wmTorrent ReviewDevice: HTC Touch (Vogue)
OS: Windows Mobile 6.1
Installed to: Main Memory/Storage Card
Installed Size: 815KB
RAM Consumption during operation: 1.5MB
Internet Connection: EVDO-REV A
Keygen: Working, based on device name -
but only works if device name is > 4 characters.
Program: Functional, some flaws as described later.
wmTorrent (as far as I know) is the only bit torrent client for Windows Mobile and I have been dying to get my hands on a release that worked, and I must say so far so good. The interface/operation is not unlike many PC-based torrent programs; it features the ability to seed and leech torrents, as well as provides a nice graphical histogram for your downloading speeds as well as a breakdown of all the peers you connect to. The only downside to the otherwise well defined UI is that every 'tab' that you tap with your stylus produces a "boop" noise (usually reserved for items that can't be tapped) which annoyed me greatly, as I did not see an option to disable sounds.
My test file was a 99.4MB torrent tracked by Demonoid.com. Adding the torrent went smoothly, and it seemed to have no problems working with a private tracker - though I did have to disable/re-enable my data connection once because it seemed to choke out about 30% into downloading. Downloading speeds were acceptable (mine gusted up to 120KB/s, but probably averaged 40), but of course your mileage based on your connection or (WIFI or GPRS) and torrent may vary, so I will not base my review heavily upon it. While downloading, the device remained responsive and wasn't severly weighed down by wmTorrent, as I could still browse the internet with PIE and run several other apps in the background with no noticeable slowdowns.
One large issue was that the torrent I attempted to download never seemed to finish, and seemed to be frozen at 99.76%. I decided then to browse the ADISASTA forums and found
this post which shows how to extract a seemingly 'unfinished' torrent. Once extracted, all files within worked correctly.
ConclusionAll in all, this product seems to work alright, but isn't really perfect. A Windows Mobile device is not going to replace a good PC and high speed connection anytime soon, but the novelty of a bit torrent client in your pocket is pretty nifty.
PROS - Solid graphical interace
- Easy to use
- Low CPU/RAM consumption
- It's Bit Torrent in your pants, baby!
CONS - Some torrents do not appear to have downloaded correctly.
- Annoying doop-doop-doops while poking about the UI
- A little flaky with GPRS connection
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars - Kinda pointless, but cool.