Screebl Lite has been cranking along for over three months now.  Since it's release a lot has happened, and we've learned a lot about what it takes to nurse a little utility application into a product.  Before I go into what is contained in the next major release of Screebl (it's some pretty cool stuff), let me hit on the highlights of what Screebl Lite has done so far...

• Screebl Lite has been downloaded over 20,000 times, and thousands of you use it every day. 
• I've received hundreds of questions, high-fives, suggestions, and death threats.  Much of that feedback has made its way directly back in to the product.
• Screebl has been localized by native speakers of five different languages. 
• Screebl has been reviewed six times, by a variety of online publications, including AndroidGuys, AndroidTapp, Phandroid, KnowYourMobile, BrightHub, and Octoba.net (Japanese).
• Screebl came in 5th in its category in the Android Developer Challenge 2, just behind a smokin' hot digital secretary.

Now how could things possibly get any better, you might ask?  Well we've been hard at work scraping together Screebl Pro, and there are some really cool things to be excited about...

Much of the major new functionality in Screebl Pro (which is actually Screebl version 2.0) is centered around its integration with Locale.   In case you've never heard of Locale, it is a system that allows you to customize the behavior of your phone based on any one of a number of different "conditions" such as your location, the time of day, etc.  Imagine having your phone automatically mute the ringer whenever you are in court, or turning on WiFi when you are at home.

Screebl Pro provides two levels of integration with Locale.  First we're delivering a condition plugin, which will allow you to trigger Locale scenarios based on your phone's orientation.  This lets you do some really, really cool stuff.  For example, imagine turning on WiFi when you're holding the phone in a recognized orientation, but then automatically disabling it after you've put the phone into your pocket.  Or, dropping the CPU clock speed of your phone when it's laying down on your desk (if you've got a rooted phone).

Screebl Pro also provides a settings plugin for Locale.  This allows you to customize nearly every one of the many configuration options available to Screebl, based on your Locale scenarios.  Imagine automatically changing the orientation ranges at night, to facilitate your bedtime reading habits.  Or perhaps you don't use Screebl at work when your phone is plugged in, and you just want to disable it.  All of that is possible with the Screebl settings plugin.

There's more in Screebl Pro too. We've added even more configurability.  For example you can now control the screen timeout once you are out of a recognized orientation.  You can set the screen to timeout anywhere between "as soon as possible" to a power-gobbling 10 minutes.  That "as soon as possible" setting is for those of you that really have gotten to know and trust Screebl.  If you move out of a recognized orientation it's only going to be a few seconds before your screen blanks!

We have also provided the ability to select which style of icons you wish to see in the notification bar.  We get lots of complaints about those icons, and it took some time to realize that how they look really depends on what your phone's theme looks like.  Now you can choose which ones you like.

Another nice addition to Screebl Pro are improved algorithms for detecting when the phone is in range.  Many users write to me asking why Screebl doesn't work when laying on the couch on their right side.  Screebl should be much more forgiving of these types of scenarios than Screebl Lite is.

Finally, we've added the Screebl video feed.  Many of you really liked the introductory video that is bundled with Screebl, so we're going to produce more tutorials.  When they are available, you'll be notified with an icon that looks like a little TV in the notification bar.

Screebl Pro will be the first pay version of Screebl.  We'll keep it cheap at $1.99, and we hope that you will purchase the app to help support future development.  But don't worry, if you can't squeeze a half cup of coffee out of your budget, rest assured that we will continue to support Screebl Lite with defect fixes and even minor feature upgrades. 

You can expect to see Screebl 2.0 on the Android Market (as well as other alternative markets) starting next week (the week of January 10).

We really do appreciate all of the support that our user base has shown over the last three months!  Please stay in touch and continue to give your feedback.  It makes a big difference.