WMStopWatch
Overview:
WMStopWatch is a simple stopwatch and countdown timer application for Windows Mobile devices written in Visual Basic .NET 2.0. It has both a stopwatch and countdown modes. The application sets up two threads, one to track the time since start and the other to update the display. I tested the application on my Moto Q so if your device is running a different resolution it may not look correct. Let me know 
Download:
Download version 0.6 (Binary .cab)
Download version 0.6 (Binary .zip)
Download version 0.6 (Source)
Installation:
Copy the executable or CAB to your Windows Mobile device and launch from the file manager.
Requirements:
Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0
Changelog:
0.6 - Novermber 22, 2007
- Added beep.wav to the cab installer
- Fixed error when setting countdown time
- Fixed error with softkey not getting reset to start when countdown completes
0.5 - Novermber 21, 2007
- Added the countdown mode
- “Enter key” will now start/stop the mode
- Improved the display to show hoursÂ
0.4 - September 06, 2007
- Added the high resolution timer
- Added options for the forecolor and backcolor
- Set Form.MinimizeBox = False on all forms to try and resolve an issue on Pocket PCs where multiple instances are launched if the user closes the application with the icon in the upper right corner
0.3 - August 23, 2007
- Built a CAB file installerÂ
0.2 - August 22, 2007
- Should work in most (all?) resolutions now
- Added the “About” form
0.1 - August 22, 2007
- Initial release
Screenshot:
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:00 am
[...] I’ve released a new version of WMStopWatch that adds a countdown mode. The countdown mode allows you to set a time and optionally a wav file. When the timer reaches the countdown time the default system beep or the configured wav file is played. Read more here. [...]
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:30 am
Grrr… I’ve found some issues I need to fix:
- When selecting a countdown time only whole values can be trusted (ie: 9 h or 9 m or 9 s NOT 9h 9m 9s)
- When the countdown completes the left softkey text doesn’t get set to “Start”
- I forgot to add my beep.wav file to the CAB installer
February 7th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
[...] WMStopWatch | CharltonFamily.net There’s a cool flashlite program on that site too. __________________ Sprint MOTO Q Software [...]
February 25th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Thanks for the stopwatch program, it will come in very handy.
A few suggestions for improvements:
1. Option to only refresh every second, or when the stopwatch is triggered. On my Q9m the time flashes constantly as the time is refreshed. I would prefer the time to change to a second ‘active’ color (red for example) while it is counting and return to the primary color when it stops. This would make the screen look less flickery.
2. Add the option to have a number (10+) of lap times which are stored on a second button press (space would be good on the Q9m) which displays the lap time since the last press of the lap button (Option to store the lap times into a csv file would also be nice).
3. Option to not have the stopwatch restart from zero but to start from the last time displayed. I time industrial processes, and it would be nice to be able to pause the time when an unforeseen stoppage occurs.
Finally, what development environment did you use to develop the program?
Regards,
PJE
February 25th, 2008 at 10:34 am
PJE,
Thanks for your comments.
1. Unfortunately updating the label that displays the time less frequently is the only solution I’ve come across to solve the screen flicker issue. Here’s what the folks at Motodev told me about the screen flicker:
“I got a response from the Q phone development team:
“There is a performance issue with the device since its portrait display rotated on its side. We are looking to see what can be done for future devices.”
That means that internally the Q phone has a portrait screen what is translated into a landscape layout by the display driver. That causes overhead work what slows down the screen speed.”
An option could easily be added to control the resolution of the time displayed (and thus the update frequency). Maybe two options would work best, resolution during timing operations and resolution while stopped.
2. and 3. Definitely missing and needs to be added
Another thing I’m working on it making the application less resource hungry so it doesn’t slow everything else down on the phone while running timing operations.
At the time of release I was using Visual Studio 2005 and have now upgraded to Visual Studio 2008. Not sure how familiar you are in this developement environment but the source code is available above and I’m always excited to see any improvements users make to my code.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Forgot to mention that the source code above is written in VB.NET. I’ve recently fallen in love with C# and am, in general, rewriting my code in C#.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I was thinking of only updating the screen once per second (thus the change of font color).
Do you know of any free/low cost development platforms for the WM devices?
I used to do some limited PocketPC programming many years ago (when they gave away the tools), but I don’t think there’s currently any free development system from Microsoft for WM5/6.
Regards,
PJE
February 25th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Microsoft offers eMbedded Visual Basic and eMbedded Visual C++ but I know the VB version doesn’t support the newer WM5/6 platform and I’m not sure about the C++.
Microsoft also offer Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition downloads, http://www.microsoft.com/express/, that are free limited versions of the full products. Wikipedia says Visual Basic Express 2008 has “No support for developing for mobile devices (no templates or emulator)” but I’m not sure if that means you couldn’t open an existing project and compile it. Might be worth a try.
Looks like Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition retails for around $299. If you know someone taking college classes they could probably snag a “Student” copy from the campus bookstore for a lot less.
Cheers,
Cory