mClock is a good clock widget for your android device from the developer Marooned Software with a lot of features and settings. Features: -Ability to store settings in xml format -Ability to preview -Visual effects (shadow, glow ...) -Many sizes of widgets
WeatherPro Premium - awesome weather widget for android. Install the application on your smartphone and get the most accurate information about the weather conditions in the requested location anytime and anywhere. Excellent interface, beautiful pictures, excellent data accuracy.
The Battery Pro for Android by Mobix development. Download, install and get customized widgets in HD quality with a stylish battery indicator on your smartphone. The application is quite optimized and uses very little battery. With The Battery Pro you get a battery rating
Animated Parrots Alarm Clock - funny animated clock/alarm clock widget for your android device from the developer Androvalley. It is possible to select the type of clock (two options), as well as the choice of the method of awakening: sound - "hit-fire", mathematical - p
Weather ACE Clock Widget Pack - a whole set of clock widgets for the Weather ACE app version 1.7.5. The application contains: - 4x2 widgets - 6 pieces (horizontally resizable) - 4x1 widgets - 2 pieces (horizontally resized too) - 6 lock screen widgets - customizable
Goatrip Weather Widget is a good and very attractive weather widget for your android device from Galaxy Note II firmware from Goatrip developer. From the possibilities of displaying information on the screen of your phone, the widget provides: clock, date, city and temperature.
Weather Widgets - 18 widgets in 3 different sizes. The weather forecast contains information for 9 days ahead and is divided into 4 periods per day, for more accurate data. The application can automatically find your location and show the weather in the city you are boring.
EZ Weather-Simple&Clean widget is an excellent application for android devices about weather conditions from the developer INFOLIFE LLC. At your disposal hourly and daily detailed forecasts weather (from 24 hours to 7 days). EZ Weather-Simple&Clean widget will display the temperature, soon
Glass clock - stylish widget on an anodroid device made of crystal glass transparent watch. Download and install Glass clock and you will have access to one analog and two digital clocks. In settings you can access display options by changing colors and styles (Digital, Analog, Flip) as well as
In contact with
As you may know, an article was recently published on the site. It was written primarily for new Android users, who find it extremely difficult to understand all the variety of applications in the Google store.
Of course, it is very difficult to choose the top fifty from a million different programs. And definitely right choice not here - someone is used to using some applications, someone else. Yes, everyone's needs are different. Not surprisingly, many readers in the comments to the article suggested compiling the list a little differently, changing it here or another position.
But, as you know, words alone will not help matters. And the most active readers of Android.MR got together to present their version of the TOP of the most interesting and useful programs to your court.
The main problem was that there were not just a lot of such programs, but a lot. Therefore, it was decided to confine ourselves to a specific topic - the "arrangement" of a newly purchased phone. It will be not only about customizing the interface, but also about replacing standard programs: an alarm clock, pre-installed players, a browser, a keyboard, and many others.
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Widgets
Date Widget
Android customization is a purely individual process, someone likes the working interface as rich as possible in terms of colors, animations and effects, someone prefers calm minimalism, but users agree on one thing - the presence of more or less significant functionality. This is what the simple and stylish Date Widget has.
This widget is presented in two color variations, size 2x1. By tapping on a date, the default calendar is called (“out of the box” - Google Calendar). If you are looking for a minimalistic date widget that is free, free of viruses and ads, then Date Widget can be a great option.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
HD Widgets
With this application, any inclusion of the smartphone begins. The application allows you to create widgets of different functionality - (time, weather, switches) and offers a huge number of options for their design. The widget can be placed both on the main screen of the device and on the lock screen.
The cost of the application is 60 rubles.
Alexey aka mir6376
Fancy Widgets
Along with HD Widgets and Beautiful Widgets, Fancy Widgets is one of the most popular widget sets in all of Google Play.
- The main features of this set:
- Support for weather forecast for several days ahead.
- Weather provider selection, both manual and automatic city selection.
- Displaying additional information on widgets (such as battery charge, etc.)
- Sunrise and sunset time calculation, moon phase display
- Extensive customization options
Pavel aka TimeS
piBalance - balance control
A simple, user-friendly widget for displaying balance. Minimum settings and additional functions, but appearance, unlike analogues, fits perfectly into the standard Android interface. Also, instead of the balance, you can monitor the number of bonuses, the amount of debt, the Internet limit, sms, etc.
Immediately and without settings, it works with operators:
- Russia - MTS, Megafon, SCS, UTEL, Motiv, NSS, Baikal, Smarts, BaikalWestCom, Rostelecom
- Ukraine — Kyivstar (contract), Life:), Intertelecom
- Belarus - MTS
- Latvia - BITE
- Kyrgyzstan - Megacom (Megakom), Beeline (Beeline)
- Turkmenistan - CELL, MTS
- Kazakhstan - Tele2 (Tele2).
Does not work with Russian Beeline and Ukrainian MTS.
Alexander aka Dzot
Yandex Weather
The application is quite simple. Beautifully and minimalistically designed. Contains two screens, weather "for today" and "for a week".
