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Review: Widget Dial – Make calls or message contacts from Notification Center

Making calls on your iPhone has never been easier thanks to this brand new iOS app

Price: $1.99 / £1.49
Version: 1.0.1
Size: 5.8 MB
Developer: Appspia Studio

Widget Dial, a recent addition to the App Store, is a new iOS app that makes it easier than ever to make calls or send off messages from an iPhone. This is because Widget Dial, which you can pick up now for $0.99, provides access to a hand-picked selection of your favorite contacts from Notification Center’s easy-to-access “Today” screen, which users can reach by swiping down on their smartphone’s display.

Your favorite contacts appear right in Notification Center once Widget Dial has been configured.

Your recent calls appear right in Notification Center once Widget Dial has been configured.

Widget Dial’s $0.99 fee marks a limited-time 50-percent-off reduction on the app’s usual price (of $1.99). Once downloaded and installed, the application first prompts iPhone owners to select their favorite contacts; unfortunately, Widget Dial can’t import favorites from the built-in Phone app (we’re guessing this is a limitation imposed by Apple, rather than something the developer simply overlooked). However, a “+” icon makes it easy for users to sweep through their saved contacts and import family members and friends into the app for speedy access.

You can choose favorites from inside the Widget Dial iOS app.

You can choose favorites from inside the Widget Dial iOS app.

After doing this, Widget Dial requires users to add the application’s Notification Center widget to the iOS Today interface. To do this, navigate over to Notification Center on your iPhone and touch “Edit,” before adding Widget Dial to your list of included apps and widgets. At this point, you’ll finally be ready to begin using the application.

All of your favorite contacts are available to choose from in Widget Dial, and contact images appear, too.

All of your favorite contacts are available to choose from in Widget Dial, and contact images appear, too.

Once configured in this way, a simple swipe down on your iPhone’s screen should reveal Widget Dial in Notification Center. Here, a selection of contacts will be available for users to interact with; usefully, each contact’s profile picture is included in the widget’s user interface (UI), making it easy to find exactly who you’re looking for. Users can either call or message an individual contact from this interface (to make a call, simply touch the contact; in order to send a message, you’ll need to press and hold on a contact’s profile picture), or they can navigate over to one of Widget Dial’s other screens.

There's also a handy number-pad, just in case you're looking to call someone who isn't listed as a favorite.

There’s also a handy number-pad, just in case you’re looking to call someone who isn’t listed as a favorite.

Using a tab bar along the top of the widget, iPhone owners can also check on recent calls from inside of Widget Dial, and these are displayed in a simple list. Further along, another button allows iPhone owners to access a number-pad from inside Widget Dial, and this can of course be used to dial a number. It’s all as simple as that; Widget Dial really is easy enough to use, once you’ve got it configured.

Details concerning your favorite contacts can be viewed from inside Widget Dial, too.

Details concerning your favorite contacts can be viewed from inside Widget Dial, too.