I came from an iPhone and while it doesn't offer much functionality on the lock screen by default, the jailbroken iPhone has many options. Jailbreaking isn't for everyone, but nowadays it's really, really easy and the apps that are offered for jailbreakers are surprisingly good in many cases.
First off, is there no way to control the droid's music playback without unlocking the screen? If not, why not? The iphone allows a double-press of the home button which will reveal your song title, show your album artwork, and give you playback controls (this is default behavior - doesn't require a jailbreak). Of the 20,000+ apps in the marketplace, no one saw the need for this? Really?
On my jailbroken iphone I installed an app called "lock info" which allows you to see previews of all your messages, whether it be for emails, sms, missed calls, etc. It doesn't simply show you how many missed notifications you have. It shows you a preview of the text from sms and email. It also shows you upcoming calendar events, and you can even put weather on there as well. This a free app and works like a charm! Something like this shouldn't even require a "hack" on the droid, and yet, has not been done (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I want to be wrong about this.) On the iphone, one press of the lock/unlock button and all this information was presented to you. On the droid, you have to hit the unlock button, swipe, then drag down the notification bar. Seriously? This is basic stuff that should be available for the android platform. Simply disabling the swipe isn't what we need, because we don't want to be making pocket phone calls. We need to be able to see the information that's under that window shade, without having to pull it down, just by pushing the lock button. I'm not saying we need to be able to go directly to a given notification without unlocking, but the information should be presented to the user.
Having the lock button at the top of the device and the swipe near the bottom of the screen is just goofy. Unlocking the iphone becomes a one-handed seamless gesture once you get used to it because the home button is right below where the swipe is. This is awkward on the droid. Sure, this is a small complaint, but these are the kinds of things that make a difference on the overall ease and pleasure of using the device. Someone, please make an app that would allow us to use the camera button to reveal the swipe screen. I'll take the risk that I'll wake the screen occasionally when the droid is in my pocket.
I guess I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that for now. I love the customization available on the droid so far, but I think we still have a long way to go.
Ken
First off, is there no way to control the droid's music playback without unlocking the screen? If not, why not? The iphone allows a double-press of the home button which will reveal your song title, show your album artwork, and give you playback controls (this is default behavior - doesn't require a jailbreak). Of the 20,000+ apps in the marketplace, no one saw the need for this? Really?
On my jailbroken iphone I installed an app called "lock info" which allows you to see previews of all your messages, whether it be for emails, sms, missed calls, etc. It doesn't simply show you how many missed notifications you have. It shows you a preview of the text from sms and email. It also shows you upcoming calendar events, and you can even put weather on there as well. This a free app and works like a charm! Something like this shouldn't even require a "hack" on the droid, and yet, has not been done (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I want to be wrong about this.) On the iphone, one press of the lock/unlock button and all this information was presented to you. On the droid, you have to hit the unlock button, swipe, then drag down the notification bar. Seriously? This is basic stuff that should be available for the android platform. Simply disabling the swipe isn't what we need, because we don't want to be making pocket phone calls. We need to be able to see the information that's under that window shade, without having to pull it down, just by pushing the lock button. I'm not saying we need to be able to go directly to a given notification without unlocking, but the information should be presented to the user.
Having the lock button at the top of the device and the swipe near the bottom of the screen is just goofy. Unlocking the iphone becomes a one-handed seamless gesture once you get used to it because the home button is right below where the swipe is. This is awkward on the droid. Sure, this is a small complaint, but these are the kinds of things that make a difference on the overall ease and pleasure of using the device. Someone, please make an app that would allow us to use the camera button to reveal the swipe screen. I'll take the risk that I'll wake the screen occasionally when the droid is in my pocket.
I guess I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that for now. I love the customization available on the droid so far, but I think we still have a long way to go.
Ken
