Shootout: Today Screen Shells

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Ever since the advent of the iPhone, it seems that there has been a race among developers to, “fix” the traditional Windows Mobile interface.  Users who were once happy with the traditional menu and today screen driven Windows Mobile, suddenly are demanding something far different.  Something that is finger friendly and icon driven.  Something that uses the new rules given to us by the iPhone, without necessarily copying the iphone interface, or sacrificing any features.  No small task, but two of the biggest Windows Mobile developers around stepped right up to the plate and prepared to face this challenge head on.  Spb has given us Mobile Shell 2, while Vito Technologies released Winterface.   Since this has become such an indispensible component of most users’ Windows Mobile experience, I thought it would be fun to take a look at them head-to-head and see how they fare.

Main Screen: One of the really interesting things about these two programs are the vastly different approaches both took to the same problem.  Unlike Winterface, which dives right into the first launcher “page”, Spb Mobile Shell provides a refined entry point to your device with the Now Screen (above).  The Now Screen, which comes in both Professional View and Classic View, provides important information rergarding the status of your and your day.  In addition to the current time and weather, the Now Screen also offers a look at your upcoming appointments and several indicators, showing your battery status, new emails, missed calls, voicemails, new text messages, and phone signal strength.  There is no memory meter, however.  Given the grossly inadequate program and storage memory in most Windows Mobile devices, I felt this was a gross oversight.

While I thought the Now Screen was extremely helpful, I was disappointed by how it handled my calendar items. Showing onto the upcoming appointments, with no access to my tasks, or other appointments, was simply inadequate.  I needed more information, either here, or on a separate Spb Diary-based screen, in order to more fully plan my day.

Winterface offered no such stand-alone screen.  Which is not to say, however, that they did not address the need for much of the same information.  Instead of a separate screen, all of the information in Winterface is contained in the various icons.  For example, Winterface offers the following icons:

• SMS, which will show whether you have any unread messages
• Phone, which will show any unmissed calls (but not new voicemails)
• Battery, which contains a battery meter
• Memory, which shows your memory usage
• Calendar, which shows the current date, as well as the number of upcoming appointments
• Clock, which shows the current time
• Bluetooth, which shows the status of your Bluetooth radio
• Profile, which allows you to toggle your phone profile (ring, vibrate, or silent)
• Email, which shows the number of unread emails
• Tasks, which shows the number of upcoming or pending tasks

There are plenty more, but I think you get the idea.  The nice thing about Winterface, is that everything is self contained in its own icon.  Where Mobile Shell locks certain information onto each page (Now Screen, Launcher, and Contacts), Winterface provides you with icons that can be moved around the screen and between pages.  This means the programs, contacts, files, or other items which you use most can be placed right on the main page, where they will always be immediately accessible.

Scoring: I awarded 10 points to Mobile Shell for this fantastic Now Screen.  I then deducted one point for the lack of a memory meter, and two more for not mentioningor displaying pending tasks.  This brought the total to 7 points.

I also awarded five points to Winterface.  While it did not have the equivalent of a Now Screen, it did use icons to convey almost all of the same information.  I also awarded a bonus point to Winterface for making all of the PIM data, including tasks, easily accessible.  Winterface earned a total of 6 points.

Applications and Launcher: The most important thing a shell can accomplish is improving your access to the applications stored on your device.  By default, you can access your applications through the Start Menu.  From the menu, you can access your recent programs.  Or hit the Programs Menu to find the rest.  Not terribly exciting, and not terribly easy to access without a stylus.

Winterface does a fantastic job of correcting this.  Through the Winterface Menu, just select applications, and click on any application you wish to appear in your Winterface pages.  It really is that simple.  You can then rearrange the application icons to customize the display any way you like. 

Once the icons are placed on your Winterface pages, it takes just a simple tap to launch anything you need to access.  The only thing I did not like here was that you cannot launch a program if it is not stored on one of your Winterface pages.  In order to avoid clutter, I only add those programs which I access regularly.  It would be nice if I could access the others by launching them through the Winterface menu.

