Don Tolson
02-25-2004, 07:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-splash.gif" /><br /><br />I've known about PTravelAlarm (and been an occasional user, thanks to various business trips!) since my first HP Jornada 680. At the time, I think it was a port from a very popular Palm OS version, so you can tell this application has been around for a looooonnnggg time. Recently, it's been sitting on the backburner but I got re-interested in it when they announced a new version, in which they had apparently found a workaround for the Pocket Mobile 2003's 'missing alarm' problem. Does it work? Read on....<br /><!><br /><i>This is the type of application that I really like, and I respect the developers for sticking to their guns. It does <b>one</b> thing, very well, and it's well designed for its function. Obviously, BurrOak Software have spent a lot of time thinking about PTravelAlarm, and listening to their users. In the days where we see a lot of Today plugins trying to become 'jacks of all trades', it's refreshing to find an application like PTravelAlarm which does only what it's intended to do - replace the bedside alarm clock you take with you when you are traveling. I like having single-function software, since it lets me pick and choose the accessories I need, without having to carry along a lot of excess software baggage. After all, this allows you to get rid of one more thing to remember to pack, when you already have your most important 'travel' accessory -- your Pocket PC -- ready to go.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Installation</b></span><br />Installing PTravelAlarm is simple and straightforward. After downloading the executable onto your desktop, you double click it, and it installs using the normal ActiveSync routines. PTravelAlarm takes up about 750K of memory on the Pocket PC. Although are no specific instructions regarding where to install, I'd suggest you stick to the default (main memory) location, since there are power wake-up issues supposedly (in addition to the Windows Mobile 2003 alarms) with SD and CF cards.<br /><br />After installation, two new links will show up on your Today screen.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-today.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 1: PTravelAlarm links on the Today screen.</i><br /><br />In the middle of the screen, among the displayed items, PTravelAlarm will show the time (and day) of the next alarm set to go off. In my case, I only have one set for each weekday morning, so it will show tomorrow’s. You can, of course, change its position, or remove it using the Start/Settings/Today screen.<br /><br />At the bottom of the screen, PTravelAlarm inserts an icon in the system tray which provides direct access to the main screen. You can remove this too, if you want, using the Settings option from the Alarms menu in PTravelAlarm.<br /><br /><span><b>ZZZZZZzzzzzz…. PTravelAlarm’s Interface</b></span><br />The interface for PTravelAlarm is well designed – simple, straightforward and intuitive.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-main.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Main Screen of PTravelAlarm.</i><br /><br />There's obviously been some thought put into the selection of colours used. The soft yellow with black background won't produce huge amounts of glare, etc. at night, if you leave it on and running. But there is sufficient contrast that the screen are clearly readable in the dark, even if you normally wear glasses. It also won't blind you in the morning when you stare at it, wondering why you would set the alarm so early! BurrOak has also made the buttons large enough that they can all be activated using normal-sized fingers, even in a groggy, half-wake state. Options for changing what is shown on this screen are available from the Options selection on the Alarm menu.<br /><br />Setting alarms is equally simple. From the main screen, you press the Set Alarms button, and you get the following screen.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-setalarm.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Setting Alarms.</i><br /> <PAGEBREAK> <br />PTravelAlarm supports up to 10 user-created alarm times. From the screen shown, you can see there is pretty well ultimate flexibility on establishing when the alarms should ring. Unfortunately, PTravelAlarm assumes only a weekly operating schedule, so there is no facility to establish recurring alarms on other schedules (five days on, four days off, every second week, etc.) Again, while this would be a interesting feature, it really isn’t part of what a Traveling Alarm Clock is all about, so I’m glad BurrOak kept things simple.<br /><br />A really neat feature though, is the ability to add almost any sound (.wav, .mp3, or .ogg file) as an alarm that you wish. PTravelAlarm comes with a fairly extensive list of possibilities – from bugles to roosters.