How do you use your Android tablet? How are your screens set out? Is it just a bunch of apps ? This article is supposed to be in the vein of my Thinkpad Tablet review, a βhow it works for meβ rather than any sort of technical discussion. ( And youβll note that I havenβt even mentioned iOS, I didnβt want this to turn into a βreligious debateβ π ) Read on after the jumpβ¦β¦β¦
If you read reviews about Android devices, itβs all about single applications like the newest People contacts manager or the new Browser, it really doesnβt give you any sort of real life usage or what can be done with third-party apps. Thatβs hopefully the purpose of this article π For me the most useful feature of Android is the ability to display information from apps with widgets.
Note if you click on the pictures youβll get bigger images.
I guess this is how many users have their Android devices, just a screen of apps. Β On my device Iβm running ADW Launcher ExΒ which allows me to do things likeΒ set the number of screens, set the number of columns and rows on the screen in both portrait and landscape, and various other tweeks. Β These items could also be shortcuts or folders. The bottom tray allows me to put my most used applications down there, and the tray isΒ persistentΒ across all screens, though there are settings to autohide it or hide it by gesture. This is only one of a multitude of third party launchers available for Android. In the bottom left is a widget. Β The one shown above is the Australia TV Droid, which shows each Australian TV Channel, whatβs on, and whatβs on next. Β I can actually swipe it and βcarouselβ through the rest of the channels, and if I press on the widget it will open the full program. All pretty cool as I donβt have to actually open the full app to see whatβs on .
The above screen is what makes my tablet a useful day by day tool both for work and personal. Β Itβs basically a dashboard of all my βimportantβ information at one single glance. Itβs intention is to turn my unorganised life ( just ask my wife π ) into a more organised life.
Using widgets, Iβve got instant access to:
- Current Australian Weather from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
- My primary GMail inbox
- My Calender from my work Exchange Account
- My current Juice Defender status (a battery power saver that does things like schedules WiFi/3G every 15 minutes to check for activity rather than having it on all the time)
- My work Exchange inbox
- An Airplane mode toggle
- A WiFi mode toggle
- Two Astrid Task widgets, one for my personal to-dos and one for my work ones.
Clicking on the widgets will open the full app, and of course I Β still have access to my most used apps in the drawer.
Because of the high level of customisation available in Android, I doubt youβll find any 2 Android users who have exactly the same home screens. Β Itβs exactly why I love my Android tablet, the ability to customise and the use of widgets. I can easily add more widgets, apps, or shortcuts to the screen or resize or remove any of them. I can also have multiple screens of maybe a work-related one and a personal one. If I donβt like the way the launcher works, I can even change that.
So whatβs on your Android screens? Work or personal? Β What are your favourite widgets and applications?
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Thanks Ian for a good series on this tablet.Even though it’s now oldish I have just purchased one to play with – the addition of the Pen is a major factor.Enjoyed your ideas,views & useage about it.
Thanks Geoff. Yes it’s oldish I mean it was released in August last year, so it’s a WHOLE year old and I’m pretty sure end of life now π But for me it still has functions that even the new generation tablets don’t have in an active pen, full size USB and full size SD slot.