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 a few years ago, 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 Windows Mobile device.

With the release of the 4 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 builds on the solid foundation of PhatPad 4.0 by improving the performance of the application, use of the new and improved Digital Ink engine found in CalliGrapher, typed text now can be mixed with handwritten information which can be edited and document templates.  It is a true upgrade to this award winning application and one that existing owners should have no second-thoughts about upgrading to.  For those new to PhatPad, today is the day to start using it on your device or desktop!

The installation of PhatPad is done via ActiveSync and the application can be installed in your device's 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 4 is compatible with Windows Mobile 2003, 2003SE and 5.0.

The beauty of PhatPad is its intuitive nature.  By starting the application, you 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, customized inks are supported.  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.

For those who have used PhatWare's CalliGrapher (see my review of the latest version of CalliGrapher by clicking here), you will know that PhatWare made a massive improvement to the digital ink system that is used by that program.  Essentially the same engine is used here in PhatPad.  You will notice as you use PhatPad that the ink writing is very smooth with virtually no errors.  This is true of shapes as well as written text.  Plus, because the new engine is used, there is far fewer errors or issues when using PhatPad on a device with an older screen or screen protector that has some roughness to it. 

New to version 4.0 of PhatPad is the ability to insert text into a note as a text object or label.  This is a welcome feature as it allows you to quickly and easily insert anywhere in a drawing.  Further, once you create the text box and enter your text, you can move it around the drawing.  To add a text box to a drawing tap the

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 4, Shape Corrector works exceptionally well.  In test drawings of nearly fifty squares, circles and triangles, PhatPad corrected at essentially 100%  This far exceeded expectations and makes 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 4.0. 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 4.0, more user friendly.