I’m just putting the finishing touches on a new version of Network Dashboard that fixes a couple of bugs and adds a couple of neat new features. I’m seriously considering a change, though, from a free app to a 99 cent app with a trial. Just to be clear, the trial will NOT be a timed trial … you can use the trial free of charge forever, no nag screens or anything. All the existing features of the free Network Dashboard app will be available for use in the trial version.

Switching to a paid app with a trial allows me to offer a few extra features and get paid for the work I’ve put into the app. Additionally, it means I can keep the app ad-free, which is something I’d like to do as I don’t feel ads fit in Network Dashboard.

So, I’m looking for some feedback on this decision before I release the next version. Anyone have any thoughts?

Yesterday at the Build Blogger Bash at Microsoft’s Build conference, Brandon Watson, Microsoft Senior Director of Windows Phone Development, mentioned Network Dashboard during a live recording of the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. I showed him Network Dashboard and he immediately downloaded it on his phone. On the podcast He said, “I love it!”

You’ll find the mention at about 36 minute mark in the video:

Thanks for the shoutout Brandon!

Network Dashboard version 1.1 was submitted for Windows® Phone Marketplace certification today. The new version brings a much-requested feature: Start Screen Live Tile status support for Wi-Fi and Mobile Data tiles.

Start Screen Live Tile support allows the Live Tiles for Wi-Fi and Mobile Data to display the current state of those radios through a green or red square in the upper right corner, just like the tiles on the Network Dashboard screen. This support comes with a caveat though: in order for this feature to work reliably, the user must only use Network Dashboard to access the settings screen for Wi-Fi and Mobile Data. If the user uses the main Settings menu of Windows Phone to change Wi-Fi or Mobile Data radio state, the Live Tiles will be out of sync until Network Dashboard is run again.

There is a new Settings screen in Network Dashboard with a toggle for enabling and disabling the Start Screen Live Tile feature. An additional change is that the long-press context menu for pinning tiles now is aware of whether the user has already pinned the tile and will offer an option of unpinning if a tile already exists.

Providing there are no issues found during the certification process, I hope that version 1.1 will be in the Marketplace in a couple of days.

I’m proud to introduce our latest Windows® Phone application, Network Dashboard! Network Dashboard is now available for download via the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Network Dashboard provides a quick and easy way to see the current status of your Wi-Fi and Mobile Data features as well as one tap access to configuration options for Wi-Fi, Mobile Data, Bluetooth and Airplane Mode. There is an included status indicator for overall network availability as well. Read the rest of this entry »