As of version 2.2.0 of Screebl Pro, a new licensing mechanism called Automatic Application Licensing (AAL) has been bundled with the app.  The purpose of AAL is to allow painless verification that the user of Screebl Pro actually purchased the app from the Android Market.  We've taken this step to attempt to put a stop to the insane levels of piracy that Screebl has seen, and so far, things seem to be working out nicely.

I've received a number of questions over the course of the last few days asking me how AAL works, why we chose to include it in Screebl Pro, and what the implications are for users.  This article will cover the details, and describe why we finally decided to pull the trigger on licensing in our mobile apps...

Screebl Pro continues to recieve good reviews.  It is now ranked in the top 20 on the Android Market in the Tools category, and in the top 50 overall!  Thanks to everyone that has tweeted, emailed, or otherwise shared your love of Screebl.  Please keep sharing!

It is generally a very challenging and time-consuming endeavor to review a sophisticated piece of software like Screebl, particularly when it involves changing and evaluating phone usage patterns.  The new review site AppRoasters.com recently "roasted" (that's what they call their reviews) Screebl Pro as their first review.  It is a very thorough and accurate review, making some good observations about ways that we can improve the product.  I was also happy to see that the review has decent coverage of the Locale integration.

Nice work AppRoasters!

Screebl Lite has been cranking along for over three months now.  Since it's release a lot has happened, and we've learned a lot about what it takes to nurse a little utility application into a product.  Before I go into what is contained in the next major release of Screebl (it's some pretty cool stuff), let me hit on the highlights of what Screebl Lite has done so far...

• Screebl Lite has been downloaded over 20,000 times, and thousands of you use it every day. 
• I've received hundreds of questions, high-fives, suggestions, and death threats.  Much of that feedback has made its way directly back in to the product.
• Screebl has been localized by native speakers of five different languages. 
• Screebl has been reviewed six times, by a variety of online publications, including AndroidGuys, AndroidTapp, Phandroid, KnowYourMobile, BrightHub, and Octoba.net (Japanese).
• Screebl came in 5th in its category in the Android Developer Challenge 2, just behind a smokin' hot digital secretary.

Now how could things possibly get any better, you might ask?  Well we've been hard at work scraping together Screebl Pro, and there are some really cool things to be excited about...

Screebl Lite has been cranking along for quite some time now.  From coming in 5th in its category in ADC2 to the hundreds-of-thousands of times that the app has been downloaded, it's been really fun watching this innovative little utility spread throughout the Android community.

We often get the question "why should I upgrade to Screebl Pro?".  We think that there are lots of great reasons, including supporting continued enhancement and bug fixes.

In a nutshell, you get the following Pro-only features:

o  Locale/Tasker Integration - Include Screebl detection capabilities as you configure your phone.  Your imagination is the limit!

o  Screen Timeout Control - You are in control of how fast your screen times out after your phone is moved out of a configured Screebl range.

o Icon Customization - Choose how you want your icons to look in the notification bar.

o Improved Detection Algorithm - Bed reading, lying on your right side, and other tricky detection scenarios work better in Screebl Pro.  You have move control over Axis Variance, the key parameter that makes these work.

Here's a detailed description of the enhanced features that you will get ONLY in Screebl Pro...