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Pocket PC : Aurorisoft : The dotPocket

Introduction

The dotPocket allows you to control the dimensions of the Pocket PC's display, and interact with your Pocket PC via mouse and keyboard.

Features

The dotPocket comprises of two components: display drivers that let you alter the properties of your Pocket PC display, and a remote control application that lets you view the pocket PC on your desktop as well as interact via the mouse and keyboard. We'll look at each in turn.

The Display Drivers

The dotPocket allows you to alter the screen resolution on your Pocket PC via the Device Manager application it installs on your handheld. The usual Pocket PC screen size is 320x240 pixels in a portrait orientation. The dotPocket allows you to customize the screen up 2000x2000 pixels, or select from the pre-installed dimensions. This is very convenient when an application needs more horizontal than vertical space, (like word editors). You can also change the display to landscape, as utilized in many applications and games and if you're left-handed you can change the display to a more comfortable orientation.

Once you've changed the dimensions of your Pocket PC screen, it will reset with the new settings and you'll have the use of the Screen Navigator. This small blue square gives you access to zooming controls. You can also rotate the screen clockwise or counter-clockwise and even flip it 180°. The arrows let you travel across your newly expanded desktop.

If you're using an iPAQ, as I do, you can also access the screen navigator by pressing the Contacts button. This allows you to quickly switch between views.

The Remote Control

By default the dotPocket automatically runs when ActiveSync starts. On your desktop you will see your Pocket PC screen repeated in all its glory via the dotPocket remote control.

From here you have quite a lot of control over how the dotPocket interacts with your Pocket PC. From the Properties Menu you can alter the way in which connection is established. Either via ActiveSync or over an internet connection. The latter requires the IP address of the Pocket PC unit.

You can also choose the method of screen capture. The dotPocket updates in real-time what is actually shown on your Pocket PC. By using the default 'Driver Integrated' setting it uses screen capturing algorithms based on direct access to Windows’ graphical interface, either via the dotPocket display drivers or Windows GDI. Choosing 'Direct Video Memory Access' requires the dotPocket application to capture images on your Pocket PC, directly accessing its video memory and by-passing the Windows OS.

If you try and capture stills from games, as I do for reviewing, some applications have a greater control over system resources and prevent resident screen capture utilities from working. The dotPocket running in 'Direct Video Memory Access' mode circumvents this problem, allowing easy capture of any application or game running on your Pocket PC.

You can choose to optimize the connection settings for slow speeds and encrypt the data transfer to increase security over the internet.

The dotPocket also allows the creation of AVI recordings, making it possible to create movies of the action on your Pocket PC. The palette can also be changed. Full palette is the complete set of colors as used on your Pocket PC, reduced palette is 256 colors, commonly in use with web graphics, and the last option is black & white. Choosing a reduced palette makes the connection work faster.

Once connected, you can control the Pocket PC via the keyboard and mouse. With the mouse you simply select options on the dotPocket as you would on your Pocket PC, thus mirroring the action. If you're using Pocket Word then using the dotPocket makes entering a lot of text a doddle. The clipboard on the Pocket PC and the desktop are integrated also, so you can easily exchange information between the two.

The dotPocket also allows easy transfer of files between PC and handheld. The transfer window is easy to use, simply select your files and click transfer, it works both ways.

Aurorisoft have created a phenomenal application with the dotPocket. Giving a user control of their Pocket PC over the internet, or simply watching the content remotely, has great uses for businesses.

With the one obvious downside of Pocket PCs being their lack of keyboards the dotPocket provides a fantastic solution, giving complete control over your Pocket PC via keyboard and mouse, thus making inputting text very simple, even the clipboards are integrated.

The dotPocket is priced at $30 for asingle-user license.

Visit the website : Aurorisoft.