***Long post, but I hope you all enjoy it and or get some use out of it. This is part one and I'll be back later, to finish part two, with a complete list of what I consider to be some of the best software you can purchase for the 211 or any Pocket PC.***
Hello,
My name is Ashton and I hope the following review and information will be of great help, to members and visitors of this site. I’ve gotten so much out of my few weeks, visiting this site and I would like to give something back. So below you’ll find my review as well as software list (including great freeware).
I’m a 27 year old business owner and entrepreneur who has, always had a thing for gadgets. First was the HP Jornada series with the built-in keyboard. Finally moved into the Pocket PC world, with the HP hx4700 and loved it from first touch.
A few weeks ago, after reading reviews here, I purchased the 211 and even though I didn’t care much for, the side design curves or lack of curves, I knew I’d still love it because it was an upgrade in many ways, to my hx4700 which was nice but a bit unstable for me, after upgrading the OS.
My 211 arrives and as soon as I hold it in my palm, I realize that it’s not as big as I thought it would be, which is a good thing to me, as well as not being as heavy as it looks in pictures. The screen was odd at first because it’s soft to the touch, or at least softer than the hx4700 screen I’m used to. I’m torn between feeling like the design of this unit, is a little on the cheap side, with the plastic everywhere and the rubber backside. Yet at the same time, the unit does seem to have a solid feel. Perhaps my issue stems from, the fact that the hx4700, was almost entirely made of magnesium.
Speaking of the 4700, I actually like the size and shape of the old 4700, much better than the 211. So in other words, I choose the 211 over the 4700 for all the goods it offers on the inside. I do wish the 211 was a bit thinner, like the 4700, but I guess we can’t have it all.
I read somewhere about a company, who gets a lot of business in repairing Motorola Q’s and many other smart phones, that have broken mini USB ports. I’ve had my hands on three 211’s, in the last 2 weeks and I’m predicting that the USB port on these units, will break for many people, as time goes on. I see that they are all loose (at least on the 3 I’ve had) or rather any cable plugged in, fits loose. When you plug in a usb cable it can move left to right as if loose. I figure this must be a design feature to protect the port from being broken by a cable? Not sure, but I’ve decided to make a rubber piece (to donut around the cable plug) to go over my USB cable which, will kiss against the 211’s body when plugged in. I’ll show pics, soon as I get that completed. Not sure if anyone has noticed, but SD Cards inserted into the slot, sit at an angle. At first glance, I thought I had another broken unit but after checking all 3 units, I see that SD Cards in all 3 units sit at an angle.
Right out of the box, the 211 is fast and can be up and running in just a few short minutes. I use this unit as a business tool and although I tried watching movies on my 4700, I’m just not into all that. And this is coming from a man, whose greatest passions are films and filmmaking. I loved video games growing up, but again I’m just not into any of that on this unit, which I look at as being a serious business tool and social organizer as I call it. So I can’t speak about videos, music and gaming on this unit.
I guess I’m one of those people who still wants his gadgets separate, which is probably why I have what my friends and I call “the man bag” (see link at bottom). My 211 is a machine which can do things in ways that none of these so-called smart phones have been able to impress me with.
I once made the mistake of considering giving up my hx4700 for the Motorola Q, when it was released. Spent 2 days with that toy, and realized that it could not do half the stuff my hx4700 could do and was just so limited in so many ways. Years later and I still feel as if, smart phones are nice but they just can’t offer as much as the iPAQ’s in terms of performance and software. I keep a high res ultra compact camera, 160GB iPod, Sony ICD digital voice recorder, Jawbone headset a few other small gadgets, extra batteries and of course the 211, in the man bag. Sure you can get a lot of these all in one units but no unit will offer a 12MP camera. No unit will offer the ease of use and features of the small and sleek Sony ICD SX57 digital recorder or the large capacity of a 160GB iPod (for music as well as audio how-to books; Tony Robbins, etc). When I want to talk on the phone I use my small flip phone that fits in any pocket and goes everywhere, even when I leave the man bag and 211 in the car, office or home. When I go to a party/event I pocket the 12MP Canon ultra compact because I would rather capture life in as high resolution as possible.
So as you can tell, as I mentioned before, I’m just not into the all in ones of the current crop. The iPhone is nice but I sat at a coffee shop and ran through a list of all the things, my software loaded 211 can do, that my friend’s iPhone can’t. Everyone has always been amazed, at just how much info I have on tap, in the hx4700 (now 211 of course).
