Mobile Tweaks

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Review Conditions

TouchCalc Lite by Tamoggemon was installed in a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, a Symbian S60 5th edition device.

Installation

Installation is via the Ovi Store. Just select the URL, that is sent to the mobile from the Ovi Store via SMS, and application is installation.

First View

TouchCalc Lite full featured touch based Math Calculator. Read on for the review.

Main Review

TouchCalc Lite is a Math Calculator. It comes with Math functions like Square Root, Pi, Trignometric and Trignometric Hyperbolic functions. And unique to TouchCalc Lite, is the Graph function, which is not available in any other S60 mobile application.

TouchCalc Lite has a clean user friendly layout with large keys for the operations. The numbers are placed in equal-sized square pads and the most often used Math operations, +, –, *, / and ^ are available on the main screen.

The layout of TouchCalc Lite’s keys are slightly different in the Portrait mode and the Landscape modes. The Portrait mode has more functions on the screen – Sqr and Braces are available on the main screen.

In the Landscape mode, the Sqr function will have  to be accessed via the Menu option and curiously the Braces() and Backspace< functions aren’t available in Landscape mode.

I liked the Last Used menu which brought up the 5 most recent used Math functions.

The Memory function provides 5 variables, A to E, in which you store 5 results, which are available always, even when the application is exited and opened again.

Graph

The Graphing function, hidden in the Options menu is very unique for an S60 based Calculator and its quite well implemented. Multiple functions can be created with x as the dependent variable. While there is an option to Add formulae to the Graph, there is no way to Remove formulae from the Graph.

The Graph window can be zoomed in and zoomed out. The Window menu, the purpose of which I don’t know is not part of TouchCalc Lite.

Handling

TouchCalc Lite has a clean layout with the numbers placed in square pads which are large enough for even the thickest of fingers.

The backspace< key in the Portrait Mode could have been a little bigger.

When using the Sqr function from the Menu, the cursor is thoughtfully placed inside the braces for entering the number. But when the Sqr function on the main screen is pressed, the cursor is placed outside the braces.

The Graph function could have had a dedicated key for easy access, instead of being a field in the Options menu.

Weaknesses

The inconsistent key layout in Portrait and Landscape modes, though understandable because of the Nokia 5800’s screen size, will cause some discomfort. Switching between Portrait and Landscape modes is not as smooth as one would expect.

I couldn’t find the Braces() and backspace< keys in the landscape mode. Another function that would have been useful but was missing was the % function.

Conclusion

Unlike the common usage of “Lite” as a name for a product version that’s either a Trial version or has a very limited in feature set, TouchCalc Lite is not a trial version and carries a very rich feature set. Certain advanced features like Window may be added later but at the moment the owner of TouchCalc Lite will have a fully functional and feature rich calculator.

TouchCalc Lite is good stuff and I’ll give it 4 of 5. TouchCalc Lite can be purchased at the Ovi Store for 3 Euro.

Source: Best of Symbian – S60 Software Reviews