Battery Pack Pro 2 Released

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.omegaone.com/batterypack/default.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.omegaone.com/batterypack/default.htm</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050617-BPP2.gif" /><br /><br />Omega One's Battery Pack Pro has just been updated to v2.0. Its features include: Battery Bar, Program Bar, Power Time, Power Task, Power Bars, Power Clean, Power Buttons, Power Alert, Power Store, Power Adjust and Power Light (what a mouthful). Aside from all the standard bug fixes and enhancements, it's also worth noting that Battery Pack Pro 2.0 is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0. Interested? <a href="http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=24948&productType=2">Handango</a> is offering a free trial version of Battery Pack Pro 2.0 and is also selling it for $29.99. [Affiliate]

[Ivanna Tinkle]

Omega One's Battery Pack Pro has just been updated to v2.0. Its features include: Battery Bar, Program Bar, Power Time, Power Task, Power Bars, Power Clean, Power Buttons, Power Alert, Power Store, Power Adjust and Power Light (what a mouthful). Aside from all the standard bug fixes and enhancements, it's also worth noting that Battery Pack Pro 2.0 is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0. Interested? Handango (http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=24948&productType=2) is offering a free trial version of Battery Pack Pro 2.0 and is also selling it for $29.99. [Affiliate]

Omega One's at it again. Promise updates, then release another "new product" before the bugs are out of the older one. So much for the promised "updates for life" which were promised with their initial release. I think that $2 - $4 updates would be more fitting than $10 each time.

[Andy Whiteford]

Not a whole lot more in this release other than the PowerTime function with weather report which is nice but is something that then prompts you to get Journal bar if you want a better weather forecast etc. I do like that they have finally tied all the various components into a single interface for updating such as Power Alert, Power Adjust etc.

[jngold_me]

Pocket Plus should be following up soon, no? :)

[Kiwi_in_tok]

Having upgraded to BP Pro and already having paid $10 bucks (less than 1 year ago) and now having to pay another $10 bucks to get to V2.0.....

Having not upgraded to BP Pro and now only having to pay $10 bucks to get to V2.0...

I have to admit owning the IPAQ4700 which had known issues with BP Pro V1.1.1 and never really worked and now a working version costs me again… I own up I was goosed!!!!!!

[Ward]

I don't see the appeal.

Get Magic Button and activate its battery meter. Good enough and free.

[mbassoc2003]

I have to admit owning the IPAQ4700 which had known issues with BP Pro V1.1.1 and never really worked and now a working version costs me again… I own up I was goosed!!!!!!

I'm an HP hx4700 owner. I beta tested BPP 2 and the new 1-Pass. 1-Pass works fine as a standalone item and I still run it, but they do not work together on the HP hx4700, and BPP 2 has major bugs in it.

OmegaOne have known about these issues sing October, and they haven't fixed them yet. If you own a 4700, don't go spending your money on OmegaOne products. They do not work.

[azhiker]

Like a sucker I downloaded the trial BBP 2.0 and was not happy to see that if you have the older version you have to soft-reset, not once, but twice. And if you are not paying attention you can delete even your settings from your previous version.

The one feature I wanted to see in action (Power Time) is not even available in the trail version. You have to pay for it first. And the Power light slider adjustment still does not work on an Axim X50V.

In other words, I think Omega has learned nothing from comments they have received over the past year. I will probably delete the entire program, including my older versions and go with another similar but better product.

[Kash76]

I agree with you guys. I'm done with OmegaOne. SPB makes some solid software and hasn't changed their upgrade policy with every release. Have fun OmegaOne! I USED to be a big supporter.

[pgh1969pa]

I'd have to be an idiot to give these guys another go. They claim than they had WM 2003 SE compatibility with the last version of BPP. The only problem is it didn't work very well with the majority of WM 2003 SE devices. They never fixed the problems of the previous version but have the nerve to sell another "upgrade" that probably doesn't work properly as well. Omega One went from being reputable and proactive to down right scandalous over last year or so. I have no reason to believe their software runs any better under WM 2005 than it did under SE. My advice to O1 is to now go back to the previous version and fix it for existing users or give a properly functioning version of the latest BPP incarnation to their customers who paid for the "WM 2003 SE compatible" upgrade the last time and got the shaft instead. Step up or step out O1!

[mbassoc2003]

I get the impression from the posts in other forums that OmegaOne is a very small company, and as the programming and complexity of the handheld market has advanced, they have not been able to keep up with the competition.

The constant requirement to send them additional money so that they can fix the bugs in your software is a sign of a company that needs the financial resource to plug holes in its failing software.

Regardless of whether or not I have to pay for a new BPP (I would be glad to fork out another $50 for a piece of software that worked), it is not acceptable for a company to lie and scam to get their money.

They know their software does not work. They know they don't have the expertise to fix it. They've known this for nine months now.

Yet they continue to advertise that it is fully compatable on their website, and they have bad reviews removed from Handango.

If you're going to portray an image of compatabitiy and quality, the best thing to do is say 'our software works and you guys have faulty handhelds'. Once you've admitted that you know your software doesn't work on the HP hx4700, you are breaking the law by continuing to sell it on the basis that it works on that model. It could also be argued that you are breaking the law by not advertising the fact and preventing negative publicity about it.

Why not admit it and say 'HP have produced a handheld that we do not support'. There is at least some honesty and integrity in that statement.

[C Sammet]

Well now there is a new version of Battery Pack Pro and to "upgrade" I need to pay another $10. Considering I bought the previous version for $19.99 back in March of 2004 and only used it for about 2 months due to memory leak issues on my SPH-i700, I can't see throwing more money down a rat hole with the promise that it is better and has most of the problems fixed. What kind of marketing approach is that to charge for bug fixes and a few new features that will most likely create some new problems that will need future bug fixes. I still have the original purchase email where I was promised free upgrades with the final line saying; "To upgrade to newer versions, save this e-mail and use the download link when you see a newer version has been released." I guess the promise wasn't worth the electrons it was stored using.

Sorry Omega One, but I have long since found much better programs that fill every need that Battery Pack and Journal Bar had been filling. I use Weather Panel for Weather, PocketRSS for News, phoneAlarm for Battery, Wisbar Advance for some of the other small features, and Pocket Breeze to tie them all together on the Today screen. If I paid the $10 upgrade plus the original $20 I already paid I would be spending just short of what all those programs cost me on ONE program and have less than half the features they provide. Why bother. Thanks, but NO THANKS !!!!

[pgh1969pa]

I own up I was goosed!!!!!!

Don't feel bad...they goosed us all! But not anymore my friend. O1 had many months to fix BPP v1.1.1 for WM2003SE but they spent their time blaming PPC OEMs, other developers, users, Santa Claus, and El Nino for the performance issues of their code. In the meantime, they were working on the "fix" which will cost you 10 large. Ten bucks isn't alot of money but I'd rather pull out a lighter and set a $10 bill on fire than buy another unstable "upgrade" that I'll have to spend another $10 to "fix" later.

[jpf]

I've nothing positive to add. Since changing to a 4700, bppro has been unusable for me. Missing close icon ISTR.

[ipaq_wannabe]

i guess that's it for me... no OmegaOne Battery Pack Pro...

ooopppssss... i already paid the US$9.99 for the upgrade (the last time i owned a product was in 2002 - Battery Pack 2002, with the promise of lifetime upgrades).

anyway, i do get to have 1-Pass to play around with

PS: here's hoping that 1-Pass works with the X50V