It’s already time to start recognizing the best software for Windows Mobile devices and smartphones running Windows Mobile. If you know of a product that deserves a nomination, go to the nomination form or check out the awards page, which contains 2007 winners and questions with their answers.

WorldMate 2006 Professional Edition is the “Swiss Army Knife” of travel as it contains 14 travel-related tools in one neat little package. The subscription-based application wirelessly provides updates to weather reports, world times, flight schedules and statuses, currency rates and satellite maps.

Itinerary

The itinerary holds all the information regarding your flight, car rental, hotel, cruise info, train and even meetings. Since services can e-mail you the itineraries, it might be easier to copy and paste the information into your device than to go through the Itinerary tool. [Click image to view larger]

Area Codes

When people give you a phone number, they might not include the area code or dialing prefixes assuming that you know them. The Area Codes tool provides GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), US and Canada area codes, and international dialing prefixes. Search for codes by entering the first letter of the city or country to jump to it. However, if you want to do a reverse lookup (i.e. enter the area code to find out where the call came from), you’ll need to rely on the Internet or another tool as this one doesn’t do reverse lookups.

Map

View the world day / night map to quickly see where it’s day and night around the world. Tap any spot on the map to identify the city or select the city from the list to see its exact location. A nice tool that would be nicer if we could zoom in.

Measurement and Currency

Someone tells you that where you want to go is 16 kilometers away. Americans continue to hold out on converting to the metric system, so enter the distance into the measurement calculator to find out that the destination is 10 miles. It also converts areas, length, speeds, volumes, weights and temperatures. Currency calculator works similarly where you can select three currencies for converting. Since currency rates change, the tool stays updated through the subscription service.

Packing List

Instead of starting a packing list from scratch, use the checklist in WorldMate’s Packing List. Check the items you need to pack, and they appear on “My List” so you only see what you need to take instead of all the items you’re not taking. Packing List also sorts items in categories for easier finding.

Tipping/Tax Calculator

Not all countries operate the same in terms of taxes and tipping. The Tip, Tax Calculator lets you select the country and service (restaurant, bar/pub, hotel porter, taxi, concierge, deliveries, airport and general) so you can figure out what you will owe. The calculator also gives you the option of adding the tip, tax or both amounts into the calculation on top of the bill amount.

Clothing

Business trip or not, you might want to shop for surprises and clothes for yourself. But the sizing in Europe, UK and Japan might not be the same as home. Instead of picking out three different sizes of shoes that look about your size — use the Clothing chart to look up your shoe size and find the right size. If you’re a female size 8, you’re a size 40 in Europe, 6.5 in England, and 25.5 in Japan. The application advises using the chart as a guideline.

WorldMate Professional supports many handheld devices, smartphones and cell phones. It’s a worthy investment for frequent travelers so they can stay updated on all important travel-related information. Mobimate also has a standard edition, which offers fewer services for a lower subscription rate.

Those who rarely travel won’t need something as powerful as WorldMate. Other applications exist that don’t require a subscription. However, this means you’ll need to enter the currency rates yourself for calculating and it won’t be updated unless you regularly check the rates. Weather applications that don’t rely on over-the-air updates can be updated when connecting the device to the PC through the cradle or USB cable.

WorldMate is available for just about every mobile device. Even a 2007 edition is available as well as a standard edition. Here are links to get you started and figure out what you’d be interested in.

Try WorldMate

While the review focuses on the PalmOS version of the game, some of its elements can apply to the PC version, Gameboy version, and Windows Mobile version.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of Templars is an epic adventure that begins in Paris where American tourist George Stobbart witnesses a murder in a (what else?) cafe. The murdered stole the ancient manuscript from the dead man. George takes an interest in the murder and begins unraveling a lengthy story surrounding the Knights of Templars. He doesn’t go on the adventure alone as he meets photojournalist Nico Collard.

George does all the grunt work and puts himself in danger while Nico stays comfy in her flat waiting for his visits or phone calls. While maneuvering on a PalmOS device gets tricky, Astraware does a spectacular job in bringing the adventure to the small device.

The engrossing story has kept me busy for hours and months. I’ve had the game for a long time, but due to other commitments — I couldn’t play it or took long breaks in between. More impressive, the long game plays beautifully on the PalmOS and never crashes. The graphics in the cutscenes, where you watch a mini-movie or stills, looked sharp and contained a cinematic effect.

The game contains many little details that appeared clearly on the small screen. The trickier parts of the game involved using two or more objects together. I had to play with the controls for a long time when I came across the first time a situation called for combining two objects. Once you figure it out, future object combinations go more smoothly — but not perfectly.

Adventure games have one drawback — replayability, or lack thereof. Few people replay an adventure game upon completion. But this one lasts a long time to earn its money’s worth. Not only does Broken Sword: The Shadow of Templars take you beyond Paris to Ireland, Spain, Britain and Syria, but also it provides plenty of comic relief. George’s quick-witted humor makes him instantly likable.

Considering I took breaks between game playing sessions, sometimes I lost track of the story. In most cases, the game gets you back on track. Playing Broken Sword: The Shadow of Templars reminded me of the old days when I loved playing adventure games like King’s Quest, Mystery House and Leisure Suit Larry. Be patient, absorb all of the dialog and you’ll enjoy the game to the fullest.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of Templars for PalmOS or Windows Mobile.

Compatibility: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is not compatible with Palm Tungsten T and Tungsten T2, Sony CLIÉ UX40, UX50 and VZ90. It’;s also not compatible with low resolution (160×160) Palm OS® devices such as: Zire 21, Zire 31, Z22, Tréo 600, or QVGA (240×320) Palm OS® devices such as: Qool QDA 700 and the PiTech W300.

Pocket PC Compatibility: The game comes in two versions, one for Windows Mobile 2003 and the other for Windows Mobile 5. Be sure to get the right one.