If you have a HTC device, then you most likely have used the power control widget at some time, or have at least tried it. We all know what it looks like; 5 horizontal buttons to quickly turn on or off WiFi, bluetooth, GPS, sync, and brightness. The widget is nice and it does look good, but it may not be efficient for everyone. To use one example, I rarely use bluetooth, so that button is just wasted space on my screen. Enter Honolulu Team with their app appropriately called Extended Controls.
Like Power Controls, Extended Controls puts a settings widget on your home screen, and then takes your settings further. A lot further. They let you decide which of 19 different options you want, in any order that works for you. As for the UI, the customization options are there as well, even down to the widget button color. Beyond that, there isn’t much more to Extended Controls, and that’s okay.
Like some of the best things in the Android community, this widget is basic in purpose and complex in customization, allowing the Android user to get exactly what they want out of it. Here’s a rundown of all of the options to choose from:
- Settings: 2G/3G, APN, WiFi, bluetooth, brightness, GPS, sync, rotate, airplane, SD media scanner, silent/vibration, timeout, stay awake, torch, USB, always on, autolock, reboot, battery
- Theme: Black or white
- Transparency: 11 options from 0-100%
- Widget color: Green, cyan, red, yellow, gray, pink
Extended Controls is available on all Android devices with OS 1.6 and higher. While their current release only supports up to 2.1, I’ve been using it on Froyo with no issues. If you use Power Control or find yourself going into your settings options a lot, I highly recommend trying Extended Controls. While Extended Controls is a paid app, the cost is minimal. In fact, once I started using the widget, it became clear the price is a very good deal for the functionality offered. Extended Controls is currently priced at €0.79,which is approximately $1.20 American. If you want to give Extended Controls a try, Market links for downloading may be found after the demo.
