Review of Mobile Search Applications
Our review about the Mobile Search applications is being updated with the Nokia Mobile Search app from Nokia.com. Nokia Search is a free mobile application that finds what you want. It can search through the thousands of messages, contacts, music and other files on your mobile device. It also finds internet content by using leading search engines and local directory services.
Here is brief information about the applications to be analyzed:
| App name | Vendor | Price | Size, Kb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Search | Odendahl SEPT-Solutions | Buy $19.99 | 170 |
| AllFinder | SHAPE Services | Buy $14.95 | 132 |
| MobileHelp | SymbianOn | Buy $19.99 | 344 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | Nokia.com | Freeware | 920 |
We analyzed the following list of aspects and application details:
• Installation
• Trial period
• Interface
• Application in action
• Settings
• Help and Support
• Special features
• Testing results
Installation process of the applications took about a minute. Easy and quickly.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 10 |
| AllFinder | 10 |
| MobileHelp | 10 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
The Mobile Search trial works for 10 days after installation.
AllFinder – the trial period of this application lasts 6 days.
MobileHelp suggests the following variants of using the trial version:
• 3 days trial
• 10 free IP calls
• 10 free automatic message hidings
• 40 free contact search
• 10 free fake call
• 10 free file encryptions
• 10 free screen captures
Nokia Mobile Search application is free of charge downloadable software. You don’t have to pay money to purchase it, just download and use. Therefore it has no trial.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 9 |
| AllFinder | 6 |
| MobileHelp | 8 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
The interfaces of Mobile Search and AllFinder applications contain no data and have the following views:
In first two applications to start using the application you have to click left soft key Options of the main screen:
• Search (Search by date in AllFinder)
• Settings
• Register
• About
• Exit
The MobileHelp application shows the following list of buttons when selecting left soft key Options:
• Baby List
• Settings
• New contact
• File Security
• Msg manage
• Help
• Exit
The main Nokia Mobile Search app screen shows the list of the available search providers, sorted by search service type:
Left soft key Options contains the following list of buttons:
• Open
• Show map viewer – to access the map; you can view coordinates on the map
• Country or region – to change the country or region setting and see which search providers are available
• Settings
• About
• Help
• Exit – exits the application
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 6 |
| AllFinder | 6 |
| MobileHelp | 8 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
To start using Mobile Search application you have to enter the search text in the specified field:
Then click left soft key Options → Search.
After successful search, you’ll get a list with all found results, which can be directly viewed:
Choosing left soft key Options of this screen you can perform the following actions:
• New Search – to execute the new search
• Switch application – to switch to the associated application (e.g. when a contact is selected, you can even jump directly to the correct entry in the contacts application)
The same with AllFinder application. First you have to enter the keyword, then click left soft key Options → Search (or if you wish Search by date, in this case you will have to enter the needed date):
The list with the relevant results will appear on the screen:
The only action you can perform here is just open the received result.
All the search results are organized and managed in a usual manner:
When opening the MobileHelp application, you will see the main screen with the list of contacts:
Left soft key Options of the main screen contains the following list of buttons:
• Baby List – protected area, to enter which you will have to input a correct password
• Settings – to change configurations
• New contact – to create a new contact into the phonebook
• File Security – to encrypt/decrypt the files in the phone
• Msg manage – to manage all of the messages (SMS/MMS)
• Help
• Exit
When pressing joystick left you will see the “Call” window, in which all of the call records related to the current contact are shown:
Left soft key Options contains the following items:
• Show all records – to show all of the records for the current contact including the “Answered calls”, “Dialled calls” and “Missed calls”
• Show missed call – to show all of the missed calls for the current contact
• Show dialed call – to show all of the dialled for the current contact
• Help
When choosing to show dialled or answered call, all needed data will be displayed as shown:
When pressing joystick right you will see the “Messages” window, in which all of the messages related to the current contact are shown:
Left soft key Options contains the following items:
• Write message – to create a new message
• SMS Log – all of the SMS messages will be shown according to time order defined in the “Settings”, after entering the correct password
• Hide/Expose – to hide/expose the message (SMS/MMS) at the current index of the list box
• Show all visible – to show all of the visible messages regardless of “inbox” or “outbox” messages
• Show inbox visible – to show all of the visible messages in the “inbox” for the selected contact in the “Contact” window
• Show inbox invisible – to show all of the invisible messages in the “inbox” for the selected contact in the “Contact” window, after entering the correct password
• Show outbox visible – to show all of the visible messages in the “outbox” for the selected contact in the “Contact” window
• Show outbox invisible – to show all of the invisible messages in the “outbox” for the selected contact in the “Contact” window, after entering the correct password
• Message details
• Delete
• Help
• Mark/Unmark
When choosing to show the hidden message, first you have to enter the correct password:
Having entered the correct password you will see the invisible messages:
The main screen of Nokia Mobile Search app contains the list of the available search providers, sorted by search service type:
Left soft key Options contains the following list of buttons:
• Open
• Show map viewer – to access the map; you can view coordinates on the map
• Country or region – to change the country or region setting and see which search providers are available
• Settings
• About
• Help
• Exit – exits the application
When you travel from one country or region to another, the country or region setting is automatically adjusted. Nokia Mobile Search application asks you to confirm the change.
