In the information age, users demand data wherever they are, and Journal Bar from Omega One claims to give us what we want. Anthony Newman takes a look.
Omega One, makers of Battery Pack, have another utility in their arsenal: Journal Bar. Residing on the Today Screen of the Pocket PC, Journal Bar displays a range of up-to-date, localized information for the user.
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This information includes weather, sports results, movie times, TV schedules and suchlike. The utility updates this data automatically during synchronization or through any other internet connection, meaning that the process is largely transparent for the user - just the way it should be.
Setup is equally simple, with users selecting the country and postal code for their location. Journal Bar does the rest. Options include which items to display from a range of pre-defined links, sites and information types, and how to display them: the single Today Screen strip can automatically scroll to reveal more data, or the user can page through the different sections manually.
In use the Bar is very straightforward. A single tap on any icon or info-bit will bring up more detail, such as a full weather forecast or a web site with movie times. Journal Bar remained unobtrusive in our testing, with nippy performance and no cause for concern when it comes to stability.
Omega One also offer an Expansion Pack for Journal Bar, which greatly expands its capabilities. The pack includes over 100 extra news sites, including sports-result sources, news, lifestyle and technology pages, local sites and so on. It also adds extra weather sections.
Conclusion
Journal Bar is another great tool in the arsenal of information junkies. In a simple package it conveys a great deal of information, especially with its Expansion Pack installed. Our only reservation is that a lot of the utility of the program is wasted unless it is installed on a connected handheld: the daily ActiveSync is only useful for certain types of information.
- What's positive: Quick configuration; easy to use
- What's negative: Expansion pack costs extra; really requires a connected handheld.
Overall: 
Availability
Journal Bar 2 is available now for $14.99 USD. The Expansion Pack is $9.99 USD.
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