Speed, thy name is BlackBerry. Whenever you want to go online, BAM, you’re there. Whenever you want to email someone, KA-POW, it’s sent. Whenever you want to make a phone call, ZOOM, you’re connected. Whenever you watch the 1960s Batman series, you’ll probably see BAM, KA-POW and ZOOM there as well. It’s understood that speed is addictive, as is your BlackBerry. For both addictions, the need for speed drives you to achieve even greater velocity. You want to find ways to get what you need with less effort and less time. You want to accelerate any processes in order to become more efficient, but don’t really want to put in any more work than you need to. Well what steps do you need to take to make things easier to access? What kind of shortcuts can you take? Let’s think about it for a second – what’s one of the first things you do when you want to make items easier to access on your computer? Create a desktop shortcut, right!
Iconify, is an amazing application that allows you to create quick access icons to websites and contacts that are easily found on your BlackBerrys home screen. Check out the review after the THWAP!
About Iconify
The Iconify application was developed by Matthias of emacberry. I’ll admit that I am a fan of his BlackBerry offerings, which include the fantastic file manager FileScout and the GPS tool GPSLogger; both of which have been previously reviewed. You must be running OS 4.3 or higher in order to use Iconify. The emacberry site provides a list of BlackBerry models that have successfully tested Iconify:
81xx series
Curve Series (83xx, 8900)
87xx
88xx Series
Bold 9000 and 9700
Tour 9630
Storm
This review also touches on Iconifys most recent release, version 1.1.0 – which requires 359 KB of space.
Rather than creating links from a main menu, Iconify is actually integrated seamlessly into your native applications; specifically your Address Book and BlackBerry Browser. So by clicking on the Iconify icon, you are granted access to the settings/options menu. We’ll look at this section after we look at creating links. Essentially, Iconify helps you produce and manage links to contacts and URLs that are accessed via a personalized icon on your home screen. As stated by emacberry, the application is comprised of three main functions; WebLink, DialLink and MailLink.
WebLink
Did you find a great website you want to view later? Typically, we add it as a bookmark or paste it somewhere (like in your memopad). Depending on how many bookmarks you have, you may have to scroll through multiple entries before coming across the correct one. When trying to show someone in a hurry, some people may stumble around trying to find the link.
“Hey check this out, it’s so funny. Here, let me open it…it’s here…somewhere…no.. um …no that’s not it..”
Using Iconify, a link can be created by accessing your menu and selecting ‘Create Web IconifyLink’. A popup appears where you can easily edit its details. Iconify lets you modify the name of the link, in case the name of the URL is too long for your taste. The URL can be edited as well; perhaps you want to have a link to the main page of the site and not the contact page that you are currently on. You can also choose an image to use as an icon for the link.
If you frequent sites with *ahem* ‘questionable material’, you may want to refrain from creating links for them. That, or never, ever share your BlackBerry.
WebLink
DialLink
This feature provides an alternative to a possibly confusing speed dial system (based on number of entries) or your call history. In the associated popup, you can choose a customized name and icon, just as you would with the WebLink feature. In case there’s another number that you wish to use, you can enter in the alternate one. If a contact has multiple numbers, you have the option to automatically select a specific number or you can be prompted to choose one. Now if that special someone wonders why they aren’t on your speed dial, you can respond with “Baby, you’re too good to be on speed dial, you’re on my home screen!”
I’m not responsible for how lame you’ll sound by saying that.
DialLink
MailLink
If you prefer communicating with your thumbs, rather than through a call, you may choose to use this feature. By using MailLink, you can create shortcuts to communicate via PIN, SMS or email. As with the DialLink feature, you are able to decide on a specific contact method or multiple.
MailLink
Each time you create a link, you are prompted to install a small launcher. These launchers are small; links are roughly 1.4 kb in size. As you complete the link, you are redirected to a download screen. It will detail how you uninstall these link/launchers as well. The icons appeared in my Download section, where I could then move them to the home screen or otherwise. The settings menu is where you can manage your links; such as editing, removing or unlinking them. You can also manage icon links and access BlackBerry generated thumbnails. If you unlink an Iconifylink, you can reuse it for another entry, saving you from installing another one.
downloading a new link
Settings icon, active link and an unlinked link
With the latest release, emacberry, brings some fantastic sharing functionality to Iconify. Links can now be imported and exported between fellow Iconify users through email; making it extremely easy to share links and contact information. Matthias also pointed out that websites could also provide IconifyLinks, as a sort of mobile launcher for themselves. It’s an interesting possibility.
Conclusion
Iconify is a great alternative for quickly accessing contacts and websites without requiring a lot of setting up. It’s very easy to use on my Bold and can only imagine how fast Storm users are creating and using IconifyLinks. It’s an impressive way to add some time-saving efficiency to communication. Iconify is available in two versions; the 15 link version for $2.49 and the 50 link version for $3.99. If you’re not sure which way to go, you can try out a 10 link version of Iconify, free for 14 days.
Pros
- easy to set up
- customize with unique icons
- integrated into your Browser and Address Book
Cons
- none
More Info
