Naked Pocket PC

[dickiedove]

I have hundreds of third party applications installed on my device any one time. Usually this is because I identify one or other "essential" bit of functionality that I can't live without. I then discover that there are about three or four different third party apps that do the same job differently, and that's where the quandry really begins. There are always massive trade offs with each and every piece of software. How to choose?

Consequently I usually end up buying one becoming frustrated and buying its alternative then switching periodically between the two, because I miss a piece of functionality in the previous sofware.

It therefore occurred to me recently to ask myself what a Pocket PC couldn't do straight out of the box. To live in a vaccuum with a Pocket PC that was denuded of all the junk. To use it as nature (well... Microsoft) intended. (It helped of course that the experiment was to be run on my brand new IPAQ HW 6516, it made me feel a little better about the thousands of dollars I have spent on software over the years that just won't work on my new PDA (Due to the new screen size.))

I mean really what do you need apart from what's there; everything is there. PIM, Mobile Office, Web Browser, media player... It s all there. Do you really need RSS and Weather when the internet is just sitting waiting to be used??? Do you need handwriting recognition and a seperate notes program. Can't youi just live with what is there and learn to love it? (The games kinda suck I suppose and there is no real project manner of any note.)

Because on the upside suddenly I had a machine that was quick and lean without the "podge" of all those third party apps that are anything but seamless. I was using one application for each need rather than two or three that handled things in slightly different ways each better under different circumstances, meaning it was always a nightmare to find anything.

So there I was for a week, carefree, satisfied finally....

I couldn't quite do it of course, but I managed with, get this kids, three that's THREE third Party applications.

SPB Pocket Plus.
List Pro
Mobipocket
(Tom Tom Navigator SATNAV is in the ROM so it doesn't count.)

And if I'm honest I missed having:
Agile Messenger (for access to AIM), Lextionary and the Encyclopaedia. But a week later I can promise you I'm not going back. No way, I'm not consigning myself back to the way it was before.

Now for the mainpart, I'm the first PPC naturist and couldn't be happier. So go on set yourself free and feel the wind on your SD slot.

[hamishmacdonald]

Hear hear!

Okay, I've got a lot of stuff installed on my Pocket PC, but I concur with you. I just removed a menubar-skinning program, my latest attempt to improve on the out-of-the-box features of the unit.

I've said it here before, but the more other people's programs I use, the more I appreciate the decisions the team at MS made in creating the Pocket PC interface.

[Tracy Daubenspeck]

I'm with you. I really only use SPB Pocket Plus, Avant-go, and Freecell on a regular basis as far as 3rd party apps go. I am looking forward to the WM5 upgrade for my X50v as it will give me better Word functionality and access to Powerpoint (finally). Those 2 things have prevented me from using my Dell more in class.

[Sven Johannsen]

:D This is great. I have a couple of senior managers here still using 3600 series iPaqs. I've replaced the original batteries, but they use them the way they came out of the box. They don't complain about speed, wouldn't know how to CLOSE a program if some asked them to, and rarely have issues. It's remarkable how well these things work considering all the assorted cr@p we load on them. Same goes for the Windows Desktop. "Naked" they are pretty solid, and if you can keep them lean, you are bound to have a better experience.

[Jason Dunn]

Ditto here. I think people expect me to have 500 programs installed because I'm the founder of this site, but for the most part I run quite lean and mean: FlexWallet is a must-have for me, but beyond that I tend not to install much. I try programs out, but I don't often keep them because I find I don't use them much. I tend to go in cycles where I'll load up my device, then hard reset it and move to another device, and go lean for a while...

[PetiteFlower]

I have always kept mine pretty lean. I couldn't deal without Pocket Plus, and Quicken is a definite must. Also required is WinAmPaq for music (plays ogg, is small and free), eReader, Mapopolis, and at least 3 or 4 good games at any one time. I also like ListMan (free app similar to stripped down ListPro) but I don't use it that often so I could probably do without it. Same with Agile. But really I don't feel the need to make my PPC TOTALLY naked, I figure as long as I keep it down to a reasonable number of programs that I actually use, that's fine. I mean, I really like my themes and the little app that puts the current phase of the moon on my today screen :)

I did just download a trial of FITALY since people rave about it so much and I was curious...so that may or may not become indispensable in the future.

[cardinalsfan]

It's a must that I have Microsoft Voice Commands on my vx6600. I use my phone alot while driving and the ability not to fumble around with it is esential.

[ctmagnus]

I've been experiencing an issue lately where Spb Weather doesn't update itself. I read this thread and decided I could stand to pare down my iPaq and the Spb Weather issue has already corrected itself. But the remaining 44 apps are going to be mighty hard to get rid of! :helpme: