« tech pages

Twelve Killer Mobile Applications
Our pick of great mobile/PDA programs
(by urban75 for Digital Lifestyles, Feb 2008)

1 Agendus
Turbo charged PIM app with optional standalone desktop companion and integrated Outlook plug in.

Packing all the PIM tools you'll need - Contacts, Calendar, Memos, and To Dos - in one convenient, vastly configurable package, it's the best contact/address/memo app we've ever used.

Extras like built in weather forecasts, Google Map look ups, projects, daily quotes, templates and even the ability to draw your own event icons make this a pleasure to use.
Agendus review
(available for Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry).

2 Google Maps
This well-regarded free mapping app works a treat on the Treo, with the crisp 320×320 pixels screen affording usefully large views.

The program lets you browse local maps, search for addresses and businesses, see traffic updates, view satellite pictures, plan routes and more.
Google Maps reviewbr> (Google maps is also available on a wide range of platforms).

3 Resco Explorer
Keep your Palm trim and in order with this fantastic file manager, offering handy features like a file manager, zipper, backup app, image viewer, FTP explorer, RAM analyser and more.
Resco Explorer Palm OS review
Resco Explorer for Pocket PC review

4 Resco Photo Viewer
Fast image viewer/organiser with photo editor offering basic image manipulation and resizing functions.

A must for anyone who likes to carry around a lot of images on their device, or even photographers who want to resize photos for emailing straight off their camera's SD card.
Resco Photo Viewer for Pocket PC review
(Also available for Palm, Windows Smartphone and Symbian)

5 Note Studio
Deceptively powerful and versatile note manager with wiki and GTD capabilities for the Palm OS. Notes can be hotlinked to each other and the basic text formatting options and HTML link support make this the perfect carry-everywhere, fast note-taker.

The program comes with PC and Mac desktop companion and conduit. Sadly, development is currently suspended on this app, but it remains one of the programs we use daily and - for some - a compelling reason to stay with the Palm platform.
Note Studio




6 Butler and Power Hero
Butler is a superb app for tweaking a vast amount of preferences on Treo.

Alarms and audio/visual notifications can be finely tuned to your exact preference, hotkeys allocated and there's even the choice to protect your Treo if it's stolen.

Users can input SMS trigger phrases that can turn the phone off, lock the unit or even delete everything on the phone, including the SD card.
Butler review

Power Hero lets you eke out every last mAh of power on your Treo, with a host of power-saving tools offering options to you control and schedule keyboard/screen brightness on/off, Bluetooth and radio connectivity times and more.
(Palm only)

7 Launcher X
With tens of thousands of programs available on the Palm platform you may end up with a cluttered home screen.

Launcher X let's you create your own tabbed categories, manage and organise your applications via drag-drop, run programs off SD cards and customise colours, skins and fonts.
(Palm OS only)


8 Plucker/ Sunrise XP
This is a fantastic freeware combo that lets you download websites (or individual pages) from your desktop to your Treo via a hotsync conduit. Web pages are automatically formatted for reading on the Treo, and you can automate the download process with timed downloads. The Plucker Palm Reader also handles eBooks (tons free from the Project Gutenberg) and offers auto-scroll, bookmarks, gesture support, custom fonts and more.

The viewer runs on PalmOS devices, with the Sunrise desktop tools supported on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and OS/2.




9 TomTom
Add on a GPS unit to your mobile and you'll turn it into a fully fledged satnav system, with Tom Tom being one the very finest systems available. An invaluable purchase for travellers and available on a wide range of platforms.

10 Opera Mini 4.0
Unless your wallet has recently been seriously depleted by an iPhone, you're likely to have a pretty awful browser on your handheld. We suggest replacing it with this cool application boasting features like intelligent zoom and comprehensive bookmark management.
(Available for a wide range of Java enabled devices)

11 ChatterEmail 3.0+ Although the VersaMail email client bundled with the Palm OS is capable enough, Chatteremail is a rock solid e-mail client, supporting push e-mail and IMAP, POP, Exchange, and webmail accounts.
The interface is clean and concise and we love the 'Summary' view which presents new mail from a variety of accounts in one, colour-coded window. (Palm OS only)

12 Pocket Tunes
Slick, smooth and powerful music player for the Palm OS offering support for a wide range of file formats as well as Internet radio streaming over Shoutcast.

Music, playlists and podcasts can by synched with any PC media software that supports MTP (in other words, anything but iTunes) and the attractive interface offers cross-fading and a host of EQ options.
>Pocket Tunes 4 review

More resources:
Network admin tools for Palm OS and Treo smartphones
12 Killer Apps for Palm (Lifehacker)
Killer Apps for Mobile Phones
Killer Apps for the Nokia N95




« Back to tech homepage