The Images category is for searching for images, the Local category is for searching for business listings such as restaurants or taxis in the selected country or region.
Local search can be used to search for business, events and reviews, depending on the search provider. When searching with a local search provider, first type in the keyword or business name you wish to search for:
And then click the Show on map button to see the location:
Image search provides a quick and easy way to search for images on the Internet. The results list displays a small preview, title, and URL for each result:
The images can be opened with the image viewer or they can be saved in the gallery.
Nokia Mobile Search allows to search the content of your mobile device, including calendar events, emails and other messages, contacts, to-do notes and other files:
To find the information you need, just enter the keyword:
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 8 |
| AllFinder | 8 |
| MobileHelp | 9 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
Mobile Search offers the following list of settings:
• Contacts – to enable the search to be processed in any field
• SMS – to enable the search to be processed in all folders and custom subfolders
• Email – to enable the search to be processed in all folders and custom subfolders, in body as well as subject line
• File System – to enable the search to be processed in complete file system regarding filenames (found files can be viewed in associated application)
• Calendar/Todo – to enable the search to be processed in Calendar, inclusive notes, appointments, anniversaries and Todo application
• Calendar start date – this is the start from where the calendar is search. This is automatically set to the current date, so only events in the future are searched for. But you could enter a new date in the past or in the future to change the scope
• Repeated entries – if you have a repeated calendar entry, e.g. a birthday. You can either get all entries, so e.g. 02/05/08, 02/05/09, 02/05/10 etc, or just the first one
The AllFinder application contains such settings as:
• Sort results by – to select the results sorting by Date or by Type
• Sort direction – to select the Descending or Ascending sort direction
• Result list – Double or Single result lists are possible
• Search in – to select the apps to process the search in, such as:
o All
o Messages
o Contacts
o Calendar
MobileHelp suggests the following settings for making configurations:
• IP Call Profile – the profile for making IP call
• My own name – to enter the name used in the “SMS Log” window or the sender’s name when a user selects the view “All invisible msgs” or “All visible msgs”• Personal password – to enter the password for all of the protected area in the application
• Image size – a user may press the “ABC” key together with the numeric key “5″ simultaneously to capture the phone screen
• Memory in use – to define where to store the captured images
• Image name – to define the captured image name
• Enable signature – if enabled, all of the composed messages will automatically insert a pre-defined signature
• Message signature – to define the signature to be used when composing a message
• SMS Log time order – to define how the SMS messages are displayed in the “SMS Log” window
• Fake trigger type – to define the way to trigger a fake call
• Fake caller’s name – to enter the caller’s name appearing in the incoming call
• Fake phone number – when “Fake caller’s name” is null, then this number appears in the faked incoming call
• Fake ring tone – to define the ring tone to be used in the faked call
• Fake time delay – to define the time delay for triggering the incoming call after a user presses the hot key
• Auto hide messages – when enabled, the application automatically hides the messages
Nokia Mobile Search suggests the following settings to configure:
• Connection – to choose the access point you wish to use and to allow/deny network connections
• Locations – to create country and location pairs
• Search services – to select default service providers
• General – to enable/disable tooltips
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 10 |
| AllFinder | 8 |
| MobileHelp | 10 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 9 |
Mobile Search contains no Help, that is not convenient for application usage; the e-mail to contact a developer is bugs@sept-solutions.de I liked the speed of the support department work; the answer has been received in course of one hour.
