UC Browser is designed to make mobile Web access quicker and more convenient. It's a pretty lightweight application that manages to cram in a number of interesting features without slowing down your browsing experience too much.

Viewing WAP and web sites in UC Browser is a painless experience thanks to its multiple tabs, which allow you to have several pages loaded at once in much the same way as Firefox does. You can flick between the pages simply by tapping tabs, or by using the window icon at the bottom to pull up a pop-up screen listing the tabs you have open.

UC Browser gives you a lot of control over page layout, too. You can choose to view pages in full screen, tweak the font size, zoom images, and tweak image quality.

UC Browser has a number of interesting tools that you don't normally see in a mobile Web browser, such as an integrated download manager, built-in Clipboard for simple copy and paste, and a start page with a number of preset links to a range of categorized web sites. Of course, there's full support for bookmarks too.

There's a simple, yet effective Search tool within UC Browser that facilitates quick searching through Google, Bing or Yahoo!, allowing you to choose which search engine the browser uses. The inclusion of the 'Home' screen makes it easier to get started, because it houses shortcuts to all of your most viewed web pages.

UC Browser is a proxy-based browser, which re-renders and compresses page data on a server before sending it to the client (in much the same as Opera Mini and Skyfire do). This makes it exceptionally quick at loading pages. Unfortunately, it seems that image rendering is sacrificed somewhat in this process, and often you'll find that images won't display properly, which can get annoying.

Overall though, UC Browser makes for a quick and easy way to explore the riches of the Web from your PDA.

Download UC Browser 7.6.1.82 in Softonic

When I was a boy, the only way of getting in touch with someone was to phone them up, write them a letter, or go to their house. These days though, there are countless different new ways to communicate thanks to email, instant messaging, VoIP, social networks, and the like.

This is great, but it does pose problems in that it's often difficult to work out the best way to reach someone. You might have separate buddy lists for Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo!, MSN, and Facebook, and constantly logging in, launching apps and finding your online pals can be a real chore. fring is designed to change all that, providing you with a single platform, based on your mobile, where all of your online friends are available in one place.

fring supports most of the major chat services including Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, Yahoo!, and AIM. You can also use the program to check Facebook updates, view Twitter feeds, and even listen to music with friends on Last.fm.

fring is simple to install and set up. Once you've registered for a fring account you can import your online contacts very easily. You just go to the 'Add-ons' section, click a service you want to access (e.g. Skype, Yahoo!) and sign in using your normal log-in for that account. The contacts are automatically pulled into fring and displayed in the main window, and you can quickly view who is online and who isn't.

Not only can you chat via instant messages but fring also lets you make cheap or free calls to your buddies via SkypeOut/SkypeIn. This means you can ring people from your phone's contacts locally or internationally, at vastly reduced rates. Of course, you'll need to be in a WiFi hotspot for this to be of any benefit but thankfully, fring comes with a tool for automatically logging you into your favorite hotspots.

There are a few extra chat features of note within fring, such as file transfer and a history view. However, its functionality is still vastly inferior to what you'd expect from most of the chat services themselves. For instance, there are no emoticons, games, video conferencing, etc.

Overall though, fring makes for a great way to manage all of your contacts on all of your networks from one, easy-to-use application.

Download fring 3.40 Beta in Softonic

This mobile version of the Skype VOIP client also lets you call phones with Skype credits, as well as allowing you to receive calls on your online number, send instant messages, share files, and more.

Using Skype on your phone is dead easy. Once launched, the program gives you all sorts of warnings to notify you that it will be using your mobile Internet connection. Then it's just a case of signing in with your regular Skype account details to get started.

Your contacts will all be imported and displayed in the main window, along with details of their statuses. To call a person, just tap on their name and hit the phone icon. The call quality in our tests was excellent, and as long as your connection is stable you shouldn't experience any drop outs.

Instant messaging features

The IM feature in Skype for Windows Mobile is easy to use and includes a range of emoticons, templates for one-click replies, file sharing, and the ability to add other participants to the conversation. We did note a few lags in the time between the messages being typed and arriving at their destination.

Skype keeps a record of all your text conversations, as well as logging your call history, voicemails, and files exchanged. You can view this information at any time just by clicking the 'History' button from the well-organized main menu.

Skype settings

There are a few settings you can tinker around with that help you personalize your Skype experience. For instance, you can choose to enable or disable the Mood message prompt, forward calls to another number, and block calls from people you don’t trust.

