SplashShopper is almost legendary in the PDA world and have been the staple list manager for many thousands of mobile users over the past few years. It has now arrived on the BlackBerry platform, so I guess this is a good time to test it out and see how well it performs.

As you would expect, a Windows desktop version is included and the asking price for the complete set up is $29.95, or $59.95 when bought in the SplashWallet suite which also includes SplashID, SplashPhoto and SplashMoney. I think the price is reasonable considering the potential benefits of this title and the pricing of equivalent BlackBerry titles.

First Impressions

Upon installing you will notice a selection of sample lists which are designed to offer a glimpse into the various ways SplashShopper can be used to organise the many different types of data that you need to track on a daily basis. I have never really used SplashShopper in anger on any platform, so it was surprising to see the ability to calculate total value, or a grocery list for example, automatically. I can see great potential here for calculating and tracking all kinds of data from shopping lists to data that simply needs to be referred to now and again.

Installation was a breeze and synchronisation is also very straightforward. There is no need to have SplashShopper open on the BlackBerry when synchronising which is quite unusual and the entire process was as simple as I could have wished. There is a short learning curve when setting up new lists, but almost no time is needed to understand how the application itself works. The desktop side is very basic in its visual implementation, but that is a positive because this applications is all about the data and it is important that it is not crowded out by unnecessary visual quirks. The mobile side looks a lot nicer (and very ‘BlackBerry’), but again care has been taken to ensure that the data shines through.

In Use

I didn’t expect to be using the application in anger straight away, but within 30 minutes I already had a selection of lists built on my desktop and handheld. It is tempting to start messing around with fields, and indeed I did, but some time at the start will pay dividends as I soon had a worthwhile collection of data onboard to refer to when needed.

There are a couple of quirks with navigation- pressing the trackball when a list is highlighted results in a menu popping which includes an ‘open’ option. Why can the list not be opened with just one click? Also, there appears to be no search facility and for people with a large number of lists this would be a hugely beneficial option. Being able to type the first few letters of an item is what makes the standard BlackBerry Memo application so efficient. These are two small quirks which could be sorted fairly easily, and if done this would make SplashShopper into a true powerhouse application for any BlackBerry user.

Conclusion

I didn’t expect to like SplashShopper for BlackBerry for a variety of reasons. I had never used it before and the title is missing the point of the application; it is capable of managing fairly complex lists and can become a true mobile data centre for anyone who needs such a thing. The term ‘Shopper’ narrows the parameters too much and may lead many potential purchasers to pass over it. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is not currently on the supported devices list, but it works perfectly on it and at great speed so that was an obvious bonus for me.

SplashShopper surprised me a lot and I will certainly be keeping it on my BlackBerry. It is fast and capable of managing huge amounts of varied data. If the two quirks mentioned above can be solved, this could be one of the very best BlackBerry applications available today.

Available from here for $29.95 (use discount code ’snow’ to take 20% off this price).