"Yandex Weather" includes two widgets. The first occupies two cells on the screen, the second occupies a whole line. When you install the widget on the screen, a settings window opens, where you can select the region, refresh rate and configure some appearance parameters.
Denis aka Denis B
Minimal Text
The set includes several types of widgets: clock widgets, weather widgets, battery charge widgets. For my taste, all widgets look just great. And, most importantly, the possibility of detailed customization allows them to fit perfectly into the interface of any launcher or shell.
Any widget can be customized to your taste, changing not only its appearance, but also its content. In fact, we have a real designer that allows you to create unique widgets to your taste. It is very easy to deal with all the settings - almost all options contain not only short description, but also extended tooltips.
Minimalistic Text - Really unique set widgets. As simple as possible on the outside, they hide a huge number of possibilities inside. It all depends on your desire - you can use them "as is", or you can create any number of your own based on existing widgets.
Pavel aka TimeS
Battery Widget
A simple, minimalistic battery charge and temperature indicator widget that, when clicked, displays battery usage statistics.
The color indication changes depending on the remaining percentage of charge and connection to charger. uncomplicated and fast way get to the statistics that are so important for Android device owners.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
Wallpaper
Blur
No, this is not a collection of the greatest hits of the group of the same name. And the application also has nothing to do with MotoBlur. Everything is much simpler here. Blur allows you to create wallpapers for your desktop in a couple of taps. Selected from the images available on the device are processed using a blur effect, and as a result, a decent desktop background in a style somewhat reminiscent of iOS 7 can be obtained.
The disadvantages include only advertising in the free version of the program. The bonus is the addition of the Magic Color function, for this you need to recommend the program to friends through your Facebook account. From myself I will add that monochrome images with large details are processed very successfully.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
tripadvisor
The lock screen background that I suddenly liked and became permanent was found in the TripAdvisor application, the client of the world travel guide site of the same name.
In addition to a high-quality and convenient catalog, the application offers a nice background for the lock screen - photos changing at a specified interval (3,6,12 and 24 hours) beautiful places from all over the world. Approximate installation path: Settings> Display> Wallpaper> Lock screen> Tourist wallpaper.
Under each frame is indicated the locality and the country where it was filmed. Together with a transparent notification panel (SGS IV), it looks very good, does not bother the eye due to the background change, only the application logo in the upper right part of the screen reminds of a third-party source.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
Launchers
Atom Launcher
If you're tired of stock Android (Trebuchet, Holo, Apex, underline as appropriate), but Go, Next and MiHome are disgusting, Atom Launcher is what you need!
Here are the main unique "chips": a widget instead of a search bar, a choice of color for highlighting icons, stretching and scrolling folders.
Widgets - Tired of the search bar? You can choose clock or power management switches, one of 5 options.
Illumination color - don't like that the icons are highlighted in blue? or orange? put any color you like.
Folders - It's annoying to look for applications in folders, but you can't do without them? Expand the folder - the necessary applications are at hand and do not take up much space.
Ivan Sokolov
Yandex.Shell
Once upon a time, when mammoths walked the Earth and had not yet invented the Internet, there was the Windows Mobile platform. She looked terrible, so many manufacturers tried to fix it. This is how launchers appeared. One of the most notable at that time was SPB Shell from a Russian developer. Years passed and Android appeared on the market. SPB Shell was released for him, and then .... Yandex bought SPB Software and released a free version of Yandex Shell. The shell is crammed with services from Yandex, such as: weather, news, photos, search.
The main feature of this shell are widgets that occupy the entire desktop, the so-called "Panels". For people like me who don't like screen clutter, this is a great choice. For example, there is a notes panel where you can sort notes into groups and they will be conveniently always at hand. There is a panel "Calculator", "Poster", "Calendar", which provide detailed information right on the screen, and there is no need to go into the wilds of the program to consider, for example, the tasks planned for the day. Of course, all these panels are also in the form of widgets, but this is not so convenient.
Android 2.3 users can add another plus to the program's piggy bank, since all widgets are stretched on the screen the way you want, like the 4th version of the OS. For those of us who do not have the opportunity to upgrade, this is a very convenient opportunity. Among the additional advantages, one can note a quite convenient “dialer” and the presence of skins for widgets, for example, for the clock widget.
Maxim aka Werwulf
Nova Launcher
Externally, Nova Launcher is very similar to the standard Android 4.x launcher. However, “under the hood” it hides a lot of various settings and “tweaks”. It is during the setup that Nova Launcher shows itself in all its glory. Sometimes there is a feeling that you can configure anything and whatever you want in it.
Arbitrary customization of the desktop grid, many types of various animations, detailed customization of the program menu and dock bar, support for hundreds of different icon sets, widget overlay mode, support for dozens of different gestures - these are just a small part of the possibilities of this launcher.
Pavel aka TimeS
Home Launcher
I think that many of the readers have heard of such a well-known firmware as MIUI. In my opinion, this is one of the most original and at the same time convenient firmware for Android. And according to the work done on the processing of the interface, it can only be compared at all with the early versions of HTC Sense.
However, flashing a phone is not an easy task, and besides, it entails a number of risks and the loss of an official guarantee. Therefore, the developers decided to separately upload a launcher from MIUI on Google Play, which anyone can install on their phone in just two clicks, without flashing and other difficulties.
