Symbian Review

Among the great variety of Alarm Manager Applications we singled out 4 to make a comparison review. This will be a general review because all applications of this kind have much in common differing just in their special features. 

In this article we tried to show you the advantages and disadvantages of Alarm Manager Applications. You are invited to read it and choose the appropriate alarm manager for your everyday use.

Here is brief information about the applications to be analyzed:

App name	Vendor	Price	Size, Kb
Multi Alarm	Rock Your Mobile!	Buy $11.95	449
Y-Alarms	symbianyucca	Freeware	239
NiceAlarm	VerySoft	Buy $14.50	175
Alarm Manager	Igor Dontsov	Buy $7.00	50

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We analyzed the following list of aspects and application details:
• Installation
• Trial period
• Interface
• Settings
• Help and Support
• Application in action
• Special features

• Alarm activation when the phone is off

• Summary of the test results

• Conclusion

Installation

As usually we start using the application installing it. The alarm manager applications are not the exception and as all the previous apps from our reviews have been perfectly installed. That is why all of them are given the highest score.

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	10
Y-Alarms	10
NiceAlarm	10
Alarm Manager	10

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Trial period

The period of trial version means much if you want first to test the application and only afterwards purchase it.

The advantage of Y-Alarms is that is free and you have no limits in using it.

Multi Alarm and Alarm Manager applications offer 15-day trial version; the period of the NiceAlarm trial version is 7 days with no additional restrictions.   

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	8
Y-Alarms	10
NiceAlarm	6
Alarm Manager	8

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Interface

The interfaces of the reviewed applications look very similar to each other.

Multi Alarm and NiceAlarm applications show the “no data” text when starting them for the first time (the novelty in the NiceAlarm application is the displayed in the top center total amount of installed alarms and the position the currently selected alarm, indicators of the current date and time parameters):

         Multi Alarm                                 NiceAlarm   

                         
          

          Y-Alarms

Y-Alarms interface shows no text (except for the website address), but differs from the previous applications with the colour of the main screen and the app as a whole.

To start using the application you have to click left soft key (Menu – in Multi Alarm, and Options – in NiceAlarm).

The main screen of the Alarm Manager application shows the list of predefined templates for further alarm setting:
 
 

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	7
Y-Alarms	5
NiceAlarm	8
Alarm Manager	6

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Settings

Including Settings options, application allows users to modify some items of it to their own wishes. Having Settings is more convenient for the user then it is in case of Y-Alarms and Alarm Manager software: in both applications you have no possibility to change any settings.

Whereas Multi Alarm offers the following list of settings:

 

• Activation – to activate/deactivate the application
• Workdays – to define work days for workday alarms
• Respect current profile – to define if the alarm sound will be played when the Silent profile is activated
• Alarm volume – to change the alarm volume

 

• Alarm ringing type – to choose the type of the alarm ringing
• Vibration – to activate/deactivate vibration
• Default snooze time – to choose the snooze time

NiceAlarm has in some way similar to Multi Alarm set of settings, but differs in the possibility of adjusting sound settings:

Alarms:

• Select workdays – to specify the workdays
• Alarm duration – to adjust the period length when alarm will be active
• Alarm interval – to adjust the time period between alarm activations
• Alarm lifetime – to adjust the period of alarm activity

• Snooze by any key – to turn on/off delaying activation time by pressing any button of the mobile phone
• Backlight blink – to adjust backlight blinking

Sounds:

• Sound folders – to add extra folders with tone files
• Volume – to adjust the volume level of the alarms
• Backlight blink – to adjust the backlight blinking
• Vibration – to enable/disable vibration

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	8
Y-Alarms	2
NiceAlarm	9
Alarm Manager	2

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Help and Support

We singled out such aspect as Help and Support because it becomes very useful while users’ application usage. When you some problems when using the application or you have suggestions regarding it, developers should provide you with constant on-line help. That’s why we always check the efficiency of every customer’s support.

NiceAlarm doesn’t contain Help; the e-mail to contact a developer - support@very-soft.com The support department works efficiently sending the e-mail in the course of 2-3 business days.

Alarm Manager similar to NiceAlarm won’t Help you; for additional questions or suggestions turn to support@smartbian.com (subject - AlarmManagerS603rd). We received e-mail with the answer to our question in the course of one business day.

Multi Alarm has its own way of helping you – special Tips will briefly explain you all details of the application; support e-mail - support@rock-your-mobile.com I guess the support department of Rock Your Mobile just ignores us as it’s not the first time that we don’t receive an answer to our question.

Due to the Help absence in the Y-Alarms application you will have to make out everything by yourself; but the application is not complicated and the e-mail to contact a developer is symbianyucca@gmail.com Unfortunately the support department of this application did not help us by answering the simple question.

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	5
Y-Alarms	2
NiceAlarm	5
Alarm Manager	6

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Application in action

All four applications are very similar in creating the new alarm. They differ to some extent in a view listing already existing alarm schedules, and they differ much in the way the alarm is being displayed on the screen when it is due. The details follow.

