Review of File Manager Applications for Series 60-3
File manager applications are convenient for allowing you to explore the filing system on your phone. They offer wide range of functions, which help to cut/copy/paste files, view file properties, change file attributes, create directories, delete directories and files, etc.
We suggest you the review about 3 file managers, two of which are free of charge, and have high level of downloading.
Here is brief information about the applications to be analyzed:
| App name | Vendor | Price | Size, Kb |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-plore | Lonely Cat Games | Buy $9.00 | 365 |
| Y-Browser | www.DrJukka.com | Freeware | 251 |
| SysExplorer | NewLC Labs | Freeware | 75 |
We analyzed the following list of aspects and application details:
• Installation
• Trial period
• Interface and Application in action
• Settings
• Help and Support
• Special features
• Testing results
• Conclusion
Applications are quickly and easily installed if you follow the instructions on the screen of the mobile phone.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 10 |
| Y-Browser | 10 |
| SysExplorer | 10 |
Lonely Cat Games offers you to use the X-plore unregistered version as long as you wish. If you like the application you can buy it - you’ll get faster application startup and close, customer support.
Y-Browser and SysExplorer applications are free of charge downloadable software. You don’t have to pay money to purchase them, just download and use. Therefore they have no trial.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 9 |
| Y-Browser | 10 |
| SysExplorer | 10 |
Interface and Application in action
The main screen of X-plore application has the following view:
It displays the whole phone’s file system with the list of folders and files. You can view the content of any folder just clicking on it.
When clicking left soft key Menu you will see the following list of buttons to perform wide range of functions:
• File
o Open – to open the current file
o Open by System – to open the current file by System
o Hex viewer – to open the file in the Hex viewer screen
o Edit – to edit the current file
o Show details – to view the details of the current file
o Attributes – to set the attributes of the current file
o Delete – to remove the current file
o Rename – to change name of the current file
o Make Dir – to create new directory
o New text file – to create new text file
• Find
o Find file – to find the needed file by entering file name
o Find next
• Zip
o Copy to Zip – to archive the current file
o Move to Zip – to unzip the file
• Edit
o Copy – to copy the file
o Move – to move the current file into another folder
• Mark
o Selected – to mark the current file
o All – to mark all files
o None – to take off all marks
• Send by
o Bluetooth
o Infrared
• Scroll
o Page up
o Page down
• Quick folders – to set folder hotkeys
• Tools
o Configuration – to change the configuration fields
o Messaging – to look through the messaging list
o File associations – to note the file associations
o Program update – to update the X-plore app
o Device info – brief device information
o About
• Buy and unlock
• Exit – to exit the application
The Y-Browser main screen shows 3 disks:
Clicking on any disc you can see folders which exactly match those shown if you try to look at your internal disk:
You can use left/right to move between folder levels and up/down to select folders and files.
Files are shown with the right icon if Symbian OS recognizes their type.
Clicking left soft key Options of the Files screen you can perform the following actions:
• File
o Open with – to select the application to open the file with
o Send – to send the current file via MMS, Bluetooth or Infrared
o Properties – to view the properties of the current file
o Attributes – to set the file attributes
o Delete – to remove the current file
o Rename – to change name of the current file
o Show name – to display the file name
o New folder – to create new folder
• Edit
o Cut
o Copy
• Mark
o Mark/Unmark – to mark/unmark the current file
o Mark all – to mark all files
o Unmark all – to unmark all files
• Search files – the file search utility, just type in any wildcard search string, along with optional size and type filters, and Y-Browser will find them for you
• Extras
o Command Shortcuts – to choose which file functions you would like assign to which numeric keypad key, for faster file management operations
o Show Shortcuts – to view the Shortcuts list
o Set Shortcuts
o Set search on
o Settings – to configure the app settings
o Switch layout – to change the layout
o Change icons
o Refresh
• About
• Exit – to exit the application
The SysExplorer main screen shows the list of discs:
Select the disc you need and you will see the list of folders which contain files:
When clicking left soft key Options of the Files screen user can perform the following actions:
• File
o Open – to open the current file
o View
o Properties – shows the file properties
o Rename – to change file name
• Directory
o Create Dir – to create new directory
• Selection
o Cut
o Copy
o Delete
o Mark
• Utils
o Disable Ext. Error – you can choose to display the app crash message or not
o Hardware Information – brief device info
• About
• Exit – to exit the application
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 10 |
| Y-Browser | 9 |
| SysExplorer | 7 |
X-plore application suggests the following list of settings:
• Show Hidden files – to include hidden files in list
• Show ROM drives – to include ROM drive in list
