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Top 10 Applications - 2006
5. Pocket Informant 2007The top 5 of this year's list begins with the award winning Pocket Informant from WebIS. Pocket Informant 2007 is a terrific all-around PIM application that allows you to view and edit your calendar, contacts, tasks and notes and do so in a more user friendly yet comprehensive package. The beauty of the application though is that it is not just a PIM replacement. Rather, it is a true information manager allowing you to set multiple alarms, assign task percentages to tasks in progress, a revamped Journal with Rich Text, category colors and icons and contact summary. If you are using a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC phone, you can assign different ring tones for different contacts. For those who use Franklin Covey's Plan Plus 4.0 for Microsoft Outlook, it will even integrate with it! If you find the including Windows Mobile PIM applications lacking, Pocket Informant 2007 is the application for you. Current Version:
2007 Rev 2
4. Ilium eWalletAt number 4 is an application that has not had an update in 2006 (although one is rumored to be coming soon) but is an application that anyone who has extensive amount of personal or secure information on their Windows Mobile device should have installed. Ilium Software's eWallet has been around since 2002 and has been winning awards since (including this year in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Best Software awards). eWallet allows you to put in a whole host of information including passwords, bank account information, credit card information, software keys, etc all at a 256-Bit encryption level. Further, you can create custom cards and categories so you can store virtually any bit of information you need to keep private and secure. eWallet can even synchronize with your desktop so you can keep your information both on your PC and device (if you have the Professional version). eWallet has been and continues to be one of my favorite and a must have applications. Current Version: 4.1
3. Spb Pocket PlusIf there is one thing that Microsoft needs to change in Windows Mobile land it is the lack of a real, honest-to-goodness close button. As most of you know, the "X" doesn't close an application on your device, just minimizes it. Thankfully there are plenty of applications out there that will truly close your applications when you tap the "X" but few offer the additional power and features of my number 3 application. Spb's third and final entry on this years Top 10 is Spb Pocket Plus. Pocket Plus is one of those applications that frankly should not have to exist in my opinion as everything it does is something that the native OS should do. But it doesn't. So Pocket Plus is here - thankfully! Pocket Plus transforms your Windows Mobile device by turning the closing button into a real close button, allows you to create tabs on your Today screen with all your applications shortcutted there so you can launch them with one tap, and puts a battery life indicator on your Today screen. Beyond this though, Pocket Plus can integrate with virtually any of the other Spb applications. This means that you can have Spb Diary, Spb Weather, Spb GPRS Monitor, and Spb Finance as tabs on your Today screen, providing you quick and easy access to any of these applications. Pocket Plus fully supports Windows Mobile 5 and is highly customizable as you would expect from Spb. Current Version: 3.1.2
2. DVD Catalyst GTAt number 2 on my Top 10 list an application, like Jeyo Mobile Extender, that doesn't actually sit on your Windows Mobile device but rather your desktop PC. DVD Catalyst GT is the newest application from the DVD Catalyst team and it allows you to rip your DVDs or video files into a variety of formats including WMV and DIVX for Windows Mobile. DVD Catalyst GT does this in only a few mouse clicks and allows you format the resulting file to work perfectly with your device. You can even make video files for you Apple iPod or Microsoft XBOX 360! It is fast, simple and the quality of the video and audio from the conversion are fantastic. DVD Catalyst GT does not have the high end advanced video and audio tweaking that its older and more poweful sibling DVD Catalyst has but that is entirely the point. GT is designed so that anyone can have a DVD or video files ready to go onto their device without having to have a deep knowledge of video editing or CODECs. It is for everyone - newbie and old pro alike! Current Version: 1.2
1. CalliGrapher 8.4
The number one application for 2006 is one that has made significant improvements this year which, on the surface, is hard to imagine given how powerful it has always been. Phatware developed CalliGrapher in 2001 and has steadily improved it over the last five years. It has won numerous awards in the industry and this year was updated again to its current version of 8.4. In my opinion the 8.4 release could have easily been version 9.0 - the changes and enhancements were that good. The single biggest improvement in this release - and why it is number one on my list - is the new Digital Ink Filler. This new feature dramatically improved the accuracy of CalliGrapher on devices with worn display touch screens or with screen protectors on them. Although it was hardly "bad" before this new feature, it became almost 100% accurate in my testing with it. It is a rare day that I have to make a correction while using CalliGrapher these days. Some other enhancements included many under-the-hood performance changes, text gestures in Write Pad and the ability to put the Write Pad or Write Anywhere icon on your Today screen. CalliGrapher is a must have application, even for those with built-in QWERTY keyboards on their devices. The ability to write naturally and the application to easily and quickly convert it to text is, in many cases, faster. Current Version: 8.4
So there you have it, the 2006 Top 10 Applications List according to Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! So go to the store, give them a try and see what you think. I don't think you will be disappointed! Merry Christmas!
Clinton Fitch,
MVP-Mobile Devices |
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