MY BASIC SETUP:
I mostly work out of my home office and have my 211 sitting on my desk, plugged into a 2.0 USB, syncing to my Sony Vaio Laptop. I’ve never used the included AC Adaptor and just let the unit charge through the usb cable. I have the contacts hard button set to Spb Mobile Shell’s main menu and the same button held for 3 seconds, brings up Spb Full Screen Keyboard (which is very easy to type fast with fingers). The email hard button is set to turn the screen off (ScreenOff freeware link below) and 3 second hold on the same button, changes the screen to landscape or back to portrait.
I use a SanDisk 8GB Extreme III SDHC SD card (which by the way does perform faster than an older card I was using, when transferring to my laptop).
Using Tweaks2k2.net I’ve changed the two bottom soft keys to be Resco Explorer on the left and Spb Mobile Shell on the right (you can have them set up to be any program or file).
Looked around for a nice looking case but decided that the leather-like? Slip case that the unit comes with, is just what I wanted, which does not add too much bulk to the unit and fits nicely into my man bag. I prefer to us the unit without having it all wrapped up, in something which to me just makes the unit become something else if it’s always wrapped up in a hard or soft case. This is how I treated my 4700, for 3 years and all was fine, in terms of keeping the unit safe.
The "Man Bag" aka Sling. Everytime I have this bag with me, people (men and women) ask where I got it. It's not too small and not too big and it carrries it all for me but it sits in my car trunk or office a lot. Comes in Black (my choice), silver or red.
http://www.ebags.com/victorinox_swis...?modelid=68366
SOFTWARE:
These are all the programs I currently have installed on my unit.
Freeware:
AIM for Pocket PC: This is the hacked version that DOES work on our Win Mobile 5 and 6 units, simply install and use it. Follow the link, click on "FILE" below the first paragraph to download AIM. Note: You'll have to do a quick free sign-up of that forum, in order to download the file.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...ked+pocket+AIM
Acrobat Reader: Adobe’s Acrobat reader for Pocket PC.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readerforppc.html
Ephemeris: Love this program which does a number of things but I only use it to show me when there will be a full moon or any big moon nights, any day of the year I want to know about. Something about the moon over the ocean never gets old with me.
http://home.comcast.net/~jsachs34/#Ephemeris%201.0
MiniStumbler: I use this to scan Wi-Fi connections and to obtain single strength info
http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/ - Update: Does not see Wi-Fi card of the 211 so the program will not function. Here are a few more that do work: PeekPocket:
http://dzolee.blogspot.com/search/label/PeekPocket
WiFiFoFum:
http://www.aspecto-software.com/rw/a...ons/wififofum/
WiFi Profiles:
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-...es-v0-0-2.html
Pocket e-Sword for Windows Mobile 5: A Bible and Bible reader program. Many free Bibles to download from their site. Just follow the instructions, download the program and as many Bibles as you want.
http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/downloads.html
PocketXpdf: A native PDF viewer for the Pocket PC.
http://pocketxpdf.sourceforge.net/
RC Mod: Pocket PC color scheme customization program.
http://www.freewareppc.com/utilities/rcmod.shtml
Core Pocket Media Player: Much better than Windows Media Player. This is the older free version.
http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Mu...yer-8609.shtml
DateCalcCE: Allows you to quickly calculate the number of days, or weeks and days, between two dates.
http://www.biomobility.com/datecalc.htm
Due Date Reminder: Due Date Reminder will keep track of all due dates and also keeps you reminding you of the desired Dues to be paid. It’s a simple stand alone program that I use to list some items all in one simple easy to view place and the alarms do work.
http://www.freewareppc.com/database/...reminder.shtml
Google Maps for mobile on Windows Mobile: With a good enough connection I was amazed out how nice this freeware is. I prefer to use GPS in my car unit or even my Verizon cell phone but it’s always nice to have mapping software to just browse around.
http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html
Live Search For windows Mobile: Can never have too much web search software.
http://mobile.search.live.com/client/wm_handsets.aspx
Macromedia Flash Player: Limited but does work with the Win Mobile 6 built in Internet Explorer.
