BluePhoneElite 2.2.4 is now available!

What's New?

• Two crash fixes related to chats and calls.
• Fixes for name-lookup and phonebook token fields.
• Additional bug fixes.

I'm pleased to announce the release of BluePhoneElite 2.2.0!

What's New?

• BPEnabler 1.05 for Windows Mobile, including support for phones with the Broadcom/Widcomm Bluetooth stack.
• Reading SMS from Nokia Series 40 5th and 6th edition phones.
• Improvements to SMS sending.
• Additional bug fixes.

What's Next?

• Re-write of BPEnabler for Symbian.
• Keep pressure on Apple to fix Bluetooth bugs.
• Start work on BPE 3.0!

I'm pleased to announce the release of BluePhoneElite 2.1.3!

This release contains a completely re-written BPEnabler for Windows Mobile phones that fixes the existing bugs and improves the SMS capabilities.

NOTE: This BPEnabler update can only be installed on Windows Mobile phones with the Windows Bluetooth stack. I hope to have a version for Windows Mobile phones with the Broadcom/Widcomm Bluetooth stack ready within the next few weeks.

This release also includes bug fixes to the interface, SMS sending, and the delay when responding to calls on Symbian phones.

Known Issues with Hands-Free

Mac OS X 10.5.6 fixed the issue with Hands-Free related kernel panics. However, there still appear to be some problems with the Mac Bluetooth audio driver. The two remaining issues are 1) the playback audio stutters and then echos two or three times, and 2) the playback audio loops, getting louder each time. Hopefully Apple will update the Bluetooth stack again in 10.5.7.

Current Development Goals

Porting BPEnabler to Windows Mobile phones with the Broadcom/Widcomm Bluetooth stack.

Adding support for reading SMS on Nokia Series 40 3rd and 5th edition phones.

Everyone wants to know if the iPhone 3.0 OS will add SMS-over-Bluetooth compatibility. Unfortunately, the answer appears to be no. Here's why...

New Bluetooth Profiles

There was a lot of excitement after the iPhone 3.0 SDK event; many Bluetooth improvements were shown off and Apple's Scott Forstall reportedly stated "We support all the standard built-in protocols." Many have assumed this means that iPhone 3.0 will have all the cool Bluetooth profiles, but I don't think that this is what's happening.

For starters, Scott said "protocols", not "profiles". Even if he meant to say "profiles", there are over 30 Bluetooth profiles and no subset of them is referred to as "standard" across manufacturers. Additionally, questions about transferring files over Bluetooth stumped the Apple reps at the event; something you wouldn't expect if new Bluetooth profiles were a major addition.

There's still a possibility that Apple could add Bluetooth profiles at a later date, however in my opinion, expectations should be kept to a minimum. The only Bluetooth profile that Apple has explicitly stated will be added is A2DP... and this doesn't help BPE2 much.

New Bluetooth SDK

So what about using the SDK to write an app to add this functionality? After looking at the 3.0 SDK, I can say that we're one step closer, and have a long way to go. The 3.0 SDK does allow the active application to communicate with a Bluetooth device using a custom protocol, however there is still no way for an application to access the SMS database, send SMS directly, run in the background, etc. so not much can happen here.

The Last Resort

Theoretically there is a way to make this work on unlocked iPhones. I do not plan on engineering this myself, but if anyone out there wants to take this on, email me and I can provide some additional details.

I'm pleased to announce the release of BluePhoneElite 2.1.2!

This release adds advanced audio echo cancellation for Hands-Free calls. Echo cancellation improves the audio quality for the remote party by removing the playback audio from the microphone audio. This is especially useful when the microphone is close to the speaker (e.g. using a laptop's microphone and speakers).

This release also includes dozens of minor bug fixes for calls, messages, AppleScript, phone compatibility and general stability.

Known Issues with Hands-Free

Mac OS X 10.5.6 fixed the issue with Hands-Free related kernel panics. However, there still appear to be some problems with the Mac Bluetooth audio driver. The two remaining issues are 1) the playback audio stutters and then echos two or three times, and 2) the playback audio loops, getting louder each time. Hopefully Apple will update the Bluetooth stack again in 10.5.7.

There are also a few reports of problems with some USB audio devices, particularly the iMic. If you've found problems (or perfection) with your USB audio device(s), please post your findings on the forums.

Current Development Goals

Version 2.1 made some major advancements to the BPE interface. I have even bigger, better things planned for BPE 3.0 but there are some critical phone compatibility issues that need to be dealt with first. I will be spending the next few months working on fixing bugs with the Windows Mobile BPEnabler, and adding support for SMS on Nokia Series 40 phones. Not fun, but it's got to get done. After that will come the fun stuff, like call recording and a unified interface.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and support. If you like BPE, please tell a friend!

I'm thrilled to announce the release of BluePhoneElite 2.1!

It's a free upgrade for current users. And for a limited time, new users can get a code for $19.95 ($5 off the regular price).

There are tons of great new features and enhancements in this version. Here's a few of the changes...

Messages

• New message chat interface!
• Adds support for sending to multiple groups.
• Adds option to edit message dates.

Calls

• Supports dialing keypad tones during a call (great for picking up voicemail).
• Adds audio indicators and volume control for Hands-Free mode.
• Improves reliability of Hands-Free (recommend OS X 10.5.6).

Phones

• Improves message sending on Motorola and Sony Ericsson phones.
• Improves calls, phone and status indicator support for the iPhone.
• Includes new versions of the BPEnabler for Symbian phones.

Interface

• Adds new setup assistant that simplifies adding a phone.
• Auto-completing address field includes photos and improves selection between multiple phone numbers.
• "Smart" addresses let you click a contact to initiate a new call, message or chat.
• Adds missed call/message indicators to dock and menu bar icons.

Extras

• New documentation! Available from the Help menu or online.
• Improved AppleScripts, including integration with Apple Address Book.
• And dozens of other improvements!

A detailed list of changes is available in the version history.

Enjoy!