There are many professions today in which note taking is not just about words but about gathering concepts and ideas.  Some of these concepts and ideas are best drawn out instead of written down which, until last year, required pen and paper in addition to ones Pocket PC. That was when PhatWare Corporation released PhatPad, a note taking application that allowed users to draw diagrams and take notes in handwriting, allowing users to keep all of their information in one place:  Their Pocket PC device.

With the release of the 3 version of PhatPad, PhatWare has taken this already outstanding application and made it even more of a must have application of Windows Mobile owners.  With some enhancements and further integration into Phatware’s CalliGrapher handwriting recognition application, this new version adds many new features including search feature, a Today plug-in, tighter integration to File Manager, voice notes attachments and full support for Windows Mobile 5.0.  For existing PhatPad owners this is a worth while upgrade while new users will quickly discover the indispensable nature of the program.

The installation of PhatPad is done via ActiveSync and the application can be installed in the Pocket PCs main memory or on a Storage Card. The application itself has an excellent footprint of only 900K so installing in either location will not cost much from a memory perspective.  The desktop edition of PhatPad also has a small footprint of around 5MB.  PhatPad 3 is compatible with Windows Mobile 2003, 2003SE and 5.0.

The beauty of PhatPad is its intuitive nature.  By starting the application, users can simply begin writing or drawing a note without having to train or read any materials beforehand.  Obviously reading the Users Guide will provide answers to deeper questions to operation of PhatPad beyond the surface and it is recommended.

In Figure 3, you will note that there are two different colors of ink displayed.  This is one of the many advanced features of PhatPad.  By tapping the color icon on the taskbar, users can select the color of ink that is to be used.  By allowing multiple colors, PhatPad makes it easy for users to denote different aspects of a drawing or to emphasize a point in their notes.  Additionally, in 3, customized inks are supported.  Finally, you can also change the thickness of the ink lines as well.  This further allows users to easily and quickly see points of importance in their notes or drawings.

While using PhatPad, there are two key features that users have access to while using the application for two distinct purposes.  The first is Shape Corrector for when PhatPad is being used for drawing.  To enable this feature, users tap the Shape Corrector icon or select it off of the Tools menu.  At this point, when users draw a common geometric shape, PhatPad will correct the shape by drawing the lines straight.  Shape Corrector allows for rough drawings to quickly become clean and presentable.  Like all aspects of PhatPad 3, Shape Corrector works exceptionally well.  In test drawings of nearly fifty squares, circles and triangles, PhatPad corrected an amazing 96%.  This far exceeded expectations and made this feature truly usable.

The second feature is Text Recognition.  In order to use this feature, users need to have PhatWare’s Calligrapher installed which is an additional purchase.  In this mode, users can have the text they have written in PhatPad recognized and turned into typed text.  This is also true for the desktop version of PhatPad 3. Users must have PenOffice installed for Text Recognition to function.  This, like Shape Corrector, allows for notes to quickly become presentable for others.  To have text recognized, tap the Tools menu or tap the icon on the taskbar.  Once activated, the display is split screen allowing users to see their written text on the bottom and the corrected text up top.  Because this feature in PhatPad is tied into Calligrapher, it works amazingly well with very few corrections needed after the recognition process.  Plus, if you want, you can copy/paste the correct text into another application such as Mobile Word or save just the text as a .txt file.  The Recognition tool can also be configured in a variety of ways to make it, like all other aspects of PhatPad 3, more user friendly.