We Need Profiles Built Into Windows Mobile for Pocket PC

[Ed Hansberry]

The best thing I ever did in the world of mobile computing was switch to a converged device. The capabilities of my iMate PDA2K took me way beyond what I could do with my iPAQ 2210 and bluetooth linked cell phone. The "always on" data connection is perfect for keeping emails up to date - and a must for the push email of Exchange 2003. My K-Jam is even better since it, at the same time, has a larger keyboard in a smaller form factor. However, there are some serious drawbacks now to this all-in-one device and many could be resolved with a well thought out way to manage profiles.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2006/20061008-phone.gif" />Normally, I have my phone set to ring at the loudest level and all other system sounds are two notches above muted. The K-Jam has a trick where you can press and hold on the Comm Manager button (upper left side) and it will put the device in vibrate mode and mute all sounds. That's good for popping in meetings, church or movie theaters, but it is still very limited.<br /><br />Guess what happens if I am listening to music or a podcast through earbuds and the phone rings? Instant deafness. The device should automatically detect Windows Media Player is working and replace things like alarms and ringers with gentle electronic tones, enough to let you know you need to look at the device and deal with something. Or pause the music/video playback and verbally tell you a phone call is coming in or an alert is going off. We already get that with Voice Command, so it isn't like the bits haven't been written for that. As it is, I simply don't listen to my device as a media player anymore because I'd have to manually mute the other sounds, and that can make it difficult to have WMP loud enough on an airplane or a busy street. So, I always carry an MP3 player with me for my music and podcast choices, which is a shame. I listen to a minimum of 2 hrs of podcasts/Audible each day on my commute. Why should I need to fiddle so much with the sounds to enable this?<br /><br />I also use my device as an alarm clock, or at least I did until I got a converged device. Who wants the email tone going off all night long, or SMS news alert waking you up, or even the phone ringing? Not me. So, I mute the device totally. No sound at all and no vibration. This is two taps at night from the speaker icon, and two more in the morning, so not much of a problem, except now I can't use the alarm clock function. So, my 2210 still gets used for this. I should be able to put the device into an alarm clock profile and then have a variety of choices, because everyone is different. I would turn off all messaging sounds (email, MMS, SMS) and phone sounds. I'd leave the alerts working. Some of you may leave the phone ringer on, but perhaps at a much reduced level. You might even want one of your email accounts to remain on if an emergency message came through. The configuration for this would need to take all of this into account, but it wouldn't be too difficult to work with - which is not the same as saying it wouldn't be difficult to program. :wink: When you configure the alarm profile, a nice list of your messaging accounts, a box for reminders, and boxes for other apps that could plug into this would be listed - apps that run automatically and alert you for specific reasons, like <a href="http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/nw/nb_trial.htm">NewsBreak</a>. You simply check what you want to still work and then whether it works at normal or a reduced volume level. Your alarm would still be able to wake the dead, but the joke email from uncle Ned would just silently pass into your inbox for review the next morning.<br /><br />I've tried a number of third party profile apps. Most do a half-hearted job of this, and one had the audacity to change <i><b>my</b></i> sound preferences with that of the developer! That app was gone as soon as I discovered that. I have no clue how well it worked. But it really doesn't matter. I suspect such a feature, if implemented well, would have to work deeply with the operating system and is going to work best if it comes from the Windows Mobile development group. Until then, I don't see how anyone can effectively take advantage of all of the features a Windows Mobile device is capable of.

[Phillip Dyson]

I completely agree with your post. Profiles are a major hole in Windows Mobile. This is the one reason that phoneAlarm (http://www.pocketmax.net/phoneAlarm.html) is one of the first apps that I install onto my device. It doesn't cover everything you've got in your post but its a long way past WM out of the box. It has about 6 profiles that you can customize to your liking. It would also be nice if you could your own.

A diffinite wish list item would be to be able to set settings for individual applications in a profile.

[Rod3]

Sadly, I've reverted to carrying a cell phone and a separate PocketPC for some of these very reasons. Even more sadly, I've stooped to using a palm for my alarm clock. :roll: I never found WM to be reliable. I love my Cingular 8125, but it just doesn't take care of all the problems.

[JD Silver]

I agree completely with your sentiments. Currently I also use PhoneAlarm to gain the use of profiles, but the sound control during music playing should be native to the OS. Microsoft should take a lesson from the Palm 700W(X) series as what could be done with some proper planning, and more consideration of ergonomics. We also need to improve the one-handed operation of these devices.

