Updates to Data Watcher and Battery Watcher

I just released new versions for both of the above.  It's now possible to

• disable usage and error reporting via the settings screen of both apps
• select between KB and KiB in the Data Watcher.

I also improved the number formatting in the Data Watcher to always use 3 digits of precision.  So 101,000B is now displayed as 101k, not as 0.1M, as it was before.

Yet another Battery Watcher update (sorry!)

Just updated Battery Watcher again to try to make it update more reliably while hopefully not using any more battery.  Sorry about all the updates, I seem to have hit on an app that picks out all of the quirks in the various handsets that are around at the moment.

I also added a helpful advice screen that explains how to install the widget the first time.

New version of Data Watcher

I just released Data Watcher version 1.6.  The update adds new function when you tap on the widget.  Namely, it allows you to turn Wifi on and off and access the mobile data settings screen more easily.

New version of Data Watcher

I just released version 1.5 of Data Watcher.  It's a minor update that simply changes the icon to avoid confusion between the icon and the widget itself.

Sorry about all the updates!

I've had a few complaints that there are a lot of updates.  Please bear in mind that the app is only a couple of weeks old so I'm still fixing bugs left right and centre.  It should settle down soon.

Problems with Droids

Many people have reported that the Battery Watcher app doesn't update very often on their Droids (or Droid Xs).  Unfortunately, that's just the information that the phone provides.  It only gives 10% increments until it gets below about 20% and then it gives 5%.  Worse, the phone reports that it can give 1% increments, which is why the details screen shows Accuracy 1%.

I plan to implement a workaround for the latter issue soon so that it reports the correct values on Droids.  I'm not sure there's much I can do about the 10% increments themselves though; it seems to be a limitation of the phone itself.

Battery Watcher v1.13

I just released a new version of the Battery Watcher app.  Hopefully, it will address some of the battery usage problems that people have been reporting.  The changes in this release are:

• Only update the widget while the screen is on.
• Update the widget whenever the screen turns on.
• Increase the time delay between updates to reduce any residual hit on battery life.
• Only update the widget itself if the battery level has changed since the last update.

Google picked a bad time for maintenance

D'oh, just when my app is having trouble and needs an update Google have decided to do some maintenance on the Android Marken and I can't post an update.

Battery Watcher Problems

I've had a few reports that release 1.11 of the Battery Watcher drains the battery on Evo phones. I'm looking into the issue and should have a fix shortly.

For those asking why it's so hard to get right, let me explain:

• Android provides a way to detect when the battery level changes but it only works while the app is running. The first version of the app used this approach, which works perfectly on my phone and many others. The problem comes if Android or an app killer decides to kill the app. When that happens, it can't update anymore.
• I went through several updates trying to make the above mechanism foolproof because when it works, it's perfect. The app does no unnecessary work and so it has very little impact on battery life.
• However, try as I might, it just doesn't seem to be possible to make the above approach 100% so I added a timer to the app that is supposed to double check that it's running and restart it if not. The timer runs every few minutes, but it's only supposed to run when the device is already awake from sleep, so it should still have little impact on battery.
• I think the latest issues are down to some phones not honouring the fact that the timer shouldn't run while the app is asleep so I'm about to release an update that stops the timer while the device's screen is off. Hopefully that will do the trick.