The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) is a replacement for Windows Media Player for your phone. It’s much less bulky than Windows Media player and has a lot more options for controlling how your media is played back. Make sure to download and install all of the plugins for it so it can play nearly and media type. Then once it’s up and running, go to options and file types and make sure its set up to play all file types as well.

Google’s popular Maps service is also available for your phone. Point your phone’s browser at http://m.google.com/maps and you’ll get the download that’s right for your phone. The app is GPS enabled so you can search nearby, or use it for turn-by-turn directions. They’ve also integrated satellite view, street view and traffic. I’ve noticed that the traffic is usually quite accurate, as in when I’m at a dead stop, the road I’m on is also red. I’ll usually take a look at it before my commute home to help decide which route to take.

Windows Mobile has a built in file manager, but it’s slow and doesn’t give you all the features you’re used to in Explorer. Total Commander CE fills this gap. In addition to letting you view hidden and system files and having a search feature, there are also included plugins for FTP and registry. These allow you to move files around via FTP and to edit the registry on you Windows Mobile device. I’d recommend reducing the font and icon size slightly once you install it so you can get a lot more files listed on your screen at one time.

I finally decided on PockeTwit for posting to Twitter from my phone. The app has an Iphone like interface with smooth scrolling menus and a full screen display. The developer is actively adding features to it and is very quick to respond to bug reports and general support questions. There’s just one trick to getting used to it, especially on a smartphone. You need to scroll left and right to get to the menus that have all of the post, reply, time line and settings. Once you get used to that you’re good to go.