Weekly Software Wrangle - Week 14

Whew! We got past Wrangle #13 without any really bad luck, and now we're full steam ahead on Weekly Software Wrangle #14! What's new? What's updated? What freebies are out there for the taking?

This week, WM Standard new software is Nine Way Keypad and Four Corners. Updated software includes 1Touch Contacts and Spb Wallet Smartphone. The free app this week is Tiny Twitter.

WM Professional new software are two titles from Efficasoft: Backup and Outliner. Updated software includes Spb Mobile Shell and IM+ All-in-One Messenger. Freeware is GSlide.

Strap on your six-shooter, tilt your 10-gallon hat to shade your eyes, and let's get started with this week's Wrangle.

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WM Standard: New

First up this week for a WM Standard app is Nine Way Keypad v2.3 Cyberhorse Workshop.

Personally, I'm a full QWERTY keyboard guy, but I know there are lots of folks out there who are very proficient with a standard keypad. To gain even more control and proficiency with your keypad, this is worth a look.

It is a Smartphone common flaw that the five-way navigation keypad is too small to operate. Therefore, Nine Way Keypad software has provided one kind of solution: the user can switch the function of keyboard between characters and navigation. Moreover, under navigation function status, there are additional editing functions: Select text, Copy text, Paste text and switch between another editing keys (Page Up, Page Down, Home, End) and additional directions (Left Up, Right Up, Left Down, Right Down).

Get Nine Way Keypad v2.3 for $9.99 here.

The next new WM Standard app is Four Corners v1.0 by Shane Church.

Four Corners is the classic game of "Four Seasons," "Corner Card," or "Vanishing Cross" for WM. The foundations are the four corners of the board. The tableau is the cross formed in the center of the board. The stock is the pile on the bottom left and the wastepile is the pile to the right of the stock. The game is dealt by placing five cards into the tableau, one in each pile. A sixth card is placed in the bottom left foundation. All remaining cards are placed in the stock.

The first foundation card forms the basis of all the other foundations. That is, the rank of the first foundation card is the starting rank of the other foundations. Each foundation is built up in suit until it contains thirteen cards, wrapping around from king to ace as necessary. The tableau cards are available for play at any time, and may be moved (one card at a time) to the foundations or to another tableau pile. The tableau piles may be built down in rank, regardless of suit.

The cards in the stock are available for play to the foundations, the tableau, or to the wastepile. The wastepile is used as a sort of temporary holding area for cards that have no other home. The top card of the wastepile may be moved to either the foundations or tableau.

The object of the game is to complete the four foundations.

Get Four Corners v1.0 for $6.00 here.

WM Standard: Updated

1Touch Contacts v4.0 by 1TouchMobile, is our first updated software for WM Standard this week.

1Touch Contacts has been designed to give the user easy and efficient ways to accomplish frequently used tasks and to provide new features that will make managing contacts a more enjoyable experience. It uses the same contacts database as the built-in contacts and can be syncronized with Outlook using ActiveSync. Version 4.0 includes a full-fledged Category Manager with the ability to create, edit, remove & rename Categories as well as Send SMS and Set a Ringtone for a Category.

Users can now manage their contact groups using a Group Manager. Sending SMS to multiple users can be accomplished with 1Touch Contacts. Business cards (vCard) can be transferred using bluetooth just like the built-in contacts, the only difference being - you can transfer multiple business cards in one operation. Selecting contacts for sending SMS or business card or for deleting contacts is done using a smart selection list. 1Touch Contacts allows deleting of multiple contacts from a single selection list.

Get 1Touch Contacts v4.0 for $9.95 here.

Spb Wallet Smartphone v1.5.2 by Spb Software House is the next updated app this week. Leave your wallet and credit cards at home but still have secure access to your financial information.

Spb Wallet is a safe, secure and convenient storage for all your important and business critical information, providing you with quick access to data on both your Smartphone device and desktop.

Features: - Strong 256-bit AES encryption - Runs on Pocket PC, Smartphone and Desktop - Synchronization - Toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox - Real-card view - Customizable templates and cards - Password generator - Templates Gallery and FREE Custom Template Development - Importing wizard - Smart tags to call/SMS/email/etc

Get Spb Wallet Smartphone v1.5.2 for only $29.95 here.

WM Standard: Freeware

The free app for WM Standard this week is Tiny Twitter at www.smartphone-freeware.com.

If you don't want to lug your laptop with you in order to check your Twitter for tweets, this freebie app from the folks at www.smartphone-freeware.com may be an answer to your prayers.