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer_pocketpc/
Microsoft Pocket Streets 2006: Microsoft discontinued this one but I still love it. I’m able to make maps (of any size and any area) in Streets & Trips 2008 (older versions work too) and put them on my SD card. This allows me to browse detailed maps of any area offline. I couldn’t find the link to it but it was available on many freeware sites in the past. Message me if you can’t find it. Also it will be located on the CD of any older version of Streets & Trips. Just explore the CD in Windows if you have one.
Qmail: QMAIL is a communications program which deserves to be better known: it supports POP3, IMAP4, NNTP & RSS protocols. Follow the instructions because this installation is a little different; simply copy the files to the Pocket PC. This email client works very well and fast unlike my experiences with FlexMail.
http://pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=1344
ScreenOff: I use this one to turn off my screen after mapping it to a hard button. My 211 sits on a desk syncing for hours on end while I’m using my laptop so it’s nice to be able to just press a hard button and the screen is turned off or on right away.
http://www.freewareppc.com/utilities...pocketpc.shtml
Skype: The power of Skype on the Pocket PC. I use this to make international phone calls, rather than making them from my cell phone as much, when I’m mobile.
http://www.skype.com/download/skype/.../download.html
Virtual Earth Mobile: Another program like Google Maps, with image downloads and all.
http://viavirtualearth.com/VVE/Gallery/VEMobile.ashx
Pocket Spark: Allows playback of Macromedia Flash files on your Pocket PC.
http://www.conduits.com/products/spark/
That’s my list of freeware I currently have installed. Later tonight or over the weekend, I’ll finish this post, with my complete list of paid software. Thanks for taking the time to read my long post and hope it’s of help to some of you……. TBC……….
SpooNotes:
http://www.spoontools.com/index_files/SpooNotes.htm
Just installed and tested this nice full of features note pad. A Welcome change is that the background is black. The features seem to be well placed as tiny icons, at the bottom of the screen.
YoutubePlay:
http://youtubeplay.en.softonic.com/pocketpc
Youtube search and play from within this program, without opening a browser says it all.
Slick:
http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=slick
Agile Messenger (Paid software) and AIM (freeware) are both good enough but I’ve now deleted them both and only use a freeware program called Slick, which is by far much nicer to look at and very functional (can log into AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN all at once). For anyone who uses IM on the Pocket PC, Slick seems to be the best choice and at no cost compared to Agile Messenger.
2008-04-13
PART II
PAID SOFTWARE:
Note: I don’t know how many of you, already know about Pocketpcmag.com annual software awards list
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/ca...7_newquery.asp It’s a very good list (best I’ve ever found anywhere online) of PPC software you can view by winners and or a complete list of categories, for just about every category you could think of. My own list and purchases I’ve made over the last few years; are based on this list. However, some of their winners are my 2nd choices rather than my first choices. For instance I choose eWallet (a finalist) rather than Spb Wallet (their 2007 winner).
Starting with my top programs, which for me, MAKE the 211 (and my past hx4700 and all other PDA’s I’ve owned).
Easy Sync:
http://www.easy-sync.info/
This program installs on your desktop pc and allows you to sync folders through ActiveSync/WMDC that are not located in the My Documents folder of the PPC or the desktop.
Spb Pocket Plus:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/pocketplus/?en
This is one of those programs that should have been part of the OS. It’s a today screen plug-in or as I call it, it is the today screen. Version 4 has gotten better and you’re able to change and move around icons as you desire. Create different today screen tabs and group your programs, into whatever groups you create. All can be right there, on your today screen, in an easy and simply clean format. Also you have the wonderful option, of being able to add other today screen plug-ins, into any of the tabs you create in Pocket Plus. Not everyone loves it with a passion as I do but it is very popular because it’s easy enough to set up and makes navigating through your PPC, a quicker and easier experience. BTW' If you’d like many more icons for Pocket Plus 4, than what come preloaded than try this link below. Dig in and you’ll find a lot of users posting downloads next to images of their created icon sets. I wasn’t satisfied with the preloaded sets but after downloading many more, I’ve got just what I wanted now:
http://www.spbclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10632
ListPro:
http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/lp/listpro.php
This is a very simply but powerful little program that creates lists for ANYTHING you can imagine. From shopping lists to project management schedules. Also has the reliable ability to create alarms for any list item, which makes for a very simple but practical task list. Best of all, you can purchase ListPro for both Desktop and PPC and they not only work together, they are the same program with all of the same features and look on the PPC. Your lists take up little memory and can be stored by default (or anywhere you choose) in the PPC Documents folder. The Desktop version, can access these files from that same folder on the documents sync folder. So this means you can create, edit, delete, etc, lists on either the desktop or PPC and those changes are made very quickly, through your ActiveSync connection.
