New to PPC - What apps do I need

[Guest pjam001]

Hi,

I've just got an mda compact II on t-mobile. I'm completely new to pocket pc and just wondered what the killer applications are that will make life so much easier.

I've put the old faithful TCPMP on and am trying some others like Total Commander (file manager) and PPCProfiles.(which seemed to just crash)

Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Guest chucky.egg]

If you're looking at things like Spb PocketPlus and Spb Diary etc then check out SBSH.net too. Some people have said that their versions are faster and less prone to problems (although PocketPlus and Diary have been good for me).

It's also worth joining Modaco Plus because (I think) you get a Handango 10% voucher. But dont forget you can get a lot of apps through FairDeal (the red Software link at the top of this page)

[Guest Webreaper]

Essentials I've found are:

1. Resco file explorer - superb replacement for the Wm5 file explorer. Really works well, allows simple network browsing. Excellent.

2. TCPMP - plays videos. Excellent.

3. vBar task manager - works far better than the Magic Button IMO, and gives you a free battery/memory indicator

4. Taskplus - free, and shows all your tasks and appointments on the Today page. Very neat.

5. I use LogMeIn rather than Terminal Services - you can run a dinky shrunk version of your desktop which is really useable, and they have a PPC-specific plugin. And it's free. ;)

6. Agile Messenger - much better client than PocketMSN (although the latest beta has 'issues').

7. Check out the tweaks wiki at Xda-developers.com - there's some really good stuff in there that improves the performance of the device and makes some stuff work much better.

8. Hudson Phone Dashboard - tracks your phone usage, and warns you whether you're about to run out of free minutes.

9. PocketMusic - I rate it better than Mortplayer, mainly because the way it handles browsing network shares to make playlists is much better.

10. SynchroTime - connects to the 'net and adjusts your clock. Small, neat.

ICBA to put URL links for all of these, but you'll find them easily enough with Google. ;)

[Guest]

You're gonna get a big list of software everyone uses here! ;)

Personally, I have several apps that I find indispensible:

SPB Pocket Plus - Allows icons on desktop, a "Close" button that actually closes applications, Soft Reset button, Safe Mode - very useful!

SPB Diary - Plugin for your today screen that enables you to view your appointments, tasks, contacts and notes on the today screen.

SPB Backup - Schedule full backups of your phone to the SD card and it creates self-extracting files for easy restoring after a disaster - they do happen, this is Windows we're talking about! :(

(All these can be found at http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com )

TCPMP - Possibly the best media player out there for Pocket PC

WinMobileApps Call SMS Blocker - Allows you to filter who you will and won't accept calls and SMS messages from. Block callers not in your contact lists, blacklist contacts and - my favourite - blocks callers who withold their Caller ID!

WinMobileApps Phone Profiles - Allows you to configure profiles like "Silent", "Loud", "Meeting" etc just as you had on Smartphone.

Lots of others I could list but many I would not class as essential - more as fun or novelty! ;)

[Guest pjam001]

Thanks for all these, will look into them all.