Perhaps the biggest
INTRODUCTION
omission in the Windows Mobile operating system is
the lack of a true "close" button for applications.
This has existed since the original version of the
OS, Pocket PC 2000. When I purchased my first iPAQ,
I immediately realized how much better the device
would be if clicking the little "X" at the top right
corner of the screen would really close the
application. I also realized that there was no easy
way to switch between running tasks. I turned to the
Internet and found that I was not alone. There were
lots of people who felt the same way and some of the
more intrepid of those people actually wrote
programs that would deal with these deficiencies in
the OS. That was about the time that I found the
original WisBar. The original version of this
program was written to be small, compact and focused
on 2 things: shutting programs down and enabling
easy switching between programs.
Fast forward to 2006. WisBar development has been taken over
by Lakeridge Software. WisBar has morphed into
WisBar Advanced. Numerous new features have been
added to the program to make it more than just a
task switcher / closer. Do I miss the original
WisBar or has WisBar truly "advanced"? Is this
another example of form over function?
The most recent version of WisBar
WHAT’S HOT
Advance, 2.5.0.1 adds several new features, the most
notable of which is support for Windows Mobile 5
device. WisBar features include:
- Close,
minimize or ignore any application - Switch between
running applications - A cascading
Start menu - Change the
appearance of the taskbar, menu bar, buttons and
Start menu - Hear sounds
for system events
Setup of WisBar Advance was pleasantly
SETUP
uneventful. Simply run the installation .exe from your desktop and the
software will install via ActiveSync. Most people will be fairly pleased
with the default program settings, but I would recommend to everyone to
really explore the extensive settings menus and get this application
working exactly the way you would like. The only minor concern I have
regarding the setup process is the skin WisBar Advance uses by default
is not VGA resolution. As a result, I was a little shocked to see a
blocky and grainy taskbar and menu bar on my VGA device. I would
recommend that the program be adjusted to initially install a VGA
resolution skin for VGA devices. You can easily change which skin you
would like to use in the settings menus.
This
is the default skin installed with the program. On a
VGA device, the graphics are very blocky and grainy.
I will divide the program features into
PROGRAM FEATURES
four main sections: closing programs / task
switching, cascading Start menu, skins and button
selection.
WisBar Advance is very good at closing programs and
allowing you to switch between running programs. The
application also allows you to control how you want
these activities to happen.
The
settings focused on closing programs and task
switching are located in the "General Settings"
section of the settings menu.
WisBar Advance allows you to tap the "X" button to
close an application. Via the settings menu you can
alternately set the "X" button to resume the normal
"Smart Minimize" function that Windows Mobile uses
by default. I am not a big fan of "Smart Minimize"
so I did not employ this option. You can also decide
if you want task switching to occur via a drop-down
menu or if you would like the icons for each running
program to appear on the taskbar. If you do not mind
a cluttered taskbar, seeing the running programs’
icons is very cool. In fact, it makes the Pocket PC
taskbar look more like the taskbar of Windows XP.
If
you look along the taskbar next to the Start menu,
you can see that the icons for the 4 programs I have
running: SplashID, PhatPad, eReader and Resco
Explorer. Resco Explorer is the program that is
currently occupying the screen.
In all of my tests, WisBar Advance worked flawlessly
when asked to close a program or switch between
tasks. Trust me when I say that EVERY Pocket PC user
needs a program to perform these functions.
The second major feature of WisBar Advance is the
addition of a cascading Start Menu, much like you
would find in Windows XP. Whether or not you prefer
a cascading Start menu is a personal decision. I
happen to like it quite a bit.
Notice that WisBar Advance even places the
application’s icon next to the application’s name.
You can also choose to have the Settings screens
from the Start menu displayed in a cascade.
The cascading Start menu is a very useful function.
Why? I prefer it because if you choose the wrong
folder by accident you can simply click on the
correct folder without leaving the screen. Since
WisBar Advance also displays the application icons
along with the application names, the cascading
Start menu does seem a little sluggish to load the
first time after a soft reset. Tapping the Start
menu does not instantly display it. After the
program has loaded the icons the first time after
installation or a soft reset, it responds much
faster. Fortunately, you can also turn off the
program icons in the cascading Start menu.
The
first item in the "Start Menu Settings" is whether
or not you would like to display program icons. You
can also choose to cache these icons on startup, but
I really did not notice any speed difference using
this option.
Overall, I really like the cascading Start menu
functionality. I do recommend turning off the
program icons to keep the program running quickly.
The program icons are just a visual enhancement.
