One of the major complaints about the Nokia N82 and any other pre-FP2 devices is the built-in gallery:
- It has no “folder-to-scan” option. All readable files are cramped in it, including the annoying support images from
installed applications. - It has no sorting nor filtering options
- Videos and images are combined in it which is absurd.
- Has the album feature but renders it useless
- It tends to be slow, especially if you store a lot of media files
Pros:
- It’s fast.
- Provides different viewing options
- Can sort images by name, date, size or format
- Allows managing of images with folder manipulation
- Specify favorite folders to be scanned for images
- Slideshow options are more customizable, and has extra transition
effects - Faster image zooming and panning
- Handy dandy keypad shortcuts
Cons:
- No indication of how many images were found.
- Cannot insert text or clip arts when editing images
- A not so friendly user interface combined with poor help content
Here it goes...
Viewing Options
Way better than the s60 gallery.. Resco PV offers several options on how it will display your files. Depending on your preference, you can choose different combinations of three viewing options. Two thumbs up here...
- All Images or by Folders (folder tree)
- List or Grid View
- Small or Large Icons.
Screenshots:
All Images > Grid View > Small Icons
All Images > Grid View > Large Icons
All Images > List View > Small Icons
All Images > List View > Large Icons
Folder Tree > Grid View > Small Icons
Folder Tree > Grid View > Large Icons
Folder Tree > List View > Small Icons
Folder Tree > List View > Large Icons
Set Folders to Scan for Images
Yes! The most prominent feature that the built-in gallery is lacking! Folders-to-scan for images is present in Resco PV. You can limit folders to be scanned for images by setting "Standard" folders (marked with a star icon). When you are in All Images viewing option, only images from the folders you set will be displayed. A very convenient feature indeed!
Zooming and Panning
Almost all of our images are in their full 5 megapixel glory. More often than not, zooming is needed when viewing pictures. And zooming with the built-in gallery is slooow. Panning while in zoom mode? Simply irritating. You’ll need to press the dpad repeatedly just to get a one step panning adjustment..
On Resco PV, zooming and panning is a joy, I tell you! One time quick loading when you try to zoom, after that, everything is instantaneous! Smooth panning and instant zooming up to 1600% (this is overkill i think), nothing more I can ask for. See video below (sorry for the video quality, recorded using a webcam T_T):
Image Editor
There’s also an image editor, and it's better than the built-in gallery’s (or at least for me). It’s faster, and you have more control on color adjustments (rgb). Screenshots below:
Also, you'll have the option to set the jpeg compression when saving an edited image and specify the new image's file name as well. Inserting clip-arts, frames and text is missing, but for me it's not a big problem. Red-eye reduction though is not present. I find it useful sometimes, guess I’ll just open up my gallery if I want to use it (or make sure that I use Red Eye as the flash mode for night shots).
Image Information
This is my favorite, I love how Resco paid attention on presenting image information. I usually do image comparisons and keypad shortcuts for easier access makes the built-in gallery a total loser. Using Resco PV, by simply pressing 5, information about the selected image is displayed. And pressing the left soft key will lead you to the Exif details! Very neat!
Slide Show
There are 11 slide effects to choose from plus the Random transition option. There's Random Image Order also that adds a sort of excitement, when waiting which image might appear next during the show. Same as the built-in gallery, you can also set the duration of each slide and set your favorite mp3 as a background music. The good part is that, with Resco PV, you can create new sets of slide shows from selected images and save it for later viewing. Here's a video (viewing slide shows and adding new sets from selected images). Again, sorry for the quality:
Maybe it's just me, but I like the built-in gallery's slide show presentation than this. On the s60 gallery, zooming and panning during animation really gives more life to the show than that on Resco's. What do you think?
Manage Images
If you want to group your images by folders, no need to open up your favorite file manager. You can directly manage your folders directly on Resco PV. You can create, rename, delete, move folders and transfer your images from one location to another easily when in Folder Tree view. Such a great feature! (hands down)
And More Useful Settings for your Satisfaction
If the built-in gallery has little to no settings, indulge yourself with Resco PV for it presents you with several settings from sorting, image rotation, backlight, slideshow, image rotation and more. You can even set this application to be the default viewer for several image file types.
----------------------------------------------
Overall, I am completely satisfied with Resco Photo Viewer. It does all the s60 gallery can do plus more! I miss the fancy animation and stuff from the built-in gallery, but hey, who needs it more than functionality? I find the user interface quite confusing though, as well as the weak help utility. I believe Resco needs to pay attention to this.
If you are in search for an application to replace your gallery, I highly recommend Resco Photo Viewer. Although it’s not free ($14.95), what’s nice is that you can try it first for 14 days before making a purchase. Click here to download RPV.
Do you already use Resco Photo Viewer? How was your experience with it? Do you think it’s really a good replace for your N82’s built in gallery? Or do you know a different and better application?
