Feature: Favorite Pocket PC Programs

Pocket PCs ship with scaled-down versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player that are already familiar to Windows users. And that's as it should be: The name "Pocket PC," after all, evokes a tiny Windows computer in your pocket.

Trouble is, aside from those Microsoft programs, there aren't a lot of useful, cool, interesting Pocket PC applications--at least not that I've seen. Quantity isn't really the issue here. There are about 10,000 programs available for Palm OS devices, compared to about 8000 for Pocket PCs, according to Handango, which sells software online for both platforms.

But quality is another matter. Based on my experiences, there simply aren't nearly as many worthwhile or intriguing third-party programs for Pocket PC as there are for the Palm OS. Nonetheless, I've found a few. The programs I recommend this week are inexpensive (up to $25), and most offer a free trial.

To read about my favorite third-party Palm applications, see last week's newsletter.

Pocket Streets

As far as Palm and Pocket PC mapping programs go, Microsoft Pocket Streets is by far the easiest to use. Pocket Streets puts interactive, color maps for U.S. and foreign metro areas within easy reach. You can download free maps for the U.S. and major European countries from Microsoft's Web site.

If you have Microsoft's Streets & Trips 2003 (or earlier versions), a mapping program that runs on Windows computers, you can create your own maps on your PC and copy them to your Pocket PC. Streets & Trips covers the U.S. and Canada only, however.

Arrow icons make map navigation a cinch, while a zoom tool lets you quickly move in or out for a better view. You can search for addresses or places, find points of interest, and add pushpins to map locations. When you tap on any point on a street, Pocket Streets gives you the corresponding address. Unlike Streets & Trips, you can't get directions--but that's what gas station attendants are for.

Pocket Streets costs $25 and can be downloaded from Handango. However, Streets & Trips 2003 includes Pocket Streets and goes for about $35, making it the better value. (Microsoft also offers a $10 rebate on Streets & Trips 2003 when purchased in retail stores.) Check out the latest prices using the PCWorld.com Product Finder.

Battery Pack 2003

A consistently popular download at Handango, Battery Pack 2003 from Omega One Software transforms the Pocket PC's Today screen from useless to useful by endowing it with interactive icons. At only $12, this software is a must-have for Pocket PC users.

Battery Pack 2003 is actually a bundle of utilities that includes a Battery Bar and a Program Bar.

The Battery Bar shows how much time the current battery charge has left (such as 3 hours, 36 minutes), the available amount of file storage space in main memory and on your storage card, and so on. Having this information right on the Today screen keeps you from having to dig for it through menus and helps you plan your PDA usage accordingly.

The Program Bar, another handy time-saver, places shortcut icons to frequently used programs and files on the Today screen. The bar can display up to five lines of shortcuts to scroll through.

Journal Bar

Another top-seller at Handango, Journal Bar is a cool little utility that feeds the latest headlines, stock quotes, weather forecasts, movie reviews and show times, TV listings, and sports scores directly to your Pocket PC's Today screen.

For all it delivers, Journal Bar takes up only a small piece of the screen. Using arrows, you scroll through the content line by line then click an item you want to explore. Selecting a headline, for instance, opens the related news article in Internet Explorer. The content is automatically updated when you synchronize your Pocket PC and have an active Internet connection. As far as I can tell, this doesn't noticeably slow down the synchronization process.

Journal Bar (from Omega One Software, maker of Battery Pack 2003) is an excellent way to have current news, weather, and other data on your Pocket PC--especially for those without wireless PDA connections. And it's only $12.

And a Few More

The following programs are available for Palm OS devices as well as Pocket PCs and have been reviewed in earlier newsletters.

Vindigo 2.0 ($25 annual subscription fee) is an indispensable guide to what's happening in dozens of cities, including info on restaurants, movies, bars, and so on. Read more about it in "Hands On: PDA Maps."

WorldMate 3.0 ($20) is a must-have for international travelers. It's a suite of utilities for figuring out what the heck time it is in Bangkok, getting updated weather conditions, easily converting currencies and measurements, and lots more.

Pocket Codes 2.0 ($8) is a cool little utility that lets you quickly look up U.S. and international area codes and time zones.

For more on WorldMate and Pocket Codes, read last week's column.

