A really great feature of Pocket PCs is that you can install a myriad of software products on them, ranging from games, to personal information managers, to business applications (such as project management and database management software), to hobby oriented software.  Some of my favorite software includes a guitar tuner, a running log, a shopping list, and a really great alarm clock. 

There are many commercial and freeware websites where you can find some really great software for your handheld. Popular internet stores where you can find a lot of commercial and some free software include Handango.com, Pocket Gear.com, and Mobihand.com.  You can also purchase a lot of software directly from the developer.  There are also several different websites where you can find some really great freeware.  My favorite places to "shop" for freeware is PocketPCFreeware.com, but FreewarePPC.com is also a pretty good place.

Much of the software comes packaged in a ZIP file that you will download directly to your computer.  The ZIP file will contain all of the installation files you'll need to install the software on your Pocket PC.  The three most common formats for installation files are EXE files, MSI files or CAB files.

Installing an EXE or MSI file to a Windows Mobile 2003SE (or earlier) Pocket PC

After you download and unzip the installation package to your desktop computer, select the installation EXE file.  An installation wizard will open up and prompt you through the installation process. If your Pocket PC is connected to your computer and ActiveSync is running, the software will be installed directly to your handheld. If the Pocket PC is not connected to your computer, the installation wizard will set everything up to install the software on its next ActiveSync connection.

During the installation process, the installation wizard will ask you if you wish to install the application to the handheld's main memory (which is referred to as the default location).  Because a Pocket PC's memory is limited, you should consider installing as much software as possible to a storage card.  Doing so will ensure that as much RAM memory as possible is free for application execution and will generally improve your Pocket PC's overall performance.  Assuming you wish to install the software to a storage card, select "NO" to this prompt and then select the down arrow on the next screen to select the SD or CF card where you'd like the software to be installed.

Installing an EXE or MSI file to a WM5.0 Pocket PC

Installing an application to a handheld running the WM5.0 operating system is very similar to installing it to Windows Mobile 2003 devices, with a few differences.  The installation process runs very quickly through some things on the computer and then instructs you to check the screen of your Pocket PC for further instruction. On the Pocket PC you are asked to choose the location where you would like the software to be installed and will be given choices between your Device and any Storage Cards that are installed in the handheld. If you wish to install the software to a storage card, select Storage Card and tap INSTALL.

Installing a CAB file
CAB files come in a couple of different formats based on the type of processor installed in your Pocket PC:  ARM, MIPS, SH3 or SH4.  Most Pocket PC's are running some variation of an ARM processor, so you'll need to download the ARM version. 

An ActiveSync connection is not necessary when you install applications from CAB files.  For this reason, CAB files are preferred by users who have not installed ActiveSync on their computers, such as users whose primary computer is an iMAC.  FreeCabs is a great website that is optimized for pocket pc surfing and where you can download freeware as well as some commercial software directly to your Pocket PC, all in a CAB format.

If you have software loaded on your Pocket PC that allows you to unzip files there, you can bypass your computer altogether and download zipped CAB files directly to the handheld.  The Pocket PC does not come preinstalled with any kind of zip application, but there are many applications you can install to your handheld that will give you the ability to unzip files directly on the handheld.  I use Pocket RAR for this.

If you don't have a way to unzip these files on the handheld, you will download zipped CAB files to your computer, unzip the file there and then copy the CAB file directly to your Pocket PC.   You can do this many different ways:

*      Move the file to the "My Documents" folder on your desktop computer that is used to sync documents to your Pocket PC.  Then sync the file to your handheld

*      Attach your Pocket PC to your computer and open up ActiveSync.  Then select the Explore button and copy the file directly to your Pocket PC.

*      Attach your Pocket PC to your computer and open up the Windows Explorer application on your computer.  Select My Computer and select the Mobile Devices icon.  Then drag the file from your computer to the "My Documents" folder found under Mobile Devices.

Once the CAB file is on your handheld, use your handheld's File Explorer application to navigate to the file.  Then tap it, and the file will open up and install the software to your Pocket PC.  If your handheld is running the WM5.0 operating system, you will be prompted during installation to specify the location where the software should be installed.  But if your Pocket PC is running an earlier operating system, the software will be installed to main memory.  As I mentioned previously in this article, it is preferable to install as many applications as possible to a storage card. 

Installing CAB installed applications to Storage Cards (pre-WM5.0 devices only)

If your Pocket PC is running the Windows Mobile 2003SE operating system or an earlier operating system, you can still install these applications to a storage card but you'll need to install a piece of software to do it.  You can use CabInstl, a free application from SK SOFTWARE, to install the software to a storage card.  CabInstl comes in a zip file, which you can download directly to your Pocket PC (assuming you are able to unzip the file there).  Within the ZIP file are a couple of different language versions of the software.  If English is your preferred language, extract the CabInstl_en.exe file directly to your Pocket PC.  The EXE file is not an installation file, but the actual application that will run on your Pocket PC.

To run the CabInstl application from your Programs screen, you will need to create a shortcut for the application and place it in the handheld's \Windows\Start Menu\Programs folder:

*      Use the Handheld's File Explorer application to navigate to the CabInstl.exe file.

*      Press and hold your stylus on the file until a pop-up menu appears

*      Select <Copy>

*      Navigate to the \Windows\Start Menu\Programs folder

*      Press and hold your stylus on a blank space on the screen until a pop-up menu appears

*      Select <Paste Shortcut>

*      To run the software, tap Start > Program > CabInstal (the icon your just created)

Extracting CAB files from .EXE installation files

For the most part, EXE installation files are a type of automated ZIP file.  When you run an EXE file, the installation wizard extracts CAB files and other installation files to your computer.  Upon completion of the installation sometimes these installation files are deleted from your computer, so you never even know they exist.  But many times, these files remain on your computer. 

Since the EXE installation wizard is designed to install applications to your handheld through an ActiveSync connection, ActiveSync maintains a log of these files.  If you ever perform a full reset of your Pocket PC, you can easily reinstall these applications through ActiveSync's Add/Remove Programs option (you can find this option by opening up ActiveSync on your computer and selecting Tools).  You can often find the extracted CAB files related to all these applications in subdirectories off the Microsoft Activesync folder on your computer.  (Look for them under \Program Files\Microsoft ActiveSync).

For those cases where the installation wizard deletes the CAB files upon completion of the installation, you can usually interrupt the installation before it is completed and make copies of the CAB files before they are deleted.

I like to carry CAB files with me for my important applications, so I have copied them to a folder on one of the storage cards that is installed on my Pocket PC.  Then if I ever encounter a need to perform a full reset of my Pocket PC, I am not constrained by my lack of access to my computer, and I can easily reinstall my software from the CAB file.

Final Thoughts

It is always a good idea to backup your Pocket PC before installing any software to your handheld.  Then if you run into any problems with the new software, you can perform a full reset of your device, run a restore and get your Pocket PC back to speed in minutes.

If your Pocket PC is running the Windows Mobile 2003SE or an earlier operating system, you've got a couple of backup options:  the IPAQ Backup application that is preinstalled on your handheld and ActiveSync's Backup module.  But if your Pocket PC is running the WM5.0 operating system, you don't have any way to backup your handheld unless you purchase a third-party application....but that is a topic for another day.

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