Use the discount code CHEAPSPBTV to get 20% off the program’s retail price in the TamsShop!

3G connections, faster CPUs and falling data have opened doors for various applications which used to be impossible in the past. Mobile TV is one of these areas: what once required clumsy reception gadgetry, is now offered for free by many carriers.

Unfortunately, carrier TV solutions are usually limited to a few “broad appeal” channels, and omit high-quality news and finance channels. SPB TV wants to fill the void – but can it stack up?

The home screen of the program contains a scrollable list of channels along with a preview of the currently-running program:

Some programs stream a TV program, which is displayed by SPB TV:

Reminders can be created easily – and are actually written into your device’s calendar discreetly:

Channels stream in very high quality, but can neither be recorded nor be kept playing while in the background. In fact, even screenshots turn out all black:

SPB TV allows you to hide channels which you do not want:

As already said before, SPB TV offers many channels which are not offered by any carrier solution. I am currently pursuing a list of channels, and will post it here as soon as I can get it from the company.

This review looked at version 1.0.0 b461 of SPB TV on an XPERIA X1 running its stock distribution of Windows Mobile 6.1. Three-G coverage was provided by Hutchison Austria. BTW: SPB TV needs 4850KB of RAM and can be installed onto an external memory card.

People who are happy with the channels offered by their carrier won’t need SPB TV. Everybody else should rush and pay the 15 dollars – the money is well invested if you need one of the TV channels on the go (think N-TV or BloomBerg) and are on an unlimited data plan…

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Spb Wireless Monitor – Review

Sebastian Sell — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:54:19 +0000

If your Windows Mobile-phone is web-enabled, then this program is a must-have. Depending on your mobile-phone carrier and contract, browsing can be very expensive – all the more if you have no idea, how many data has been transferred.
An example: with my phone carrier, 1 MB costs 0,24€. Now if you’re a Youtube enthusiast and watch ~10 videos (one around 10 MB) in a week, you would have to pay 24€ only for internet!
Spb Wireless Monitor helps to keep your expenses low by counting the internet traffic and notifying when you reached a previous set limit. Let’s take a closer look:

After starting up the program, you will see this screen with the most important functions. Open up the first function and you will see statistics about the internet usage. The program differentiates between the different types of internet connections: USB, WiFi, the data plan of your mobile carrier or other connections available. After choosing the type of connection, Spb Wireless Monitor displays which program used how much web traffic over this particular connection. These statistics can be displayed as a detailed list or as a diagram – a very clear way to present them.

In addition, you can limit the time range of the data which should be displayed, for example the program can display only the transferred data volume of the last month. This is very useful, if you’ve a one-month volume flat. If you’ve previously entered the rate, Spb Wireless Monitor even shows how much you had to pay for your web trip.
Another nice feature are the notifications. The user can create as many notifications as he wishes. Spb Wireless Monitor can notify the user, if a determined volume or a determined cost-limit was reached. An example for a possible notification:

Notify me, if the daily volume exceeds 20 MB over the connection 3G Internet

If this notification is active, the program displays a pop up message, if you used your mobile 3G internet connection and downloaded 20 MB of data, or watched some videos on Youtube which were 20 MB big in total, or if you just browsed web pages…

For those who like to have an overview over their expenses on the desktop computer, the export function might be a handy feature. The user can chose the connection, and the time range of the data which should be exported, then with a tap on the ‘Export’-button, the chosen data will be saved to a file. Supported output file formats are HTML and comma seperated values (CSV).

The last option in the main menu calls up the configuration dialog of the Spb Wireless Monitor today screen plugin. By default, data of all available connections are shown on the today screen. In this configuration dialog, the different connections can be hidden or shown.

Conclusion

If you use your phone for mobile surfing, you should use this program – only then you have a clean and precise overview over your expenses and which program caused them.

