I moved from a Treo 650 to the Treo 680 back around Christmas time. I know that some don't miss the blinking LED light on their Treo 680. I didn't think I would either, but I actually do miss seeing that little blinking light. So imagine my surprise and joy when I read about an app that can bring the flashing LED back. Yep, I read about it on our very own TreoCentral Forums. Forum member Khaytsus posted a link to the Treo 680 app. There is always something interesting and useful in the forums so if you don't read them, go and take a look around. The TreoCentral Community is a great place to visit! I've found many useful Treo tips and tricks in the forum.
As you know, the LED light flashes green to indicate that your phone is connected to the mobile network. Palm decided to do away with the blinking LED on the Treo 680, so after the LED turns from red to green to indicate the network connection is successful, the light goes out and doesn't flash. I for one have missed the flashing light. The blinking LED comes in useful when you're traveling in areas in which you might go out of your network's range. I drive around in the mountains in Blowing Rock and Boone, NC frequently and there are many spots where I lose my network connection. With my Treo 650, I could just glance at the phone's LED light and if it was blinking, I knew that I was in range of my network. On the Treo 680, I'd have to click on a button to wake up the phone to see if I had a connection or not. But now, thanks to Service LED for Treo 680, a freeware app over at freewarepalm.com, I have my blinking LED back, and so far it's been great.
With the battery life of the Treo 680 not being all that great, questions about the LED app's effect on battery life immediately came up in the LED app thread. Opinions have been mixed so far. Some say that they don't see a difference and some are saying that they see a slight difference. One user even said that the app has improved battery life. The thread is an interesting read and I'm sure it'll get better over the next few days. I've only been using the app for a couple of days and so far, I can't really tell much of a difference in my battery life.
With the Service LED app, you have a choice of Blink Speed; Fast, Medium, or Slow. Here is a screenshot of the app and the option on my Treo 680.
If you own a Treo 680 and you miss that green LED flashing, download the app and give it a try.
