Review: CodeWallet Pro 2006 — One Small Space, A Million Giant Uses

Posted by: dgoldring on Nov 17 2006 - 2,841 views

Lately, my desk has become cluttered with little scraps of paper.  Maybe you have found this same phenomenon.  Every time I visit a web site, I get a new username and password, which I inevitably forget if I don’t jot it down on a scrap of paper.  Account information.  Travel information.  Service and utility account numbers.  You name it.  All of this ends up on little scraps of paper, piled on my desk, frequently never to be seen again.  Having been overrun by these scraps of paper, I determined to organize this information onto my Pocket PC (a Dell Axim x50v running WM2003SE).  There are dozens of programs out there that purport to offer a simple solution for protecting your important passwords and personal information.  Some will keep track of credit card information, others can also store contact information and various other accounts.  They range in price and quality from freeware with minimal security to commercial programs with multiple advanced options and powerful security features.  With over 40 customizable templates, and a double layer of security, however, no program offers as versatile and complete a solution as CodeWallet Pro 2006 from DeveloperOne.

Installation and Registration: Once you have downloaded the appropriate files, simply click on the desktop installer to install CodeWallet on your handheld device via ActiveSync.  Without registering, you may use CodeWallet for up to 30 days.  Installation of the desktop companion follows the same process.  You can select to install it to any drive on your desktop, including a removable USB thumb drive.  Again, there is a 30 day trial period, after which the desktop companion must be registered in order to continue using it.

Card Templates: One of the biggest frustrations I have had with electronic wallet programs is their lack of flexibility.  Most of these programs assume that you want to input certain information, and provide you with templates only for that information.  Many of these programs are not designed to allow significant user modification of these templates.  This is the main reason CodeWallet stands out in this crowded field.  With CodeWallet, you control over 40 different templates, which allow you to create cards representing a full range of categories from credit cards to restaurants, and store them in your electronic wallet.  Inevitably, despite the breadth of templates available, you may manage to stumble upon a topic that does not fit into any template.  For this reason, CodeWallet also makes it easy to modify and create card templates with Form Designer. 

Creating Entries:  To paraphrase a famous cosmonaut from the movie 2010, making a new card is as easy as cake.  Making a new card is as .  Just click on "New Entry" in the main menu to bring up the card catalogue.  Select the template you want to use from the list and a blank card will appear.  From there, just fill in the appropriate fields and hit "Done".  A new card will now appear in your wallet.  If you plan to create several related cards or just want to add some organization to your cards, you can also create folders within your wallet.  This allows you to fully customize the organization of your wallet for quick and easy reference.

Customization: One of the features of CodeWallet that I truly welcomed was the customizability of virtually everything on the screen.  Like I said, I have tried other, similar programs, but many of them were just too limiting, with little or no customization.  I would frequently have information to enter, but nowhere to put it in the program.   The information you include in your wallet is unique and specific to your individual needs.  Therefore, customization is an important and  necessary feature.  In CodeWallet, customization works in two powerful ways.  First, you can change the look and feel of any existing card.  Once a card has been created and saved, you can modify the card’s icon, text size, colors, background (add an image if you want).  You can even add sounds or attachments to any card. 

Earlier, I also alluded to the rare circumstance in which none of the built-in card templates would satisfy your needs.  For example, there is no built-in template for a magazine subscription.  While this could fit in other places, it would be nice to have its own card.  Well, you can do that, too.  Just use the "Form Design" option in the Menu.  This allows you to edit all of the fields, and create a custom card.  Once you have completed this process, you can further customize the card by using the options mentioned above. 

Even the main screen is customizable, allowing you to select the colors and fonts which best represent your personality.  This is truly your wallet, and you can display information in any manner you choose.  The customization tools afforded by CodeWallet are unmatched by any other program available for the Pocket PC today.

Search:  I know what you are thinking now: with over 40 customizable card templates, the ability to create custom card templates,  not to mention the organizational tools, soon you will have hundreds of cards in a dozen folders.  How will you ever find anything?  Not to worry.  DeveloperOne has already thought of that as well.   Just click the "Find" button from the main screen.  Type your search term and – BANG — just like that, every card containing that term will be instantly displayed.

Attachments: Let’s be honest, sometimes, the information you need to remember about a location, event, contact, or any other card, simply will not fit in the fields provided.  Maybe you have a map to your favorite restaurant or hotel;  a document with additional information; or even a picture, drawing, or photograph.  Whatever the reason, sometimes, you need to include include additional information on a card.  Although at first blush, attachments struck me as excessive and unnecessary, now that I have used them, this feature is far too useful to be ignored.  Adding an attachment is as easy as 1…2…well, let me just tell you.  From the card display, simply click on attachments from the "Menu" button.  Once the attachments screen comes up, just click on new attachment, and then scroll through your device until you find the file you want to attach.  Any file can be made an attachment (pictures, documents, spreadsheets, maps, even music, video, or an executable file).  This is a feature which has been sadly missing from many electronic wallet programs.

Security: CodeWallet offers a double layer of security, ensuring that all of your important data is safe.  First, CodeWallet is protected by an extremely strong encryption designed to keep all of your data safe.  Additionally, each wallet is individually password protected.  Set your password…but don’t forget it.  You will not be able to access your wallet again without it.  Given the nature of the information stored in my wallet, I certainly appreciate the extra attention DeveloperOne has paid to security with this program.

Desktop Companion: By adding the desktop companion to CodeWallet, you can significantly enhance the features offered by the program.  First, the desktop companion is fully two-way compatible.  This means that anytime you create a new card or modify a card on either your desktop or Pocket PC, the changes can be synchronized automatically.   This is an extremely useful feature, in that it allows you to create cards from your desktop computer, and access them  from anywhere on your Pocket PC.  Additionally, the desktop companion allows you to print any cards stored on your desktop computer.  If you are like me, and like to back everything up to a hard copy, this is an important and necessary feature.

My favorite feature of the desktop companion, however, is its compatibility with USB thumb drives.  The desktop companion is completely self-contained, so it can be loaded and run directly from a thumb drive.  This ensures complete portability of the entire program. Now, you can create cards, and sync your data from any computer.  Just plug in the thumb drive, open CodeWallet, and you are ready to go. 

The only drawback to the desktop companion is its price.  At $29.95, it costs as much as the portable version (or you can purchase them together for a slightly discounted price).  Many other similar programs include the desktop version in the price of the application, or raise it only slightly.  By requiring you to pay so much for the desktop companion, CodeWallet’s price is considerably higher than any of its competitors.

Conclusion:  CodeWallet offers an ideal solution for storing, organizing and retrieving all of your valuable and sensitive information  With over 40 card templates, as well as a form designer, you will never be at a loss for the appropriate card again.  Additionally, despite its price, the desktop companion is a welcome addition to the CodeWallet program, making it even easier to create cards, edit fields, and customize everything in your wallet from any computer.  CodeWallet Pro 2006 offers a versatile and powerful solution for maintaining all of your personal information. 

Vital Statistics:

Title: CodeWallet Pro 2006

Version: 6.11

Developer: DeveloperOne

Available From: DeveloperOne

                          JAMM store

Price: $29.95 (Pocket PC version)

          $29.95 (Desktop Companion)

          $44.90 (combined)

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