Pocket PC Thoughts: Spb Insight Provides Window On The World

Getting Started
After downloading the setup file from Spb's website, you're presented with the usual Spb setup program. I really like Spb's approach - allowing the user to enter the registration code during the desktop installer. It saves me a bunch of time and gives a professional appearance. It's also really handy when you use a variety of Spb products on your device. The install runs smoothly enough, and after the files are copied to the device, the user is presented the initial setup screen below.


Figure 1: Initial setup screen, shown just after installation.

This is a nice method of allowing the user to select where files should live and how Spb Insight should connect to the Internet. Other products I've used take you through the setup process when you launch the app and then simply dump all of the data files in Main Memory, making it a pain to move it over to a storage card later. This is also a good time to have the user specify how Insight should connect to the Net, allowing users to avoid unnecessary charges if they don't have an unlimited data plan.

While it's nice to have it right at the end of setup, I think I would have liked it better if it simply popped up on first-run of the program. Why? Well, sometimes I chain multiple installations together (using ActiveSync's Add/Remove Programs menu item) when setting up a new device. Programs that require the user to intervene to setup options really wreck the flow when trying to install multiple programs at one time. But again, it's nice to have this presented to the user before they even start using the program, rather than have it buried in some menu somewhere.


Figure 2: Adding a new feed couldn't be simpler.

Adding a new channel is a pretty painless process. I have my favorite OPML file but decided not to just dump it in, but rather to browse Spb's channel database. The database is retrieved from Spb's servers whenever you browse them, so if you're on a pay data plan, you may want to browse from a free connection. However, I doubt it takes up too much data just by the way it pops up fairly quickly.


Figure 3: Selecting from Spb's channel database.

After you select the channels you wish to add, Insight adds them to the main screen and begins downloading the content from each channel. A nice little progress bar displays at the bottom to let you know how far the downloading has gone, including the amount of data Insight has downloaded. After the data download is complete, simply selecting the feed will bring up a list of items within it.


Figure 4: Your channels displayed, showing a download progress indicator at the bottom.


Figure 5: The Pocket PC Thoughts news feed, complete with thumb nailed images.

The first thing that I noticed on this page was the very nice addition of thumbnails to the side of the screen. If the items has an image within it, Insight thumbnails it and places it next to the item, allowing you to quickly navigate to items that truly look interesting. Items in which the author couldn't find a suitable image (or decided not to add one) such as the one highlighted in this screen shot, simply show a line icon, indicating that no image was downloaded. Selecting any item you like will bring that item up in the program, showing the text and any other information (such as the time/date posted) that is available.


Figure 6: A news item posted by one of my favorite authors. ;)