There are tons of call/messages blocking applications available for Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices and a few of these have also been reviewed on Brighthub including MagiCall and Call Firewall. All these applications have almost similar interfaces and modes of operation, allowing you to filter incoming communication on your device to avoid untimely calls and SMS spam.
SmartBlock is developed by Efficasoft and falls into the same category. So what makes SmartBlock stand out from similar applications? Well, other than having a meeting mode with auto-SMS answer-machine there's nothing special about this application and to be very candid, it is yet another standardized call blocking application the the same functionality found on most applications of this type.
The application allows you to import contacts from your address book to create a black or white list so that you can receive calls only from those numbers that are specified by you. Along with this mode of operation, it can filter all the text messages that contain specific content delimitated by you in the application. Like all other similar applications, it also allows location based call filtering with wide card number support. You can also view a list of all your blocked calls and messages by accessing its call history log and even edit or save contacts directly from this list.
SmartBlock can be purchased from developer’s website for $10.95. You can also download a trial version that is available in the form of a PC setup file (using MS ActiveSync) or a .CAB installer by clicking here. Once done with the installation, I opened the application and navigated to its main screen that offers three prominent modes of use. These modes are blacklist, whitelist and meeting mode. Initially, I selected the ‘Blacklist’ mode and ticked on the ‘Incoming Call’ and ‘Incoming SMS’ checkboxes.
Tapping on the ‘Menu’ button displayed the Blacklist (list of contacts I wanted to avoid for good) and here I could add a new number along with a name by tapping on the ‘New’ button. I could also define a ‘Start time’ when I wanted to block these calls and ‘End time’ when I wanted to deactivate the blocking operation.
When finished with the configuration, I tapped on the ‘Save’ tab to save my configured settings and came out of the application. Similarly, I was able to create a White list and a Meeting list to filter the contracts on my address book.
There is no doubt that SmartBlock does its job really well and works exactly as advertises by the developer. It allows you to filter your incoming calls and text messages effectively, but other than being one of the cheapest among all other similar applications and having a meeting mode there is nothing "new" within this application.
So is it worth the money? Consider this, Call Firewall is freeware and includes the same basic functionality of a call blocker. But if you really want to spend money on a call blocking application, it is definitely a best buy considering MagiCall costs approximately $24.95 but for the most part offers the same features as SmartBlock.
SOURCE: Efficasot