Power Controls – quick access to Android settings from home screen widget plus they can be customized
by Paul Wilks
Jul 27, 2012 10:21 AM –
Install
Power Controls is an advanced, customisable power control widget for Android homescreens. It looks good, is simple to use, comes with lots of options and can be customized to fit in with any homescreen configuration or theme.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Nicely designed UI!
- Customisable!
- Lots of toggle options!
- Simple to use!
Cons
- Would be nice to see different widget sizes.
Features:
If there’s a homescreen app that is perennially popular among Android users, it’s the humble power control widget. They are rarely sexy, but functionality-wise they’re really handy to have. Usually a set of toggles which help you quickly change Wi-Fi status, Bluetooth, Syncing, etc., it is a far more convenient way to adjust your most-used settings. There are a variety of these such apps in the Google Play Store and many native ROMs feature one anyway. However, while these are useful, they are not particularly customisable. This is where Power Controls changes things.
Android users love modifying their homescreens, to the point where community websites like MyColorScreen have become really popular. It makes sense then that practical and popular widgets can be customised to suit any theme. Power Controls not only lets you add any of a huge number of toggles, but also lets you personalise all the colours; background tint, default colour, busy/unknown colour and active colour. These colours purport to the state of the particular toggle, so it’s easy to see what is active, etc.
The range of toggle options is very impressive and reflects newer technologies such as NFC. Although you can only have 8 toggles per widget, you can select from mobile data, network, multimedia, display and other miscellaneous toggles such as flash light, battery and GPS. In all there are 27 different toggles to choose from, which is pretty comprehensive by all accounts. You can have multiple widgets too, so why not have a separate one for music controls, one for network settings and so on.
Power Controls is completely free and isn’t riddled with any advertising either. It boasts a gorgeous ‘Holo’ theme to the UI and the fact you can change a variety of colours means it can look great regardless of your homescreen theme. So, if your power control widget looks a little out of place, or like a blot of ink on an otherwise pristine page, it’s worth checking out Power Controls and get customising!
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Power Controls – On homescreen
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Power Controls – App dashboard
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Power Controls – Widget creation interface
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Power Controls – Colour selection
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Power Controls – Edit widget screen
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Power Controls – App settings
Usefulness:
Incredibly useful on two fronts. Not only does the app let you have fast homescreen access to your most favoured settings, you can also customise the appearance to suit your tastes. Sadly there is only one widget size (4×1), but if your homescreen supports it you might be able to resize it once placed.
Ease of Use:
Power Controls is really easy to use. There is an interactive preview pane at the top of the screen so you always see what the widget will look like.
Frequently Used:
This is something that depends very much on the user. With the range of toggles available, however, it might be something you use more frequently that previous power control widgets.
Interface:
The interface has that cool Ice Cream Sandwich/Jelly Bean Holo design to it, so looks very polished and smooth.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Controls,
Custom Android Home Screen,
Power,
Power Controls,
Settings,
Widget
Categorised in: Tools
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