In my opinion, outwardly MiHome looks quite original and very beautiful. At first glance, you feel something oriental-exotic in it. Juicy, bright colors. Simple but very stylish widgets. Program icons are originally made. An interesting and unusual approach to organizing desktops for Android and the lack of a program menu. Everything is very stylish, albeit somewhat unusual.
Like MIUI itself, MiHome Launcher does not have an application menu as such. All application shortcuts are placed directly on desktops. The program icons themselves are also very interesting. Some of them are redrawn (for example, gmail, music, maps…), for the rest of the icons, a colored background image is used. As a result, they look like small multi-colored tiles.
The launcher has its own widgets and lock screen, gesture support and various 3D transitions. Separately, it is worth noting the wonderful themes for this launcher. There are a huge number of topics, many of them are a real work of art. Any theme is downloaded and installed in just two clicks. At the same time, a quality theme can transform your phone beyond recognition. Everything changes: the wallpaper, the icon set, the screen lock theme, and sometimes even the appearance of the widgets.
Pavel aka TimeS
Lock screens
GO Locker
GO Locker is a great piece of software from the Go Dev Team. With its help, the lock screen can become not only more convenient, but also much more beautiful.
The main plus of GO Locker is a huge number of ready-made themes for every taste. There are both paid and free ones. Installed in just two clicks - simple and convenient. Thus, the program allows you to get a stylish and unique lock screen in one click. Many themes are a real work of art.
Pavel aka TimeS
Widget Locker Lockscreen
The main advantage of the program is the ability to fine-tune everything and everything. If most of the other lock screens are more "sharpened" for the use of ready-made themes, then Widgetlocker Lockscreen is a kind of constructor with a bunch of interesting details.
On the one hand, it takes time and not everyone may be interested. On the other hand, as a result, you will get a unique lock screen that fully meets your requirements and tastes. For example, when adding a slider, you can choose its position, appearance, size, functions, and button icons. Here we add support for almost any widgets, changing their size and position, the ability to overlap each other. Plus, we can change the grid size, select the screen orientation and unlock sound, set other wallpapers and add the desired program icons.
Pavel aka TimeS
Sparky Lock Screen
Sparky Lock Screen is a real sip fresh air for the lock screen of your smartphone. Installed and configured in two clicks, works fast and contains several original themes.
The features of the paid and free versions are the same, only the number of available themes differs. I would like to say special thanks to the developers for not forcing you to buy a pig in a poke - the free version has a special mode that allows you to test all available themes.
All themes are very well done and each of them has its own zest. Additional shortcut icons, quotes famous people, original unlocking methods, unique design - each theme will surprise you with something. It is worth noting that the developers promise to develop it further by adding new themes and features.
Another feature of the program is an interesting “Telepathic Unlock” function. It will allow you to feel like a real Jedi and unlock your phone by simply swiping your hand over the screen. From a practical point of view, such a function is not too necessary, but it looks impressive and will obviously be popular not only with Star Wars fans. True, battery consumption may increase when using it.
Pavel aka TimeS
Keyboards
swype
There was a time when Cell phones keypads gained access to a new input method, letter by letter, instead of selecting each letter from the three or four assigned to the button. Cliff Kuscher, the father of the T9, apparently weighed the prospects of pushbutton and touch keyboards and presented the world with an even more convenient and fast method input - Swype, enter a word without lifting your finger from the screen.
One of the "monsters" among third-party keyboards, Swype is actually a universal solution, regardless of the input method (a continuous stroke for each letter of the word, standard letter input, handwriting or voice input) and device (smartphone or tablet). The input speed is marked by the Guinness Book of Records, the usability has already been appreciated by more than 500,000 users around the world.
Describing the advantages of the program in brief (which is very difficult), it is worth mentioning:
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
smart keyboard
It's no secret that Lately Most of the existing keyboards on Google Play focus on continuous text input, aka swipe. And although this method is really quite good, it is not suitable for everyone. And typing in the usual way on keyboards “sharpened” for swiping is far from always really convenient.
The Smart Keyboard is an example of a "classic" keyboard that focuses on typing comfort rather than various experimental features. In it you will not find any swipe, swipe sentences or other "abstruse" printing methods. But all the standard functions are honed to a very high level. Lots of settings, various keyboard layouts (including 3 and 4 line), gesture support, different skins - what else could you need?
In addition, the program is very well thought out. For example, many keyboards have an additional “.com” button for easy typing of a website address. But how many keyboards allow you to edit the domain assigned to such a button? Smart Keyboard allows. Or, for example, a very convenient feature for smartphones with a small screen would be switching the keyboard to full screen mode. Another very handy “trick” is the ability to move the cursor not only with the cursor on the keyboard, but also with the volume buttons. And such moments in the Smart Keyboard are a wagon and a small cart.
Pavel aka TimeS
SwiftKey Keyboard
A third-party keyboard is not a new phenomenon. Moreover, the choice Play market is huge, but there is a keyboard that I think outperforms the rest. Let's start with the fact that it uses the predictive input method, when the program guesses what and how you will write, and offers it to you. It does this very accurately due to the fact that when you first start it, with your permission, it will go through your messages in SMS, in social networks and mail to compile a dictionary clearly for your writing style, and in the future it will offer you autocorrect based on this data.
