app picks for April 17, 2011

Beautiful Widgets

Since we’re doing widgets this week, I feel like I should highlight the widgets I use more than any other: Beautiful Widgets is a collection of widgets that provide very useful actions for your Android device. With the app you get a bunch of toggle widgets including WiFi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, GPS, Vibrate, Silent, 4G and Rotate. In addition, there is a gorgeous weather and time widget that will display the current conditions wherever you happen to be. This was one of the first apps I installed on my device and one that I recommend to new users almost immediately. It costs $2.88 from the Android Market, but it is worth every penny. Very recently the developers added support for Honeycomb (currently in beta), so check it out if you have a Xoom. [Market Link]

Taskos

On its surface, Taskos looks like a simple To-Do list app, but it has a couple of featuresthat I really enjoy. The first, to follow the theme for this week, is the widget. Other apps (like Wunderlist) might have a slicker looking UI, but they don't have a widget option, and I like being able to just swipe right on my home screen and glance and what I have to do. More importantly, the widget lets me add new tasks without having to launch the application, which is really nice if I want to add something short. Secondly, Taskos will sync automatically with Google Tasks but this is a common enough feature. As petty as it sounds, the reason I use this app over the others is that it allows me to "swipe" right to mark a task complete, which is a neat little UI tweak. Available for Free in the Android Market. [Market Link]

Circle Battery Widget

Android's battery meters are at times deceiving, and not always accurate to the actual remaining battery life of the device. Personally I don't enjoy to clutter my notification bar with an extra battery meter to show the percentages, but circle battery widget was the perfect solution for me. With various sizes, and the ability to change the color of the widget it allows for use with nearly any screen set up and wallpaper preference. The market has a free, as well as a paid version, so if you enjoy to know your battery percentage, and love the novelty of widgets, be sure to check this out! [Market Link]

Calendar Pad

Calendar Pad is a great widget that allows you more detail about your upcoming calendar events than the stock widget. You can get the widget in various sizes and, most importantly, can choose if you want a day, week, or monthly view. I love using the full-screen 4x4 size widget in week view because you can quickly see what you have upcoming without having to launch the calendar app. Calendar Pad is incredibly easy to use if you are already using Google Calendar as it pulls information in without you having to do any manual imports. If you are someone who needs to keep track of multiple appointments or events Calendar Pad will help you keep organized (and on time). Free and paid versions are available with the Pro version offering added customization.[Market Link]

Claystone launcher for Android mixes 3D interface, media bar

A new home screen replacement for Android is starting to make the rounds. It’s called Claystone and it features a 3D user interface with integrated apps for viewing photos, videos, files and other content. You can download the latest beta from the xda-developers forum.

The main screen features a window with  series of shortcuts for launching apps, viewing running or recent apps, or browsing for media, email or news. Claystone also includes its own contact manager and photo and video viewers.

There are two features that make the app really interesting. First, when you open a new window such as the app launcher or contact list, you can flip between the home screen and the secondary window by swiping left or right. There are slick 3D transitions when you slide between windows.

The other interesting component is the media bar above the launcher window which shows photos, local videos, YouTube videos, or home screen widgets. You can click on these thumbnails to make them larger and then flick left or right to move between the widgets.

Claystone is still a work in progress and there are a few things about the app that are still rather awkward. While you can add home screen widgets to the media bar at the top of the screen, it seems you can only choose one widget per window. The bigger problem is that you only see a tiny thumbnail icon for each widget before clicking on it — which kind of defeats the purpose of widgets that are supposed to let you see weather, news, or other information at a glance.

It also takes a little while to launch some of the apps such as the contact list or media browsers. But that’s why the developers have launched a public beta rather than a full build. Claystone’s not yet available in the Android Market, but if you’re interested in checking out the beta, the developers are still looking for feedback.

Is the Walkman set for a comeback with Android?

The Sony Walkman was a big success when it first came out over 3 decades ago, starting it’s life as a portable casette player, moving with the times introducing a CD-capable player, and then in more recent years integrating it’s ideas into Sony Ericsson mobile phones. However with the rapid pace at which smartphones are becoming the “standard” mobile phone, the needs of the integrated Walkman phones are becoming obsolete very quickly.

In an effort to revive the decreasing platform, Sony Ericsson are said to be working on an Android Walkman phone – the W15, which according to GSM Arena, is based on the existing Mini Xperia X8 with a 3-inch 480×320 resolution screen, a reasonable 600MHz clock speed processor and a 3.2MP rear camera.

It is expected to launch within the next 2 months and also have support for lossless audio through a specialised audio chip and a heavily customised interface on the device itself.

SKYPE REPLIES TO ANDROID VULNERABILITIES

Yesterday, we reported that bloggers had found a vulnerability in the Skype App which allows hackers to harvest data from a user’s Android handset with no need to root a phone or gain special permission. The problem was discovered during the testing of a leaked version of Skype for Android’s new Video App. But it didn’t take long to notice that the flaw was carried over from the already released Skype for Android App that’s currently in the Market. Skype has responded to the news in their security blog, admitting that the flaw exists and they’re working hard to fix it. But what can a user do to protect themselves in the meantime?