If there is one application that I truly feel is the most important addition to a Pocket PC, Pocket Launcher is it! In fact, when I first picked up my Pocket PC I knew that an application like this would be a big hit in the Pocket PC community. Conduits has done it again by creating one that has more features than I thought possible.

	Pocket Launcher

Now that you are aware that I am excited about this product, I'll explain why I think it will be popular. One of the few problems with the Pocket PC OS is the "Programs" window used to launch applications. When you tap on the "Start Menu" you have a customizable list for the 8 apps you want to access quickly. To go beyond these 8 apps, you must tap on "Programs" to view all of your other applications. Though these apps can be placed into folders, there is no real means of organizing them for easy navigation, and quick launching. I recently added a 128 MB flash card to my Jornada 545 and have a long list of apps I must scroll through on the "Programs" window.

Pocket Launcher simplifies all of this by giving you a new and vastly improved interface for navigating the "Programs" screen. As you can see in the screenshot above, the interface consists of tabs along the bottom of the screen. You can add/remove/rename the tabs to suit your preference, and then drag and drop apps from tab to tab to organize the applications on your Pocket PC under the different categories (tabs). Even with fewer applications on my Pocket PC, I think this is a huge improvement over the current "Programs" window.

One of the best features of this application is the level of integration between it and the Pocket PC OS. You can have it launched instead of the "Programs" window when you select "Programs" on the start menu, thus entirely replacing it. It also has a button to take you back to the "Today" screen on your Pocket PC (right bottom corner of screen shot). I love this feature as I am constantly checking my "Today" screen for new appointments, e-mails, etc.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to demo this great new app, and feel confident in predicting that it will be widely accepted as a welcome replacement to using the current "Programs" window. This is a 'must have' upgrade for the serious Pocket PC user.

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