There are two methods of running the program: more accurate or faster. The exact method allows you to edit the typed text while typing, while the fast method will have to rely entirely on the program. Personally, I use the exact method. The program guesses the entered word by about 95% and sometimes even guesses the phrase you will write. The keyboard is fully customizable, down to the size of the buttons. IN latest versions Swype input method and voice input appeared (recognition from Google is used).
Maxim aka Werwulf
Calendars
DigiCal+
Convenient and visually pleasing calendar. The main advantage is an informative widget that can be placed on the main page of the launcher. The widget can be configured in the desired view (day, week, month) in a different color palette.
The functionality of the application is simple and clear:
- Presentation of information: month, week, day;
- Events can be synchronized with several accounts at once;
- Quick saving of tasks thanks to the widget.
The cost of the application is 90 rubles. The free version has been reduced in functionality.
Alexey aka mir6376
LED and Notifications
Light flow
Many phones have such a useful thing as led indicator, it is also an indicator of missed calls. It allows you to notice a missed call, an incoming letter, a low battery level in time. Unfortunately, the ability to customize standard means usually minimal. But Light Flow allows much more.
For example, for each of the possible types of notifications, you can set the color of the LED (choose from 18 options or select an arbitrary color), priority (used when setting behavior in sleep mode and while charging), glow duration and notification speed (constant glow, six speed options blinking, the ability to independently set the interval in ms.), etc.
It is worth saying that the program allows you to fine-tune not only the behavior of the LED, but also notifications of other types - sound, vibration, screen on, etc.
But it is important to remember that a lot depends on the phone itself. In particular, the possible number of LED colors, the possibility of its flickering, the maximum time of continuous operation, etc. Therefore, the developers recommend evaluating the program on the free version, and only then think about buying the full version.
Pavel aka TimeS
DynamicNotifications
Motorola's new Moto X has several unique features that set it apart from other smartphones. One such feature is Active Notifications. Since the screen of the novelty is made using AMOLED technology, various notifications can be displayed on the phone screen without much energy consumption. The DynamicNotifications program will make this feature available on any other smartphone.
Among the main features of the program, stable operation, the ability to change the appearance and much more should be noted. There is a possibility to select applications from which notifications will be displayed, and from which not. The program has premium features that can be unlocked by purchasing a key for 64.99 rubles.
Yaroslav aka YaroslavS
Dialers
exDialer
Very convenient dialer + phone book.
Support for various themes, the ability to customize the call list and contact list as it is convenient, a convenient dialer - you can enter both the first letters of the name and the first digits of the number, he himself understands what you want from him. It is possible to use the dialer in landscape mode - it is very convenient when the smartphone is installed in the cradle in the car. It is also possible to press the keyboard to the left or right edge - handy for phablets.
Separately, I want to note the management of gestures. We shift the contact to the right - the subscriber is called; shift to the left - a window for sending SMS to a subscriber opens; By simply clicking on a contact, we view information about calls.
Without this application on a smartphone, I consider life impossible))
The application is free, but after 7 days it will ask you to buy a pro version, it costs 120 rubles. If you do not pay, you can use the application, but the banner will constantly fall out.
Alexey aka mir6376
Working with SMS
Handcent SMS
Very simple, and at the same time functional "SMS-nice". Key features: pop-up windows, interface customization, the ability to install various themes, the ability to password-protect access to SMS, download various language packs.
The most important thing in this program is simplicity, a pleasant and intuitive interface and speed.
Alexey aka mir6376
GO Contacts EX
An alternative to the default dialer and address book from the renowned GO Dev Team.
With many useful features and a thoughtful interface, GO Contacts EX is one of the most popular programs in its category. Here are just a few of its features:
- Quick search by numbers, letters of a name or company.
- Convenient grouping of contacts, quick call function.
- Merge multiple contacts into one.
- Intuitive interface with Drag&group support.
- Backup.
But perhaps the most important plus of this application is the support for a variety of themes and beautiful 3D effects.
Unfortunately, in the latest versions of the program, insufficiently stable operation on some phone models began to appear.
Pavel aka TimeS
GO SMS Pro
Advanced SMS client. It has a large number of different settings, a fairly large list of downloadable design themes (there are both paid and free ones). There are a few basic functions: setting up pop-up windows with the ability to quickly respond, blacklisting, sending SMS on a schedule, huge interface customization options - literally everything can be shoveled.
The program will primarily be of interest to those who like to delve into the settings, fortunately, there are a lot of them in this application. I do not recommend betting on weak devices - you will have to pay for beauty with the resources of your smartphone.
The application is free (according to the manufacturer, it is free for now).
Alexey aka mir6376
galleries
Gallery 3D
Gallery 3D is a modified version of the standard gallery from Android 2.x. For my taste, this is one of the most beautiful galleries for Android.
When viewing an album, photos appear as a long row of tiles. The tilt of the smartphone allows you to look at a row of tiles at an angle, which looks very impressive. Another interesting feature of Gallery 3D is the smart background, which always matches the mood and color scheme of the displayed pictures.
