Ask Engadget: What are your favorite applications for smartphones and PDAs?
By Peter Rojas 
posted October 14th 2004 8:07PM
posted October 14th 2004 8:07PM
Ask Engadget is back again this week with more questions and answers. Last Thursday reader Taylor R. wanted to know what the must-have gear for business travel was, this week Dan D. asks sort of a general question, but one we think a lot of people will have something to say: What are some of your favorite software apps for smartphones and PDAs? A few of our faves for the Treo are FileZ, Snapper Mail, and Kinoma Player, but which mobile apps have you guys been digging on lately?
AgileMessenger and Opera Mobile are my two favs. Though on Symbian AutoLock and FExplorer are must haves as well.
Keyring (http://gnukeyring.sourceforge.net/) for storing my passwords.
Handyshopper (http://www.freewarepalm.com/database/handyshopper-english.shtml) for shopping lists and other todo related stuff.
Salling Clicker (http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/) for remote controlling my Mac.
Shadowplan (http://www.codejedi.com/) for more advanced todo management...
That's all I can think of at the moment. :)
Minutes PLUS - http://home.triad.rr.com/rlwhitt/palm
MMPlayer - http://www.mmplayer.com
PalmVNC - http://palmvnc2.free.fr
Mapopolis - http://www.mapopolis.com
The VNC client is AWESOME. Surprisingly usable for managing my SageTV recordings, and setting files to recompress. And with a GPS reciever my Treo is my driving directions too.
I love gadgets....
Rally 1000 - http://www.freewarepalm.com/games/rally.shtml
Cryptopad - http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/cryptopad.shtml
Fuellog -
http://www.pilotzone.com/palm/preview/214165.html
There's others, but that's all I can think of so far...
Oprea Web Browser is my favorite on my Nokia 6600
First on my Handspring Visorphone, then on my T-Mobile (HTC) Pocket PC Phone, the apps in order of importance:
-- email
-- Pocket Informant
-- Vindigo city guide
-- IA Album photo album
-- Pocket MS Word
-- Worldmate time zones & conversions
-- Avantgo (I haven't linked RSS feeds yet)
-- Pocket IE, but only for Google/Palm searches
-- Pocket TV MPEG player
(plus Windows Media Player & Real Player)
-- Clearvue PDF viewer
-- Clearvue Powerpoint viewer
-- AOL (for IMs)
-- Pocket MS Excel
Plus Freecell. But not the too-slow Age of Empires for PPC.
Rally 1000 - http://www.freewarepalm.com/games/rally.shtml
Cryptopad - http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/cryptopad.shtml
Fuellog -
http://www.pilotzone.com/palm/preview/214165.html
There's others, but that's all I can think of so far...
prodiag - http://www.shadetreesoftware.com/
clock+ - http://www.bitwareoz.com/products.htm
movierec - http://www.infinityball.com/
pockettunes deluxe - http://www.pocket-tunes.com/
wmodem - http://www.notifymail.com/palm/wmodem/
Was - without any doubt - Mentor by WuLi Software http://www.wulisoft.com. Mentor looked at your tasks, their size, their priority and the part of your life they were associated with (work, family...) then, Mentor merged that information with your schedule (sync'd with Outlook) and told you when to do what and - more importantly - what you could reasonably promise by when. Brilliant! Really Brilliant! But only ever for EPOC (Psion) PDA's. The closest thing to is it Life Balance for Palm but LB isn't in the same galaxy in terms of ability to organize your life.
http://my-symbian.com/uiq/download/search.php?name=Sarien
Sarien Space Quest Emulator for Series 60
You do not know how cool life is till you play Space Quest on your cell phone in the can.
WiFiFoFum for my Ipaq (http://www.wififofum.org/)
(related) my Holux Bluetooth GPS receiver, mentioned on this site, I believe!
Must mention SnapperMail, even though you already have - it's a fine piece of work.
My three favorites are:
Mapopolis (http://www.mapopolis.com)
Even without a GPS device, it's amazing how handy it can be. Address book integration is cool.
NoviiRemote (http://www.noviimedia.com)
Grand. Remote control for just about anything. Built-in device profiles are cool enough, but being able to mind-meld your Palm with a remote control to create custom profiles - neat.