I’ve been using this program since the late 90’s and couldn’t be without it. I have lists (or perhaps more like databases) of everything from “My Assets” which contains lists of software I own, purchase date, key codes, update info, etc. List of Books I own, serial numbers for large ticket items and just about anything of value you could think of. Shopping lists; from grocery lists, to birthday and Christmas shopping lists. Because of this program my memory seems to be much better than it really is because I always add to my lists, things to do and purchase for friends and family. Because of this program I NEVER walk out of a grocery store (or almost any store) and realize that oh no I forgot something. I have a grocery list with check boxes (you can create check boxes, flags, etc.). Time to go shop, I just walk around my house with my 211, and check mark all the items that need to be replaced. Alright you get the idea. Can you tell how much I love this little program? Also the customer support is as good as it gets; hardly ever have issues with the program but if I email them, they are very prompt and did I forget to mention that you can just call them right up and they’ll answer your tech questions. Shopping lists, goal lists, assets owned, assets to acquire, lists of questions to ask HP tech support about the 211, romantic date idea’s, favorite places, things, movies, songs to buy and on and on and on. Yeah I love this program!
eWallet:
http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/ew/ewallet.php
This is another love of mine, made by the same makers of ListPro. It also does all of the same Syncing from the My Documents folder and has a desktop version that shares all the same features as the PPC version. I keep everything from credit card info to password and sign-in info for every website I visit. Because of this program (and now also because of the AMAZING, AMAZING RoboForm for the desktop only) I’m never stuck, trying to remember my login info for a site, I’ve not been to in many months. The wallet, like most of the wallet programs, can encrypt all of your data but I go one step further (see Sentry 2020 listed below).
Resco Explorer:
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/explorer/default.asp
Another one that should have been part of the OS. This file explorer puts the built-in and all others to shame. For years it’s been number one for good reason. And each new release brings it closer and closer to being like explorer on the desktop. After installing it, the best way to get the most use out of it, is to go into the options and change a lot of setting to your own taste. For instance I like for the explorer to always open in the My Device view, rather than the last opened folder view. There are a lot of options hiding inside of this program and for the most part are easy to use and configure. Also with Resco Explorer comes a built in registry viewer/editor which was much more than enough for me to delete my stand alone registry programs of the past. I use this program so often I’ve mapped the left soft key to be Resco Explorer.
Pocket Informant:
http://www.pocketinformant.com/produ...o.php?p_id=pi&
I’ve been using this for many years as well. Think of it as a true Microsoft Outlook featured program for your PPC, which syncs very nicely with desktop Outlook. It has had its problems, over the years for different users, but I still choose it over other programs and most of all over the limited built-in outlook in Win Mobile. Why you ask? One of the main features I’ve always like about Pocket Informant, is the ability to create different address books, rather than have all of my contacts grouped in one address book database. Sure you can use filters but I like to keep different folders all together and if you do so in desktop Outlook, they will not get synced into pocket outlook. Pocket Informant doesn’t start up, as fast as the built-in but it still wins overall, for me, with so many options, it can get a little confusing and version 2008 is not to my liking so I may switch back 2007 after trying it for a few more weeks. Still, I use this program many times, daily.
Resco Photo Viewer:
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/photoviewer/
The best one out there with many features, including some nice little editing features a bit beyond just cropping photos. For years now, when I go out, business or personal and I have my PDA with me, at some point I’ll show a slideshow of say photos of family and friends with this program. I map the hardware buttons so that I basically hand over my PDA to someone and they can press a button to go to the next image or back. Also as funny as it may sound to some, I have a lot of goals in my life and I have images that represent those goals. Most nights, before going to bed and some mornings waking up, I click on a slideshow to watch, having to do with my life goals.
Calligrapher:
http://www.phatware.com/index.php?q=...s/calligrapher
Handwriting recognition at its best. Basically allows you to turn your handwriting (whatever style or even mixed styles) in text, within any program on your PPC. Works well and gets much better as you use it. Another on the list of should have come with the OS. Between getting good at handwriting on the screen and my new favorite keyboard program (see Resco Below) I have no need for a portable keyboard, which to me makes my PPC not a PPC any longer if I have to carry around too many other devices for it.
