The Android Project Reviews: QuickDesk BETA

Category: OS Functionality

Price: Free

Gotta-have-it factor: 2
Developer: Faruq Rasid

I just read about a new Android application that was supposed to solve one of my big problems with Android: difficulty with changing commons settings while an application is open. QuickDesk is an application that claims to solve that problem.

A quick note, QuickDesk is created by the same person who developed the HelixLauncher home replacement apps, which I love. I always found the HelixLauncher home replacement to be fast and lightweight. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about QuickDesk. Here is a quote from QuickDesk’s market page, which describes what it is supposed to accomplish:

“Ever went into Browser and realized you haven’t turned on your WiFi? Ever wanted to skip tracks while playing Jewels?

Now you can. Here comes the new app that help[s] you better multi-task: QuickDesk.”

QuickDesk allows the user to bring up an alternate homescreen with widgets or shortcuts selected by the user by simply double-pressing the homescreen menu button, or long-pressing the search button. The functionality that QuickDesk provides is already the reason I have the Bar Control application installed on my phone. The only problem I found with QuickDesk is that is severely slowed down my transition from an application to my normal homescreen. Once I uninstalled QuickDesk, the snap returned to my Droid (if you know what I mean).

Keep in mind that I am using an overclocked MotoDroid running BuglessBeast, so my experience may be different from somebody running a stock Droid, Nexus One, or any other Android device for that matter.

However, for my purposes, I can’t have an application on my device that slows me down.  Remember that QuickDesk is currently in BETA, so hopefully future versions of QuickDesk resolve this issue, because otherwise, I think this application has huge potential. But for now, I’m giving it a “2” on the gotta-have-it scale.

Let me know in the comments if you have a different experience with the QuickDesk application.

The Android Project Review: Profile Android App

Category: OS functionality
Price: $0.99
Gotta-have-it factor: 7

Developer: noimjosh

This is another application that has made my Android OS usage a bit easier. It seems like there’s about 30 different volumes and notification settings to adjust in Android, along with wifi and bluetooth settings. The Android OS doesn’t make it easy for one to access all of these settings quickly. So every morning when I got to work, I found myself fumbling through several menus trying to find the volume and wifi settings to change them. It always seemed like the media volume was the one that I found the most difficult to change. I would have nightmares that my buddy would send me his latest “funny video” called “Do it for Slayer” and I would accidentally open it right before my boss walks in. I also couldn’t find a widget that would quickly silence the media volume. I though about purchasing the Locale Android application, but I have read too many negative reviews about its reliability.

Then I stumbled on the Profile Android App. Profile allows you to create different settings “profiles” (obviously) for different situations. I set up profiles called Home and Work, and there were predefined profiles for Silent and Vibrate. In each of these profiles you can select separate volumes for your ringer, media and notifications. Each profile also has a wifi and bluetooth switch. Another cool option is the time setting. I can set Profile to switch to my Work profile between 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and my Home profile after 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays. I also have a Sleep profile set for 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

I keep Profile as one of the links in my Bar Control application (see my review of Bar Control here) so I can access it quickly. The developer also seems to be very active and updates the app frequently.

One of the major negatives to Profile is that it is a paid app. You can purchase it for $0.99. There are probably other apps out there that can do close to what Profile does, but I haven’t found them. I think Profile is worth the money I paid for it. Another negative is that I haven’t quite figured out the timer settings. It seems like once you change one of your volumes from the currently active profile setting, it deactivates the timer. Also, my life doesn’t always fit within the predefined settings I have chosen for the time settings. So when I’m at work past 6:00 p.m., I have to make sure my Sir Mix-a-Lot ringtone doesn’t go off accidentally.

Other than those minor quibbles, I highly recommend the Profile Android application.

The Android Project Review: Bar Control Android App

Category: OS functionality
Price: Free
Gotta-have-it factor: 7

I am so happy that I found the Bar Control Android application. I have always been frustrated by the difficulty of switching between my most often used applications in Android, especially when you already have one app up on the screen. Bar Control attempts to solve this problem, and does a decent job.

One of the disadvantages of Bar Control is that it clutters up the Notifications bar at the top of the screen with the icons of the app shortcuts. I’ve never liked virtual clutter, so it frustrates me when there are so many icons in my Notification bar that I can’t tell if I have unread e-mails or text messages.

Another usability issue that I have with Bar Control is that it is not as easy as it should be to change the links that one selects for the Notification drop-down. If you decide that you want a different link to show up in the drop-down, you have to clear all of the Bar Control links and reselect each one that you want to show up, even if you only want to change a single link. Hopefully this will be something that the application developer remedies in the future.

And my final nag about the program is that the program is unable to display the application’s icon as the link in the Notification drop-down. So the user is required to choose one of a few preselected icons from Bar Control’s menu for each application you want placed in the Notification drop down. I understand that this is an Android limitation and not the Bar Control developer’s fault, but I thought I should put that information in this review anyway.
All those complaints aside, I still think Bar Control is a great solution for making it easier to switch between my most used apps. It is especially nice to be able to access my Profile application (review of Profile coming soon) to change my sound or Wifi settings on the fly. So, for solving approximately 15.6% of my complaints with the Android OS, I highly recommend the Bar Control Android application.