Review: XXL Screen Saver
Score:
81%
A proper replacement for Nokia's built-in minimalist screen saver...
Version Reviewed: 1.09
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I have to confess that I didn't even know this application was possible. All of a sudden I saw it mentioned in an AllAboutSymbian forum (helpful place), followed the link and then 'Whoa!'. Whenever I need the time in a hurry, it's a real pain squinting at Nokia's default 'strip' screen saver. The backlight's off in screen saver mode, of course, and you don't want to have to press a key and fire it up as that just helps drain the battery, which leaves this strip of black, with reverse video letters in a tiny font. What's needed is a screen saver that uses a few more pixels and can present the time in a much more legible fashion. However, hacking into the operating system isn't going to be easy and most people (including me) had thought the job too tricky to be done.
This didn't put Mr Hugo off though. Not content with writing the most popular Series 60 program bar none (FExplorer), he's come up with another freeware gem. XXL Screensaver is a configurable replacement for Nokia's rather feeble effort and it slots in very neatly into your existing theme settings.
Installation is by SIS file, as usual, but then you need to pop into 'Themes' and 'Edit' your currently active one. Within the theme's attributes, switch the screen saver to be the one from 'GoSymbian.com'. Finally, fire up the suppled XXLConfig program (shown in two of the screens here) and pick the screen saver you want.
The two clocks shown are among the four most useful, with the extra screen savers being novelty items that don't show up very well on a non-backlit screen unless you happen to be in bright sunlight. The inclusion of the usual status information around the actual clock is a nice touch, showing numbers of waiting messages, missed calls, mute status, and so on. My favourite was the first, 'analog basis', but it's very much up to you.
In some ways it's a shame Nokia left this functionality to a third party utility. But XXL Screen Saver is simple, free and works well on all Series 60 v2 smartphones.
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at