I've tried many software demos and purchased most of what I tried. I've also deleted a few, and won't be reloading them. Everyone should try multiple demos of software for their handhelds. Why waste the money spent on the handheld, by not fully leveraging its capacity?
I believe firmly that all software should be available for preview, and it should be FULLY available during that trial period. I refuse to buy software that only lets me test some of its functions. How can I be sure that the promised utilities will really work if I can't try them? Hence, I will NOT be buying Pocket Mechanic. I found it on the Handango site, and most of the apps there are full version demos. But this utility teases me by showing me functions that would be really cool, were they available. For instance, the Defragment and Recover Bad Sectors tools will only work for my memory card. Well that's just silly. I'm not worried about my memory card. It's huge! I want to clean the actual device. That would make too much sense though.
My favorite app combo right now, is SPB Pocket Plus, and SPB Diary. I've used them for over a month now, and the combo makes life easier. Pocket Plus is a Today Plug-In. It lets me customize my start up screen so that my favorites, and any other utilities are easy to get to. It allows me to have a tabbed start screen. It also has a few decent themes. The Diary is another plug-in for the Today screen, that lets me have my notes, tasks, appointments and contacts immediately available. This speeds so many things up in my busy life. Another cool feature of Pocket Plus, is that it allows the user to truly shut down an app, via the close button. You may not know this, but tapping the 'X' in Windows Mobile 5.0, does NOT shut an app. The last thing I will mention about Pocket Plus is the Internet Explorer 'New Window' feature. This tool will let you visit multiple websites simultaneously.
I just downloaded a new app today, that I am very excited about. I know I'll buy this one. It is called PhatPad, and I can see it being VERY useful, when I am in a hurry (most of the time). I have one minor complaint about PhatPad. I went to try the Recognize* function, which is already available in the Windows Mobile 5.0 O.S., and it wouldn't work without also downloading another Phat app, entitled Calligrapher. Of course, I downloaded it. And of course it is a HUGE improvement over the standard handwriting recognition that comes with my phone. I'm only complaining, because PhatWare should have an option that defaults to using the built-in recognition utility. I should have more of a CHOICE to use the add-on software.*'Recognize' is when you have scribbled some text-like stuff on your screen, and the utility attempts to guess at what you meant by that scribble. My estimate is that the built-in recognizer, got 70% of the characters correct. But the one that costs money? I think it's 98% correct. This is NOT a scientific observation.
Two other apps that I've bought by SPB, are SPB Finance, and SPB Weather.SPB Finance syncs with Microsoft Money, or with Quicken. It will set reminders for upcoming bills. It also has a Today plug-in, if you wish to enable it. It's nice to use, since I don't usually spend money while in front of my computer. The best way to take note of my spending, therefore, is with a mobile device.
The Weather tool is neato! I get up to the minute weather predictions right on my today screen for a week out (if you believe in that sort of stuff).
I'm not a game player, unless it involves words or logic, so Sudoku is about it for me, right now. The one I like, and will purchase soon, is Resco Sudoku. It has many game styles. It could be more straight forward with its game-state saving, but I figured it out.
Apps that I downloaded, AND paid for, and have since DELETED:
1. Agenda Fusion - it has a very cool project feature, and a LOT of other good organization features. I removed it, because Diary and Pocket Plus replaced it nicely, with a lot less clutter. The Agenda Fusion screen was also a bit overwhelming. Too many things going on, and too many decisions to make. I'm in a hurry, man!
2. Sudoku Master II - what happened, is that I purchased it, got a code, and after moving it to my storage card, it won't accept my code! I won't even phone or email the firm, since I found a better version of Sudoku, anyhow. The other complaint, with this software, by the way, is the 'modal' way it takes over my machine, and the ridiculous 'splash screen'. It's just too much!
I'll write more on this when I've had more man-hours spent on the device.
1 comment:
Sudoku. The name, so grand. The game... I still should learn to play it sometime since every programmer on the planet seems to play it. :D
Post a Comment