Friday, October 18, 2013

Android World Update # App Review: Start, from the makers of Active Lockscreen

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App Review: Start, from the makers of Active Lockscreen
Oct 18th 2013, 14:00, by Justin Marden

I got the chance to review Active Lockscreen, made by Celltick, at the beginning of this year. It was a great, simple lockscreen replacement that just worked. While it was missing a few things, I was quite satisfied with it. The guys over at Celltick have been hard at work, and they just rolled out their newest app: Start. It’s essentially Active Lockscreen’s bigger brother, with more features and some improvements that make the experience even better. I had the chance to spend the past week or so with Start, and I’m very impressed with the upgrades. So without further ado, let’s see what Celltick has been up to since January.

Screenshot_2013-10-18-00-19-34For those of you who read my Active Lockscreen review, you’ll notice that Start’s design is very similar. There’s on large circle at the bottom, and two unlock targets to the left and right. As the icons suggest, these serve to unlock the device and mute/unmute the volume. Active Lockscreen had the same basic function, along with the four app categories that appeared upon dragging around the main circle icon. As I said in my previous review, this is just a simple design that’s functional without being too cluttered all at once.

So where does Start differ from Active Lockscreen? Well, Celltick took some time to rethink the way that information is displayed. With Active Lockscreen, users could download plugins that displayed in the center of the screen. These were mostly RSS feeds, but they were quite useful for news and content junkies like myself. One of the biggest issues that some had with the old layout was that it was too cluttered. Users wanted to have plugins, they also wanted the simplicity that the rest of the app offered.

Screenshot (01-36AM, Oct 18, 2013)Taking this to heart, Celltick changed the way plugins are displayed in Start. Instead of having a big scrollable list of articles and videos stuck in the middle of the screen, plugins are now organized into tabs that are place on the right and left sides of the lockscreen. Users can simply swipe a tab out to view the content, and then throw it back to the side once they’re done. I found this to be much cleaner and functional than having large widget-like things in the middle of the display. Celltick really improved on the functionality of Active Lockscreen, making it more useful and less cluttered at the same time.

Screenshot_2013-10-18-00-21-26In addition to simplifying the plugin scene, Start also offers something that I’m sure many users will be happy about: Facebook and Twitter integration. The lockscreen app comes preloaded with a handful of plugins, and these two social networks made the list. I’m typically not the type of user who wants a ton of widgets, apps, and plugins on my lockscreen, but I can’t emphasize how useful it is to just pull a Twitter plugin out and scroll through my timeline without going into the app itself. The same can be said for Facebook, and Celltick executed both very well. There are no big hoops to jump through, you just log in and authorize Start as you would any other app. Within seconds, I found myself browsing Facebook and Twitter from my lockscreen with ease.

Start simplified the plugin area, but it actually added more to other parts of the lockscreen. But in a good way. One minor issue that I had with Active Lockscreen was the fact that users not only couldn’t display their battery percentage (a feature that’s sadly still missing from the notification bars in quite a few stock ROMs), they were stuck with an Active Lockscreen logo at the top of the display. Start fixes this with an enhanced clock header, and users are even given the option to pick and choose which parts of the header (if any) they want to see. So I can choose to display only the battery percentage if I so choose, without bending over backward to make such a simple change.

Screenshot_2013-10-18-00-50-37Not only can users choose which widgets to show in the header, they can customize the size of each one. If you want a large clock, but a small battery percentage, you can do that. It’s built in, and it’s incredibly convenient. It may seem like a minor detail, but Celltick clearly put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that users have greater customization with Start, and it shows in the little things.

When I reviewed Active Lockscreen back in January, quite a few users told me that they weren’t happy about not being able to change the background in the app. Users were essentially stuck with whatever background a particular theme employed, with no customization. Celltick heard their cries and delivered this feature in Start. Users can now set their own wallpapers, further expanding the customization options within the lockscreen replacement.

Screenshot_2013-10-18-01-38-40One of my main complaints with Active Lockscreen was the limited portfolio of themes to choose from. I’m happy to see that Celltick worked tirelessly with developers and designers to come up with a plethora of new themes for Start. A quick search reveals over 100 themes, although I have a feeling that number may be growing as we speak. This is great news for users who truly want that customization, as Celltick is giving them even more options to make their lockscreen truly unique.

