FaceCall, a new photo-based dialer for iPhone, is a neat enough concept. The app adds direct-dial photo icons to your home screen. And, unlike the scores of one-tap dialers in the past, FaceCall will add as many speed dial icons as you want.
The dialling scheme works and while some might find it convenient if your goal is to save time the app falls short for the price.
The purpose of FaceCall is to create photo icons on your home menu for one-touch dialling (or emailing). I can see the benefit of having a photo icon stored amongst the apps on your iPhone home screen for frequently called or emailed people, especially if your contacts list and favourites are inundated with names.
Setting up and using FaceCall is simple. Once installed, you simply open the app, select a name from your contacts, choose either a phone number or email address, and then assign a photo. You can use one already assigned or take a new one.
FaceCall does not give you the option of selecting multiple numbers or a number and an email, so it is rather imperative that your photo contact only have one preferred method of contact. This isn’t a problem if your friends are always attached to a single phone, but if you find yourself dialling home, cell, work to hunt down your contacts, then FaceCall isn’t going to help solve your problem.
Regardless of how easy it is to create a photo contact icon on your home screen with FaceCall, there is one major drawback to its success. It is rather slow at accessing the contact once you tap the icon. There is a considerable delay in pulling up the number and another delay to initiate the call. In most cases, I would say it is faster to find the name and number through other means – whether through your contact list, your favourites, or speed dial.
For the $2.99 price, FaceCall falls a bit short of value. There are certainly people who could find it useful, especially for very frequently called numbers. However, because it ultimately has to access the information over the web via the created link before providing the information and initiating the call, it really it is faster to find and select a number from your contacts.
FaceCall starts off with a cool idea to put photo icons of your favourite people on your home screen, and it works pretty much as described. But with a $3 price tag, you’ll have to decide if it’s a feature that’s worth paying for.
