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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
OFFICE SOLUTIONS
Word and Excel: Your Pocket PC contains mobile versions of Word and Excel. (PowerPoint Mobile is available only beginning in WM5.) Because these are scaled-down versions of their desktop counterparts, features are significantly reduced, and converting between desktop and PPC formats is often problematic. (However, Word and Excel Mobile are improved in WM5 and have fewer limitations.) For example, files created in desktop WORD may have formatting removed when viewed on a PPC. Fortunately, there are alternative word processing and spreadsheet applications available. TextMaker or PlanMaker are fully compatible with WORD and Excel, and provide features comparable to those found in the desktop versions. Other Excel alternatives include SpreadCE or HanDBase, which also includes free data bases to download. For templates to use for Excel, see Microsoft Templates.
PowerPoint: A basic, non-editable version of Powerpoint is available in WM5, but if your device is running an older operating system, there are a number of third-party applications that will enable you to display PowerPoint presentations on your Axim. These include Westtek ClearVue, Pocket Slides and Pocket SlideShow.
Access: A Pocket PC version of Microsoft Access does not exist, but Data On The Run, SprintDB Pro 2.5 and HanDBase offer some solutions.
Output to External Displays: To display the contents of your Axim onto an external device, there are several options available depending on the specific purpose of the display.
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Display onto Desktop/Notebook PC: To display the Axim screen on a desktop/notebook PC for small-scale demonstrations and/or data input, Pocket Controller works very well. RemoteDisplay Control for Pocket PC is a freeware alternative. PocketVNC will allow you to use a VNC client on your desktop for control of your Pocket PC.
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Display onto monitor, projector, television: The X50v and X51v have built-in VGA output so a VGA cable is all that is necessary in order to view presentations, movies, etc. on an external projector. As of writing, these are available from Dell (Presentation kit bundled with ClearVue software), Boxwave, and Pc-mobile. Aximsite users have also had success with certain cables sold on Ebay. In nonVGA-out devices, try Margi Presenter-to-Go, Lifeview FlyPresenter-CF or Colorgraphic Voyager VGA CF, which use the CF slot to connect with a projector or other viewing device.
Customizing your display:
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Fonts: Windows Mobile includes only a limited number of fonts (e.g., Tahoma, Courier), which may pose a problem when viewing certain texts. To add additional fonts, simply copy the font over to the Windows\Fonts folder. (Note that this method will only work with TrueType Fonts [TTF]). Unfortunately, adding fonts to the fonts folder will take up valuable internal memory and may lead to problems when trying to remove the font. An alternative solution is to use Font On Storage to store extra fonts in memory card instead. In addition, language programs such as Paragon Language Extenders offer language input and display support in a number of different languages, including Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norweigan, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian. For Asian language support, take a look at Monster Chinese and CE-Star. Some comprehensive threads related to Asian fonts can be found in How to Read and Input Japanese on a non Japanese PocketPC and Chinese characters on English PPC?.
In addition to changing the font type, it's also possible to change the way a particular font displays. To change the size of a font, go into Start - Settings - System (tab) - Screen - Text Size (tab) to make the adjustments. If you only want to magnify certain parts of the screen instead of increasing font size throughout, WinMobile Lens might be helpful. For smoother, rounder font, enable ClearType (Start - Settings - System (tab) - Screen - ClearType (tab)). Note that ClearType will not work in landscape mode without using a registry tweak (try CTHack). There are also a number of other tweaking utilities that will help customize fonts, including Tweaks2K2, RegKing, PocketTweak and CETuner.
Note: The above font suggestions do NOT change the language of the device itself. In order to do that, the device would need to be reflashed with a ROM of the language.
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Screen Rotation: From WM2003SE and later, the ability to rotate the display of a screen from portrait to landscape mode is built into the Operating System. For other Operating Systems, dotPocket and Nyditot will do the same job and also provide options to change the virtual resolution of the screen. Avoid using JS Landscape X as it does not appear to be compatible with Axims.
 
Figure 5: CE-Star, Nyditot
Sharing Documents: Office documents and other files can be shared with other devices in a variety of ways, including email, network transfer or printing. The Pocket Printer A6 prints from your Axim via IrDA or serial cable, and the Brother MPrint MW-100 prints via Bluetooth, IrDA or USB. If you are on a wireless network, you may also send your documents to a printer using software such as, HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC (unfortunately, no longer available from HP for download), ActivePrint, PrintPocketCE Jetcet Print, PIEprint and PrintBoy for Pocket PC. To print or fax, try PocketWhere. It is also possible to transfer files using Microsoft Portrait or vxFtp for Windows CE or WinMobile Torrent. Avvenu and Pocket G2 (alpha) provide other file sharing solutions.
Alternative Input Methods:
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Software Keyboards: Microsoft includes four different input methods in their mobile operating systems: Software Keyboard, Block Recognizer (similar to Graffiti on the Palm device), Letter Recognizer (characters are written one-by-one into an area of the screen and converted into text) and Transcriber (similar to Letter Recognizer but allows complete words and sentences to be written anywhere on the screen). However, there are numerous other software possibilities which enhance or modify the existing options. Alternatives to the native software keyboard include Fitaly, TopKey, Key Stroke CE, Spb Full Screen Keyboard, TenGO/TenGO Thumb, and Monster Chinese for Chinese and Japanese input. VGA keyboards include Happy Tapping Keyboard, VGA Large Keyboard, Goamo VGA Keyboard, Ripboard. For handwriting recognition software, try CalliGrapher, Decuma for US and Western European characters, Japanese or Chinese; DioPen for Korean input; PenReader, which supports English plus 27 other languages (Albanian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish); and CE-Star, which provides Chinese handwriting recognition and a bilingual dictionary (English-Chinese, Chinese-English).
 
