Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Introducing a new desktop applet to help keep track of cell bandwidth on an N900 - Personal GPRS Monitor

Right now the applet simple displays the amount of data the user has uploaded and downloaded while using the GPRS connection. It updates once a minute when it is being shown. When it is not shown it does not do any processing (to save you battery life).

Thanks to zerojay for the idea, design, and testing of this applet.

In future versions I will add configuration options, and perhaps a bandwidth graph. For the time being, it should be useful for monitoring those expensive data charges.

Version 0.2-2 is being built in extras-devel as I type this. I will promote it to extras-testing when I can.

Edit: Version 0.2-3 fixes my unfortunately prevalent typo :(

Edit Version 0.3-1: New icon (thanks joshua.maverick), updated layout, and options for refresh interval, binary or SI prefix, and display reset data.

Edit Version 0.3-2: Now the refresh interval the user chooses is actually used!

Edit Version 0.5-1: New layout with upload/download icons, easier to read numbers, and smaller foot print.

Edit Version 0.5-3: This version allows the user to switch between "compact" layout and "non-compact" layout.

Edit Version 0,5-5 is now in extras! Thanks to all the testers. The download page is http://maemo.org/downloads/product/M...onal-gprs-mon/

Edit Version 0.6-3 is now in extras-devel. This version fixes the data counter problem introduced in PR1.2. Also potentially fixes data overflow error.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I've got a pixel artist that will be working on a unique icon for the package sometime over the next day or two and a sound designer that can help with making alarm sounds so that we'll be ready for it if that feature gets added at some point.

For now, enjoy. :)

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I'd like to help with design if that's cool?

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I would, of course, accept any assistance offered. Especially design, which is one of my weaknesses.

I am hoping this initial version is good enough (i.e. with no show stoppers) to promote to extras-testing and get into extras. New versions would be available in extras-devel.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Great stuff! :)

Any garage site up for it so others can contribute? Woud love to see a monthly/weekly/whatever summary and reset features. :)

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Reset is planned, but right now can be done through the control panel. Summary is a good idea, I can implement that in a future version.

Maybe clicking on the widget brings up a summary dialog, and (when in desktop edit mode) the widget settings dialog can contain the reset.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I just wanted to pop my head into this thread and say I think you guys are awesome, and this is why I'm buying an N900.

kthx.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Sounds good to me.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

How about 3g connection for those who have it?

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Glad to hear it. Make sure you try to take part and get involved so that you can be sure that you get the features in that you want. You don't need to be a programmer. Come to the #maemo IRC room and talk about your ideas.. post them to brainstorm. You just might end up with what you want. :)

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

It should handle 3G just fine unless it's a separate interface within Linux... I don't have access to 3G here so I can't say for sure though.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Hmm should it be GPRS not GRPS :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General..._Radio_Service

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

In terms of the GConf keys read (which is the means this applet gets the values from), the N900 does not differentiate between GPRS/3G connections.

@fiferboy, sorry I was not able to test this when you asked me. Without a contract, T-Mobile assume I have money coming out of my *** with GPRS, even. With 3G; they assume that I am drug dealing, being a whore, and doing armed robberies. All at the same time.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Oops, looks like I will be renaming this applet :)

I have never actually used any cell phone data plan, not that that excuses the total failure of proof-reading.

Thanks

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

So there is no way to determine how much 3g data is being used?

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Separately, not that we can see.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Okay, typos are fixed :)

joshua.maverick: As I understand it, 3G data usage accumulates with the GPRS data, so it will be in there too.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

you could go completely overboard with this and make it so you can see a breakdown of data usage by application. No idea how you'd do that, but it'd be insanely useful.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I'm going to mess with the design a bit tonight, and I'll post a mockup, in the meantime if anybody has any screenshots of other widgets, that would be helpful as reference material!

Thanks

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

You may be looking at these already, but if it helps here are the desktop screenshots I found in the my-symbian and mobile-review previews:

http://my-symbian.com/other/show2.php?pic=scr5.jpg
http://my-symbian.com/other/show2.php?pic=scr6.jpg
http://my-symbian.com/other/show2.php?pic=scr7.jpg
http://my-symbian.com/other/show2.php?pic=scr8.jpg

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...p/desktop1.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...p/desktop2.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...p/desktop3.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...p/desktop4.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...p/desktop5.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...es/themes6.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...es/themes7.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...es/themes8.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/...es/themes5.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/.../scr/scr06.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/.../scr/scr07.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/.../scr/scr08.jpg
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/.../scr/scr48.jpg

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Thanks! This really helps, this widget is going to look booom.

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

And I would just like to second that. Couldn't say it better myself (I've tried..)

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Hmm together with knowing cost you can calculate how much is burned. There is also roaming with different tariffs though. How are you calculating the data, and how often? Is the log saved after reboot? I suggest to use external program like vnStat to count the data traffic.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

We are barely doing any work whatsoever on this. All the data for it is provided through gconf. The phone handles everything having to do with the numbers. We just need to dumbly display them, honestly. Reboot doesn't erase the numbers. The user has to specifically tell the phone to reset the numbers in the Phone portion of Control Panel.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Interesting. Then I wonder how the phone calculates the traffic, and how/if it is possible to detect roaming, country, and tariff.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I'll look into it.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Doesn't install. Finds only the misspelled package, but can't download it because it is missing?

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Qole - the properly spelled package should be in extras-devel now, and is on its way to extras-testing. I am going to get some administrator to remove the incorrectly spelled package.

Sorry for the inconvenience :o

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Just installed and it works. Let's see what happens from here. :)

Re: Personal GRPS Monitor for Fremantle
 

See? You've only just arrived and already you're making awesome suggestions! :)

That would be a kickass feature!

Obviously, you would need to collect data at a different point than you do currently - I presume you have access to gross bandwidth up/down? You would need to process bandwidth up/down in a similar layer as the nix utility netstat.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Does it need a reboot to appear in the list of widgets to add to the desktop?

EDIT: It just appears on the desktop, my fault, I didn't see it.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Not normally. no.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

http://mav-media.com/maemo5/dataMonitor/simple001.jpg

I'm not entirely satisfied with the little icon, maybe I should put like a "heart monitor wave line" thing on the screen of the "tablet"?

Thoughts, feedback, ideas are welcome.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

This looks promising. Very nice and I like the idea of the widget. I almost feel sorry for myself since I have unlimited data plan (5mbps) so I won't be needing this necessarily, but out of curiosity I think I surely will try it out when I get my device

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

It's nice, though I'd like to have the fonts match the other widgets. We also already have an icon that a pixel artist at work made for the program earlier today. Take a look and tell me what you think. (The pink parts will be transparent, obviously.)

Attachment 4197

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Do we know what the default font is?

To be honest I'm not really a fan of that icon, I like the ovi style icons, but I wasn't sure what to make as a symbol for data.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

The default font is on the left side of your mockup.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

I can see the font, I just don't know the name of it.

As for your icon, this is your widget right, so its up to you, I just think that pixel style icon is a bit old school, and the ovi styled icons are more "modern" "web 2.0" feeling, with their gradients and details and such.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Not sure what the actual font name is. Yeah, I can see your point about the icon. It was originally done for the Application Manager, so it doesn't have to be the same one on the desktop.

Re: Personal GPRS Monitor for Fremantle
 

Joshua's icon kicks the other one's @ss. 'Nuff said.