In terms of performance, I couldn’t find any issues with Start. If anything, it’s actually faster and more fluid than its predecessor. Plugins slide in and out without any problems, unlocking and changing volume modes is simple and fluid, and it just works very well overall.

Screenshot_2013-10-18-01-39-17Unfortunately, Start doesn’t get off completely clean. While it is a great app, and it improves exponentially on Active Lockscreen, I managed to find one single gripe that remains untouched. The four app “folders” that can be customized are great, because I can put up to eight custom apps into each one. They give me easy access to my favorite apps right from the lockscreen, and that convenience is surely helpful to many other users as well. However, the biggest complaint I had with Active Lockscreen was that the leftmost folder — the one that’s specified for contacts — was limited to phone calls. Sadly, this persists in Start, as I can only set contacts to directly call. While this is great for users who communicate frequently through calls (they are called smartphones, after all), it would be nice to see Celltick give others the option to add a contact to directly text message instead of call. A large number of users just want to jump into a message to their friend or family member without a lot of hassle, and Start hasn’t addressed that just yet.

In the end, I was very satisfied with Celltick’s latest creation. Active Lockscreen was great, and Start is even better. It manages to simplify the experience even more, without taking away the functionality and usefulness of plugins. It’s clear to me that a lot of thought went into this lockscreen replacement, and I’m impressed with the changes that have been made. With that being said, you can download Start from the Google Play Store for free by clicking the link below.

What we Liked

  • Same simple design, but even less cluttered than before
  • Slide-out plugins are very useful, but they stay out of the way
  • Much larger collection of themes to choose from
  • Facebook and Twitter integration
  • Custom wallpapers
  • Customizable header is a nice touch
  • Performs very well, no lag or issues to report

Room for Improvement

  • That one nagging issue with the contacts folder is the only real bothersome thing that we can find

Download Start from Google Play

The post App Review: Start, from the makers of Active Lockscreen appeared first on AndroidGuys.

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Android World Update # LG G Pad 8.3 unboxing and first impressions

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LG G Pad 8.3 unboxing and first impressions
Oct 18th 2013, 13:54, by Andrew Grush

Back at IFA we had a chance to briefly get our hands on the LG G Pad 8.3, and overall we found ourselves reasonably impressed by what LG had to offer. Of course, you can only learn so much about a tablet in such a brief amount of time. Luckily we now have a review unit of the G Pad on hand and can dive in a bit deeper.

An official review is coming down the pipe-line in the near future, but for now we'll start by taking LG's latest tablet out of the box. As you can see in the video above, the LG G Pad 8.3 is an absolutely gorgeous-looking tablet with a premium aluminum clad back. It also has a large 8.3-inch display, while still being fairly easy to hold with one hand – even if our very own Josh Vergara did note that the tablet is a bit on the hefty side at 338 grams.

The LG G Pad 8.3 also features impressive specs for a smaller-sized tablet, with a Snapdragon 600 CPU, 2GB RAM, an 8.3-inch 1920 x 1200 LCD display, a 4,600 mAh battery, a 5MP main cam and a 1.3MB front cam. In terms of software, the tablet has some pretty cool special features such as 'Q Pair' which allows you to easily sync notifications, memos and alerts from your phone over to the G Pad.

If you think that the G Pad 8.3 might be right up your alley, you can pick up the tablet for $349.99 via Best Buy in the U.S., and it should soon being making its way to select retailers in other markets across the globe.

To learn more about the LG G Pad, be sure to check out our previous coverage. As already mentioned, we'll also be bringing you a full review soon – so stay tuned to Android Authority!

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Android World Update # Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch now shipping

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch now shipping
Oct 18th 2013, 13:58, by Alex Dobie

Kindle Fire HDX

Prices start at $229 with 'special offers,' $244 without

Amazon's next-generation Kindle Fire HDX has launches today, and the 7-inch tablet is available right now from Amazon.com. The new Kindle Firepaks a speedy Snapdragon 800 processor and a 1920x1200-resolution display into a 9mm body weighing 303g, making it highly competitive in terms of specs. And the tablet's pricing is equally so, starting at $299 for 16GB "with special offers" — which means ads on your lock screen. If you want to go ad-free you'll pay $244 for 16GB. Adding $100 to that price gets you either the Verizon or AT&T LTE-capable models; add another $40 for 32GB of storage, or $80 for 64GB.

