11 ms·

Introducing Cover

196 points by timdorr 13y ago

sscalia 13y ago
Neat idea, elegantly executed. Exceeds the design standards typical of Android apps. I've never liked Android's implementation of home/app screens (widgets + some apps, tap to reveal all your apps). I guess if you want a lot of clocks, Android is great. This adds another app/button layer...
- what_ever 13y ago
  Hah, widgets is the feature which makes Android great for me. I don't need to open each and every app every time to see the state and I can see multiple things right on my homescreen at the same time. It's so much more than "lot of clocks". In fact lock screen widgets are even better since I don't even have to unlock my phone to see widgets and updates. I suppose the app drawer concept is the same between iOS and Android and I get an option - (which is important) if you don't like having multiple homescreens, you can just disable it. I can arrange all work related apps and widgets on left homescreen, all personal on the right. And all the other apps remain in the drawer. On iOS, I don't get this option.
pc86 13y ago
Got my 5S in the mail last week. This makes me want an Android. Great job, guys!
ejp 13y ago
This looks really slick! How well does it work with some kind of lock-screen security? The UX for that is always a hassle, and I'd love to find someone who is doing it well.
- ev9 13y ago
  I'd imagine they're ignoring lock screen stuff for the moment. When you send them your email address they ask if you use a lock screen. I bet they're filtering invites to those who don't. MVP, and whatnot.
fidotron 13y ago
This is a neat idea, however, I fail to see either why it requires so much funding ($1.7m according to TechCrunch) or any server backend whatsoever.
- srhngpr 13y ago
  I agree with you. I like the idea and concept, but I prefer that apps like this actually let me do some of the teaching manually. Perhaps try to define the apps I want to appear at certain times of the day. One of the reasons I stopped using Aviate was that I felt like their scenes just didn't really match what i was doing at the time.
  - typicalbender 13y ago
    Just out of curiosity how long did you use Aviate for. I would assume their algorithm just keeps track of how many times you use an app at a specific location and then the premise would be after some amount of time it would reach a general consistency. To speed up that process It would be nice to be able to define a list of apps up front which have a greater weight and then hopefully it will reach a list of apps that you actually use over time.
  - ev9 13y ago
    I'd assume you prefer to do it yourself is because you haven't found a system that does it well enough for you to let go of control? Or are you just the kind of person who tends to like to do things the harder way? I wouldn't blame you for being the latter - it's kind of like people who prefer to drive a manual transmission to automatic.
    - radley 13y ago
      Or perhaps it's faster, easier, and more accurate to place your own five icons that to wait for an algorithm to try and figure it out.
- mortenjorck 13y ago
  The real product here is almost certainly an analytics service. From Cover's privacy policy at https://www.coverscreen.com/privacy https://www.coverscreen.com/privacy: Cover records the following items: The list of apps installed on your phone, including which apps are on your homescreen and dock The number of times you run an app, including the time and place where you ran it (specifically, the cell tower or wifi network you were connected to, or that you were located within a geographic area you identified such as home or work) The number of times you turn on your phone (i.e. view your Cover lockscreen), and what you do subsequently: launch an app, slide open the cover, or simply turn the screen back off (e.g. just glance at the clock). Information from connected Bluetooth devices, such as the Bluetooth device ID of your car. Information from the sensors in your phone, such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, and GPS (though GPS is used exceptionally sparingly in order to save your battery). The system starts to collect data as soon as you install Cover. The data collection continues until you remove Cover from your phone. The data is uploaded from your phone over a secured connection to our servers. Cover is tracking every app you launch on your phone, when you launch it, where you are when you launch it, and even what angle you're holding your phone when you launch it. Privacy concerns notwithstanding, sounds like valuable data.
samstave 13y ago
Heh. What the Facebook phone could never be; useful. It would be good to be able to define actions based on location (either by which wifi I connect to or GPS) - as well as time of day. (I'd like to have my screen auto dim at 10PM)
- explosivo2k2 13y ago
  Tasker (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch....) is perfect for this kind of thing. There is a learning curve but it's worth it - very powerful app.
  - lazylizard 13y ago
    and automateit, llama and even microsoft on x..
- jamie_ca 13y ago
  Try Twilight. Its reason for existence is to redshift and dim your screen in the evening hours so the excess blue light doesn't impact sleep quite so much, but if you don't like the red shift you can disable it and it'll just auto-dim.
chrisrh 13y ago
Looks like to be in competition with Aviate: http://getaviate.com/ http://getaviate.com/
cik 13y ago
This terrifies me. There's an instant problem of paranoia, and trust here. I would never be okay with the idea of an application monitoring what I'm doing, in order to reorder itself. Mind you, I say all this without knowing if it requests network access. How do I know you're not sending my usage patterns upstream to CoverCorp? How do I know that you're not reading the Android Music Provider database, and sharing my data back?
- zwily 13y ago
  Isn't this just an extension of what Google Now does? Do you mean that you'll never be okay with the idea, unless it's Google doing it?
- tene 13y ago
  So, let's say your worst fears are true, and it's sending up a log of every app you use. What happens then? What's the harm? I'm not being rhetorical, I really don't follow what the fear is here. I can't imagine how my life would be any different if some company knows that I launched chrome at 12:22, then hangouts at 12:30, then some half-assed game at 12:35.
