Portable video is fast becoming the most popular secondary use for Pocket PCs, so making sure you have the right media player is now a priority for many PPC device owners. The Core Pocket Media Player is an open-source video and audio player compatible with all the most popular codecs and multimedia file types.

TCPMP is easy to use, very stable and loaded with a variety of features. The program’s main screen is reminiscent of similar programs on your desktop computer, with options to change aspect ratio, zoom and volume as well as more advanced controls such as video speed (10% - 200%), video driver, audio preamp and more.

One issue with playing video files on a Pocket PC, irrespective of which program you use to play them, is that there will be some lag or jumps from time to time. While some of the top end Pocket PCs now have processors and system memory that should be able to cope with playing quality video, the fact remains that the majority of devices, while technically capable of playing video, are not really designed for that purpose. Compare the playback quality on your Pocket PC with a purpose built portable media player and you’ll see the difference. TCPMP’s settings are therefore an essential feature of the program, allowing you to play around with different levels of quality and performance to help you guarantee the best possible multimedia experience.

In all, The Core Pocket Media Player is a free, open source multimedia player which I’d recommend to anyone who wants to watch video on their Pocket PC. That said, if portable video is your heart’s desire, it would definitely be worth investing in a device built specifically for video playback which will provide much better overall quality.

Download TCPMP 0.72 RC1 in Softonic

If you own a Windows Mobile device then the chances are you've used ActiveSync to connect your PC to your mobile before. If you haven't then it's about time you did.

Not only does this utility allow you to transfers files from your PC to the Windows Mobile platform, but it opens up a gateway to synchronizing data from your phone with your desktop computer.

Once you've got ActiveSync installed on your device, you'll need to dock your phone either using the cradle or remotely to connect. Running the program should (although not always) detect your device and you'll be connected automatically. An extra icon will then appear in Windows Explorer My Computer that gives you access to all the files on your computer.

The application can also be used to share contacts between your mobile and PC using Outlook and it supports synchronization with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, so you can keep your contact information updated wirelessly if you're away.

An essential download for Pocket PC and Smartphone users.

Download ActiveSync 4.2 in Softonic

One of the pillars of the IM scene, Yahoo! Messenger is also available on Pocket PC as a simple application to chat with your friends and check your favourite news. The program offers a simple user interface and the different sections like News, Sports, Stock Prices and Weather are divided in tabs at the bottom of the screen. The messaging client has all the Yahoo! Emoticons and you can start chatting right away by using the keyboard in the Pocket PC touch screen.

Compared to other IM applications on Windows Mobile, we expected Yahoo! Messenger to be a bit better equipped. The preferences menu only allows you to configure the connection settings and lets you choose from only 4 different sound alerts. Your contact list can be updated but you can only change the name and nickname given to your friends.

Yahoo! Messenger has the bare necessities to get you started chatting on your Pocket PC. Thanks to its tabbed interface you’ll be able to follow up the news on the fly. However it lacks the advanced features and extended customization to fight off competition of excellent alternatives like IM+ or Agile Messenger.

Download Yahoo! Messenger for Pocket PC 1.0 in Softonic

Winamp has always been one of my favorite music players for Windows, and I still maintain that it is better than the bloated monster that is iTunes.

If you too are a fan of the player then you may wish to download WinamPAQ for your Pocket PC. The application replicates the original Windows version for your mobile, allowing you to play MP3s and other audio tracks (but not videos) on your device.

WinamPAQ's oh-so familiar interface consists of the player control window, EQ and playlist editor, all stacked on top of each other. If you want though you can choose to hide any (or all) if these windows to make space on your screen. One of the traditional complaints from anti-Winamp users is that the user interface is too small and fiddly, and this is only exacerbated by the size restrictions of the Pocket PC display. Touchscreen users can forget being able to quickly use the volume control, EQ sliders and many other functions simply because the buttons are too tiny.

Luckily, there is a Scale feature that lets you zoom in by up to 200 percent, although if you do this you'll have to scroll around the interface rather than viewing it all at once. Another way around the problem could be to take advantage of the programmable hardware button support afford by WinamPAQ, which lets you assign common controls (Play, Pause, Back, Forward, Open, etc.) to individual keys on your PPC.