Pavel aka TimeS
QuickPic
I've been using the QuickPic app for quite some time now as a replacement for the preinstalled gallery. At first, it was a necessity, since the standard gallery in the Samsung Galaxy S2 did not satisfy me with the speed of work, over time, phones changed, and this gallery became a habit and wanders from phone to phone.
In addition to the stable and fast work of the photo gallery itself, the application can offer a simple editor in which you can set the photo resolution, crop, rotate and share.
In my opinion, the application has quite a lot of useful features. Of the ones I demanded, this is setting the background color of the gallery and the ability to hide folders. It's no secret that many applications create their own folders with graphic files, which creates a mess in the gallery, in QuickPic this mess is easily avoided.
The developer continues to support and develop the application. Last update dated October 21, 2013. Well, the most important thing in the end. The application is designed in holo style.
Denis aka Denis B
cameras
Camera 2
Camera 2 is an interesting application from the developers of Paper Camera that develops the idea of taking photos with various filters.
The camera allows you not only to choose one of several effects, but also to customize it to your taste. For example, add a bokeh effect to the current filter. The user manually specifies the area "in focus", beyond which the image will be blurry, not clear. Approximately, as in one of the latest releases.
In skillful hands, such effects can really help convey the mood of the moment and allow you to immediately compose a photo with the right filter. Yes, and the result itself can be assessed immediately, and not just hope that later this photo will be able to choose the right effect. The only pity is that there are not so many really worthwhile effects.
Pavel aka TimeS
Lapse It
Often on Android devices The camera software includes basic settings for photo and video shooting. Lapse It pushes the limits of standard features and invites the user to get acquainted with such a kind of shooting as “timelapse” - in a scientific way, time-lapse shooting, in a simple way - slow motion with a frequency less than usual.
The program settings set the interval at which photography will be taken, time limits / number of frames, or the user himself will limit the shooting time, photo resolution (free version - only 240p, paid - up to the maximum supported by the device), desired brightness, including received material. Having set the settings, you can safely set the device to the desired position (preferably, firmly fix it, for example, on a tripod) and, making sure there is free space in the memory, start shooting.
The finished project can be processed in the appropriate editor. Here you can set the desired file format, its frame rate, if you wish, you can trim the project, add music and effects.
At correct installation camera and precisely selected shooting and processing parameters, quite beautiful videos are obtained, which can be appreciated in the application gallery, where users post their creations.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
alarm clocks
Sleep Time
The program from my student days, Sleep Time, fit into my set of applications in a very timely manner. At first glance, this is an ordinary alarm clock. In fact, the developers have gone a little further.
After installing the program, the user gets acquainted with a short comic letter from the developers, which tells about the idea of the program.
Let me give you a free translation: “People used to wake up with the first rays of the sun. And this is ideal, since our internal "clock" was synchronized with daylight. When man invented the alarm clock, our natural rhythms ceased to mean anything and people woke up broken and unrested. To improve your mornings, we will analyze your sleep and find the perfect time to wake up to your natural rhythm. The alarm uses a half-hour wake-up interval. For example, if the time is set to 7:00, the alarm will go off between 6:30 and 7:00, resulting in a rested and full of energy person. Further, the user sets the wake-up time for the first time and receives a hint that the phone should be placed next to him on the bed with the screen down.
During sleep, the program captures the movements of the sleeper through the phone's accelerometer and displays the beginning and end of sleep phases according to a certain algorithm. After the user wakes up, he can see how peacefully he slept, how many times he woke up, sleep efficiency, and so on. The application works well, while using it I don’t remember such cases that I had to make significant efforts to tear my head off the pillow. Undoubtedly, the time allotted for sleep plays a role, but such "smart" alarm clocks may well eliminate the unpleasant symptoms of lack of sleep in the morning.
Ilya Subbotin aka Elir
File managers
solid explorer
Here I want to tell you about the best, in my humble opinion, file manager for Android.
At all this program- that rare combination of beauty, convenience and functionality, which is rarely seen not only among mobile, but also among desktop applications. You can evaluate the appearance in the screenshots. Also, sincerely pleased with the ability to choose an arbitrary color for directories, graphs and everything else, so that the appearance of this file manager can easily be adjusted to the rest of the system.
As for the functionality, it is also on top: support for network file access protocols (FTP, SFTP, SMB, WebDav), cloud storage provided by companies (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, SkyDrive, SugarSync, Ubuntu One, Copy, MediaFire. Yandex Disk can be connected via WebDav), support for archives of various formats, fully customizable file indexing for quick search, disk space analyzer, built-in text editor, an image viewer, a sea of settings and a huge pile of everything else that simply cannot be described within such a short review. Yes, and the file manager itself is a two-pane, as well as Total Commander, whose review you can read somewhere in the neighborhood.
And at the same time, using Solid Explorer is very easy and simple. This program is not for geeks, but for the most “ordinary” users: everything is intuitive and not too tricky, but at the same time, no one takes away advanced features from the first (like file rights management), so those should be satisfied and others.
