The Software

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Once you install the software it will, by default, replace your right soft key to launch the application.  However, this can be changed via the many settings available. 

The GUI is highly appealing and consists basically of three main menus...the Now Screen, Launch Menu and Contacts Menu.  Let's have a detailed look at each of these...

Now Screen

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The impressive "Now Screen" is very well laid out and displays just about everything you want on one screen.  This includes the calendar, upcoming appointments, scheduled alarms and your mail, text or phone alerts. 

Tapping on the time will launch a custom menu that will show you any upcoming alarms you have set, as well as display the time in up to three different time zones/cities.  You can easily customize the cities and/or time zones from this menu with ease.  Also, like their very own Spb Phone Suite, you have a button for quick access to your phone profiles, all of which maintain the same layout.

Like the plug-in featured in new HTC devices featuring TouchFLO, Mobile Shell 2.0 also has a weather plug-in.  Tapping on the weather summary icon from the Now Screen will launch a detailed menu that will allow you to easily refresh and customize it.  Tap on any day of the week, and you'll get more detailed info on each.  It works well and updates are fast, even on an EDGE device such as the HTC Touch.

The Launch Menu

The launch menu is where you'll discover many of its benefits.  It basically consists of two sections, the top of which displays the recently launched applications and the bottom which provides static icons to the most commonly used functions in Windows Mobile.  Like the rest, this menu is customizable and you can remove, replace or add icons directly from here without having to go into a settings menu where navigating with your finger/thumb is almost impossible.

The Organizer Menu has convenient access to Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes and Beam feature of your device.  Now, the Internet Menu is quite nice actually.  It gives you quick access to your favorites without having to tap on so many buttons to get to them.  You also have access to browsing history and Messenger as well.  If you prefer other IM clients such as the excellent Agile Messenger, you can modify this menu to include a link to it.  The Multimedia Menu is also great.  You can access Media Player, your camera and your pictures from here.  Click on Camera and you'll get another menu with quick access to Photo or Video modes, MMS Video, Contacts, etc. 

The Tools Menu will give you quick access to features such and screen orientation, themes from Mobile Shell, Task Manager, File Explorer, etc.  The Programs menu will allow you to browse all installed programs in a much more pleasant way.  You can activate these by sliding your finger left or right or use the extra large buttons for navigation.  Finally, the Settings Menu will include shortcuts to all your phone settings and even access to this software's settings menu as well.

Contacts Menu

Compared to HTC's photo menu, I prefer the one from Spb.  Not only can you have up to 15 photo contacts, but they display pictures much better than the menu found in HTC's TouchFLO.  You can compare the two screenshots above and clearly see the difference.  No, this is not due to the smaller size.  I have personally tried to tweak pictures for best view on HTC's menu without success, including higher res pictures.  I found that the menu featured on Spb's Mobile Shell will display practically all pictures significantly better.

Browsing contacts by name is fairly the same except they have this large dialpad that I simply could not remove.  In fact, this was the only thing I did not like about this software.  However, the detailed contact info screen is not only highly appealing, but cleverly designed.  You have large buttons for the phone numbers and one to send a text message.  Makes dialing a contact very easy using your fingers instead of a stylus. 

Next: Customize, Video & Conclusions