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Opera Mobile 9.7 – the preview

Tam Hanna — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:50:08 +0000

Opera Mobile 9.7 is considered a magic box by many: features like 3D-accelerated scrolling, a powerful proxy in the backend and a variety of other options should theoretically give all other devices a run for their money. But can it really stack up?

Installing the program takes a few minutes – in case you already had Opera on your box, you will then find a total of two icons:

The new browser has a different start-up animation:

And furthermore has a different theme:

A zoom slider is finally available for comfortable zooming: the dreaded grey checkerboard now pops up a lot less:

Unfortunately, the rendering engine still has some eekers which were not present in 9.5 – the image below shows our sister site TamsPalm:

Surprisingly, Opera Mobile 9.5 gets it done without any eekers:

The status bar at the bottom is now a lot wider, which wastes screen real estate:

Closing tabs can no longer be done via a button at the top – it now requires two clicks:

Opera Mobile 9.7 furthermore does away with the highly annoying XML errors (ridiculed here) – which means that web sites like The Daily WTF can now be accessed easily…

In the end, the browser feels a lot faster than its predecessor…but can not stack up fully due to its horrible handling and rendering engine eekers. If Opera manages to get the rendering back in line, this could well be their next bestseller…

P.S. Stay tuned – SunSpider benchmark test reports follow shortly…

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Aiko SecuWipe – the review

Tam Hanna — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:20:54 +0000

Use the discount code CHEAPERAIKO to get 20% off SecuWipe in the TamsShop!

The advent of Flash-based handhelds and smartphones brought us freedom from data loss…but came at a very high price: deleted data can easily be recovered from a flash chip. Aiko Solutions SecuWipe is the first file shredder for Windows Mobile…but can it stack up?

SecuWipe has a well-done home screen where actions can be triggered. Unfortunately, some dialogs take up to 20 seconds to open:

Wiping always follows the same scheme. You first select one or more victims:

Afterwards, the security level is specified:

Finally, the wiping process starts:

A very detailed help file explains program operation and available overwriting methods:

This review looked at version 1.0.0 of SecuWipe on an XPERIA X1 running its stock version of Windows Mobile 6.1. SecuWipe needs 636KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card. Program stability was ok except for some display eekers due to the 800×480 screen:

In the end, the high price of about 32$ after a TamsShop rebate of 20 percent makes this product too expensive for the average user. Security-conscious users will be happy though.

P.S. Don’t think about using the trial to wipe free space on a handheld before selling it – the trial version does not support this feature…

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YouTube for Windows Mobile – the review

Tam Hanna — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:48:45 +0000

Apples touchscreen devices managed to raise a huge ruckus due to their excellent YouTube integration. This was hardly surprising, as the mobile video application was preinstalled onto each and every device and was furthermore optimized to the devices hardware. Windows Mobile just got a native client – can in stack up?

After starting up for the first time, the product displays a disclaimer and a terms-of-use agreement. As of this writing, very few countries are covered:

YouTube Mobile’s home screen is pictured below – searching videos can be done via the text field. Unfortunately, the generation of the home screen can take up to 20 seconds, thereby defeating the idea of the mobile client in the first place:

The display of search results could literally be taken from a book of bad GUI design:

Finally, a look at video playback. The controls are hidden most of the time, and pop up only when the screen is touched:

Just in case anybody of you is asking himself about settings or options: there are none. Deleting search history and/or “private data” must be done from the Help menu:

This review looked at version 2.0.2 of YouTube Mobile on a Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 running its stock distribution of Windows Mobile 6.1. The program needs 1506KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

In the end, YouTube for Windows Mobile excels in nothing but eating up memory: the 1500KB can definitely be used more efficiently. The program is slower than the dedicated web site, and doesn’t offer significantly better video qualiţy. Fail!

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Resco Contact Manager – the review

Tam Hanna — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:51:52 +0000

Windows Mobile phones have evolved out of the PocketPC/Windows CE platform – a platform notable for its contact management power and multimedia handhelds. Phone support was an afterthought added in 2002…and even though the UI has improved a lot since then, it still lacks at least some of the polish inherent in other platforms. Resco’s Contact Manager wants to fix this – but can it stack up?

