“Dinarsoft HandySwitcher 3 is the perfect way to manage you running-applications. With the small memory footprint, user-friendly interface and plethora of features, it is simple-yet-powerful application.”
Device
The device used in this review is O2 Executive(HTC universal) running the official AKU2 ROM of O2.
Introduction
Frankly speaking, there are plethora of task-switchers avaliable for windows mobile platform. Some of them are freeware too, but, those just fail to impress me. If you ask me, this review can be a little biased because I’m just so impressed with the quality of Dinarsoft Products. I was already happy with the earlier version of Dinarsoft HandySwitcher(ie ver 2.7). If you ask me, this is the first application, which I install
on my Pocket PC after every hard-reset.
Installation
You can install the Dinarsoft HandySwitcher 3 anywhere on the Pocket PC, but, it is recomended to install it in the main memory. Also, since the memory footprint of this applicaiton is so small, it won’t hog up
megabytes of memory(like its competitors). In the below screenshot, I installed it in the extended rom(which I have unlocked ;)) and it ran just fine.
How it looks on the today screen?
As you can see in the above screenshot, it sits nicely on the today screen. You can also move the icon according to the preferences(explained in the later part of the review)
Get full control on the running applications
HandySwitcher lets you control your applications all with one hand. Not only it lets you switch to other running applications, but, it also lets you close them with one hand. To do that, with that application selected in the menu, just move your D-pad to the right and HandySwitcher will
close the application for you.
Options
You can change the behaviour of the Ok/X button as-well-as of the program icon.
You can assign any of the following functions to the Ok/X and program icon. This is great to customise the HandySwitcher to your liking. So, the user drives this application and not vice-versa ;)
Also, till now, Dinarsoft HandySwither 3 is the only application which can make the hardware “ok” button to close the applications.
Nice going Dinarsoft!
Special Commands
HandySwitcher lets you customise the way your applications behave. You can put the applications into the ignore list, system default list or minimise list.
Explation of “special” features..
1) Automation: This feature helps you to automate some of the tasks which the HandySwitcher provides. These are..
- Close ActiveSync On disconnect: When enabled, it automatically closes the activesync after you disconnect your device from the desktop.
This is a nice feature as I have found ActiveSync taking ~1.5MB of precious RAM. I used to manually do it before. Now, HandySwitcher takes care of it. It must be noted that this feature is only supported by WM5+ devices. - Reclain RAM on close: This will try to reclaim your lost RAM, which you lost after closing a running application. Please note that not 100% is reclaimed due to OS limitations
- Compact Memory on CloseAll: This tell the OS to clear the whole memory(RAM) for you
2) Ignore: This feature lets you make the application running all the time. The application won’t be listed in the HandySwitcher task menu
3) Always minimise: As the name suggests, it’ll always minimise the application, which is put under this category.
4) System Default: Unlike “ignore list”, this will send the application requests to the OS.
Menu Items
In the menu of HandySwitcher 3, you can activate/deactivate the following items..
All of them are self-explanatory, but, let me pay some more emphasis on “memory usage” and “cpu usage” item
The memory usage shows you the amount of memory each application is holding in the RAM.
“CPU usage” shows how much load each application currently running is putting on CPU
Misc features
If you have installed other Dinarsoft products like HandyMenu, HandyLauncher, then, the HandySwitcher can make them visible on the top bar. You can also adjust the position of the icon from here.
You can also tell HandySwitcher to use custom colors in the menu it displays or you can make it follow the theme colors(or reverse of theme colors). You may even make it use no colors at all, if you like plain-jane look ;)
Note: users using older version of HandySwitcher can upgrade to this version by clicking here
So, in the end, do I recommend it? YES, go get it!
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Pros:
*very stable
*small memory footprint
*user-friendly and straight-forward
*windows mobile 6 support
*automated actions
*”ok” hardware button support
*one handed operation
*integration with other Dinarsoft products
(handymenu and handyswitcher)
Cons:
*hmm. hard to find one ;)
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Final Thoughts: Hands-down the best Task-Switcher. Light on memory, but, not-at-all on features
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Product Category: Utility
Manufacturer: Dinarsoft
Link: http://www.dinarsoft.com
Price: $9.99 USD
Upgrade information: Yes, click here to learn more
System Requirements: Windows Mobile 6 (Professional and Classic), Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 2003/SE
Date released: May 5th, 2007