I love the fact that I can browse web pages on my Pocket PC. However, being the intellectual fellow I am, I often like to read long scientific journal entries or pore over long-winded reports and lectures about modern technology. This causes a problem, in that it takes a long time to read them online and I don't want to stay connected too long. Of course, I could download and save the page, but this then puts a burden on my device's memory.

Step forward iSilo, a sophisticated reader for viewing HTML documents and text files on your Pocket PC. The best thing about the software is that it uses a little trick to make these files as small as possible, saving you space on your device. With the help of its sister-Windows application iSiloX, the program converts documents originally saved as Web pages or text documents into TXT format.

As a pay off for the mighty compression rates offered by iSilo, you unfortunately lose some links in the conversion process. Some graphic formats aren't displayed properly when converted, but fonts and tables remain largely unaltered.

Aside from a few niggly display problems though, iSilo represents a great way of compressing HTML and text documents for viewing on your mobile device.

Download iSilo 6.04 in Softonic

Download CloneDVD mobile 1.8.0.0 in Softonic

With society pushing us to be online and available in our every waking moment, it is hardly surprising that there are a plethora of instant messaging programs available for PDAs and mobile phones. IM+ offers connection to a wide range of networks without becoming too bloated or over-complex. The first thing we noticed after installing IM+ was the simplicity of its user interface. As soon as the program opens, you can get to work configuring your accounts. IM+ lets you access the popular MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, AOL (AIM), Jabber and Google Talk networks, meaning that whoever you need to stay in touch with, IM+ will be able to help you out.

On Windows applications featuring such a range of connectivity, it’s normal to see a complex list of options when the configuration process starts. IM+ simplifies the process of setting up your accounts, and beyond message alerts, contains practically no options to configure. This may put off more advanced users who enjoy tinkering with their accounts but we thought it was a good move on the part of Shape Services (IM+’s creators). The only problem we noticed when setting up our account details was that the ‘backspace’ key on our device’s touch screen keyboard didn’t work. This is of course a small issue, but it slowed us down when we made a mistake.

The contact list display (or ‘Roster’) in IM+ should be immediately recognisable to anyone who’s used an instant messenger service before. Giving you the choice of whether to view all your contacts or just those online, IM+ also sorts your contacts by groups if requested. Selecting an online contact immediately initiates a chat with them, while the holding your stylus on the contact will provide some limited options referring to that contact, such as ‘rename’, ‘delete’ and ‘info’. We were disappointed that ‘info’ didn’t try to display a contact’s full profile rather than just their email address. We thought that a more full extract of the contact’s online profile would have been useful, at least including their birthday, homepage and interests.

Entering the text for sending messages was simple enough. As usual, we found the Transcriber feature to be the easiest and most accurate method of text entry, but this is very much a matter of personal preference for the individual user. IM+ also allows you to copy and paste text from other applications into your chat window; particularly useful if you’re using the program to collaborate on a work project, or even just to send your friend a link. IM+ also supports the most popular emoticons for instant messaging, for those times when words just can’t convey your feelings.

Up against some stiff competition, IM+ is an excellent chat program for your Pocket PC. While it has a couple of small issues and omissions, it is easy to use, relatively small and very stable. In other words, an excellent way of staying in contact even when you’ve got a good excuse not to!

Download IM+ (IMPlus) 8.0.1 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

Pocket PC users are often on the move and this explains the large number of applications geared towards helping travellers wherever they go. One of the most successful travel programs available for handheld computers is this free guide to the subway systems in over 300 cities worldwide.

Métro has a very basic interface which can be a little tricky to read if you haven’t taken a look at the user guide. Once used to the controls, though, the average user will have no further trouble with this program. Use it to plan journeys, guide you between subway and railway stations, or to help you find places of interest such as museums or government buildings.

For such a small application, it holds a surprising amount of details and with frequent updates, you don’t need to worry about out-of-date information.

