Still using that default and miserable excuse for a task manager on your S60 device? We’re pitting two apps head-to-head that have both proven the ability to add a great deal of missing functionality to the default offering by S60. In one corner is a clearly more visually pleasing task manager- Handy Taskman. As a reader of Symbian-Guru, it’s quite possible you’ve heard of this one on a number of occasions- for good reason. Handy Taskman is truly a killer app that finds its way on to plenty of S60 ‘power users’ lists as a “must have app” or among those applications that are installed on a device first. It is installed on my new phones immediately after setting the location and time/date- if I weren’t prompted to do so upon the boot of a fresh device, it would happen even before this. It’s that good, and that important.
The other corner is an app from Juriy Bakunin, a Russian coder, called JBak Task Manager that shows the perennial favorite some competition. Visually- it’s not much to speak of… at all. In fact it can be downright unpleasant on the eyes – though this shouldn’t put you off from giving it a shot. There are several features and a wealth of settings not available in HandyTaskman that we find with JBak Taskman. Let’s start with the main screens of the two apps.
Main screen and interface
As you can see, Handy Taskman offers a clean and well thought out interface while the interface on JBak Taskman looks muddled and much of the visual appearance and features look like afterthoughts. It may very well be just my opinion, but I far prefer applications where visual appearance and intuitive design play a large role in development. Visual appearance counts for a great deal with me, so this is a big +1 for Handy Taskman.
That being said, if we can over look the appearance for a moment- you can see several differences in the application already from here. While it all seems to be jammed in there, you’ve got a bit more information and functionality from JBak Taskman’s home screen. For starters, the battery and signal meter is still displayed in JBak’s app- as well as a 24-hour mode clock. +1 JBak
Shortcuts vs. Favorites
There’s also a sort of speed dial shortcut list present in the standby screen- any of these apps can be launched right off by pressing the numeric key associated with the item. It’s also not just limited to tasks- you can add documents as well. You can see in my list that #5 is a note labeled “Channel Li(st)”- this is a handy list of local channels for reference with SlingPlayer. Handy Taskman does offer this feature; a right press on the D-pad from the main screen will display your favorite apps. However, there are no numeric keypad shortcuts and documents cannot be linked. I rather like the having another nine application (or document) shortcuts available with the single brief long press of the menu key so I feel JBak wins that round strongly- but at the cost of the next item… +1 JBak
Application lookup and launch
Both task managers allow the ability to quickly enter the name of an application. In Handy Taskman you just start entering the name of an application via T9 in either the Open Apps or Recent Apps screens; with JBak Taskman you press ‘#’ then enter the name via T9. It’s certainly a very minor win, but an additional key press is just that. +1 back at Handy Taskman.
There is one area that JBak Taskman absolutely excels in; the amount of customization and settings available to the user. Here are the two main ‘Options’ screens for the two programs; Handy Taskman on the left, JBak Taskman on the right.
It’s plain to see already that there’s a lot more going on with JBak in this category. JBak’s options break down further into two areas; Tools and Settings. As far as settings go- a screenshot won’t do justice, so here’s the list of options under settings for JBak-
General
Remember position in phone menu
Show memory in top
Turn off clock
Turn off icons
Show info panel
Task Manager
Show menu
Show UID
Show hidden apps
Close w/o confirmation
Quick Launch
Compact menu
Delete w/o confirmation
Apps Launch
Show all apps
Filter word begins
Last run at top
Filter in English
Disable joystick center
Key “Menu” Settings
In System
Key press
Long key press
Very long press
In Main Window
Key press
Long key press
In Program List
Key press
Long key press
Ext. Settings
Main window delay (milliseconds)
Task switch delay (milliseconds)
Icon height (pixels)
Autokill delay
Green key in main window
Green key in app list
As you can plainly see- JBak is has far more settings and customizations to fiddle with. A quick screenshot will show you what Handy Taskman offers the user-
… and it’s a pretty clear knockout +1 to Jbak.
Further features and options
Another great feature of JBak Taskman is the ability to set ‘rules’ for applications. Among the settings available are the ability to show the app in the task-list or not, set as an autostart program and permanently place a program on the top of the app list for apps which are frequently accessed via the task manager. All very slick features- features lacking from Handy Taskman and a massive +1 to Jbak.
So here’s the kicker. Handy Taskman has a much more refined look to it, while JBak clearly has the edge on feature lists… but the real selling point is the price. This round also goes to JBak as well, as it is 100% free of charge- and signed. A very heavily weighted and final +1 to JBak task manager.
We end up with 5 points for JBak task manager, and Handy Taskman with only 2 points. So while it’s no visual stunner, this shouldn’t be a deterrence from trying it out; JBak is a fantastic application and gets my approval and recommendation over my longtime favorite app, Handy Taskman. Hopefully this new player on the field will shake some things up and we’ll see a fire lit under the Handy Taskman team and some more features with my old favorite. For now- JBak Taskman has won this battle hands-down.
Download Handy Taskman
Download JBak Taskman (NB: Some readers are reporting that the latest version .99 R7 will not install on their device. If this happens to you, it is suggested that you try R6.)