The ultimate experience would be a wireless connection to your watch (Bluetooth or the new Nokia PAN) which would allow calls to be observed, answered with your device in your pocket. The watch would also display upcoming appointments, and act as a remote for the PDA in its case. Now that would get me back to wearing a watch again!

[Jason Dunn]

Great post Ed. It's stunning to me that the devices still lack this - anyone that uses them day to day would SURELY have need to change certain things on the phone at different times. Myself, I'd like to have the ability to control the lights on my Smartphone as well. When I keep the phone by my bed at night for instance, I don't want the green and blue lights blinking - but I do want the phone to remain on. I'm fortunate to have what little profile support there is on my Smartphone, but it's still lacking in many ways.

[Paragon]

I've always felt that profiles were a very important function that has been left out of Windows Mobile. I used to us PocketZenPhone, but it was always a bit on the flaky side. As its feature list has grown so has its unreliability.

A profile application does not have to do all the slicing and dicing. It needs to do a few things in a very reliable way. It needs to control sounds and notifications, and what applications run in any given profile. For instance, when I choose "car mode" I should be able to set it up so that Bluetooth turns on, iGudance or Audible opens, and volumes are on high, and shift the backlighting to high, if on powe. "Night mode" should allow me to have it turn off or mute notifications but leave my alarm app running at a high volume.

Basic, reliable, profile management is all that is needed. We don't really need the app to run off our Outlook schedule, and turn things off and on when meetings are scheduled to start or end. The world is not that rigid. This is where profile apps start to fall apart. They try to do far to much and become unreliable.

I'm actually quite surprised there haven't been more 3rd party choices for profile apps. If MS doesn't do it I would like to see one of the larger Windows Mobile developers with a proven record, such as SPB step up and do it.

Dave

[jarekt]

I had similar problem when listening to music but now i'm using MSI BT headphones which doubles as BT handsfree. Now i have maximum volume level on PDA but it's on middle level on the headphones (it is still loud) - when call comes the headphones are biping and i can decide if i want to answear with the headphones or with device itself. Works really great.

[martin_ayton]

I'm with you all the way one this one, Ed. It's the major hole in the OS - Microsoft still don't seem to have got their heads around the fact that these devices are 'phones as well, and they need to work as well as a stand-alone 'phone. I'd like a profile app to be able to forward my calls to another number (voicemail, landline etc.) as well. I'd also like to use Voice Command to switch between profiles. I used to be able to do both of these things on my old Sony Ericsson T610i :roll:

[Deslock]

Sadly, I've reverted to carrying a cell phone and a separate PocketPC for some of these very reasons. Even more sadly, I've stooped to using a palm for my alarm clock. :roll: I never found WM to be reliable. I love my Cingular 8125, but it just doesn't take care of all the problems.
OMFG, alarms *still* don't work reliably?

After going PDA-less for many moons, I recently ordered an HP rx1955. Please, someone tell me that there's a fix for alarms that Rod3 doesn't know about...

[ctmagnus]

After going PDA-less for many moons, I recently ordered an HP rx1955. Please, someone tell me that there's a fix for alarms that Rod3 doesn't know about...

One word: MemMaid (www.dinarsoft.com).

[blaster_boy]

I don't understand why you mute your device totally and you can't use your alarm anymore - why would you need to do that ?

You can still use it as an alarm if you simply deactivate your phone and wifi connection ("turn on flight mode" on my htc wizard) - your alarm will still work to wake you in the morning.

Works for me!

[Lex]

Great piece Ed. I call this the 'printer-scanner-fax' condition and it's why I don't use a converged device yet. Many devices seem to do one thing well, and the other things seem afterthoughts. "It's a great PDA but has a weak phone." "It's a great phone and a great PDA but has a tiny screen." So I use two devices. Maybe someday...

[JRWilliams308]

I'am so glad you wrote this article and glad I came in to read the responses! I just ran into this issue in the last few months since moving my 1730 to the bedroom to charge at night. My wife went nuts! I wound up muting (for which a one button solution is sorely missing) the entire device at night. Then for other purposes I tried phoneAlarm. the situation got worse! What with all those damn email alerts, OMG! I just uninstalled it last week. But now from the responses I see I missed an important function, maybe it's primary function (and I was wondering why it was called Phonealarm). I'm gonna reinstall and give those profiles another look.

