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Most mobile phone networks now recognise that the next big leap in phone functionality will be towards instant messaging, Push-To-Talk and VoIP internet calls. Programs like Talkonaut give you the opportunity to try these next generation features even if your phone isn’t the latest model.

Talkonaut includes several ways of staying in touch with your contacts. You can chat with buddies on MSN, Google Talk or Jabber, send SMS to Skype or other VoIP contacts or make VoIP calls. It is these last two features which are perhaps the most exciting as they bring some seriously new and interesting features to that mobile phone you may have been thinking about replacing.

Technically speaking, Talkonaut does not offer true ‘Voice Over IP’ calling. That is to say, because of network-related problems, any VoIP call made with the program is not conducted entirely over the internet. What happens when you choose to call a Google Talk contact is that Talkonaut’s network calls your phone, and then connects via the internet with your contact’s Google Talk client. You pay the price of one ‘leg’ of the call (the call-back which Talkonaut’s network establishes with your phone).

This all sounds very complicated but in fact the technology behind this feature is very simple. What’s more, Talkonaut is really easy to use, making all these different steps into a single, seamless process. We did encounter a couple of issues while testing the VoIP feature but saw enough of it working to be pretty impressed. The other features of Talkonaut worked perfectly, making traditional IM chats with your buddies a piece of cake.

Despite our slight problems making all of its features perform as expected, Talkonaut is a well designed and robust application. We’re impressed that it works on such a large number of phones and look forward to even more features as the program evolves.

Download Talkonaut 4.17 76 in Softonic

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One of the problems of using your mobile phone for day-to-day tasks has always been that the screen size is very small, and the fact is, that will always remain the case. However, there are ways that you can access your mobile on the big screen by hooking it up to your PC.

MyPhoneExplorer provides you with a complete suite for controlling and managing your cellphone from your home computer. Connection is established very quickly, and the package detects the device either via USB cable, Bluetooth or Infrared.

Once you’ve synched, you can pretty much access everything on your PC. Perhaps one of the main uses for it is to co-ordinate your contacts. This is made very simple through MyPhoneExplorer and you simply need to click the ‘Phone’ or ‘SIM’ option under the ‘Contacts’ tab. Likewsie, the app gives you direct sync to Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes and Thunderbird.

The interface is very clearly laid out and displays all the information from you phone in a format that’s much easier to read than on the device itself. For instance, you can access and manage your organizer, alarms, messages and phone settings, viewing everything in large format. What’s more, because it has its own caching system, the transfer of files from phone to PC, and vice versa, it very quick indeed.

In terms of its presentation and performance MyPhoneExplorer can’t be faulted. In fact, the only niggily thing about the program for me is the fact that it installs an eBay toolbar in your browser by default (it’s easy to skip this step though).

If you use a Sony Ericsson phone and need to sync it with your PC, MyPhoneExplorer presents probably the best platform for doing so.

Download MyPhoneExplorer 1.7.2 in Softonic

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Whoever said the property world is no fun obviously hasn’t tried Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D.

This skyscraper construction game tests your balancing skills as you try to build the biggest towers you can. You do this simply by tapping the screen to drop a block that’s hanging from a crane. You’ll need to drop this block as close to the center of the top level of the building underneath to keep your tower as straight as possible, or you’ll end up in all sorts of trouble as the whole structure swings from side to side the more unbalanced it becomes.

This free version of Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D consists of three different game modes, all based around this same concept. In the first, ‘Build City’ mode you need to create your own virtual city using different types of building blocks to make different styles of towers. The bigger the towers are that you build, the higher the population your city will be.

‘Quick Game’ is the second game option in Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D, where the object is just to build a 50-story apartment block that reaches Space. The other game mode is the insanely fun ‘Party Game’, where you race a friend in split-screen mode to see who can build the highest tower in the quickest time.

Perhaps the only downside to Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D is that it might get a little too repetitive.

However, thanks to its captivating graphics, dreamy music and diverse game modes, the novelty still hasn’t worn off for me.

Download Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D Free 1.0.03 in Softonic

Whoever said the property world is no fun obviously hasn’t tried Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D.

This skyscraper construction game tests your balancing skills as you try to build the biggest towers you can. You do this simply by tapping the screen to drop a block that’s hanging from a crane. You’ll need to drop this block as close to the center of the top level of the building underneath to keep your tower as straight as possible, or you’ll end up in all sorts of trouble as the whole structure swings from side to side the more unbalanced it becomes.

This free version of Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D consists of three different game modes, all based around this same concept. In the first, ‘Build City’ mode you need to create your own virtual city using different types of building blocks to make different styles of towers. The bigger the towers are that you build, the higher the population your city will be.

‘Quick Game’ is the second game option in Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D, where the object is just to build a 50-story apartment block that reaches Space. The other game mode is the insanely fun ‘Party Game’, where you race a friend in split-screen mode to see who can build the highest tower in the quickest time.

Perhaps the only downside to Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D is that it might get a little too repetitive.

However, thanks to its captivating graphics, dreamy music and diverse game modes, the novelty still hasn’t worn off for me.

Download Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D Free 1.0.03 in Softonic

With society pushing us to be online and available in our every waking moment, it is hardly surprising that there are a plethora of instant messaging programs available for PDAs and mobile phones. IM+ offers connection to a wide range of networks without becoming too bloated or over-complex. The first thing we noticed after installing IM+ was the simplicity of its user interface. As soon as the program opens, you can get to work configuring your accounts. IM+ lets you access the popular MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, AOL (AIM), Jabber and Google Talk networks, meaning that whoever you need to stay in touch with, IM+ will be able to help you out.

On Windows applications featuring such a range of connectivity, it’s normal to see a complex list of options when the configuration process starts. IM+ simplifies the process of setting up your accounts, and beyond message alerts, contains practically no options to configure. This may put off more advanced users who enjoy tinkering with their accounts but we thought it was a good move on the part of Shape Services (IM+’s creators). The only problem we noticed when setting up our account details was that the ‘backspace’ key on our device’s touch screen keyboard didn’t work. This is of course a small issue, but it slowed us down when we made a mistake.

The contact list display (or ‘Roster’) in IM+ should be immediately recognisable to anyone who’s used an instant messenger service before. Giving you the choice of whether to view all your contacts or just those online, IM+ also sorts your contacts by groups if requested. Selecting an online contact immediately initiates a chat with them, while the holding your stylus on the contact will provide some limited options referring to that contact, such as ‘rename’, ‘delete’ and ‘info’. We were disappointed that ‘info’ didn’t try to display a contact’s full profile rather than just their email address. We thought that a more full extract of the contact’s online profile would have been useful, at least including their birthday, homepage and interests.

Entering the text for sending messages was simple enough. As usual, we found the Transcriber feature to be the easiest and most accurate method of text entry, but this is very much a matter of personal preference for the individual user. IM+ also allows you to copy and paste text from other applications into your chat window; particularly useful if you’re using the program to collaborate on a work project, or even just to send your friend a link. IM+ also supports the most popular emoticons for instant messaging, for those times when words just can’t convey your feelings.

Up against some stiff competition, IM+ is an excellent chat program for your Pocket PC. While it has a couple of small issues and omissions, it is easy to use, relatively small and very stable. In other words, an excellent way of staying in contact even when you’ve got a good excuse not to!

Download IM+ (IMPlus) for Windows Mobile 5.65 in Softonic