Review: FlyScreen app for Android

AUSTIN, Texas (LIN) - Much like how looking out the passenger window of one's morning commute (if you have the luxury of riding rather than driving) has been replaced by accepting friend requests and checking emails via mobile devices, the uninspired quiet space of the Android lock-screen has been replaced by a wealth of information and social media via the Flyscreen app available from the Android Market.

It seems the philosophy of the Flyscreen app is to conquer previously misused lock-screen space and transform it into a finger friendly RSS reader, SMS inbox, Twitter and Facebook post wall, and (somewhat) lock-screen replacement. Although there seems to be a bit of polishing still needed here and there, the majority of what Flyscreen sets out to do it accomplishes, and accomplishes well at that.

Using Flyscreen

Upon downloading the Flyscreen app from the Marketplace and registering with Cellogic, one is given the option of adding a variety of pre-made and customizable widgets to a screen that acts as a very simple, non-secure lock-screen. The user even has the choice (and I notice more apps are going this way everyday) of managing their Flyscreen account and app directly from their phone, or from any personal computer connected to the internet by logging on through the Flyscreen Web site .

Setting up the widgets directly from the phone itself is easy– open the app and touch the on-screen wrench icon to launch a small menu of options like widget control, update now, and app preferences. From there a bulleted list of pre-made widgets appear that grab information like sports news, weather, financial news, and even Twitter and Facebook. Hit the check box next to your choice and that choice is added automatically to your new screen.

After adding your content the app asks you to confirm your widget choices, then displays your new lock-screen in all its glossy widgeted glory. Content is updated automatically throughout the day by a preset interval which can be changed in the app preferences to be as frequent as every half-hour or as infrequent as updating manually.

Once set up, the top half of the screen displays a side-slideable collection of widgets similar to the way the Android home space slides, while the bottom portion closely resembles the standard Android lock-screen. The widgets slide smoothly from side to side, and the G1 at least doesn't seem to suffer from any lagging that can happen if one loads too many widgets on the Android home space. Once you spot a story or other drool-worthy info in your feed, simply press on it to get to a list of options such as previewing the beginning of the article without leaving Flyscreen, going to the full article with the Android browser, tagging the story to save for reading later, or sharing the article either via Facebook or email.

The included Facebook widget is just as usable and intuitive as its RSS brethren. Spot something you want to comment on? Just press the comment button, punch out your zinger, and *poof*, Flyscreen takes care of the rest. It even gives you the option to update your status without having to launch any other additional apps right from the lock-screen.

Google search fans will also be happy to note that in addition to the widgets that you can pick and choose, Flyscreen also has a built in Google search feature, so now searching is only one click away from the second your phone turns on. How's that for convenience?

Managing Via Computer

Managing the widgets by computer is at least as simple, if not more simple, as managing them on phone. Point your browser to Cellogic's, myflyscreen.com , sign in using your username/password, and choose from a list of popular RSS feeds and others. While setting up the app I found that it was actually a bit easier to edit my widgets via PC. This is especially true if, like myself, you want to set up a custom RSS widget where copy and paste might be needed to get the correct URL for the feed. Easy enough to do on a full-fledged computer, but jumping back and forth between phone browser and Flyscreen to get the correct RSS information can be inconvenient if you haven't memorized the URL of the feed you want. But as the choice of pre-made RSS widgets grow, there will most likely be less of a need to go track down the RSS you want since it will already be in the Flyscreen list.

Room for Improvement?

As with any new app there are a few minor UI things I noticed that could use just a bit more finesse to really set this app over the top. Small changes like making the SMS widget slide top to bottom for scrolling through older messages instead of using a button would have been an improvement and would have made for a greater UI. I could also live without the grey box on the bottom of the screen that resembles the standard lock screen box, as this info could just be worked into the overall design in a better way.

Another thing I noticed that was more of an annoyance than a real problem is the way that Flyscreen