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What Can I Do With My Axim?
(Second Edition, last revised, March, 2006)
By: Gigi Hsueh (Gigi), Moderator
INTRODUCTION
PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (PIM) AND EMAIL
OFFICE SOLUTIONS
INTERNET AND ONLINE COMMUNICATION
MULTIMEDIA
LEISURE
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)
GENERAL POCKET PC RESOURCES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LEISURE
Games: One of the most popular things to do on a Pocket PC is playing games. Your Axim is capable of playing a variety of different types of games using the stylus, D-pad, keyboard,or bluetooth gamepad, including action (e.g., Anthelion), adventure (e.g., Atlantis Redux Gilbert Goodmate PDA), arcade (e.g., Gangsta Race), board (e.g., Intellichess), role playing (e.g., Arvale II - Ocean of Time), card (e.g., GameBox Solitaire), casino (e.g., Full Hand Casino), puzzle (e.g., Cropped Out), dice (e.g., Yahtzee), racing (e.g., Flux Challenge) tile (e.g., The Emperor's Mahjong), sports (e.g., Tennis Addict), strategy (e.g., Lemonade Tycoon, Warfare Incorporated), simulation (e.g., Virtual Pool Mobile) trivia (e.g., Trivial Pursuit), word games (e.g., SoDuko) and emulators (see Gaming Resources for links) .
There are even games appropriate for children, such as Aerobeak, Puss In Boots, PDA Playground and many games by Astraware. Some games can be played against the device or with a live opponent (e.g. Monopoly). Other games (e.g., Snails, Warfare Incorporated, games by Dreamquest, Handmark) can even be played with a remote opponent with the help of wifi, bluetooth and IR! For a good summary of multiplayer games, take a look at The Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup. Also see the Gaming Resources, below, for some popular PPC game developers. As well, don't forget that there are many freeware sources for games, such as Freewareppc and Aximsite's The Official Free Games List. Before you purchase a game, make sure you try out the demo to make sure you like it. You can also check out some of the review sites for a second opinion.
 
Figure 24: FluxChallenge, (screenshot courtesy of fishwood), Excitebike running on MorphGear emulator and GAPI driver (screenshot courtesy of kilthro)
 