  - grimtrigger 13y ago
    Just because its fun to play "worst case scenario"... An actuary finds a link between late night cell phone usage and mental illness X. They determine that given your cell phone usage pattern, you have an 50% chance of illness X. Such information is sold to insurance companies, employment background check companies, yada yada
    - true_religion 13y ago
      Aren't there laws in place about selling/sharing individualized personal information? If not, then I think there should be so apps that simply want to use aggregated data will be allowed and will be guaranteed to be safe.
    - k-mcgrady 13y ago
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
unlogic 13y ago
Right, unlocking the phone prior to opening apps is so hard and boring. Let's just launch them directly from the lockscreen. Wait, apps are accidentally being launched in my pocket. Can I have a lockscreen for the lockscreen?
radley 13y ago
They're going to have the same problem as Facebook Home. They're essentially doing an overlay activity like most of us do. It only works as they describe provided the user keeps the device unlocked in the system. You can't bypass the device lock screen without rooting the device.
- smackfu 13y ago
  I thought the main problem users had with Facebook Home was "where did my widgets to?"
rstevens11 13y ago
this thing is slick! Great, thoughtful design that is making me want my android back
rcthompson 13y ago
On a semi-related topic, is it really possible for an app to properly replace the Android lockscreen? I haven't found any way to do it. As far as I can tell, all the "lock screen" apps use a hack where they disable the stock lock screen and then emulate a lock screen by asking you to make the lockscreen app your default home screen and then launching your "real" home screen when you "unlock" them. I've seen it said that they do this because it isn't truly possible to replace the lock screen. The problem is, of course, that this hack sometimes doesn't work or produces weird results often enough to discourage me from using any custom lock screen.
- lnanek2 13y ago
  There are some other alternatives. HTC had a lockscreen API for a while. Similarly, generic Android has started supporting widgets on the lock screen, basically. One of the evangelists even has a popular widget lockscreen with extensions called DashClock that many people are writing for. Lastly, I haven't tried it, but I suspect replacing the Android Launcher would also let you do it. This is the method Facebook used for putting their talking heads in every app.
  - antrix 13y ago
    > Lastly, I haven't tried it, but I suspect replacing the Android Launcher would also let you do it. This is the method Facebook used for putting their talking heads in every app. The talking heads overlay doesn't require replacing the Launcher. Installing just the FB Messenger app will get you that feature too. AFAIK, it uses the "Draw over other apps" permission (android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW) to achieve this. Here's a library that does the same: https://github.com/pingpongboss/StandOut/ https://github.com/pingpongboss/StandOut/
thoughtpalette 13y ago
Doesn't Android already have a "profiles" mode so you can switch between multiple app layouts and configurations?
27182818284 13y ago
My initial reaction to this is nothing but love. I hate the idea it needs all sorts of server connections for their business model. I don't know a way around that, but if they or another company figure out how, that's what people will gravitate toward. Especially given the paranoid climate.
- ghiculescu 13y ago
  They could charge money for the app? It doesn't say anywhere, but I'm guessing it's going to be free given the analytics business model.
  - i386 13y ago
    Mobile users don't expect to pay for apps, ever. Even if people are willing to pay, there isn't any recurring revenue unless you charge for upgrades and the upgrade would have to be to be significantly better than the version they already own. So the question is, how much could you improve a product like this, over the course of life time of the business? Not to mention that mobile users generally feel entitled to free upgrades - TapBots are having this problem right now with TweetBot.
g3orge 13y ago
wow, beautiful device... anyone know which is it?
jackbewley 13y ago
The Android app SayIt has a widget that does something similar to this. It learns purely from usage/recency and is generally very good at presenting you with the apps your most likely to launch. All of the analysis is performed on the device so no information is shared with 3rd party servers. It also sports very fast voice based app launching. No affiliation just use it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rn.sayit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rn.sayit
zmmmmm 13y ago
So how does it work with a PIN / pattern lock? The problem with most lock screen enhancements is that anything you put there is outside your phone security "firewall" and available to anybody who picks up your phone. The 4.2 lock screen widgets work fairly well with this (eg: you can open the camera app without unlocking the phone, but attempting to swipe over the gallery forces you to unlock). However they are (I assume) using the core framework APIs to do that and I presume support for it is coded into the apps, while this seems to be doing it for any app.
- radley 13y ago
  It sounds like they're avoiding the issue for now by only allowing non-locked users: > When you send them your email address they ask if you use a lock screen. (re: @ev9)
  - GoldStarBrother 13y ago
    Actually, their F.A.Q.[1] says that they do support this feature: >Is Cover compatible with a security code? (passcode, pattern, etc.)? Yes. Cover is compatible with both PIN codes and security patterns. When you have a security code set, Cover’s “peek” feature is disabled. The app icons will slide across the screen, the security code screen will appear, and then the app will launch. In order to use peek, we recommend that you configure your security code not to take effect immediately. For example, if you set it to a 1-minute or 5-minute timeout, you’ll be able to use peek without sacrificing much security. [1]: https://www.coverscreen.com/faq https://www.coverscreen.com/faq
