WHAT’S
HOT

   If you have a PDA Phone, not a SmartPhone, but
a PDA Phone running Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition or WM2003 Phone Edition,
then you need to check this out.  Phone Dashboard will check how
many minutes you’ve spent on your phone during the current billing cycle,
display which buckets the minutes fall into, and guess-timate how many
minutes you’ll use.  If you’re the type that doesn’t want to go
over your given minutes for even a second, then this is a must have
for your Pocket PC based PDA Phone.

SETUP

   Hudson Mobile Phone Dashboard is a Today Plug-In. 
After you get past the routine setup screens, you’ll need to configure
the Plug-In.  Tap Start–Settings–Today (off the Personal Tab),
and then tap the Items Tab in the Today Control Panel applet. 
Locate Phone Dashboard in the list of Plug-Ins, and then tap the Options
button.

   
The nice thing about this, and just about any Today Plug-In, is that
it can be displayed on your main Today page in any order you want; and
through Snoopsoft Dashboard if you so desire.  If you’re going
to use it through Snoopsoft Dashboard, however, you’ll need version
2.0.045 or later.  Otherwise, after you install it, you’ll
just need to configure it the way you would any other Today Plug-in.

   
To get at the Plug-in via Snoopsoft Dashboard, you need to tap
the Config Icon near the top right corner of the PPC screen.

Tap the Config Icon near the Top Right Corner of the PPC Screen

   
From here, you’re taken to the Snoopsoft Agenda Tab.  Available
Plug-Ins are displayed in the list box, in the order that they would
appear on the screen if checked.

Check the Plug-In you want to display, and then tap the green options icon at the lower right corner of the list box to configure it.

   
After tapping the Options Icon at the lower right corner of the list
box, the configuration screen for Phone Dashboard will appear. 
You can also get to the Phone Dashboard Configuration dialog by tapping
Start–Settings–Today–Items, and then scrolling through the list box
in the dialog that appears until you come to Phone Dashboard. 
Highlight this Today Plug-in and then tap the Options button.

The Phone Dashboard Configuration Dialog.

The following
is a listing and description of which options are found on each Tab
in the Configuration Dialog:

The following
are screen shots of each tab in the Configuration dialog:

The View Tab	The Plan Tab

The M2M/ Free Tab	The Alerts Tab

The Usage
Tab is one of the most useful displays in the entire application. 
It displays exactly where you are spending most of your plan’s minutes,
on a daily basis.  It has a configuration screen that is accessed
by tapping the right most icon at the top of the Usage Tab.

The Usage Tab	The Usage Tab’s Configuration Options

The About Tab	The Settings Tab

Once configured,
all you need to do is display the Plug-In on your Today page, and you’re
off and running.

PROGRAM
FEATURES

    Phone Dashboard provides you with three
main views off of your Today Page:

1. A Custom
   Notification Icon (Telephone shaped) and an Alert Bubble/ dialog.
2. A Single
   Lined, Scrolling Display
3. A Multi-lined,
   Non-Scrolling Display

The PD Custom Notification Icon and Alert Bubble

Single Line, Scrolling PD Display	Full PD Display

Aside from
the displays you see above, there are two other screens users may find
useful: the Plan Tracker and the Call Log.

   
The Plan Tracker looks at your current call usage and tries to predict
where you will end up at the end of your billing cycle.  The analysis
is based on your current, per day minute usage, and is displayed as
a dialog box on your Today page by taping the Magic Wand icon to the
right of the main Phone Dashboard display.

Tap the Magic Wand, and poof!  Instant used minute projections!	The Phone Dashboard Call Log

When used
in conjunction with the Usage Graph, the Plan Tracker is exceptionally
effective in helping you ration your minutes through out your billing
period.  The secret to the sauce is in the knowing.  Projecting
your minutes is a very ingenious method of getting you to cut back on
the talk time.

   
The Call Log shows you which calls are incoming (green arrow), outgoing
(red arrow) and missed (yellow exclamation point).  The Call Log
can be viewed by Date (the Default View), by Number or by Call Bucket
(Peak, Off Peak, Wk End, M2M, etc…)

HELP
SUPPORT

    All help when using this Today Plug
in is provided by Hudson
Mobile.  If you’re a registered user, just give them a shout
and let them know you’re having trouble with the Plug-in.  Their
team is very responsive and exceptionally dedicated.  If you’re
using a trial and seriously considering a purchase for your PPC Phone
Edition device, these guys go above and beyond getting you up and running.