The program is paid. At the time of this writing, the cost of the key is ~62 rubles, and believe me, it really is worth the money, and it would be worth it even if the price were several times higher. Without a key, the program works without functional restrictions for 2 weeks, so you can try it yourself and evaluate it.
Maxim aka Veliky kuzuzo
Total Commander
The program is the Android version of the file manager Total Commander, familiar to everyone who uses a PC. There is the same 2-pane input, where by simply dragging and dropping files and folders, you can easily and easily perform copying and moving, group selection and operations on files and folders. There is a button for quick synchronization of two panels with a quick button. In portrait mode, the second panel is automatically hidden, and you can switch to it with the arrows in the middle of the side of the screen. There are features of the archiver, audio / video viewer.
Here is a short list possible actions in Total Commander for Android:
- display of hidden and system folders and files;
- operations of creating, deleting, renaming and copying (to the clipboard in particular);
- changing the attributes of files and folders.
Since the program is a complete analogue of Total Commander on PC, it also supports plugins. There are 4 from the developer, and on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum third-party ones are slowly appearing, such as a plug-in for working in Dropbox.
Maxim aka Werwulf
ES Explorer
A convenient explorer that has functions similar to the "My Computer" button in the familiar Windows.
Convenient visualization, the ability to line up icons with tiles or a list. Sorting, searching, "copy-paste", support for working with several folders simultaneously in several windows, transferring files, unzipping ZIP, transferring media files via FTP and other delights of working with the file system.
Alexey aka mir6376
Browsers
tint browser
In general, one of my main requirements for the browser is the presence of a normal tab bar (as on the desktop). What is offered in return, namely the call of the “card file” with scrolling, does not suit me at all - it is usually so long, inconvenient and with a bunch of extra clicks that it turns into a real torment. And when I stumbled upon a browser I didn't know, with good ratings and a tab bar, I immediately decided to give it a try. I will say right away that the implementation of the tab bar is disgusting: when the end of the screen is reached (more than two tabs in my case), they are formed into a compact drop-down menu, which is not so bad, but to keep an additional large panel on the tiny smartphone screen for this ...
However, it is precisely because of this that this program ended up in this article: having become disillusioned with the type of interface with a tab bar, I decided to try the “telephone” one and ... discovered one of the most convenient interface implementations without this very panel. This browser has three types of interfaces: “Tablet” (with a tab bar), “Telephone” - calling tab previews with a separate button, and the one that I will talk about: “Telephone (legacy)”.
When this type of interface is selected, when viewing sites, there are no elements on the screen, except for the designation of active corners (you can see this in the screenshot from the menu), all other elements (address bar, etc.) are called when you click on this area. Hot corners can be on the left, right, or both sides, as you like. There are no strange and randomly called ways to display the interface, like a quick dash of the page down, or even to the very top, gestures, and so on - just tap the screen once.
The bottom panel displays buttons for moving forward / backward, opening and closing tabs, as well as calling bookmarks. At the top there is an address bar and a refresh button. Switching between tabs is implemented using buttons above the top panel, which appear on the left and right only if there are tabs on the corresponding side.
Yes, the interface cannot be called innovative, revolutionary and other words that marketers and some developers love to use so much - and this is its charm: it is simple, understandable, convenient and predictable, and this is exactly what the program interface should be, and not created “for the sake of ideas” or “something new”.
Otherwise, this is another solid browser that works stably (not a single crash or crash for several months), is convenient in everyday use and the ability to use adblock (when installing an additional module). In general, I recommend trying it. The program is completely free.
Maxim aka Veliky kuzuzo
UC Browser
UC Browser is a very original and interesting browser from Chinese developers. Among its main features are the following:
- Two main screens and a directory of sites.
- Flash support
- Own download manager, offline download to the cloud
- Night mode
- Auto fit text to screen width
- A special viewing mode in which the site is automatically formatted in such a way as to fit perfectly under the smartphone screen.
- Data saving mode
- The ability to "on the fly" edit any image found on the site.
- A number of additional features, such as QR code recognition and an extended clipboard.
Pavel aka TimeS
Next Browser
Using a browser on a computer is convenient: there is a tab bar, an address bar, various buttons, etc. But if you cram all this clutter of controls onto the small screen of a smartphone, they will take up a good half of the display, which is not very good. In this regard, developers with varying degrees of success are trying to leave more free space on the screen, but at the same time maintain ease of management. And the developers of Next Browser, in my opinion, succeeded very well in this.
The main screen resembles an express panel from the opera. There is an address bar, a search bar (you can select the search engine used). Below are tiles to which you can assign your links for quick access from here to frequently visited sites. Swipe to the right - a list of frequently opened sites and history opens, swipe to the left - news tiles sorted by category.
When browsing the pages, the address bar is displayed at the top, which is hidden/displayed in exactly the same way as it is in Chrome. You can assign various actions to a swipe to the left / right of the edge of the screen: switch to the next / previous tab, open the list of tabs, open the list of extensions (yes, the browser supports extensions that can be found on Google Play).
The settings are standard, everything is the same as in most other browsers, everything is justified and reasonable. As for the stability of the work, there were errors a couple of times, but most likely this is not due to the browser, but to the rather crude version of CyanogenMod on my smartphone, which itself sometimes stumbles out of the blue.
