Review: SpiritLevel Qt
Score:
70%
Despite being programmed by "STeVE's Apps" this little utility is nothing to do with me - honest! What it is, is a simple and useful imitation of a spirit level, to aid in getting those all important work surfaces, shelves and cupboards level. It's not flashy and it's not perfect, but it's still a solid little app to keep up your smartphone sleeve.
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Given that all smartphones since about 2007 have had accelerometers built-in, it's perhaps not surprising that we've had the odd spirit level utility from time to time. The eponymous SpiritLevel Qt is another in the same vein, but notable in that it's simple and attractive - and written in Qt, picking up the new Symbian Belle design guidelines (note the status bar and 'Back' icon).
Essentially, you place your smartphone on a flat surface first and then tap the 'Calibrate' button - this step is essential in the case of most phones, to allow for the camera hump propping the device up at an angle. Once calibrated though, this 'propped up' pitch is the new zero and we're off and running:
As you'll have gathered from the interface, this is a one dimensional spirit level only, i.e. along the 'long' axis of the phone. Place your phone on a surface that's not quite level and SpiritLevel Qt is quite sensitive, showing the angle by which the surface is 'off', though only to the nearest degree - I doubt the accuracy of the phone's accelerometer is able to handle greater precision:
I do wonder why a two-axis spirit level wasn't attempted - perhaps this plays more into the hands of innacuracies and uncertainties in the accelerometer readings? It's not a show stopping limitation, but a proper 2D 'circular' readout would have been more generally useful.
Yes, yes, one of my shortest reviews ever. It's a solid application that does what it says on the tin. Simply and without glitz. And hey, it's only a quid so why not stash it on your microSD card, ready for the next time your partner asks you to put up a shelf?
Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian, 9 Sept 2011
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at