GoogHelper for Windows Mobile PPC:
http://www.iambic.com/googhelper/wmppc/
I hated the registration process for this program which BTW’ was very inexpensive at $5.00. However I think everyone who ever gets online with the 211 should have this little program. It allows you to search Google without first opening up any browser window and then click on a list of results and automatically open a browser then. Simple! Fast! Works!
Opera Web Browser:
http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/
Let’s try and forget that Microsoft included what they call a web browser inside Win Mobile. Opera is far better, smoother and actually gets you to pages loaded and quicker than IE.
Resco Keyboard Pro:
http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/keyboard/default.asp
Bought a license for this years ago from pocketgear.com (I had gone on an all out PPC software spree). Ended up NEVER using the program up until about 2 weeks ago when I got their new upgrade. It’s a whole program now and I love it. I was at ATT Wireless, trying to type on the iPhone keyboard and sorry folks, I don’t know what others are talking about but I kept hitting wrong keys. I’m 6’1 and have big but I don’t think too big of hands and my fingers kept getting basic words wrong on that iPhone. I had my 211 right there and compared the iPhone's keyboard to the Resco Pro (which is now just like the iPhone’s, only more screen space means larger keys than the iPhone). I can type on the Resco Keyboard, the way people claim they can on the iPhone. I can really just hammer away with this new Resco Keyboard Pro. Once you get used to (it took me a few days) how the shift, etc buttons work) it’s the best I’ve ever tried and feel I could not be without it now. Downside is that it’s big so it often takes up too much room when typing in passwords/keys in small boxes so you can’t see the small box you’re typing in, while typing but it’s not a big issue due to the fact that the Resco Keyboard is again just like the iPhone, in that when you hit a key, the letter you type, pops up at you as a confirmation. Love it! It may not be for all, but what do you have to loose in giving it a try?
HandySwitcher:
http://www.dinarsoft.com/handyswitcher/
Pocket Plus has a feature that turns the close button (x in the top right corner) of the PPC OS into a close button that actually closes programs rather than just minimizing them. HandySwitcher has the exact same feature but it goes one further. Picture if you will, a small icon (a rainbow cross) on the top bar right past the clock and or battery. Now picture being able to have that cross icon AND the x close button both perform different tasks that you assign through HandySwitchers options. So at the top of my screen I can click the x close button and it will close whatever program is open in front of me. I can click and hold 3 sec on the x close button and it will close all programs open (not just the one up front). Click on the cross icon and it quickly as in instantly, bring up a small but very easy to read/use attractive pull down box, showing everything that is running (names shown too) with an x at the end of the name. Click on the name and you switch to that program or click on the x at the end of the name and it closes just that program. At the bottom of the list of named programs is a “minimize all” icon/name which is basically the same thing as show desktop on windows. This little program can be customized in just enough ways to make most users very happy. Most of all I choose it because after testing many of the task switchers (paid and freeware) HandySwitcher looks the best and is the quickest for doing those basic things I have my set to and does it in few clicks than anything else I’ve tried. (Note: Magic Button for Pocket PC is a freeware that does some of what HandySwitcher does even if it’s not as nice looking).
WISEBAR ADVANCE:
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/pro...WisBarAdvance/
Magic Button is a nice little program and it does seem to respond just a bit quicker on clicks than Wise Bar Advance. However after giving WiseBar Advance a solid demo, I have to say I’m now sold on it and have since uninstalled Magic Button. WiseBar's features and options leave Magic Button looking like a sub-base 90’s Honda Civic (you know the kind; no CD, lucky it came with AC). WiseBar is feature rich and even takes care of a few issues I had such as programs like Sentry 2020 taking up screen space at the bottom of the screen when the program was running, by installing an icon down there. Only issue with WiseBar is that when clicking its menu, it’s not instant like Magic Button is.
SoftMaker 2008/TextMaker:
http://www.softmaker.com/english/
Another award winner! Think of this as what Office Mobile should have been. MANY REAL features that are stripped from Microsoft’s pocket version. Allows you to create, edit and work on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, much more like you would on the desktop. This program is one of the more expensive PPC programs but it is feature rich and does a lot and does it very well, in a nice looking package. If you use Office on the desktop, don’t bother buying SoftMakers desktop version. Also when installing it on your PPC (demo or paid version), as I did, you may very well want to do a custom install and UNCHECK all the Windows desktop components the install program will try to install by default. It will install annoying icons on your task tray and do the whole start with windows dance, if you allow it to install.
