Shortcuts are an important part of the BlackBerry experience. Apps such as SuperQWERTY, QuickLaunch and even Vlingo, all help to make everything a little more efficient, by reducing the amount of input required.
Putting a shortcut on your homescreen is a great app idea because it leaves both a shortcut and a visual reminder of the person you often talk to or a website you often visit. A little while ago Iconify by emacberry launched, providing two versions of their quick icon app. With either the 15 or 50 link version, you can create icons on the homescreen to dial, mail or PIN message a contact, or visit a website. Recently, QwikClique by The Jared Company launched, offering 5 shortcut icons to contacts of your choice. As both these apps serve similar functions, lets compare their feature sets:
| Iconify by emacberry | QwikClique by Jared Company |
| Create up to 15 links (dial, email, SMS, pin messaging or website) or 50 depending on version purchased | Create up to 5 links (dial, SMS, or email) |
| 100% Offline [no additional online downloads - no additional data charges] | |
Create an IconifyDialLink to any Contact of your BlackBerry AddressBook directly on your HomeScreen.
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Create an IconifyMailLink to any Contact of your BlackBerry AddressBook directly on your HomeScreen.
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Create an IconifyWebLink to a Webpage you have currently open in your BlackBerry Browser directly on your HomeScreen.
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Options to configure Iconify to your choice
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| Support for Backup & Restore [keep your IconifyLinks when changing the Device or update your OS] | |
| Send an IconifyLink via eMail to your friends (can include the complete contact information of your Mail- or Dial-Link) | |
| Import an IconifyLink file (.ilk) that you have received via eMail or have download (e.g from emacberry’s website) |
Comparing feature sets, it’s clear that Iconify presents the greater amount of functionality. Emacberry are definitely building an application geared towards the power user, as the feature set goes very deep, with a large number of icons available. QwikClique is very simple in its offerings. The app only gives you 5 icons, and focuses on the contacts, rather than add the ability to create a website. There is also no mention of PIN messaging in QwikClique, which comes with Iconify. If QwikClique is to focus on being purely a way to communicate with a small circle, PIN messaging seems it would be an important feature.
One feature set that is difficult to compare is the level of support. Since I have access to the developers, it’s hard to say what the average user would experience support-wise. Objectively, the emacberry forums are very vibrant, with hundreds of posts and the user “emac” answering just about every thread. The Jared Company doesn’t have a forum, but uses an automated email system instead. I’m unsure of the effectiveness of this system.
In terms of price, Iconify is far cheaper. The 15 link version costs $2.49 (regular price), and the 50 link version costs $3.99. QwikClique will cost you $4.99, and offers fewer icons with less functionality.
Something QwikClique does have that Iconify could do with as well, is general simplification. For someone who isn’t a power user, and is looking for a bare-bones version of Iconify, they may appreciate QwikClique’s simplicity. Sometimes a user can be overwhelmed with options, and having fewer options adds to the app’s overall efficiency.
For more information, you can use any of the above links to check them out in our store.