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-sounds.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 4: Possible alarm sounds.</i><br /><br />I imagine you could attach almost anything you can think of (and make into a .wav file) -- maybe Reveille or “Wake UP, you lazy lout!”, just to make you feel at home.<br /><br /><span><b>You Are Getting Very Sleepy...</b></span><br />OK, at the other end of the spectrum, PTravelAlarm can also help those insomniacs or jet-laggers among us who just can’t seem to fall asleep in a new time zone. The Sleep function, which is new for version 2 of PTravelAlarm, lets you set up a sound, or a series of music that will play for a specified duration, or until it finishes, while you fall asleep.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-sleep.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 5: PTravelAlarm’s sleep screen.</i><br /><br />Again, BurrOak has thoughtfully provided some ‘sounds of nature’ (oceans, rain, burbling brooks, etc.) to assist in gently lulling you off to dreamland. You can also select a playlist of tunes, or point to a folder of .mp3 or .ogg files and have it play those as you fall asleep.<br /><br /><span><b>So, Do the Alarms Work?</b></span><br />Well, mostly. In my testing over a week or so, I hit about a 70% success rate when it would wake up from a powered off state on batteries alone. There has been a lot of analysis around the reasons for the failures, but it all seems to come down to a ‘wake up’ state the unit enters around midnight in order to do some system cleanup, and there not being enough time to complete this in the time allotted. It apparently gets worse as you accumulate more tasks and appointments on the unit. (In my case, for client records and review, I now keep about 18 months of stuff in my calendar).<br /><br />To improve the hit rate for the alarms, BurrOak provides two suggestions. The first is a guaranteed workaround -- which is to leave the unit plugged in and turned on overnight. I gave this a try for about a week and true enough, the alarms worked every time. The second is a software application/registry tweak provided by BurrOak, called Wakeup Tweak, which adjusts the timeout period and allows you to run the two cleanup routines whenever you want.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-feb04-ptravlalarm-wakeuptweak.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 6: BurrOak’s Wakeup Tweak.</i><br /><br />When installed, BurrOak doesn’t provide an icon for Wakeup Tweak in the Programs folder. You have to use the File Explorer to open the My Device\Program Files\Wakeup Tweak folder, then run the application from there.<br /><br />As a default, Wakeup Tweak resets the timeout to 60 seconds for completing the system Clock and Calendar Cleanup routines. I tried this value and found I was still only getting about 70% success. I read on a thread here on Pocket PC Thoughts, that people with especially large calendar/task lists were getting more consistent results when they set the timeout to two minutes or greater. So far, (the last three days) I've hit 100% success with the largest setting.<br /><br /><span><b>Gotchas</b></span><br />I guess the biggest gotcha is the unreliability of the alarms. It’s not BurrOak’s fault and to their credit, they have provided a workaround (not the most optimal, but it does work) and a free software/registry tweak to help the power off alarm handling. Rumor has it that Microsoft has this fixed in EUU1 for Windows Mobile 2003 and that manufacturers are testing it now. However, this is just rumor.<br /><br /><span><b>Where to Buy</b></span><br />PTravelAlarm is available from <A HREF = "http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=16589" target = "blank">Handango</A> for $12.50 USD. [Affiliate] A 30-day trial version is also available. Wakeup Tweak is available for free from <A HREF = "http://www.burroak.on.ca/wm2k3tweaks.html" target = "blank"> BurrOak Software’s site</A>.<br /><br /><span><b>Specifications</b></span><br />The version of PTravelAlarm tested for this review was a beta of 2.0.5, from BurrOak Software. There is apparently a 2.0.7 beta version available now. BurrOak has versions of PTravelAlarm for Smartphone, Pocket PC, and Windows CE (handheld PCs). Installed, PTravelAlarm takes about 750K of memory and it should not be installed to SD or CF cards, since there are additional power ‘wakeup’ issues for those cards.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />I think PTravelAlarm is a great utility. It’s very intuitive, easy to use and well designed for what it's meant to do. It doesn't try to be a jack of all trades, but has just the right mixture of features. It won't completely replace my travel alarm clock just yet, though. I need MS or HP to fix the O/S first!