type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
(desktop application images link to
Ooops. When I first installed the Cinemark widget,
One thing that impressed
CONS
So, let’s take Saki Mobile for a test drive and see how
well these functions work.
START HERE
The first thing you will need to do is create a Saki
account from their
homepage. After creating an account, you
need to download an installer which installs the
desktop version of the application and the Account
Management Console (AMC). The AMC allows you
to set up your account and decide which features and
settings you would like to use.
higher resolution)
Figure 1:
The AMC welcome screen shows you lots of ads for Pocket PC
Phone devices that you can purchase. Along the
left side of the screen are the icons for the various
functionality.
Figures 2 and 3:
It is from here that you upgrade your Saki service
to enable use on a Pocket PC with wireless connectivity.
It costs $9.99 a month for the mobile service.
Other functions that you access from the AMC include
setting up user information, avatars, mail preferences
and RSS feeds for use in the RSS reader. New RSS
feed setup
must be done in the AMC, which is somewhat annoying.
LOOK SHARP!
Once you have upgraded your service, you can
download and install the Saki Mobile application on
your Pocket PC. The application requires about
1.65MB to install. When you run the
application, the first thing you will notice is the
excellent and great looking user interface.
Figure 4:
You start by logging into the service with the
information you used when you created your account.
Figures 5 and 6:
This is the desktop / main menu screen. The
user interface is very friendly and sharp looking.
Figures 7 and 8:
To add widgets to your desktop (main menu) you click on
the System icon and then Widgets. The screenshot
on the left is the
widget selection screen. I wanted to add the
Cinemark Ticker, which must first be enabled in the AMC.
You then click "OK" and are brought back to your desktop
where you can install the new widget.
Figures 9 and 10:
Widget screens.
it was overlapping the other icons at the bottom of the
desktop. I moved it up by tapping on the left
side of the Cinemark widget. The Cinemark widget
is pretty neat as it reads the zip code from your user
profile and displays movie times for the closest
Cinemark theater. A weather widget does the same
with local weather forecasts.
Figures 11:
If you click on the stars in a movie listing, you can
then rate the movie and add comments which are viewable
by other Saki users or you can specify for it to only be
visible to users you have specified as friends.
Figures 12 and 13:
The RSS Reader is easy to use and matches the overall
look of the application.
me is the speed of downloading information. When
you click on a headline it only takes 3 or 4 seconds to
download the article snippet. Unfortunately, you
cannot add new feeds from the handheld… you have
to set them up in the AMC.
WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?
The main
point of Saki seems to be interaction with other users. To this
end, there is an IM and e-mail functionality built-in to the
application. This functionality only works with other Saki users
so you cannot e-mail or IM someone if they are not using Saki.
Figure 14:
You can designate certain users as a friend, which
allows you to restrict content to that specific group.
Herein lies the biggest problem with Saki… if your
friends are not signed up and using it many of the
features are not very useful.
Figure 15:
This is the e-mail applet. The interface is very
appealing and easy to use.
Figure 16:
One neat feature of Saki is the Invites function.
You can create social events and invite other users to
them. In the above screen you can see various
events that users have created and made available to all
other users.
Figures 17 and 18:
If you click on an invite, you can view details.
Clicking on the little "IM" bubble lets you see comments
that a user has added.
Figure 19:
Unfortunately, I experienced several crashes in both the
PC and Pocket PC versions of the program. Since
this is a relatively new application, I would expect
stability to get better over time.
PURCHASING
Visit this website to sign up for your free
Saki account. If you would like to add the
mobile features you will need to upgrade your
account for $9.99 a month through the Account
Maintenance Console.
PROS
Attractive interface
Easy to use
Fast download speeds
Zip code-based movie listings and weather
IM, e-mail and invite features only useful if your
friends are using Saki
Some stability issues with both the PC and Pocket PC
applications
$9.99 a month subscription fee to use mobile
features adds up to almost $120 a year
Many configuration options can only be accessed from
the desktop PC including setting up new RSS feeds
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
There are already free applications out there that
perform many of the same functions as Saki Mobile
albeit without as slick a user interface. You
can download a free RSS reader, IM client and the
Pocket PC already comes with an e-mail client.
Furthermore, a 3rd party IM program will not be
limited to just Saki users and the same goes for the
built-in e-mail client. The bottom line is
this: if you can convince your friends to sign up
and use Saki, I think it may be worthwhile.
The question is… how many of your friends are
going to pay almost $120 a year to join you? Therefore, I give this product the following rating:
No related post found.
