16
May
2012-05-16_22h30_44

Chameleon: The New Kickstarter Project That Could Revolutionize Tablet Homescreens

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

It's not every day that I get excited when I look at a UI demo, largely because they tend to end up being vaporware. But it's hard to ignore a revolutionary UI when one comes along - and that's exactly what Chameleon is:

Still not sold? Check out this demo video from 2 months ago, when Chameleon was first announced:

It's certainly a stunning UI, and one that manages the rare feat of being equal parts beautiful and functional. But there's a catch: the company initially intended to sell Chameleon to OEMs, but it seems they couldn't find a buyer - so they're taking to Kickstarter.

16
May
Optimus UI 3-4[20120516094957574]

LG Officially Announces Optimus UI 3.0, Claims It's 'Unobtrusive And Simple'

Posted by in LG, News

LG just officially announced version 3.0 of its custom interface, which it is now calling 'Optimus UI'. The updated skin aims to be "unobtrusive and simple" according the LG, as well as bring a handful of new features to LG's handsets:

  • The ability to unlock the phone by dragging anywhere on the screen
  • A new Pattern Lock that allows users to preset the most frequently used function, such as the camera, which automatically opens once the phone is unlocked
  • A simpler version of Optimus UI 3.0 for new smartphone users which organizes the main applications so that they are the easiest to access
  • A new Voice Shutter that allows users to capture photos using only voice commands
  • A special camera feature that enables users to pick up the best shot among multiple images including the moment just before the shutter button is depressed
  • An Icon Customizer that provides an additional level of personalization by allowing users to set their own photos as icons and shortcut images
  • The addition of a Download category to the menu for easier organization

Optimus UI 3-1[20120516094957552] Optimus UI 3-2[20120516094957565]

Hey, look!

04
Apr
FB

[Updated: v2] Redditor Creates Mock-Up Of Facebook For ICS, We Can Only Drool

Posted by in Applications, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Off-Topic

Facebook’s current Android app has become the subject of much hatred from the Android community – for one thing, it rarely works properly (if at all); for another, its looks have become quite stale. Sadly, we still haven’t seen any plans for future improvements, so Redditor monkfishbandana took it upon himself to come up with a mock-up of how he believes Facebook for Android should look, especially with a beautiful OS like Ice Cream Sandwich.

Update: The mocks were updated to v2 - you can view them here (via Reddit). The original mocks are preserved below.

Facebook developers, take note:

FB mock-up 1 FB mock-up 2 FB mock-up 3 

FB mock-up 4 FB mock-up 5 FB mock-up 6 

FB mock-up 7 FB mock-up 8 FB mock-up 9

Though there are countless improvements over the real Facebook app, a few key features have been excluded for various reasons:

  • The ‘Timeline’ lacks location and ‘studying at’ icons
  • ‘Request’ notifications have been dropped from the action bar and added to the Friends section
  • The ‘Create Event’ and ‘Create Message’ buttons are missing

Still, it’s a pretty impressive first try, especially considering that monkfishbandana claims he’s only spent a few days on it.

02
Apr
unnamed

OfficeSuite Pro 5 On Sale In The Google Play Store For A Mere $2.99 (Down From $15)

Posted by in Applications, Deals, News

Sure, you can use Google Docs on your phone or tablet for free, but what if you crave something a little more robust than Google's web-based offering? You would usually have to drop some serious cash on a full office suite in the Play Store, but today you can get a great deal on OfficeSuite Pro 5 which is on sale for just $2.99 through April 4th, a huge discount over its normal $15 price.

OfficeSuite Pro 5 comes with all the features you would expect from a full mobile office suite. For starters, it can edit and create Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

23
Mar
image

Why The Play Store's Mobile Interface Is A Mess, And Some Much Prettier Suggestions To Fix It

Posted by in Android OS, Off-Topic
Last Updated: March 24th, 2012

It's no secret – the mobile interface for Google's Play Store could use some help. A recent comment thread on Reddit points to the fact that many users feel that the Play Store's interface is just a mess. Others suggest that its level of finesse just doesn't jive with Google's overall habits of design. While Google's recent "toolbar" overhaul resulted in a pleasing, easy-to-use interface which successfully unified navigation between all of the search giant's services, the Play Store (at least on phones and tablets) is messy, jumbled, and just feels disorganized. If you haven't examined the mobile interface in a while, let's take a look:

shot_Mar_22_2012_7 Screenshot_2012-03-23-00-00-30

What's Wrong

There are a number of issues that immediately jump out to me when looking at this interface.