Speaking of visual enhancements, the third major
feature of WisBar Advance is the ability to skin the
taskbar, menu bar and buttons of your device. The
program installs 2 skins by default and all the
screen shots in this review are of the default skin
that WisBar Advance installs. If you would like the
task switching and cascading Start menu
functionality of WisBar Advance but want to keep the
original Windows Mobile look, WisBar Advance has got
you covered as well.
The
"My Theme" settings screen allows you to choose from
all skins installed on your device.
Most people who use WisBar Advance want to use the
really nice skins that are available online. WisBar
Advance allows you to install and display some truly
magnificent skins. I personally recommend the skins
designed by Juni, which you can find
here. The
people who create many of the beautiful skins out
there are true artists. You can make your Pocket PC
look like Windows XP or even Windows Vista! That is
just the tip of the iceberg… there are skins for
just about everyone out there. With these beautiful
skins come 2 problems: first, these skins take up a
lot of memory and second the really pretty skins
also slow down your device. The skin objects are
created as .bmp files and there are a lot of them
for a typical skin. You can choose where you
want the skins to be stored on your device, which is
very useful. The active skin, is loaded into memory
and some of the skins can be real memory hogs. If
your device does not have a lot of memory, this is
definitely something to consider.
The
"Program Directories" screen lets you define
additional places on your device to store skins and
themes. Considering how large the themes can be, I
strongly recommend placing them on a storage card.
The last major feature of WisBar Advance that I will
cover involves choosing which buttons you would like
to have on the taskbar. By default, Windows Mobile
places the time, Start Menu, a volume button and a
connection status button on the taskbar. WisBar lets
you make major changes to this setup. You can choose
from a wide variety of buttons including home,
battery and memory, menu and even custom buttons on
the taskbar. The application allows you to reorder
the buttons and to determine what their behavior is
when they are tapped or if they receive a
tap-and-hold.
On
the left, you can see all the different buttons you
can manipulate. On the right, you can choose if the
item is visible and what a tap or a tap-and-hold
will do.
All of the button functionality is very useful and
easy to control. I do not like a cluttered taskbar,
so I have reduced the number of buttons that are
visible. Whatever your taskbar preferences are,
WisBar will let you adjust them.
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When deciding if WisBar Advance is for
HELP SUPPORT
maintains active forums on their website.
These forums are a great place to ask questions,
report bugs or request new features. There is
no instruction manual provided with WisBar Advance
and having one would be nice to explain all of the
various options to folks who are new to the program.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Mobile Powered Pocket PC 2002/2003/2003SE/2005 or
Pocket PC 2003/2003SE/2005 Phone Edition
required for other skins you may download
BUGS AND WISHES
I did not encounter any bugs running the software on
my Pocket PC. The biggest wish I would have is
for the program to run faster. Despite not
adding any skins to the program, I still found my
Pocket PC to "feel" somewhat slower with WisBar
Advance running. This is in comparison to a
standard task switching program such as HandySwitcher. For future versions of WisBar
Advance, I would recommend that code optimization be
a primary goal.
PURCHASING
You can purchase WisBar Advance for a very reasonable $9.99 by clicking here.
PROS
ability to close programs when tapping the "X"
task switcher including placing program icons on the
taskbar
start menu
user to decide what buttons are on the taskbar, what
order they appear in and what they do
taskbar, menu bar and buttons
CONS
instruction manual
Application slows the Pocket PC down
skin does not support VGA resolution
Value
Ease
of Use 
Features
Overall
OVERALL IMPRESSION
you, I would suggest you focus on two things: first,
are you interested in skinning the device and
second, how powerful is your Pocket PC? If you are
not interested in skinning your taskbar, menu bar
and buttons I would say that there are other task
switching programs out there that work as well as
WisBar Advance and are less resource dependent. If
you are interested in skinning your device, WisBar
Advance provides an excellent way to do it. There is
tremendous support online for WisBar Advance with
literally hundreds of skins and themes available.
The second question is, how powerful is your Pocket
PC? If you are running a Phone Edition device, I
would probably not recommend WisBar Advance as these
devices generally have slower processors and less
memory. On the Pocket PC I used for testing, an iPAQ
hx4700 with a 624mhz processor, I still felt as
though WisBar Advance ran a bit sluggishly. On the
other hand, some of the VGA themes and skins that
are available are truly works of art and definitely
showed off the VGA screen of my iPAQ.
The bottom line comes down to aesthetics. If your
primary concern is functionality, go with a lighter
task switcher such as HandySwitcher or Magic Button.
If you want your Pocket PC to look fantastic AND
have program closing, task switching and cascading
Start menu to boot, WisBar Advance is by far the
best choice. Plus, none of the other task switchers
give you the cascading Start menu. In the dilemma of
form over function, WisBar Advance gives you both.
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