Thursday, December 9, 2010

Smart Contacts Widget

Smart Contacts Widget
Updated June 3
Current version: v2.4.1
A MUST TO HAVE APP!



Allows quick access to call or send sms to contacts or numbers you have contacted recently / frequently.

Unlike others, you don't need to configure it manually. It auto select your contacts / numbers depending on the frequency and age of calls and sms.

IMPORTANT: This is a widget, so you can't open it as a normal app. To add a widget to your desktop, do a long press on a free space of the home screen and select "add widget". 




 Features:
► Requires android 1.6 or later.
Shows contact photo if available, or random built-in image if not (several image kits available).
Smart contact list for quick access to your frequently/recently used contacts.
Contact / phone number communications log and stats.
4 sizes: 3, 4 & 8 contacts, and a 1x1 smart list shortcut
QVGA devices are not supported yet.
List of numbers that the widget should ignore for scoring.
Supported languages: english, spanish



Version 1.3.0 changes:
► Adds new 8 contacts 3x3 widget in addition to the other two.
► All widgets size increased to use better the space. Note that there are yet some empty space above and below. I can't avoid it because the widget must fit in landscape format.
► Widget interface more clean with improved text visibility over confusing wallpapers. Also, there is a new option to highlight contact names with a marker to get even better visibility.
► New settings to customize your widget.
Improved contact's image retrieval for some devices.
A lot of minor user interfaces enhancements and fixes.


Version 1.4.0 changes:
► Old 2x3 widget becomes a 2x2 widget. In response to many of your comments about the empty space for that widget format, I have been exploring many possible solutions. I think this is, by far,  the best option.
► Some minor bugs have been fixed


Version 2.0.1 changes:
► Redesigned, built from the ground, new widget draw system to use all the space for the widget. Available for 3 and 4 contact widgets. 8 contacts uses the old system yet. I'm working on it.
►3 and 4 contact widgets change layout in landscape mode, relocating the control buttons to the right, for better space usage.
► New optimized sizes:
                   Big  screen (WVGA+)     Medium screen (HVGA)
3 contacts         2x2                     2x2
4 contacts         2x2                     3x3
8 contacts         3x3                     4x4
list shortcut      1x1                     1x1 
► 4 and 8 contacts widgets are now available for HVGA screens
► New smart contact list feature selects your 20 more recent/usual contacts and let you call, sms or see stats.
► New contact/number info sheet with stats and communications log.
► New 1x1 widget to launch smart contact list.
► New option to call directly from the widget instead of dial the number. Disabled by default.
► Enhanced photo search, gets more photos and does it faster.
► Several bugs fixed.

Version 2.1.1 changes:
►New options to customize contact selection.
►Improved texts readability for the 8 contacts widget.

Version 2.2.0 changes:
►New available image sets for contacts without photo. Check Settings > Preferences > Generic images kit
►Enhanced compatibility with some devices
►A few minor bugs fixed

Version 2.3.0 changes:
►New "Starred contacts priority" option to select your favourite contacts. It is disabled by default, so check settings to enable it
►New How-to screen when it is opened from the market.
►Smaller app size with optimized graphics.
►A few bugs fixed

Version 2.4.0 changes:
► Added option to display the names in uppercase for widgets
► Enhanced international codes recognition for some countries to avoid duplicate entries in the widget
► Improved readability for names in the 8 contacts widget
► New option in the settings screen to see more applications from SPCampos

NEW  Version 2.4.1 released:
After update, remove the old widget from the screen and add it again. The old widget may not work right after the upgrade until you do it. 
► Several bugs fixed
► Now, the widget is more robust

FAQ: 
○ This widget shows just the recently contacted numbers?
By default, it mixes recently and frequently contacted numbers in order to get the more "useful" contacts. You can customize it to get only recently contacted numbers o frequently contacted numbers.

○ My widget is frozen after some time of use
Version 2.01 solves all freezing problems and makes this widget very robust, so if you have this problem with the latest version, be sure that you don't have a task killer or this task killer is no killing this app. Contact me if you have this problem to help you.

○ Can I send sms with one touch or this widget is only for dialing?
Yes, of course you can. The bottom-right icon let you choose dial or sms mode.

○ The widget gets stuck in "loading" after first install or update
There are a few strange reports of this. Ensure that you have the last version and restart your phone. It will work fine.

○ How much battery uses this widget?
This is a widget with very, very low power usage. It's most time sleeping so don't consume battery at all. Only needs power to update contact score, that is made each 30 minutes. Unlike other widgets, this one can't connect to internet to send usage stats and other stuff. This allows lower power consumption, as well as being reassuring from a privacy point of view.