That said, you're absolutely correct. Why isn't this part of the OS? It is on the Blackberry. One of the reasons Microsoft can't create that "Blackberry killer" they just don't pay attention to the details.

[Phoenix]

Yes, I completely echo the sentiments posted here. Offering no profiles is nuts and a major oversight. How entire teams of people at MS could go this many years and never bother integrating this is beyond me. Do these people actually use these devices?

I've always thought there should be one single screen found within the OS that lists every OS/program event (ringers, alarms, notifications, etc.), with each one having it's own adjustable volume slider (that can be very finely tuned, like 0 - 20 or even to 30), and each event also having a way to assign whatever audio clip/file you want to it.

And it shouldn't matter how tiny or insignificant the event seems to be... I want to adjust the volume and audio file for any event.

Give me this, and a way to assign all the settings to profiles that I can choose, so all the individual settings get changed to whatever I want them to be depending on the situation without me having to change each event sound and volume one by one each and every time I needed to, and we'd have a perfect way to manage it all.

Complete control is what it's all about.

[Darius Wey]

OMFG, alarms *still* don't work reliably?

Since migrating to Windows Mobile 5.0, I've never had an issue with alarms. Having said that, YMMV.

Back to the topic of profiles, I too find it ridiculous that Windows Mobile's support for it is so primitive. Pocket PCs still need third-party applications, and the profile functionality offered by Smartphones lacks grunt. Well, I guess in the case of the latter, it's better than nothing at all. :|

[andbrown]

How entire teams of people at MS could go this many years and never bother integrating this is beyond me. Do these people actually use these devices?

I use my device many hours a day, at home and at work, and don't personally need profiles. I don't like my device beeping at me for things in general so I typically disable most sounds on alerts, preferring vibrate for things like calendar reminders. I also set "Vibrate then ring" so I can usually answer the phone before being blasted with my ringtone of choice.

So, it's possible to be a device enthusiast who uses a Pocket PC all the time and not see the need for profiles. That said, I'm definitely not arguing against the idea - the posts here show that there's at least some number of users who would find it valuable.

And it shouldn't matter how tiny or insignificant the event seems to be... I want to adjust the volume and audio file for any event.

Give me this, and a way to assign all the settings to profiles that I can choose, so all the individual settings get changed to whatever I want them to be depending on the situation without me having to change each event sound and volume one by one each and every time I needed to, and we'd have a perfect way to manage it all.

Complete control is what it's all about.

You do have to realize that when you ask for this, you are in a very small minority. Most users even of advanced phone devices are not interested in the kind of micromanagement you're describing. What I think Ed really nails is the concept of scenarios - what are obvious ways people use the device, and how do we (Microsoft) make the experience a good one in those scenarios? The alarm clock and listening to music when a call comes in are two scenarios where it is very reasonable to expect better behavior.

[Phoenix]

I use my device many hours a day, at home and at work, and don't personally need profiles. I don't like my device beeping at me for things in general so I typically disable most sounds on alerts, preferring vibrate for things like calendar reminders. I also set "Vibrate then ring" so I can usually answer the phone before being blasted with my ringtone of choice.

So, it's possible to be a device enthusiast who uses a Pocket PC all the time and not see the need for profiles. That said, I'm definitely not arguing against the idea - the posts here show that there's at least some number of users who would find it valuable.

Each to his own, of course, but you're only one person. It just seemed odd to me that on an entire team of people, over the years, there wouldn't be several people who would see a need for it, desire it, and push for it to be implemented.

You do have to realize that when you ask for this, you are in a very small minority. Most users even of advanced phone devices are not interested in the kind of micromanagement you're describing. What I think Ed really nails is the concept of scenarios - what are obvious ways people use the device, and how do we (Microsoft) make the experience a good one in those scenarios? The alarm clock and listening to music when a call comes in are two scenarios where it is very reasonable to expect better behavior.

I have to completely disagree when you say I'm in the minority. That's just simply not true. Who doesn't want flexibility to adjust things to their needs? There are only so many events that occur on a PPC. So to clarify, I'm not suggesting a person would need to manage an ocean of events, but I'm also talking about more than just four or five.