nathan_f77 13y ago
Why does it need an internet connection? Why is it posting data to a server?
jfaghm 13y ago
I must've missed something because the site says "launched" but I can't find the app on the site or in Google Play. Or is it only available for certain devices? I have an HTC One Google Play edition.
- scep12 13y ago
  The site's banner still says "Coming soon to Google Play"
gameguy43 13y ago
Interesting example of a useful smartphone extension that is Android-only because of limitations in the access iOS gives 3rd party apps.
wayward-yeah 13y ago
I wrote an iOS speed-dial app that does the same sort of predication for contacts that this does for applications. It's definitely an order of magnitude less sophisticated, but I though it might be worth sharing: http://nate-at-lightspeed.appspot.com/swiftdial http://nate-at-lightspeed.appspot.com/swiftdial
kronbsy 13y ago
Looks like a nicer version of aviate.
PhasmaFelis 13y ago
I was excited for about five seconds, and then I realized that this thing is way the hell more complicated than I need. All I want is a way to put the current weather on my lockscreen under the time, and to put immediate access to camera, flashlight, and Google Now there. Everything else I'm perfectly comfortable doing myself. Any suggestions for an app that does that?
- Sir_Cmpwn 13y ago
  I use WidgetLocker.
- dsr_ 13y ago
  If you were using AOKP or CyanogenMod or any of a dozen other alternate Android builds, you would already have that. When I tap the power button, I get: current weather, time, next calendar item. When I touch the unlock symbol, dragging it right unlocks the phone, but dragging it up, down or left gets me to the phone, camera, and my ebook reader. All of this is configurable, including the number of items available at unlock time. Downside: the unlock icons are not available if you use a PIN or password.
- bergie 13y ago
  Weather and time on lockscreen is easy using one of the widgets that can be placed into an Android lockscreen, for example DashClock: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nurik.roman.dashclock https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nurik.roma... Shortcuts... edge swipe from bottom on my lockscreen gives Google Now (after asking for the security code). On my Nexus 4, edge swipe from right brought the camera, though that doesn't seem to be working on the Nexus 7 I have now. For flashlight you could maybe add this extension to DashClock: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fleckdalm.dashclockcustomextension https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fleckdalm.... Note: this is assuming that you have a stock Android 4.x lockscreen. No idea whether these things work on one of the custom vendor lockscreens.
lurkylurk 13y ago
This looks really nice UI wise and the video aesthetic is clean. Great job on that. Are those interactions simulated though? I'm not an Android user so when I saw how thin the bezel was on that white phone they use I had to look it up. Turns out it's the S4 Play Edition[1] without the Samsung logo. That bezel isn't right though, I mean the S4 bezel is pretty thin but the video makes it look razor thin. Also: I want razor thin bezels, let's get there. [1] http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s4-google/4505-6452_7-35761621.html http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s4-google...
nl 13y ago
Wow, so much negativity! What happened to the dreams of a computer in your pocket that knew what you wanted to do? All anyone can think of is to complain about privacy? Really? I once did a brainstorm session with a facilitator who taught me a great technique. Whenever someone suggests something you aren't allowed to so "No" or "But" - instead you should say "Yes" or "And". Try it for a second: This application tries to predict what you will need when you pick your phone up. Currently it uses serverside processing to help with that. Yes, and imagine what else it could do with that serverside power! No battery constraints to worry about! Privacy problems are a great way to kill good ideas. Put those concerns aside for a minute and imagine the portability of handheld devices merged with the power of always-on servers.
- huxley 13y ago
  Yes and privacy problems are still real issues especially as privacy rights are continuously eroded every single day. Just because you wanted something in your pocket to solve all your problems, doesn't mean everyone else did. Many of us wanted a great tool, not a buddy or advisor or mind-reader. Every technological development has many possible routes it can follow, it can't follow them all. And you will inevitably be disappointed at some of the routes it takes. Can you imagine what it must be like to be Richard Stallman or Ted Nelson with a clearly articulated vision of the future but so many things go the other way?
- eternalban 13y ago
  > What happened to the dreams of a computer in your pocket that knew what you wanted to do? "Yes", the dream lives on; your pocket, your computer, your life -- dream on. "But" this is a for profit business.
- normloman 13y ago
  I have found the opposite: If you expose your ideas to the criticism of others, you expose flaws in your idea, which leads you to improve the idea. If you don't like something, say no. Say but. Say the truth.
- talmand 13y ago
  Why can't this be a good thing with strong privacy protections? What privacy problems are exactly holding it back? I imagine such a tool that collects such information to make things easier as possibly a wonderful thing. I also imagine such a tool that shares all that information with a third party as possibly a horrible thing. I would be willing to go along with your thought, as long as I knew that the information being collected was heavily encrypted and that the only person who would ever get to see it is me. Even then, recent events have shown us that encrypted data on someone else's server is not exactly safe from prying eyes. Don't be so willing to casually toss away your privacy. Once it's gone you may miss it and be unable to get it back.
orenbarzilai 13y ago
Seems nice, I will definitely give it a try. Remind me of http://everything.me http://everything.me

