Some time ago I reviewed and told you why I like the Handy Blacklist v3. From the comments there was one reader who asked if it was possible to import the numbers from a .txt file or if it was able add numbers with wildcards. At the time of writing I only knew of one application, but it was quite an overkill for the readers usage.
As you might have guessed I’ve finally found an application which lets you add numbers to a blacklist with wildcards. It’s the Best Blaclist v3 from Smartphoneware available from the Symbian-guru Store. Best Blacklist as the name again indicates is an application that lets you block numbers reaching to your mobile, which is very convenient e.g. against advertisers or stalkers.
Application overview
The file size of the application is down to 215 kb which is half that of the Handy Blacklist which size was 434 kb. The installation follows the usual process of installing a file, clicking through the disclaimer and application is finally installed. Launching the application for the first time you are presented with two lists, one called “Black list” and one called “Accept only list”. Toggling the application on or off can be simply done using the right softkey while the left softkey brings up the options. List lets you activate a highlighted list, add a new one, edit the current one, delete it or move it up and down. Edit list is the same option found under list, just a faster way to get to it with less keypresses. Scheduler lets you schedule the time in which a list is active during the day, more on that later. View log is quite obvious as it shows a log of the calls that has been blacklisted. Under misc you find the option to register by inputting your email and serial numbers and the about screen which shows you the version of the application.
Adding new lists
When adding a new list you are by default presented with four options. Enter the name of the list, choose the list type, choose correspondents and the last one is whether you want to reject the call with a busy tone or by sending a SMS. Should you choose the latter one a fifth option is available which is a predefined SMS message. Adding correspondents you are able to choose from adding a specific person, a group, unknown phone numbers (private and hidden phone numbers), all people from your contacts and all people not from your contacts. The last way to add correspondents is by using number template which is a wildcard.
Help was needed and I consulted the help within the application. Despite being only two pages it explains in details with examples on how to configure each part of the application, very good. Here I was able to learn that using +38050* in a blacklist will block all numbers starting from +38050 and *12345 will block all numbers ending with 12345. Using *123* will block all numbers with 123 in it.
The scheduler is empty by default and you have to set up a new rule to be able to use it. Simply choose the time, day and type of list you want to schedule. When choosing days you can choose from workdays being from Monday to Friday, weekends being Saturday to Sunday and for each individual days of the week. When a caller that has been blacklisted is rejected you can press right or left on the D-pad to switch to the log immediately. From the log you can either call back or send a SMS to the caller. The phone number option lets you do the same, but here the callers number will be displayed. The other options are quite obvious. From the main menu of the application the status of rejected calls are clearly visible as well as if the application is on or off. The application counts keeps a counter where the first number is how many calls it have rejected whereas the second numer is how many calls you have received.
Final thoughts
The only feature that I found missing compared to Handy Blacklist is the lack of a standby notification and the ability to add rejected calls to a list. It surely seems as Best Blacklist has improved since the Dotsisx’ post on the comparision between those two applications.
The application is available from the Symbian-guru Store for only $9.95 which is over half of the price for Handy Blacklist for $24.95. In the end I guess it comes to the matter of taste of which of the applications that suits you best. Best Blacklist just became my new favorite, will it be yours?
