PocketShield 3.0 – innovative & customizable lock screen application for Windows Mobile | Best Windows Mobile Games / Windows Phone Apps Review

Sep 28, 2009 Posted by kinnikun in App Store, Featured Articles | 16 comments

PocketShield 3.0.3 – innovative & customizable lock screen application for Windows Mobile

Developer : JDB Pocketware

More Apps from this Developer : Click Here

PocketShield 3.0

There are many choices for apps that lock your screen on the Windows Mobile platform, but most fail to stand the test of time. These apps are used everyday since you basically interact with them each time you turn your display back on, so reusability is extremely important. The makers of PocketShield, one of the main players in this category of apps, have just updated their product to version 3.0. So how does it hold up and does it give users a feeling of reusability? We’ll explore the ins and outs of the app and let you know if it will perform day in, day out.

PocketShield version 3.3.5.0 review here

Aside from having a clever name, PocketShield is popular as a screen locking application because of its many features. It doesn’t just lock your screen like the standard WM6.1 solution; it expands the locking premise, doubles as a message notifier, and it’s a screen saver.

What’s new in version 3.0? PocketShield has some interesting additions in the latest build. Clicking on a notification and then unlocking will lead you directly to that app. For example, let’s say you receive an e-mail… if you click on it and unlock Pocketshield, you will unlock straight to your WM messaging app! It’s like you’re cutting out the middle man. If you don’t want to unlock to see the full message, that’s fine… just tap the notification and you’ll see some of the details within PocketShield (fonts are customizable). Another new feature is the semi-transparent shield option. If you turn this setting on, you can tap the screen when it’s unlocked and it’ll show you what’s behind the curtain. It is a great add-on that makes it easy to take a quick peak at what’s going on behind closed doors. Other new options include, but are not limited to: sliding to mute incoming calls, action screen with power off/screen off options, language localization, custom fonts, and easier snoozing for notification booster.

PocketShield features

The most significant part of the app is, of course, how it locks, unlocks and the efficiency of these functions. Locking is simple. Turn off your display and the phone will be locked when you turn it back on. It will keep your keys and screen from being accessed on accident in your pocket. It will also save you battery by auto-powering off. Unlocking the phone is where it gets fun.

There are several ways to unlock the shield and you can select which methods you want to use. You can use a vertical slider to slide your way to an unlocked phone, which brings down a fancy window shade as you’re sliding down. You can use gestures like flipping or shaking to unlock. Another way is to use your d-pad if your device has one. There is even an option to assign auto-unlock parameters for applications. So if you assign your alarm to auto-unlock and it goes off, PocketShield will automatically unlock. The coolest feature in my opinion is the light sensor method. If this is selected and you pull your phone out of your pocket, PocketShield will sense this and unlock itself. This feature won’t work at night, for clear reasons, but that’s not a problem since we have other options to choose from. Did I mention you can also unlock by pulling your stylus out?

PocketShield doesn’t just lock your keys during idle periods. It will also protect the keys during incoming calls. You can use your preferred dialer or use PocketShield’s in-built slider to answer or ignore calls. The in call G-unlock mechanism is used to auto-unlock the screen when you pull your phone away from your ear. PocketShield can also protect the phone during calls and can auto-lock after calls. Of course, this can also be set to only happen while using a headset.

The notification icons in PocketShield are perfectly sized and the text is clearly legible. You can get notifications for alarms, reminders, SMS, missed calls, unread mail, and voicemail all from the comfort of the lock screen. Enabling the notification booster will let you set snoozing periods for notifications. Never forget about a notification again with this option.

Customizing applications is always something that instantly makes an app more interesting. PocketShield has selectable themes right from the app’s settings menu. This makes it easy to switch between your favorite designs on the go and can keep you from getting bored with the lock screen. Speaking of customizing, you can set your own backgrounds for the lock screen too.

PocketShield Themes

Finally, the PocketShield has excellent customer support. If something is not right, they work to fix it before taking a break from development. Reporting a problem is easy with PocketShield because you can do it straight from the device and it will even attach your configuration to help find the root of the problem. This product also allows you to check for updates and install them from the app, thus, keeping up with development should be easy.

PocketShield is mighty efficient when it comes to keeping your phone locked when you want it to stay locked. It has notifications to keep you informed without having to dive into your phones apps. Best of all, it has many settings to help you customize it to your liking (custom themes are great too). These features make a strong argument as to why PocketShield can be used daily without feeling the need to switch locking applications. I mentioned at the beginning of this review how reusability plays a significant role in these kind of applications and it comes with no hesitation to say that PocketShield passes with flying colors.

Software requirements:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 or higher
• .NET Compact Framework 3.5

Supported devices:

• HTC Touch Diamond
• HTC Touch Diamond2
• HTC Touch Pro (Raphael/Fuze)
• HTC Touch Pro2
• HTC Touch HD (Blackstone)
• Samsung Omnia
• All others QVGA in special mode.

Pros:

• Does its job of locking and unlocking perfectly
• Notifications are a treat to receive
• Extended functions in latest build make it exciting to use all over again
• Multiple options for ways to unlock the app
• Lock protection for incoming calls
• Customizable with themes and fonts
• Doesn’t seem to affect battery life of the phone
• Lightweight app compared to similar apps

Cons:

• $14.99 is a bit pricey ( but it’s on sale for $10.49 + Free lifetime upgrade only for the next 14 hrs )
• Learning curve is longer than most similar apps because of extended features
• Default sliding curtain for unlocking could use a graphical enhancement

Possible Improvements:

• Would love to see the unlocking curtain act more fluid like Android’s window shade
• Customizable unlocking curtain would be cool too

PocketShield 3 Review

Price : USD $14.99

Version Under Review : 3.0.3

User Interface Rating:

Features Rating:

Ease of Use Rating:

Re-use Value Rating:

Overall Rating:

Non-activated software will have a 10 second count down screen shown randomly saying that you are using the trial (this will not interfere with phone calls). It will be also restricted to 1 theme download.

Get Demo Version or Buy Full Version

Get the Demo / Full App from our Store: – use the promo code “appstore” to get 20% off , expires October 10th 2009

We are giving away 5 Copies of the PocketShield through 1800PocketPC.com , click here for more info. Will CLOSE on Sat 10th Oct ( Melbourne Time )

Tags: JDB Pocketware, PocketShield, screen lock

16 Responses to “PocketShield 3.0.3 – innovative & customizable lock screen application for Windows Mobile”

Stu says:

September 28, 2009 at 9:39 pm

This and SPB Shell are the sort of software Windows Mobile needs. Good quality, good looking and highly functional. In a word “PROFESSIONAL”.
More software like this will really put the Pocket PC on the map. Far better and far more flexible than the other systems. And I've tried them all!

Reply
rkrims says:

September 29, 2009 at 11:56 am

This is really a MUST app for a WM phone

Reply
Free iPhone 3GS says:

December 18, 2009 at 8:09 am

nice post, thanks!

Reply
Free iPhone 3GS says:

December 18, 2009 at 2:09 pm

nice post, thanks!

Reply
blackrat says:

January 24, 2010 at 10:00 am

Tried the trial but it stops my weather (both HTC and SPB) from displaying – is this a bug or me?

Reply
PPCInformer says:

January 24, 2010 at 10:08 am

try asking the developer using the support page : http://www.pocketshield.net/support.aspx

hope that helps

Reply