I think if the feature was there that allowed for people to adjust things the way they want it, and not just the way some programmer sees fit with no ability to make changes, then I'm certain you would quickly discover how many people would take advantage of it.

What I'm talking about is exactly what you mentioned - scenarios. But having our devices act according to what we, as individuals want, is what helps provide solutions for different scenarios - maybe even some you wouldn't think of. But to achieve this, end users ultimately need flexibility when setting volumes and notification sounds. This flexibility I speak of is not complicated and wouldn't be all that time consuming, and it isn't something you'd have to fiddle with constantly. Settings for events could be found on one screen, and once set up, it could allow you to quickly bounce between half a dozen master profiles with a tap or press of a button, for example.

The OS could have some default profiles ready to go that people could use, but still provide them with the ability to fine tune it to their heart's content.

[Bittermormon]

I wholeheartedly agree with your point about the media player. I don't quite understand the point about the alarm clock. I used mine just this morning with SPB Time to wake me up. Why not disable push email during off peak hours and set your off peak for bedtime?

I'm not arguing that profiles aren't needed, they are, but I think there's a work around for your problem here. (And this is coming from a guy who's wife is VERY untolerant of reminders from my MDA during the night.)

[Ed Hansberry]

Why not disable push email during off peak hours and set your off peak for bedtime?

Pop3 and IMAP don't use that scheduler. plus, what is my bed time? 9, 11, 10:30? it differs and if I am working late, I don't want to have to change my push settings.

I also don't want to turn the radioyoff because one of the first thinqs I do when I wake is lie there in bed and review emails. I don't want to wait for the radios to come on. GPRS to connect and then manually sync my pop accounts and maybe my ActiveSync actount if the PPC hasn't done the initial connection.

[wallaceff]

I think that before you all sit there and complain... there ARE 3rd party alternatives. I STRONGLY suggest you try phonealarm from www.pocketmax.net . Its moving along very nicely, now to the point where you can change profiles based on cell-tower id which means autmatic change when at home or when at work, as well as time based profile changes and as well as profile changes based on built in calendar app appointments.

[Bittermormon]

Pop3 and IMAP don't use that scheduler.

ah true I didnt' think of that. I also really like Phonealarm, but like you said this sort of thing should be built in. Oh well.

[Richard76]

I also agree that these changes should be integrated into the OS itself. I have been a full-time converged device user for a few years now and believe that there are many users out there that would use this felxibility.

Personally, I charge my unit every night but it is on 24/7. I consider myself extremely lucky as I think the alarm clock function has actually transferred and enbedded itself into my brain. If I need to wake up at 6 am, I typically wake up about 5:50 am, so I generally don't need to use the alarm function.

On the down side, when I travel I usually plug my device in beside the bed just in case there is an "emergency call" from home. If I don't want the SMS and email notifications going off all night long, I have to manually go in and change each one. Needless to say I have gained a reputation among my friends during weekends away when I forget to do this.

[fyiguy]

It too am a big fan of PhoneAlarm (http://www.pocketmax.net/phoneAlarm.html) and it is one of the first apps I install on a device. I have the profile settings saved on my storage card so I can easily transport it from device to device. I really like the way it automatically switches the volume settings and radio stacks on and off as it enters different modes through out the day. I have it go into home mode when I wake up, car mode with bluetooth on the way to work, work mode with low volume settings, bluetooth off and wifi on, can easily jump to meeting mode with one of the cool skins available for it, easily turn off the radio sets when taking a flight,automatically goes back into car mode on the commute home,switches to home when I get home shutting off bluetooth, and turns into night mode shuts off all radios-so in case I forget to charge it, it will still have some juice left. Alarms can be tailored to how I like 'em and they work. I have cool R2D2 sounds for different SMS, Email, missed call and voice mail. Backlight settings and push mail are enabled in different profiles. It is a great free program and even better if you pay for it.

I had shown it to some of the Product Managers for Mobile Devices at the last MVP summit and he really liked the idea and "would look into it", this is something I have been waiting to see for several years to bring it on par with Smartphones. It would be great to allow it to work with a jog dial or volume button to quickly select and choose the modes.

Like the X close button/smart minimize button, at least there are third parties around to remedy the problem for some.

[C2k4]

I've overcome most of these shortcomings with PocketZenPhone.

Well worth checking out.

http://www.pocketzenphone.net/PZPForum/index.php