Symbian in Motion

Best Profiles by Smartphoneware

S60 3rd users rejoice - the app that just about everyone has been waiting for is finally here and it is packed full of great functionality! Smartphoneware has finally released the first version of Best Profiles, an app that is sure to make countless customers extremely happy. We’ve been hearing news of this app for a while now but all of the waiting is over. So… Was it worth the wait? In the short time that I’ve been playing with this app, my answer is “most definitely!”

Best Profiles gives users to automatic profile switching functionality according to schedules, calendar events and charging status. Coupled with a good call manager, S60 3rd users finally have complete control over not only how and when they receive calls, but how they are notified of calls. An example of its use: I use my call manager (ACM or IVCM) to automatically reject calls from anyone not on my ‘allow list’ each night at 11pm. This is great but I still get woken up from time to time by SMS messages or emails. To combat this, I have a profile called “Night” which is exactly the same as my “General” profile, but SMS and email alerts are silenced. Do I ever remember to switch profiles before I go to sleep? Never. Now, Best Profiles can do the remembering for me and I can get a full night’s sleep!

This app is set up very logically and has some great functionality that goes well above and beyond simple “profile management”. Well get into that but let’s start with the basics. The home screen displays your list of profiles with a check mark next to the active profile. The Options menu is your portal into all of the app’s settings and functionality. We’ll start with the basics of setting up your core profile schedule.

As you can see below, the schedule gives you a good amount of options. Profile schedules can vary by day and you can also choose to include a deactivate command (Allow deactivate) that basically creates two schedule items in one. This way you can choose the profile to be activated when the current scheduled profile is deactivated.

The calendar function allows you to use Best Profiles to automatically activate a profile when calendar events occur, according to keywords. In the example below I’ve created a rule so that any time a calendar event includes the keyword “Meeting” my Meeting profile is activated. Calendar rules will automatically override the current schedule rule.

As opposed to the example above, it’s a good idea to use special characters when configuring calendar events so that profiles aren’t activated accidentally. So instead of using “Meeting” you should use “#Meeting#” and mark the meeting events in your calendar appropriately. This will help avoid accidental profile switches (example: if you makes a quick calendar entry that says “schedule a meeting with Bob” you don’t want that to initiate a profile switch).

The last of the three main profile management functions is the ability to automatically switch profiles when your charger is plugged in, and again once it is unplugged.

Things really start to get interesting when you enter the Advanced options menu. Here, you can configure a variety of functions that will take affect each time the app activates a profile. These rules can vary for each profile on your device and range from changing the wallpaper and playing a sound to enabling bluetooth (in hidden or visible mode) and launching an app! Below you can see that I’ve configured the app so that each time it activates my General profile, bluetooth is enabled in hidden mode and my web browser is launched.

This app isn’t just about advanced scheduling though. It also includes a few useful “on-the-fly” functions. Best Profiles gives you a few options when it comes to activating profiles on the go. For example, if you normally keep your phone on vibrate but you’re expecting an important call at a certain time, you can easily set up a one-time profile activation at a specific time. Similarly, if you go to a movie you can use the app to activate your Silent profile but at the same time you can set it so that your General profile is activated in two hours.

I could go on forever about the usefulness of this app but I’m sure that there are plenty of things that I haven’t even though of yet. The bottom line is that this is a long-awaited app that has met all of my expectations with regards to profile management - and then some! My advice? Download a (very generous) 15-day free trial and check this app out for yourself.

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