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The PocketPC Thread
JohnDoe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I thought I'd make a thread for Pocket PCs (PDAs/Smartphones) and PocketPC software.
My favorites
Opera Mini (http://www.operamini.com/beta)
Awesome browser, and free. It uses a proxy to make pages smaller before sending them to your phone. IMO the current version is better than Opera Mobile (which costs money).
Resco File Explorer (http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/)
A replacement for the default file explorer, which is very basic. Lets you access networked drives properly so you can do things like stream video to your PDA from your other computers. Costs money, but its worth it.
ScummVM (http://www.scummvm.org/)
Lets you play all the Lucasarts adventure games from the comfort of your PDA! Its awesome, games work perfectly at full speed and high res on my O2 XDA Flame. Free, but you need to get the games yourself.
The Core Pocket Media Player (http://picard.exceed.hu/tcpmp/test/)
One of the best media players for Pocket PCs. Open source, and free. I can play the same files I play on my PC perfectly. Its no longer being worked on, but theres a paid for version called Coreplayer. Haven't tried it though, so I can't say how big of an improvement it is.
Mobipocket (http://www.mobipocket.com/)
For reading ebooks. Not that great, really, but I haven't found a good alternative yet.
All of these work on Windows Mobile, but there may be versions for other platforms. Post your own favorites.
My favorites
Opera Mini (http://www.operamini.com/beta)
Awesome browser, and free. It uses a proxy to make pages smaller before sending them to your phone. IMO the current version is better than Opera Mobile (which costs money).
Resco File Explorer (http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/)
A replacement for the default file explorer, which is very basic. Lets you access networked drives properly so you can do things like stream video to your PDA from your other computers. Costs money, but its worth it.
ScummVM (http://www.scummvm.org/)
Lets you play all the Lucasarts adventure games from the comfort of your PDA! Its awesome, games work perfectly at full speed and high res on my O2 XDA Flame. Free, but you need to get the games yourself.
The Core Pocket Media Player (http://picard.exceed.hu/tcpmp/test/)
One of the best media players for Pocket PCs. Open source, and free. I can play the same files I play on my PC perfectly. Its no longer being worked on, but theres a paid for version called Coreplayer. Haven't tried it though, so I can't say how big of an improvement it is.
Mobipocket (http://www.mobipocket.com/)
For reading ebooks. Not that great, really, but I haven't found a good alternative yet.
All of these work on Windows Mobile, but there may be versions for other platforms. Post your own favorites.
JohnDoe on
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Also, if you search microsoft's website for "MicrosoftMoney_ppc06.exe", you can get a sort of "super light" version of Microsoft Money for the PocketPC for free. It's just a little micro program, but it's been somewhat useful.
In truth, I bought an old used PocketPC thinking I'd use it a lot... and it's great in theory and great to play around with, but I haven't gotten to the point where I actually CARRY it with me anywhere. I tool around with it on occasion while I'm sitting at my desk waiting for something. It's unfortunate, because I really thought I'd find all these great uses for it... =(
1. Windows Live Search Mobile (Free) - This self contained app has GPS navigation, local business search, traffic conditions, nearby gas prices, nearby movie times, and you can search using voice recognition. Google maps has a similar mobile app, but this is far, far more full featured. Probably one of the best programs for a 3G enabled smartphone.
2. SU2U (Free) - This is a clone of the lock screen from the iPhone, with some additional features, including animated gif support and local weather. Uses about 1.5~2MB of ram, though.
3. Youtubeplay (Free) - A direct way to watch Youtube videos from a menu driven interface with excellent quality and full search capabilities. The new version supports association to FLV files/links. The only problem is that it doesn't support other video sites.
4. TCPMP /w flash plugin (Free) - This is what CorePlayer was before it became commercial. To watch videos sites other than Youtube such as Google Video and Veoh, you'll need this.
5. PocketCM (Free) - A clone of the iPhone contact list with added SMS features.
6. Tiny Twitter (Free) - Like tweeting about your bathroom activities but find the twitter homepage to be too slow on your mobile? This app pretty much does it all with a small memory footprint and almost all the twitter features (except adding new people to follow).
7. My Mobiler (Free) - Probably the best and only remote terminal app for Windows Mobile. This pretty much puts up a remote terminal view (similar to VNC) of your PDA/Smartphone screen through USB and allows you to interact using a mouse and keyboard. Great for adding batches of new contacts or doing any complicated typing.
8. WMWifiRouter ($22.48) - Ever wanted to share your smartphone's 3G connection out to your notebook/iPod touch through its 802.11g? This program will do it. Me and 3 buddies drove down PCH sharing a single connection this way. Unfortunately, Nintendo DS and PSP's won't work as they don't support Ad-hoc connections like this.
9. NewsBreak ($19.95) - A really nice RSS reader that supports direct scheduled download of podcasts.
10. OctroTalk (Free, for now) - A IM client that supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and Google Talk. It routes all your conversations through Google Talk's servers, thus logging them within Google Mail for easy searching. Low bandwidth and battery friendly.
11. HTC Home Customizer (Free) - Customization program that will download a modified version of the HTC Home frontend app. I've tried at least 5 other skins/shells/UI replacements (including Ultimate Launch and SPB Mobile Shell) and found myself always returning to this frontend. It's finger friendly, has a small/medium sized memory footprint, and has lots of features.
12. Levenum's Battery Meter (Free) - A battery meter that always sits on top of your title bar. It has a very small footprint and does only what it's supposed to do without bloat.
13. PPC PIM Backup (Free) - A small app that will backup/restore all of your contacts, phone history, SMS messages, tasks, calendar, and more. It doesn't even need to be installed, just copy it to your SD card and start your restore/backup there.
14. MoBlue (Free) - This Bluetooth file transfer app is especially helpful if your phone doesn't have a standard OBEX transfer mode, such as my Sprint Mogul. Nice features and user friendly.
Yeah, I made a bad choice in getting a WM treo because the store was out of 8525's, and the rediculously small screen size combined with the larger form-factor means that I'm still carying around my x51v instead because it's smaller but still is more functional
Good free themes and software.
Also, I downloaded an SSH client but it's just an executable and doesn't actually install. This makes it a bitch to actually run the program as I have to browse for it every time I want to use it. Any ideas on how to get around this and/or a SSH client that installs?
Thanks.
The only VNC client that I got to work in Windows Mobile is zoomVNC, which also does exactly as you describe. Unfortunately, it's $20, but so far I haven't seen any nag screen or reduced functionality with the unlicensed version.
I've only heard of the Freedom bluetooth gamepad, which seems to fit most models of PDA and smartphones. It doesn't seem to be in production anymore, but I've noticed some internet retailers still selling it.