Beefing Up Your Smart Phone With Software

One of the great things about so called "smart phones" is their ability to run native third party applications. Native applications are built specifically for the platform you are installing them on. This is in contrast to the java applications we talked about last week that will run on any phone with the necessary support for java. The bonus of native applications is that they generally have full access to the phone's capabilities, providing much more flexibility and power. Today we'd like to share with you some of our favorite applications for smart phones.

The major smart phone platforms in the U.S. are Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Blackberry OS and Symbian OS. Globally Linux based smart phones have a very large share of the market, but no major carrier has yet launched such a device so we're not going to cover it in this article. Although the apps we're about to list are some of our favorites, we encourage you to explore the applications available for your smart phone. Each of these platforms have hundreds, if not thousands, of native third party applications available. Many of these applications are available for free as shareware, but many also require that you pay for them, just as you would with premium software on your computer.

Symbian OS: 7,366 Applications on Handnango

Symbian comes in two major flavors. Series 60 generally runs on Nokia's smart phones, while the UIQ interface generally runs on Sony Ericsson's smart phones. There are exceptions for each, but Nokia and Sony Ericsson are the major users of each platform. For the sake of this article we are going to ignore UIQ because no phones have been released in the U.S. that use this platform. There are however a couple of phones that use Series 60 available, generally from AT&T.

One of our favorite applications for Sybmian Series 60 devices is Quickoffice Premier v4. Although it costs a hefty $49.99 it provides great functionality for not only viewing, but also editing and creating Word, Excel and Powerpoint files. Series 60 phones in the N-Series lineup come with the view only version of Quickoffice installed, which may be sufficient for many. However for business users that want to be able to quickly edit a spreadsheet or presentation while on the go, this is an excellent solution and you only have to pay the upgrade price if the view only version is already installed on your phone. Those who have an E-Series device, such as the Nokia E61 from AT&T should note that these phones already have office editing capabilities built in.

Blackberry OS: 1,551 Applications on Handango

As a business device Blackberry users may find themselves having to store a lot of sensitive information on their device. Although the phone's built in security features are solid, it never hurts to have another layer of protection for that especially sensitive information, and this is where SplashID ($29.95) comes in. This application provides you with a highly encrypted place to store important passwords, pins, credit card numbers and more. It is highly customizable and provides a very intuitive interface. Splash ID is available for other platforms as well.

Palm OS: 10,485 Applications on Handango

Our pick for the venerable Palm OS is Agendus ($29.95). Agendus integrates and provides a new interface for your personal information management applications. It is much more customizable than the built in Palm OS applications, providing you with various views and categorization options. Anyone who finds themselves limited by Palm OS' PIM applications will find that Agendus is a breath of fresh air.

Windows Mobile: 15,547 Applications on Handango

As with Symbian Windows Mobile comes in two flavors. The more advanced version was known as Pocket PC Edition, but with the upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 will be known as Windows Mobile Professional. These devices generally have touch screens, which set them apart from Windows Mobile Standard (previously known as Smartphone Edition) devices. Because both types are well represented by U.S. carriers we will provide a pick for each.

For Windows Mobile Professional devices we recommend the excellent media player Coreplayer, which retails for $19.95. Although it is still in development, its benefits far outweigh the small problems that are being worked out. What makes Coreplayer so powerful is that it is capable of playing just about any video or music format you can imagine. This means that you don't need to worry about converting your media, simply drop a file onto your memory card and chances are that Coreplayer will be able to play it without problem. Coreplayer also provides a great many options to customize controls and more advanced features for those who want them. Coreplayer is cross platform so it is also available for Palm OS and Windows Mobile Standard, and soon will be for Symbian devices.

For Windows Mobile Standard devices we're going to cheat a little and recommend two applications that work well in tandem. The first is Papyrus ($17.95). Much like Agendus for Palm OS, Papyrus is a replacement for the built in PIM applications that provides many more capabilities. Papyrus also integrates very well with Facade ($14.95), which is produced by the same developer. Facade improves your home screen experience by creating a tabbed interface that allows you to quickly and easily view your calendar appointments or tasks. It also allows you to launch applications easily and is easily customized.

Whatever smart phone you use, we encourage you to explore the third party applications available for it. Even if you don't find any of our picks particularly compelling, we're sure you'll find something useful. Handango.com is an excellent place to start, but note that much of this software can be purchased directly from the developer or is available on freeware sites, so don't stop there.