Download Metro 5.9.5 in Softonic

Looking for Twitter client for your Windows Mobile device? Then try moTweets, which proves to be one of the most effective apps of its kind on the WM platform.

moTweets is designed to give you fast access to Twitter while you're on the move. It allows you to check tweets from people you are following, view mentions, search Twitter, look at trends, access your Favorites, and much more. All of these functions are available from a sexy, touch-friendly drop-down menu on the left of the user interface.

Of course, moTweets also lets you post tweets from your mobile. And how wonderfully comfy this experience is. The large shortcut buttons allow you to quickly insert pictures into your tweets from your PDA's memory, or directly from the camera. There are also buttons for adding links, inserting your geolocation based on your GPS data, and for adding URLs.

The only thing to fault really in this version of moTweets is the fact that it's strewn with annoying banner ads. That said, if you upgrade to the full version these will disappear.

Overall, moTweets is one of the best Twitter clients you'll find for Windows Mobile.

Download moTweets 1.9.2 in Softonic

In this day and age security for your mobile is a must. I've lost count of the number of times I've lost my mobiles over the years so it's a good job I don't have any big secrets, bank codes or money in my bank because if there was any confidential information on my phone I would have said goodbye to it by now. However, mobile security software packages can often seem either too complicated to use or require more passwords that I can create or remember. SecuBox promises tight security while being simple to use.

The software works by creating a secure folder for all your confidential files, protected with 'unbreakable industry standard' Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption. Enough encryption for you? Whereas many of these programmes can slow your mobile down SecuBox doesn't.

The encryption software creates a 'virtual encrypted storage card' on the PDA. All files are encrypted when written to the encrypted card, and decrypted when read from the card. When you have finished working with SecuBox all you have to do is 'unmount' it - it then becomes a single file - a complete mess of characters which would take hundreds of years to 'bruteforce'. Whenever you mount the storage on your mobile, SecuBox asks you for your password. Once you enter the password, the secure storage card is mounted and you are able to access the encrypted data on your PDA. Without the password, the sensitive data on your Pocket PC is unaccessible. The good news is as administrator you set the procedures of recovery should you forget your password. The software also now allows file wiping of sensitive files using secure storage deletion so even if you wanted to, you'll never get them back.

Very secure data encryption software using 256-bit encryption, complete with secure data wiping and a password quality meter.

Download SecuBox 1.6 in Softonic

The superb user interface in PockeTwit maximizes screen space by having one main screen dedicated to latest tweets, then separate menus that slide out from the left and right by swiping your finger.

The left-hand menu in PockeTwit is used for global tools such as posting updates, viewing messages, and changing settings. The menu on the right side is more contextual, relating to the user whose tweet your are viewing. Here you can quickly perform actions such as retweeting, quoting, emailing their status, viewing their timeline or adding to your favorites.

There are plenty of interesting features within PockeTwit, such as the ability to organize your Twitter contacts into groups. This is great if you follow a lot of people, because it allows you to categorize them, making them easier to view.

Other neat features of PockeTwit include support for multiple Twitter accounts, URL shortening and automated uploading of images from your device to services such as TwitPic and yfrog. Overall, this makes PockTwit a more powerful alternative to Tiny Twitter.

Our only small gripe with PockeTwit is that it's easy to hit the wrong option by mistake, because of the fact you have to hold down on the menu to drag the timeline back across. A couple of times we even ended up unfollowing people on PockeTwit because the screen got stuck while we were dragging across with the 'Unfollow' button inadvertently pressed down.

Overall though, PockeTwit is an impressive free Windows Mobile Twitter application, which acts the perfect hub for Twitter activity on your Pocket PC.

Download PockeTwit 0.86 in Softonic

For me, the Windows Mobile user interface has always been poor. It's not particularly touch-friendly, it feels very rigid and above all, it's ugly.

SPB Mobile Shell rights the wrongs in the Pocket PC's front end - then adds new functionality on top of this. The application is essentially a new skin for your Windows Mobile OS, and this latest version of SPB Mobile Shell lets you apply all manner of new tools and features too.

