Manage your Pocket PC phone with Spb Phone Suite

I’ve been using handheld devices a long time, but I'm new to the world of Pocket PC phones. Several months ago I started using the HP iPAQ hw6900. While the standard Windows Mobile phone software is adequate, I was excited to take the latest application from Spb Software House for a trial run: Spb Phone Suite.

Spb Phone Suite offers phone management capabilities that are lacking with many Windows Mobile phones. These include profiles, call filtering, ability to ignore calls but reply with SMS, photo speed dial and other features. The application’s main interface is a Today plug-in, which can be configured for many different views including single line, two line, as well as photo contact only. It also integrates well with Spb Mobile Shell, including a variable icon that displays your current profile.

Profiles

Most phones include some sort of profile which let you define several ring tones and volume settings. Phone Suite has several profiles that let you control everything except the actual ring tone. This includes Auto Answer, Sound Mode (Pocket PC sounds), Speaker Volume, Ring Type, Ring Volume, Notifications (configure different sounds for each type of message), and Backlight. You can also configure if you want Bluetooth, WiFI and Cellular Phone on, off or unchanged. While many built-in profile systems include these features, the one very cool aspect of Phone Suite profiles is the automatic modes. This mode will change your settings automatically. The automatic modes include:

• Meeting – activated when you have an appointment marked as “busy”
• Headset – activated when you plug in a wired phone headset
• Car – activated when plugged into the car
• Cradle – activated when your Pocket PC is docked (in cradle)
• Time-based – activated during defined time periods (i.e. at night)

The automatic profiles feature is my favorite aspect of Phone Suite. I like not having to remember to change my phone to vibrate during meetings, or forgetting to turn the ringer back on when the meeting is over.

Call Filtering

One of the most useful features of Spb Phone Suite is the ability to filter calls. There are 4 built-in modes: Accept All, Accept All but Black List, Accept White List Only, and Ignore All. For the black list and white list you are able to add phone numbers you wish to block or allow. I like the Ignore All mode as it lets me keep my phone on for data access but I don’t have to worry about calls. When this mode is enabled the phone call comes in, but it won’t ring. After a few seconds you’ll get the missed call notification. One word of caution – if you are running this as a tab in Mobile Shell it’s easy to forget you have this mode on (until you get the missed call notification).

SMS after Ignored Calls

Another great feature of Phone Suite is the ability to send a pre-defined text message to calls you ignore. It is a very simple process. When a call comes in, you tap on Ignore and you are prompted if you’d like to send a message. When you tap on Yes you are presented with a list of messages you define. There are 7 messages included (which can be changed/edited) and space for 2 additional messages. I’ve found this to be very handy during meetings. I may not want to block all my calls, but in many cases I don’t want to answer the phone either. Sending a quick “In a meeting” message works great and takes very little time!

Photo Speed Dial

If you use other Spb products like Spb Diary you’ll be familiar with photo contacts. Phone Suite lets you display up to 14 contacts visually. Normally this would be a photo but you can also choose from one of the installed Spb Avatars. This lets you have a unique image for every contact even if you don’t have a photo. If your contacts have multiple numbers you can configure which number you want to use. To call you simply tap on the photo/image. If you tap and hold you are presented a menu (to edit etc..) which gives you the option to send a text message.

Phone Notifications

Another useful feature Phone Suite adds is phone notifications. This feature lets you configure repeating alarms for unread SMS and/or missed calls. You can configure whether you want sound and/or vibration, the sound (if sound is selected), volume and how often the notification will occur. Most cell phones provide this by default but it’s a missing feature of Windows Mobile.

Message Center

The message center is a set of icons that shows the number of missed phone calls, unread text messages, voicemails and the number of unread email messages. When you tap on any of these icons it loads the appropriate application. I found this more useful than going through several alerts or menus to get to the applications.

Wireless Manager

The wireless manager gives you a quick menu to turn on/off Bluetooth, WiFi and your phone. While this is not a unique ability, some devices have this buried in other menus. With Phone Suite you only need tap the screen twice (if Today plug-in, if integrated with Mobile Shell it’s 3 taps).

Conclusion

For users like myself who have used cell phones for years and have moved to a Pocket PC phone Spb Phone Suite adds very valuable features that help users manage their Pocket PC phones. It's become a must-have application for my iPAQ phone!