Spb took almost a complete opposite approach with Mobile Shell.  The launcher Screen displays six large buttons, which are part of the Spb Menu in the bottom 2/3 of the screen.  This was completely confounding.  Users of the original Spb Mobile Shell will recall that there are actually eight items in the Spb menu.  This means that you cannot even access the full menu from the Launcher screen.

Additionally, unlike the ease of customization in Winterface, the Spb Menu is hardly customizable.  In order to change the contents of any sub menu, you must add or remove items from a difficult to follow tree view within the Spb Menu.  It would be nice if the Launcher Screen included an add item screen more like that in Spb Pocket Plus 4, which would allow you to simply check those items which you want to add to each sub menu.

Still, once you get past the lack of customization (which some people may appreciate), the menu itself is extremely easy to navigate.  The menu itself contains, as I mentioned, eight items:

• Organizer
• Internet
• Multimedia
• Programs
• Settings
• Messaging
• My menu

You can choose six of these menus to display on the main screen of the launcher (Settings must always be displayed).     There is no way to access the two menu items which you were forced to leave behind.

My biggest problem with the Spb Menu, however, is that there is no easy way to put the applications you want in a convenient location.  This means, every time I want to  launch WMWifiRouter, I would have to scroll through all of my stored programs in the programs menu.  Fortunately, we have the second portion of the Launcher Screen, which consists of 12 smaller icons displayed in the upper third of the screen.  These are your most most recently launched programs.  You can also pin any item in this area, making it a favorite applications launcher as well.

Scoring: This was a really difficult one to score because the two approaches were so different.  I really liked the easy customization in Winterface and awarded it 5 points.  On the other hand, I also liked the Launcher Screen in Spb Mobile Shell and awarded 5 points to that one as well.  I did, however, deduct one point from Mobile Shell for the locked down nature of the Menu and lack of easy customization.  Final score: Winterface: 5, Spb Mobile Shell: 4.

Contacts and Dialing: Your phone is…well, your phone.  if you cannot quickly and easily access your contacts and dial, well, then you are pretty much left with a watch that will not tell time, aren’t you?

Spb Mobile Shell did an excellent job with the Contacts Screen.  This screen is a 16 square grid.  here, you can add 15 contacts.  The rest are stored in your Spb Contacts module, which can be accessed through the 16th and final screen.  Just tap the empty square you wish to access and select the contact to add to that square.  Once a contact has been added, you can tap it to access the contact card.  From there, you can call, send an SMS, or open the person’s full information.  The only thing i might have changed on this screen was that once you add a contact, you cannot easily move it.  It would be nice if you could drag and drop the contacts to move them around the grid.

OK.  So, let’s take a quick look at that Contacts Module.  It is really quite attractive.  You can see your contacts are all listed here.  You can scroll through and select the one you want.  Tap it to open the full contact view.  From there, you can call, edit the card, send an SMS, or even send an email.  Beneath your contacts is a T9 style keypad.  It looks like this should be a dialer, but it is actually used for searching your contacts.  This worked fine, but to be honest, I would have liked it to function as a dialer.

There is not a lot to say about Winterface here.  It makes no distinction between applications, contacts, and other items placed on the interface pages.  Just open the Winterface menu and select contacts. 

From here, you can use your finger to scroll through the contacts or, for a quicker search, scroll through the alphabet ribbon on the right.  Users of iwindows Mobile FunContacts should recognize this screen.  Just select the contacts you wish to add and they will be placed on your Winterface pages.  Like applications, you can arrange the contacts on your page however you wish.

Once added, just tap the icon and a pop up screen will appear which allows you to dial a number, send an SMS, or send an email.  What I did not like here was that there is no way within Winterface to access the full contact entry.  So, if I needed, for example, the mailing address of one of my contacts, I would have to use an external program to do so.  Additionally, there is no way from within Winterface to dial contacts who are not added to my pages.  Again, it would be nice if there was a way to access contact information through the menu for those contacts whom I do not need to access regularly.

Scoring: Both of these programs offered fantastic solutions for your contacts.  I awarded both programs 10 points.  I did, however, deduct two points from Winterface for the inability to access the full contact information and the inability to dial contacts not saved in my Winterface pages.  Final score: Winterface: 8, Mobile Shell: 10.