If you're expecting a fully-fledged version of Skype that has all the features of the PC or Mac version of the program then you'll be a little disappointed. There's no video conferencing or games, for example, and there are no tools for organizing your contacts into categories.

Sadly, Skype is no longer officially supported for Windows Mobile and the developer says it has no plans to release more updates for Windows phones in the future. However, you can still download the app from Softonic and use it for free.

It’s worth trying, because Skype for Windows Mobile offers everything you'd expect from a mobile version of the great VOIP app - it's easy to use, it's fun, and it's free!

Download Skype for Pocket PC 3.0.0.256 Beta in Softonic

By downloading YouTube videos with YouTube Mobile Downloader, you'll have the clip available to play on your Pocket PC whenever you so desire - without having to connect to the internet.

Organized neatly in tabs, YouTube Mobile Downloader's interface allows you to quickly launch searches using keywords, then displays all the results in the same window.You then simply check off the clips you wish to download and the program will grab them all for you simultaneously. Once downloaded, the movies will be stored in their native YouTube format.

There's no conversion tool included in YouTube Mobile Downloader unfortunately, so you won't be able to change the file format within the program. Remember too, that long videos can be quite heavy in terms of file size, so be careful if you're on a restricted data plan.

If you really can't wait until you get home to watch on a cool new YouTube vid, then YouTube Mobile Downloader provides a simple way of grabbing it straight from your mobile.

Download YouTube Mobile Downloader 1.9 in Softonic

Not having Flash installed in your browser is rather like not having an aerial attached to your TV. So many sites these days utlilize the Adobe technology to offer graphical-rich interactive content, and it would be a shame to miss out on this.

Adobe Flash Player for Pocket PC is essentially an Internet Explorer plug-in that plays SWF files when you load them in your browser. As a result, you'll have access to a whole lot more content on the Web.

Adobe Flash Player is very easy to set up on your PDA. You just download the .cab file either directly to your device or sync it via ActiveSync. Once you've run the installer Flash Player will automatically be operational when you start Internet Explorer.

Unfortunately this version of Adobe Flash Player 7 doesn't support all content created in the very latest version of the authoring tool.

Nevertheless, Adobe Flash Player is still an essential addition to your Windows Mobile device.

Download Adobe Flash Player 7.0 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, DivX Player Mobile lets you enjoy these movies wherever you go, on your phone.

DivX Player Mobile 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 Mobile is great for organizing 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, color saturation and allows you to play around with the soundtracks.

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

Download DivX Player Mobile 0.94 in Softonic

There are some of us who find it impossible to stray away from Facebook for even a few hours for fear of missing out on all the social fun and games. For these people, this Windows Mobile app represents an indispensable companion.

You won't be able to access advanced features, run Facebook applications, or use the instant messenger, but the scaled-down interface cuts out a lot of the crap (including ads) that has come to distract from the task of checking how your friends are doing.

What you can do

The user interface houses a toolbar with five icons - Home, Profile, Friends, Messages, and Phonebook. The Home section allows you to view either the news feed (your friend's status updates, wall posts, photos, events, etc.), or just status updates.

The Profile tab gives you a clean breakdown of your latest wall posts, personal info and photos. Again, all of these can be viewed separately using the tabs at the top. Friends lets you scroll through your list of Facebook buddies or search for a name. You can open a friend's profile just by clicking on their face. The Messages tab shows you all of your sent and received mail.

Managing contacts

One of my favorite things about Facebook for Windows Mobile is the Phonebook section. Click the phone icon and it will display an A-Z list of all the Facebook contacts who have registered their phone number on the site. You can then call any of these with a simple tap. Unfortunately, there's no way of exporting these contact details to your PDA's contacts book though.

Another great thing about the app is the ease in which it lets you add photos and videos to Facebook, giving you the option to capture/record a video or photo before sending it, or grab an existing image or video from your device. I also liked the full screen photo viewer in the program, although pictures can be a little slow to load.

If you want to be connected to Facebook at all times, I can't recommend Facebook for Windows Mobile highly enough.

Download Facebook for Windows Mobile 1.0.0.7 in Softonic

Opera Mini 5 offers a faster and more powerful browsing experience than any previous version of the app. The small and compact program has borrowed much more from its desktop-based big brother this time, so if you enjoy using Opera on your PC or Mac then you can now look forward to a similarly smooth ride on your mobile.

The user interface in Opera Mini 5 is more usable than ever. This is thanks to the addition of a Speed Dial feature, whereby you can set one-click shortcuts for up to nine of your favorite sites. Just like in the desktop version, these display thumbnail previews of the sites to make things as clear and simple as possible.