Figure 6: Fitaly, PhatNotes
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External Keyboards: External keyboard options for the Axim include those that connect directly to the Axim, and wireless solutions. Keyboards that connect directly to the device may be small thumb-boards or larger, more full-sized keyboards that fold for storage and portability. The disadvantage to having these types of keyboards is that they are series specific; that is, they will only work with on the devices made with the same bottom connector. (The one exception to this is the Universal PDA Thumb Board, which can be used with either PALM or PPC PDAs) Wireless keyboards, on the other hand, can be compatible with a number of different devices as long as the appropriate drivers are available and the devices share the same mode of connectivity. Wireless keyboards may be InfraRed or Bluetooth, with BT becoming the increasingly popular choice because line-of-sight is not required. An exciting new development is the Virtual Keyboard, which works via Bluetooth and laser technology to project the image of a keyboard onto a flat surface.
 
Figure 7: Belkin Thumb Keyboard for Axim X3/X30, Virtual Laser Keyboard
Figure 8: Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse (photo courtesy of silentknight)
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Other Input Methods: Microsoft Voice Command and VITO Voice2Go will allow you to use your own voice to start programs, access your calendar and check system information. For a comparison of the two, take a look at Voice controllers for the Pocket PC. Speereo Voice Organizer and Fonix VoiceCentral are speech-recognition applications that work specifically with your PIM, allowing you to set and check appointments, meetings, events and tasks For text input, TapText enters saved text such as signatures and email addresses, Kai's ABC Editor.Net expands the internal word completion, TextPlus provides predictive text, and WordLogic is a predictive keyboard that learns and stores new text. (For details on modifying the built-in dictionary, take a look at TUTORIAL: PPC spellchecker/word completion dictionaries.) Those looking for text-to-speech applications can try Sakrament TTS Engine PDA Edition or FLITE (freeware). If you want to control your device with only your D-pad, try Fake Cursor or Pen Irazu. For remote access to your Axim from your desktop, you can use Transcreative Remote Keyboard or Pocket Controller to access your Axim through an ActiveSync Connection.
 
Figure 9: TapText, Kai's ABC Editor.Net
Finance: There are a number of applications you can use with your Axim to help keep track of finances:
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Calculators: Windows Mobile comes with a built-in calculator that meets basic computational needs. For something a bit more fancy, take a look at Calc98, CoolCalc, RealCalculator, RapidCalc, RDcalc and Eval 1.0. Specialized calculators include MortgageCalc (mortgage), Math Xpander (graphing and geometric tools), SpaceTime (graphing) and the Infinity Softworks series of calculators. For HP and TI users, consider emulators such as Emu48 or Lygea for HP and Virtual TI Pocket Emulator for Texas Instruments.
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Conversion Tools: For conversion applications, try ConverterCE, Conversion, CalcNote, MxConverter (Currencies, timezones, units, etc.) or DateCalc (date difference calculator).
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General Finance: For powerful software that will help you manage personal and business finances, Mastersoft Money, WebIS Money and Spb Finance are popular choices. Other options include Pocket Quicken, Cash Organizer, XS Finance and Microsoft Money. (Note that Microsoft Money 2003 only works with PPC2002 but later versions will work with either PPC2002 or WM2003.).
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Wallet Software: eWallet and FlexWallet are examples of software which help you store confidential information on your Axim (e.g., credit card numbers, PINs, etc.).
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Billing: TimeBiller and BillRate are time and billing applications ideal for consultants who need to track billable time, expenses and mileage.
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Portfolio: PocketStocks, TinyStocks, XS Portfolio and Stocks Today (stock info shown on Today screen) will help you track of your portfolio, and Stock Ticker Symbols Pocket Directory™ Database is a useful resource for stock ticker symbols.
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Vehicle Management: Personal Vehicle Manager will help you keep organize information about your vehicle (e.g., mileage, insurance, maintenance, etc.).
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Auctions: If you're into auctions, use WAP Ebay to check out the listings and Abidia, EZ2b Anywhere and O-Anywhere for help with mobile bidding.
 
Figure 10: ConverterCE, Spb Finance
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
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