Apple doesn’t offer truly individualized customization of its products or interfaces to its users, and if anyone wants to customize the look of their Apple products – specifically their home screens – they’re in for A Time. With iOS 16 coming in September, there’s an opportunity for Apple to give consumers needed autonomy.
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There are dozens of great launchers for Android, however going back in time a few years, our choices were a bit different. One of the biggest players, and likely one many of us remember fondly, was ADW Launcher. It had tons of great features, but above all else it was fast, fun, and powerful. However that was a long time ago. ADW hasn’t seen an update since mid-2013, but now it’s back with a new design and some great new features.
Google is updating its Google Sheets spreadsheet app on the web today with a few new features and improvements. First up, the updated app now includes new customization options for charts including the ability to add data labels as well as shapes to denote data points including stars, triangles, and pentagons.
Some of the other new features arriving today include a preview for formula results in real-time when typing, the ability to filter rows and columns by “greater than” and “text contains”, and an option to add calculated fields “to pivot tables when you want to apply formulas to pivot table data.”
Google adds that you’ll also now be able to “Use the GETPIVOTDATA function to more easily retrieve data from your pivot table.”
Lastly, Google has a new option to present a customized warning message to collaborators that attempt to edit something they shouldn’t (pictured below):
You can check out the updated Google Sheets web app now.
Motorola announced today on its blog that its releasing a new “College Collection” of customization options through Moto Maker that will allow those purchasing a Moto X to apply custom school colors and logos for a long list of schools in the US. It’s also offering a discount on the device for students.
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When it comes to Android, one of the biggest advantages and selling points of the platform is customization, customization, customization. The opportunity to skin, theme, change, alter and design everything from widgets to icons to shortcuts is one of the great aspects of Android life. A quick walk-through of Google’s Play Store shows there is no shortage of launchers and many Android fans rattle off the names Nova, ADW and Apex like they are verbs. However, as popular as those three launchers are, they are just the tip of the iceberg and that’s where my newly minted favorite app comes into the story. Say hello to Themer.
Back in May, we reported on many of the customization options that would be coming with the Moto X Phone. Our sources claimed the device would be offered with 25+ color options in the form of skins/protections, and now ABC News is reporting something very similar, but with a few more details.
According to the report, users will be able to buy the device in a variety of colors, just as we said earlier. One of the colors will be used for the back case and the other for the trim. Much like with iPhones, iPads, and iPods, users will be able to have a custom message engraved in the back cover, which is something we’ve yet to see with Android devices. Finally, users will supposedly be able to upload a custom photo and have their device arrive with that photo set as the wallpaper.
So the big thing with the Moto X will be the 'awareness' features. Keep an eye on @9to5Google for more on this soon.
— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) July 3, 2013
More details were also offered regarding the sensors that the X Phone will feature.
The biggest tricks of the phone come with what Motorola has been doing with the hardware sensors, sources say. Instead of having to fumble to find the camera icon or button, users will be able to flick the phone to launch the camera. There are also added voice capabilities, which leverage Google’s advanced voice recognition technology. The phone is said to be smart enough to know when you are driving and will automatically launch the speakerphone function.
After joining Motorola as an advisor late last month, former long-time Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki appears to be dropping some big hints about the company’s upcoming plans in the smartphone space. In a post to his Google+ account (via DroidLife), Kawasaki posted a link to a video detailing customization options offered by Porsche and posing the question, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could personalize your phone like this?”
This has of course lead to speculation that Kawasaki is referring to the ability customize an upcoming Motorola device at the time of purchase, something that recent reports indicate could be in the plans for Motorola’s much rumored X Phone. AndroidandMe and other blogs have reported that the Motorola’s X Phone could include hardware customization options, but also the ability to preload apps, ringtone, wallpapers, etc, features that other devices have offered versions of in the past.
The latest rumors claim X Phone could see an official release by June and its possible we could get our first look at the device in May during Google I/O.
A new Chrome Extension called GTools+ allows you to customize Google+ to your liking. The extension features many customizations — like moving Chat to the Google Bar, adding an unread counter for Gmail and Reader, language translation for posts from your foreign friends, and the ability to keep the Google Bar at the top of the page when you scroll down. GTools+ is available on the Chrome Web Store. All of GTools+’s features:
- Unified Google bar, your personalized menu is possible on all Google services! - Stick the Google+ bar always on top when you scrolling - Prevent open in new tab or window when you click on link inside the Google+ bar - Change the position of the chat for put in the Google+ Bar - Change the color of the notification bubble in the Google+ bar - Right click on the extension icon for go to the options page fastest - Add a translation link in the context menu (auto detect the post language) - Add notification for Gmail and Reader in the Google Bar. - Edit the color of any notification bubble.
