The idea behind PictureLink v1.0 by Toysoft Development is simple. Why should you waste time searching for your contacts or favorite websites when you can access them using one single screen? It also completely eliminates typing the URL of your favorite websites. Hence with a customized image, a BlackBerry user can easily dial a person or browse a site in few seconds, right from their Blackberry home screen!
Once I installed the application, I was a little taken aback by the extremely simple interface of PictureLink. The application just had options like “Empty 1”, “Empty 2”, “Empty 3” and so on.
I clicked on the “Empty 1” option and in turn was given choices like “Install Link”, “Config Link”, “Refresh Icons” and “Help”.
I clicked on the “Install Link:” and was asked to download and install the appdialer. Note, this will happen everytime you decide to add a new contact or website and hence it can get a tad irritating.
Then I decided to configure the first link. Now I had to fill in all the important information like “Link Type” where I added Dialer, then I named the icon “Home”, added my landline number and selected a picture of my dog from my BlackBerry.
Users can also use the default picture. While the picture option is pretty great, I was extremely disappointed that the images are listed not as thumbnails and if your images are not named properly, you will have a tough time selecting the correct image.
Disappointingly the icon got saved in my download folder and not my home screen, which meant I had to move it around. This can get a little frustrating after a while.
In the “Empty 2” slot, I decided to add a website. Selecting “Web Link” in the “Link Type” option can do this. I added the URL and then came the tricky business of adding another picture.
Since I didn’t have a picture of my favorite website, I decided to use the default picture . At this point, I wish the application had an option for looking up pictures on the web directly, perhaps even just from Google Images.
Again the icon got saved in the download folder and again I had to move it to the home screen.
PictureLink v1.0 retails for $2.99 and is actually quite a useful little tool to create icon based speed dialing and websites. The idea behind the application is great (just look at the screenshot above!) however the same cannot be said it about the programs execution.
The application also froze a couple of times and was a little clunky. The developers also need to make it more user friendly as continuous moving of icons to the home folder and figuring out the correct options can get a little tiring!