Vladimir aka Loysagienn
Email programs
AquaMail
I met this email client when it was in development, it was available only on w3bsit3-dns.com (yes, yes, the developer is our compatriot) and was called AndroMail.
As in the case of Solid Explorer, the format of the article is too small to tell about all the features of this email client.
First of all, I would like to note a huge number of settings. Literally everything can be configured: update interval, cache size, “quiet mode” by time and days of the week, detailed appearance settings, and much, much more. Special thanks for the notification settings: you can choose a color for the LED, set one of several vibration signal sequences, determine whether to turn on the screen, and so on.
In general, the client can be fully customized and made as convenient as possible for yourself and, just as in the case of the Solid Explorer I mentioned, the most “ordinary” users can take and use the program without any problems, without any special settings.
Otherwise, for several years of use, there were no problems with it: it works stably, “tosses” several mailboxes for 1000+ letters without any problems, server settings are picked up automatically, incl. from a self-made mail server, and the developer is open for dialogue - you can contact him on the same w3bsit3-dns.com forum.
It is worth considering that the program is not cheap, it costs ~ 150r, however, if you more or less actively use email she's worth it. Without a key, the program can create a maximum of 2 Accounts, and the signature “sent from AquaMail” is added at the end of each letter.
Maxim aka Veliky kuzuzo
MobiMail
I want to tell you about the program that made my workflow bearable. And even allows "sometimes" to mow down from work.
Our company uses corporate mail of the exchange type. But its main feature is that the system administrators blocked the viewing of mail in any other way than the web interface. In this moment lies the main value of this program, it allows you to easily synchronize and receive mail on your phone without visiting your mail server, that is, like a regular mail client.
The program has a number of features. Firstly, it is paid, the cost is low, and the opportunities that it gives and your peace of mind will more than pay off every ruble invested in it. The second point is that she English language. And the author does not repent, that is, he does not even promise to add “Ridna Mova”, that is, Russian.
The third point is a little complexity in setting up. The third point is subjective, maybe someone is not as tight as me and can handle it “easy”.
I think this program should take its place in the people's top, since many of us use corporate mail, it, in turn, makes this use easy, simple and understandable.
Dmitriy
Audio and video players
MX Player
When a video player is made by designers, it turns out to be very beautiful, with an original design of controls, but not very functional. When a video player is made by severe programmers, then in terms of capabilities it turns out to be much wider, but with an absolutely simple and standard design of “buttons”. In the case of MX Player, this is the second scenario.
This video player is the most omnivorous and functional of all that I have met. I don't know the video formats it doesn't support. Multiple audio tracks, various subtitle formats. Also pleased with the abundance of settings.
While watching, swipe left/right rewinds the video. Swipe up / down on the left side of the screen - adjust the brightness of the screen, on the right side - adjust the volume. You can lock the screen and the buttons below it. As a result, accidental clicks will not lead to any action.
The only thing I would like to do is to let the designer work a little, and then everything would be perfect, but this is already nit-picking.
Vladimir aka Loysagienn
Dice Player
Another program from the “high-quality omnivorous video player” series, a competitor to MX Player. There is support for subtitles, multiple audio tracks, hardware video decoding, and so on.
The interface is similar to that of MX Player, but there are some differences: video directories are selected from a drop-down list and swipes around the edges are swapped to change the brightness and volume of the sound. It is also possible to run the video in a floating window, on top of the desktop or other applications (see screenshots). How useful is this in real life I'm not sure, but I've used it a couple of times.
Also, compared to MX Player, Dice Player consumes more energy and loads more on the smartphone, but, on the other hand, it is able to cope with high-quality videos on which the competitor “lags”.
Maxim aka Veliky kuzuzo
Radio
Radio++
There are quite a lot of programs for listening to the radio in the Play Market. Some have a playlist for 100,500 radio stations, others are tailored for a particular station, others just look beautiful, but Radio ++ has poorly developed just these functions. What are its advantages, you ask? It allows you to play the radio stations you need from a playlist you have prepared, or add a link to the radio station manually, which is very useful when your favorite radio station is hard to find in the search, or you are listening to a live podcast (like Radio T).
With all this, the program works very quickly and stably, and you can find a dialogue with the author on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum where he listens to the wishes and tries to fulfill them.
Maxim aka Werwulf
Miscellaneous
F Droid
I am very pleased that, unlike the well-known "apple" OS, on Android I can install programs from anywhere: I can test a program that is under development, the author of which does not want to buy a developer account yet, return the old version of the application, if the new one me did not suit and so on. Against the backdrop of such freedom, alternative markets began to appear, one of which I want to tell you about.
F Droid - free market software open source. But I put it not for this, but for a slightly different approach to organizing program management.
Firstly, a database with a list of applications and their descriptions is stored locally - which is very pleasing if the Internet speed is not high, but you need to install something. Of the minuses - the lack of screenshots, ratings and reviews.
Secondly, if in the case of Google Play, Yandex Market and others, only one source of applications is available - the creator company, then in the case of F Droid, you can connect several repositories (network storages of programs), for example, an additional one from the guardianproject team developing applications for protection of personal data.
