Quick Launch Lockscreen – slide to unlock plus launch Android apps simultaneously
by Paul Wilks
Apr 19, 2012 12:56 PM –
Install
Quick Launch Lockscreen is, quite clearly, a lockscreen replacement. Ice Cream Sandwich flavoured- although available on any device running Android 2.1 and above, the app has plenty of useful functionality and looks great too. The highlight of this lockscreen is the ‘Quick Launch‘ element of it, whereas you can choose between a selection of apps to launch automatically. This two-phase unlocking is great for being able to open your device and access a particular app straight away. Read on for a bit more detail.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Superbly clever two-phase unlocking screen!
- Slick ICS looks!
- Install widgets!
- Useful silence/normal/vibrate slider!
- Loads of potential
Cons
- Currently lacks the ability to change background image.
- Slide to search default is Yahoo and this cannot be changed.
- Just the one theme currently.
- Limited settings.
Features:
As lockscreen replacements go, there are plenty to choose from in the Google Play Store. But, as I see it right now, few have the potential of Quick Launch Lockscreen. Straight off the bat it’s got that slick vanilla Android look, with a halo ring unlock system that just shines. It also features a slew of handy functions that actually make it more useful than some lock screens. These include a nifty slider button for toggling between silent mode, vibration mode and normal ringtone. There is another discreet slider which features a direct search link- tragically this is default to Yahoo search (who uses that nowadays?!) but it’s a cool idea.
The ring unlock function is the coolest of all. Normally you just get to choose between maybe a straight forward unlock, camera, phone or maybe an additional customised shortcut right? With Quick Launch Lockscreen, when you pause over the basic unlock icon (straight up) it opens an additional menu of shortcuts: map, browser, settings, Google Play Store and camera. This cannot currently be changed, but I’d guess customising this has to be something in the developers plans. This additionally occurs when you select the phone unlock icon, it brings up your most recent calls and lets you quickly make new ones.
You can also add widgets to the lockscreen, and these look excellent. For things like missed calls it’s awesome, although more functional widgets are not responsive. One other niggle would be the lack of settings. The app is set up to be really customisable and has lots of potential, but right now it’s quite limited. You cannot change: the background image, theme, any of the shortcuts or the default search engine. Within settings there is a space for new themes but there is only one available and I’m unable to locate any others in the Google Play Store.
Quick Launch Lockscreen looks great and has lots of potential, definitely give it a look. It’s not a finished product yet but it works very well indeed. I’ll be returning to this in the near future for a comprehensive update as and when they occur.
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Lockview Lockscreen – Move to unlock 1
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Lockview Lockscreen – Move to unlock 2
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Lockview Lockscreen – Lockscreen
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Lockview Lockscreen – Volume slider
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Lockview Lockscreen – Select widget
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Lockview Lockscreen – Settings
Usefulness:
The two-phased unlock element is extremely cool. It’s simple to use and provides quick access to a few important apps. I hope these can be edited and changed in the future, so you can customise the shortcuts however you wish. The sliders are useful too and the ability to install lockscreen widgets is great.
Ease of Use:
It’s very easy to use and speeds up day-to-day use of your phone. If you need to access an app quickly, this will get you there straight away. It’s very intuitive and user friendly. I think it might get a little more complex to set up when additional customisations are made available, but this will be worth the sacrifice.
Frequently Used:
Simply put, you would use this whenever you opened you Android device. It’s similar to the vanilla ICS unlock screen only with more functionality.
Interface:
Really nice, responsive and, with the ICS design, looks great too. I just wished the background image and some of the features could be customised a little more than they are.