Android Apps
App Review: FlyScreen is cool, even if I don’t quite understand it
October 16, 2009 | by Andrew Kameka
Lifestyle, Reviews
I don’t “get” FlyScreen. The app features widgets that appear on a lock screen replacement, and that is the cause of my confusion. It’s nice and all, but I could easily get all this information from an RSS reader, a Twitter client, or widgets on my homescreen. Why do I need FlyScreen?
FlyScreen seems to be the hot ticket item that Android users gravitate to at the moment. It grabs feeds from top websites, posts and displays Tweets, and offers news alerts by pressing the Menu button once (as opposed to the two times you currently press to bring up the homescreen). I can understand the app’s popularity in some sense because it’s fast. Really fast. FlyScreen briskly displays calendars, news feeds, and weather widgets that don’t lag or stutter. The calendar widget isn’t much to write home about, but the website post widgets are better than their homescreen counterparts.
Pressing the Menu or Power button brings up information pulled by FlyScreen, which users can set-up to update frequently during custom peak hours and less often during off-peak hours to preserve battery life. All of this comes in a slick package that can be themed and customized. Aside from Facebook and Twitter support, there are previews for stories from top blogs and news organizations like BBC, CNN, Gizmodo, Mashable, and Yahoo!
“Clicking is for suckers,” according to FlyScreen promo videos, but the difference in click shortcuts is miniscule. The slight increase in speed will cost you some of the features you enjoy in other apps. I’d rank most of the Twitter apps over FlyScreen’s Twitter widget, and the format of having site-dedicated widgets rather than a true RSS reader that combines them all in one place is disappointing.
FlyScreen looks great, performs well, and loads quickly. It’s got everything you would want in an Android application except that “gotta have it” allure. As Lemon from SweeterSkins said, “FlyScreen is very cool. I just don’t know if it’s very necessary?” I say that FlyScreen is rather unnecessary, but it’s a decent enough luxury to take on.
App: FlyScreen
Price: FREE
Website: MyFlyScreen.com
The reviewer has it all wrong. It may not be an essential app, but for me at least – that's not the point. The allure of Android isn't because we couldn't live with Symbian or Windows Mobile – we could surgically implant google syncing, and in fact perform most of the functions available on Android on our old Nokias. However Android takes the user experience to a new level. Everything is smoother, more streamlined, and more in line with the mobile experience that people demand today.
The people at Flyscreen get this! They created an app which uses Android's beautiful APIs, and made an app which, quite frankly, makes my Android phone even more valuable to me. Sure I could access all the features via other programs, but having them always handy and updated is that much better!
I find that I actually use the twitter widget and the facebook widget more on flyscreen than I use swift or bloo. I use bloo to upload pics, and rarely check swift anymore. Flyscreen is a wonderful app. I love it.
Meh. I tried it for a few days, and the drain on my battery wasn't worth it. Plus, it covers up the status bar at the top of the screen. I often just go as far as the lock screen to check things like battery life, whether Bluetooth is on, etc. with just one click. With Flyscreen, I'd have to unlock my phone to see that info.
One other thing…I was instantly turned off by the "review" by a friend of the developers that was very clearly planted on another Android news site. It read like a press release.
i think it's one of the cooler apps out there
It puts everything I want in one place and makes it easy to navigate and I don't even have to unlock the phone! 90% of the united states owns a T.V. So there is 10% of the population that doesn't watch it. I guess the reviewer is kind of like the 10% he just doesn't get it and thats ok. But realize its hot right now because everyone else finds it useful and entertaining.