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Pocket Codes
Reviewed
by: Paul Schneider, Ph.D., December 2004, send
e-mail
Published
by: Neohand, go
to the web site
Requires: Pocket
PC with 352kb RAM, .NET Compact Framework, Windows Mobile
2003/Pocket PC 2003
MSRP: $7.95
Ring! Ring! Ring! Let's see . . . a 702 area code
. . . who could be calling me? Where is that area
code? So no one calls you? Sorry to hear it. Well
perhaps you find yourself trying to call someone
out of the country, furiously searching for that
elusive country code while wondering if it is even
an appropriate time of day to call them. If any of
these experiences ring true, then you may want to
take a look at a handy tool from Neohand called Pocket
Codes. We reviewed the software on a Dell Axim X5.
Pocket
Codes is not a complex program, but then simple
questions need simple answers. The program’s
database provides lookups for three types of information:
area codes in the US and Canada, Country codes, and
International Domains. When looking up area codes
you can view them by number or name and then select
the desired item from a scrolling list. Pocket Codes
also provides a lookup field which provides an area
for you to enter the desired number or location.
The Country codes work much the same way, helping
you look one up by number or country name and then
providing you with the code and the country’s
time differential from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
and New York (Eastern Standard Time—EST). The
third piece of data is the international domain extensions
used on the Internet to represent different country
domains. Yes, believe it or not, every web site does
not end in .edu, .gov, .com, net or .org! |
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Overall, the program provides a painlessly easy approach
to looking up information. The data returned appears to
be accurate and up-to-date. In addition, the supporting
web site claims to provide regular updates. That being
said, like many data sets, it is not perfect. For example,
when I looked up the 630 area code, Pocket Codes indicated
that this area code includes Aurora, Illinois. While correct,
the area code also includes several other large communities
that are not mentioned. In terms of performance, the program
was okay. Pocket codes took, on average, about 10-15 seconds
to start on my Dell Axim, and about 5-10 seconds to switch
between number and name look ups. While the scrolling list
selector worked like a charm, the lookup feature was average.
If you only want to look up a single digit or letter, Pocket
Codes works well. But if you want to write in an entire
code or larger portion of a name, Pocket Codes forces you
to reselect the field after each character, making the
whole process a bit tedious.
If you are the type of person who just has to know, or
are just looking for a memory jog when a mysterious number
comes up on caller ID, then you probably want to take a
look at Pocket Codes. Although there is room for improvement,
Pocket Codes does provide a nice set of useful data that
can be retrieved with just a tap or two of your stylus.
At this price, you can't go wrong.
Letters to the Editor are welcome and occasionally abused in public. Send e-mail to: whine@kickstartnews.com
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