Price: $4.99 via the BlackBerryAPPS Store.
Who Would Find This App Useful: There are enough features in this app to make it appealing to any BlackBerry user.
Primary Function: QuickLaunch is primarily a shortcut bar that allows for quick access to onboard apps via either an onscreen menu or hot keys-but that description sells it far short. It will also create shortcuts to call, send e-mail, SMS or PIN message anyone in your Contacts list, URLs for favorite websites, or any onboard media file. In addition, it is packed with lots of extra goodies, such as a screen capture tool and a silencer for the BlackBerry camera xxx8220;clickxxx8221; that can be toggled on or off on a per-use basis.
Ease of Download: Download was painless.
Ease of Use: The main menu of QuickLaunch is fully customizable-Users can add, remove, edit or move shortcuts, and create separators and sub-folders. The main menu can also be moved to left or right of the display. For the most part, I found the sub-menus to customize the app to be very intuitive and user-friendly. Font color and size are adjustable, and the menu background can be changed to optimize visibility (or just to jazz it up a bit, for that matter).
Performance: I have used this app daily for about four months without a failure. It is fast, and I have never experienced xxx8220;hangxxx8221; with it.
Pros: This is truly one of my xxx8220;must havexxx8221; apps. The available shortcuts will not only link to xxx8220;surfacexxx8221; apps (i.e.; items that display an icon on your Home Screen), but also allow speedy access to items that would normally require multiple keystrokes to access (For example, I have a menu item and hot key for xxx8220; Device Infoxxx8221;, which is essentially the contents of Options>Status screen).
Cons: This is a very minor point, but compared to the simple set up of all of the other functions, I found that setting up my local weather to display in my QuickLaunch menu to be time-consuming and a bit of a PITA.
Summary: If you donxxx8217;t have this app yet, get it. In the course of a typical day, I use QuickLaunch to SMS my wife, get driving directions though the GPS mapping app I have, check my battery level and a variety of other functions. The included xxx8220;extrasxxx8221; will save you the money and memory you would invest by getting these functions as separate apps. It genuinely enhances the BlackBerry user experience.
Get it at the BlackBerryApps.com Store now!