Install or Not: SManager (Script Manager)

SManager, formally Script Manager is an application that evolved from a simple terminal and script executing tool into a more powerful and feature rich root explorer. Nowadays it’s able to do a lot of more than just manage your scripts. Supporting free plugins this little app his become a multipurpose file explorer. There are two versions of this application available at the marketplace: The free one ad-based and a second one paid, but without nagging advertisement.

Ease of use
When you get to the first screen you’ll probably think that you miss-click the application. The main screen makes an impression of a simple file manager. Scrolling is wonderful, and the UI is intuitive. While you browse your favorite directories you’ll notice a small stripe on the top. If you look closely you’ll probably notice that this isn’t just another glitch or useless diversity – it graphically shows you your free and used space on the selected partition. Overall I liked the minimalistic design, everything is where it should be and the small ad banner on the bottom doesn’t bother too much. The help is also quite useful. I rate the app 4.5 out of 5 in terms of ease of use.

Features
Managing your scripts is the least what SManager is able to do. The file explorer is way better than the competition that does only manage your files and with plugins you can extend the features even further:
1. Widgets
2. Ssh and sftp module
3. ftp module
4. Windows/cif/samba module
5. Box.net integration
6. Dropbox integration
Script manager also supports a simple terminal that does the job. There are settings for fonts, and what’s even more interesting you can have more than one terminal open at a time. If you go back to the main window a nice applet asks you if you want to leave the terminal in the background or kill it instantly. Overall the application looks like well-thought and the longer you’ll use it the more you’ll like it. 4.5 stars out of 5 rating are more than reasonable in this case.

Speed
The application runs buttery smooth. However I wasn’t really happy with the memory consumption. For such a minimalistic and Spartan interface, the performance and memory usage could be way better. SManager is about to use about 1 MB of your main storage and over 22MB of RAM during non-demanding usage. Scripts executing performance is good. During the testing period I noticed several force closes. To be honest I’m unsure if that’s the application itself problem or maybe my ROM’s fault. Therefore I won’t take this into account while rating this application. I rate SManager 4 out of 5 when it comes to speed.

Install or not
We dedicate SManager for those who love a well-designed file explorer and strongly advise it to those who have a lot of scripts to execute. In total, the biggest Android fanatics should benefit most from this application, but a friendly interface makes this a worthy position also for those who need a simple file explorer that is capable of getting things done. The memory usage is rather disappointing; we hope to see the developer improving it a bit in the future.

Pros:

• Spartan, minimalistic interface
• Good scripts performance
• Interesting plugins
• A lot of well-thought functions

Cons:

• High memory consumption

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