[pdutta2000]

So I got my desktop charger for the Storm yesterday. BTW...I got it at Newegg. It's already out of stock but a good deal at $14.99. Anyways...I'm setting up Bedside mode and realize that it's just not what it should be. Yes..it allows you to dim the screen. Good. It allows you Disable the LED. Good. But then it gives you the option to Disable radio. WTF?? Who thought that was a good idea? The point of having your blackberry near you is to have access to calls and emails. A blackberry is a power user device. Giving people hard stops such as On or Off is the opposite of a power user. The last selection should allow you to choose a custom profile that gets attached to the Bedside mode. For me...it would be Phone Only. For others, it might be Phone and text messages only...whatever they want. It's a huge mistake and takes away from the whole point of having Bedside mode. Now I need to set the phone to Bedside mode and select the Phone Only profile.

So how does this relate to other issues? Well..it represents a lack of thorough testing. Don't get me wrong...as my signature says..I love my Storm...but that doesn't mean it's perfect. I consider the software to be Beta 3 status. There are some serious issues:

1. Switching orientation is a crapshoot. Sometimes it's immediate. Sometimes it takes 5 seconds. Sometimes it won't do it at all.

2. Screen freezes. While I've never had the phone fully freeze (my boss got his yesterday and his froze and required reboot within 2 hours) I have had my screen just sit there for 10-20 seconds and not take any input at all and then start working fine again.

3. Some of the menu organization is bad. Show and Hide keyboard should be one of the first items on the menu. You shouldn't need to scroll all the way down to make it happen.

There are others that I've missed. The point is that these items are not bugs. The phone, in general, works. It's just not optimized at all. I'm hoping someone at RIM is working on not just getting things to work...but getting them to work better. I've said in other posts...this device has so much potential...it's a shame that the software is holding it back.

[JSanders]

Why don't you ENABLE radio while in bedside mode? Wouldn't that make you happier?

[pdutta2000]

Enabling the radio would also enable all the sounds associated with the phone. So every email gets a ding. Every text message. Every instant message. Like most people...I want the phone to ring in case of emergency but I don't need to hear every email coming in at 2am. The other option... Disabling the radio... turns everything off...including the phone. Neither makes any sense.

[purephase]

Umm... then create a specific profile and switch to it first. I admit, it would be nice if it gave you a profile option in the bedside mode so it automatically switched to it when enabled, but it is just a few extra clicks.

You could also try Profiler. Not sure if it works on the Storm (and I've never tried it myself) but it looks promising.

[C17Driver]

Wirelessly posted

Some may use the phone as an alarm clock and don't need the radio on or don't want the radio on. Seems the default options might be limited but a power user would just make the modifications necessary to make it work.

[JSanders]

It's nice to have the options. Past models did not.

Editing your profiles to your liking is exactly the way to go. You are using the device AS intended.

[TheBigNewt]

Originally Posted by pdutta2000

Enabling the radio would also enable all the sounds associated with the phone. So every email gets a ding. Every text message. Every instant message. Like most people...I want the phone to ring in case of emergency but I don't need to hear every email coming in at 2am. The other option... Disabling the radio... turns everything off...including the phone. Neither makes any sense.

No, that's not the way it has to be. I use Phone Only profile, so nothing except the phone causes an audible alert. I set my txt/bb messenger/mms so they vibrate twice to alert me, and email only flashes the red led. You just have to customize your profiles to get what you want in the bedside mode. All BBs can do this.

[jsntrenkler]

I am happy with Bedside mode, I just set my BB to Phone only as well and then plop her down on the dock (gently) ... I have had no issues and the Alarm has been 100% reliable.

[Tri-Tip]

I would like to see a feature that lets you set times when a selected Sound Profiles would go into effect, such as:

7:00 AM - Go into Profile 1 (for me, phone rings, e-mail beeps)
6:00 PM - Go into Profile 2 (for me, phone rings, e-mail slient...I don't care about e-mail in the evening)
11:00 PM - Go into Profile 3 (for me, all silent)

Or go all out, and have these settings have a weekday / weekend switch too!

If you put it into a profile at a selected time, when the next cycle hits, it will automatically revert back to the programmed schedule, unless you select "hold profile", which will keep the profile until you change it.

Another great thing to have would be "meeting mode"...put into silent profile, and select a duration, say 1 hour after which it goes back to the selected mode for that time. I can't count how many meetings I came out of and forgot to turn the ringer back on and missed 5+ calls.

[PHLAK]

Originally Posted by jsntrenkler

I am happy with Bedside mode, I just set my BB to Phone only as well and then plop her down on the dock (gently) ... I have had no issues and the Alarm has been 100% reliable.

Ditto. Bedside Mode + Phone Calls Only + Alarm is perfect for my sleeping needs.

[I8UB4]

I agree with the OP and have voiced my dismay about this lack of feature of bedside mode on other threads.

The idea of bedside mode is great, and you can set the phone to enter bedside mode when it is put in the cradle. HOWEVER, you can not set it to automatically change the sound profile when in the cradle and then return it to normal when you remove it from the cradle.

As it stands now, I have to manually change the profile to "phone only" before putting it in the cradle and then manually change it back to normal when I take it out. The problem is that I sometimes forget to change the profile before bed, and the phone starts dinging in the middle of the night when I get emails (it's across the room, not right next to my bed). At other times, I forget to change it back to normal, and then miss incoming emails for a while the next morning.

It's just a hassle, and hopefully RIM will fix this in an upcoming OS update.

The idea that the guy above had where you can set it for different profiles at different times of day is also good.