RCM consists of multiple modules which are integrated into a folder of the programs folder:

The program furthermore attaches itself to the ’start call’ key of your handset. While the screen may look a bit overwhelming at first glance, it is extremely useful – you can enter both numbers and contacts easily (in a T9esque fashion):

BTW: the little SMS icon allows you to SMS a contact directly…

RCM displays detailed statistics for each contact – you can easily find out whom you called when and how long you talked:

Resco Contact Manager furthermore acts as a threaded SMS viewer:

The real strength of RCM is its ability to handle contacts with associated photos. Once a photo is associated with a contact, the product displays it whenever the contact is referenced:

Unfortunately, the folks at Resco’s could not resist the urge to create a today plugin. It uses an obscene amount of space and IMHO offers little value, as it can not be configured:

This review looked at version 1.10 of Resco Contact Manager on a Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. RCM needs 1917KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

In the end, Resco Contact Manager can likely save you quite a few clicks. If the boys at Resco’s would add a graphical contact chooser like the one found in UltimatePhone for Palm OS and add a few small tweaks(like displaying the currently active network), RCM would be a total must have. As it stands now, the price of 25$ is too steep…but keeping an eye on it is a great idea…

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RSS readers for Windows Mobile, part 1: SPB Insight

Tam Hanna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:08:08 +0000

Use the discount code RSS4CHEAP to get 20% off the product’s list price (20$) in the TamsShop!
While RSS is almost universally loathed by blog operators (RSS readers dont display sponsor ads,…), users can save a lot of time with them when it comes to reading multiple blogs at once. This has always been an application for handhelds (anyone remember Plucker?) – but lets see which of the RSS readers for Windows Mobile is best?

Our first contender is SPB’s Insight. The product displays a settings wizard while being installed, and contains a today plug-in:

Channels can be added to Insight easily. SPB has chosen to store the list of feeds online: while this requires you to download a catalog every time you wish to use the built-in list, it also makes sure that all channels advertised actually exist:

Once your channels are in the list, updating them is easy:

Feeds can even be displayed while being updated – SPB apparently dislikes waiting as much as I do:

The rendering quality of the product is good (read: Pocket IE). To cut a long story short: all my test feeds rendered well, embedded images were displayed.

This review looked at version of SPB Insight on an XPERIA X1. The product needs 2276KB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

In the end, SPB Insight is a good reader with a lethal flaw: it does not allow you to bookmark articles for later processing. If you can live with this omission, take the trial of this program for a spin. If not, stay tuned for the next program!

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SPB Weather 2 – the review

Tam Hanna — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:02:45 +0000

By all means, use the discount code RIGHTWEATHERPRICE to get 20% off the regular price of SPB Weather in the TamsShop!
The display of weather information is one of the oldest applications for smartphone devices – as always-on internet connection is one of the defining properties of PocketPC smartphones, SPB was in an ideal position to offer a compelling solution – but can it stack up?

SPB Weather supports literally thousands of cities – picking the right one is straightforward:

Unfortunately, rather little information is displayed about the individual places – other products display more:

One of the most impressive features of SPB Weather is its 3D globe view, which can be used to display various parameters. Unfortunately, it is of little use as the program jumps from city to city like a rabbit on steroids…

SPB Weather can integrate itself into the today screen. This plugin is excellent – the screens below show a few of the millions of possible configurations:

SPB Weather has various options – it unfortunately seems to miss a command which disables self-updating while roaming:

Various data sources can be used to supply the data used – as the default source has served me well so far, I saw little reason to change it:

This review looked at version 2.0 of the program on an XPERIA X1 running its stock WM 6.1 ROM without added GL drivers of any sort. It needs about 10MB of memory and can be installed onto an external memory card.