Figure 25: Sudoku (screenshots courtesy of fishwood), Monopoly
 
Figure 26: Emperor's Mahjong, Lemonade Tycoon
Gaming and the X50v/X51v: The Axim X50v and X51v feature an Integrated Intel® 2700G multimedia accelerator with 16MB video memory along with a VGA screen that is slightly larger than that of the non-VGA X50X51 models. The combination of these features, together with software written to take advantage of the graphics accelerator, mean that the X50v/X51v has the potential to produce an incredible 3D gaming experience. As of writing, there are only a limited number of games that take advantage of the video accelerator. Take a look at the X50v/X51v 2700g Accelerated game list for a good reference. Games that are not written specifically for this processor require the GAPI tweak (written for the X50v) for optimal performance. See the Tweaked GAPI Driver thread for more information and downloading.
Gaming Resources
Popular PPC Game Developers
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More Software for Leisure/Hobbies:
There are many other ways to use your Axim for leisurely pursuits:
- Astronomy: Astronomy buffs can check out Ephemeris, Taiyokei and Leo's Void, all freeware applications.
- Drawing: Those who are like to draw will find Pocket Artist, VITO SketchArtist, PaintWinCE, Mobile Pencil, Photogenics and KidColor (great for kids) useful. PocketDraw is more useful for technical drawings. See Paint Programs for Pocket PC for a good comparison of some of the popular choices.
- Sports: Golf fans may enjoy JAMDAT Mini Golf, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf, Intelligolf and StarCaddy. SpotsPilot will help sports fans keep track of their favorite teams and is compatible with the desktop version as well.
- Travel: Travel buffs will appreciate travel software such as WorldMate, MobiLearn Talking Phrasebooks, TripTracker, TravelTalk, Pocket Translator and MxConverter.
- Meteorology: There are a few Today plugins that will help you monitor forecasts (see PIM Plugins, above), but those who want to go into in-depth study can try StormChaser and Radar Watch
- Health and Food: Helpful food and health-related software include Pocket Cook, Wine Enthusiast Guide 2005, MySportTraining and Personal Health & Diet Manager. (Health professionals can also check out the Medical Pocket PC forum for more detailed information.)
- Kids: Kids can use a Pocket PC device for games or educational fun. See Games, above, for game suggestions. Educational applications developed for children include The 2004 World Almanac for Kids - Handheld Edition MeasureUp, a tool to help kids track their own growth, Pocket Tutor, which helps kids learn to tell time, and improve their math and reading skills, and Zaz Kids Alphabet and BouBou Animals, which teach kids about letters and animal names, respectively.
eBooks and eDocuments: There is a growing collection of books and documents that are available in electronic formats. To learn more about these formats, see table, Common Document Readers, below. Also, see the following for more information:
Common Document Readers
| Reader |
Formats |
ClearType
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Price |
Comments |
Microsoft Reader
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.lit |
yes |
free |
DRM |
eReader
(formerly PALM Reader) |
PALM proprietary pdb & prc |
Supports own smoothing technique in Palm Reader Pro
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free for basic version, $9.95 for pro version |
DRM5
supports font smoothing and embedded image and illustrations
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| uBook Reader |
html, .txt., .rtf, .pdb, .prc , (not secure) e-book files, can read inside ZIP files, and supports BMP, GIF, PNG and JPG images.
|
Supports own font smoothing technique
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$12 |
skinnable, very configurable, built-in dictionary |
Acrobat Reader
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.pdf |
|
free |
slide shows, can print wirelessly, VGA hack |
PocketXpdf
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.pdf |
|
free |
has difficulties with larger files |
| Haali Reader |
.prc/.pdb (plain text and XML only, HTML is not supported)
|
yes |
free
|
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RepliGo |
repligo file format |
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$29.95 for converter
free for viewer
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converts any document from desktop PC to Pocket PC
allows printing, also via IR or BlueTooth
free viewer available
cross platform - can be view on Palm, Pocket PC, Smartphone etc
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| TomeRaider |
.tr |
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$22.50 |
excellent for opening up large documents at quick speed
Free TomeRaider books
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| Mobipocket |
Mobi .prc cross-platform ebook file format, standard DOC type of .pdb files, txt, html, MS Office documents when converted into Mobipocket format using MobiPocket Office Companion
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yes and mobitype
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$19.95 pro version
free for lite version
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can convert formats to mobipocket formats using MobiPocket Office Companion ,
able to access news by subscribing to news channels
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| iSilo |
.iSilo, iSilo3, .Palm doc |
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$19.99
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Hyperlinks, Images, tables, formatted text and VFS support.
lots of medical references
can make own isilo documents using iSiloX
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Vade-Mecum
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Plucker documents |
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free |
available as alpha release |
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DataViewer
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|
yes |
free |
organizes and condenses database content |
| CEBook |
multiple coding formats such as Big-5, GB, Unicode, Japanese shift-JIS, and EUC, prc, .pdb, txt, html files, and Pocket Word, and Note files
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440 NTD |
can create own books using CEBookMgr |
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CHM eBook Reader
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compiled HTML (.chm) |
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$14.95 |
reads Windows Help file format |
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Tiny eBook Reader
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.txt., lit without DRM. .html, TeBR with or without DRM, zipped text and web pages |
yes |
$16.00 |
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Figure 27: uBook, Repligo
Microsoft Reader
Microsoft reader is an ebook reader that comes preinstalled in devices running PPC2003 and WM2003. Those with newer Operating Systems will need to download it from Microsoft and install it on their own. Microsoft Reader uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) to protect copyright by restricting use and access to files. In order to to use the Reader for protected media, it is necessary to follow specific steps:
1. Uninstall any existing version before installing the latest version. Note that previous versions of Reader required installation into internal memory (not storage card). For help with installing older versions of Reader to Built-in-Storage (for pre-WM5 devices) or memory card, see this thread for instructions.
2. Connect your Axim to your computer and then go to Microsoft's Activation Link on your desktop PC. Follow the directions to activate your Reader. If you do not have a Microsoft Passport account, you will need to sign up here. This allows Microsoft to link your account information to your device(s). You are allowed to activate up to six devices on one Passport account. For a tips on backing up the Activation so that you do not need to reactivate following each hard reset, see this thread.
3. Download ebooks. By default, they will be stored in My Documents\My Library on your desktop PC. To view them on your Axim, copy them over to your device. It should not matter where they are stored.
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In addition to reading ebooks, it is also possible to develop your own. For those interested in writing, creating and/or publishing ebooks, see the following websites for more information:
As well, provided that there are no copyright violations, you may also convert an ebook or other documents into a different format. See Document Converters, below, for tools.
INTRODUCTION | PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (PIM) AND EMAIL | OFFICE SOLUTIONS | INTERNET AND ONLINE COMMUNICATION | MULTIMEDIA | LEISURE | WIRELESS COMMUNICATION | GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) | GENERAL POCKET PC RESOURCES | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