Device Settings: This is just going to be a quick note on device settings.  I am not going to get into the importance or non-importance of accessing these functions.  In both Winterface and Spb Mobile Shell, your device settings are accessed in the same manner as applications.  In Mobile Shell, just select the Settings menu from the Launcher Screen.  In Winterface, select the Settings option from the menu and add items to your Winterface pages.  I do not access a lot of settings, but the ones I do access, I want now!  I found both gave me quick and easy access when I needed it.

Scoring: I awarded 5 points to each program.

Files: One of the things I wanted to be able to do with Winterface was quickly and easily access my files.  if I have a document, song, video, or anything else I need to access, why not put it right on one of my Winterface pages?  This feature was not included in the original Winterface  release, but was quickly added shortly thereafter.

Like other items, just select Files from the Winterface Menu.  This will take you to an integrated and finger friendly explorer popup, which you can use to search for your files.  Just select the ones you wish to add and they will be placed on your Winterface pages.

As much as I thought Winterface excelled here, I felt Spb Mobile Shell really stumbled.  There is no way to make your files quickly accessible on the Launcher Screen.  Instead, you have to go into Tools (not obvious at all) and select the Browse Files submenu.  From there, you are essentially taken to the default Windows Mobile file explorer, which is one of my least favorite components of Windows Mobile.  It would be nice if you had a third party file explorer, such as Resco Explorer, if you could integrate it here.  still it made no sense to use three screen taps to get to the default Windows Mobile File Explorer when you could simply pin a third party program in the recent applications section and then access it with a single tap.

Scoring: I was thoroughly impressed by the ability to add any file on your device to your Winterface pages.  I awarded it 5 points in this category.  Spb Mobile Shell really did not offer an easy way to access files.  In fact, it almost made it more difficult to access.  0 points to Mobile Shell on this one, and I hope this can be improved in future versions.

Web Favorites: One of the great things about Winterface is how easy it is to put virtually any information anywhere on your Winterface pages.  You can use the files menu to dig out your Internet favorites and drop them right into Winterface.  Now, your Gmail or favorite websites (such as My Today Screen and JAMM) are never more than a single finger tap away.  The only problem here is that finding your Internet favorites in the Files menu can be difficult (you will need to go into Windows/Favorites.)  It would be nice if Internet favorites would be given their own menu.

In Mobile Shell, it is just as easy to access your Internet favorites.  From the Internet menu on the Launcher Screen, just select the Favorites.  One interesting note here, your most used favorites will be rearranged to the top of the list.  On one hand, this is nice because it makes the sites you likely want to access immediately accessible.  On the other hand, though, it does make it difficult to navigate with your eyes closed since things keep moving around.

Scoring: I thought both systems worked great and awarded 5 points to each.

Lock Screen: Let me just start out by saying that Windows mobile is terrible at handling the lock screen.  Too often, another screen will appear on top of or before the lock screen, potentially displaying your critical information without your consent.  To be clear, this is a problem with Windows Mobile, not with either of these programs.

Spb Mobile Shell does not include its own lock screen.  Instead, it relies on the lock screen which is already included with Windows Mobile.  When the lock function is activated, your device will wake up to the Now Screen.  This allows you to view the time, weather, and your upcoming appointments.  All of the navigation features will be disabled until you unlock your device.

In Winterface, a translucent overlay is digitally placed over your screen when the phone is locked.  This means you can view the icons on your first Winterface page, but does not allow you to access them.  Instead, in the middle of the screen, Winterface displays a large clock and the date.  Just slide the slider to unlock the screen.

Scoring: I was disappointed that Spb did not attempt to better incorporate their own lock screen function, like Vito did with Winterface.  As such, while I initially awarded 5 points each, I deducted 2 from Spb Mobile Shell.  Final Score: Winterface: 5, Spb Mobile Shell: 3.

Finger Controls and Gestures:  One of the gifts the iPhone gave the Windows Mobile community was the concept of finger friendly controls and gestures.  Sure, the idea of using your finger as a stylus was around before the iPhone, but it was not until Apple hit the market that the concept of using your finger, rather than a stylus, really took hold.  Both Spb Mobile Shell and Winterface are based upon this concept of putting all of your applications, files,and data…at your fingertip.