196 points by timdorr 13y ago

Neat idea, elegantly executed. Exceeds the design standards typical of Android apps. I've never liked Android's implementation of home/app screens (widgets + some apps, tap to reveal all your apps). I guess if you want a lot of clocks, Android is great. This adds another app/button layer...

what_ever 13y ago
Hah, widgets is the feature which makes Android great for me. I don't need to open each and every app every time to see the state and I can see multiple things right on my homescreen at the same time. It's so much more than "lot of clocks". In fact lock screen widgets are even better since I don't even have to unlock my phone to see widgets and updates. I suppose the app drawer concept is the same between iOS and Android and I get an option - (which is important) if you don't like having multiple homescreens, you can just disable it. I can arrange all work related apps and widgets on left homescreen, all personal on the right. And all the other apps remain in the drawer. On iOS, I don't get this option.

pc86 13y ago

Got my 5S in the mail last week. This makes me want an Android. Great job, guys!

ejp 13y ago

This looks really slick! How well does it work with some kind of lock-screen security? The UX for that is always a hassle, and I'd love to find someone who is doing it well.

ev9 13y ago
I'd imagine they're ignoring lock screen stuff for the moment. When you send them your email address they ask if you use a lock screen. I bet they're filtering invites to those who don't. MVP, and whatnot.

fidotron 13y ago

This is a neat idea, however, I fail to see either why it requires so much funding ($1.7m according to TechCrunch) or any server backend whatsoever.

