Is anyone else seeing inconsistent behavior with audio output control between MobileNavigator 1.6, iPod, and Phone apps under iOS4?
I'm using iPhone 4 and a Jawbone ICON with A2DP enabled. The two are paired.
When MobileNavigator (MN) and iPod are running I expect both to display a Bluetooth icon for toggling between speaker and headset. If a call comes in, I also expect Phone to enable switching between headset, phone, and speaker. Normally this is happening.
However, sometimes the three apps behave as if there is a hierarchy for which one gets the BT icon and control. The pecking order becomes
1. Phone app
2. iPod app
3. MN app
Sometimes the following scenarios occur. Starting with no apps running (actually quit them using the dock)
o Launch MN. It has a BT icon next to Volume.
o Home out of MN and launch iPod. The iPod app 'steals' the BT icon from MN. Switching back to MN shows it has no BT icon. Switching back to iPod shows it still has the BT icon.
o Accept a call. The Phone app steals the BT icon from iPod. MN still doesn't have it either.
o End the call and iPod gets back the BT icon. Use dock to quit iPod and MN gets back the BT icon.
o Really weird -- if the MN option for iPod Control = ON, and then iPod is launched separately and steals the BT icon, and then iPod is quit (using dock) -- sometimes MN doesn't get the BT icon back. At that point there is no way to control whether audio is directed to headset or speaker. It is stuck on whatever was used last. To overcome this, quit MN (using dock) and try again
Haven't used all of this long enough to say whether it is functioning most often right or wrong, but annoying that it's not wholly stable. Hoping an iOS4 update will cure the problem.
Another quirk. MN has an option for text-to-speech (TTS) that I really like. When playing through the speaker the MN voice directions play completely. For example, "In one mile at the T junction turn right on First Street."
But when playing through the BT headset, it seems there is a "wake up and listen" problem. The start of the sentence is clipped and all that comes through is, " tion turn right on First Street."
Also, if two MN instructions are spoken close together (within a second or two), then the second instruction is never clipped. And if iPod or other audio is playing in background, the MN voice never clips.
I'm thinking it might be one of
a. The ICON quickly goes into power-saving mode. When a new MN instruction is delivered, part of it is unheard because the ICON has to wake up and by the time it's actually receiving speech part of the content has already come and gone.
b. iOS4 quickly puts BT transmission to sleep in order to save power. The MN app generates an instruction, and iOS4 tries to deliver it before BT transmission is awake. By the time the iPhone is transmitting over BT, part of the content has already fallen into some null place.
In either case, background audio overcomes the problem because neither the ICON receiver nor the iPhone transmitter is allowed to sleep.
Similarly, a second instruction closely following the first one sounds complete because the device (whichever) hasn't gone to sleep yet.
And content is never clipped when sent to speaker because it uses a different protocol.
Can anyone confirm the problem with an ICON or any other headset? That will help me decide whether to send the problem to Jawbone or Apple. I don't think it is a Navigon problem.
Thanks!
I'm using iPhone 4 and a Jawbone ICON with A2DP enabled. The two are paired.
When MobileNavigator (MN) and iPod are running I expect both to display a Bluetooth icon for toggling between speaker and headset. If a call comes in, I also expect Phone to enable switching between headset, phone, and speaker. Normally this is happening.
However, sometimes the three apps behave as if there is a hierarchy for which one gets the BT icon and control. The pecking order becomes
1. Phone app
2. iPod app
3. MN app
Sometimes the following scenarios occur. Starting with no apps running (actually quit them using the dock)
o Launch MN. It has a BT icon next to Volume.
o Home out of MN and launch iPod. The iPod app 'steals' the BT icon from MN. Switching back to MN shows it has no BT icon. Switching back to iPod shows it still has the BT icon.
o Accept a call. The Phone app steals the BT icon from iPod. MN still doesn't have it either.
o End the call and iPod gets back the BT icon. Use dock to quit iPod and MN gets back the BT icon.
o Really weird -- if the MN option for iPod Control = ON, and then iPod is launched separately and steals the BT icon, and then iPod is quit (using dock) -- sometimes MN doesn't get the BT icon back. At that point there is no way to control whether audio is directed to headset or speaker. It is stuck on whatever was used last. To overcome this, quit MN (using dock) and try again
Haven't used all of this long enough to say whether it is functioning most often right or wrong, but annoying that it's not wholly stable. Hoping an iOS4 update will cure the problem.
Another quirk. MN has an option for text-to-speech (TTS) that I really like. When playing through the speaker the MN voice directions play completely. For example, "In one mile at the T junction turn right on First Street."
But when playing through the BT headset, it seems there is a "wake up and listen" problem. The start of the sentence is clipped and all that comes through is, " tion turn right on First Street."
Also, if two MN instructions are spoken close together (within a second or two), then the second instruction is never clipped. And if iPod or other audio is playing in background, the MN voice never clips.
I'm thinking it might be one of
a. The ICON quickly goes into power-saving mode. When a new MN instruction is delivered, part of it is unheard because the ICON has to wake up and by the time it's actually receiving speech part of the content has already come and gone.
b. iOS4 quickly puts BT transmission to sleep in order to save power. The MN app generates an instruction, and iOS4 tries to deliver it before BT transmission is awake. By the time the iPhone is transmitting over BT, part of the content has already fallen into some null place.
In either case, background audio overcomes the problem because neither the ICON receiver nor the iPhone transmitter is allowed to sleep.
Similarly, a second instruction closely following the first one sounds complete because the device (whichever) hasn't gone to sleep yet.
And content is never clipped when sent to speaker because it uses a different protocol.
Can anyone confirm the problem with an ICON or any other headset? That will help me decide whether to send the problem to Jawbone or Apple. I don't think it is a Navigon problem.
Thanks!