So over the last 3 weeks, we’ve been covering the Beginner’s Guide To Pocket PC and we sure hope that you found it useful. Just a quick recap for those who are seeing this series for the first time. Part I covered factors for consideration when choosing a Pocket PC as well as basic maintenance of it. Part II showed you how to use the basic programs that came with your Pocket PC as well as change some of the more common settings. With Part III, we listed our recommended free software (also known as freeware) that you can install on your Pocket PC.

Now that it’s the second last Saturday of December, we only have 2 parts left in this series. For Part IV today, we will be sharing you our list of recommended commercial software. These are software that you would need to pay for a license to use it. Granted that there a lot of free software out there for your Pocket PC but sometimes, these commercial software just does the job so much better.

Note: Like the freeware listed, we are just going to introduce the software. If there is a review done by us, we will let you know about it. Those without a review means we have not had the time to do one before we did this article but they are still great software to be had.

FlexMail (Message)

The default message application that comes with your Pocket PC is not too bad but sometimes, you might face the problem of disappearing mailboxes. If this sounds like you, then you’ll need another message application and nothing seems to be better than FlexMail.

Even if the above situation does not happen to you, FlexMail might still be useful for you. That’s because it handles not just your emails but your text and multimedia (picture) messages as well. There’s a whole host of settings for those whose email providers require secure connections so everyone who uses messages of any kind on the Pocket PC will benefit from it.

• WebIS FlexMail Download

Garmin Mobile XT/TomTom Navigator 6 (Navigation)

The main problem with Navigation programs that I see is that there is no 1 software out there that rules the rest due to coverage. This means that just because Google Maps has the most updated maps in North America does not make them have the most updated maps in Hong Kong. Also, some navigation developers only concentrate on certain regions of the world so you might not be in luck if the developer you are looking for does not cover your residence.

Garmin Mobile XT	TomTom Navigator 6

However, if you are undecided between which manufacturers to choose from when you have found those that covered your region, Garmin and TomTom are 2 of the ones that we’d recommend. They provide an all-in-one service meaning it does not just help you navigate but also get traffic updates as well as buddy location as well. Their user-interface is pretty friendly too which means you can operate the application fairly easily without the need for a stylus.

• Garmin Mobile XT Download
• TomTom Navigator 6 Download

iLauncher/Spb Pocket Plus (Launcher)

SBSH’s iLauncher	Spb’s PocketPlus

The Today screen has plug-ins that contain information you like to be made available at a glance. This could be your next appointment, the weather or just the time. But wouldn’t it be great if you could also launch applications from the Today screen instead of tapping Start > Programs and then choosing it?

With launchers such as iLauncher by SBSH and Spb’s Pocket Plus, you can do just that and more., We have reviews of both the iLauncher and Pocket Plus and honestly, we can’t decide which is better so we chose to run both. That’s because, besides just being launchers, these software come with a whole host of other features too such as kinetic scrolling and Safe Mode which many will find useful.

• SBSH iLauncher Download
• Spb Pocket Plus Download

Opera Browser For Pocket PC (Internet Browser)

We said in Part III that Opera Mini was the best browser available out there for the Pocket PC. However, it has 2 limitations. For one, you can only use Opera Mini if you have a JAVA Midlet Manager installed in your Pocket PC, something which is not seen in all models. Secondly, as great a web browser as it is, there are still certain sites such as AJAX ones that it does not work with.

In such cases, Opera Browser For Pocket PC will get the job done for you. We did a review on it some time back for those who are interested to find out what we think about it.

• Opera Browser For Pocket PC Download

phoneAlarm (Profiles)

The one thing that you will starkly notice when you move from a mobile phone to a Pocket PC is the lack of profiles. I have no idea why Microsoft thought such a feature should not be included but thankfully there are developers who have stepped up to fill the gap. However, none fills it better than pocketMax’s phoneAlarm. Besides just adding the Profiles feature, it adds other functions as well such as billing tracking as well as shortcuts to turn your wireless radios such as bluetooth and WiFi on and off.

• pocketMax phoneAlarm Download

Pocket Informant (Personal Information Manager)

It’s not that I do not like the default Calendar, Task and Contact applications you find with all Windows Mobile devices. It’s just that I love it when these functions are performed by Pocket Informant? It gives you full integration between all these applications and more. For example, from Contacts, you can schedule an appointment with your boss and have it appear in Calendar. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. See for yourself why Pocket Informant is one of the best PIMs out there.

• WebIS Pocket Informant Download

mundu IM (Instant Messaging)

Windows Live Messenger is a big upgrade from the old MSN Messenger but considering that it messes up my contacts, I had to look for an alternative. While Palringo was a good one, it lacked some of the more basic functions that mundu IM has. Plus the fact that mundu IM has a much nicer looking interface helps as well. If you need something better than Palringo, give mundu IM a shot.

• Mundu IM Download

Spb Backup (Backup)

Backup, backup, backup. You always hear it but you never do it because it is too troublesome. Not if you are using Spb’s Backup. It’s automatic backup does everything for you so you just set it once and forget about it. And when disaster strikes, all you need to do is perform a hard reset and restore the backup and your device will be as good as it was at the last backup. I trust my data with it and I think you should too.

• Spb Backup Download

Conclusion

The list of commercial software here is a much shorted one that the list we had for freeware. The reason is, most of the tasks that you need to get done can be handled by such freeware. Its only when you need something more sophisticated that these commercial ones come in handy. Also, the commercial software listed here perform much better than their freeware counterpart in the same category (such as when comapring Mundu IM with Palringo) but we decided to list the alternative for those looking for one.

What are some of your favorite commercial software that you can’t live without?

Tags: guide, Series