INTRODUCTION

 a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect. The first definition clearly describes the intent of SBSH Mobile Software in creating Facade as a replacement for the default Windows Mobile Standard Home screen. SBSH Mobile Software has recently released version 1.4.1 of Facade. Will this give your Home screen the face lift it needs? Read on to see!

Note

– for those that consider themselves proficient enough to modify their Home screens themselves using XML, be sure to check out our Home Screen Customization Tutorial.

WHAT’S HOT

    Facade 1.4.1 includes integration with PocketWeather, Calendar items, task items, and a customizable applications launcher.

SETUP

    There are two options for installing Facade. The first is via ActiveSync on Windows XP or Windows Mobile Device Center on Windows Vista. The second is to copy and execute a .cab installation file directly on your device.

The Facade installation application running on Windows Vista SP1.

I suggest installing Facade on the device rather than a storage card, since it is a major component at startup of your device. The installation was simple and error free.

PRODUCT FEATURES

    The Facade application is a replacement for the Today screen. I found that it was compatible with all the plugins installed on my SMT5800.

This is the original Today screen on my SMT5800. The bottom line: it is boring and the application launcher ribbon at the top of the screen is not easily customizable.

    The default Facade Today screen in green with the following active plugins from top to bottom, time/date/carrier (blue arrow), application launcher ribbon (red arrow), tab view with schedule and task listings (green arrow), active profile display (black arrow), and unread message status (purple arrow). The Facade application maximize your screen space to provide easy access to key PDA functions. With PocketWeather, low/high temperatures and a weather icon can be displayed to the right of the date display in the schedule tab.

The Facade application places larger icons in the application launcher ribbon and larger font in the schedule and task displays. These settings force the Home screen to scroll down to view message status.

The Facade applications provides many different settings to customize the display layout and appearance of the Home screen, as well as the included plugins such as schedules and tasks tab displays.

The application launcher ribbon can host up to 23 application or function shortcuts.

The Facade Home screen can also be setup to use a "programs" tab to display the application launcher ribbon.

The "programs" tab in the 3 tab view plugin is almost useless since it does organize the program icons to maximize screen space. The developers could have used a 4 x 3 grid to triple the display of program icons.

The application also rotates very nicely, and rearranges the icons and entries accordingly.

    Facade has garnered a loyal following of artistic individuals who have published Home screen skins which work with Facade. The Facade forum provides links to many sites like the one from prosper (above) with downloadable skins. The forum also provides instructions on creating your own. If you create a Facade Today screen skin, don’t hesitate to upload it to pocketnow.com. The beauty of Facade is that it uses the Windows Mobile Standard Today screen infrastructure which allows you to include any other plugin you may have downloaded into you custom skin design.

HELP SUPPORT

    The support of the Facade application is handled via a contact form and a well attended dedicated forum. The manual in .pdf or .doc format is complete and easy to understand with a linked table of contents.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

    The Facade application requires 1357KB of space to install. I recommend installing it in main Program Storage since the Facade plugins are required to display the Today screen at boot time.

BUGS AND WISHES

    I found no issues running Facade on my Verizon SMT5800. There are several wishes I have for the Facade application. These all stem from several years of using SBSH Mobile Software PocketBreeze application for Windows Mobile Professional. They are:

• The inclusion a single view plugin for schedule and task items
• The integration with third party PIM application such as WebIS’ Pocket Informant

PURCHASING

    The Facade application can be purchased from the pocketnow.com store for $14.95. You can also get a free trial there.

PROS

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  Maximize Home screen real estate

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  Highly configurable

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  Easily create your own design

CONS

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  Tasks cannot be included in schedule tab

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  Program tab does not maximize screen real estate

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  No integration with third party PIM applications

Value
Ease of Use
Features
Overall

OVERALL IMPRESSION

    The Facade application is one of those applications I find indispensable. It provides all the mobile information I need at a glance of the Home screen. The screen real estate is maximized, yet easily readable. The integration with Pocket Weather adds another dimension to your schedule by displaying the day’s forecast. The customizable application launcher ribbon allows you to quickly access to all your favorite programs. The community around Home screen skins and Facade is growing allowing everyone to easily build their very own Home screens. For $14.95, Facade adds tremendous value to your Windows Mobile Standard device and merits an Editor’s Choice award.