Freeware so good it should be charged for

[sci]

So I'm switching from my CLIE NX73 to PPC, specifically to a 4355. Has almost everything I want, bluetooth, wifi, thumbboard, good battery life. Any way It's been 2-3 years since I've had a PPC (hp 568) and was wondering about the great freeware thats available. I know about pocketpcfreeware.com but am wondering in your experience what freeware programs do you continue to use. What are your favorite freeware programs and which ones are you surprised they don't actually charge for? I don't have a ton of money available for new software and wanted to get a jump on the quality freeware available. Thanks.

[Darius Wey]

Here's a nice bundle for you.

Calendar+: (http://www.mohairsofa.com/) a free alternative to the default today calendar plugin
HP Mobile Printing: (http://www.hp.com/go/pocketpcprint/) this will allow you to print to networked (including wireless) printers
BetaPlayer: (http://betaplayer.corecodec.org/) a nice and fast multimedia that handles a variety of formats including DivX
ICQ: (http://www.icq.com/pda/) self-explanatory :)
Agile Messenger: (http://www.agilemobile.com/agile_messenger.html) a multi-platform IM client
RealOne Player: (http://www.realnetworks.com/industries/mobile/operators/products/player/) this gives your PPC the functionality needed to handle Real files

Hopefully, that will get you started off. :D

[Oreocat]

For programs, my absolute favorites are:

Claunch, a tabbed program launcher, that can be found at http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~welic/claunch.html

Wisbar Advance, a task manager, that's at http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/index.html (They're now charging for the newest Wisbar, but the older version is still available and free).

For games, I like Alienrat's Canfield, Hot Death Uno, MineSweeper, Plumber Pete Free, and PocketPop, all of which I think can be found at PocketPcFreeware.com (as you mentioned) or FreewarePPC.com :)

Good luck program hunting! ^_^

[sci]

That's a good start, I had seen Claunch in screen shots but didn't know what the program was called, thanks Oreocat.

Anybody else, lets get a list of good freeware going. especially those apps you choose to continue using even though you have money for software.

[Ripper014]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Here is a list... not all free.. but quite a number are...

http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6603

[Lex]

www.freewareppc.com is a good site to watch.

[sci]

Excellent link Ripper. I still have old versions of Journal Bar, Agenda Fusion and a couple other titles, I'm probably going to get Pocket Breeze because the reviews have been so good and maybe wisbar advance 2.0 ( I heard that 1.0 caused slow downs on some PPC's) I want to get Ages of Empires and that will give me about 50-60 bucks for some other titles.

That's one tough thing about going from palm to ppc, not nearly as many free or cheap software titles.

[Ripper014]

Pocket Breeze is an excellent application... but I still like using a program called TodayPlus. Have a look at this forum.

http://www.jhollin1138.com/forums/

in particular look at the Hammerskin forum... I love the work the author did with this skin.

[Raynne]

One of my favorite freeware applications is an astronomy program called Taiyoukei. It is actually better than all of the commercial software I have tried.

[baralong]

Ok My list of free apps
tAdenda - today plugin for appointments and tasks this also gives you a count of emails and links ot calendar, tasks and email
http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/ has some good ones specifically the "Plus!" "PowerToys" and "Keys" apps
Owner info X is good for your today screen info
Wisbar for skinning, actually I'd recomend Wisbar Advance 2 but that's not freeware.
Also beta player

but my number 1 free app is uBook from www.gowerpoint.com the best ebook reader I've tried. It won't read DRMed docs or lit files but txt html and palm pdb format all work. You can also open zip files as though they were directories from within the app. Remember text compresses really well.

Hmm actually one more total Commander (http://www.ghisler.com/pocketpc.htm) is a fantastic file explorer app. It can also read zip files, lots of features, check it out.

[Jerry Raia]

Ok free software is all well and good but lets get serious here.

How about free PDA's? I think the time has come!
:devilboy:

[Darius Wey]

How about free PDA's? I think the time has come!
:devilboy:

It will be a momentous occasion if you find a company that is willing to do that. :wink:

[IpaqMan2]

So I'm switching from my CLIE NX73 to PPC, specifically to a 4355. Has almost everything I want, bluetooth, wifi, thumbboard, good battery life. Any way It's been 2-3 years since I've had a PPC (hp 568) and was wondering about the great freeware thats available. I know about pocketpcfreeware.com but am wondering in your experience what freeware programs do you continue to use. What are your favorite freeware programs and which ones are you surprised they don't actually charge for? I don't have a ton of money available for new software and wanted to get a jump on the quality freeware available. Thanks.