Love twitter and love tweeting from your mobile device? But don't want to get dinged for updates and double dinged for friend updates continually arriving via SMS? Get the brand new Tiny Twitter app.

You can get Tiny Twitter for Free right here.

WM Professional: New

The first new WM Professional application for this week is Efficasoft Backup for Pocket PC v1.0 by Efficasoft Co., Ltd.

Efficasoft Backup backups Mobile Outlook information (Text Message, Contacts, Tasks and Calendar) into self-restoring EXE archives, so you can later restore/transfer them across all your Windows Mobile Smartphone/Pocket PC - it's as easy as 1-2-3!

Fully supports Windows Mobile Pocket PC (2003, 2003SE, WM5, WM6), screen rotation and VGA (480x640) resolution.

Features: - Backup Text Message, Contacts, Tasks and Calendar information. - Self-restoring EXE backup archive. - Restore/transfer information across all Windows Mobile devices - extremely useful when you upgrade to a new phone.

You can get Efficasoft Backup for Pocket PC v1.0 for $15.95 here.

Next up is Efficasoft Outliner for Pocket PC v1.0, also from Efficasoft Co., Ltd.

Efficasoft Outliner is designed to be a classic, efficient & effective tree list/outline manager. There's no limit how you use this universal organizer, all is up to your imagination - here are just a few exmples of what Outliner can do for you: To-Do list, Project planning, Idea tracking, Shopping list, and Journal

Fully supports Windows Mobile Pocket PC (2003, 2003SE, WM5, WM6), screen rotation and VGA (480x640) resolution.

Features: - Designd outline/tree view - clean & clear information display and especially easy to use. - Online subject editing & color highlight. - Date & time reminder alarm. - Task properties such as start/due date, priority, status, progress... - Customizable item information & memo view. - Export to tab-indented text file.

You can get Efficasoft Outliner for Pocket PC v1.0 for $10.95 here.

WM Professional: Updated

The first updated WM Professional app this week is Spb Mobile Shell v2.1.2 by Spb Software Warehouse.

Spb Mobile Shell introduces the next generation user interface while keeping all advantages of a Windows Mobile device. Spb Mobile Shell is the first program a Windows Mobile user needs to install. It dramatically improves the standard user interface and adds features that most users expect from a modern PDA phone.

Features: - All functionality in one tabbed window - Full screen dialogs for Weather and Time - Animated transitions - Navigation with gestures - Quick panel selection with taskbar gestures - Now Screen: the most important information at one screen - Spb Menu: phone style menu - Weather forecasts - Photo speed dial - and more!

Pick up Spb Mobile Shell v2.1.2 for $29.95 here.

Next up is IM+ All-in-One Messenger by SHAPE Services.

Chat with IM+® All-in-One Messenger in MSN®/Live Messenger, Yahoo!®, AIM®/iChat, ICQ®, Jabber®, Google Talk® and MySpace® between mobile devices and PCs in real-time.

IM+ is the finalist of "2007 Best Software Award" by the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine! One-time payment, no further cost per message. All next updates are free.

Features: - Simultaneous connection to MSN/ Windows Live, Yahoo!, AIM/ iChat, ICQ, Jabber, Google Talk and MySpace Messenger. - 7-Day Free Trial. - Today Screen Plugin to see the information of all connected services, number of online/offline users and amount of unread messages for every service on your Today Screen. - Message History. View correspondence with your contacts even when you're offline. - Full presence status support. See your contacts status changes in real time. - IM+ works via Wi-Fi. - Contact list management functions including add/delete/group features with soft keys. - and more!

Get IM+ All-in-One Messenger for $39.95 here.

WM Professional: Freeware

GSlide, a FREE app available for download at freewareppc.com, is an app developed by Lars, who has posted a "read me" page here.

GSlide is a simple yet versitile file explorer with a thumb friendly kinetic slider interface. Right now it explores only files and folders, but pretty soon you will be able to iterate xml. Or any structured data actually.

For now it is only a viewer, so it wont mess around with files and should be harmless. Of course, as usual, no guarantees of any sort are given.

To install just drop the folder into your Programs folder. It works wherever you place it, but I have set up some example shortcuts with command line arguments which assume that you put it at the default location.

You can get GSlide for Free right here.

Have Software You'd Like Us to Include Next Week?

That's a wrap for this week's WM Weekly Software Wrangle. I welcome all software developers to email us if you have any new or updated software to announce. Just email your news to me at: brian.hart@wmexperts.com.