SPB Mobile Shell comes with a completely customizable new Today screen. Not only can you change the background image, but you can alter the items that appear on this screen, such as weather, contacts, missed calls, battery status, etc. Each of these elements comes with its own stylish icon, and you can change the size of the icons and reposition them using SPB Mobile Shell's intuitive layout editor. You can have two default layouts that you can switch between with ease.

Quicker app switching

The 'Launcher' in SPB Mobile Shell offers a more user-friendly way of accessing your apps, documents and settings. It displays your Favorites at the top, then shows Recently Used items underneath in an easily scrollable view. Again, all of this can be customized. SPB Mobile Shell comes with a Coverflow-style task switcher that lets you flick between apps with the flick of a finger.

The Contacts section in SPB Mobile Shell also improves upon what you get by default in Windows Mobile 5 and 6. You can browse contacts via picture thumbnails, and the contact dialer includes more options such as shortcut buttons for SMS, email and other phone numbers.

Fun with widgets

Version 3.5 of SPB Mobile Shell adds a number of cool new 'widgets' to the program, giving you faster access to your social networks. For instance, you can connect with Facebook to make status updates and post tweets onto Twitter without leaving your Today screen. There's also a powerful Tasks widget for keeping on top of everything in your agenda. The widgets in SPB Mobile Shell are so addictive that you'll wish there were even more of them available to download.

SPB Mobile Shell is such a powerful tool that you could almost label it as 'essential' given the enhancements it makes to the Windows Mobile operating system.

Download SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.5 in Softonic

So you're curious about trying Android but are reluctant to let go of your faithful Windows Mobile device? Install Androkkid and you'll get the best of both worlds.

Androkkid is a free app that applies an Android-style user interface to your Pocket PC. Simply install the program and you'll be presented with a whole new way of using your device, mimicking the way Google phone users do.

For starters, the busy Today screen is replaced by an elegant full-screen wallpaper. Clicking the pop-up menu icon at the bottom of the screen will bring up a revamped version of the Applications menu, only this time with a distinct Android flavor. You can scroll up and down the menu very comfortably using your finger or stylus. It makes for a much easier way of browsing apps and documents than the existing WM interface.

The best part of Androkkid though, is the way you can customize the desktop to your liking. You can simply drag and drop icons from the Applications menu onto the desktop. Just like the real Android platform, Androkkid comes with multiple desktop pages, allowing you to place different icons and shortcuts on different pages, then swoosh between them using the touchscreen. There's even an icon editor that allows you to personalize the size, apply animations and change the name of the shortcut icons.

As it's still in the early stages of its release, Androkkid is a little rough around the edges. for instance, many of the icon images are of bad quality where they've been scaled up. Also, some of the options in the program don't work, such as the 'Settings' menu and the 'Add Widget' feature.

It's by no means as polished as the OS it mimics, but Androkkid represents a fun way to enjoy some of the benefits of Android on your Pocket PC.

Download Androkkid 1.2.1 in Softonic

WisBar Advance 2 expands upon the successful task management features found in the original WisBar Advance. Now more tightly integrated with the PocketPC operating system, WisBar Advance provides greater responsiveness and a richer user experience.

WisBar Advance 2 brings new life to your PocketPC with the ability to change the appearance of your system to a degree not matched in other software.

Main features include:

• Close, minimize or ignore any application
• Switch between any application currently running on your device
• Provides a cascading start menu (like in the picture above)
• Never miss a system notification again with the new dynamic notification icon
• Tap and hold the OK button to cancel a dialog
• Add or remove functions to the taskbar
• Each button on the taskbar can be assigned a tap and a tap-and-hold action
• Change the appearance of the taskbar, menubar, buttons and start menu in any program
• Supports high-resolution and landscape mode skins
• Customize the clock's appearance on the taskbar
• Hear sounds for system events, just like on your desktop
• Download and install themes created by other people
• Available in many languages

Download WisBar Advance 4.0.7 in Softonic

Browsing files on your Windows Mobile device can be a tortuous process at times. If you're fed up with the cumbersome default file explorer then it's well worth checking out X-plore.