Both programs did an excellent job of allowing you to scroll through the program with your fingers.  In Winterface, a flick of the screen will send you flipping from one page to the next.  You can also grab any program and drag it to any other position on any page in the interface.

Likewise, Spb Mobile Shell allows you to utilize a full panoply of animations to flip through each of the three screens.  You can also set a separate animation to be used when you are flipping through the sub-menus in the Launcher Screen.  One nice thing about Mobile Shell is that it provides buttons on the bottom if you choose not to use the finger controls and animation.

Both programs also offer a simple gesture you can use from the regular today screen in order to get back into the shell.  In Mobile Shell, hold your finger on the start button and slide it diagonally toward the middle of the screen.  When the thumbnails of the three screens appear, just select the one you want. 

Winterface offered a similar gesture.  Just draw a “V” shape on the screen to enter the Winterface shell.  Draw an upside down “V” to close any program.   This should have been extremely convenient, but I could never get it to work consistently.

Scoring: Overall, I was extremely impressed by the finger and gesture controls in both programs.  I awarded each 10 points.  I gave Mobile Shell a bonus point on this one for the amazing animation selection and a second bonus point for the thumbnail views, which are not generic views, but actually reflect the contents of your Now, Launcher, and Contacts screens.  Likewise, I deducted a point from winterface because the launcher gesture did not work consistently.  Final score: Spb Mobile Shell: 12, Winterface: 9.

Calendar, Appointments, and Tasks: I think I would not be alone when I say that one of my most important uses for my device is accessing my PIM data.  Particularly, my calendar information, such as appointments and tasks.  And I have to say that I was not terribly impressed by either program on this one.  Using either Mobile Shell or Winterface, I still had to keep Spb Diary or SBSH PocketBreeze loaded on my today screen.  This required me to exit the shell and access my today screen in order to get most of the necessary information. 

Using Mobile Shell, you can see your next two or three appointments on the Now Screen.  That’s it.  No tasks at all.  In the professional view, you can also access a calendar.  Ta any date on the calendar to view your appointments on that date.  This calendar is dynamic, however, so the more appointments you have displayed on the Now Screen, the less of the calendar you will be able to view.  I really did not like this dynamic view of the calendar which rarely let me see more than a week at a time.  Likewise, tapping any of the listed appointments will also expand to the default Windows Mobile calendar view.

Winterface does a little better.  There is an icon for appointments and one for tasks.  Both icons are dynamic and will show the number of upcoming appointments and tasks respectively open a popup with an expanded look at your appointments.  Tap the calendar on the bottom of this popup to enter the default Windows Mobile calendar view.  Tapping the tasks icon does not open a popup, and I really did not understand this inconsistency.  Instead, it goes straight to the default Windows Mobile tasks screen.

I thought both programs made a good effort, but ended up displaying grossly inadequate PIM information.  It would have been easy for Spb Mobile Shell to add a fourth screen for appointments and tasks.  Likewise, Winterface features a whole lock screen which is not used for anything.  Why not display appointments and tasks there?  The reliance upon the today screen to organize your tasks, which breaks the illusion of a complete shell interface, was disappointing, to say the least.

Scoring: I thought both programs made a good effort in this area, but a lot more work is necessary in order to make this important feature functional.  I awarded Winterface 3 points for the dynamic icons which at least allow you to quickly and easily see whether you have anything pending, and prompting you to look closer.  I awarded Spb Mobile Shell 2 points for their approach, which gives precious little information, makes the Now Screen look too cluttered, and completely ignores tasks.

Clock and Alarms: Both programs offered similar functionality here.  Winterface, as you might expect, offers a dynamic clock icon, which displays the current time.  Tap this and you will be taken to the default Windows Mobile Alarm screen, which allows you to set up to three alarms.  From here, you can also set one alternate time zone if you are traveling or on vacation.

Likewise, Spb Mobile Shell displays a clock on the Now Screen.  You can use the settings to switch between a digital and analog clock.  Tapping the clock will take you to the Time and Alarm Screen.  From here, you can set up to three different time zones (which makes it much easier to do time zone math when you are calling your brother in Seattle.)  You can also view any alarms here which you may have set.  Tap the alarm screen to set up to three alarms using the same default Windows Mobile screen as Winterface.

