Android widgets that are actually worth it
Most widgets eat battery, sip data, and look incongruous. Not these actually useful widgets.
Some of the worthwhile widgets mentioned below.
The home screens of new Android phones come loaded with about a half-dozen widgets. Widgets are objects you keep on your phone to keep automatically updated information at a glance, or to quickly interact with something: weather, Facebook, music, and so on. In any Android troubleshooting, and often in the Complete Android Guide, I recommend removing widgets, especially the kind pre-installed by phone makers and cellular companies. They’re not very helpful, and they tend to eat battery life and data limits.
[5 Things to do right away on your new Android device: Part 1 and Android should collect and share information on third-party 'skins']
Then again, a well-made, energy-conscious widget can be a really handy thing. So let’s look at some widgets that are worth their while.
To add a widget to your Android home screen on phone running a version before 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”), press and hold on an empty section of the home screen, then choose “Widgets” from the menu that pops up (you may have to choose “Android widgets” on some phones, like earlier Motorola models). On Android 4.0 and later, open the app drawer (the bottom-middle button on your home screen tray), and swipe to the right to the “Widgets” section (or tap “Widgets” at the top of the app tray screen).
Sets by Beautiful Widgets and HD Widgets
Beautiful Widgets and HD Widgets are apps that are more like bundles. Buy and install the apps, and you get a dozen or more versions of a very nice-looking clock and weather notifier, ranging from very bold to remarkably minimal. Both widgets offer lots of options for customizing the display, the update interval, the weather service used, and more. HD Widgets also offers some control panel widgets for toggling Wi-Fi, GPS, and the like.
Calendars
Why a calendar widget isn’t included in the stock Android home screen setup, or on most Android phones in general, I cannot guess. But for people who use a calendar synced to Google, an easily visible, scroll-ready calendar is quite handy. Android’s built-in Calendar widget is pretty good, and offers a lock screen variant (on Android 4.2 and above) that shows up first thing when you power on your phone. My preferred calendar widget is Simple Calendar Widget, because it can launch alternative calendars and be tweaked down to the last font pixel—but that’s not everybody’s idea of a fun Friday, I know.
Direct contact/dial/message
We message and call certain people far more often than everybody else, be it a spouse, a roommate, a project partner, or whomever. A direct contact widget takes a few steps out of the process. Look for the “Contact,” “Direct dial,” and “Direct message” widgets among your phone’s offerings. Once you select the version you’d like and place it on your screen, you’ll be asked to choose which contact will be instantly dialed, messaged, or drawn up for action upon pressing.
Directions & Navigation shortcuts
As with calling, you often drive home and to work every day, but often from different locations. On most later Android phones, “Directions & Navigation” is a widget offering. Pick it, then fill out some details about the shortcut: where it’s going, what to name it, whether you just want directions or immediate turn-by-turn, and which icon to represent the trip. Tap on this mini-widget from anywhere, and you’ll be shown the way to your front door or desk.
Power control
Some phones don’t come with a “Power control” bar placed by default, which is ridiculous. Install it if you don’t see it, and you’ll now have quick controls for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, data synchronization, and brightness.
Some kind of “flashlight” toggle
When the lights go out, when you’re in a crawlspace, when you dropped your keys on the grass in the evening—a bright phone is a handy thing to have. Most people try to get by using the face of their phone turned up all the way, but the LED “flash” for your phone’s camera is far more powerful. Get to it quickly with a toggle widget from a flashlight app. There are many, many LED flashlight apps in the market, and most work on certain phones and not others. Mine is TeslaLED Flashlight, and it includes a simple, small widget that turns the flashlight function on and off, without having to find the app in my list, load it up, and turn it on.
What did I miss in my short, must-have list? What widgets need to be here?
Read more of Kevin Purdy's Mobilize! blog and follow the latest IT news at ITworld. Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevinpurdy. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.