Like its Windows-based relation, WinamPAQ manages to pack in lots of cool MP3 playing features inside. You can repeat tracks, shuffle them, organize them into playlists and manipulating playback sound all through the main interface. The Preferences menu lets you make further customizations to the player, though sadly this version of the program only comes with one skin.

Die-hard Winamp fans will enjoy using WinamPAQ for sure, while others will probably get frustrated by the overly intricate interface.

Download WinamPAQ 1.0 in Softonic

Macromedia Flash Player is an Internet Explorer plug-in that will enable your device to play all types of FLASH files. In this way, you will be able to view graphic animations and compositions created with a Macromedia standard.

Play Macromedia Flash movies from your PPC.

Download Macromedia Flash Player 7.0 in Softonic

Worms World Party rocks, with wacky gameplay, eye-popping graphics and outrageous sound effects. Control an army of military-minded worms in a battle for global domination. Turn-based strategy fun lets you annihilate invertebrate foes with a wild array of weapons, tools and utilities.

Infinite battlefield generator means you'll never fight the same fight twice. Deploy wacky ammo like super sheep in multiplayer "hot seat" or battle against the computer. Wage war until the last worm wriggles!

Some gameplay features include:

• Multiplayer game action in "hot-seat" style, or play against the computer

• An array of wild and wacky weapons, including super sheep, banana bombs and even mole squadrons

• Infinite landscape generation; you never battle on the same terrain twice

• High level of customization, including a left-handed play option and the ability to choose stylus speed and control buttons

• Graphic detail that adjusts to your device

A fun, addictive game for your Pocket PC.

Download Worms World Party 1.0.4d in Softonic

It is perhaps both a curse and a blessing that Windows Mobile is fast becoming the number one mobile operating system. Most of us use Windows at home and in the office so the interface, applications and settings on a Pocket PC are familiar. Unfortunately, so are some of the problems we encounter.

This is the reason that Mobile Registry Editor is a great tool. As you’re most likely aware, a huge number of problems with your Windows desktop machine can be fixed via changes to the registry. Similarly, the registry may well need ‘cleaning’ or at least some sort of inspection from time to time as a way of making sure it doesn’t contain redundant or malicious entries. The same applies to your Windows Mobile device. Mobile Registry Editor allows you to explore the complete registry database, make changes and add or delete keys as required. Its interface is pretty much identical to that of RegEdit, with just the addition of some minor extra features, ‘favorites’ being the most useful.

While Mobile Registry Editor doesn’t contain any automated tools (such as ‘clean registry’ for example), it is still a potentially very useful utility for advanced users. It should be stressed, however, that less experienced users should exercise caution using tools of this type – both on their desktop computers and Windows Mobile devices – to avoid causing damage to their operating system.

In all, Mobile Registry Editor is a simple and well designed tool for managing your Pocket PC’s registry, but it is not recommended to beginner-level users.

Download Mobile Registry Editor 1.11 in Softonic

As handheld devices become faster and more powerful, portable video is starting to look pretty good. Most Pocket PCs, Palm PDAs and plenty of mobile phones are now capable of playing movie files but due to format and storage restrictions, video clips need to be converted before they’re transferred to your chosen device.

This is where SmartMovie comes in. This popular and handy application includes all the tools you might need to have that music video, film or home-movie playing on your handheld device in a couple of minutes. Videos might well need to be re-formatted and/or cropped, as well as having their quality and display size reduced to save on space. SmartMovie can perform all of these tasks with ease, and without too much trouble on your part.

We found that in terms of its basic functions, SmartMovie works admirably well. Despite an unattractive and cluttered user-interface, opening and working with video files ran pretty smoothly. Until, that is, we tried to open movies made with Apple’s .mov extension.

A problem with video codecs meant that we couldn’t work with .mov files until we downloaded some 3rd party software from websites we weren’t familiar with. Clearly, there are a range of copyright issues which may prevent Lonely Cat Games from bundling codecs with their software. SmartMovie was helpful in advising us to download new codecs as well as providing a link to the download page for various codec packs. Once we’d installed a couple of these packs, the .mov files opened without any bother.