TimeCopy (http://www.notifymail.com/palm/timecopy/)
All it does is sync your desktop clock (including timezone settings) with your Palm's clock. But it does it very well, and this is such a convenience when you're traveling.
The best application I use is Due Yesterday. It's an excellent schoolwork manager and has many options.
The best game out there is Cubis. It's very addicting and the graphics are excellent.
I have the basic stuff on my Treo 600, but the most fun I've had is Texas Hole Em - No Limit (http://software.palmone.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=291&productId=125080). If you play poker or watch it on ESPN you'll have fun with this. But you do have download Java to play it.
Pocket Informant
WebIs Mail
Battery Pack Pro
Stocks and Weather Today
Newsgator RSS for mobile devices
Resco Explorer
Resco Picture Viewer
AvantGo
Pocket Adding Machine
Vito Voice Phone Dialer
Vitio Quick Contacts
Date Calculator
Phat Notes
Textmaker
Audible Player
Worldmate
pTravel Alarm
Super Alert
PIE Plus
Pro Tone
Space Maker
Pocket Bible
Adobe Reader
I use the SplashMoney and SplashID apps from the SplashWallet (http://software.palmone.com/PlatformSearch.jsp?optionId=1_1_2&platformId=1&siteId=291&count=20&txtSearch=splashwalletionId=0+All+Categories)
every day. SplashMoney keeps my checking acct balanced perfectly and can be downloaded to Quicken. SplashID stores all my logins, passwords, ATM PINs and most importantly, my wife's birthday and clothing sizes so I don't mess up and give the wrong size (what do you mean, the XXXL is a bit big?) on the wrong day.
I also use the free ePocrates Rx (http://www2.epocrates.com/products/essentials.html)
app every day on the job in the pharmacy I work at. Very handy for anyone who works in the medical field.
A great Treo app is tNotes. It is a handwritten and text note taking application.
http://www.varibyte.com/tnotes.html
Showtimes at sourceforge
On my Treo 600, a few essentials:
YAPS 2.5 - free encrypted password keeper. Easy to use without stylus (http://www.freewarepalm.com/database/yaps.shtml)
KSDatebook - free, compatible replacement for the built-in Datebook with good improvements such as detailed month view (http://www.freewarepalm.com/database/ksdatebook.shtml)
Hand/RSS: RSS feed reader. Downloads and parses RSS news feeds on the web. Most effective tool I have to keep up with news on the road. (http://standalone.com/palmos/hand_rss/)
Others I can't live without are PawCalc (great expression-based calculator), Handyshopper (best database app I know), OneButtonPro (single-button launcher app), LauncherX (my fave general launcher), DES Journal (creates journal entries in your calendar very easily), PalmVNC, TreoButler, Rally1000, Monsta, Xrow.
Hi-Launcher. I don't know how I did without this. It's so much better than having to switch to the Launcher every time I want to run a new app.
http://www.hilauncher.com/
Legacy. Great way to waste time. A really great RPG for the Palm. Reminds me of Wizardry. (Also for Symbian, and Pocket PC)
http://www.redshift.hu/
Well, while I keep a lot of programs actually on my 600, the ones I actually can't live without are:
1) Treo Helper: This allows me to launch a Snapper Mail retrieve everytime I get an SMS stating my office desktop just received an email (I have an SMS notification service setup in conjunction with Outlook). It's the next best thing to push a la Blackberry and works about as well;
2) Treo Butler: The new version allows me from having to deal with a pop-up everytime I get one of the aforementioned SMS. It also allows me to actually be notified of the new email through the standard Palm OS Attention Grabber;
3) Snapper Mail: Obvious if you read items "1" and "2";
4) Directory Assist: No more need to pay t-Mobile $1.00 everytime a I need a number. This even easily saves the address and phone number as an Address Book entry. Will also give you driving directions. Free and indespensible;
5) Fly Zip - Not a Pkunzip type program. Rather it automatically zips and unzips applications to save space. I mentioned above I keep a lot of the Treo's far to little available RAM filled up with various programs. This program can practically double your free memory.