PhatPad:
http://www.phatware.com/index.php?q=...etails/phatpad
I think it’s a great program, even if a bit overpriced for a note taking program. It does what the built-in notes does, but does more and does it better. If you’re happy with your built-in notes then no need but this one does have more features and I do much more prefer it over the built-in as do many other people who have made it so popular over the years.
Cash Organizer Premium 2008 vs. Spb Finance:
http://www.inesoft.com/eng/index.php?in=premium.html
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/finance/?en
Two very good (or really the only two real choices) for pocket finance program that can now both sync with desktop versions (new versions that is) of both Money and Quicken. COP looks much nicer on just about every screen. Spb took the award this year. They both offer a lot of the same features and quick entry mini programs I guess you could call them. So I’m still undecided on which one to keep on my unit. I keep reading what other have to say and I keep using both at the same time, both syncing with Money and I’ll just have to spend more time to figure out which I like best. BTW’ they both advertise about the quick entry of receipts and personally I think it to be not necessary for me. I would rather carry receipts back home and input them all at the end of a day or week on my desktop. I only wish to review accounts on the go. But still they both offer many other features to use. However don’t look into either of these as being as feature filled as the desktop Money or Quicken even if they say these can both be used as a standalone unless your needs are very basic.
Spb Mobile Shell:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/prod...obileshell/?en
This is one I use in tandem, with Spb Pocket Plus. I bought this one a while back and after trying it for a week, I decided it was just eye candy and removed it from my former PPC. Then the new 2.0 version came out and after installing it on my 211 and changing the theme to the dark blue and watching the animation from within the menu’s, I couldn’t help but say WOW! Very much iPhone-like in terms of the animated transitions between folders. I only wish, somehow the program could take over my entire OS and always be up in front of everything. The animated windows are just too slick and can really get anyone’s attention (I think I’ve sold a few 211’s for HP because of the animated transitions alone). It does a lot of the same things as Pocket Plus but does NOT give you nearly as many options to customize as Pocket Plus does. Something tells me that it’s a “business” decision that Spb didn’t merge Pocket Plus and Mobile Shell into one program at a higher price (would probably not sell as well as the two separate at a lower price). The bad news is that I’ve tested it several times on 3 different 211’s and Mobile Shell does slow the system down a bit. Now when I say the system I mean I noticed that going into the built-in settings and Today Control panel, is a bit slower when Mobile Shell is installed. Not that big of a problem if you’re not going in and changing settings every day. All in all I love this eye candy and the large icons within it, make it easy to start most programs with just a finger and no stylus (question is how good is it to be able to go without a stylus to start a program but then still need a stylus, once in the program?). This is one for me but many may not find it necessary to spend on this program and would be better served with just Pocket Plus.
Sprite Backup Pocket PC Edition vs. Spb Backup:
http://www.spritesoftware.com/store/...nav-dropdown-2
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/backup/?en
For a moment I hated Sprite because I had believed it to be the cause of a nasty little problem. Turned out I had sent the wrong progy to the death chamber. I purchased both, sometime ago and had always used Spb to do nightly backups of My Documents folder (containing my beloved ListPro and eWallet's files that changed daily). That has always worked just fine and select restore on a single file from a backup saved me a few times. Now I’ve done the full system backup with Sprite and installed it from one 211 to another. All worked the first 2 times I did so but the 3rd time I had an issue in that my desktop would not sync my contacts any longer even after deleting and creating new partnerships. So is that the fault of Sprite? Probably not! Most likely has something to do with the options in migration and PIM data I should or shouldn’t have checked. Perhaps I’ll end up using both since I already paid for the upgrades from purchases originally made a year or two ago. I have been using both because it seems you can only have one scheduled backup at a time. So I schedule a full system backup for once a week with Sprite and a daily My Documents and PIM backup with Spb. Perhaps that is my choice right here; both together are best but of course more costly.
