Price:	$14.95 (PocketBreeze) $5.95 (ContactBreeze)		Reviewed by:	Neil Brown
Supplied:	SBSH.net		Review date:	05/04/2005
Pros:	Integrates seamlessly with existing PIMs Very powerful Easy to customise and adapt Skinnable Supports VGA machines well Regular updates / high level of developer support		Cons:	None that I can think of!

Introduction In terms of value for money, I think that PocketBreeze must be one of the best Today plug-ins for WindowsMobile currently known to me. When I first started to use WM, I found the Today screen to be invaluable, as a gateway to all the PIM information I had stored on my PDA. However, after a couple of months of usage, I decided that it wasn't quite enough- or rather, it did not show all the information that I wanted to see, in a manner which appealed to me. Most notably, this included the way in which the default application handles the display of Tasks- I wanted to be able to see these at a glance, alongside all my Calendar-based details. Secondly, I wanted to be able to filter my appointments easily, without the need of dropping into the main Calendar application itself, and, likewise, be able to view contact details without changing applications (more on this later). Within a couple of hours of using the trial version of PocketBreeze, I purchased the serial from SBSH software- I knew that it was the application I was looking for. I was surprised (and very pleased) to find that a serial for ContactBreeze was also included in the deal (perhaps this was a special offer at the time when I purchased the application- I do not know), which gave me the ability to view Contacts from the Today screen also. (Click to enlarge images with a border) PocketBreeze PocketBreeze is not a PIM application, to my mind. Rather, it is a front-end to an existing application. As such, I use PocketInformant 2005 to manage all the PIM data on my machine, but have this displayed on my Today screen via PocketBreeze. PocketBreeze is a featured-packed application, giving you a wide variety of options for the display of your data, rather than tools to handle the data itself. Amongst the many options available, you are able to tailor the layout and font of your data to precisely how you wish to see it. Personally, I have the text very small indeed, and am relying on the default setup in terms of font etc- this is fine for me. The latest beta version changed the setup of the default, adding appointments in bold (which was an option before), although, everything is completely configurable. By having the font small, and a two-week time period selected, I can scroll through up to 14 days of appointments without needing to open PocketInformant, although, for the most part, being able to see up to about 7 days ahead would be more than sufficient for my needs. If you have large numbers of appointments per day, but only need to see the current day's appointments, for example, you can use the “retracted” option, which positions a small arrow next to each day, and then “retracts” the contents of any select day (you can select “All” as a setting, if you wish every day to be retracted), allowing you to simply tap on the arrow to see the contents when required, and giving you more available for immediate selection the rest of the time. Additionally, you can choose to have appointments and their details displayed over a number of lines- you can split start and finish time over two lines, as well as having an appointment's location either on the same line as the title, or on the line underneath, for greater visibility. Obviously, if you have got a small font setting, and a large number of days on view, then you will take up a lot of your Today screen with appointments- which may not be ideal for you. Sensibly, you can select the height of the plug-in in pixels, as well as selecting number of days, thus fixing the display to a set area on your screen- I think that this is much better than the default Calendar's method of solely selecting a certain number of days ahead, as days with multiple appointments will obviously take up more room than empty days, thus causing the ugly scroll bar to appear on the right of you screen. If, however, you choose to display more days than you have space, PocketBreeze has its own scroll bar, which is far more delicate and visually-appealing than the default WM bar. PocketBreeze can work in conjunction with whichever PIM application you use as your “back-end” program, and can adopt the settings of some of the more common applications. In my case, this meant that the categories I use in PocketInformant were automatically available to me, allowing me to filter appointments instantly. The menu bar at the top of the plug-in houses the filter option- all you need to do is tap on the filter button, and select the filter to be applied from the drop-down menu. If you have categories which you do not need to be available as filters (if you use an “Archive” category for contacts, for example, for those people with whom you are not in regular contact, but who you do not wish to delete entirely), you are able to remove it from the filter list through the settings menus.   By tapping and holding on a particular day, you are able to add or delete appointments, as well as edit those currently existing. Selecting the “add” option takes you into your PIM application, to set everything up in your normal way- as I mentioned before, PocketBreeze is merely a front, rather than a database in itself. The ability to add an appointment via the Today screen makes this application very powerful, in my opinion, as it makes the operation very efficient. Additionally, if you tap in the top left corner of the application, you bring up a small “pop-up” calendar, showing the current month- great for checking a date quickly. Tapping and holding on any date on the calendar gives you the option of creating an appointment on that date, or just jumping to that date / week / month. Unlike the default application, PocketBreeze makes task management very easy, integrating it into the Today screen, and allowing a checkbox so that you can opt to finish a task by simply ticking the box on the screen. If you have a task with no start date, then the task appears solely on the day appointed for the finish, whilst, if you select both a start and finish date, then the task is listed on the end date, and follows you in the current day's schedule. Obviously, if you check-off a task on your current day, it removes it from its end day also. If you would rather no have tasks integrated into your calendar, then you can simply deselect the option from the settings menu- in either case, tasks also has the benefit of a separate tab, which shows only task information. PocketBreeze allows you to view your e-mail inboxes on the Today screen soon, showing you how many unread messages you have, and how many messages you have overall. ContactBreeze If you purchase ContactBreeze (which will not work on its own), then this becomes an extra tab in the PocketBreeze bar, and lets you view all your contact information through your Today screen also. As expected, there are plenty of options to play with, although fonts and sizing can be inherited- the PocketBreeze settings are applied automatically, giving a consistent look-and-feel to the entire application. If you are using the application on a VGA or “true” VGA machine, you might find it necessary to adjust the amount of screen-width devoted to telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, as I found that otherwise they have a tendency to run over the edge of the screen, and thus out of sight. Once again, making the adjustment is very simple. Tapping and holding on a contact's name allows you to dial them via a Bluetooth-enabled phone, or by Skype (if you have it installed), making it very easy indeed to lose the need to use a standalone contacts application or PIM manager. There is a full-size mode for ContactBreeze, allowing you to look up contacts with a form of onscreen T9 style text entry, which makes life very easy indeed. As in PocketBreeze, you are able to add and remove contacts from the ContactBreeze interface without the necessity of opening the PIM application manually for such a simple operation. Parting thoughts One of the latest implementations in the beta version of the application is the ability to have a “custom” tab, allowing you to hide any Today plug-in (not just those from SBSH.net) as a tab on PocketBreeze. For example, if you have a weather application, but do not want it visible the whole time, taking up valuable screen estate, but still want it for when you need it, why not add it as a custom tab? Currently, you can only add one extra custom tab, but, I think that adding more tabs is in the works, hopefully in future releases. If you are happy to run beta software on your PDA, then PocketBreeze should prove to be one of the most updated applications available (look here, under "News and announcements")- by reckoning, there is a new version available every couple of weeks, makings tens of changes each time, generally. I've never had a problem with stability of this application, and install each new beta as soon as I can, to see what changes have been made- but I do always take a back-up first, just in case. If you want to see an application which has tremendous developer support, as well as an active forum- when a new version is released, posts hit the forum faster than I can read them all- PocketBreeze must be near the top of the list. For both applications, there are huge numbers of options available, and it would make little sense me simply listing them here, when there is a trial version of the application free for download. PocketBreeze is easy to setup, and an incredibly useful application to have on your Today screen. To my mind, its low price belies the functionality and utility of the program, especially when ContactBreeze is added into the equation. Whilst I am very happy with PocketInformant running the back-end of things, and I accept that there are times when I do need to use a PIM application to make the changes or additions I need, I find that for the most part, I can do whatever I need via the PocketBreeze tools.