Widgets are one of the features that have made Android the popular platform that it is today, and it is also evident by the fact that the Google Play Store – the official app repository for Android – contains an entirely separate category dedicated to widgets. Some of these useful utilities come packaged with certain OEM firmware, while others are created and sold independently. Even stock Android comes with a small collection of these of its own, irrespective of how useful they are or how much utility they provide. In fact, most of the third-party custom widgets that exist in the Play Store are to improve on the feature set of the stock offering.
Smartphones are supposed to make our lives easier, and although, in some cases, the opposite is true, apps and ecosystems are progressively becoming more seamless and automated as time goes on. Whereas once upon a time, we'd have to turn our Wi-Fi off whenever we left the house, and remember to turn it back on when we arrived, things seem to take care of themselves. With that theme in mind, Bluetooth and Wifi Unlocker seeks to make your Android-using experience just that little bit less taxing by automatically unlocking your device when connected to a recognized Bluetooth or Wi-Fi device.
One of the primary advantages Android users have over their iOS-using peers, is the ability to install countless widgets. Whereas the iOS home screen isn’t particularly customizable without a jailbreak, the same department of any two random droids can look worlds apart thanks to the wonder of widgetry. It’s not all just about the look, of course, since these widgets can be effective sources of information / controls, and so it would stand to reason, then, that we may want to use them at anytime, and from within any app. Overlays, created by a veteran member of the XDA-Developers forums , does exactly that, and with plenty of options and features within the app itself, it’s a must-have for anybody with a staunch reliance on widgets. More details and the oh-so important download link can be found right after the jump.
Twilight is an app for Android smartphones and tablets that claims to help shield your eyes from blue light, making you sleep better as a result. Well, that's the idea, anyway.
Whenever a new piece of software is due to hit the market, it invariably leaks a great deal earlier than anticipated. History has repeated itself on some of the social network’s just-announced Facebook Home for Android software, with MoDaCo managing to get its hands on a pre-release version. The Google-branded Nexus 4 is said to be one of a handful of devices compatible with this pre-release version of the launcher, which will release officially for five handsets this coming Friday, and although one or two of the features don't appear to be working properly, it's a very nice find.
A couple of days back, we showed you how Espier Screen Locker could make your Android smartphone's lock screen look just like an iPhone's, and following on from this, Espier has just released a beta version of an app to bring the iOS Notification Center to Google handsets. Not to everybody's taste, I might add, but from the company that also has a launcher offering the iOS home screen to those on Android, it seems Espier studios is on a mission to bring as much of iOS's UI over to Android as it possibly can.
The native ability of most mobile devices to take screenshots can be incredibly useful, particularly if, like us, you're in the business of reviewing apps and games. As you may have noticed from some of our jailbreak posts, adding a device-like frame can turn a boring old capture into a beautiful, lifelike impression of a device in action, and although Photoshop skills tend to be required for these kinds of edits to be made, you can now add such frames natively on both iOS and Android. We've found two of the best apps in Screenshot - Frame Maker for iOS and Device Frame Generator for Android, and if you'd like to visually enhance some of your screen captures, check out the lowdown on each after the break!
There are those bands of Android and iOS users that see the interchanging of features between the two as some kind of satanic gesture. An iOS wallpaper for Android? Forget it! An HTC clock widget gracing iOS? Don’t make me laugh! Fortunately, those less closed-minded will recognize that each respective mobile OS has its strengths and weaknesses, and moreover, the vast majority is down to preference. Recognizing that not everybody is a partisan loyalist, the creators of Espier Screen Locker have decided to bring the famed iOS lock screen to Android, and in actual fact, it does look fairly plausible.
Android Jelly Bean 4.2 is inarguably the best version of Google's mobile OS to date. As well as being almost as smooth as its Cupertino rival thanks to the heavily-publicized Project Butter, it provides a vast array of functions which many users on older generations could usually only dream of. However, considering the vast majority of Droidsters are on older software, and with some of the more antiquated handsets having little to no hope of seeing any of Jelly Bean's niceties any time soon, developer AntTek has sought to bring one newer feature to those languishing on Android 2.1 - 4.1. Named AntTek Quick Settings, it brings Jelly Bean's useful quick setting feature to any device running on the aforementioned software versions, and with no root required whatsoever, this one is truly accessible to everybody.
One of the perceived downsides of the smartphone industry is the monopolization of devices through carrier locking. At point of sale and when you sign up to a contract with a carrier, it's understandable, but thereafter, getting a handset unlocked can be a trying, if not impossible process. If you want to check whether your device is unlocked for use on any network, a nifty online service completely has your back, and not only is the website incredibly easy to use, but if you're on Android, there's also an app available to download over at the Google Play Store. More details after the break.