15
Mar
unnamed

GO Launcher HD Hits The Play Store, Bringing GO Goodness To Tablets Running 3.0 And Above

Posted by in Applications, News

The team behind the awesome GO suite of apps have brought the functionality and style of GO Launcher to Android-powered tablets everywhere today (as long as they're running 3.0+), bringing GO Launcher HD out of beta. You may remember our beta coverage earlier this month, in which we got a sneak peak at GO's tablet launcher, and it looks like little has changed. For a launcher that aims to be minimally intrusive yet offer a ton of functionality, however, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Screenshot_2012-03-15-22-39-13 Screenshot_2012-03-15-22-39-23 Screenshot_2012-03-15-22-39-40

With GO Launcher HD, users can utilize the dock bar characteristic of ICS' phone interface, adding and rearranging up to 10 shortcuts.

11
Mar
unnamed (1)

Reddit Is Fun Updated To Version 2.0, Bringing Tablet Interface, Full-Featured Inbox, And More

Posted by in Applications, News

In a post to Reddit earlier this evening, TalkLittle, the mind behind Reddit is Fun, announced that the acclaimed Reddit app has been updated to version 2.0. Perhaps the most notable enhancement to the app is official tablet optimization, bringing dual-pane, action-bar sporting goodness to your Android tablet. Other changes include widget enhancements, a fully featured inbox interface, search functionality, saved posts, comment navigation buttons, and more. Here's the full list of improvements:

  1. Tablet optimization (PRO)
  2. Widget shows different color for visited links (PRO)
  3. Store saved drafts for replies and messages (PRO)
  4. ActionBarSherlock 3.5.1
  5. Search
  6. Saved posts
  7. Improved subreddit management and filtering
  8. Comment navigation buttons
  9. Fully featured inbox
  10. Fixed mail notifications
  11. Added many features for user profiles
  12. Got rid of many dialogs

Users may notice that RIF's tablet interface, improved widget, and draft-saving functionality are marked "PRO." These features are only available to users who purchase Reddit is Fun Golden Platinum, which comes in at a reasonable $1.99.

23
Feb
astridtiny

Crowd Favorite To-Do List Astrid Gets A Big Update: Interface Overhaul, Tablet UI, Subtasks And More

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

Astrid has been one of the most popular To-Do list apps for Android for years. Today it's getting a facelift and a few extra features. Most notably, Astrid now has a spiffy tablet UI. Making use of the Fragments API, Astrid lays out your Lists panel, your individual tasks, and details on each individual task for easy access. Like so:

astrid tablet

Simple, straightforward, and easy. The new UI is being added to more than just tablets, though. It looks like Astrid has paid attention to Google's style guide. The new UI for phones is as slick as Ice Cream Sandwich itself.

16
Feb
unnamed (5)

Bump Gets Updated To "Totally New" Version 3.0, Includes New Design, Mutual Friends, And More

Posted by in Applications, News

Bump, a wildly popular wireless transfer app for Android and iOS, got an update to version 3.0 today, bringing several enhancements to the table. Perhaps the most notable among these is the completely redesigned interface, which Bump Technologies Inc. describes as both simple and beautiful. The UI appears to have been updated to a more ICS-cohesive design, bringing a tabbed interface and "action overflow" button to enhance functionality.

Besides the new UI, Bump has made contact transfer touch-free, enabled the transfer of "as many photos as you want" in one bump, and added an interesting feature that allows users to discover mutual friends by scanning through both parties' phonebooks.

08
Jan
ics

[Weekend Poll] Ice Cream Sandwich Takes Android To A Whole New Level Of Usability And Polish - But Is It Good Enough For Your Parents To Use? [Fixed]

Posted by in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Polls

Update: I had the wrong poll displayed for about an hour after posting. Sorry everyone - correct poll is live!

Let's face it: when Android first officially dropped, it was ugly as hell and not exactly designed with non-techies in mind. But as we've seen in the past 3 years (and a few months) since then, things have come a long way (albeit gradually at first) - the look, feel, and usability of vanilla Android became a major focus in the last year or so, especially with Gingerbread (2.3), Honeycomb(3.0), and Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0).

cupcake ics

Left: Cupcake (1.5). Right: Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0)

Again, while it just plain looks a lot nicer now, things are much deeper than what can be shown in a screenshot.

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