Pimping the HTC PPC6800 with must-have apps

After taking the dive and upgrading my Alltel HTC PPC6800 to the latest Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM, instead of restoring all of my old stale apps, I decided to redo things from scratch.  Here's a list (in no particular order) of apps that I deemed as must-haves.

• Sprite Backup You have to have a backup.  If you play with fire, you're going to get burned - this is your insurance policy.  There's a whole slew of backup apps out there, Sprite was just the first one I tried, and it's never failed me.  Trust me, I've needed it a few times.  Well worth the $30 for the app. Personally, I buy my mobile software from Handango Inc.




• KeePass PPC You always have your phone with you, why not keep all your passwords in there too?  KeePass is a very well-known free cross-platform password safe.  I use it for everything - site logins, bank account numbers, anything sensitive is stored in there.  Combine ActiveSync + DropBox + Portable KeePass, and you can have your passwords anywhere, even if you don't have your phone!




• Google Maps Mobile One of the more handy apps out there, and it's free too. Works with your phone's GPS, and maybe with the "My Location" feature which uses a method of triangulation between cell towers to figure out where your phone is at.  A must-have freebie!




• Mocha FTP Server Simple free FTP server for Windows Mobile.  Fire it up, and upload/download to and from your phone with any FTP client!




• PocketPutty Come on, this is a sysadmin blog!  You gotta be able to ssh!  Make sure you download the WM2003 Dev build.




• Batti Batti is a freebie that tells you anything you'd ever want to know about your battery charge.  The part I can't do without is the 3 pixel high meter at the top of the screen.  It takes so little real estate, but I use it all the time.  This was actually the first app that I missed after flashing my ROM.




• Cootek TouchPal Sysadmins are lazy.  Sometimes, I'm too lazy to slide out my keyboard.  Unfortunately, I'm also too lazy to pull out my stylus to hunt n peck on the blasted soft keyboard that comes with Windows Mobile.  TouchPal is a soft keyboard that you can use with your fingers, and it's pretty fast once you get used to it.  Free version works for me, but there is a pro version as well.




• PocketRAR The little "Zip" program that comes with this ROM is horribly slow.  Try opening a 20MB zip file with it - it's painful.  PocketRAR works with rar and zip files, and does so much better than "Zip".  Also free!




• HTC Home Customizer (with HTC Home) The Today screen is soooo boring.  Make look much cooler, and make it actually usable with the HTC Home Customizer.  The HHC app can actually download the HTC Home app for you, saving you a step.  While you're at the HHC site, download the HHC-Appearances package to get a whole slew of fonts and icons you can use.




• Total Commander I'll be the first to admit, the UI is a bit clunky, but this app can do it all.  Samba shares, text editing, registry editing, ftp client, and a few others to boot!




• TCPMP Think MPlayer on Windows Mobile - it'll play pretty much anything you throw at it.




• Opera Mobile Pocket Internet Explorer barely works.  Don't even attempt to view a site that isn't mobile friendly.  Opera Mobile is currently in beta, it works much better at viewing normal sites on your phone.  Check it out!

I'll update this list as I find/remember other must-have apps.  Please leave comments on the apps that you can't live without!