AllFinder doesn’t contain Help too; the e-mail to contact a developer – support@vitotechnology.com No answer has been received to our question.
MobileHelp contains a detailed Help, where you can find any information you need; the e-mail to contact a developer is support@symbianon.com The support department work is efficient and quick, I received an answer in the course of about 1 hour.
Nokia Mobile Search has the Help file, its items are available for separate application options.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 8 |
| AllFinder | 2 |
| MobileHelp | 10 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
Mobile Search has a good list of special features to attract users:
• File System – to enable the search to be processed in complete file system regarding filenames (found files can be viewed in associated application)
• Calendar/Todo – to enable the search to be processed in Calendar, inclusive notes, appointments, anniversaries and Todo application
• Calendar start date – this is the start from where the calendar is search. This is automatically set to the current date, so only events in the future are searched for. But you could enter a new date in the past or in the future to change the scope
• Repeated entries – if you have a repeated calendar entry, e.g. a birthday. You can either get all entries, so e.g. 02/05/08, 02/05/09, 02/05/10 etc, or just the first one
AllFinder offers one special feature:
• Sort direction – to select the Descending or Ascending sort direction
• Result list – Double or Single result lists are possible
In MobileHelp application you will be able to use the following special features:
• IP Call Profile – the profile for making IP call
• My own name – to enter the name used in the “SMS Log” window or the sender’s name when a user selects the view “All invisible msgs” or “All visible msgs”• Personal password – to enter the password for all of the protected area in the application
• Image size – a user may press the “ABC” key together with the numeric key “5″ simultaneously to capture the phone screen
• Enable signature – if enabled, all of the composed messages will automatically insert a pre-defined signature
• Fake trigger type – to define the way to trigger a fake call
• Fake caller’s name – to enter the caller’s name appearing in the incoming call
• Fake ring tone – to define the ring tone to be used in the faked call
• Fake time delay – to define the time delay for triggering the incoming call after a user presses the hot key
• Auto hide messages – when enabled, the application automatically hides the messages
Nokia Mobile Search is a unique application offering lots of special features, among which:
• Images category – for searching images
• Local category – for searching business listings such as restaurants or taxis in the selected country or region
• Show map viewer – to access the map; you can view coordinates on the map
• Country or region – to change the country or region setting and see which search providers are available
• Content search – to search the content of your mobile device, including calendar events, emails and other messages, contacts, to-do notes and other files
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Mobile Search | 8 |
| AllFinder | 6 |
| MobileHelp | 9 |
| Nokia Mobile Search | 10 |
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
• Application in action: IF 10
• Settings: IF 6
• Help and Support: IF 6
• Special features: IF 8
The total possible score for an application would be 410 points.
Multiplying the score by Importance factors we have got the following table:
| Nokia Mobile Search | MobileHelp | Mobile Search | AllFinder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Trial period | 40 | 32 | 36 | 24 |
| Interface | 50 | 40 | 30 | 30 |
| Application in action | 100 | 90 | 80 | 80 |
| Settings | 54 | 60 | 60 | 48 |
| Help/Support | 60 | 60 | 48 | 12 |
| Special features | 80 | 72 | 64 | 48 |
| Total | 404 | 374 | 338 | 262 |
Test winner according to the overall application test is Nokia Mobile Search by Nokia.com.
As you can see from the received test of the Nokia Mobile Search application, this software is perfect. It allows not only to find your own messages, songs, and other content as a simple mobile search app, but also search the internet to find websites or local business listings online. This application has nice interface, interesting features and is very easy in use.
MobileHelp application is a bit different from the ordinary mobile search applications. But what regards calls and messages this application is unique and very interesting in use. It combines nice interface, good set of settings options, which can be regarded as special features of MobileHelp.
Mobile Search and AllFinder applications are similar, differing just in some aspects, such as efficiency of support department, settings options, special features etc. The efficiency of Mobile Search and AllFinder applications in searching is pretty well.
Both Mobile Search and AllFinder are easy in use, don’t require any special skills for using them.
The main advantage of the AllFinder application is that it shows the list of all Last Search results. I think that this feature should be implemented in every mobile search application.
Mobile Search takes the lead over AllFinder for offering settings and special features, which are an important part of good software.