Scoring: While I liked the immediate access both programs offered to the clock, I was disappointed that both programs led only to the default Windows Mobile screen.  I gave both Winterface and Spb Mobile Shell 3 points each.

Weather: When I sat down to write this article, I was all set to take Winterface to task for failing to add a weather module to the program.  Just as I started, however, Vito released an update, along with a companion weather program.  The cool thing here is that this weather companion (which is free) can be run from within Winterface or as a standalone program.

That being said, I was a bit disappointed once I loaded the weather module.  First, from Winterface, it does not open as a popup, like other modules do.  Instead, it loads as a separate program, which takes considerably longer to open than the modules which open as a popup.  Second, although the weather module is designed to match the color scheme of the main Winterface program, I felt the black and white color scheme did not work well for a weather program, which relies upon graphics to tell the story.  Finally, the program provides a minimal forecast with only a two day forecast.  As with other parts of the program, however, the weather icon is dynamic, showing the current weather on the main Winterface screen.  Nice touch!

In Spb Mobile Shell, the current weather is displayed on the Now Screen.  Tap that image to enter the extended forecast Weather Screen.  This screen shows the weather throughout the day, as well as the extended four-day forecast.  Like Winterface, the Weather Screen can also integrate with an external program, in this case Spb Weather, if you have it loaded.

Scoring: I was really impressed by the effort Vito put into the Weather module, but I thought the execution needed some more work.  Especially the limited two-day forecast.  I gave Winterface 3 points.  Spb Mobile Shell offered a more complete forecast, with additional features available if you install Spb Weather.  I gave Mobile Shell 5 points on this one. 

Task Manager: Both Winterface and Mobile Shell offer an avenue to check on your running programs.  As most Windows Mobile users know, the “X” button does not actually close your programs, but leaves them running in the background.  This behavior makes a good task manager critical to memory management.  Although the two task managers were designed to fit into the general interface of each program, they both offered similar functionality.  Both allowed you to view a list of running programs, close each program individually, or switch to any of the running programs.  Spb Mobile Shell does offer a few extra features, such as close all, close all except this, and minimize. 

Scoring: Both programs did an excellent job with the task manager, and giving you access to your running programs.  I awarded 5 points each.

Today Screen Plug In: Spb Mobile Shell features one important program that Winterface does not offer: a Today Screen Plug in.  If you are new to Mobile Shell, then this tabbed Pocket Plus-like interface may seem a bit out of place.  The truth is, however, this is really a carry over from Mobile Shell version 1.  I almost never used it.  There are some people, however, who may need to exit to the Today Screen more often than I do.  For them, this plug in could prove useful.  I thought this was really a wash.  With the three screen format, the Today Screen Plug in felt out of place and really did not offer any additional functionality.  On the other hand, it offers the opportunity to access a variety of functions from multiple areas of  your device. I gave Mobile Shell one bonus point for this feature..

Conclusion: Following the advent of the iPhone, today screen shell programs provided an important avenue toward keeping Windows Mobile relevant and competitive.  Now, over a year later, many devices are starting to include this type of program hardwired into the device.  HTC phones, the Samsung Omnia, and the Sony Xperia X1 all feature their own unique interfaces.  Other phones have started shipping with a version of Spb Mobile Shell.  Programs like Winterface and Spb Mobile Shell served as an important evolutionary bridge between Windows Mobile 5 and this latest generation of devices.  So, which one was the best?  I have no idea right now.  Let’s take a look at the scores and find out.

Wow!  Now there was something I was really not expecting.  I’ll be honest with you.  I wrote and scored each section of this Shootout separately, and I was really not paying any attention to how the scores in one section related to the others.  So, by the end of the article, I really had no idea which one was ahead.  And I never expected for this one to come out as a tie.  I think we are going to need a tiebreaker.  As you can see, below, Mobile Shell costs a whopping $10 more than Winterface.  So, in order to break the tie, I awarded a bonus point to Winterface for being much easier on your wallets in these difficult economic times.

Where to Buy (Price):

Spb Mobile Shell ($29.95

Vito Winterface ($19.95)

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