6) Brightcam - Or whatever it's being called now. Extend your battery life by using the Treo's camera to detect the appropriate light level for the screen and keyboard backlight;
7) Wide Find - The Google by SMS program is getting a lot of coverage lately. For a small one-time price, this is faster, easier, more powerful, and more reliable. Searches Google, Froogle, dictionary definitions, the Internet Movie Database, local info, and eBay. Replaces a lot of stand alone programs;
8) Backup Buddy VFS - Don't make your Treo an expensive paper weight by geting hit with a hard reset or data loss away from your desktop. Can be set to back up to your memory card automatically at a set time every day/morning;
9) Flight Status - Easy, simple way to get updated flight info for just about any airline in the world;
10) Landware Wine Guide - Self explanatory. Handy at the wine/grocery store especially;
11) Tracker Dog - I don't feel like checking Palm Gear every day for significant updates to the above programs. This will auto download them for me;
12) Real Player - I switch back and forth between this and Pocket Tunes. Of course Ptunes is 1,000 times better with one exception: I don't have to convert Real Player music downloads prior to transfer to remove the DRM. I love iTunes, but they need to license their DRM to Palm (note to Mac and iPod people: I love the hardware and the integration, I just don't feel like carrying more than one 1 device).
on my hp ipaq 4150;
1)multi ie - tabbed browsing on pocket ie!
2)games - jawbreaker, bejeweled, text twist, worms world party, 3d mini jetfight, age of empires, kevtris
3)pocket msn messenger
4)pocketRAR - for archiving
5)yishin powercheck - a today plugin, shows battery and memory usage
6) some others but im too lazy to check my pocketpc
Although the control interface sucks, I love having E-Mame on my P800. Playing Amidar, Mr Do! and Frogger whenever I want puts a smile on my face.
My fave app is the one I wrote myself to replace IE on PocketPC 2002 because IE is so atrociously terrible. I tried Opera on the Zaurus and it was worse. My app (free download -- see site for details) is a mini HTML viewer which supports gzipped files. I use it to store tons of newsgroups on my AXIM and read them at my leisure off line. It is near instantaneous at browsing these files (I have a tool on Linux to create them). My PDA is purely an electronic book, but none of that eBook rubbish.
- Wisbar Advance. I have serious trouble using a Pocket PC witout it :-)
- TimeTTracker MX. I work as a freelancer and need to keep track of how much time I use for different customers. This program alone pays not only for itself but for all the other programs and for the PPC as well.
- Tomtom Navigator 3. Finding my way has never been easier.
- Pocket Informant. Luckily this program comes bundled with my Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket LOOX 600.
- nPOPw. For reading mail on the go. I connect via my GPRS/GSM mobile phone.
- Data-on-the-run. For accessing small databases.
- Pokcet Plan. Simple MS-Project clone.
- eV41. An HP41 pocket calculator clone.
The ones I use all the time are
uBook - for reading in bed when my partner is asleep.
MS reader - for the same reason
Pocket Universe - for stargazing
A couple of music related ones (can't remember the names offhand), like a chromatic tuner and libraries of guitar and piano chords.
Pocket IE (with PIE+) - for web browsing
Cartoon creator - for doing those stupid flick-book cartoon things during boring meetings.
OK it has to happen, installed so many apps that my phone Nokia 7610 is acting up a bit. First thing first is to see which I can do without. So out came some wonderful but hardly used progs and games and then a hard reset.
So surviving applications are:
Quick Office:wish it can sync, but making do with copying.
sCrypto:an encruption prog that can password protect Any file on your device or mmc card.
mCal:this RPN cal's unique way of using the joystick to enter the 4 operators makes
for easy one handed use.
FExplorer:Windows Explorer functionality.
OggPlay: nice sweet mp3 playback
RealPlayer:good for video playback, Tv cartoons are about all I watch, full widescreen movies while possible is not a good experience with the small screen.
AgileMessenger
WirelessIRC
Opera browser:I have tons of 'small sites' bookmarked and have many RSS feeds reconfigured for the phone's display at mobilerss.net, this is really internet in your pocket.
Built in Browser, use this mainly for wap sites
ReadM:love this ebook reader for its unique non-jerky auto word scroll.
