Get More With Pocket PC Utilities

Hundreds of Pocket PC utilities are on the market, allowing you to customize your Pocket PC in every possible way. Utilities are applications that add a single feature (or set of related features) to the Pocket PC—they do one thing and they do it right! Because they're focused on a single feature, they tend to be less expensive applications that don't occupy a lot of storage space. In this issue, we'll check out some of the best utilities available.

Power up your Pocket PC

Even a novice knows that the first step in using your Pocket PC is to turn it on, but many forget to turn off their device when finished. It's true that it will automatically power down after a minute or two, but turning it off the moment you're done saves battery power and extends the time between charges. Now you can shut down your Pocket PC in style. ControlIt! by HAND Ltd. (http://www.pocket.bgcredit.com) is a quick menu (Fig. 1) of what we'll call "the four degrees of 'off'" on the Pocket PC: power off, screen off, soft reset, and hard reset. Double-tap one of the menu options to power off, turn off the screen, soft reset, or hard reset the device. The Power Off feature is especially helpful if your device has a hard-to-reach power button, or if the button is covered by a generic PDA case. However, my favorite feature is the ability to turn off the screen, which conserves power while the Pocket PC is still running. Turning off the screen conserves battery power and extends the amount of time your Pocket PC can run while listening to MP3 music. This can be vital if you do not have a charging cable or power outlet handy.

Fig. 1: ControlIt lets you turn the power or screen off, or perform a soft or hard reset with a tap of the stylus.

If you would prefer to deactivate the Pocket PC screen using a hardware button, you should consider Power Saver by Mercury Plus Solutions. The software, which is a little tricky to install, places PowerOff and PowerOn options in the Pocket PC's Settings>Buttons configuration utility (Fig. 2). You assign these to a hardware button as you would any application.

Fig. 2: Power Saver lets you assign power on and off options to hardware buttons.

Once assigned, you can press the buttons to deactivate and reactivate the screen. The program is designed to reduce battery usage while listening to MP3s, using GPS audio directions, or waiting for a call. For example, you can turn off the screen on a Phone Edition device and still receive incoming calls, or during a remote connection while you're downloading a file.

ControlIt! and Power Saver are priced at $1.99 each, and are available from Handango.com. Free demos are not available for these programs.

Memory management "maid" simple

The Pocket PC's internal RAM memory is used for two purposes: to store files and to run applications. The operating system automatically manages the amount of RAM allocated for each purpose. However, temporary files, cached Web pages, duplicate items, and other things can occupy megabytes of valuable memory. Because RAM is limited, you have to manage it carefully. Fortunately, MemMaid by DinarSoft (available on Handango.com for $14.99) can help you with this sometimes arduous task.

The opening screen of MemMaid, called the Quick Cleaner (Fig. 3), presents a list of potential memory moochers. Press the Scan button and MemMaid will inspect your system and provide quantitative details on exactly where the Pocket PC is consuming memory. Once the scan is complete, the Clean button will systematically free up the memory associated with each item. Should you wish to perform a more selective scan (for example, if you do not wish to clear your AvantGo cache) you can simply uncheck the items prior to pressing Clean and that item will not be affected. In addition to the Quick Cleaner, MemMaid offers five other utilities: