ShortcutMe

Just when you thought I was finished showing you shortcut apps such as; IntelliBerry, BBSmart ShortCuts and QuickLaunch, I've got one more to share with you. It's only fair, and hopefully after this read, you can make an educated decision as to which one will work for you. This time around we're going to take a look at ShortcutMe, the self proclaimed "Fastest BlackBerry Shortcut Application."

As with other shortcut applications, it lets you assign several applications to one or both of your convenience keys or search for apps from its main screen. One of the major differences is the number of clicks on a convenience key to determine which application you want to access! No need to scroll.

Those who find that they need quick access to multiple applications will truly appreciate the solutions found in ShortcutMe or similar products. Before trying out such applications, I always thought that two convenience keys were enough; apparently I was wrong, especially when I'm continually dealing with so many applications at once. I'm actually surprised that my Bold hasn't started to smoke yet. Let's see how ShortcutMe can keep up with this Abuser.

About ShortcutMe

From Fonware Ltd, ShortcutMe v3.1.1.0 will occupy 79kb of space. It's available for BlackBerry devices running OS 4.3 or higher (81xx, 83xx, 88xx, 89xx, 90xx & 95xx series). You may recognize ShortcutMe under its previous name, ShortcutBerry. RIM wouldn't allow any application to sport "Berry" in their name into the BlackBerry App World, therefore the name change was required.

ShortcutMe
main menu with menu options

As we open the menu, we can see a long list of applications and browser shortcuts. The browser shortcuts include; access to CNN, NY Times and Google. Beside each entry in this list you may see what appears to be abbreviations (i.e., BR would appear next to the browser entry). These are shortcut characters, designed to let you use your keypad to increase your navigation speed. The application will allow you to use as little as one shortcut character to and as many as four (the alt key + up to 3 characters). These character shortcuts don't necessarily need to be memorized. As you type out the name of the entry you are searching for, ShortcutMe analyzes your keystrokes and will narrow the list of entries down until you find what you are looking for. Initially, the application already has 70 shortcuts ready to go, but there's always room to grow. These shortcuts can be modified - altering the previously mentioned shortcut characters, font colour, even the display name. Font colours may seem unnecessary to some, but since entries can be shuffled around, the colours can be incorporated into your own personal filing system. Work related entries could be marked in one colour and media in another. Besides editing and moving, entries can also be created or removed; making for a very customizable application. Shortcuts can be created for almost anything - managing connectivity, setting reminders, accessing your to do list, shining a flashlight or contacting contacts.

ShortcutMe
add shortcut

Moving away from the keypad, let's take a look at your convenience keys. As I mentioned before, each of your convenience keys can be assigned to open one application each. With ShortcutMe, that number quadruples. Pressing the convenience key once, opens ShortcutMe (when assigned). Press it twice and an assigned app opens, press it three times and yet another app, and so on. Your Enter key can also get in on the action as well. In this case, you have to press the convenience key once to open up ShortcutMe, then press the enter key multiple times. In the options menu, you decide which app opens after the Double click, Triple click and Quadruple click. Trust me, it only sounds confusing. If you're not sure that you have everything setup correctly, the application gives you the option to check for any conflicts.

ShortcutMe
configure your convenience keys

ShortcutMe
configure the application

The application comes with not one, but two configuration (settings) menus; one for the multi-click management and the other for application appearance and functionality. Here, you can change options; such the font size for both the main menu and configuration pages, sorting rules, and vibration duration. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, by default your BlackBerry will vibrate each time you select an entry using ShortcutMe. When it first happened to me, I thought a message arrived. Then I was worried because an email notification pop up from another app didn't appear. The application also provides support for QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboard configurations. Another feature I like is the ability to save your settings directly to your SD card. It's saved as a txt file, which means you can then edit them on your computer and then load them back on your BlackBerry.

The application was a breeze to pick up the basics and then it didn't take me long to master it. I'm now flying through my most needed entries without missing a beat. You'll find that there isn't much of a battery drain, as ShortcutMe doesn't run in the background.

ShortcutMe
oh look, I did it!

ShortcutMe
save your settings to your SD card

Conclusion

With more convenience than you can shake a stick at, ShortcutMe, as they say, is a "must have." Those with lightning fingers (or in this case thumbs) will love clicking and zipping through to the right entry. I'm not sure why there is a vibration feature included, probably to scare the poop out of me. ShortcutMe can be found in the CrackBerry App Store for $4.99. There's also a whopping 30 day free trial available if you want to try out all of the similar apps before you buy. So there you have it folks, now there's no reason why to not impress with fast access to what you need the most.
For a free trial, or to pick up your copy of ShortcutMe, click here. 

Pros

  • maximizes your convenience keys
  • multiple configuration options supports most native and third party apps

Cons

  • that sneaky vibration option

Download

  • Purchase of download free trial of ShortcutMe >>

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