Android Customization, Photo and System Utility Apps

Home screen, icons and launchers

• Home screen basics. A video showed how to customize the home screen. On ICS or CyanogenMod, which usually used ADW Launcher, dragging one icon onto another groups them into a folder without creating one first. Circle Launcher and Wave Launcher were suggested for other folder styles.
• G-NeXicons. An icon set by a developer on XDA. It works inside custom ROMs or with launchers that support custom icons, such as Nova Launcher, Launcher Pro and Go Launcher. The collection was incomplete and requests were accepted.
• Calendar GOWidget. A widget from the GO Launcher EX store that works with the stock Calendar app. It lets you add events, refresh, list upcoming events and flip pages like a paper calendar. GO Launcher EX was praised for its looks, folders, customizable app drawer with an App Killer, and widgets.
• Floating apps. Samsung teased pop-up play for truer multitasking. A developer library called StandOut already let apps float in windows, and a floating calculator existed.
• Wallpapers. A hand-picked set of Android-themed wallpapers was shared.

Replacing stock apps

After flashing CyanogenMod 7 (Android 2.3.4) on a Rogers Samsung Captivate, the writer found the clock and calculator lacked a stopwatch, timer and scientific mode that the earlier TouchWiz 2.2.1 build had. Two free apps fixed that: StopWatch & Timer and RealCalc Scientific Calculator. Both do the job with a simple interface and no extras.

Sounds and ringtones

• A shared folder offered custom ringtone and notification sounds so a phone does not sound like everyone else’s. Contents included the droid alert, a famous line from a children’s book read by a well-known actor, and spoken words such as Gmail, Voicemail, Text message and Hotmail, plus a Doctor Who theme.
• The spoken-word sounds are in AMR format and may not play on every phone. Place them in the media, audio, notifications folder.
• Cyclic Ringtone. On ICS 4.0 and later, a custom clip plays only once. This app loops the clip until the call is answered, which helps short ringtones.
• St. Patrick’s Day. A seasonal roundup suggested Irish-themed apps: learn Irish, slang, cards, clocks, live wallpapers (Shamrock, Lucky Clover, Green Beer), Zedge for ringtones, an Irish soundboard, games such as Drunk Leprechaun and Bubble Blast, a Go SMS Pro theme, recipes, limericks and the photo effect app Deco Beer.

Android Device Manager

Google’s tool for lost phones was announced for Android 2.2 and later, with a Google account sign-in and a companion app. Features, in order of release:

1. Locate the phone on a map.
2. Ring it at maximum volume, even in silent mode.
3. Wipe it remotely.
4. Later: lock it and set a new password. This only works if you enable Allow remote lock and factory reset under Android Device Manager in the Google Settings app.

It was compared to Apple’s Find my iPhone.

Photo editing

• TouchRetouch. Uses a content-aware method to remove unwanted bits from a photo. You highlight the area using a zoomed preview mask. Results depend on how complex the picture is, and complex edits are better done in small steps. The paid version cost $1.00 at the time and added better tools.
• Aviary plugin. An editing plugin, not a standalone app, reached through Edit or Send to in the gallery. It was useful where no editor is built in, and some apps such as Minus used it.
• Aviary standalone. A later update made Aviary its own polished app with a scrolling gallery, an editable tool bar and meme editing. It still worked as an editor for the ICS gallery.

Other utilities

• Play Books Night Light. A feature that gradually filters blue light and replaces it with warm amber light as the sun sets, rolling out gradually by app update.
• Layar 3.0. The augmented reality browser added 3D objects placed by coordinates, using OpenGL, the accelerometer, GPS and compass. It added unlimited POI types, checkbox list filters, user authentication, auto-triggered actions, local layers and a flexible radius. It supported Android 1.5 and 1.6, with 2.0 soon.
• Class Buddy. A student planner for terms, courses, assignments, exams, reminders and tasks, with a clean interface and automatic GPA from scores and weights. The Pro version cost $1.54 and the Lite version lacked key features.
• Sinjimoru dock. A stand with a separate locking cable that works with any phone with a Micro USB port at the bottom, with a case on, and holds the phone in landscape. Charging is not possible in landscape when the port is on the bottom. It cost about $22 from eBay and was used with a Galaxy S II, S II LTE and Galaxy Nexus.
• Non-Canadian APKs. The site kept a shared folder of free apps not available in Canada, to be installed by side loading, tracked by a spreadsheet. Paid apps were excluded.