Opera Mini utilizes a tab-based interface, meaning that you can load multiple pages at once simply by clicking on the tab icon at the top of the interface. You can thumb through the pages you have open using the left and right direction buttons. Other navigational aids have also been added, such as an auto-complete feature in the address bar and a built-in search bar. Unfortunately, the search bar only features two sources - Google and Wikipedia.

Viewing pages in Opera Mini 5 is a delight. As with the previous version, you can opt to view the whole web page on screen or move the cursor over a particular part of the page and tap to zoom in (there are only two levels of zoom though). Load times are as impressive as ever thanks to Opera's unique server-side rendering technology.

For those who love to tinker around with stuff, Opera Mini 5 is sure to please because the program is simply rammed with options. You can alter image quality, font size, and fullscreen browsing, and there are a wealth of privacy settings too. The program even has its own password manager.

There are still a few small bugs in this beta version of Opera Mini 5, but hopefully these will be ironed out by the time the final build is released, and it's nothing that seriously interferes with your browsing.

Opera Mini 5 is a slimline, easy-to-use browser that will significantly speed up your mobile internet experience

Download Opera Mini 5.0.3521 Beta 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.

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.

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

ActiveSync should be regarded as an essential download for Pocket PC and Smartphone users.

Download ActiveSync 4.2 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 recognize. Well problem solved, or so it seems. Because now Google Maps is accessible by PDA.

Key features of Google Maps

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.

More usefully, Google Maps is one of the best route finders available allowing you to generate directions from any two points on the globe. It uses your GPS data to plot where you are on a map, effectively making Google Maps a satellite navigation system. What's more, if you flick on Street View from the Layers< menu, you'll be able to confirm that you're on the right track.

Connecting with the planet

Google Maps is now loaded with features to help you connect with people around you. Its Latitude service allows you to track the position of your friends anywhere on the planet (and vice versa). You simply need to create a Google profile then load in your contacts. Google Maps for mobile then displays their locations on the map, making it easier to hook up (or avoid them!) if they are near you.

New for version 4 of Google Maps is support for Buzz. This location-aware service allows you to spread the word to people around you about what you're doing, or about what you think of a certain place. Simply tap on a location and you have the option to type something about that place. Enable the Buzz layer from the options menu and you'll be able to see what people around you are saying.

Google Maps for mobile is one of those essential applications that significantly enhances the usefulness of your Pocket PC.

Download Google Maps 4.1.1 in Softonic

The messaging client in Yahoo! Messenger for Pocket PC has all the Yahoo! emoticons and you can start chatting right away by using the keyboard in the Pocket PC touch screen.

Messenger for Pocket PC to be a bit better equipped. The preferences menu only allows you to configure the connection settings and lets you choose from only four different sound alerts.

Your contact list can be updated but you can only change the name and nickname given to your friends.

Thanks to its tabbed interface you’ll be able to follow up the news on the fly.

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

While not exactly a mandatory install for Windows Mobile device owners, Microsoft .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

Windows Phone 7 is designed to look and feel much better than existing devices, and from. One of the features of the new OS will be a completely redesigned user interface in keeping with the dark and futuristic visuals of Windows 7.

The Windows Mobile 7 Theme for devices running the current Windows Mobile OS is designed to make your screen look and feel like WM7. In reality, though it bears little resemblance to the new operating system, probably because the Windows Mobile 7 Theme was designed before Windows Phone 7 was announced (hence, the name isn't even the same!)

The Windows Mobile 7 Theme doesn't change your device much at all, merely adding a darker Today screen background. Although they're included a transparent Start menu, there's little else to excite in here, as all the other menus, command bars and nav bars remain unaltered.

The Windows Mobile 7 Theme furnishes you with a pretty stylish background image, but it is far from a carbon copy of the new Windows Phone 7 Series.

Download Windows Mobile 7 Theme in Softonic

Nimbuzz allows you to make calls, chat online, exchange instant messages and send files from your phone for free. The application pulls all your contacts together in one place, so you can exchange messages with all your friends on networks such as MSN, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, Jabber, Facebook, or MySpace.

The user interface combines all of your contacts from all these various networks into one place, and you can see who is online at any time. If you want to get someone's attention, you simply 'buzz' them, and Nimbuzz will be launched on their phone.

Of course, all this talk of 'free' long distance calls and messaging is a little misleading. That's because you'll still get charged for Internet access when using Nimbuzz. This is fine if you're using a WiFi connection or if you have a flat-rate data plan, but if you pay for data by the Mb then using Nimbuzz could work out to be very costly if you're not careful.