Thirdly, it is possible to install not only new version application, but also one of the previous versions, or rollback to one if you don’t like the new one, as well as prohibit updates (as I missed this opportunity in the original market when updating YouTube and Google Play itself).
Fourthly, it contains some applications blocked in the original Google Play, such as AdBlock.
Due to restrictions on the licenses of the programs being laid out, this market is clearly not suitable for everyone, but thanks to it, I got acquainted with several applications that are new to me, which I now use in ordinary life— this market is very convenient (except for the lack of screenshots and reviews) and generally leaves a positive impression of use. Ah, if only the original Play Market was like this...
Maxim aka Veliky kuzuzo
The Month app does it already lovely calendar Google even more convenient and beautiful. It syncs with the latest and adds a calendar widget to the screen with quick access to the schedule of events.
You can customize the number of visible days and widget graphics. Month offers nine nice free themes, and if you want, you can buy dozens more. With them, the appearance of the calendar will definitely not bore you.
Chronus
Chronus is a set of informative widgets that display different data on the screen: from the list of tasks from Google account up to air temperature. Some of them are available immediately, the rest are opened after upgrading to a paid version for 120 rubles. It, for example, has a great full-screen widget that combines several smaller free widgets with a large clock, date, and five-day weather forecast.
In addition, Chronus supports extensions developed for another DashClock Widget application. With their help, you can add new information to widgets: system data, missed calls, calendars, messages, and so on. But for this, Chronus will ask you to download the DashClock Widget and the extensions you need from Google Play.
Chronus multifunctional widgets, unlike many others, do not slow down the system and do not abuse battery resources. At least, over the years of use, I did not notice anything like that. In addition, Chronus offers flexible appearance settings, thanks to which its widgets will organically fit into any interface.
Power Toggles
The Power Toggles app is the real swiss knife for the Android notification bar. It adds two additional rows there with icons of your choice for quick access to applications or buttons for switching system settings. For example, if your device panel doesn't have buttons for screen rotation, brightness adjustment, or GPS activation by default, you can add them using Power Toggles. The same can be done with application icons.
The added icons also appear on the lock screen. Thanks to them, you can perform quick actions with the device without entering a password or pattern. What's more, Power Toggles lets you place extra rows of app and settings icons right on your desktop so you don't have to pull down the notification bar every time to use them. You can customize the appearance of each row on both the notification bar and the desktop.
What widgets do you use?
One of the significant advantages operating system Android against the backdrop of competitors is customization. Already "out of the box" a considerable number of tools are available to the user, with which he can organize the workspace at his discretion. Many people prefer to place visual and informative widgets on the table, of which there are thousands and thousands today. However, the eyes should not scatter on the entire extensive range. We advise you to pay attention only to the following five widgets, which will be discussed later.
The Data Rush widget is useful for those who have limits on the number of megabytes per month. With it, it is easy to control the amount of transmitted and received data. All you have to do is enter your limit. Further, the widget (in percentage) will display the amount of spent monthly traffic. Three different modifications are available to choose from: wide widgets with more detailed information and small with a percentage.
Weather 360
Weather 360 is a relatively young development, however, unlike hundreds of other weather widgets, it has an excellent design and beautiful animations. In addition, the widget is well customizable, so you can easily find your color in the settings. If you wish, you can transfer weather information to the notification panel.
Dash Clock
Dash Clock is one of the most famous and popular widgets in Google Play. It is a kind of Notification Center, which contains notifications from the mailbox, weather and alarm information, missed calls, calendar events and a battery indicator. In the settings, you can also enable the display of data from third-party applications. Thus, the counter of unread WhatsApp messages, for example, will also be displayed in this list.
Google Keep
For Google Keep users, the corporation did not forget to develop an appropriate screen widget. Perhaps, in the case of notes, this is especially true. Right from the desktop, without opening the application, you can view the list of recordings, as well as add a new one in the form of text, list, voice recording or camera photo.
Animated Photo Frame
The photo does not have to be set as wallpaper on the home screen. Perhaps, in certain cases, it will be better to get by with an interesting frame that does not take up the entire screen. The Animated Photo Frame widget does a great job of this. It is free, however, in the paid version, you can set the interval at which the images will change.
What useful widgets do you use?
According to AndroidPIT
Those who like to plan everything simply cannot do without the widgets they need on their desktop. Instead of crowding the launcher with a bunch of icons, you can use widgets and quickly get the information you need in beautiful design and have access to various features of your applications.
Most of the widgets you'll find with a quick search are for controlling music or viewing the weather. There are countless such widgets, and you should not have any difficulties in choosing the right add-on. Therefore, we will focus on the choice best apps designed for planning and managing various tasks. I am sure they will help you make better use of your time and your other opportunities, as well as the capabilities of the device.
№1 Event Flow - calendar
Event Flow is a customizable widget that connects to the system calendar and displays upcoming events in two versions. Events can be displayed as a schedule of scheduled tasks or as a monthly calendar.
Eight themes are available. Each preset can be further customized with presets to give the widget the look you like best. For a fee of $0.99, you can unlock all the themes and options available for the widget.
