Each year Smartphone and Pocket PC, with the help of independent judges, picks the best software on the market. The last few years they have worked with the winners to supply the winning software at a very reasonable price. The software is available in their Best of Everything Software Package. This year’s package gives you about $4000 worth of software for a fraction of the cost. There is 20% more PPC and 25% more Smartphone software than was offered last year. The 2007 Best of Everything Software Package include: - Full Versions of award-winning software through their Customer Site. The PPC package is valued at $4000 and the Smartphone version is valued at over $1000.
- 1-year subscription to Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine (both print and MS Reader versions)
- VIP web site membership
- Current Annual Smartphone & Pocket PC Buyers Guide
- FREE Gifts:
- Best of Everything Demo CD
- $25 Gift Certificate to UsedHandhelds.com
- Laser Pointer/Stylus
- 2005 Best Software Awards Special PDF Report
- 101 Best Tips Special PDF Report
- 7 years of Back Issues on CD
- Risk-Free Money Back Guarantee. They allow customers to try the demo versions for 30 days and keep the free gifts as their thank you for trying the package. The money back guarantee is only good if you do not register any of the software. For more info visit www.Pocketpcmag.com/cd.
How it works: After you order the package at their web site, you will get a welcome email. You can register and start taking advantage of your purchase immediately. A few days later you will receive by first class mail the free gifts. You can either download the demo programs from the registration links or install them from the Best of Everything Demo CD. Remember, if you want to take advantage of the money back guarantee; don’t register any of the software until after the 30 day trial period. Their web site is easy to navigate when registering the software. The software is divided into two sections, games and productivity. When you find the program you want, click on the register button. You will be directed to follow additional steps. There are four ways that the software can be delivered. 1) The system emails you the registration code and you will need to download the demo version (or load it off the Best of Everything Demo CD). 2) You download the full version; there is a link to download the full version. 3) You download the full version and their system emails you the registration code. 4) The vendor emails you the registration information including registration codes, and/or link to get full version, or other information to obtain the full version. The demo version is usually needed, but it depends on the vendor. All the programs are available as a download from the site. Their goal is to keep all the software up to date. The site is very well documented, so you will know what to expect when you register each program. In almost all cases, the registration emails showed up in my mailbox within minutes. The free gifts are a nice incentive. Here’s a breakdown of the value of the free gifts. - Best of Everything Demo CD – You would spend hours downloading all the trial content off the CD. It’s a valuable resource whether you buy the Best of Everything package or not. If you buy the package, it would be a good idea to download the programs you want from their website, as they keep the programs up to date.
- $25 Gift Certificate to UsedHandhelds.com – I would suggest browsing the site to be sure there is something you want to use the gift certificate to buy. They have a large selection of used PPCs, handhelds and accessories. (Remember that the gift certificate is good through January 31, 2008.)
- 2 Special PDF Reports – 2005 Best Software Awards Report and 101 Best Tips – The Awards report is a great recap of the year’s awards. There is an in-depth write-up of GPS products. The 101 Best Tips is a fine collection of tips suitable of beginners and experts alike.
- 7 years of Back Issues on CD – If you’re a long time reader or just started reading Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine you will appreciate having all the back issues readily available at the click of a mouse button. It would still be nice to have a searchable index on the CD.
- Laser Pointer/Pen/Stylus – Ok, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. This is a nice all in one unit. It’s a full sized pen and the feel as a writing instrument was great. It’s nice to sit at my desk and have a large stylus for my PPC screen. And…… who doesn’t love to play with a laser pointer. No wait, it’s not a toy; use it for your next presentation. (Just don’t let your cat know you have it or she will want to follow you to work.)
Conclusion: I found the site very easy to navigate and the software was simple to register. When you registered it, you are told what else needed to be done. If you have questions before you register a program, you can check the help area. There’s a table listing how the software registration code will be delivered. There is also a link to the downloadable demo. Almost all the registration codes came immediately, with one or two coming the next morning. Downloads off their site were fast and all the software I tested installed, registered and ran ok. So you’re asking yourself, do I want to spend $225 on this package? I’m not sure what a normal PPC user spends on software, but I would guess over the lifetime of your PPC you might spend that much on software. Their web site has a calculator to figure out how much software you would buy to break even. Remember, you can use all the software available in the package. So if you’re a big software user or gamer; this is an awesome buy. Consider the up front price of $225 versus spending lots more for software over the next few years. Remember these are full registered programs and all can be upgraded per the individual companies’ policies. I.e. if they offer a lifetime upgrade, you get that lifetime upgrade. The only caveat to the package is you have to register all the software by January 31, 2008. My suggestion is to register everything that you think you will use, even if you don’t need it now. Come February 1 2008, you’ll thank yourself when you finally get around to installing Pocket Informant and you have the registration code. Do I feel this is a great deal? YES! I’d recommend it to anyone that is new to Pocket PCs or doesn’t own a lot of the software. Look at it this way; it’s a good future investment. If you think you will want to buy any of this software at some later date, buy the package now. An awesome amount of work has gone into this package. I commend Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine and all the vendors for the fine job they did on this bundle of software. New this year is the ability to buy just the applications or games separately. For $149 you can get $3300 worth of applications and $99 you can get $790 worth of games. Where to buy it: Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine The package includes nearly $100 in FREE Bonuses with every order and comes with a 30-day RISK-FREE money-back guarantee. If you bought the 2006 package, you can buy this year’s package for $199. |
