 Handheld PC Users Recommend Their
Favorites!
10 Essential
Add-ons to Improve the H/PC Experience
What to buy?
Software and accessories for Windows CE PC Companions.
What do the day-in, day-out users of handheld PCs like and
recommend? This article is the second in a series where handheld PC and Palm-size PC users
tell us what they think is truly use
By Michael J Posner
While a typical H/PC is
useful out of the box, there are several must-have add-ons that really
help to customize the H/PC and improve the user's experience. The
following are ten of my favorites.
1
Lithium AA Batteries
$5-7
They cost twice as much as other AAs, but I find that they
deliver almost three times the length of operation. The convenience of not
having to continually replace batteries makes them a must buy. Some
complain that they die suddenly, but I have yet to be stranded. On my
Casio A-20, I get seven to nine hours of use on standard alkaline
batteries (with lots of backlight usage). With Energizer brand Lithium AA
batteries, I can go fifteen hours.
Available at camera shops and discount stores.
A pair costs $5.27 at WalMart.
2
Infrared Adapter
$40 -$100+
I have added an Adaptec Airport 2500 infrared adapter to my desktop PC,
making it possible to synchronize and send files back and forth between my
H/PC and desktop PC via wireless infrared transfer. The Adaptec attaches
to the PC via a serial cable, making it easy to disconnect and share with
other laptops or PDAs. Adaptec has discontinued the Airport 2500 (used
ones should go for about $50), but several other manufacturers sell
infrared adapters. Prices will range from $40 to over $100. Make sure the
adapter is IrDA compatible and make sure the vendor has a money-back
guarantee since compatibility is always an issue. The following three
vendors offer IR adapters for PCs and printers:
3
XTCE DOS Emulator
Free
DOS isn't dead! If you been drawn to the H/PC, but are loathe to
give up all your favorite DOS software, you can have your cake and eat it
too. Ian Dean's amazing programming skills let you go "Back to the
Future" and operate an IBM XT class machine in your H/PC. XTCE is a
full 8086 emulator for users who need to run older DOS programs on the go.
While not a casual install, a moderately experienced user should have no
problems setting up the program.
Available for free at http://www.pyram-id.demon.co.uk/XTCE.html.
The author, Ian Dean, has even promised a version for the new Palm-size PC
4
Visual CE™
$129
Need to create custom forms and databases but lack programming
skills? Visual CE lets you draw your form and develop custom creations
that are easy to make and use. I use my H/PC to keep track of my Camera
Collection. Before Visual CE I used a simple text list. With Visual CE, I
created a collection form that lets me keep lots of well organized
information about my collection, and view the info in single chunks or
indexed lists. When I am out looking for new cameras, I can use the form I
created to see if I need a certain camera or part just by searching my
database.
More information about Visual CE is available in
the review this issue.
5
Carrying Bag
Price Varies
A carrying case protects your H/PC and many come with extra
pockets for pencils, pens, memory cards and more. A number have been
listed in Handheld PC Magazine. Don't want to waste $50 or more on
a carrying bag? Make your own or modify an existing one. I purchased a $12
day planner at Office Depot, removed the insert, added some padding (old,
soft mouse pads work great!) and voila, I had a custom-fitted zippered
carrying case for my H/PC.
6
FrotzCE
Free
If you have been around computers a long time you might remember
that the best games were text-only Infocom Adventures. Well, the good
times are back, with a freeware Infocom emulator that lets you play most
of the Infocom games on your H/PC. These games are now sold in packaged
bundles and are still fun after all these years.
Freeware, available at: http://www.pyram-id.demon.co.uk/FrotzCE.html.
This site also has links to other sites with downloadable adventure games.
7
Pocket On-Schedule™ 2.2
$89.95
If you need more contact management capabilities than those
provided by Pocket Outlook, try Pocket On-Schedule. Install this program
on your H/PC and it accesses the data file used by Pocket Outlook's
Contacts application. The newest version of Pocket On-Schedule gives you a
more powerful contact management system, including: multiple calendars and
to-do lists, multiple Calendar views (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, 6-8 Months
views), To-Do/Journal views, full Contact History and Linking
capabilities, and more. The fact that you can create multiple contact
databases alone is worth the purchase price.
Odyssey Computing
Phone: 800-965-7224 or 619-675-3660
E-mail: info@odysseyinc.com
Free demo at: http://www.odysseyinc.com/
8
Calendar Search
Free
The lack of a universal data locator in the Calendar program was
a weakness in many of the original H/PCs. However, thanks to a simple
freeware program from prolific Windows CE software programmer Panutat
"Jimmy" Tejasen, this mistake is easily rectified. Use the
Calendar Search utility to quickly find a word, phrase, or any group of
characters anywhere in your Calendar.
Downloaded free from: http://www.jimmy.com/Freeware/freeware.html#CalSearch
9
Microsoft PowerToys v. 2.0
Free
Another must-have program is this collection of utilities and
programs from Microsoft. PowerToys now works with Windows CE 2.0 H/PCs and
includes Pocket Paint, Cascading Menus, Mute control and Business Cards --
a utility that "squirts" contact information from one H/PC to
another via the IrDA port. The new version of PowerToys does not have the
Remote Control utility that was available in the 1.0 version.
Download free
Web: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/hpc/software/power.htm
10
Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows® CE
$34.95
Microsoft has bundled ten games on one CD for Windows CE H/PC users.
Chess is reasonably well implemented and Missile Command is tons of fun.
Several of the games support two-player participation via the IrDA port
for data transfer. Other games included are Blackjack, Codebreaker,
Freecell, Hearts, Minesweeper, Reversi, Sink the Ships (battleship), and
Taipei. You may not like all of the games, but some will keep you (and a
nagging child) busy for hours. For more information, check out the
Microsoft Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/products/games.htm.
Available from retail software vendors, including:
Mobile Planet
Phone: 800-675-2638 or 818-888-7267
Fax: 818-888-3484
Email: sales@mplanet.com
Web: http://www.mobileplanet.com
There are many other excellent programs and utilities available for
your H/PC. This list is only a starting point for users.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael J Posner is a Board Certified Real Estate partner with the law
firm of Cooney, Ward, Lesher & Damon, P.A. in sunny West Palm Beach,
Florida. Specializing in Real Property, Corporate and Intellectual Law,
Michael spends his spare time writing and playing with computers, and
working on his novels. He is most proud of his four year old son
Christopher and his wife, Florida Assistant Attorney General Sylvie Perez
Posner.
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