CellPhoneSoft, the same folks behind the Speedy Go! application have brought us a new and rather interesting application. Swiss Manager Pro, as it is called, attempts to play on the associations with a Swiss knife (also indicated by the application icon). The software is stated to be available for Symbian S60 which means that both the 3rd and 5th edition are supported. In this review I will primarily focus on how the application works on Symbian-powered handsets with touch interface and then highlight some of the changes that differ for handsets running S60 3rd Edition.
Installation
The installation file size is at 320 kb, whereas the actual space needed on the N97 is at 166 kb and 176 kb on the N82. I have no idea how this is possible but then again when you download the application it’s a trial which can then later be registered to obtain a licensed version. On installation you are also prompted to install optional files which include files regarding licenses, features and release notes. After that comes a very long list with different features the application has to offer. The last thing you see in the installation process is that you can get more information by going to CellPhoneSoft.com for a FAQ and an application guide. For more advanced users, reading the whole list can be a bit boring, but I find it good to introduce the functions for the less knowledgeable users. The application is in essential separated into three smaller applications in which I’ll go through in details in each respective section.
Program Manager
The program manager is the default view when launching the application for the first time and it offers an advanced view of all the applications as well as processes that are running on your handset sorted into a folder-like structure. Double tapping on a folder brings up the list of applications or processes. Double tapping an application in the list will either switch you to the application or start the application if it’s not already launched.
At the bottom you can find three additional buttons which serve as a quick access to some of the most used Functions, Info which brings up additional info about an application and a meter for available RAM currently available on the handset. Reclaim memory works by closing other applications.
In the program manager you can choose to end all applications in a particular list or each individual ones and which one you can close depends on the Symbian operating system. As a rule of thumb you can close applications that you have installed yourself and applications that are not system dependent such as notes, calendar, contacts etc.
Once an application is highlighted you can press info to manage additional rules for the application. Here you choose to include the application in the end all function or choose to favorite it.
Using Options brings up mostly the same functions that you can access via the Function key at the bottom. One function you can’t find there is the management of Favorites. Here you can invoke, backup, restore or reset this list. In short the Favorites is a set of additional shortcuts to applications you use frequently and invoking it brings a new window to the foreground with the list of applications.
The program manager overall offers many advanced functions but tends to duplicate them. This is especially eminent in the comparison of the end all and reclaim memory function which both terminate applications in a similar way. The first one being more controllable by letting the user set which applications should be included or not and the latter giving less control for the user.
System manager
As in the program manager the three buttons at the bottom let you access most used functions and additional info about an item. Here you can hide the icon for the Swiss Manager Pro application, lock the icon in place, restart your phone (which actually works on S60 5th edition) or calibrate. Pressing the third button brings up the screen showing how many applications are running, free ram and drive space, battery level and time.
Bringing up Options again lets you perform the same functions available via the Functions button on the main screen. Choosing calibrate, a new screen comes up iwhich asks you to tap the center of each crosshair to calibrate the screen.
All in all the system manager mainly shows you the different aspects of your handsets such as firmware, model number, features it supports, processor speeds etc.
Filemanager
When going to the File Manager you are at the top level at first from here you don’t have much choices to perform, butgoing down the folder hierarchy you can then start to manage the different folders and files. The file manager is quite simple as you can’t choose to open a file that the Symbian OS can’t recognize, so basically you can only arrange files and folders in the hierarchy.
Bringing up options here you get to choose the drive which can be accessed via the third button now called drive. The more interesting one here is the Sort By where you can sort the files after date, type, size and so on.
Settings
Settings can in any time be brought up from Options by going to Application and then Settings and brings up a total of 4 pages of settings you can fiddle around with. The first page lets you e.g. set the size of the user interface and what action should be performed when long tapping the status icon. Here you have quite some choices to end applications, go directly to running applications or favorites. Second page is the settings for the Memory Reclaim function. Here you can set the time interval from 1 to 60 minutes and if the memory reclaim should be mild, strong or extreme (default being the last one).
Third page is for settings for the status icon, such as the size of the icons, level of details, background color and the likes. A neat little thing is that you can choose to have the swiss knife icon as the status icon. Fourth page is for the view for the file manager and includes the usual settings such as hide or show system or hidden folders.
Comparisons
When the application is installed on a Symbian-powered handset running S60 3rd edition the most noticeable thing is that the three buttons featured on the 5th edition are gone. This means that to gain access to the more advanced functions you have to use the left softkey to bring them forth. The developers have really thought it through by providing shortcuts which use the keypad to quickly access the functions. Overall this means that the amount of key presses to get things done equals to the same. Also in the system manager you don’t have the option to calibrate the screen (not needed of course.) This is replaced with a task menu which brings forth options for clean up, favorites, recent and currently running applications.
Final Thoughts
As the application itself is three applications in one, the experience as a whole is very good. You have one application that does several things at once and manages do to them quite well. However if you separate them and look at them each individually, you’ll soon see that there’s things missing. The program manager is without a doubt one of the more advanced I’ve seen and presents the applications in a very understandable way with the ability to search for an application and launch one quickly. The advanced options such as including applications to the end all function is also welcomed. The only quirk here I can find is the inconsistency of the end all function and the reclaim memory function which overlap. As for the system manager it presents information about your handset very nicely, but lacks the more advanced features such as turning your Bluetooth or WiFi on or off. In addition, it would be more logical to have the reclaim memory function put here instead. The file manager offers the most basic functions to manage folder and files on your system, but lacks in the ability to edit or open files that are not recognized by the Symbian OS. This means that you can’t edit .ini files or other files like you can with other filemanagers neither can you force it to open a file in a (hex) editor.
In many ways the application has great potential as being a must have utility for a power user when looking at the program manager, but then again it goes back to basics when considering the system and filemanager. The application’s attempt at aiming for power users is therefore a bit unrealistic. They currently are planning on releasing a lite version with less functionality (presumably aimed at the average user.)
As another application I reviewed, Gailoo Tune, the menu in Swiss Manager Pro tends to be very confusing as you can access many of the functions from two different ways. Here it’s more of a special case, as this mostly occurs when running the application on a 5th edition phone. This really boils down to the “Symbian way” of doing things, with the user interface being adapted primarily for use with physical keys. The application has a slightly fun twist regarding the status icon and on handsets with touch screens you can move this around at will and it will stay on top of all other desktop elements. The only time this is an useful function is when you are at your homescreen, where the status icon simply gets in the way to bring up the keypad.
You can download a trial of the application or purchase it for $19.95 from Cellphonesoft. Trial time is at whooping 2 weeks and by then you may already have made up your own mind about the application.
In the end it really comes down to needs. If you want an application that doesn’t excel in every aspect but can do much, then the Swiss Manager Pro is recommended. If you simply need one of the three functions provided by the application there are better alternatives out there. Have you tried Swiss Manager Pro and did you find it to be your Swiss tool?