SBSH PocketWeather:
http://www.sbsh.net/product.php?id=32
There are a few good weather programs out there but I choose PocketWeather and have been very happy with it for the past few years and have had NO problems with it on the hx4700 or the 211. I love the colorful VGA icons it displays and how I can customize what information displays and how it displays it and many other options and settings. I normally have it updating about 8 different locations around the world and it only takes 1 to 2 minutes over ActiveSync, WiFi connection or mobile phone connection. Found an option last week I never knew about; to alert me of earthquakes. It can alert you to all earthquakes around the world, local ones to you or anything over 6.5. I little box pops up on your today screen and tells you the time, size and location of earthquake. I currently have the program positioned as a plug-in inside a Pocket Plus tab and it works perfectly. Very reliable it’s been for me and you can click on any day of the week and get further details about wind speed and everything else the weather channel could tell you about, including small satellite images.
CityTime:
http://www.codecity.net/prodctppc.htm
Another trusty program I’ve been using for years and a Pocketpcmag.com winner again. It can display times for anywhere around the world. You can choose four locations for its main screen view and within that view it shows you a flat map of the world and real time shadowing along with red dots of your locations and you can visually see how and where the sun is setting and rising, just pretty cool to see from time to time. Also it has a real cool distance and time calculator in that you can very quickly figure out how long it take to fly from one destination to any other destination. Furthermore you can even calculate how long it would take to travel by walking that same distance. Ha! Lots of nice little travel and time tools also included in the program. I’m a traveling man so I love this one as well.
Sentry 2020:
http://www.softwinter.com/sentry_ce.html
This was a finalist this year but I think it deserves to win again. I’ve tried them all and it’s still the best encryption program for the PPC. Matter of fact it’s also a very good program on the desktop as well. I’ve been using it on both my laptop and PPC for about 3 years now. NOTHING works as quickly as Sentry does unless you’re talking about some DOD software that you or I won’t be getting our hands on anytime soon. What makes this program so special is that it creates volumes which are like virtual hard drives. You can create as many as you want and they can be any size you choose (there may be some limit but mine have been as big as 7GB and worked fine). Along with your volume (like a vault) a separate key file is created. Without the key file, your data is as good as gone baby gone for good. Everything on my SD Card (excluding programs but you can put your programs within the volume if you want) is in a Sentry Volume. Also I have a volume in my documents folder, which holds all of my eWallet, ListPro and other document files. When I start my 211 for the first time every morning, I click on click on the record hard button (or you can map to any button or Today icon) time in just one password and within seconds my large SD Card volume is unlocked. Should I soft reset my device then the unlock box will come up on its own because I placed it in the startup folder and I again just type one password and all of my data is unlocked. You can set Sentry to lock your volume/volumes after so many minutes of non use. You can take the SD Card out of the 211 and access the volume on your desktop with Sentry for Windows, after entering in the password with the key file. Dragging, cutting and pasting just like any drive letter is how simple the volumes work and you can do all of the same setup on your laptop as well. Furthermore encryption level is up to you to choose when you create a volume.
SKTools:
http://s-k-tools.com/index.html?sktools/m_feat.html
Is another award winning utility that does a lot of good stuff. I use a lot it uninstall feature which goes beyond the normal uninstall of the OS and digs deeper to remove more traces of a program than the normal uninstall does. Also it has a cleanup scanning feature which searches for dead registry entry’s, dead links, temp files, browser cache files and other files that can be deleted and then gives you a list of all of them, including location and the option to delete them all or selectively. The program also has a number of nice mods/tweaks it can perform for you to increase the speed of your PPC and make adjustments without you having to go into the registry manually. It’s basically an all in one maintenance utility.
HiCalc:
http://www.ppclink.com/?ppclink=product&do=view&id=44
Another award winner many calculators in one nice looking package that can be used with or without the stylus. I used to use 1-Calc but after too many problems I switched to HiCalc. It can get online and update currency in a matter of seconds at the press of a button and offer many more features than even I need. It’s quick enough to start up that I do not use the built-in calculator any longer (unlike 1-calc which was too slow for me, which left me clicking on the built-in calculator too often).
Lexisgoo English Dictionary:
http://www.ppclink.com/?ppclink=product&do=iew&id=22
The best award winning general English dictionary out there. Very easy to use and attractive GUI compared to some of the others out there. Loads very quickly for a program that does use up 20MB+ installed which is why an SD/CF Card is the best place for install. Have used it for years and never lets me down.
Agile Messenger:
http://www.agilemobile.com/
The award winning instant messenger. You’re able to log onto any of the popular IM services such as Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, etc. Also give you option like being able to log on in invisible mode unlike the freeware AIM.