Rather than leaving the main list view when you want to explore the contents of a folder, X-plore uses '+' and '-' icons that reveal or hide the folder contents without hiding the contents of the rest of the directory. The display is highly customizable too - you can change the font size and color scheme, choose how to sort files, show hidden files, and more.

What can it do?

X-plore lets you perform all the tasks you'd expect from a file manager, such as copying, renaming, deleting, editing, etc. It goes further than most though, facilitating extraction of compressed archives, file exploration within messaging folders, and powerful and reliable search. There's even a task manager that lets you view your running processes.

One of the strong points of X-plore is its previewing capabilities. It comes with an audio and video player, and although these are both rudimentary they offer a simple way to quickly check the contents of a multimedia file. X-plore also supports viewing of Word documents and comes with a built-in Hex viewer and editor.

All in all, X-plore represents a comprehensive, yet manageable explorer, which will improve the way you handle files on your device.

Download X-plore 1.52 in Softonic

Imagine if you could use your Pocket PC to sniff-out wi-fi hotspots. No more of that walking around wth your laptop looking for that elusive WiFi. Simply use Sniffi to literally sniff out WiFi spots in your neighborhood or working area. Sniffi is an advanced WiFi networks manager which may be used to search for hotspots, as a connection manager or as a network parameter monitor.

The application works in a very similar way to Windows WiFi network manager. The list of available networks is clearly displayed together with their ID, protection status and signal strength. There's a day/night color profile, fullscreen switch and you can switch it from vertical to horizontal mode easily. You can even perform pings on available networks and view TCP/IP stats for each one.

This is not the most effective WiFi detection system as much will depend on your mobile's capabilities but if you can't be bothered turning on your laptop to see what's available, its better than nothing.

Download Sniffi 2.4 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

Some of pRSSreader's main features are:

* Support for RSS (0.90, 0.91, 0.92 and 2.0) and RDF (1.0)
* Incredibly small
* Support for multiple site reading
* Marking of unread items
* Properties of site
* Sequential reading of items
* Customizable appearance
* Import of OPML files
* Customizable location of cache
* Open news in an external browser
* Caching online content for offline browsing
* Caching images within feed items
* Editing feed name
* Hiding read items
* Sorting items

Popular RSS reader for PPC.

Download pRSSreader 1.4.3 in Softonic

Features of PocketPuzzle include:

* 19 Puzzles (Expandable)
* 4 Skill Levels
* Sound Effects
* Save/Load Game Abilities
* Peek Option
* Full Help

You can generate 4 different puzzle types from each of the included graphic images:

* 25 Piece Puzzle with out border
* 25 Piece Puzzle with border
* 100 Piece Puzzle with out border
* 100 Piece puzzle with border

The border options makes the puzzle easier just like a real puzzle. Pocket Puzzle has a peek option to help you when you get stuck but watch out it will cost you. Its unique picture viewer form lets you preview the images before you load them.

Pocket Puzzle includes full help that is installed on the Pocket PC.

Download PocketPuzzle 1.1 in Softonic

The interface appears to be Apple-inspired which is fine if that's what best suits the application and here it does. There is an adjustable equalizer which makes sure you can get the best possible audio quality from every recording even with the ability of filtering out unwanted background noise. One nice feature is the alarm setting which allows you to wake-up each day to a tune of your choice rather than the ringing of bells. There is a powerful file manager which allows you to create, rename, delete, copy and reorganize all your audio files and the 'auto play' option means all selected titles will be played without you having to choose them. This is not as good as a shuffle option though. There are a number of these apps around now, the question is do you want to change. Resco is definitely worth trying, then you can decide.

Download Resco Audio Recorder 4.62 in Softonic