Screebl Lite has been cranking along for quite some time now.  From coming in 5th in its category in ADC2 to the hundreds-of-thousands of times that the app has been downloaded, it's been really fun watching this innovative little utility spread throughout the Android community.

We often get the question "why should I upgrade to Screebl Pro?".  We think that there are lots of great reasons, including supporting continued enhancement and bug fixes.

In a nutshell, you get the following Pro-only features:

o  Locale/Tasker Integration - Include Screebl detection capabilities as you configure your phone.  Your imagination is the limit!

o  Screen Timeout Control - You are in control of how fast your screen times out after your phone is moved out of a configured Screebl range.

o Icon Customization - Choose how you want your icons to look in the notification bar.

o Improved Detection Algorithm - Bed reading, lying on your right side, and other tricky detection scenarios work better in Screebl Pro.  You have move control over Axis Variance, the key parameter that makes these work.

Here's a detailed description of the enhanced features that you will get ONLY in Screebl Pro...

Much of the major new functionality in Screebl Pro 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.

Incidentally, Screebl's Locale plugins can also be used with the innovative Tasker application, also available on the Android Market.  We've heard from lots of users doing some pretty amazing things with Screebl and Tasker.

There's more available only 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.

We think that Screebl Pro and its enhancements are 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. 

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