srhngpr 13y ago
I agree with you. I like the idea and concept, but I prefer that apps like this actually let me do some of the teaching manually. Perhaps try to define the apps I want to appear at certain times of the day. One of the reasons I stopped using Aviate was that I felt like their scenes just didn't really match what i was doing at the time.
- typicalbender 13y ago
  Just out of curiosity how long did you use Aviate for. I would assume their algorithm just keeps track of how many times you use an app at a specific location and then the premise would be after some amount of time it would reach a general consistency. To speed up that process It would be nice to be able to define a list of apps up front which have a greater weight and then hopefully it will reach a list of apps that you actually use over time.
- ev9 13y ago
  I'd assume you prefer to do it yourself is because you haven't found a system that does it well enough for you to let go of control? Or are you just the kind of person who tends to like to do things the harder way? I wouldn't blame you for being the latter - it's kind of like people who prefer to drive a manual transmission to automatic.
  - radley 13y ago
    Or perhaps it's faster, easier, and more accurate to place your own five icons that to wait for an algorithm to try and figure it out.
mortenjorck 13y ago
The real product here is almost certainly an analytics service. From Cover's privacy policy at https://www.coverscreen.com/privacy https://www.coverscreen.com/privacy: Cover records the following items: The list of apps installed on your phone, including which apps are on your homescreen and dock The number of times you run an app, including the time and place where you ran it (specifically, the cell tower or wifi network you were connected to, or that you were located within a geographic area you identified such as home or work) The number of times you turn on your phone (i.e. view your Cover lockscreen), and what you do subsequently: launch an app, slide open the cover, or simply turn the screen back off (e.g. just glance at the clock). Information from connected Bluetooth devices, such as the Bluetooth device ID of your car. Information from the sensors in your phone, such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, and GPS (though GPS is used exceptionally sparingly in order to save your battery). The system starts to collect data as soon as you install Cover. The data collection continues until you remove Cover from your phone. The data is uploaded from your phone over a secured connection to our servers. Cover is tracking every app you launch on your phone, when you launch it, where you are when you launch it, and even what angle you're holding your phone when you launch it. Privacy concerns notwithstanding, sounds like valuable data.

samstave 13y ago

Heh. What the Facebook phone could never be; useful. It would be good to be able to define actions based on location (either by which wifi I connect to or GPS) - as well as time of day. (I'd like to have my screen auto dim at 10PM)

explosivo2k2 13y ago
Tasker (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch....) is perfect for this kind of thing. There is a learning curve but it's worth it - very powerful app.
- lazylizard 13y ago
  and automateit, llama and even microsoft on x..
jamie_ca 13y ago
Try Twilight. Its reason for existence is to redshift and dim your screen in the evening hours so the excess blue light doesn't impact sleep quite so much, but if you don't like the red shift you can disable it and it'll just auto-dim.

chrisrh 13y ago

Looks like to be in competition with Aviate: http://getaviate.com/ http://getaviate.com/

cik 13y ago

This terrifies me. There's an instant problem of paranoia, and trust here. I would never be okay with the idea of an application monitoring what I'm doing, in order to reorder itself. Mind you, I say all this without knowing if it requests network access. How do I know you're not sending my usage patterns upstream to CoverCorp? How do I know that you're not reading the Android Music Provider database, and sharing my data back?

zwily 13y ago
Isn't this just an extension of what Google Now does? Do you mean that you'll never be okay with the idea, unless it's Google doing it?
tene 13y ago
So, let's say your worst fears are true, and it's sending up a log of every app you use. What happens then? What's the harm? I'm not being rhetorical, I really don't follow what the fear is here. I can't imagine how my life would be any different if some company knows that I launched chrome at 12:22, then hangouts at 12:30, then some half-assed game at 12:35.
- grimtrigger 13y ago
  Just because its fun to play "worst case scenario"... An actuary finds a link between late night cell phone usage and mental illness X. They determine that given your cell phone usage pattern, you have an 50% chance of illness X. Such information is sold to insurance companies, employment background check companies, yada yada
  - true_religion 13y ago
    Aren't there laws in place about selling/sharing individualized personal information? If not, then I think there should be so apps that simply want to use aggregated data will be allowed and will be guaranteed to be safe.
  - k-mcgrady 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

unlogic 13y ago

Right, unlocking the phone prior to opening apps is so hard and boring. Let's just launch them directly from the lockscreen. Wait, apps are accidentally being launched in my pocket. Can I have a lockscreen for the lockscreen?

radley 13y ago

They're going to have the same problem as Facebook Home. They're essentially doing an overlay activity like most of us do. It only works as they describe provided the user keeps the device unlocked in the system. You can't bypass the device lock screen without rooting the device.

smackfu 13y ago
I thought the main problem users had with Facebook Home was "where did my widgets to?"

