Windows Phone Thoughts: SoftMaker Office 2006 Now Shipping

"In an ideal world, you could create a Microsoft Word or Excel document on your desktop computer, put it on your Pocket PC, edit and format it on the road, and then send it back to the office as a .DOC or .XLS file, with content and all formatting still intact. This is what Pocket PC users expect from their mobile computers. Unfortunately, this is not how it works right now."



Textmaker and Planmaker have been two of the most useful, if pricey, applications I've ever used on Windows Mobile - the state of Word Mobile and Excel Mobile in terms of useful functions, to say the least, leaves much to be desired. Softmaker stepped into the gap with their multi-platform office suite, and have just released the latest iteration for Windows Mobile. If you've ever lost formating in synced documents from using Word and Excel Mobile, I'd encourage to take a look at these programs - that is, if you can get over the sticker shock ;). The Softmaker Office Suite is available as a standalone product for $69.95, or bundled with Windows versions for $99.95. A discount is also available for registered users of Textmaker 2002 (purchase price $49.95 for standalone, $59.95 with Windows versions), and Planmaker 2004 ($34.95 for standalone, $49.95 with Windows versions). You can also purchase the applications separately.