I’ve been using TAKEphONE from ShSh Software for several weeks now and I must say it’s a great improvement over the ‘stock’ Phone application that comes on the Treo 650. I had read somewhere that TAKEphONE was what Palm should have shipped with the 650, and I agree. However, TAKEphONE is not only for the Treo or other smartphone, It works well with BlueTooth and IR connections with phones also.
Let’s begin by looking at the description from the website.
TAKEphONE 6.50 (build 034):
-Find/Create/Edit contacts
fast & easy!
- No-stylus ("One-hand" or
"Finger") operation!
- Call phone numbers using:
Cellular (IR or Bluetooth)
Kyocera 6035 or 7135
Samsung SPH-I3x0+I500
PalmOne Treo/VisorPhone
Other devices!
- Enhanced searching capabilities:
Search any combination of all fields.
4 search methods, including fast "Turbo" (sorted) search.
Allows 'And' operation of search strings.
Supports accented characters (umlauts).
- Enhanced telephony capabilities:
User can define 5 different 'locations' - for roaming support.
Calling-Card support (auto-dials access-numbers, PIN...).
Extension and IVR handling (handle pauses on all contacts).
Includes 'Capture' hack - dial from other application !
- Start SMS/Email to contacts from (relies on 3rd party
SMS/Email apps)
What I found from using this app is that it just looks better and works better than the stock application. I chose the HiRes SilverOrange Class skin which in my opinion makes a very nice display. The features that really makes TAKEphONE stand out are the ability to have different screens (that are tabbed) that make looking up contacts, calling people from your favorites list, redialing many of the last numbers you have called, and showing a history of the calls made very easy. You can set TAKEphONE up so that the green phone button (on the Treo) cycles through the different tabs.
In the Find tab, one feature that I like is the ability to look up a person by their company, without having to change any settings. Just start typing and a list of possible matches appears. If there is a company name that matches what you type, those listings will appear. Very nice if you know what company a person works for, but can’t remember the person’s name.
The Favorites section is similar to the built in favorites with a big improvement, that being larger buttons that are easily selected with a finger.
The Redial tab gives you an easy, convenient look at the latest numbers you have called. Simply selecting the person you wish to redial calls the number.
The History tab is very nice, it that not only can you see the most recent calls made, but you can also do a search for a person and see all calls with dates and times made to that person. I’m not sure how far back it will go, but I did a simple search and saw calls that I made to one person at the end of last year.
Another nice feature that TAKEphONE has is the ability to set up locations. This could be very handy if you travel to different places and need to set up unique dialing rules for each location.
In all, TAKEphONE is a great application, one which I plan on keeping and using on my Treo 650.
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