   
I’d like to personally thank Noah from Hudson Mobile for all of his
help.  This is the first piece of Phone Edition software that I
bought, and it began giving me trouble soon after I installed it. 
Noah hadn’t had a chance to test Phone Dashboard in an i700, and he
BOUGHT A DEVICE in order to help resolve issues that I and other i700
owners were facing.  This definitely falls into the "Oh M’Gosh!"
category of tech support.  These guys get a Gold Star…RIGHT THERE!

SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS

    Hudson Mobile Phone Dashboard Minute Tracker
requires 215kb of Storage RAM, Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, or Windows
Mobile 2003 Phone Edition.  The software should be installed to
main RAM and NOT a Storage Card if it is to work properly.

BUGS
AND WISHES

    This software is some of the most useful
software I have ever used on my i700.  Its exactly the kind of
application that I didn’t know I had to have for my converged device. 
Every Phone Edition device owner should get a copy of this app. 
That being said, there are a few issues that need addressing:

• Program
  Stability:
  Today Plug-Ins are notoriously difficult to program.  The Today
  screen API is a bloody mess, and Microsoft knows it.  The API
  is also one of the worst documented portions of the Pocket PC/ Windows
  Mobile Operating Systems.  As such, this Today Plug-In isn’t
  the most stable thing in the world.  It has some very serious
  hardware based issues with my i700.  (Conversely if you have
  a T-Mobile PPC Phone, or a Siemens SX56, this thing is rock solid…) 
  However, while the most current version, dated 21-Mar-04 as of this
  writing, goes a long way to fix this problem, PD can still
  cause some serious CPU spikes, and device hangs on my i700. 
  Hudson Mobile is currently, very actively, working to resolve this
  issue with me and other i700 Owners.  It may have something to
  do with call logs in excess of 150 calls per current, billing cycle.
• Minute
  Accounting:
  1+1 = 2, right?  I’m not EXACTLY certain how PD calculates minutes,
  but it seems to double count the contents of some buckets and/or not
  count some minutes.  Hudson Mobile is actively working to resolve
  this issue.
• Verizon
  Express Network:
  Phone Dashboard currently buckets minutes into Peak, Off-Peak, or
  Week End buckets when dialing the VzW Express Network.  While
  this may be correct for individuals who don’t have a Data Plan, it
  is incorrect for those of us that do.  Hudson Mobile is currently
  working to resolve this issue.

There was
also a serious memory leak, but thankfully, Hudson Mobile was able to
squash that bug within 24 hours of receiving the i700 they purchased.

   
I would really like to see Hudson Mobile move the Usage Graph tab out
of the Configuration dialog box and put it together with the Plan Tracker. 
This would give users a very clear picture of the "Here and Now"
and of "Where You’re Headed" with your monthly minute usage. 
I find myself looking at these two screens all the time, and wishing
there was an easy way to look and both very quickly.  It would
also be nice to be able to export end of period totals to a desktop
Excel file so that trending can be done.  Ultimately, this application
will help me find the best rate plan for me.  The only effective
way to do this is to look at your usage month over month and compare
the numbers.  This is best done on the desktop.

PURCHASING

    Phone Dashboard Minute Tracker is $14.99
and available via pocketnow.com’s Handango
Powered Store.

PROS

• 
  

  Track
  the Minute Usage of YOUR Individual Cell Rate Plan

• 
  

  Projected
  Minute Analysis

• 
  

  Graphic
  Representation of Used Minutes by Category

• 
  

  Easy
  to Configure and Use

• 
  

  Automatic
  Minute Usage Notifications

• 
  

  Use
  on the PPC/ WM Today Page or through SnoopSoft
  Dashboard [Affiliate Link]

CONS

• 
  

  Minor
  Stability Issues

• 
  

  Minor
  Minute Accounting Issues

• 
  

  Verizon
  Wireless Express Network (EN) Minutes Not Bucketed Correctly

OVERALL
IMPRESSION

   Despite what I am now calling minor issues with
the core competencies of this application, I fully endorse, support,
and otherwise recommend Phone Dashboard Minute Tracker for all Pocket
PC Phone Edition owners.  Its perhaps the only app out there that
buckets your minutes and keeps track of your phone usage on your device. 
Its probably the most valuable Phone Edition app I have, and the one
that gets the most use on my Samsung i700.

   
The Support Team is exceptionally responsive to user issues.  You
really have to hand it to them.  Its not every developer that would
go and purchase a $600 device just to help registered users debug and
troubleshoot a $15.00 app.  Hudson Mobile’s willingness to help
i700 owners out in this way says a whole lot to me.  I can’t recommend
this application, or this developer enough.