Tweaks2K2 .NET:
http://www.tweaks2k2.com/portal/stat...50224182009983
Like SKTools this one has a lot of tweaks it can do without you having to touch the registry it does it for you. This program get update often enough, with new tweaks and has always had something I end up not being able to live without but never knew I needed.
Spb Insight:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/insight/?en
I just started using this one a few weeks ago even though it was purchased many months ago. I choose this one over Newsbreak because it downloads full articles and pictures all during the update so that I have 30 (my selected sources) news sources I can read in line somewhere, out about or whenever. The updating of news is pretty quick and shows you a progress bar for each source one at a time and all downloads can be stored on SD/CF Cards. I’ve got it added to the same Pocket Plus tab as PocketWeather so when I click on that tab, I can see the weather and news article headlines scrolling below the weather AND some articles show mini but viewable pictures right in the scrolling text, without actually opening up the article to read it. Much better than the Journal Bar program I used to use.
Pocket Bible NIV Version by Laridian:
http://www.laridian.com/ce/default.asp
This is a Bible and Bible reader much like the free e-Sword Bible but a bit more polished I guess you could say. There are many Bibles they offer for sale and some free ones as well.
PocketPlayer:
http://www.conduits.com/products/player/
The best way to turn your 211 into an iPod is right here. Award winner and pretty nice with many features but of course nothing is an iPod right?
iSS Financial Calculator:
http://www.implicitsoftware.com/mobi...ncialcalc.html
I nice, easy, simple and clean financial calculator. Does Mortgages and other fixed term loans, Auto leases (any leases) and auto loans.
Flash Format:
http://www.cnetx.com/format/
Nice and powerful formatting utility. Defragment, format and repair internal and external (SD or CF) cards.
Conversions In Hand:
http://www.burroak.on.ca/cih.html
Unit conversion, currency, clothing sizes, distance, volume on and on and on. This one does most types of conversions and was this year’s award winner. The GUI looks outdated but this program packs A LOT of conversion tools.
Pocket Earth:
http://www.informapusa.com/
You won’t find a program that looks nicer than this. Just give a test drive and you’ll know what I mean. Shows the entire earth and you’re able to click on a location and get information about that location and plot a course and get distance between two locations. Also has the ability to work with GPS. This one never fails to impress with the spinning globe.
Spb Time:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/time/?en
This has many time features but I honestly use it for one reason and one reason only; it has the nicest looking and functioning stop watch out there that can very easily be used without a stylus with its large buttons.
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Spb Mobile Shell: Like I mentioned, the program looks very nice and is sure to impress anyone, standing next to you, with its animated windows. However at the end of the day, navigating through those animated windows; is much slower than what I can do with just using Pocket Plus. Furthermore I am 100% convinced that Mobile Shell is a system hog and slows down the OS basic settings and menus. I’ve now uninstalled Mobile Shell and will just stick with Pocket Plus with various today screen plug-ins, within its tabs.
Spb Insight: is a very nice program and as I mentioned, I much prefer it over Newsbreak because it downloads full content and images, so you don’t need to be online to get the whole story. After installing it to SD Card, I ran into a problem where the program starts up and installs a folder to the new SD card, should you switch SD cards at anytime. Insight will also keep loading, flashing that rainbow windows icon, every few seconds, until a soft reset. So I’ve installed Insight and all of its content into the File Store and eliminated that problem.
If you’re like me and you install a lot of programs onto your 211 and if you do so, mainly with the desktop installers. Then you’re going to have a desktop pc filled with a lot of PPC programs installed on it. I don’t like my laptop to be filled with installed anything I don’t need or want. So I use this very nice freeware called Revo Uninstaller (
http://www.revouninstaller.com/). After I installed all my PPC software, I ran Revo Uninstaller, and then let it uninstall, one by one, all of the PPC software that’s installed on the desktop. The program has an advanced feature which digs deeper than windows, in removing leftovers of any program. Note that you don’t want to uninstall PPC programs from your desktop that are used by your PPC during sync mode (such as Cash Organizer, Sprite Backup and a few others). Also I make sure my 211 is not connected because some programs will try to uninstall from the PPC while uninstalling from the desktop.
Hope this helps some of you and thank you for taking the time to read my posts.
Ashton
My 211 Review, FYI And My Software List:
