As you may recall, when I previously reviewed version 1 of Spb Software House's very popular Pocket Plus, I positively raved over the product and gave it a perfect 10. Spb have just released version 2 of Pocket Plus (PP2) - so just how do you go about improving on perfection?

The first thing you think when you've finished installing the product is... what's gone wrong with my screen!  Running across the top of the task bar is a thin strip of markers which show the present battery level.  The thickness of this useful gauge can be set to thin (default), thick or not shown at all and it makes very good use of what is normally wasted space in all but full screen applications. I fully expect this to be adopted across a number of Spb applications.

Having recovered from the worry about your screen, the next thing to strike you is the new tabbed interface of the today screen add in. Pocket Plus has always permitted the user to add a variety of icons and status gauges to the Today screen, but now this valuable enhancement permits you to define up to five tabs, each containing a different (or similar) mix of icons and gauges so as to minimise the amount of space taken up by all those valuable short-cuts.

Another new feature of the Today plug-in is the extended themes. Selecting one of the new themes that accompany PP2 doesn't only change the background and menus of the today screen, it can also (optionally) change the look and size of the various status gauges displayed. There are a variety of tweaks available to help get the plug-in just right, from margin adjustments to drag and drop operations for customising the content.

But PP2 is not just about the Today plug-in, there are a number of other new and improved features which make up this package, many of which are far less obvious but nonethless very valuable.

Probably one of the best features of Pocket Plus is the Close button functionality which permits the OK button to actually close applications rather than just minimising them. This feature was in the previous version of PP but has been improved to be more customisable - more functions may be added to the popup menu with the tap, tap and hold, and gesture options also enhanced.

The Pocket IE options have been further enhanced to make browsing on the PDA even easier. In addition to the existing multiple windows and full screen functionality, it is now also possible to open a link in a new window and copy a link to the clipboard, as well as saving both web pictures and pages from the browser.

The repeating alarms function continues to make up for the pathetic alarms of WM2003 as well as ever. Also unchanged is the silent but ever present notifications fix for deleting duplicate notifications database entries after a soft-reset.

The final new enhancements to be added to PP2 are in the File Explorer - support for Zip files, the ability to format storage cards and a very useful properties menu option added to the explorer popup menu, all topped off with the addition of a useful ''folder up" button.  While l don't use the inbuilt explorer of WM2003 I can see these being of major benefit to those who don’t use a third party file manager tool.

Pocket Plus 2 adds yet more essential functionality to WM2003 which should have been in the operating system from the beginning, plus a number of very pleasant aesthetic improvements over the previous version. If I could ask for any feature it would be to permit other Today screen plug-ins to be plugged into PP2 so that the entire Today screen could be tabbed. Realistically though, I suspect this may not be technically possible... otherwise PP2 would already do it!

If you don't already have a copy of Pocket Plus... why not?! This is the application that every Pocket PC should have added to the ROM so that it installs at hard reset.  If you do already have a copy l would suggest that you download a copy of version 2 and have a look - I believe that the additional functionality will make the upgrade price very attractive... and the Spb Reward Points will get you closer to that free copy of Spb Time! 

Pocket Plus 2 maintains its well deserved 10/10.