Your Guide to Some of the Most Useful Pocket PC and Smartphone Web Sites

Today the Internet is a necessary adjunct to any computer, including Windows Mobile devices.

Virtually all software sold for these devices must be downloaded. Virtually any hardware accessory can be found and purchased on the Web. And virtually any question you have can be asked and answered online. The Internet is a partner that helps you get the most out of that complex little gizmo in your hand.

To help you with this partnership, we at Pocket PC magazine have created a directory of the most useful Web sites. Whether you’re looking for news, downloads, or someone to answer your questions, you’ll find a link on our Best Sites page (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/bestsites.asp).

Below we list a small selection of the sites listed on the Best Sites page.

General information about the Pocket PC

Maybe you just want a sense of what’s out there or what these devices can do. Here are a couple of general information sites that are good starting points for your investigation of Windows Mobile devices:

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Web site provides plenty of information about Windows Mobile devices.

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile site (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx) has a useful Buyer’s Guide to help you get an overview of this family of devices and what each can do. It includes a directory of links to manufacturers. The “Help and How To” section is a great starting point for new users.

Pocket PC magazine online (http://www.pocketpcmag.com) contains archives of Pocket PC magazine articles, including reviews of most of the devices and the major third-party applications. It has a searchable Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_enc/encyclopedia.asp) and a Buyer’s Guide (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/bg/buyersintro.asp) that lets you compare models feature by feature.

General Smartphone sites

Interest in the Smartphone is growing, especially now that these devices are increasingly being made available in the U.S. Since there are now a number of very good Web sites, we’ve added a Smartphone section to our Best Sites page (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/bestsites.asp).

MSMobileNews.com (http://www.msmobilenews.com) is a valuable general site offering news, reviews, freeware downloads, guides, and more.

MoDaCo Smartphone (http://smartphone.modaco.com) has some of the most active forums related to the Smartphone, with tens of thousands of postings in some of the forums.

Smartphone.net (http://www.smartphone.net) is a good source for Smartphone software.

CoolSmartPhone.com (http://www.coolsmartphone. com) offers a large number of helpful articles.

Smartphone Thoughts (http://smartphonethoughts.com), sister site of the famed Pocket PC thoughts, is a good source of news.

News sites

The News/Reviews section of the Best Sites page offers links to a number of the most active Windows Mobile news sites. In addition, there are subcategories for news sites related to Smartphone, Pocket PC Phone Edition, games, medical sites, and GPS. There is also a listing of sites with RSS feeds related to Windows Mobile devices.