Best Taskman v2.01 by SmartphoneWare
This recently released update of Best Taskman by SmartphoneWare is one of the biggest app upgrades I’ve seen in a long time. What an amazing job they’ve done! Truth be told, they have added so much awesome functionality that this app easily could have been renamed and sold as a new app, or even split up and sold as several different apps. I’ll try to cover as much as I can in this review but please don’t hold it against me if I leave something out!
For me, the most notable addition to this latest update is the new ‘Quick start’ functionality. As quickly as NStarter came it’s already obsolete (although it is freeware as opposed to Best Taskman)! Quick start allows you to add any number of integrated and/or third-party apps and pull up a visual quick-launch menu - from any screen - to launch an app.
No more having to remember a bunch of hotkey shortcuts as you can clearly see the icon and name of each app you add to the Quick start list. Now, you only need to remember one hotkey shortcut to launch the Quick start menu, and you can configure it to Shift (Pen) or Func + just about any button you want. Note that after you launch the Quick start menu, keep holding the Shift or Func key and use the directional pad to browse through the apps. Then press the select key or simply let go of the Shift/Func key to launch an app or press the right soft key to exit without launching any app.
Adding and removing apps from the Quick start menu is quite easy although when adding additional apps to an already populated Quick start menu, the apps already included are not designated with an ‘x’ in the selection list as they should be. You can also change the order of the Quick start menu by pressing Options -> Move up or Move down with the desired app highlighted.
Just like Handy Taskman, Best Taskman can now replace the integrated task manager and is accessible by holding down the menu key. Unlike Handy Taskman however, this feature can be disabled if for some reason you want to retain access to the simple built-in task manager. There is really no reason for this however, as Best Taskman now also includes a second configurable hotkey shortcut (Shift + Menu by default) that allows you to quickly switch between open apps.
Aside from the main Quick start screen, there are two other main screens within this app. One is the Memory screen which displays your available RAM along with the phone and MMC memory details. The other is the main screen that displays open apps and allows you to view info or close them.
The last main feature I’ll mention is the advanced option under View. This sub menu gives you access to the processes screen (view, view details, and terminate running processes), All open apps (adds hidden apps to the main view of Best Taskman) and Installed apps (displays all apps installed on your device/MMC).
Despite all of the functionality in this app, the settings menu is quite simple. Enable/disable Best Taskman to replace the integrated task manager, adjust the two shortcuts, and enable/disable autostart. That’s it!
At a modest US$9.95 I really can’t see the sense in passing this app up. This new version of Best Taskman really is the all-encompassing S60 3rd utility that we’ve all been waiting for. Just in case you’re not yet convinced however, SmartphoneWare provides a time-limited trial of course so that you can let this great app speak for itself.
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UPDATE: Thanks to wouter for posting below - seems that many problems are caused by including java apps in the Quick start menu. So until this bug is fixed… Don’t! ;)
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How much ram does it eat up?
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Try removing it and reinstalling (on phone memory, not MMC) - it works perfectly on my E61i so there's no reason it shouldn't work for you.
@Abhishta
Surprisingly, not much at all! :)
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Tried every possible combination of reinstall/reboot/etc. I can think off, all with the same effect. I've written the folks at Best and will report back.
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Also make sure that you leave the app with "Hide" and not exit if you want it to keep operating.
@Stelios
This is very odd because it works fine on my E61i. What firmware version do you have?
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I am running 1.0633.86.02, it is a Buy.com-it sourced US version.
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Well I'm running ...22.05 which is older so it doesn't look like a firmware issue.
I would definitely open a dialog with SmartphoneWare (support@smartphoneware.com) and they will help you to get it working.
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any hints? experienced the same?
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Has anyone got the Quick Start to work on an E50?
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I had the same problem with the quick start on my E61.
Someone else found the culprit: If there is a Java app. in the quick start list, activating quick start will crash Best Taskman.
For now just remove the Java application (in my case Opera Mini) from the quick start list and you'll be fine.
Wouter
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A noticed that the author of this site has a quick launch icon of Gmail in the standby screen... How did you do it?
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Great comments guys - keep the reports coming because they will be very helpful to SmartphoneWare in getting the app fixed for us! Big thanks to Wouter for finding and posting that java apps appear to be the culprit in most cases. I'll add a note to the original post.
@Tuomas
The icon you refer to in my active standby is actually and app called GSync rather than the Gmail java app. You can change the icons for java games fairly easily but you are limited to bitmap icons (native s60 apps use scalable icons) so they won't help much.
Did I ever post how to change java app icons here? I might not have in which case google will help you find tons of guides. Basically you just open the jar file with an archiver (WinZip, WinRar, etc) find the icon file (usually named "icon.png" or "icon.gif" etc), and replace it with whatever new icon you want (new icon should have the exact same name and be in the same format).
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It sounds like they already have several of the issues ironed out and once they can take care of the rest and get through the "Berlin Wall" that Symbian Signed is becoming (those are my words of course, not SmartphoneWare's :) ) a new version will be released and I'll be sure to post an update here on SiMo.
Thanks guys!
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Dear Juan,
Thank you for yuor feedback. We're investigating this issue right now because a number of users have it and will notify you as soon as it is solved. Some more info from you could prove helpful:
Did you install into phone memory or into MMC? Tried both variants?
Best regards,
Victoria Alaya
And yes, I tried both phone memory and memory card with no luck.
Just FYI.
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Best taskmanager I ever saw.
Keep on doing
www.symbianworld.de
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Mind if I ask you where I could get that theme?
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The theme pictured above is called MacBlue and oddly enough I can't find a download link right now. I know I have it on my laptop though so I'll upload it tomorrow from my office and post a link here.
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Please note that the certificate is expired and I don't have time to renew it right now so just set your date to 2006 when you install it.
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They make to test versions of the application for me trying to isolate the problem, we are in contact trying to solve the issue.
Regards and keep the good work Smartphoneware.
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Thank you very much for your comment. I've had similar experiences with SmartphoneWare's support team and I think that it's very important to let other users know when a company offers top-notch support!
I hope that Victoria helps you to resolve your issue promptly and let us know how it goes!
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Regards,
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guys looks like u hav a good support team
but ur testing team sucks
i m myself a software developer (not mobile software though) and most of the bugs that hav come up so far(listed above) shud hav been caught during system testing(basically second leg of testing)
well if such a bugged software is released, its going to be very difficult for u to challenge ur competitors , remember the more features u provide, the more ur testing increases exponentially
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I think I've got your next subject ready for you to write about: Handy Taskman has been brought to v2.0 !!
Got to check this one out !!
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