rstevens11 13y ago

this thing is slick! Great, thoughtful design that is making me want my android back

rcthompson 13y ago

On a semi-related topic, is it really possible for an app to properly replace the Android lockscreen? I haven't found any way to do it. As far as I can tell, all the "lock screen" apps use a hack where they disable the stock lock screen and then emulate a lock screen by asking you to make the lockscreen app your default home screen and then launching your "real" home screen when you "unlock" them. I've seen it said that they do this because it isn't truly possible to replace the lock screen. The problem is, of course, that this hack sometimes doesn't work or produces weird results often enough to discourage me from using any custom lock screen.

lnanek2 13y ago
There are some other alternatives. HTC had a lockscreen API for a while. Similarly, generic Android has started supporting widgets on the lock screen, basically. One of the evangelists even has a popular widget lockscreen with extensions called DashClock that many people are writing for. Lastly, I haven't tried it, but I suspect replacing the Android Launcher would also let you do it. This is the method Facebook used for putting their talking heads in every app.
- antrix 13y ago
  > Lastly, I haven't tried it, but I suspect replacing the Android Launcher would also let you do it. This is the method Facebook used for putting their talking heads in every app. The talking heads overlay doesn't require replacing the Launcher. Installing just the FB Messenger app will get you that feature too. AFAIK, it uses the "Draw over other apps" permission (android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW) to achieve this. Here's a library that does the same: https://github.com/pingpongboss/StandOut/ https://github.com/pingpongboss/StandOut/

thoughtpalette 13y ago

Doesn't Android already have a "profiles" mode so you can switch between multiple app layouts and configurations?

27182818284 13y ago

My initial reaction to this is nothing but love. I hate the idea it needs all sorts of server connections for their business model. I don't know a way around that, but if they or another company figure out how, that's what people will gravitate toward. Especially given the paranoid climate.

ghiculescu 13y ago
They could charge money for the app? It doesn't say anywhere, but I'm guessing it's going to be free given the analytics business model.
- i386 13y ago
  Mobile users don't expect to pay for apps, ever. Even if people are willing to pay, there isn't any recurring revenue unless you charge for upgrades and the upgrade would have to be to be significantly better than the version they already own. So the question is, how much could you improve a product like this, over the course of life time of the business? Not to mention that mobile users generally feel entitled to free upgrades - TapBots are having this problem right now with TweetBot.

g3orge 13y ago

wow, beautiful device... anyone know which is it?

jackbewley 13y ago

The Android app SayIt has a widget that does something similar to this. It learns purely from usage/recency and is generally very good at presenting you with the apps your most likely to launch. All of the analysis is performed on the device so no information is shared with 3rd party servers. It also sports very fast voice based app launching. No affiliation just use it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rn.sayit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rn.sayit

zmmmmm 13y ago

So how does it work with a PIN / pattern lock? The problem with most lock screen enhancements is that anything you put there is outside your phone security "firewall" and available to anybody who picks up your phone. The 4.2 lock screen widgets work fairly well with this (eg: you can open the camera app without unlocking the phone, but attempting to swipe over the gallery forces you to unlock). However they are (I assume) using the core framework APIs to do that and I presume support for it is coded into the apps, while this seems to be doing it for any app.

radley 13y ago
It sounds like they're avoiding the issue for now by only allowing non-locked users: > When you send them your email address they ask if you use a lock screen. (re: @ev9)
- GoldStarBrother 13y ago
  Actually, their F.A.Q.[1] says that they do support this feature: >Is Cover compatible with a security code? (passcode, pattern, etc.)? Yes. Cover is compatible with both PIN codes and security patterns. When you have a security code set, Cover’s “peek” feature is disabled. The app icons will slide across the screen, the security code screen will appear, and then the app will launch. In order to use peek, we recommend that you configure your security code not to take effect immediately. For example, if you set it to a 1-minute or 5-minute timeout, you’ll be able to use peek without sacrificing much security. [1]: https://www.coverscreen.com/faq https://www.coverscreen.com/faq

nathan_f77 13y ago

Why does it need an internet connection? Why is it posting data to a server?

jfaghm 13y ago

I must've missed something because the site says "launched" but I can't find the app on the site or in Google Play. Or is it only available for certain devices? I have an HTC One Google Play edition.

scep12 13y ago
The site's banner still says "Coming soon to Google Play"

gameguy43 13y ago

Interesting example of a useful smartphone extension that is Android-only because of limitations in the access iOS gives 3rd party apps.

wayward-yeah 13y ago

I wrote an iOS speed-dial app that does the same sort of predication for contacts that this does for applications. It's definitely an order of magnitude less sophisticated, but I though it might be worth sharing: http://nate-at-lightspeed.appspot.com/swiftdial http://nate-at-lightspeed.appspot.com/swiftdial

kronbsy 13y ago

Looks like a nicer version of aviate.