Another small issue we observed was short sound glitches each time we opened a video file. While not a serious problem, errors like this give users a bad impression of the software which is, in SmartMovie’s case, undeserved. This program’s range of features and options for resizing and cropping movies as well as altering their frequency and bit-rate is impressive, if a little daunting. The well implemented ‘context help’ feature proved to be a really useful feature in itself, simply explaining the functions of each tool.

SmartMovie, for its general success in shrinking and chopping your movie files, ranks well among its competitors in the video conversion market. But its ugly design and small annoyances let it down somewhat, meaning that though we’ll probably continue using this program, we’ll definitely be keeping our eyes open for a decent (and ideally free) competitor.

Download SmartMovie 3.41 in Softonic

Adobe Reader& for Pocket PC 2.0 extends the value and capabilities of Adobe PDF files by adapting them for high-quality viewing on smaller screens, while preserving their rich content. Working with the ActiveSync filter, which runs on Windows®, Adobe Reader for Pocket PC enables you to view PDF files from your desktop computer anywhere, anytime. Adobe Reader for Pocket PC also makes it easier for you to take digital editions and slide shows along on your Pocket PC device.

Adobe Reader for Pocket PC 2.0 delivers powerful new features:

Mobile data entry

Submit form data using handheld devices over a wireless connection. If you are working offline, the data is temporarily stored, then submitted once a connection is established. Send forms by e-mail or directly to the destination server using a cradle or cable

Wireless printing

Print directly from a handheld device to a remote printer

Slide show viewing

Easily share Adobe PDF slide shows generated by Adobe Photoshop Album software on handheld devices in portrait or landscape mode

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader PPC 2.0 in Softonic

The iPhone Theme stamps the mark of the Apple Design team on yout mobile device. The free program mimics the Apple iPhone design for the Pocket PC. Not only does the theme transform the overall design of your operating system but you can customize fonts, system colors, menu and toolbars and apply high-resolution transitions.

Download iPhone Theme in Softonic

The dream of being able to watch the latest movies on the bus has now become a reality thanks to advancements in mobile technology. As you probably know, DivX is one of the most popular digital video formats at the moment and, as the name suggests, DivX Player for Windows Mobile 5 lets you enjoy these movies wherever you go, on your Pocket PC.

The program lets you watch DivX, AVI or MPEG movies in the player window or in full-screen mode. Control elements such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward and Rewind, as well as the volume can be controlled easily via buttons or the stylus. The app can automatically scan your internal memory or expansion cards for compatible films.

DivX Player is great for organising your media, sorting files by name, file size, duration, and date last seen. There are plenty of settings too, letting you tweak stuff like the brightness, contrast, colour saturation and allows you to play around with the soundtracks.

The software proved very reliable in our tests and represents a great way to transform your Pocket PC into a portable cinema.

Download DivX Player Mobile 0.89 in Softonic

eMbedded Visual basic Runtime is a tool to help you run certain programs on your Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows Mobile 2003 SE PDA. You should only install it if specifically required by an application.

As this technology is now being phased out by Microsoft, this application may not be installed under Windows for Smartphone, Windows Mobile 5.0 or any later versions.

Download eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime PPC 2003 in Softonic

The .NET Compact Framework is a collection of runtime libraries which allow you to run .NET Compact 3.5 applications and services on your Windows Mobile device.

This isn't the most rock'n'roll package to install on your Pocket PC or Smartphone, but it will unlock your device's capabilities to run the more interesting and demanding games and programs on the market.

While not exactly a mandatory install for Windows Mobile device owners, .NET Compact Framework is strongly recommended for all users looking to get the most out of their device by trying out the full range of software available.

Recommended download for all Windows Mobile device owners.

Download Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 3.5 in Softonic

imov Messenger gives you the ability to instantly and securely communicate with family and friends using the Internet. The Jabber platform's extensibility allows imov Messenger to be compatible with multiple messaging systems including AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! and MSN Messengers! Available for the Microsoft PocketPC, HandheldPC and Smartphone platforms.

