Located on the side of your phone is the “power button.” Upon pressing this tiny piece of plastic your phone is instantaneously brought to life greeting you with the Android lock screen. Widget Locker, by Tesla Coil Software, replaces the “lock” screen with its brilliant range of customizations.
What can I expect from Widget Locker?
Widget Locker gives everyone the ability to place their favorite widgets on their Android lock screen, but it also presents us with other powerful customizations that include:
- Accessible or hidden notification bar
- Alternate wallpaper from your home screen
- Back button, home button, camera button, and trackball unlock methods
- Control of slider haptic feedback, lock, and unlock sounds
- Custom shortcuts, screen timeouts, and multiple sliders
- Portrait or Landscape mode
- Voice Actions, HTC weather animations, and access to multitasking applications such as Power Strip and Quick Desk, all on your lock screen
Some of the features that won me over include:
Custom slider options
Android has several different versions and with each update we have seen a new and unique way to unlock our phones. Whether we are sliding, pulling, or using the Menu button, we all have a personal preference. Widget Locker gives everyone access to all of the unlock choices and actually extends itself further allowing the creation of your own.
Widget Locker also allows you to remove the sliders completely or create your own custom slider options delivering you to the application or shortcut of your choice.
Access to shortcuts and soft-key functions
One of the biggest pluses for me is the ability to use Google’s Voice Actions straight from my lock screen. If that wasn’t enough, Widget Locker awards us the ability to use custom shortcuts and multitasking applications.
Choices to lock and unlock my phone
Widget Locker supplies a full range of options to both lock and unlock your phone as well as ways to access apps in the notification bar straight from your lock screen.
As you can see above, Widget Locker has two modes. In “Tool Mode” you can create, edit, and configure your lock screen. In “Lock Mode” those features are toggled off, although you can toggle them on while in “Lock Mode” if you want.
Widget Locker has themes
XDA has an ongoing thread for creating and modifying themes for Widget Locker. Kevin, the developer behind Tesla Coil Software, has told me he plans on including native theme support in Widget Locker 1.3 which is currently in an early developmental process. As of right now, you’ll have to unpack and repack the apk, which he says may be “a bit awkward” Kevin states:
“After I have a stable 1.3 beta I plan on working with the XDA
community (from the above thread) to get some themes built and tested
and see what areas the themers need/want more control over
WidgetLocker in. Then when 1.3 final is released there should already
be a handful of themes available.
At some point I’d like to have a method of browsing and installing new
themes from within the WidgetLocker app. I not sure if this will make
it into 1.3 or not.”
There are currently 31 themes available in the thread and a complete guide to modifying and creating your own.
The Verdict
What led me to Widget Locker to begin with was the haptic feedback you receive when you unlock your phone while in vibrate mode. That tiny “bump” drives me crazy. Widget Locker allowed me to remove the haptic feedback and receive notifications like I wished to. As I further investigated it, it became quite clear how much work has gone into the development of Widget Locker. I’ve always been a huge fan of the rotary lock screen slider and having Voice Actions on top of that completely sold me.
Kevin did a fantastic job at developing Widget Locker to be user friendly and easy-to-use, just take a look at the settings. Widget Locker offers an easy-to-follow tutorial, a way for anyone to help translate the application (so simple, but ideal), a bug report, and a way to check for Widget Locker updates. Awesome job!
Widget Locker is currently available from the Market for $1.99. Considering the amount of customization, usefulness, and development that went into Widget Locker, a less than two dollar price tag is an outstanding deal for anyone interested in this app. I’m looking forward to Widget Locker native themes and everything else Tesla Coil Software has to offer us!
To find out more on Widget Locker, head directly to the Tesla Coil Software website.
If you are interested in purchasing Widget Locker, head to the Android Market for the download or scan to QR code below.