PhasmaFelis 13y ago

I was excited for about five seconds, and then I realized that this thing is way the hell more complicated than I need. All I want is a way to put the current weather on my lockscreen under the time, and to put immediate access to camera, flashlight, and Google Now there. Everything else I'm perfectly comfortable doing myself. Any suggestions for an app that does that?

Sir_Cmpwn 13y ago
I use WidgetLocker.
dsr_ 13y ago
If you were using AOKP or CyanogenMod or any of a dozen other alternate Android builds, you would already have that. When I tap the power button, I get: current weather, time, next calendar item. When I touch the unlock symbol, dragging it right unlocks the phone, but dragging it up, down or left gets me to the phone, camera, and my ebook reader. All of this is configurable, including the number of items available at unlock time. Downside: the unlock icons are not available if you use a PIN or password.
bergie 13y ago
Weather and time on lockscreen is easy using one of the widgets that can be placed into an Android lockscreen, for example DashClock: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nurik.roman.dashclock https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nurik.roma... Shortcuts... edge swipe from bottom on my lockscreen gives Google Now (after asking for the security code). On my Nexus 4, edge swipe from right brought the camera, though that doesn't seem to be working on the Nexus 7 I have now. For flashlight you could maybe add this extension to DashClock: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fleckdalm.dashclockcustomextension https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fleckdalm.... Note: this is assuming that you have a stock Android 4.x lockscreen. No idea whether these things work on one of the custom vendor lockscreens.

lurkylurk 13y ago

This looks really nice UI wise and the video aesthetic is clean. Great job on that. Are those interactions simulated though? I'm not an Android user so when I saw how thin the bezel was on that white phone they use I had to look it up. Turns out it's the S4 Play Edition[1] without the Samsung logo. That bezel isn't right though, I mean the S4 bezel is pretty thin but the video makes it look razor thin. Also: I want razor thin bezels, let's get there. [1] http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s4-google/4505-6452_7-35761621.html http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s4-google...

nl 13y ago

Wow, so much negativity! What happened to the dreams of a computer in your pocket that knew what you wanted to do? All anyone can think of is to complain about privacy? Really? I once did a brainstorm session with a facilitator who taught me a great technique. Whenever someone suggests something you aren't allowed to so "No" or "But" - instead you should say "Yes" or "And". Try it for a second: This application tries to predict what you will need when you pick your phone up. Currently it uses serverside processing to help with that. Yes, and imagine what else it could do with that serverside power! No battery constraints to worry about! Privacy problems are a great way to kill good ideas. Put those concerns aside for a minute and imagine the portability of handheld devices merged with the power of always-on servers.

huxley 13y ago
Yes and privacy problems are still real issues especially as privacy rights are continuously eroded every single day. Just because you wanted something in your pocket to solve all your problems, doesn't mean everyone else did. Many of us wanted a great tool, not a buddy or advisor or mind-reader. Every technological development has many possible routes it can follow, it can't follow them all. And you will inevitably be disappointed at some of the routes it takes. Can you imagine what it must be like to be Richard Stallman or Ted Nelson with a clearly articulated vision of the future but so many things go the other way?
eternalban 13y ago
> What happened to the dreams of a computer in your pocket that knew what you wanted to do? "Yes", the dream lives on; your pocket, your computer, your life -- dream on. "But" this is a for profit business.
normloman 13y ago
I have found the opposite: If you expose your ideas to the criticism of others, you expose flaws in your idea, which leads you to improve the idea. If you don't like something, say no. Say but. Say the truth.
talmand 13y ago
Why can't this be a good thing with strong privacy protections? What privacy problems are exactly holding it back? I imagine such a tool that collects such information to make things easier as possibly a wonderful thing. I also imagine such a tool that shares all that information with a third party as possibly a horrible thing. I would be willing to go along with your thought, as long as I knew that the information being collected was heavily encrypted and that the only person who would ever get to see it is me. Even then, recent events have shown us that encrypted data on someone else's server is not exactly safe from prying eyes. Don't be so willing to casually toss away your privacy. Once it's gone you may miss it and be unable to get it back.

orenbarzilai 13y ago

Seems nice, I will definitely give it a try. Remind me of http://everything.me http://everything.me