• Show RAM drives – to include RAM drive in list
• Show system files/folders – to list system (sensitive) folders and files/folders with System attribute
• Sort by – to select sorting order of files
• UI font size – to select font size used for user interface
• Text font size – to select font size used when reading/editing text files
• Language – to select application language
• Ask to exit – option whether the application will ask before exiting
• Fullscreen viewer – to start text and image viewer by default in Fullscreen mode
• Landscape image viewer – to start image viewer by default in landscape mode
• System application – to mark the application as system, which will prevent OS to close it automatically in low memory conditions
• Program password – to set password used to enter the application
• Text coding – to select text coding used when opening non-unicode text files
• Color theme – to select color variation used in the program
Y-Browser allows to configure the following options:
• Show all files – to select to show all files or not
• Sort order – to select ascending or descending sort order
• Sort by – to select sorting order of files
• Folders first – to list first folders or not
• Save folder info – to select to save folder info or not
• Recognize files – to select to recognize files info or not
• Save path on exit – to select to save path on exit or not
• Ask on exit – option whether the application will ask before exiting
The SysExplorer application suggests no settings options.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 10 |
| Y-Browser | 7 |
| SysExplorer | 1 |
X-plore the application has no Help file, which is rather uncomfortable, but you can find detailed explanation of the configuration fields; it has an e-mail (support@lonelycatgames.com) to contact a developer in case of any questions or suggestions.
The support department of this application works efficiently. The answer to the question asked was comprehensible and quick in the course of one business day.
Due to the Help absence in the Y-Browser 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 respond to our e-mail.
SysExplorer application has no Help file; it has an e-mail (support@newlc.com) to contact a developer in case of any questions or suggestions.
The support department did not respond to my e-mail.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 8 |
| Y-Browser | 4 |
| SysExplorer | 2 |
X-plore application has the following list of special features:
• Hex viewer – to open the file in the Hex viewer screen
• Open by System – to open the current file by System
• Attributes – to set the attributes of the current file
• Copy to Zip – to archive the current file
• Move to Zip – to unzip the file
• Quick folders – to set folder hotkeys
• Messaging – to look through the messaging list
• File associations – to note the file associations
• Show ROM drives – to include ROM drive in list
• Show RAM drives – to include RAM drive in list
Y-Browser suggests the following list of special features:
• Search files – the file search utility, just type in any wildcard search string, along with optional size and type filters, and Y-Browser will find them for you
• Command Shortcuts – to choose which file functions you would like assign to which numeric keypad key, for faster file management operations
• Switch layout – to change the layout
• Save folder info – to select to save folder info or not
• Recognize files – to select to recognize files info or not
• Save path on exit – to select to save path on exit or not
SysExplorer can offer you such special feature as:
• Disable Ext. Error – you can choose to display the app crash message or not
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| X-plore | 10 |
| Y-Browser | 9 |
| SysExplorer | 4 |
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 and Application in action: IF 10
• Settings: IF 7
• Help and Support: IF 5
• Special features: IF 6
The total possible score for an application would be 340 points.
Multiplying the score by Importance factors we have got the following table:
| X-plore | Y-Browser | SysExplorer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Trial period | 36 | 40 | 40 |
| Interface and Application in action | 100 | 90 | 70 |
| Settings | 70 | 49 | 7 |
| Help/Support | 40 | 20 | 10 |
| Special features | 60 | 54 | 24 |
| Total | 326 | 273 | 171 |
Test winner according to the overall application test is X-plore from Lonely Cat Games.
The incontestable winner of this review is the X-plore file manager from Lonely Cat Games. X-plore is an efficient and feature-packed application. One of the best features is the built-in image viewer with an ability to show the images in real fullscreen and in a landscape mode. Though the application is not free, it offers to use the X-plore unregistered version as long as you wish. If you like the application you can buy it. This file manager, unlike the rest two, allows you to extract files from Zip, Rar, Jar archives and to pack files to Zip archive.
The Y-Browser is a free file manager, which can attract users with such features as the possibility to select the application to open file with, set command shortcuts to choose which file functions you would like assign to which numeric keypad key, and the switch layout option.
The main advantage of the SysExplorer file manager is the Disable Ext. Error option, which allows you to choose to display the app crash message. Unfortunately the SysExplorer doesn’t contain any settings, this is unrepresentative for the majority applications. And the interface craves for better.