Key features of imov Messenger include:

• Communicate with Google Talk™, AOL™, ICQ™, MSN™, Yahoo! Messenger™ and Jabber™ users!
• Easy setup and use
• Wireless capable
• Encrypted communications (SSL) support
• Support for most Windows CE devices-including the PocketPC and Microsoft Windows Powered Smartphones!
• Automatic new version notifications
• Offline message queuing
• SOCKS5 proxy server support
• Seamless offline/online operation
• Location Based Services support

Download imov Messenger 2.14.3 in Softonic

If you don't know what Google Maps is by now then you've either been on a different planet or you've been getting very lost on this one. Google Maps has been transforming the way I, for one, find my way round strange cities or locate great bars and restaurants. One of the problems though is that I have needed a PC to use it, which is not so good when I'm walking down roads I don't recognise. Well problem solved, or so it seems. Because now Google Maps is accessible by PDA.

This version lets you do all the things you should be used to and unable to live without by now. You can locate streets, companies and other points of interest like hotels and restaurants; fly round the world viewing satellite imagery from every country on Earth with some incredible footage of different landscapes and wild animals. And, more usefully, Google Maps is one of the best route finders available allowing you to generate directions from any two points on the globe. Or virtually any two anyway.

Download Google Maps 2.0.1.28 in Softonic

Agile Messenger is the world's premier mobile MSN®, ICQ®, AIM®, and Yahoo!® instant messaging client. Innovative features include our patent pending Push to Talk technology which enables users to send voice messages from mobile to mobile and mobile to PC.

Agile Messenger features include:

• sending and receiving instant messages
• Unicode and BIG5 support for international characters
• split screen messaging interface
• separate tabs for each conversation
• conversation history
• smiley support
• automatic download and updating of the contact list
• contact status information and presence management
• adding, removing, renaming contacts
• data usage counter
• auto update downloader and installer
• picture messaging with camera support
• "Today" plug-in

Download Agile Messenger 3.74 in Softonic

Lemmings is an implementation of the classic Lemmings game created by DMA Design. Reproduced with great care for the original, this version serves as a great introduction to the game, or as a reminder of how modern graphics and processors don't necessarily mean better games!

Lemmings has the following features:

• Original look and feel
• Grayscale and color support
• Preference adjustment (key and sound)
• Stylus control
• GamePadTM controller support
• Background music and sound effects [enhanced for Sony/ARM devices]
• Fluid animations and player control
• Ability to load in custom level packs
• Full support for VFS, storage for packs, insertion, removal of cards

An addictive and fun edition of the classic game for your Pocket PC.

Download Lemmings 1.1.4 in Softonic

Based on the award-winning Age of Empires® and Age of Empires®: The Rise of Rome Expansion PC strategy games, you can now experience the same thrills of both games on your Pocket PC! How will you rule the world, conquer enemy civilizations, discover the world’s secrets and accumulate wealth? As the guiding spirit of a Stone Age tribe, it’s up to you.

Game features include:

• Amazing graphics, video and sound effects provide true multimedia gaming experience
• 16 different civilizations, 8 campaigns and 24 scenarios, death matches or random maps
• Runs off your a software card preserving your Pocket PC’s internal memory

The classic strategy game - on your Pocket PC at last!

Download Age Of Empires Gold Edition 1.25 in Softonic

Whatever you think about Flash, there's no doubt that it's a very rich and immersive way of enjoying Web content. Adobe Flash Lite equips your Windows Mobile device with a player for Flash movies and animation in both frame and window mode. Via a familar file explorer, Flash Lite can access SWF data in both the internal memory and in external cards. All of the common player functions such as Play, Stop, Pause, and Rewind are available from a menu at the side of the screen.

Adobe Flash Lite provides you with ability to watch Flash movies without any additional software on your Pocket PC. My only criticism would be that the poor user interface could have been given a little more attention in order to make it a little more user-friendly.

Download Adobe Flash Lite 2.1 in Softonic

So it's not the most exciting new application you'll find on Softonic but it could save you a lot of money and embarrassment. Similar to Apple's iPhone locking tool Slide 2 Unlock gives you the power to block your PDA's keyboard and screen by means of a sliding bar. That's pretty much all there is to it. Oh and it's also a screensaver when your mobile's not in use. I knew there was something else.

Download Slide 2 Unlock 1.21 in Softonic