Vertical ViewPoint for Android – Beta Test Update

As I discussed in this post, I am participating in the beta test for the Vertical Wave ViewPoint Android client.

The first device I am testing on is my mobile phone, the Droid 2 Global. I downloaded and installed the client. The permissions required are extensive as you would expect for an app with this kind of capability:

Once installed, the app sits in ‘All Apps’ in Google Play. I then did a long press on the icon to drag it to the home page as a widget.

Once the app was installed, I was able to install the widget on the desktop. You need to find an empty 2×4 space for the widget. Just long press in the space and choose Android Widgets. Scroll down to the ViewPoint widget and select it.

Once I opened the app, I configured the initial settings to access our Vertical Wave phone system and log in as my account. Ignore the AirDroid notification in the pic – that’s just what I was using to capture the screenshots. Set the server to the fully qualified domain name of your wave server. Leave the port number at the default 50070.  Enter your mobile number under call settings if you want to handle calls on your mobile phone (or your extension number if you want to handle the calls on your desk phone). (You can change this option later in the app ‘Settings’.)  Station ID is the ID of your desk phone on the Wave system. Find this by dialing *00 on your desk phone.

Once logged in, the mobile phone connects to the Wave Server. A series of messages are displayed, ending with “I M Connected”. From there, I went to the settings tab.

There I could adjust my presence management settings. Options are shown below:

Also under Quick Settings, I could select how I want to handle incoming calls. I chose the default which is ‘Mobile Alert’. When a call comes in to my desk phone, my mobile alerts me and asks if I want to take the call.

Finally, I chose to use my mobile phone for calls. These settings mirror the options I selected in the installation dialog.

Now that I have the settings configured, it is time to get acquainted with the app. Here is a look at the various tabs going across the top of the screen:

Users gives me two options. I can see my Android contacts or I can see the internal company directory. If I am in the internal company directory, selecting a contact gives me the option to send an IM or to call their extension. If I am in my Android Contacts, I can call the contact at any of their listed numbers or email them.

Calls shows me the dial pad. I can also select from a list of recent incoming calls.

VM shows me my Voice Mails, either my Inbox, Saved or Deleted voice mails. I can Reply, Forward or email a Voice Mail message from here. I can also call back the party that left the VM from here. Very nice!

Call Log shows a list of Incoming, Outgoing or Both calls, depending on my selection. Selecting a call from the log list allows me to add notes to the call journal or return the call.

IM  gives me access to Wave’s terrific Instant Messaging app. I can privately IM anyone on my Wave network. Incoming IMs alert me in the Android notification bar. When I click on the notification, it brings me right to this tab. Very good.

When I am on a call, ViewPoint  displays this screen, allowing me to end the call, place a new call, record the call, put the call on hold, do an add-on conference, forward the call or add journal notes to the call.

Wave ViewPoint Android call in progress

So, first impressions:

The Vertical Wave ViewPoint Android app looks very slick! I am very impressed. Setup was quick and easy. There were no glitches or bugginess in the install.

So far, everything I have tested has worked. The only exception is landscape mode. Release notes say it should rotate but it doesn’t. However, I don’t find this a real shortcoming as I never use landscape mode for phone functionality. I am impressed with how little lag there is between actions in the app and what is happening in the phone system. Of course, I am at the office using the WIFI connection, so it will be interesting to see how it does over just 3G.

I wish the Calls screen would allow me to return any call in my call log, rather than limiting me to just my recent incoming calls. Also, when I go to the Calls screen, the dialer has a previously dialed number stored in it and I have to use the backspace key to clear it before I can make a new call. Am I nitpicking here?

It will take a little bit of getting used to, to learn what all the buttons and icons do. This is a very full-featured app and learning all the nooks and crannies of it will take a little time. One of the big questions I hope to answer is how does it do on battery life. If it eats battery, I will be skeptical of its utility as a true business app.

I still have to test the app on my Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire tablets, so stay tuned. I will post an update as soon as I have more info.