FlyScreen review

The "always connected" nature of the Android platform allows users to effortlessly keep track of what’s occurring in all of their myriad social networking and internet profiles, with links to portals such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace being included as standard with some of the recent handsets, including the HTC Hero and Motorola DEXT.

Such connectivity is a real godsend for active internet users but FlyScreen allows you to go one better; it allows you to link up with these sites without having to even to view your phone’s home screen or fire up the individual application.

FlyScreen is basically an program which replaces your usual boring “lock” screen with something altogether more appealing – it integrates with numerous sites to create a selection of useful information panes which can be scrolled through even when your phone is in its locked state.

Configuring the application is probably the most complex part of the whole procedure, as you’ll need to register on FlyScreen’s website before it can be initialised. Once this relatively painless process has been completed you can start customising your lock screen to showcase only the apps and sites you’re interested in.

For social creatures you can have Twitter and Facebook feeds pushed directly to your handset, and you can even update your status or post new Tweets, too. If you’re someone who regularly visits particular websites then you can establish an RSS feed which will show the latest articles.

It’s even possible to view calendar events and perform Google searches, all from within FlyScreen itself. You might be thinking that a lock screen that doesn’t actually lock your phone is a little pointless but all of the interaction possible is relatively low-level – whenever you want to do something that involves sending data, you have to unlock FlyScreen using a touchscreen gesture. This prevents you from accidentally posting stuff.

It’s a simple concept but FlyScreen is incredibly useful and saves you having to unlock your phone ever time you want to inspect a widget or change your status on your favourite social networking site. There are some minor niggles – some sites don’t want to play nice with FlyScreen’s layout and this can cause unsightly visual issues, but it’s a minor inconvenience when you consider just how much of a time-saver this is.

The only other improvement we can think of is the ability to change the wallpaper; while there are several apps available on the marketplace that offer this feature (which is a testament to FlyScreen’s rapid rise fame, if nothing else), it would be nice to be able to select a photo from your own personal collection to use. Again, this is a pretty insignificant gripe and doesn’t really impact on the overall brilliance of the app.

FlyScreen’s versatility just goes to show how the Android platform can encourage innovation amongst developers. The fact that it’s being offered free of charge is the icing on the cake.