NOTEBOOKS & ACCESSORIES

News: Bye-Bye to Batteries?

Sometime in the near future, the notebook battery could become a thing of the past. That's the plan Toshiba has in mind, at any rate. The electronics giant recently announced it has developed a prototype direct methanol fuel cell that's capable of powering portable computers for up to 10 hours. Another fuel cell Toshiba developed provides up to 5 hours of operation. The fuel cells don't need to be recharged as traditional batteries do, running instead on replaceable methanol cartridges. The fuel cells should be for sale sometime next year, the company says.

News: Dell Desktop Replacements

Dell Computer recently debuted three new Inspiron desktop replacement notebooks.

Inspiron 1100: Built around a 2-GHz Intel Celeron desktop CPU, the 1100 is the most affordable of the new Inspirons. A basic configuration is $899, and includes a 14-inch display, 128MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, and two USB 2.0 ports. The Inspiron 1100 replaces the Inspiron 2600.

Inspiron 5100: This model offers a choice between four Intel Pentium 4 desktop processors, with clock speeds up to 2.8 GHz. A bottom-line Inspiron 5100 costs $1199 and is configured with a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4, a 14-inch LCD, 256MB of memory, a 30GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM drive, two USB 2.0 ports, and an IEEE 1394 port. For another $49, you get integrated 802.11b wireless Internet access, too. The Inspiron 5100 replaces the Inspiron 2650.

For more information about the Inspiron 1100 and 5100, read "Dell Updates Inspirons."

Inspiron 8500: Dell's new multimedia powerhouse is designed for digital entertainment as well as well as work. The 8500 is loaded with high-performance features such as graphics chips from either NVidia or ATI Technologies and a 15.4-inch wide-aspect screen. A $2299 base configuration includes a 2.0-GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4-M, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, a 30GB hard drive, and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. For more info on the Inspiron 8500, see "Dell Launches Inspiron 8500 Notebook."

HANDHELDS

News: E-Mail Service for Palms

Sort Once, a recently launched e-mail service, promises to make accessing messages on the go easier than ever. Based on the IMAP protocol, Sort Once is a hosting service that stores incoming and outgoing messages on its secure servers, the company says. As a result, mobile professionals have all their messages consolidated in one place, rather than scattered among multiple devices such as a desktop PC and a notebook. And Sort Once lets you access all your messages from any PC with a Web browser or from a modem-equipped Palm OS device. Sort Once offers a free 90-day trial and is available for $6 to $8 per month, depending on storage capacity.

News: Handspring Teams Up With T-Mobile

Handspring has begun selling its Treo 270 communicator through T-Mobile USA's 700-some stores across the United States. Announced last June, the Treo 270 combines a Palm OS-based PDA with a dual-band GSM/GPRS phone. Handspring will continue to offer the Treo 270 on its Web site, too. T-Mobile is selling the device now for $400 after a $100 rebate.

For more information, read "Handspring, T-Mobile Share PDA Plans." You can use our Product Finder to get the latest prices on the Treo 270, with the T-Mobile service and without the service.

Tip: For the Best PDA Prices, Wait

Shopping for a new PDA? A little patience might save you some dough. In response to stepped-up competition, PDA makers are turning out new models with greater frequency these days. In the month before new PDAs are launched, handheld makers often discount their older models by about 25 percent. Case in point: Around the time it introduced its Tungsten W, Palm took $100 off the price of its Tungsten T model, which debuted just a few months ago.

WIRELESS

News: Wi-Fi Coming Soon to a Convenience Store Near You

Toshiba plans to set up thousands of hot spots around the U.S. by year's end. The company is planning to sell to resellers a "hot spot in a box," which includes a Wi-Fi access card, a controller, and related electronics. The resellers, in turn, will make the product available to partners, who will then offer Wi-Fi access to their customers. Example: WorkingWild, a Toshiba partner, plans to use Toshiba products to install Wi-Fi service in 15,000 Circle K convenience stores.

News: Wi-Fi to Get More Secure

In addition to 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g, there is yet another wireless networking standard: 802.11i. But before you groan with despair, look at the bright side. The new standard, expected to be finalized next year, is designed to plug the considerable security holes found in wireless LANs.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.