Pocket PC Software suggestions

For those lucky to have a Pocket PC PDA, here is a list of freeware applications that any user should have!

Utilities

vBar

At mere 31 Kbytes, vBar is the world's smallest and fastest PocketPC Task Manager (switch between and close open apps). And it can also show the memory and battery status in the notification area too, without taking much space! Magic Button and WisBar Advance are capable alternatives to vBar, but bigger and buggier, in my experience. vBar does the basic functionality one needs, and does it well.

MH Conversions

Convert Altitude, Areas, Distance, Depth, Fuel, Length, Liquid, Mass, Torque, Temperature, Volumes. Requires the MS eVB Runtime for PocketPC.

Ray's RPN Calculator

It is RPN calculator for the PocketPC 2002. Built from the ground up. Finger friendly!

Total Commander

Total Commander is a file manager, a program like Windows Explorer to copy, move or delete files. However, Total Commander can do much more than Explorer, e.g. pack and unpack files, access ftp servers, compare files by content, etc!

CabInstl

This program is an installer for CAB files and allows to install PPC programs into the specified folder instead of that by default created by the standard installer (great way to save main memory). If the folder is not specified, installation will be made into the default folder.

Productivity

Repligo Viewer

RepliGo allows you to read any document, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Project, Visio, Web pages, and more.

Adobe PDF Reader

Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0 extends the value and capabilities of Adobe PDF files by adapting them for high-quality viewing on smaller screens, while preserving their rich content.

Microsoft Money

Control of your finances, even when you're on the go. Synchronize your accounts to make managing easier. Update your investment portfolio on the fly. Complete financial tasks quickly and easily.

Microsoft Reader

Microsoft Reader for Pocket PC comes pre-installed on most Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 devices. If you already have an older version of Microsoft Reader installed, you'll need to uninstall Microsoft Reader, then install the new version. If your version of Microsoft Reader is installed in ROM (which means it was preinstalled by the manufacturer), you cannot uninstall Microsoft Reader. You can, however, install a RAM version of the program with your ROM version. eReader is a good alternative freeware too.

NoteM

Voice Notes Recorder with MP3 encoding (NoteM) was implemented as an alternative to build-in Notes application's voice recording feature. It gives you approximately 5.5 compression rate (for Low bitrate option) as compared to Notes default recording mode (8-bit 11.025kHz mono PCM), with the same (or even better) perceptual quality. Higher bitrates are also available (you can even record music).

Pocket Translator

Pocket Translator is an easy to use, freeware word translation utility. It supports 9 different languages. Included in the basic setup is English and French. Other dictionaries can be downloaded separately here. The only disadvantage of this app is that the language packs must be installed on your main memory's "My Documents" folder.

Networking

Agile Messenger

Agile Messenger is an Instant Messenger and supports the six most popular instant messaging services: ICQ, AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, QQ and Jabber.

AvantGo

Use AvantGo to synchronize specially designed mobile Web sites to your handheld using a desktop or wireless Internet connection. Get news, sports, stocks, movie listings from the world's top brands. It can be used as either offline or online browser.

NewsMonger

NewsMonger is an RSS feed reader for the Pocket PC. Features include: Supports RSS 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, and 2.0.1. Categories - organize your RSS channels into categories. Stores category and channels in one OPML file. VGA aware (e.g. axim x50v, iPaq 4700). pRSSReader has become my favorite the last few weeks though.

PocketPC VNCViewer Client

Connect to your desktop PC with your PocketPC. VNC client is not compatible with VNC 4.0 server, unless the server is configured to provide 3.x VNC protocol.

Skype

PocketSkype is free software that enables you to make Skype voice calls using your WiFi-enabled Microsoft PocketPC based handheld computer from any WiFi hotspot.

Stanaphone

The big Skype competitor, some say it has more free features. Stana-to-stana user calls are free and incoming calls to your (real) stanaphone telephone number is free.

Orneta FTP

This is an FTP client for Pocket PC. Requires a registration key that it's now available for free.

Multimedia

XnView Pocket

Reading :Jpeg / Jfif, Gif, Bmp, Png, 2bp, Tif, Pcx, Pbm, Pgm, Ppm, Pnm, xbm, xpm, Tga. Writing :Jpeg, Gif, Bmp et Png. Display in 5 input modes : Thumbnail, list, detail, Filmstrip et full screen. Display information, exifs and iptc of images. Sorting of images by the name, the date, the type, the size and the definition, the whole in ascending or decreasing order. Conversion of images between the different supported formats. Resizing of images according to various factors, sizes, and possibility to resize to the screen size in order to obtain the best ratio weight/clearness. Screen capture and more.

PaintWinCE

Similar to widespread application Paint. In the first version the following tools are implemented: Select, Erase, Eyedrop, Magnify, Pen, Brush, Line, Rect, RoundRect, Oval. Also it is possible to undo last action and load and save files in bmp format. Kinda jerky and buggy though, but it's the only free one...

TCPMP (BetaPlayer)

The ultimate video playback application, supporting XviD, DivX, mpeg, mp4, aac, ogg, ffmpeg and h.264 support is on the way. Also supports the GAPI & 2700G graphics accelerator for better performance. If you want to rip DVDs, this is the best player you can get yourself into playing back video on a PDA.

GSPlayer

GS Player is simply an audio player for Pocket PC. Features: MP3 playback using the MAD 0.15.0b, Ogg Vorbis playback, Wave format playback. HTTP streaming playback (MP3/Ogg Vorbis). SHOUTcast streaming playback (MP3 / Ogg Vorbis). ID3 v1/v1.1 support. PLS/M3U playlist support. 10 bands equalizer (MP3 playback only). Surround / Bassboost effects. Reverb / Echo effects. Skin support. Hardware button mapping. Noiseless playback (See decoder tab in options dialog). Sleep Timer. Hold (Lock hardware buttons).

Games

Freeware games

Logic games based on .NET Compact Framework. Chess v2.0, Rubik cube, GemSwap, Mastermind. Many more free games available online, however usually not as good as most commercial games.

And a personal wish: a usable & stable SSH & telnet client. There is one freeware right now, but it's really buggy, not recommended.