SPB Shell 3D
by Paul Wilks
May 2, 2011 7:00 AM –
Install
SPB Shell 3D: next generation user interface. Enjoy your phone! Next generation user interface. Enjoy your phone! To launch SPB Shell 3D press the Home button once installation is completed. Features: 3D Home screen/launcher, Smart folders, 3D widgets, Collection of panels and widgets.
Price: $14.95
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Beautifully smooth 3D graphics.
- 3D widgets for weather, world time, SMS messages.
- Flawless screen transitions.
- Smart folders.
- Nicely rendered panels.
- Hugely customizable 3D screens and panels.
- Innovative UI.
- Cool animations.
Cons
- Very expensive.
- Eats battery power for fun.
- Limited number of widgets/panels.
- Doesn’t support live wallpapers.
- Takes a while to boot up.
SPB Shell 3D is the new Android launcher that so many people are talking about. Labelled as the ‘next generation interface’, the app has certainly caused ripples within the Android community. The launcher is rendered in utterly beautiful 3D and really makes other launchers pale into insignificance in terms of looks. However, at around the $15 mark, it’s expensive- very expensive, compared to other launchers such as LauncherPro, Go launcher EX and ADW. The big question is then: is it worth it?
Features:
SPB Shell 3D is a new customisable home launcher by SPB Software. Well known by the Windows Mobile community, SPB Shell 3D is now available on Android Market. At nearly $15 however, it’s one of the most expensive applications you can buy.
The screens scroll from side to side as most launchers do, however there is a magic ‘carousel’ button that pings your screen into a delicious spinning wheel of screens, allowing you to flick to the screen you want instead of swiping. It is a stunningly smooth interface which genuinely delivers the ‘wow’ factor.
Add to this useful smart folders, 3D widgets, cool-looking panels and lavish animations and you have a functioning launcher of the likes not seen before on Android.
I think personally, my favourite widget is the SMS, which pops out and allows you to flip through your messages like a virtual Rolodex, before opening your SMS application when you tap a message. Another widget, World Clock, is visually stunning, popping out like a mini Google Earth and showing you up to three different time zones.
One of the panels I found a little befuddling is the Flickr photo app. This randomly generates Flickr pictures directly to your homescreen. Now, if they were your own Flickr pictures that would be OK, but just random snaps? This seemed a bit strange to me.
Watch in HD or Mobile
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SPB Shell 3D Carousel
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SPB Shell 3D Messaging Application
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SPB Shell 3D Homescreen
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SPB Shell 3D World Clock
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SPB Shell 3D Clock Screen
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SPB Shell 3D Weather Widget
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SPB Shell 3D Weather Application
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SPB Shell 3D Animations- Weather
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SPB Shell 3D Smart Folders
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SPB Shell 3D Screen Editing
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SPB Shell 3D Travel Screen
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SPB Shell 3D Huge choice of clocks
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SPB Shell 3D Flickr Screen
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SPB Shell 3D Calendar Screen
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SPB Shell 3D App Draw Notifications
Usefulness:
It more or less does everything your normal launcher does, except it does most of it in spectacular 3D. The smart folders are a nice addition also. They sit on your home screen almost like a widget, and open in a smooth transition. There are some areas that seem lacking though, for example I would have liked to have seen some kind of social networking interface such as Twitter or Facebook widgets, or something that presented Gmail.
Ease of Use:
There is quite a lot to take in, especially if you are easily distracted by the visuals (I confess I was for a while). But it’s simple to use and you’ll be customising the look of your screens in no time.
One issue which may be a killer for fans of fast-booting is the fact SPB takes around 40 seconds to load up each restart. I didn’t find this too much of a problem, for some that is a frustratingly long period of time.
Frequently Used:
If the negatives of this gorgeous beast of an application don’t put you off, this will be your everyday launcher. However, despite the good looks, I found SPB Shell 3D to be a colossal drain on my battery. I have my screen brightness just below half, and after minimal display use (48 minutes) my battery was screaming for more juice after about 8 hours.
Interface:
The interface is beautiful to use. The screens glide from one to another with a kind of syrupy lushness and the widgets are generally intuitive and nice to use.
SPB Shell 3D is very smooth, although one small annoyance was the way in which the apps and widgets fill the screen from the top down. I cannot fathom why anyone would think this is a good idea as it hampers customisation.
I found no lagging on the screens but it will depend on the specification of your phone. Numerous comments on Android Market suggests some slow down, but on my Desire HD I had no such problems. It would probably be worth your while, before investing in SPB Shell 3D, to maybe check around to make sure it will work on your phone before you spend $15 on it.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Custom Android Home Screen,
Customize Home Screen,
Home Screen Replacement App,
SPB,
SPB Shell 3D
Categorised in: Lifestyle, Productivity, Tools, Utilities
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