SCI,
Welcome aboard. I too literally just moved about a week and half ago from the Clie Nx80v to the iPaq 4355. As for Free software there's plenty of it out there... but as for FREEWARE is concerened... that's another story lol.... and not enough of it to do justice to the Software I need such as a replacement for Agendus pro and Daynotes on the Palm OS.

[sci]

Thanks Ipaqman2, I too used Agendus and liked it quite a bit, however I first started using that when I went from my HP 568 using Agenda Fusion so the PIM part should be fine. The thing I'm most worried about is going from the excellent Documents to Go to the lackluster format killing Pocket Word and Excel. I know about Textmaker and Planmaker however I've heard complaints that they are really slow, not to mention buying them would kill the $100 bucks I have available for for software at this point. I'll probably try SpreadCE but not sure how it will be.

Ipaqman2, did you find the transition to be positive? My earlier experience with PPC involved a lot of soft resets and slow downs right at the moment I needed a calender or contact lookup quick. I'm hoping that between being WM 2003 and the Xscale processer that most of my performance worries will be in vain. I'm so use to the speed and reliability of the NX that anything less will be hard to deal with. I could open 500k excel files with almost no delay with Docs to Go. I am looking forward to dual wireless but If PalmOne ever comes out with a Tungsten C2 with hires+, keyboard, wifi and bluetooth, plus decent battery life then I will definately switch back. It is nice switching OS once in a while though to keep things interesting.

[IpaqMan2]

SCI,

I second your statement about being able to switch OS'es on PDAs everyonce in a while. It is a nice and refreshing at times. I originally started with Palm OS than moved to the early PPC (iPAQ 3635) than moved to the Clie's (enjoyed the ride while it lasted) and than came back to the iPAQ 4355.

As for the 4355 itself, it is the perfect combination of what I wish the Tungsnen C and the Tungsen 5 could of and should of been with it's WiFi, Bluetooth, Full Screen, backlit thumboard keyboard (which I have now grown attached to using from the Clie's), and the added benifit of multi-tasking which really is nice being able to switch between apps to move data around without having one each time.

As for my experince with switching between the OSes it was a very bitter sweet experince. Since I've used the PPC in the past I was aware of what to expect or lack of expectation from the OS.

I personally consider my self a power user of PDAs. I use them keep track of all my information in life and to stay on the ball. When I moved from the Palm OS to the PPC last time and now just recently, I craved the productivity software I used in the Palm OS which for someone reason or another none of the PPC developers have taken the time to really see just how deverisified and in depth some of the top selling Palm Apps are in compareds to their PPC counter part. Now I mean this only with some of the apps for the Palm that I have used for information productivity, PIMs, journalling, and so forth. But on the other hand, most other apps for the PPC excel beyond anything Palm could currently hope for.

With that being said, I have enjoyed using the Windows Mobile platform this time around much more. It is extremely stable and smooth for me. There seems to be more avalable applications for me to do "real computing" things or things that I would find my self turning to a laptop for, for the PPC and believe I will stick around with them for some times to see how far this platform will take me.

[Kowalski]

i find http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php the best freeware site around.
as for applications:
tAgenda
total commander pocket
beta player
wisbar advanced

are my favorite freewares.

[frankenbike]

My faves (all freeware, most from freewareppc.com):

Mort Player - (3.01 is awsome) MP3, Og, Shoutcast, etc. I like the big buttons for
FTXPbrowser - Tabbed web browser
TD Launch - program icons like your PC desktop
Qusnetsoft NewsReader v2.2.0.8 - Full online/offline Usenet client
nPopw - email client with multiple accounts
Pocket Weather - (I'm not sure if it's still free) displays weather on your Today screen.
Total Commander - split/dual screen file manager
Bizz Dev Net Use - allows you to access your shared folders located on your PC or network. Now I run my entire MP3 collection via WiFi (in Mort Player)
PTVL - Pocket TV Listings
Pelmar Wisbar - simple, to the point task manager
Agile Messenger - Multiple service IM program
Beta Player - Divx movies though it plays everything else.

[phritosan]

the non-US versions of aol im are free. google.

[TopDog]

Some I didn't notice others mention (sorry if I missed it...) that I cannot live without:

# Scott Seligman's Launcher
# Scott Seligman's PocketNAV
# PocketCHAT
# StopWatch
# PHM RegEdit
# MagicSS

[sci]

You guys rock!!

I should get my 4355 Monday or Tuesday, I can't wait!!

[ebswift]

Try WordNetCE, it's a freeware dictionary/thesaurus. Download at http://www.ebswift.com

[Don't Panic!]

I.C.B.M for Pocket PC (http://www.clubic.com/telecharger-fiche11268-icbm.html) is a fun free old school game. You'd want the ARM version if you're interested in this kind of thng.

