Category: Fast Dialer

Eir Fast Dialer for iPhone

I got myself an iPhone recently, in order to do some smart-watch related development. But, I stumbled upon the same issue as I did when I got my first Android phone – the useless dialer. My approach was the same, as with the Android phone – after not finding in the App Store something that suits my needs, I created my own 🙂 Since the Fast Dialer app already exists for Android, the main logic was already there, I just needed to translated it into Objective C, which turned out to be not such a difficult task.

The end product has the same main functionality as the Android app: search using two languages keyboards at the same time, with one significant addition: one can choose a first language different than English / Latin based. That means that you can set your two language combination to be Russian – Hebrew, for example. Quite nice.

The search by numbers and search with wildcard modes are also available.

Other than that, the app theming is much alike the Android app, with initial choice of only 3 themes, but with more to come if there is interest.

There are some iOS limitations that significantly affect the app:
1. The access to the call log is prohibited, for security reasons. This beats me, its ridiculous. Some app can have access to the list of contacts, and the internet at the same time, enabling the leaking of personal information, but an app that has no internet access, is not allowed to access the call log? Makes no sense.
Anyway, the lack of the recent call list is not trivial, so my Eir Fast Dialer app cannot fully replace the default Dialer app. Pity.

2. There is no sorting of contacts based on the frequency of calls. I guess this is relation to the first point. It also shows how much more advanced system Android is in comparison to iOS.

Anyway, the app is already my default dialer app, try it out yourselves:

Eir Fast Dialer

Simulator Screen Shot Jan 28, 2017, 2.31.45 PM

Simulator Screen Shot Jan 28, 2017, 4.11.16 PM

Simulator Screen Shot Feb 1, 2017, 8.48.05 AM

Simulator Screen Shot Jan 28, 2017, 2.51.26 PM

Fast Dialer app update

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After a longer period, the Fast Dialer app has been updated with some new features and minor fixes.

The main new feature is the possibility to directly dial a number, send an SMS or add to contacts the clipboard contents. So you can copy a number from anywhere in your phone, from the Internet etc. and then use it directly in Fast Dialer, just long press on the number entry field, and you’ll be presented the options.

The other small but crucial update is the support for Android 4.4.

Get the app from Google Play!

Fast Dialer for BlackBerry 10

Announcing the Fast Dialer app for BlackBerry 10 devices!

Fast Dialer is a neat little app that makes the usage of your phone super-easy. Instantly find and dial contacts by name, number or company name, with only a few taps (statistics say average of 3 taps to find your desired contact).

The only BlackBerry 10 app that lets you search through your contacts using 2 different languages alphabets at the same time, the first one is Latin-based (and includes all European Latin-based languages by default), and the second can be one of the following:

  • Cyrillic (Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian…)
  • Greek
  • Hebrew
  • Arabic

Other key features:
* Twenty nice skins.
* Convenient large letters for an easier search. (Four different display modes are available)
* Speed dialing.
* Company name is displayed (and searched by).
* Wildcard search.
* Highlighting of starred contacts.
* Sort contacts by last name
* Pauses in the dialed number.
* Landscape mode.
* Quick redial.
* Localized in Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Polish, Czech, German, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Dutch and Spanish!

Download the app from BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/36955887

Fast Dialer update

The Fast Dialer app has been updated. The new version includes some bug-fixes (huge thanks to everyone that reported a problem with the app, either directly, or through the Google Play store reports). Details about the fixes:

  • Log data on some phones (Sony mostly) was not updated properly, now it is working as it should.
  • There were reports of crashes related to contacts without phone numbers, that is fixed now.
  • The “call” button was not so easy to press on certain phone models with high resolution displays, that is corrected.

Get the app from Google Play!

The first Dialer for Sony’s SmartWatch

Introducing the first Dialer app for Sony’s SmartWatch. It enables direct phone dialing, as well as smart T9 search through the contacts!

The app inherits a lot from the Fast Dialer unique functionalities which have been proven to work flawlessly in the last two years, since the time the Fast Dialer app was first published.

This includes the fast T9 smart search through the contacts by name or company name, as well as the search using two alphabets at the same time. The Available alphabets are:

* Latin (all Latin-based European languages are supported)
* Cyrillic (Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Bulgarian…)
* Greek
* Hebrew
* Arabic

Following are the short instructions and a brief video demonstration.

INSTRUCTIONS:

SWIPE LEFT: to delete the last typed number or character
SWIPE RIGHT: to delete all
SWIPE UP / DOWN: to switch to T9 search
SWIPE UP / DOWN: to list through the search results in T9 mode

LONG TAP ON THE TOP GREEN BAR: to make a call

To use pauses when dialing a number:
LONG TAP ON ZERO: to enter + in numeric mode
LONG TAP ON ONE: to enter ; in numeric mode
LONG TAP ON TWO: to enter , in numeric mode

[youtube 3Q72THbtLyc]

Get the app from Google Play!

Speed Dial extension for Sony’s Smart Wireless Headset Pro

The Fast Dialer extension for Sony’s SmartWatch now extends its functionality to Sony’s Smart Wireless Headset Pro.

Use the “Next” / “Volume up” and “Previous” / “Volume down” keys to make the selection, and initiate the call by pressing the “Play” or the “Action” key.

The Fast Dialer app is, of course, required to be installed on your phone!

Download the extension from Google Play for free!

Speed Dial extension for the Fast Dialer

According to Wikipedia:

Speed dial is a function available on many telephone systems allowing the user to place a call by pressing a reduced number of keys. This function is particularly useful for phone users who dial certain numbers on a regular basis.

The Speed Dial extension of the Fast Dialer app, for Sony’s SmartWatch does exactly that. The Fast Dialer app is – of course – required to be installed on the host device (i.e. phone), and through it the speed dial numbers are set.

Calls are made by long tapping one of the displayed numbers.

Here’s a short video to see the app in action.

[youtube ijh5EOTTR-w]

The app is free, get it today from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eir.dialer3.extension.speeddial

Skype out calls directly from the Fast Dialer

The Fast Dialer application has been known to be simple and useful, and people are finding new ways to make use of it, as shows the advice of Krakozawr who uses it to find his contacts and then choose whether to call, send sms, email, Skype message, or anything else that is available from the context menu of the contact.

But one thing that I was missing was the possibility to directly initiate a Skype out call. That turns out to be something I use quite a lot, and the use cases are really simple:

  1. You’re in “roaming” mode, you have internet access and Skype credit, or
  2. You’re at home, but calling abroad, and Skype is much cheaper.

If these scenarios look like the situations you find yourself in, check out the new version of Fast Dialer (3.5.0)!

Other novelties include extended options for the regulation of the dialing tones – since depending on the manufacturer and the phone model, the default volume settings may not be appropriate, so now you can choose what works best for you – as well as some minor fixes.