I'd like to mount the PB in my truck for regular use while driving. Is there a way to force the screen to stay awake (not go into sleep) mode while it's plugged in and charging?
It can get annoying quickly having to push the button all the time.
Just keep a clock app that has that feature running in the background. I use Antair Nightstand as my alarm clock and the playbook never enters standby as long as this app is running. Even in the background with showcase mode enabled on the playbook.
I do however, find that when my playbook is plugged into my computer and not in standby, it uses more power than it is getting from the USB port. You might want to ensure you get a high capacity charger.
Great question - i became a proud new owner of a 64gb PB on Tuesday and will be installing a mount (ProClip) in the Tahoe. I am on the road A LOT in outside industrial sales and always on will be a good thing.
I guess the native clock doesn't stay on? Haven't tried it, maybe adding a mode similar to Bedside Mode on the phones will make a future update.
If you can't get it to stay awake an easier way to get it out of standby mode, instead of pushing that awful power button, is swiping from the left bezel to the right bezel. Or top to bottom bezel. It's a quick way to pull it out of standby mode as long as it's not password protected. Trying to type in the password while driving my be a hassle.
Also remember - to wake it up you don't have to use push a button. Just swipe down top to bottom and it will wake up again. I hope the provide the ability to set it so it stays awake while plugged in if one desires. It will however charge a lot more slowly most likely under those condition.
Edit - while responding some beat me to the punch.
If you need a higher output charger in your vehicle you can always get a converter for your car and use a rapid charger with it. I keep one around all the time in case I need to use a stand plug in device.
OK, so after a couple of experiments, my best bet is Bed-Buzz, which overrides the standby if it is in the foreground, or if it's in the background and nothing else is in the foreground (ie if all apps are in background - can't think of the technical term at the minute!).
The way the "keep awake" works, for Bed-Buzz or any other app which supports it (including Battery Guru) is that the app has to be both active and visible. What this really means to you depends on the Application Behavior setting in the General tab of the system settings:
1. Showcase mode: all apps are active, so having the "keep awake" app be visible, whether full-screen or minimized but showing at least part of its window, is sufficient.
2. Default mode: an app is active only if it's full-screen or was the last app to be full-screen; same rules on visibility if it's minimized
3. Paused mode: only the app that's currently full-screen, if any, is active
It's a bit tricky, but if you work yourself through that description you'll understand how to make these things work. It's a very limited feature unless the app you want to have full-screen supports "keep awake".
Michel, see my post just above yours: if the window of the app is not visible, it CANNOT override the standby timeout. Doesn't matter if you're in showcase mode or not.
(Disclaimer: I believe there were in past, and may still be, one or two bugs relating to this OS feature, and it's possible under some conditions the OS will stay stuck on even when the app is not visible, or may shut down even when it is. I suspect it would be hard to reproduce these problems reliably, even if they still exist.)