However, if you have a flat-rate plan, Nimbuzz makes for a fun and cheap way to stay in touch with friends and family around the World.

Download Nimbuzz 1.2 in Softonic

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 Windows Mobile device owners. TCPMP is easy to use, very stable and loaded with a variety of features. TCPMP'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. TCPMP's settings help you with this, allowing you to play around with different levels of quality and performance to help you guarantee the best possible multimedia experience. TCPMP is certainly a lot more customizable than most other Pocket PC video apps.

TCPMP is a free, open source multimedia player which we'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 with Softonic Toolbar in Softonic

Browsing the Web on a mobile phone is traditionally such a painful process that many of us simply don't bother. Thankfully things are beginning to change though. We've already seen the Beta release of the slick Opera Mobile browser for Windows Mobile devices. Now, Mozilla is getting in on the act with its Firefox Mobile browser, code-named Fennec.

What's inside?

Touch-screen users will love the way that Firefox Mobile is organized. The main window dedicates pretty much the whole screen space to the web page itself rather than placing loads of tools and options on screen. In fact, the only things displayed here other than the web page itself are the large, touch-friendly address bar and bookmarks button.

Firefox Mobile avoids clutter by locking its settings in a menu that can only be viewed by dragging the screen to the right. Here, you can tinker with options for JavaScript, cookies, passwords, etc., as well as managing your plug-ins. Yes, that's right, Firefox Mobile will be fully extensible, and this version even picks up the add-ons you've got installed in your desktop version of the browser.

The joy of tabs

Perhaps the feature I like most in Firefox Mobile, is the way it handles tabs. Instead of displaying tabs underneath the address bar like in normal Firefox, this version stores all your tabs in a hidden area on the left, which again, can be opened by dragging your finger across the screen - this time to the left. This is another way in which the program optimizes screen space without sacrificing functionality.

There are other features on the horizon that haven't been wholly integrated into the Fennec alpha yet, such as quick dial for phone numbers on Web pages, and more work will be done to support maps and GPS tools. In fact, the sky is the limit really in terms of features if enough developers get excited about Firefox Mobile. Mozilla is banking on the fact that developers can build apps and add-ons freely using AJAX, CSS, JavaScript or HTML, rather than having to learn new techniques to code projects for multiple mobile platforms using multiple languages.

For now though, Fennec is a very crude version of Firefox Mobile, which is rife with display errors, bugs and feels very much incomplete.

Nevertheless, if you want a sneaky peak at how the future of mobile Web browsing might look on a HTC Touch Pro, Firefox Mobile is worth a look.

Download Firefox Mobile Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 in Softonic

The latest version adds some powerful new functionality to the suite and harnesses the capabilities Windows Mobile 6.5 to deliver a more intuitive user experience. Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 displays a splash page with access to all the components of the suite: Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, SharePoint Workspace Mobile and OneNote Mobile. It also updates Outlook Mobile with some new tools, such as a Conversation view for combining related messages, and tighter integration with Microsoft Exchange.

The overall look and feel of all the apps within Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 is much improved on the previous version. The drop-down menus are sexier and more touch-friendly, and the apps support touch gestures for zooming in and out of documents and flicking through files. That said, the toolbar icons within the apps still look very outdated compared with the desktop versions. I was also disappointed to learn that you still can't drag over text with the stylus to select it for copying, cutting and pasting.

What's in the box

In terms of the utilities themselves, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are definitely more functional than they've ever been on a mobile. For instance, Word Mobile 2010 now includes more formatting options, a whole bunch of new preset formulas have been added to Excel Mobile 2010, and PowerPoint Mobile 2010 adds a feature for hooking up to your PC via Bluetooth and flicking through slides from your phone.

SharePoint WorkSpace Mobile is a new addition within Microsoft Office Mobile 2010. This neat app lets you hook up to a SharePoint server to view and open documents before editing them in Office Mobile and saving them back to the server. Its syncing capabilities mean that whenever a file is updated on the server, the version on your device will be automatically synced.

Another newcomer in Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 is OneNote Mobile. This very simple organizational tool lets you add voice, picture or text notes and store them as reminders. These notes can also be synced with your PC.

This version of Microsoft Office Mobile is still in Beta, and it's free to try until 5 April 2010, after which time you'll need to pay for it.

Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 is the strongest release of the suite to date, though it's still a long way off the power of the desktop version.

Download Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 Beta in Softonic