Blurts Beta feedback

[MLH Software]

v2.0 (07/18/2010)

Just some of the changes coming:

• Battery and Signal level for BlackBerry is displayed on PC
• Improved contacts download
• Fixed SMS not sending <, > and &
• Improved screen capture
• Option to fetch activation key
• Improved contact search for SMS and Phone calls
• Scripting and Macro support

v1.1 (12/01/2009)

New Features

• Screen capture menu option, that will dislay your current BlackBerry screen amd allow you to save the image (Pro)
• Play user selected sound when alert is displayed. Setup option to select a wave file. (Pro)
• Suspend Messages menu option
• Setup option to auto lock workstation on Blurts disconnect (Pro)
• Display sender name on SMS messages (Pro)

Bug Fixes

• Listen for SMS even if another app is also using SMS port. (Fixed "SMS Port already in use" error)
• More ways to accept activation code (enter key, menu)
• fixed SMS formatted address error (Received SMS failed: java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 0 >= 0 )
• Setup option to set SMS length on desktop side i.e. 160 or 140
• Activate BlackBerry backlight when any command is sent to the BlackBerry
• Moved config file to C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\MLHSoftware\Blurts (fixes access error when saving settings)
• Changed Blurts Bluetooth UUID to work with Broadcom Bluetooth drivers. (i.e. widdcom, rocketfish, IOGear, etc)
• Improve setup dialog to only show active bluetooth fields and added more help text

We have also had a lot of requests for BBM support, we hear you, we just have not figured out a way to do it. So far it looks like RIM does not allow 3rd party apps to retrieve BBM messages or alerts. (If you know how tell us!)

Tell us what you think of this list and what else we should add.

[lexus37]

Great application and must have! I use it at work and when I work from home. I like the fact that I can be sitting at my desk and see who is calling in without looking at my phone. If I have my bluetooth earpiece connected I can just hit answer from the application. A great feature is when I walk away from my desk and bluetooth connection is lost it will lock my PC or I can hit L from the keyboard!

[jitter]

When I discovered the "L" option to lock the PC from the BB, I immediately thought about having it do it automatically when my device leaves the area (hopefully on my hip). I bought freeze from Phoenix awhile back and though it handled the locking of PC most of the time, it has never worked on the unlock...so I am less concerned about that feature. And to use other bluetooth features on my PC including Blurts, I've had to disable the freeze application anyway.

I see you have thought about the BBM request but would it be easier to get all alert type items (for example if an application has an alert feature that results in its little-bitty icon showing up on the display like twitter clients, IM clients etc) and pass those to the desktop blurts app and wait to focus on the actual content of the alert for a later release.

I have noticed that when I get a phone call on my BlackBerry and Blurts is running, it tends to grab the call and not let me have it. I haven't nailed this down yet but thought I would bring it up. (Verizon Tour with MR1 and BES with Blurts Pro)

[jabbs1]

I like the "key navigation input" idea. I understand it's not fully working yet, but how come when i hit certain letters or keys on my pc it will show a different 2 digit number each time? Is this something that's in the works for the completed version where we can program, or see a list, of which key on the pc does a certan thing on the Blackberry? If so I think this would have some potential. Complete control of your BB from your PC

Also, one thing that I think would be great for future releases is making it so Blurts (on the pc) is able to say automated names of people in your contact list when you get a call/text from them. It would be good for when your screensaver is on, that way you can hear your PC tell you who is calling.

In any case, great application. Used since the first beta and I love it.

[ka3yan]

Dang, this is the way the first round of beta testing should've gone. A forum is a great idea because that way ideas can be discussed instead of being just static input.

OK, so I like the "L" for lock a lot, and I REALLY like lexus37 and jitter's idea of having an option to lock the PC when the bluetooth is out of range. Of course, someone will ask to have it unlock when you get back in range, but that isn't going to happen. I really REALLY like the idea of it auto-locking though.

As I pointed out in some of my early feedback on the pre-release beta (though no one but Michael likely saw it) was to allow for a better PC UI for the SMS feature. One problem I have is that once you reply, that text message is gone. In other words, there is no record of your reply on the phone or since the reply window closes, on the PC either. It would be nice to have a lite SMS client with threaded messaging. I know Michael wasn't keen on the idea, but it seems pointless to have the SMS feature except for an occasional reply or two unless it was more user friendly. I could probably go on and on about this, since I use it the most. Also, the client would need to allow for multiple sessions so that you could converse with more than one contact. As a Blurts user and tester, I would REALLY like to see a better PC UI for SMS.

I can't really comment on the phone features as I do not use them.

