Microsoft Office Mobile lets users work with documents and spreadsheets on a Windows Mobile smartphone or handheld, but it isn't a complete version of the desktop Office suite. For those who need more, there's SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PCs, which is now available as a public beta.

"Up until now, Pocket PC users have not had access to an office suite that provides feature-for-feature compatibility with Microsoft Office. SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PCs is changing all of that," said Martin Kotulla, CEO of SoftMaker Software GmbH.

The biggest change in the latest version of this suite of applications is SoftMaker Presentations, a mobile alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint. It allows users to edit PowerPoint files on a mobile device without file conversion while preserving all the elements of the files.

In addition, it includes the ability to export files as PDFs. It also allows users to print files on a wide range of printers by using Jetcet Print or, without any additional software, directly to Bluetooth-capable PostScript printers.

Of course, SoftMaker Office 2008 includes updated versions of TextMaker and PlanMaker with new features.

More information on this suite of applications can be found at SoftMaker.com.

Available Now

The beta version of SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PCs is available now free of charge on the SoftMaker web site.

Please note, beta software contains experimental code which may cause failure or data corruption.

This beta will expire on March 31, 2008. By that date, either a new beta or the completed software will be available.

SoftMaker has not yet said what it will charge for the full version of this application, but SoftMaker Office 2006 for Pocket PCs sells for $69.95.