√ Feel free to leave comments about desired improvements, new feature requests or report a bug. Your feedback is welcome to make this the useful contacts widget that all we want.

Screenshots: 

3x3 - 8 contacts widget - WVGA
3x3 - 4 contacts widget - HVGA landscape

2x2 - 4 contacts  & 1x1 widget - WVGA

Smart contact list

Contact log & stats

2x2 - 3 contacts - HVGA

Settings

 

19 comments:

  1. 1) On my German Samsung Galaxy S everything is in spanish!

    2) Only Google Contacts pictures are taken, we need Facbook!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Heiko,
    Language issue is fixed in version v1.1.0. Now you must see all in english. Sorry for that.
    More languages coming soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thaks, english works!

    Next one ;)

    If I have a number like +49123456 your widget will dial 123456 which is a problem.

    Well I will keep your widget installed and look for further updates.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are right. I have found that 15 minutes ago. In my own case that is not a problem, but I know that in other cases really it is a matter.

    It is already fixed and I want to finish one more new feature to release the next version.

    Thank you very much for your feedback, and for your confidence keeping the widget installed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well I really like the idea of an automatic updating widget!

    And I've learned that you can talk to many android developers and they will here to proper feedback.

    ReplyDelete
  6. v1.2.0 released!, if fixes the international number issue. Thanks Heiko ;)
    Also you can see the date and time of the last communication in addition to the time ago, and have a couple of little internal improvements.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks a lot, now I can start to use it on a daily base!

    There is still room for improvement for pulling the right pictures, but I am sure you will get it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi,
    Good widget!
    However, I have to pass on using it. It doesn't go with my minimalistic theme :)
    How about the ability to turn off the background (make it fully transparent, make it translucent solid color etc.)
    Set font size
    and
    Low profile icons for the widget buttons?
    That'll let us make it work on any theme

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi sameera,

    I agree with you about the theme's feature. I was working on this one month ago, but I had to leave this idea because most of the view's methods that I need can't be used by widgets.
    I can customize at runtime the style of the 8 contacts widget, but I can't do great things with the others, because these work in a different way.

    Maybe future versions of Android will remove some of these limitations for widgets.
    Anyway I will try to improve style customization.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Where can I get the generic android kit ( one of the defaults for the images) I want set some of these as contact images.

    oh and, beautiful app, I love the way it auto updates. (and even changes the picture for ones using the default images)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Samuel,
    I'm sorry, but all my image kits contains too small images to be used directly as contact's photo (They will look blurry and pixelated).
    Maybe you can try a google images search to find android images that you can use as contact's picture.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Samuel,
    The refresh is too slow. I don't see new number refresh in widget quickly. Is there any setting I can twick to see the refresh of my calls immediately

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Amit,

    You can speed up the refresh of the widget adjusting the three last options in the Settings > Preferences screen:
    Call log scan, SMS Inbox scan and SMS Outbox scan.

    In my personal phone I have the slower options, but the refresh take about one second.

    Note: The refreshing interval is not configurable at this time, but it is done automatically at the end of a call (in & out) and when you receive an sms. When you send a sms, the refresh is not automatic, and will be done during the periodic refresh.

    If you need more help, contact me by mail (Settings > About Smart Contacts)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I use sms more than phone but it keeps defaulting to phone. Is it possible to set the default to sms?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Jennie,

    This is not possible at this momment, sorry. You only need to set the sms mode one time until the phone is rebooted or the launcher app is rebooted by the system.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love this widget. My old phone was a samsung that had both sms and calls in the call log and now I have a new phone which doesn't do it and I find it really annoying. This widget fills the gap.

    Things that I would suggest are:
    1. Make the smart contact list appear as an app, so I can put it in my dock.
    2. It would be great if when I tap someone's name it opens up their contacts entry
    3. All the buttons could do with being much bigger - both on the contacts list and the widget. On my Sony Arc it all seems tiny.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Malcolm,

    First, thanks a lot for your feedback.
    About your suggestions:
    1 - Smart contact list as an app: I'm with you on this point, that is currently in my to-do list for future releases.

    2 - You can enter the contact entry tapping on the contact's photo in the number screen ("i" icon of the smart contacts list). This feature is not available directly on the list to avoid accidental actions.

    3 - You are right. First versions were focused on save screen space. But future releases will have much bigger widgets versions.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome ! All post execute a treat.
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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