Windows Phone Thoughts: SPB Mobile Shell Hits Major Upgrade With Version 5

"Major updates to the new version include a new 3D engine and an improved social networking integration. The former means support for new types of eye candy effects such as 3D Media Player, 3D Photo Viewer, 3D Weather, dynamic 3D widgets and more, while the latter involves message, contacts, photo and status sync with popular services, namely Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn...One important innovation in SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 is the Natural Interaction Engine which includes support for G-sensor and multitouch, a dedicated Feedback Engine providing realistic visual and haptic responses, and a Physics Engine responsible for the real-world behavior of all objects."

Among the alternative UIs available for Windows Mobile, SPB Mobile Shell was among the first and the best. It hits version 5 with some major improvements that take it to another level, though I wonder about the resource requirements for all the extra functionality and eye-candy you're getting with this version. The other major news with version 5 is that SPB has now ported Mobile Shell to the Android and Symbian platforms, a timely move given the UI lockdown coming in Windows 7 series phones (and maybe the reason for skipping a version number). There's no news on pricing, upgrade rights, or availability yet (it isn't even available from SPB's own store) though v3.5 retails for $29.95 (affiliate link). I'll update this post when those details come available.

Update: Mobile Shell v5 has been spotted on the upcoming Toshiba TG02. Still no word on pricing or consumer availability, but scuttlebutt has it we're looking at a Q2 2010 release.