[smitakiran]

www.ganx.com good games lots of trials not free though !!!

[burnso]

Mortbuttons is da bomb! I use it on my Jam as it allows me to control it one handed

[Patrick Y.]

Hi, I'm going to share my exprience too.

[Patrick Y.]

I am sorry that some of program I listed below is mentioned already, but here is my list: (I tried to make the list as short as possible, you probably won't have time to read them all. Though, these programs are really good base on my exprience. To be honest, I installed all these in my Pocket PC. Many of you might think that I'm crazy :roll: . But I don't care as long as I got space on my pocket PC. :D )

Logo Login
dweller
pocket rar
GSFinder
FastCleanup
Dataviewer
MsReader
Taiyoukei
WordInfoCE
iSilo
MobileAtelier2
PQview
GSPlayer
Betaplayer
NoteM
Airscanner's security products
SecureWord.Mobile
MoonChild
Acrobat Reader
SyncNotes
SpreadCE** Check out this one. It is a sharewere, but offers unlimited trial. let you do graphs and much more!
Dynamo
Wisbar advance
ComicEdge
Traffic Edge
Ezdownload
cerdisp
Microsoft Money
Aceit Calulator
Math Xpander***This one is really good
MHformula
pocket WiNc
Snipper
SKype
SideX
PocketToolman
RegKing
Stoptime
PHM task manger
Treaksk2 .NET Lite
WOrldTime
ShutXP
PocketHTML.Net
HandStory
realplayer
Pocket MVP
FrequencyTuner
CTCursors.Net
Dockware
CETuner demo
GSPocketMagic

[Perk]

Well, some of what I use was already listed so for those, I second the motion. ;)

Also available for free is ConverterCE. This is a unit converter, metric to standard and so on. Small program, very usefull and stable. Could use a little polish but hey, who could complain: http://www.fannsoftware.com/

[ipaq_wannabe]

So I'm switching from my CLIE NX73 to PPC, specifically to a 4355. Has almost everything I want, bluetooth, wifi, thumbboard, good battery life. Any way It's been 2-3 years since I've had a PPC (hp 568) and was wondering about the great freeware thats available. I know about pocketpcfreeware.com but am wondering in your experience what freeware programs do you continue to use. What are your favorite freeware programs and which ones are you surprised they don't actually charge for? I don't have a ton of money available for new software and wanted to get a jump on the quality freeware available. Thanks.

why dont you keep your old Palm apps - there is an application out there (forgot the name) that actually allows you to use Palm apps in your PPC...

according to test users, it is quite stable - and though it doesnt support conduits at the moment; it is quite usable... actually, ill be checking out the trial once i get my new Axim next week...

[KTamas]

So I'm switching from my CLIE NX73 to PPC, specifically to a 4355. Has almost everything I want, bluetooth, wifi, thumbboard, good battery life. Any way It's been 2-3 years since I've had a PPC (hp 568) and was wondering about the great freeware thats available. I know about pocketpcfreeware.com but am wondering in your experience what freeware programs do you continue to use. What are your favorite freeware programs and which ones are you surprised they don't actually charge for? I don't have a ton of money available for new software and wanted to get a jump on the quality freeware available. Thanks.

why dont you keep your old Palm apps - there is an application out there (forgot the name) that actually allows you to use Palm apps in your PPC...

according to test users, it is quite stable - and though it doesnt support conduits at the moment; it is quite usable... actually, ill be checking out the trial once i get my new Axim next week...
It's name is styletap.

[martin_ayton]

I'm late into this, so I may have missed the boat, but since you admit that you do have some cash for software I'd like to suggest that you need:

1) An app which makes the 'X' button actually close programs (as opposed to simply minimising them). I use SBP Pocket Plus and am very satisfied with it, but there will be other good alternatives out there.

2) Something, anything, to replace the xBackup backup software that comes bundled with many (all?) PPCs. I picked up a recommendation here to try Sprite Backup and I'm really impressed with it. xBackup took several hours to back my XdaIIs up to an SD card and is unstable and not configurable. Sprite did the same job in six minutes and is easy to configure.

Sometimes, it's worth shelling out the cash.

[Dermot81]

Magic button is a nice, small, free taskmanager app.

Makes the x button close apps, like the guy above me said.

[szamot]

How about free PDA's? I think the time has come!
:devilboy:

It will be a momentous occasion if you find a company that is willing to do that. :wink:

with mixed voice/data plans coming at aroud $60-$100 bucks it will not be long, just like the cell phones.

[szamot]

Has anyone mentioned RegKing, I don't know how you guys run your PDA's without doing some useful hacking of the registry. Getting rid of the inch wide scroll bars is reason enough to get this app and there are lots more cool options. Look into it.