Games:ChessGenius,Bounce,ExplodeArena,Frozen Bubble,Hearts,Spades,Solitaire, Triz,Vexed,Mosquitos. So gone are all the Sierra, Gameboy and Nes emulations,
...good and impressive but the nature of the device makes it hard to play and time to play are in short busts, so the remaining games are more suitable and anyway who wants to play games when you can surf and read rss in the brief spare moments.
iSilo is the best offline web/ebook/text reader. Includes a very good converter. I read BBC news on my device with iSilo. iSilo is more flexible than AvantGo, but needs more technical knowledge.
http://www.isilo.com/
Top slot goes to PocketInformant. I've just moved back to PPC after using a Palm for two years and using PI again is great. I was really pleased to see a comment above singing the praises of Mentor by WuLi Software http://www.wulisoft.com - I thought I was the only person who swore by it. If somebody could port this over to PPC I'd pay a fortune for it.......
Top slot goes to PocketInformant. I've just moved back to PPC after using a Palm for two years and using PI again is great. I was really pleased to see a comment above singing the praises of Mentor by WuLi Software http://www.wulisoft.com - I thought I was the only person who swore by it. If somebody could port this over to PPC I'd pay a fortune for it.......
Launcher X... Must have to replace the dull PalmOS launcher.
BackupBuddy... Backsup my entire handheld to my SD card, has saved my ass once or twice.
Card Export 2... Using my SD card as a logic drive, alllright 8-)
DateBk5... Another replacement for the dull Palm OS PIM
PDANet... Using the Treo as a GPS Modem, just sick!
MicroQuad!!!! If you have a Palm OS 5 handheld and don't have this, you need to download this game!
Pocket Tunes Delux... Must have MP3 player, allows streaming audio!
Timmay
I just love healthetech.com's balancelog for watching those calories and counting the push-ups. It's the single best dieting software available.
I'm also a huge fan of Pocket Quicken, which integrates seemlessly with Quicken and Quicken for Mac, but is so good it's all you need for a basic checking and savings account lifestyle.
MegaLauncher - launcher, file manger and backup utility in one
MegaCalc - calculator and conversion utilities
MegaClock - my alarm clock, plus a whole lot more.
Get all of these, and some tasty games at http://www.megasoft2000.com/
PuTTy for Symbian OS - can't live without it.
It's a ssh-client, very useful for doing something small, like starting/stopping services, creating an user account etc. when a desktop isn't near.
Though, the screen on my phone is a little small.
http://s2putty.sourceforge.net/index.html
DOOM on my SPV C500. Wicked!!!
Have had the Treo 600 since last October, and the T300 for a year before that. Here are the apps that I can't live without:
1)VINDIGO...sure, it's now a subscription, but it is simply a Travelin' Man's best friend. Everything you want to/should know about any major city you visit. Totally configurable by $, distance, preferences. Will help you find great food, great company, great night-time fun...even a clean bathroom in your area. Best of all, you don't need to be wireless to use it. Worth every penny.
2) QuickOffice: or, if you prefer, Docs To Go. Either way, you can take, edit, create new WORD, EXCEL, PPT files on your Palm PDA with great ease.
3)Sofstick Card Export II: turns your Palm's SD card into another drive on a PC or laptop. Add a 1gb card, and you can handle files with style!
4)KeyCaps 600: Gives the Treo the same keyboard shortcuts as the Blackberry devices. p1 should've included them to begin with
5)TUBE: Interactive, animated subway maps for every major city on the Earth. You have to see it for yourself to believe how great and helpful this is. Takes ALL the guesswork out of commuting by subway, underground, metro, etc.
6)SnapperMail: The best, easiest approximation of desktop mail on your PDA. Now supports IMAP as well. Sweet!
7)PocketTunes Deluxe: buy another 1gb SD card, and leave the iPOD at home. Mp3, WMA, Ogg Voris, streaming content...it supports it all in a slick, intuitive package that delivers.
Like others, the Splashwallet suite;
Documents to Go;
Travel Tracker;
WorldMate;
AutoMobile for tracking my car expenses;
MBTA (Boston)
BookWorm;
BeJeweled
Causerie http://www.mantragroup.com/causerie.htm
Multi account chat Client : AIM/Yahoo/MSN/Jabber/ICQ
Great choice for Treo 600 users...
You must have AvantGo...
Pocket MindMap. Too expensive, but really useful.
Pocket RSS. I use it to read Engadget.
The built-in apps (IE, Media, Inbox) are really great in WM2003 also. What a difference (from Palm OS, WM2002).
