Review : PhatPad 4.0

We’ve already mentioned the  release of PhatPad 4.0 by PhatWare Corporation and showed you a quick video review of the program.  Now, I will be giving you a more detail look into the program.

For those of you unfamiliar with the program, you can look into the previous posts which discusses the features that come with PhatPad and the new features included since version 3.0

As with previous reviews, I’ll try to include as much screenshots as possible and explain briefly about the screenshots and the features of the program.  Then I’ll conclude with my two cents of the program.  Note that PhatPad consists of two parts, the desktop part and the Pocket PC part.  In this review, I’ll only be looking at the Pocket PC part.

Detailed review after the jump!

INSTALLATION

As with all programs, there is an installation process.  The installation of the PhatPad is simple.  All you have to do is download and double click on the executable file.  This should not be anything new to anyone who is reading this review.  Once the installation is done, you’ll find that PhatPad is installed on both your desktop and your Pocket PC (you have to dock your Pocket PC during the installation or sync sometime later to install PhatPad on your Pocket PC).  For those who do not want to install the PC client or nowhere near a computer, PhatWare gives you the option to download the cab file so that you can install PhatPad over the air.

The PC client is most useful if you own a Tablet PC or a touch screen.  However, if you don’t you still can make notes via typing or drawing using your mouse.  If prefer to ink the notes on your Pocket PC, you might still want to install the PC client as it allows you to print your notes and also view the notes you took on your Pocket PC, on your computer screen.

 

PHATPAD 4.0

Upon starting PhatPad, you will be see the following two screens, depending on which menu style you chose from the previous launch.  The default for Windows Mobile 5 is the Soft Key Menus.  The screen on the left has the Soft Key Menus and the screen on the right has the Classic Menus.  I will be referring to these two screens as the main screen.  This is where all the notes that you have taken in the past will be displayed.

Tapping New would allow you to create a new note.  I will look at this in detail in the next section.  In this remainder of this section, I will discuss about the options in Tools.  Everything is self explanatory but I would like to comment on some of the menus.

There will be slight differences in Tools between the classic menu and the soft key menu because a lot of the options in the soft key menu can be found on the toolbar.  We start off by looking at the Templates menu.  Here you will be able to select your default template.  The default template is the template that you will get everytime you create a new note at the main screen.  You will also be able to set your template folders.  This allows you to put all your templates in your memory card and conserve space on your Pocket PC.  This is especially useful when you are using PhatPad on your Pocket PC phone.

The Import menu allows you to open Write Pad Log (.clg) files.  I’m not too sure what this is exactly but I’m sure it’ll come in handy some time or another.

Pages View  is a very useful feature where you get to preview all your notes.  If you’re someone who does not like renaming your notes, this will come in extremely handy.  When you create a note, PhatPad will name the file based on your selected prefix followed by the date.  As your notes start to stack up, I’m sure you will forget when you made the note and this will become hell when you try finding the note you made earlier.  This is where Pages View comes in.  You can just go through all the previews and quickly pick out the note you’re looking for.

The next option is Find.  If you know a keyword which you are looking for in your notes, you can use this option.  If you own CalliGrapher by PhatWare Corporation, you will be able to search handwriting as well.  If not, you’ll just be able to search typed words in your notes.

The Options menu is where you set the main settings for the program.  Here you will be able to customize PhatPad, setting the default page size, background, the way files are named, ink color, etc.  The screen on the left is the General menu.  The screen on the right is the Default Page Size menu.  Here you can set the default page size of your note.  As you can see, there are some preset sizes that you can choose from ranging from 320×320 to A2 paper size.  You can also choose the page size to fit the screen of your device or set your own custom page size.  The ability to choose standard paper dimensions as your page size is very useful when you plan to print your notes.

The next two screens are Default Background (left) and Autonaming (right).  Default Background lets you set the background for all your new notes instead of the default white whereas Autonaming allows you to change the prefix for naming your notes.  I have mentioned this earlier when talking about the Find feature.  Also under Autonaming, you will be able to change where new files will be stored.  This is another feature very useful for those with Pocket PC devices which has a small storage capacity.

The last two tabs in the Options menu are Ink color & Width (left) and Memo Font (right).

I’ve included a screenshot of the About screen below.

 

CREATING A NEW NOTE

Tapping New in the main screen would create a new note.  Once again, the screen on the left would be the Soft Key Menus and the screen on the right would be the Classic Menu.

Below are screenshots of the Edit and Tools menus.  Once again, everything in the menus are self explanatory and there are a few things that I would like to comment on.

Protect in the File menu allows you to add password protection with 256-bit encryption to your file.  Without saying, this is useful for protecting your files in case someone gets their hands on your Pocket PC.  Gridlines in the View menu allow you to add or remove vertical and/or horizontal gridlines to your notes.  Voice Note in the Insert menu allows you to record your own voice note to add to the written note.  I really like this feature since saying something is much easier and more convenient than writing it down most of the time.  Recognize… allows you to convert your handwriting to text if you have CalliGrapher installed.  This is useful if you don’t like reading your handwriting and prefer reading text.  Shape Corrector recognizes shapes and automatically corrects it.  For example, you might be a drawing a circle in your note.  It will recognize that you’re drawing a circle and convert your circle into a perfect nice round smooth circle.

 

Next and finally, I will look at the Options menu.  This is different from the Options menu in the main screen.  There are 5 tabs in this Options menu; General, Toolbar 1, Toolbar 2, Ink and Font.  There are two toolbars in PhatPad.  You can customize PhatPad to show the toolbars one at a time, cycle through them or show both of them at the same time.  You can also customize what you want in the toolbars.  You will be able to select a large catalog of functions/buttons to put in the toolbar.  Each toolbar can accommodate 10 functions/buttons.

 

CONCLUSION

I have been a long time user of PhatPad so I know that this new version is a continuation of an already great program, adding new features and better support for Windows Mobile 5.  PhatWare Corporation is a company which has produced many great programs such as PhatNotes, PhatSpell and CalliGrapher, all of which has won many awards.  I tried very hard to pick on the software and the company behind it but I really can’t find anything that I don’t like or unhappy with the new PhatPad.  I suppose the only drawback might be the price.

Anyone who bought PhatPad 3.x between September 10 and December 19, 2006, I would advice you to immediately upgrade to PhatPad 4.0 as you are entitled to a free upgrade.  This offer expires on March 31, 2007.  For those who bought PhatPad before September 10, 2006, you can upgrade at $19.97 and for new users, you can buy it at $29.90, $10 of the normal retail price from any major online software stores.  However, with the 20% off at the Solsie store (discount code: SOLSIE20), you will only be paying $23.96.  $39.90 for a note taking software is quite pricey but after the various discounts, I find it quite worth it for such a feature-packed program made by a very professional company.  For those looking to buy CalliGrapher to substitute their original input methods, PhatWare offers some combo promotions which brings the price of the programs down substantially. 

To see PhatPad live in action, check out the video mentioned earlier.

Buy it from the Solsie store and get 20% off (valid till January 15, 2007) which brings the price down to $23.96.  The discount code is SOLSIE20. For existing Phatware registered users (including SolSie Reader contest winners). There is 50% discount.

Tags: SolSie+ktvyeow+PhatPad+PhatWare+Review 

PhatPad 4.0 New Year Promotion Quick Look : PhatPad 4.0 Video Review PhatPad 4.2 Available

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