Utility

Since the advent of the handheld device, the quest for easy input of data while on-the-go was always the Holy Grail of mobile computing.  In my earlier Gadgeteer review, I went down that path, looking at the excellent handwriting recognition software, PhatWare’s Calligrapher.  Calligrapher did a great job of taking my scrawl and translating it into digital form, performing just as advertised.  However, just as there are all kinds of PDAs and handheld platforms today, so too are the means by which developers have devised ways to input your data. 

This month, my review focuses on another program that has a
large following in the PDA community…PhatWare’s
PhatNotes.  In earlier reviews on note-taking programs, I
mentioned that the PocketPC was made for note-taking.  Most
note applications are singular in their focus of taking
notes.  PhatWare took that one concept step further,
really giant steps forward, in how notes are taken and
organized.  The folks at PhatWare utilize the database
approach to organizing data, syncing it to outside platforms and
adding functionality within the “note” like voice or images. 
All in all, PhatNotes sets the standard for note-taking and
others to emulate.  Let me try to explain how I’ve come to
this conclusion…

This software review is on PhatWare’s CalliGrapher which has to be on the “must-have” list of utilities for any serious PDA junkie’s collection. Setting aside the Casio B.O.S.S. I used only briefly, I consider my first handheld to be the Apple Newton MessagePad. What was the big attraction of the MessagePad device? It was its handwriting-to-text translation, the earliest ancestor of today’s CalliGrapher. The inventors of that software was not Apple but actually some creative Russian programmers and the company they eventually formed called Paragraph International.

Here’s a review that I have been looking forward to doing…an application with some real life uses for my PocketPC! Being a “gadget junkie”, I am always looking for smart ways to use my device, something that is actually needed, not made up. That is the case with my review of Resco’s Audio Recorder.

In my opinion, this is one of those applications for which all PocketPC and Windows Mobile OS devices are specifically made for…taking notes on the spot! There is nothing more natural to me than to use these devices for such purposes and yet the basic Microsoft notepad is still lacking. I think the proof is in the dozens of notepad replacement products on the market today with each one having their own unique spin on how one takes notes. Vsnotepad from Virtual Spaghetti has its own simple philosophy on note-taking and may just be a worthy contender in this software category.

Although I have had a Microsoft PocketPC since my Phillips Nino
days in 1998, I am new to the PocketPC Phone Edition – Windows
Mobile 5 world. I purchased an imate JasJar (aka the HTC
Universal) this past summer on eBay. I got it mostly for the
PocketPC side of things and thought I’d toy with the Phone side
when I had the time but that didn’t last long…say two days!

Today’s review is on a category of software that isn’t very exciting or sexy but something that everyone who really uses their PocketPC device needs each and every day…it’s the File Explorer utility. If you are like me, you are constantly working on the internals of your PDA, moving files between cards and internal memory, accessing hidden registry files or just doing some old fashion housekeeping. I believe a truly great File Explorer can be worth every cent if it makes these functions easier for me!