Multi Alarm – the main screen has the following view:

 

When clicking left soft key Menu you will see the following list of buttons:

 

• New alarm – to create a new alarm record
• Settings
• Show tip – to help you to navigate in the application
• Register – to enter registration code
• About – short information about the application and developer
• Exit – to exit the application

To create a new alarm record you have to click left soft key Menu → New alarm and fill in the following fields:

 

• Condition – to choose the needed condition from the list of available
• Date – to enter the date of the new alarm
• Time – to enter time of the new alarm
• Message – to enter text which will be displayed during the alarm play
• Minimal playtime – to enter time during which the alarm will play
• Alarm sound – to select a separate sound for each alarm

After being created all your alarm records are displayed on the main screen:

 

During the alarm play the screen has the following view:

 

Y-Alarms – is a multialarm application.

The main screen has the following view:

 

To start using it you have to click left soft key Options:

 

• New alarm – to create a new alarm record
• About – information about the application and developer

To create a new alarm record you will have to fill in the following list of fields:

 

• Repeat – to choose type of the new alarm
• Time – to enter time of the new alarm
• Type – to choose type of the new alarm
• Message – to enter text of the message which will be displayed during the alarm play

List of already created alarm records looks as follows:

 

When the alarm is playing the screen has the following view:

 

NiceAlarm – when opening the application you will see the main screen:

 

Left soft key Options opens the following list of buttons:

 

• Add alarm – to add a new alarm record
• Filter – to display only a certain type of alarms
• Settings
• About – information about the application and developer
• Exit – exits the application

If you want to add a new alarm you have to click left soft key Options → Add alarm:

 

• Repeat – to choose the condition type
• Time – to enter time of the new alarm activation
• Tone type – tone selection or random tone
• Alarm tone – to adjust tone that will be played with alarm activation
• Message – to specify the message that will be displayed with the alarm
• Deactivation code – to enable randomly generated deactivation code for the alarm

All newly created alarms are displayed on the main screen:

When the alarm is activated the screen has the following view:

Alarm Manager – the main screen look as follows:

 

Left soft key Options shows the following menu:

 

• About – information about the application and developer
• Register – to enter registration code
• Toggle on/off
• Properties – to overview the current alarm record with possibility to edit it
• Delete alarm – to remove the current alarm record
• Delete all alarms – to remove all alarms
• Exit – exits the application

To create a new alarm record you have to click on one of the predefined templates and complete the following fields:

• Time – to enter time of the alarm activation
• Date – to enter date of the alarm activation
• Repeat – to choose the condition of the new alarm
• Message – to enter message which will be displayed on the mobile screen during the alarm play

Being created all alarm records are displayed on the main screen:

 

When the alarm is activated the screen has the following view:

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	8
Y-Alarms	5
NiceAlarm	9
Alarm Manager	7

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Special features

If application offers at least one special feature which noticeably differs it from the other applications of the same kind, this is a great advantage.

Taking into account the reviewed applications Y-Alarms and Alarm Manager possess nothing special to attract users.

The only thing that Multi Alarm has different from the others is the way it presents its Help in the form of brief Tips.

NiceAlarm offers three special features:

• Backlight blink – to adjust backlight blinking
• Alarm lifetime – to adjust the period of alarm activity
• Deactivation code – to enable randomly generated deactivation code for the alarm
• Filter – to display only a certain type of alarms

App name	Score
Multi Alarm	5
Y-Alarms	2
NiceAlarm	8
Alarm Manager	2

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Alarm activation when the phone is off

The possibility of the alarm manager application to activate when the phone is turned off is very important for users.

We tested our alarm managers and here are the results:

App name	On/Off	Score
Multi Alarm	No	0
Y-Alarms	Yes	9
NiceAlarm	No	0
Alarm Manager	Yes	9

While testing we noticed that the alarm activates when the phone is off in the applications where you can’t choose the alarm sound (when creating the alarm record).  

Unfortunately even in the new version of NiceAlarm there is no possibility of alarm activation when the phone is off.

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Summary of the test results

Having analyzed all components and settings and given them the scores from 1 to 10, we have multiplied the scores by a corresponding importance factor in order to get the total score value of the application.

We have used the following Importance factor (IF) values:
• Installation: IF 2
• Trial period: IF  4
• Interface: IF  5
• Settings: IF  6
• Help and Support: IF 4
• Application in action: IF  10
• Special features: IF 6
• Alarm activation when the phone is off: IF 4

The total possible score for an application would be 410 points.

Multiplying the score by Importance factors we have got the following table:

	NiceAlarm	Multi Alarm	Alarm Manager	Y-Alarms
Installation	20	20	20	20
Trial period	24	32	32	40
Interface	40	35	30	25
Settings	54	48	12	12
Help/Support	20	20	24	8
Application in action	90	80	70	50
Special features	48	30	12	12
Alarm activation on phone off	0	0	36	36
Total	296	265	200	167

Test winner according to the overall application test is NiceAlarm by VerySoft.

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Conclusion

Having tested the newly released version of NiceAlarm from VerySoft company, it turned out that this alarm manager is the best among the reviewed applications. The new version has been implemented with new features, such as alarms filtering, extended sound support etc.

Though not a winner of this comparison review but Multi Alarm has nice interface, good set of settings, it is easy and convenient in using. But the biggest minus is the irresponsibility of Rock Your Mobile! which for some reasons ignore our e-mails.

The biggest advantage of Alarm Manager is that its support department was the only that helped us with our problem and sent us and e-mail. But no settings and a bit uninteresting interface should be improved to gain better results.

And finally Y-Alarms application. What I really liked at first glance is the dissimilar to the others colour of the interface. But that is not enough to be popular among users. We have heard that Y-Alarms version is a beta one, so we hope that the release version will gain more interesting points.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 9:59 and is filed under Software Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.