It would be nice to have BBM and PIN support. That's as much as I really want to say on that right now. I'm sure I'll comment more later.

Last comment for now...I would like to see more than just the last message. It would be great to either have it configurable by the user to however many previous messages they want to see, or just let me see like maybe the last 15 messages. Maybe they can come up on a list and I can choose which one to view...not sure the best approach for this.

OK, I'm sure I'll have more comments as I find tweaks. I still haven't played around with changing the looks. As I've commented to Michael before, offering skins would be really nice. The Win 3.1 looks are OK, but it would be great to be able to customize the windows.

[MLH Software]

@jitter - Can you add more detail about "grab the call"? As in it auto answers? Or the screen freezes and you cannot click anything? etc?

@jabbs1 - The key navigation idea is that basically you use your PC keyboard as if it was your BlackBerry keyboard. And also we allow you to map shortcut keys to all the "special" buttons ( phone, menu, conv1, conv2, volume, etc). Then for example you could compose an email on your BlackBerry but with your PC keyboard.
I just realized today that the key navigation dialog in 1.0.0.2 still has my test code where each key you type on the PC is sent to the BlackBerry as if the "ALT" key was also being held down. So for example when you type "S" you will see "4" on the BlackBerry (as if you typed ALT-S on your BlackBerry).

@ka3yan - I agree, I wish we had the forum for the first beta too. I felt like I was having a lot of one-on-one conversations that I wish were "group" conversations. I do like your ideas about improving SMS, and I do plan to do them. It is just going to take some time. The next big task on my list is to work on letting you pick from your Contact list to send SMS or place a call. Then I want to do the idea about persevering the message history and allowing users to access it. I have also start work on supporting themes. I don't see me creating a lot of themes, but publishing a “how to” so others can do it. And then encouraging them to share the themes through the Blurts website.

A lot of great feedback so far, keep it up.

[mmeltser]

Hey Michael - Like everyone else has said, the forum is a great idea! I sent the initial feedback on 1.0.0.2 vie e-mail before the forum was setup. One minor additional issue I've seen a few times now. If an e-mail subject has special characters in it such as apostrophes, the alert from Blurts has odd special characters. Nothing I'm losing sleep over, but figured I'd throw it out there. (See attached for example).

Rgds/Mark M.

[glock61042]

The Blurts product is one all crackheads must have. There are a wide range of outstanding products on the market. The convenience of this product is like none other. I am placing this post not so much about the product (it speaks for itself) but about the customer service that you receive when you purchase this product. Michael takes care of you as a customer. He responds to your emails very timely and works with you to ensure you are getting the maximum benefit from his product. Blurts is a must have..... ENJOY

[lexus37]

Feature request:

Can you add a way to minimize the call screen while you are connected to a call?

[MLH Software]

@mmeltser - I am aware of this issue. It has to do with the character encoding when we send the text to the PC. I am trying to fix this which will also add support for non-English characters.

@glock61042 - Thanks for the positive review.

@lexus37 - You can close the alert at anytime by clicking the X in the upper right conner, but maybe someone can suggest something more intuitive?

[stonerclan]

What an awesome piece of software and support. I was getting ready to send a bug report when I ran into this forum and my question/concern was answered in the first post with the upcoming version. SMS's aren't alerting me but I suppose that's because DriveSafe.ly is using the SMS port as explained in "Bug Fixes" for the next version. Anyway, nice software and informational support. I look forward to visiting this forum often.

[lexus37]

Originally Posted by MLH Software

@mmeltser - I am aware of this issue. It has to do with the character encoding when we send the text to the PC. I am trying to fix this which will also add support for non-English characters.

@glock61042 - Thanks for the positive review.

@lexus37 - You can close the alert at anytime by clicking the X in the upper right conner, but maybe someone can suggest something more intuitive?

I think you should add the minimize button like windows. I never clicked the X because I thought it would close the application.

[MLH Software]

We now have 1.0.0.3 on the beta page, you need to submit your email address again on the beta webpage to get new links.

Three big changes and some small UI changes:

- Address book support is now in place. You can download your address book (Contacts) to the PC (via Blurts setup dialog) and pick from your contacts when sending SMS or placing calls.

- When you download your address book, contact photos will also be download and displayed in Call, SMS, and Email alerts.

- You can click email subject or body text for Email alerts to expand and see more text

[jabbs1]

Awesome. Just downloaded and trying it out now. I'm loving all the constant upgrades

[MLH Software]

Just an FYI, you cannot alter the download link that you receive for the beta (i.e. remove your email address). It will invalidate the link and will not download the app.

The email is just to help us track who is actually using the beta.

Thanks