A No-Frills Wolfram|Alpha Desktop Client

very good
key review info
application features
  • Search history
  • (4 more, see all...)

Even though the creators of the Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine are kind enough to offer their famous product for free on their website (a limited version nonetheless), there is no official desktop client available for download.

For this reason, independent developers have begun taking matters into their own hands by developing their own OS X desktop clients. One of the latest such apps is iPhi, a simple Wolfram|Alpha front-end that comes bundled with several extra features.

iPhi can be seamlessly bought and installed via the Mac App Store, occupies just 1.7 MB of your Mac’s disk space, uses minimum CPU power and about the same amount of RAM as the web-based version.

Although iPhi is a front-end to Wolfram|Alpha, it does bring some features of its own, which is what this review focuses on. Moreover, if you are wondering how good the loading time is in the desktop client compared to the website version, the answer is: exactly the same.

The first time you open iPhi, you will see a plain-looking user interface with Wolfram|Alpha’s initial page in the middle. This is the Desktop view mode, which displays the site in its entirety.

The other view mode is designed for Mobile devices, but works well for the desktop too, if you want to hide all the distracting menus and options when using Wolfram|Alpha. Two buttons on the toolbar allow for simple switching between the view modes.

Furthermore, another element in the interface is the Inspector panel, which offers access to the search history and various predefined bookmarks. Fortunately, this pane can be closed by clicking on the “i” toolbar icon.

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There is not much to discuss about the History feature of iPhi because all it does is keep track of all the search queries you have used. The advantage is that you can double click a search query to reload it. However, the loading time seems a bit longer compared to the website version.

Note that history entries completely disappear after restarting the app. If you want to remove an entry manually and keep just the ones you are interested in, you can use the “-” icon at the bottom of the pane. As a side note, your complete search history is kept in your account, too, if you have one.

Adjacent to the History tab is the Bookmarks tab that actually allows you to perform quick calculations involving equations, plots, linear algebra, integrations and differentials. In other words, clicking on any of these bookmarks opens a window with readily available fields to enter specific values for various computations.

To give you an example, the Plot dialog enables you to enter the function(s) you want to graph, plus the 1st and 2nd parameters before using the Plot button. In our tests, we could calculate all kinds of equations with Bookmarks that helped us even more by providing field hints.

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Going back to the entire user interface, it needs to be mentioned that iPhi provides a button to "optimize" the view by displaying only the search result pane of the popular website.

Another benefit of using iPhi is the support for Pro accounts. Thus, if you are a Wolfram|Alpha subscriber and log into your account via iPhi, you will be able to use the Pro features without a problem.

On the downside of things, iPhi comes with a Print function that does not exactly work as expected. After opening the Print window, it displays only an unfinished preview of the entire result window. Trying to print a result page in the Desktop mode leads to pretty bad results, but it gets a little better in the Mobile view.

Furthermore, iPhi comes with a bonus feature that enables you to save the search result page as an .iPhi file. If you want to resume your research or calculations later, this is quite a convenient way to do it.


The Good

iPhi enables you to access the powerful Wolfram|Alpha website from the comfort of your desktop. The user interface is flexible and can be resized to an optimal view mode with just a click.

In addition to this, we have successfully tested both the Desktop and Mobile view modes. Most of the built-in features, including the search history and bookmarks, also worked well.

The Bad

Even if the user interface functions work as advertised, the look and feel failed to make an impression. Moreover, the Print window displayed an incomplete preview page.

The Truth

All things considered, iPhi can surely help you access Wolfram|Alpha’s wide array of features, provided you have an Internet connection. Setting aside the broken Print feature, the app might be worth the investment, if you are looking for a simple Wolfram|Alpha desktop client.

user interface 3
features 4
ease of use 4
pricing / value 3


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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