Like many other PocketPC programs, SPB Weather unfortunately got “iPhoneitis”. It is loaded with weird transitions and non-standard UI widgets to the point of obscenity…I have opened the main program two times on my rather fast X1 and closed it immediately due to lag and disgust. The today plug-in, on the other hand, is excellent – my main eeker is that 16 USD (after my rebate) is a bit steep.

If SPB would offer the plug-in as a standalone, it would get rave reviews here. As the package currently stands, I feel that better offers are available…

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Google Maps: StreetView for Windows Mobile

Alexander Gratz — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:37:35 +0000

After the iPhone and Google Android received support for Google Street View, the recent update (Google Maps 2.3) enables it on Windows Mobile and Symbian OS (Series 60). This feature allows you to walk through the streets of cities and view 360° photos. There are many cities in the US which are covered by Street View and some in France. At the moment, Google is capturing photos of German cities.

So I opened Opera, the standard browser of my MDA Vario IV, also known as HTC Touch Pro. But instead of offering a download, the text on the Google Maps Mobile page said that I should open the site in my mobile browser – while I was in Opera! The solution of this problem is that Opera indentifies as a desktop browser, so Google thinks that you are using the browser on your computer. If you have a HTC Diamond, Touch Pro, or another smartphone with Opera, use the Internet Explorer instead.

After you have opened the URL www.google.com/gmm and downloaded Google Maps for Windows Mobile, the installer will first remove the old version of Google Maps (if it is installed). Then it will install the new version.

When Google Maps starts for the first time, it shows an info about the Street View feature. But then, the interface looks like in older versions, too. The program displays the map, my position on the map (using my phone’s cell ID) and the two zoom buttons. The menu offers searching, favourites, satellite view, traffic and GPS. Still nothing new. So I went to a city which is availible in Street View – Paris, in my case. But still no new buttons or options in the menu. The message after the installation adivsed me to “press OK on the map and choose Street View” – but there is no “OK”.

Later I discovered how to go to Street View: you just have to tap and hold onto the map. Then, a context menu appears and you can turn on Street View. Another possibility is to use the Search function.

You can turn around your position on the map. If an arrow appears, you can go to its direction. The speed when you are moving to another place is not very fast, but OK - it takes about five seconds. As I already know Street View from my computer, I realized two missing features: you can look 360° around, but not up and down. And you cannot use the zoom.

I consider Street View nice to have on my mobile, even if many users of Google Maps might still prefer the classic maps. But now that there is Street View support on the iPhone & co., it is justified that Google goes the same way for Windows Mobile. However, it still lacks the full functionality of the desktop version. So let’s hope that Google will enhance it in the next update.

More information: http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html

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Access releases NetFront Widgets

Alexander Gratz — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:27:04 +0000

Access, the developer of the famous mobile browser NetFront has published a new product: a free widget machine for Windows Mobile (devices with and without touchscreen) and Symbian Series 60. You can imagine this as a desktop with small windows (widgets) for notes, weather forecast or whatever.

After the installation of the software, you first have to restart your PDA. Then, two widgets are availible: a world clock and a weather forecast. You can open multiple widgets at once and move them around on your “desktop”. However, they only show a preview of their full content until you maximize the windows using the rectangle button.

Over the menu, you can switch to your internet browser and download further widgets. Access offers a Google Maps widget , a calendar, a note pad and a Flickr photo viewer, for example. After the download, the widgets are received and installed by the Widget Player. The database covers 28 widgets; most of them written by Access.

Developers can create own widgets using the Widget SDK which contains help texts, examples and an emulator. For coders, it should not be too difficult as the widgets contain just some images, HTML files and JavaScript.

On the technical side, the program works correct. Both landscape and portrait mode and VGA are supported; the speed is OK. Perhaps, there could just be more widgets. But I cannot see a reason why I need a widget manager which does the same (or similar) things as Windows Mobile. Instead of a widget manager with a weather widget, you can just use a weather plugin on your Today screen. Well, if you find a reason for using this (or don’t need one), I can recommend this software as a free and stable widget manager.

More information: http://widgets.access-company.com/

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