widget

Review: Deck out your phone with Beautiful Widgets Free

Beautiful Widgets Free has stunning, useful widgets that all conform to a sleek theme. However, the app locks most of its useful settings and options behind a paywall. It's not too expensive, but you might prefer a free alternative.

The free app lets you preview slimmed-down versions of the app's 12 different widgets. These include weather, battery life, and other settings displays. They certainly live up to the beautiful name, but most of the options to adjust them to fit your phone require a $3 upgrade. If you don't pay up, you can't do much outside … Read more

Temperature Monitor Widget for Mac 2.97 Review

It is important to make sure your computer is maintained well and running at an optimal temperature. Temperature Monitor Widget for Mac helps you avoid letting your computer overheat by reading out all accessible temperature sensors. It is a rather easy-to-use and non-intrusive widget that runs in the background.

Temperature Monitor Widget for Mac comes in a 200KB installer and adds the widget to the dashboard. It will default to displaying the temperature of your CPU, but you have the option to change which components it monitors. The app is very non-intrusive and you'll most likely forget it's … Read more

Next Task Manager Widget 1.0.1 Review

If you think "Noonien Soong" when someone says "Android doc," you might be a Trekkie (and fiercely proud of it). But if you hear "Android dock" instead, maybe you're thinking of Next Launcher, an Android-based app dock and launcher. If you use Next Launcher, you'll certainly want to take a look at Next Task Manager Widget, a free 3D plug-in for Next Launcher from GO Launch Team. We tried Next Launcher with and without Next Task Manager Widget installed, and the plug-in definitely improved the docking app's 3D performance. Though Next … Read more

Winstagram - Instagram Widget 3.3 Review

Instagram users may be searching for a more efficient way to use the app from their home screens. Winstagram - Instagram Widget claims to make viewing your favorite photos easier, but its operational failures make it difficult to use.

Winstagram - Instagram Widget comes at no cost. The download from the Google Play store completed quickly, but installation took longer than expected. It is not clear from the application if technical support is available, and there were no user instructions available, either. Upon startup, the application returned multiple errors, but after several tries it eventually opened. The main screen was … Read more

Simple Sticky Note Widget Plus 1.1 Review

When it comes to widgets featured on a home screen, most mobile users select certain data that they wish to view on a regular basis such as weather conditions or incoming mail. The only logical tool you may additionally need is the ability to leave a note. Simple Sticky Note Widget Plus does this for you. For $0.99 this app enables you to quickly and easily create sticky notes on the home screen of your mobile device.

Being a pretty light application, Simple Sticky Note Widget Plus loads almost instantly and requires no special permissions. The creation of a … Read more

Gold/Silver Spot Price Widget 1.0 Review

Though gold may not fluctuate as much as the dollar, it's nice to keep track of how prices are doing. Gold/Silver Spot Price Widget delivers updates right to your home screen for both gold, platinum, and silver. It doesn't let you customize much about its appearance, but the prices are updated often and prove to be pretty accurate.

Gold/Silver Spot Price Widget features a simple, 2X2 whiteboard with the prices for gold, silver, and platinum. The price appears to be price per ounce, but it doesn't tell you how it's measuring the price or … Read more

Monitor your device's battery at all times with Battery Widget

Not every smartphone has detailed battery information at your fingertips. Battery Widget puts a simple but detailed battery indicator anywhere on your home screen. It's simple and elegant, but not as customizable as other battery widgets in the Play store. It's still worth trying out, though.

Though the app prides itself on its cool widget, it features detailed battery information for you to use, too. Since the app is 1X1, it can be placed anywhere on your phone's home screen. It would be nice if there were a bigger version to use, with a few more statistics. … Read more

Shipoopi adds any app to your lock screen on Android 4.2

With lock screen widgets having been introduced in Android 4.2, developers have been looking for ways to take advantage of the new feature in creative ways. Earlier this week a developer e-mailed me with an introduction to his app, Shipoopi, which allows Android users to add a shortcut to any app to the lock screen of a device.

Admittedly, the name of his app, Shipoopi, has nothing to do with what the app actual does, according to Jonathan Dharmaraj, the developer. The simple app, with a name inspired by a "Family Guy" episode (where Peter sings the … Read more

Access the Internet with PPP Widget

If the only option for accessing the Internet on your Android tablet is through a Wi-Fi connection, you may desire to connect to the Internet by using your phone. PPP Widget may be the solution you are looking for. It does need root access and some extra tuning for certain devices, as it may become buggy.

Those who are new to Android may find the setup challenging. Many settings are needed to set the link up, and one missed step will cause a lost connection. However, there is not a whole lot to complain about with PPP Widget's layout, … Read more

Six features you don't want to miss in Android 4.2

Android 4.2 is full of new features, some are fairly minor, such as the Settings shortcut in the notification bar. Other features, such an improved photo editing process, are bound to have a bigger impact on the overall user experience.

Here are five new features you can find in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, with the sixth item being a workaround should you decide against lock-screen widgets.

Developer Options Developer Options is an important settings menu for developers and those who like to fiddle with their Android device. For whatever reason in Android 4.2, Google hid the Developer … Read more