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View Full Version : phoneAlarm Reviewed at the::unwired


Darius Wey
08-27-2006, 06:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3282' target='_blank'>http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3282</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20060827-phonealarm.gif" /><br /><br />Daniel, over at <a href="http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3282">the::unwired</a>, has just reviewed <a href="http://www.pocketmax.net/phoneAlarm.html">pocketMax's phoneAlarm</a> application. Those of you looking to beef up your device with profile support, and other Phone Edition-related enhancements should head over there and see what it's all about.

Jon Westfall
08-27-2006, 06:10 AM
I've been messing around with phoneAlarm now for a bit over 5 months, and since their massive re-write of the code, I have to say it's one of the coolest profiles apps I've used. I give it 2 thumbs up, I'll be interested to see what the::unwired review has to say.

ctmagnus
08-27-2006, 06:14 AM
I was this close ( >| |&lt; ) to starting a thread asking about profile software for Phone Edition devices. The only thing is, I wouldn't want a Today plugin for it.

topps
08-27-2006, 07:02 AM
I've been using phoneAlarm for about 5 months as well and really like it. The new version has some nice improvements.

I have had some problems with Fitaly, the soft keyboard app. sometimes it won't come up at all when called. I have been trying to figure our what causes this. I thought I had it nailed down to phoneAlarm or Spb Pocket Plus... but now I'm not so sure.

I certainly don't want to point fingers and do emphasise that I otherwise love phoneAlarm. I just wondered if anybody else had had problems with a combination of phoneAlarm and Fitaly?

Darius Wey
08-27-2006, 12:28 PM
I have had some problems with Fitaly, the soft keyboard app. sometimes it won't come up at all when called. I have been trying to figure our what causes this. I thought I had it nailed down to phoneAlarm or Spb Pocket Plus... but now I'm not so sure.

I certainly don't want to point fingers and do emphasise that I otherwise love phoneAlarm. I just wondered if anybody else had had problems with a combination of phoneAlarm and Fitaly?

Anything that consumes resources can lead to this problem - for example, Today plug-ins and background processes. Once the system process runs out of resources, whatever is attempting to load fails. So, you can't really pin down a causative application here. If you disable one or two Today plug-ins, Fitaly should appear when called.

AggieJon
08-27-2006, 04:15 PM
From the article:
If I have to rate it I'll give respective 8 out of 10 points. There is one point missing, because no software is perfect and the other because I could not test the full functionality.

I also like phoneAlarm, but I have to give it a 6 out of 10. I took off two additional points because 1) One of the buttons on my PPC has been sticking, and 2) I don't like the color blue. :D

Seriously, though, I really like this program. I got it for the profiles, but I think what I like best about it now is being able to see missed calls and voicemails without the annoying notification bubbles.

Marcel_Proust
08-27-2006, 04:53 PM
From the article:
If I have to rate it I'll give respective 8 out of 10 points. There is one point missing, because no software is perfect and the other because I could not test the full functionality.

I also like phoneAlarm, but I have to give it a 6 out of 10. I took off two additional points because 1) One of the buttons on my PPC has been sticking, and 2) I don't like the color blue. :D

Seriously, though, I really like this program. I got it for the profiles, but I think what I like best about it know is being able to see missed calls and voicemails without the annoying notification bubbles.

Well I took it down to 5 out of 10, one point off, because I have a Palm and the program wouldn't load, but one extra point, because although no program is perfect, we need to forgive imperfections.

Not a completely bad review, but not very professional. I think a review should test the unlocked version, after all, anyone can test the trial. This is a very powerful program that goes very well on my JasJar. It has many features, automatic profile switches by time, gprs monitoring, many more things I haven't explored, in addition to providing a useful basic interface for monitoring missed calls etc.
My real criticism though:
1. fairly heavy resource usage as a today screen. one solution i found is that it works well as a PocketBreeze plugin. Hopefully the code can be optimized further in upcoming releases.
2. very few vga skins.
3. PocketMax, whoever he is, writes some fine programs for powerusers. I wish all his programs though were updated to WM5. Phonealarm is.