The tablet is running Amazon's latest Android-based FireOS 3.0 "Mojito" OS, which our own Jerry Hildenbrand found to be fast and responsive in his recent hands-on feature. Obviously this means you'll be tied into Amazon's content ecosystem, as opposed to Google Play — though presumably that's why you're looking at an Amazon tablet to begin with.

For more on the Kindle Fire HDX, check out our hands-on preview. If you're looking to pick one up, you'll find a link down below. Next stop for the 7-inch HDX is the UK on Nov. 13, then Canada on Nov. 26.

Buy: Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch on Amazon.com


    






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Android World Update # Samsung Galaxy Gear review

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Samsung Galaxy Gear review
Oct 18th 2013, 13:27, by Andrew Martonik

Samsung Galaxy Gear

Is the Galaxy Gear leading a wearable device revolution, or does it need more time to develop?

The concept of wearable technology is nothing new. High-tech GPS watches, clip-on health monitors and connected glasses have been around for niche uses for years, but a recently-renewed discussion of these devices as general consumer products has manufacturers rethinking their mobile strategies. It can be argued whether or not the connected smartwatch is something that consumers truly want, but Samsung is getting into the game anyway with its first entry, the Galaxy Gear.

Launched alongside the Galaxy Note 3, the much-rumored Galaxy Gear made its first public appearance at IFA 2013 as a headline product for the Korean electronics behemoth. With a surprisingly nice design and build quality, initial impressions of the Gear were positive across the board. Anyone who put their hands on the Gear had good things to say about it, but the reality of what the device was going to cost and be capable of quickly tempered those feelings.

A $299 accessory that only does a few things, handles just a subset of those functions well, and requires a constant connection to your phone for any of it to work seems like a tough sell. Is Samsung just jumping the gun in order to be part of the recently-renewed conversation about wearable devices, or is the Galaxy Gear something that a general consumer will actually want? Read along and find out in our all-encompassing review of the Samsung Galaxy Gear.

read more


    






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Android World Update # Android Community

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Samsung L500 for Virgin Mobile outed by FCC filing
Oct 18th 2013, 13:35, by Robert Nelson

We have yet to see anything official from Virgin Mobile, however it looks like they will soon be adding another Samsung handset to the lineup. This latest is the Samsung L500 and while the specs remain a mystery for the most part, the handset has been spotted with the FCC. This particular filing has the basics, as well as some additional goodies including images and a user manual.

svm-fcc-01-540

We grabbed a few images of the handset, which can be seen here in the post. The Samsung L500 looks to be more of a basic device, but that could be a good thing given it is heading to Virgin Mobile. Basically, that seems to imply the carrier will be launching another reasonably priced handset — which for some, could be a plus. The users manual clearly has the Virgin Mobile branding, but otherwise, contains just the basics.

This is the item that we suspect many ignore when found in the box. Nonetheless, we skimmed the manual and were greeted with mention of a front and rear-facing camera and microSD card slot. The handset will have access to the Play Store and it will also have the Samsung Apps store as well. Otherwise, there was mention of WiFi and Bluetooth, but again, no specifics.

svm-fcc-02-540

Looking at the images and we are seeing a device that, well, looks like your typical Galaxy branded handset. Given this filing has been discovered, it seems Virgin Mobile will likely be offering something official sooner rather than later. Aside from this Samsung phone, the carrier has recently added the ZTE Supreme and ZTE Awe as well as the water-friendly Reef.

VIA: phoneScoop

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Android World Update # Sony’s new wireless charging technology could give your phone a full battery in less than an hour

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Sony's new wireless charging technology could give your phone a full battery in less than an hour
Oct 18th 2013, 13:32, by Kevin Krause

wireless-charging

Wireless charging has yet to reach its prime. This is partly because the technology isn’t widespread enough, but it also has something to do with the slow charging times often associated with the standard. Sony is hoping to change that with a new take on the idea that could mean a full charge for your smartphone in less than an hour.

The company has based their latest advancement on the most recent Qi protocols, so it theoretically should operate using the same (or similar) equipment to what is already available. While it won’t be a completely new method or standard, it will transfer power at a rate of 10 to 15 watts, which is quite the boost from what is currently available.

Unfortunately the new method is still in the development phases. We won’t be seeing it in a smartphone until at least the second half of 2014. Still, it’s one more reason we hope Sony eventually makes a bigger push in markets outside of Japan and Europe.

[via Engadget]

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