Handmark's Pocket Express is a kind of mobile information aggregator. Instead of browsing to different WAP sites, many of which might be difficult to navigate, Pocket Express goes out to the Internet to retrieve multiple kinds of data and presents it all in a single, easy-to-read interface. It's a powerful application and perfect for the Palm OS. That said, Windows Mobile users might want to wait for another patch before taking the plunge.

Pocket Express delivers information in all the usual Internet categories, including a nifty scrolling stock ticker, breaking news from the Associated Press, the weather, sports scores, maps and directions, and more. Of course, you can get most of this from a huge variety of free WAP sites (for some examples, check out our 12 Essential Mobile Sites article on Smart Device Central). Handmark, however, gives you everything in a nicely filtered fashion.

Once your phone receives a packet of updates, you can scroll around and see everything instantaneously, rather than having to wait for WAP pages to load multiple times. Version 3.2 includes a number of enhancements over Pocket Express Version 2, such as a new tabbed interface, a live sports scoreboard, a headline scroll bar, and a new "Assist" MobilCierge service (see below). I tested the Windows Mobile version on a Verizon Motorola Q (with the latest OS updates) and the Palm OS version on a Treo 700p.

The Q took much longer to install the app than the Treo did. After what felt like a quick installation, I thought I was all set to go, only to be told that I needed to download a .NET Compact Framework Update. That took much longer, about five minutes over an EV-DO connection, and required a reboot once it was installed. The Palm OS version required no such shenanigans.

Pocket Express impresses on first glance. The first screen shows nine separate categories, plus an "Extras" tab with links to Dear Abby, horoscopes, places to buy games, and other, well, extras. Each of the sections is fully customizable under a Settings tab. For example, you can configure the Express Sports page to show a scoreboard, sports news, and separate sections for the main sports you are interested in. The Stocks page lets you track your portfolio, shows a scrolling stock ticker, and gives you market and business/financial news (in two separate categories). Some of the tools include maps, directions, the New Oxford American Dictionary and Writer's Thesaurus, and a very flexible 411 search that finds people, neighbors, businesses, and reverse address and phone lookups.

The Windows Mobile version also offers a custom home page that replaces the standard one on your smartphone. On the page you'll find a scrolling stock ticker, the current weather, and a news article bar. I wasn't too impressed with this version, however. I experienced one major crash—all I could do was stare at the spinning Busy icon, until I gave up and rebooted the phone. Other times, I waited a long while at the "Connecting . . . " prompt and ended up having to exit the application and restart it. On numerous occasions, I also ended up with a shortcut in the Windows Mobile Quick Launch bar that pointed to nothing. Information wasn't always 100 percent in sync, either. For example, at one point the home page insisted it was 13° F in New York City when it was really 30° F outside.

The Palm OS version was another story. If you've been reading our mobile-application reviews here at PC Magazine, you've likely seen a pattern emerging, one that holds true in this case as well: the Palm OS–powered Treo 700p's higher-resolution screen and more responsive operating system make Pocket Express more enjoyable to use. Putting aside the stability issues for a moment, moving from the Q to the 700p doesn't produce as dramatic a difference with Pocket Express as it does with, say, Documents To Go. The two versions are mostly identical aside from the screen resolution.

That's a big factor, though. It's not just that the Palm OS can run at a resolution of 320-by-320, better than the 320-by-240 of Windows Mobile. The WM screen also requires a fixed title bar at the top of the screen, and a fixed bottom bar that contains two soft-touch buttons. By the time you're done, you're looking at a window that's really about 320-by-200 or even a bit less. (Check out our slide show to see how "squished" the Windows Mobile version looks compared with the Palm OS version.)

Handmark offers three versions of the product. The Free edition gives you news, sports, and weather. The Executive edition adds all the premium channels for $6.99/month, or a package deal for $69.90/year (two months free). For $9.99/month or $99.90/year, the Elite edition gives you access to MobileCierge, a 24/7 live "personal assistant" service you can call whenever you need something, such as travel, medical, or even emergency assistance. Think of it as a kind of OnStar-for-pedestrians.

As a whole, Handmark Pocket Express is a little less compelling than it was a year or two ago, just because there are so many mobile WAP sites out there these days. But it's still hard to beat the convenience the service offers. Windows Mobile users should definitely download the trial version to make sure that it runs well on their handhelds before committing to it. But if you own a Palm OS–powered Treo and find that you don't enjoy surfing the Web with Blazer much, Pocket Express could change your life.