Review of Shortcut Applications
The role of Shortcut applications in everyday life of most users is getting more and more important. Applications of such kind allow to perform various actions on the mobile phone with just one key pressing.
This review contains comparison of two most popular shortcut applications for Series S60.3 – Cute Keys and Phone Shortcuts. Both applications will become efficient in our busy and fleeting life.
Here is brief information about the application to be analyzed:
| App name | Vendor | Price | Size, Kb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | Tektronic | Buy $7.49 | 157 |
| Cute Keys | Symbian Guru | Buy $9.99 | 199 |
We analyzed the following list of aspects and application details:
• Installation
• Trial period
• Interface and Application in action
• Special features
• Settings
• Help and Support
• Testing results
• Conclusion
Both applications cause no problems during installation which lasts no more than couple of seconds.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 10 |
| Cute Keys | 10 |
There is no trial version offered, the application is commercial. The current review was made on basis of the Phone Shortcuts free version given to us by Tektronic company. (Many thanks!!!)
Cute Keys offer the 10 day trial version with no additional restrictions.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 3 |
| Cute Keys | 9 |
Interface and Application in action
Starting Phone Shortcuts for the first time you will see the main screen which has the following view:
Left soft key Options of the main screen offers the following list of buttons:
• Edit shortcut – to edit a shortcut
• Settings
• Help – application online help
• About – to display information about the Phone Shortcuts version, software vender etc.
• Privacy note
To create new shortcut or modify the already existing one you should click left soft key Options → Edit shortcut and complete the corresponding fields:
• Select application – to select the application to start
• Shortcut hotkey – this is the associated hotkey which lets you start the application chosen. There are 12 keys of the main phone keyboard available.
• Hotkey timeout – to set the timeout for the hotkey you have to keep pressed to start the application defined for shortcut
• Hotkey ignores keylock – if activated and while you keep the hotkey pressed for its timeout, the application will be started no matter if the keypad is locked or not
• Start at boot – to automatically start the Phone Shortcuts at the phone power on
Having defined at least one of the available entries the main screen will have the following view (the applications icon and its name will be displayed with associated key):
When starting Cute Keys for the first you will see the main screen with “no data” text:
Left soft key Options of the main screen offers the following list of buttons:
• New – to create new shortcut combination
• Settings
• Register – to enter the registration code
• Help – contains all necessary information for navigation across the application
• About – contains brief information about the developer
• Exit – to exit the application
To create new shortcut combination you should click left soft key Options → New, and complete the corresponding fields:
• Type – to select the appropriate shortcut type for the new combination from the list of available:
o Shortcut to an application (launches the selected application)
o Shortcut to multimedia files (opens and shows/plays such files like photos, videos, pictures, ringtones, music etc.)
o Shortcut to a document like Word, Sheet etc. (launches directly selected file)
o Shortcut to Notes (like in build-in Desktop)
o Shortcut for an entry from the contact database – Phone number (directly calls the selected contact)
o Shortcut for an entry from the contact database – SMS (directly opens the SMS editor with the selected contact)
o Shortcut for an entry from the contact database – MMS (directly opens the MMS editor with the selected contact)
o Shortcut for an entry from the contact database – Email (directly opens the Email editor with the selected contact)
o Shortcut for an entry from the contact database (directly opens the selected contact in the built-in Contact database)
o Shortcut for an internet website (directly opens the built-in internet browser with the pre-defined http address)
o Shortcut to change Bluetooth
• Application – this field has different names according to your selection in the previous field; here you can select what data/application/number should be opened on shortcut entering
• Shortcut – to enter the desired combination of the new shortcut, this may be 2 or 3 or even 4 buttons combination if you are a real freak
• Display name – to enter your unique name of the new shortcut combination
After having created at least one new shortcut combination you can see it on the main screen of the application:
On pressing the key combo the action is performed. You may have unlimited number of shortcuts defined. The number of actions that may be performed also impresses.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 6 |
| Cute Keys | 10 |
Phone Shortcuts application has the following special features:
• Hotkey timeout – to set the timeout for the hotkey you have to keep pressed to start the application defined for shortcut
• Hotkey ignores keylock – if activated and while you keep the hotkey pressed for its timeout, the application will be started no matter if the keypad is locked or not, very interesting feature that really works; and this feature not only ignores keylock and starts the needed application, but also unlocks keypad
The advantages and at the same time the special features of the Cute Keys application are:
• Wide choice of the shortcuts types and actions
• Unlimited number of shortcuts that may be defined
• Shortcuts may be performed from any place in the mobile – also from other applications
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 6 |
| Cute Keys | 9 |
Phone Shortcuts application suggests the following list of settings:
• Start app. then Exit – if activated and the application is started, the Phone Shortcuts tool will exit
• Hotkey state – if set to Enabled – Key Clear (C) then you can start the Phone Shortcuts tool keeping the key C pressed for the timeout you set in the Hotkey timeout field
• Hotkey timeout – allows to set the timeout for the key C you have to keep pressed in order to start the Phone Shortcuts tool
• Hotkey ignores keylock – if activated, while you keep the key C pressed for its timeout, the Phone Shortcuts tool will be started no matter if the keypad is locked or not
• Autostart at boot – to automatically start the Phone Shortcuts at the phone power on
You can access Settings of Cute Keys clicking left soft key Options → Settings:
• Active – to activate or deactivate the Shortcuts application
• Autostart – to activate/deactivate Cute Keys auto run, when the phone is starting
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 8 |
| Cute Keys | 5 |
Phone Shortcuts application has the Help file, which is really comprehensible and helpful in application use; it has an e-mail (contact@tektronic.ro) to contact a developer in case of any questions or suggestions.
Thanks to the efficiency of the support department we received the email with the Phone Shortcuts free version in the course of an hour after our email has been sent.
Cute Keys contains the Help file available in 4 different languages, what is very convenient; the e-mail for customers support is support@symbianguru.com The support department works efficiently and delivers answer to the question in the course of an hour.
| App name | Score |
|---|---|
| Phone Shortcuts | 10 |
| Cute Keys | 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 and App in Action: IF 10
• Settings: IF 6
• Help and Support: IF 5
• Special features: IF 4
The total possible score for an application would be 310 points.
Multiplying the score by Importance factors we have got the following table:
| Cute Keys | Phone Shortcuts | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | 20 | 20 |
| Trial period | 36 | 12 |
| Interface and Application in action | 100 | 60 |
| Special features | 36 | 24 |
| Settings | 30 | 48 |
| Help/Support | 50 | 50 |
| Total | 272 | 214 |
Test winner according to the overall application test is Cute Keys from Symbian Guru.
Such kind of software as shortcut applications become more and more consumable in our busy and fleeting life. They save our time and simplify the mobile phone using. You can set the shortcut combinations and then use them to perform various actions on the phone.
Cute Keys application joins convenient interface, good set of special features, such as wide choice of the shortcuts types and actions, unlimited number of shortcuts that may be defined, etc. The application works efficiently and will be daily required.
The Phone Shortcuts interface design is unusual but at the same time convenient and interesting in using. The application is easy, comprehensible even for the beginner in mobile use. But Phone Shortcuts starts only the application unlike Cute Keys, which opens any application, makes a phone call, sends SMS to a desired recipient, etc.