Downloading Fast

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Ultra-fast download speed experience
  • (8 more, see all...)

File downloading used to be quite a thorny issue back in the days. Not even now, with the constant speed increase we are not content with the swiftness of file downloading. Modems have gained more thrust, network adapters support increasing speeds and even wireless adapters tend to rush along.

And yet, we are still not content. More and more users "abuse" all sort of download managers that deliver the much desired performance. This is the case of FlashGet, one of the best download managers on the market, with added support for torrent files.

But competition is fierce and every day a new and improved feature provoke a frenzy among the users and break the download speed barriers. Gigaget is such a new tool that enters the market and strives to shutter the competition. The application is absolutely free and its "WOW" looks apply perfectly to the Vista environment.

Easy to use (as any download manager should be), Gigaget introduces a new technology in file downloading, namely Net Grid. This new contraption is practically the NOS of the application, boosting the downloading beyond the regular barriers.

The explorer-like presentation makes it easier to the user to manage all the downloads and move them in the right category. The Task Manager (not the one in Windows) located in the left side of the application window consists in a number of categories that relate to Games, Software, Music and Movie. The user has the freedom of adding new categories besides the default ones and also to delete them.

By default, all the files will be downloaded in a folder created in the system disk's root. You can change the location to wherever you want as there is absolutely nothing preventing you from doing this. The categories' purpose is to help you to quickly locate a file on the disc. Also, the context menu in Gigaget permits running the file directly from the application.

In the right side of the application window there is the download window that displays all the items from the selected category. Renaming them from here is as easy as accessing the context menu's "Rename" function.

The lower part of the main screen is occupied by the File Info box. Here you will find details about the task at hand, number of alternative resources, thread info (supports up to 10 threads per task) and their status. If you want the log stored in a file on your computer, it is enough to right click and choose save to file. The information will be automatically appended to a TXT file and you get to provide the save location.

Gigaget's "Optimizers" menu includes integration with either Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer and by selecting one of the two the application will act as the default download manager for one of these browsers. The program will work with other browsers as well, but the built-in download tool will also pop up and disturb you. In my case a restart fixed the problem and Gigaget became the default download manager for Maxthon.

The options Gigaget is equipped with can be accessed from the Tools menu. They include general settings (autorun options, disk cache size setting), Save To options (the user gets to select the default download folder), download properties (the category to save the files into, start mode - manual or immediate and number of threads in the original URL).

The configuration settings allow the user to set the time out retry delay, limit the maximum number of simultaneous tasks (default is five and maximum is 10) and limit the download speed in order not to mess your Internet browsing session. Additionally, you can provide the file extensions you want to be monitored by Gigaget (the default ones include the most popular video formats, as well as the most sought compression extensions).

For every download to go smooth and reduce the risk of infecting your computer you can define the path to the anti virus tool you have installed on your computer. More then this, you can set the file types you want the virus to scan (generally video and audio files are virus free).

Advanced options are divided into three options: Confirmations (on creating multiple tasks, pausing a download that cannot be resumed, program exit, dropping an URL on the Drop Basket, etc.), Show Prompt (alerting the user for a newer version of the application or at everyday tips) and Advanced (enabling Net Grid technology, move unconnected task(s) to the bottom, etc.)

During our testing Gigaget succeeded in downloading a file 10 time faster then the manager in a regular browser. For all tests there were used the same download locations and different browsers as well as download managers. Gigaget raise above all of them and scored highest in all the tests. The compared speed was the average one.

The Good

A very pleasant surprise from Giganology. The ease of use and the Vista looks are amazing. The speed is considerably augmented.

Also, the user has the possibility of setting the application to shut down the computer after the download tasks have finished.

The Bad

Youth has its disadvantages. There are some options that miss in Gigaget, like scheduling functions or torrent download support. These are a must in today's downloading.

I could not quite understand the Net Grid technology as by disabling it the results were slightly worse then when it was enabled (the difference was of 2KB).

The Truth

Amazing application. It really increased the download speed (by much). Other download applications were far behind Gigaget during the testing.

One piece of advice though: despite the appealing looks of the forum of the software, I suggest you stay away from it. There are some dubious links there and your computer may get infected with some sort of malware.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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