14 DAY TRIAL // No matter how well equipped web browsers nowadays are for storing bookmarks, most of the times they are not quite the best solution to keep your favorite links at hand. Many users may be using several browsers in order to keep their web surfing needs satisfied and synchronizing the bookmarks between them could prove to be a tedious task.
Well, not if you have a bookmark manager at hand. Bookmark Base, my personal favorite, brings to the table some pretty interesting options, such as the possibility to import the set of bookmarks from one browser and export them to another, or save them in a proprietary format on disk. Add to the set of features the fact that it is also portable.
The market is filled with capable bookmark managers ready to take all the favorite links and store them in a single place. FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager comes as a free and viable alternative to the paid products of this category. Well, not quite free, because you have the possibility to buy it for $29.99 and it comes with the restriction of opening more than 10 links per day.
Its interface is plain and simple, bent more on functionality and not on aesthetics, which is always a good way to go. The list with all the favorite links takes the most space and is organized alphabetically, with the possibility to order all items by their label, address or name. Unfortunately, the application lacks the ability to arrange the elements in folders, which may come as a downside for some users. On the other hand, it is equipped with search capabilities; you can't really see the search field when launching the application, but it is there, trust me.
Labeling is another way to help you pinpoint a bookmark and the good thing is that although by default there are only a few labels defined in the software, you can add your own. These can give you a hint on the utility of the link or group the bookmarks pertaining to the same field of activity together. The downside is that if you have plenty of links stored in FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager it is going to be pretty difficult to find the one you want in the list, even if you use labeling.
Configuring the application to work it suits you best does not require too much effort as the available options are restricted to defining the hotkeys to add a new bookmark, search for one in the list or simply to view all added bookmarks. Regardless of the window you're in, all these work like a charm because once launched, FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager will sit quietly in the system tray waiting for your input.
Given the permanent residence of the software in system tray, it is easy to add new items to the database directly from the web browser of your choice. As for RAM and CPU usage, given the current standards for these resources, you have nothing to worry about. During our tests the app did not need more than 11MB of RAM, while CPU usage was barely recorded.
FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager is a simple program that fulfills a simple task: storing all your favorite links in one place. It also lets you backup your database or import new links from HTML files. They will be appended to the existing data without affecting it in any way. You won't even have doubles as the app verifies and compares all new links with those in the database.
The developer did not miss the fact that some users may want to backup all the data, just to be on the safe side. Exporting is also a possibility for backing them up, but, unfortunately, FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager will be the only app capable to import them later. More flexibility would have been great in the application, such as exporting the data in a format most web browsers can import.
On the bright side, the 10-link launch per day restriction is not that strict. During our testing, the software showed the notification after the 10-bookmark limit was reached, but as soon as we pressed the OK button, the desired link opened in the default web browser with no problem.
Everything works great in the application but its simplicity in options and features may be dragging it down. Organizing the links into folders and exporting to a standard format, a web browser can import should be essential in a bookmark manager.
Another great function would be automatic copying of an address upon hitting the Add Bookmark keyboard shortcut. As it is now, you will have to copy the address first and then paste it in the Add new Bookmark panel. Buying FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager at this time won't bring you any additional options or functions, the only restriction lifted being the nagging warning when you exceed the 10-bookmark launch in a day.
The Good FruitfulTime Bookmark Manager is a simple bookmark manager that can't possibly put you in difficulty. Sitting in the system tray, it will give you access to its interface and let you add new bookmarks easily and effortlessly.
Comparing the bookmarks you add with the ones already in the database is a great function that prevents you from keeping multiple entries for the same link.
The Bad
The Truth If you feel comfortable with the nagging warning popping up after the 10-bookmark limit has been reached, you will be set with a free bookmark manager. It comes with basic functionality and still has some road to beat in order to rise among users' preferences.
Check out some pictures of the application:
