The Best Websites to View on Pocket IE

Unfortunately, most websites are still not usable with Pocket IE. Either its an issue with Javascript, which hurts the functionality, or the formatting makes its painful to view. In particular, I am talking about the Windows Mobile 5 version of Pocket IE. Following is a roundup of the best usable websites I use regularly on Pocket IE.

GMAIL

Even though GMail now supports IMAP, I find that using the Pocket IE version is a better choice because of the integrated GMail features such as search. Recently they overhauled the Pocket IE UI and the only real complaint I have is the font size, which is a bit small.

The biggest drawback is that I must be connected to the Internet continuously to access my email, but I have yet to find that to be a problem.

http://mail.google.com

REMEMBER THE MILK

I use RTM as my master to do list for implementing GTD. I find it useful to separately bookmark each page that I check most frequently, such as my @Focus and @Errands lists.

GOOGLE CALENDAR

While you can create and view events, you can not edit them. This is a major drawback for me. As a stop gap solution I am using OggSync, which allows you  synchronize with the native calendar application on your PocketPC.

http://calendar.google.com

CNN

They have created a special mobile version of their site which is easy to read and navigate using the PocketPC. This is a useful site to keep up on mainstream media news.

http://m.cnn.com 

Alternatively you may prefer Google News for this purpose, since they aggregate many news sources.

http://www.google.com/news?output=xhtml&source=mobileproducts

GOOGLE READER

If you want to keep up with your RSS feeds, here is a good solution. If the font size is too small for you taste, make the font larger by selecting menu->Zoom->Larger.

http://www.google.com/reader/view/?source=mobileproducts

GOOGLE SEARCH

They have created a special mobile version that makes it easy to do your googling. It is useful to enter your location information so that Google will return location relevant results.

http://www.google.com/m 

TWITTER

Tweet! The mobile version of twitter works well for updating on the road. However, I suggest you look into Jott.com if you want to tweet while driving.

http://m.twitter.com/home

BACKPACK

I only use this to set reminders, however, I’m now finding that Jott.com handles this very well. I may remove this because of the annoying security certificate pop ups that show up twice when I try to access. Remember to replace username in the URL below with your BackPack username.

http://username.backpackit.com/mob/reminders

GOOGLE MAPS

Are you lost? Google maps is here to save the day! Or, if you just want to find a nearby restaurant, Google takes care of you.

http://www.google.com/m?site=local&source=mobileproducts

RESOURCES

Windows Mobile Blog

What is your most used PocketPC mobile application?