I *love* my Zodiac and use it constantly!! Probably the best-kept gadget 'secret' out there...
I've got loads of great apps on this kick-butt device, and the built-in apps (like the Photo viewer etc.) are very well done. Of the 3rd-party PalmOS apps (non-games) that I particularly love, my top 10 would be:
- DateBk5 - still the best organizer - ever
- eReader - eBooks rule, particularly with built-in Webster's Third New International dictionary (!!) for insta-lookup
- SnapperMail - peerless email client - awesome with a Bluetooth cellphone
- mmPlayer - superb video playback, combined with a hacked TiVo for source material, I'm _so_ set
- Card Export II - instant dual SD card reader/writer for my PC
- LJZ (Little John Z) - amazing freeware games emulator!!
- SplashID - private data, great UI (all the Splash apps are good!)
- thinkDB - fantastic database app
- MovieGuide - complete IMDB, DVD, +++
- Clock - MP3 alarms in stereo - rise 'n shine!
** honorable mention: Graffiti 1 hack **
Did I mention I love my Zodiac?? With PocketTunes and dual 1GB SD cards, I really have no interest in downgrading to an iPod mini ;)
Oh, and for the Clie NX70V -- you *have* to check out SpyStillCam / SpyWatcher -- wireless webcams are too cool :)
My must apps include (in no particular order), Backup Manager - set to backup to the SD card on a nightly basis.
Bob's Alarm - used every day, several times a day.
Call Filter and Call Shield - two competing products with slightly different approaches to handle incoming phone calls and SMS messages.
Chatter - IMAP mail.
Co-Launcher - an easy to use launcher that unfortunately handles only apps in main memory.
Cradle Robber - a utility to alert you if someone pulls the Treo from its charger or removes the SD card.
Cradle Care - a utility that alerts when the SD card is out and allows for time customized backups.
Datebook 5 - a killer app here - what a date book.
Filez
HanDBase - database program used throughout the day.
LightNZip - an excellent zip manipulation utiliity.
PAR - Personal Audio Recorder - I use the PRO version to make WAV call announcement files.
Pocket Tunes - without it, the handling of incoming calls would be a pain. I use it primarily for call announcement.
Teal Lock - an excellent security program.
Snapper Mail - excellent mail program for POP and IMAP.TakePhone - replaces the built-in dialer.
Treo Guard - turns the screen off when the phone is being used.
eReader - bunches of ebooks!
Pocket Lingo - I am an excellent speller, but this has no equal.
Gosh, so many important utilities!
'
Ben
Games from Astraware are the best!!
http://www.astraware.com
http://www.plkr.org/home
Grab Engadget, Slashdot, or whatever and take it with you! There's a plucker file reader for Pocket PC too but I forget what it's called.
The items on this pages are quite fascinating and i'll love to buy some of it due to customers request.I own a store in my country and ever since i started running this store i was nominated the best dealer in mobilephone store.So i realy want to buy this sets,mail me for details on how i can buy and dealers willing to sell.
Thanks everyone for the tips, I've added a few to my own library. Here's my contributions:
- gsplayer, more flexible audio player than WMP
- Worms World Party, excellent PC-PDA conversion, very fun game
- Network tools: ceipConfig, vxUtil
- Nethack! Also a great port to the tiny screen.
- Powercheck, a free today plugin to check battery
- Space Trader, fun trading game
- tdlaunch, free today plugin shortcut launcher
- Wolfclock, a functional and pretty clock
I also have to second the Avantgo and Resco Explorer props.
The PPC Plucker reader is called Vade-Mecum, a horrible name if you ask me.
Has anybody found a good replacement for the original expense program on the palm? They replaced it with Splash money on teh Treo 600 but that program is no the same at all.
thanks
Aside from IE, Word and Excel the applications that make having my PPC worthwhile are:
Pocket DVD Wizard
Pocket Informant
MSM Messenger
Acrobat Reader
Pocket Quake
ptravel alarm
Remote display Control
but I am downloading noviremote and mapopolis thanks to some of your comments.
I am looking for a radio streamer, any recommendations?
How do I view & edit word or excel documents on my SPV C500?
- vxUtil
- vxIPConfig
- PocketPuTTY
- Microsoft Research Portrait
- GSPlayer
- wififofum
- Rainer Keuchel's Windows CE software