Review: Action Launcher by Chris Lacey

This is Action Launcher. Right off the bat, this is one of the most interesting launchers I've ever used. There are a lot of very different, yet useful features that make this launcher unique so let's dive right in.

The actual home screens are not too much different than stock Android. Were you begin to notice the differences is in the action bar that is ever-present at the top of your screen. This bar is how you add to your home screens, search(Which for me brought up Google's Now's voice search), and one of the ways you can access your apps. 

Apps can be accessed one of two ways like I previously mentioned. You can either tap the Apps button, or you can simply swipe from the left edge of your display. Both of which open an alphabetical list of all your apps with a shortcut bar on the side to jump to the letter you desire more quickly.

Another major feature that separates this launcher from others is called Covers.

Covers are essentially folders with a twist, and they are indicated by small white squares.

The way they work is quite handy: either tap once to bring up the app that is pictured, or double tap to bring up a folder.

The two main points about this launcher, that I feel are most evident, are simplicity and speed. 

While this app is a bit unconventional, it is a fantastic alternative if you prefer smoothness to the cheesy animations of most OEM launchers. If you are looking for an intuitive, feature packed launcher then look no further. Action Launcher is available in the Play Store for $3.99 and is linked in the beginning of this post. If you'd like to know more about the developer you can follow him on Twitter and circle him on Google +.

So what do you guys think of Action Launcher? 

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iPod Touch(5th Generation): My Full Review

Apple's latest edition to the iPod Touch line is easily the best iteration of the device yet. With previous versions the specs always seemed to fall short, and it really showed in day to day performance. Having owned a 4th and 5th Gen iTouch, the difference in performance is remarkable, and while the price is a bit high it was a great purchase; here's why:

Design and Display

Note: this iPod is my girlfriend's. This is not MY choice of wallpaper...

Everything about this iPod has been improved. Most notably is the display, which is now larger at 4" and is now Retina as well with 326PPI. Images are crisp and clear and there is zero pixelation even when completely zoomed in. 

The overall design of this device is beautiful. Gone is the old silver back that was notorious for scratching, and in is this brand new matte finished. I happen to have the Product Red version, it is also available in blue, pink, yellow, slate(black), and silver. 

Little touches like the reflective bezel and logo make this guy shine. 

All the buttons remain in the same places, while the new Lightning port replaces the 30-pin connector. Also new, is the Loop located on the back, which is essentially a wrist strap. What's nice about this is it is detachable and the small pit can be closed if you so desire.

Aesthetically, this is a gorgeous product. It's thin, light, and beautiful; nothing short of Apple standards.

Performance

Opening apps, gaming, and web browsing are all delightfully zippy on this guy. Areas in iOS 6 where it would lag on the previous generation are handled with ease on this one. Even with tons of apps open, it still flies. This is thanks to the dual-core A5 processor inside and 512MB of RAM. While this may not seem like a lot compared to most Android devices, you have to remember that iOS is not as recourse heavy. This has been a dream to use.

The only gripe I have about it is that some apps have yet to be updated to fit the larger screen. But that is not a problem with device itself.

Cameras

The cameras on this iPod are actually usable compared to the previous model they are much better. The rear camera is basically the same one found on the iPhone 4, while the front is a 720p iSight camera.

While they aren't the best, they are definitely usable for quick snapshots or video chat.

Battery Life

According to my girlfriend the battery life is good, but since this is not my personal device I have not been able to test it extensively. 

Pricing and Value

The biggest downfall of this guy is the price. With this new generation of iTouch, Apple has completely eliminated the 8GB model. The base model is now 32GB and starts at $299. This is a little steep considering you can get a 32GB Nexus 7 with cellular data for the same price. 

Conclusion

The price of this iPod may be a little high but it is the best iTouch so far. If you have the extra money and you want something that you can play games, consume media, and take advantage of the ecosystem with but aren't crazy about the iPhone, then this is going to be a great option. Though you can get "more value" with a Nexus 7, you get a much more portable and well crafted device in the new 5th generation iPod Touch.

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HTC One S: My Personal Device

HTC has gone through a number of changes over the years. Some good and some bad. For the most part they've done well in the mobile industry. Especially with their current flagship line, the One series. I personally own the T-mobile One S and in my opinion, it's a great device. It has 1.5ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a gig of RAM, a 4.3" qhd amoled display with a pentile matrix,  and Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC's Sense 4 running on top of it. You can run custom roms with Android 4.0.4 and Sense 4.1, but I'll save the hacking for another post.

HTC has been known for their excellent build quality and the One S is no exception. It has aluminum uni-body design with beautiful gorilla glass 2 display, and is only 0.31" thin. It feels great in your hand, but with this incredibly clean design comes a few sacrifices. The One S does not have any option for expandable storage so you are stuck with the 16gbs of on board memory. It also does not have a removable battery. That, to me, would not be a problem if the battery was bigger. It only has a 1650mAh battery....yeah, that's not very big. The battery life is alright but I just don't see why they haven't increased the battery size. With higher resolutions displays that are getting bigger everyday, you'll need a bigger battery to compensate. I hate to compare companies, but the Galaxy S III has a 2100mAh battery that is also removable, just sayin...

One of the best things about this device, and the series as well, is the camera. It has a numerous amount of great features such a burst mode, HD 1080p video recording, the ability to capture still pictures while shooting video, and much more. The pictures are clear and crisp in most lighting conditions, with the except of very dim situations. It's the best camera on a phone that I've ever used. 

Like I said before, this phone is running HTC's latest version of Sense UI, of which I am a fan. Although it is much more memory hungry than stock Android, I think if they toned down the code a little it could be a much more viable option. A lot of people find it too obtrusive and in your face, but I happen to enjoy a lot of the little customizations and features they've added to ICS. 

Things such as the lock screen giving you direct access to the apps in your doc, music playback, and text messages, they've made it much easier to add widgets to your home screens, and the animations are very much toned down from previous versions of Sense.

One gripe I do have with the custom UI is the way they've changed the recent apps menu. 

Although it looks nice, the style of the menu makes closing recent apps unnecessarily complicated; and only being able to see one app at a time and having to swipe them upwards, makes it much time consuming and frustrating.

The newest version of HTC's keyboard is an improvement over previous versions as well. The buttons are large and it is easy to type on. But their implementation of Trace input, which is a Swype rip off, is just not up to the level of usability that Swype is. It's very difficult to input the word you're aiming for if you are not 100% with your 'trace'. It is also quite cumbersome to go back and change a word that you've already input. One of the most useless features about the keyboard are the small directional arrows at the bottom. If nothing else, for me, these are simply a guard rail so as not to accidentally press the home button while typing. 

Over all, this a great device; and one of the 2 best phones in T-mo's current line up. Does it have flaws? Yes. But that doesn't mean it should be over looked. If I could suggest one thing to HTC, I would tell them put in bigger batteries. Other than that, this phone is awesome. 

If you would like to know any other detail, hit me up in the comments or on twitter @tbc_lain.

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