Android Apps To Add Hidden Shortcuts Accessible From Anywhere On Device

No matter how many applications you install on your android phone or tab, there would always be some of them that you use more often than the others. Of course, it is easy and possible to achieve an easy access to them by setting up folders on home screens. And if you use a custom launcher, than you most probably also have the option to setup multiple dock pages.

But what I rather like better is to have just one finger sweep (or press) access to my favorite apps and settings. Moreover, there are certain apps like note taking app etc that I often feel the need to access while I am in some other app (for example book reader). Happily, there are several very nice apps available to give me just that facility.

Here let’s take a look at some of the free options available:

SwipePad

SwipePad:

SwipePad calls itself a hyperspace launcher. It provides a launcher panel overlay, that is, it provides a hidden panel that can hold upto 12 shortcuts that can be accessed from any home screen or from within any app. The hidden panel can be accessed by just one sweep of finger. Just sweep your finger inward from a chosen edge or corner and stop when you reach the shortcut of the app you wish to use. Now lift your finger up and the app would launch immediately. So all it takes is just one finger sweep to have quick access to twelve apps or shortcuts.

Pros:

1. Quick Access: Provides one sweep access to twelve hidden shortcuts. Several options for hotspots available. Several different hotspots can be used together.

2. Looks nice: The app or shortcut icons are good sized and well spaced.

3. Heptic Feedback: a slight vibration can be felt when an app is activated

4. QuickPost: Comes with a very nice little Add On that allows adding simultaneous posting to Twitter and Facebook. However, only text status updates can be posted using it. You cannot use it to post photos.

5. Ability to add shortcuts: SwipePad does not just allow an easy access to apps, but several shortcuts can be added to the hidden panel as well. These include contact, direct call or message, and settings shortcuts

7. Add Ons: Several very useful Add Ons are available for SwipePad that can enhance its usability by enabling users to include widgets in the hidden shortcuts, or add a dialer, increase the number of shortcuts etc. None of them is free, however.

Cons:

1. Limited to 12 shortcuts: The number of shortcuts that can be added is restricted to 12. More space can be got by installing a paid add on.

2. Audio Feedback: There’s also an option for audio feedback upon the launch of the app. But not the kind of sound that one would like to hear often. At least I don’t like it.

3. Shrinks to a corner on bigger devices: When I use SwipePad on my phone, it spans across the whole screen. But on the tab, swiping the hotspot brings up a black screen with the twelve shortcuts occupying only a quarter portion of that screen. Doesn’t really look good. I hope further updates would fix this.

4. No color customization option for the shortcut panel. However, I never missed it much as the panel looks cool anyway.

Swapps:

Swapps is another hidden shortcuts apps that functions much like SwipePad. It can also be accessed by sweeping inwards from the edge of the device. It does not just provide a quick access to favorite apps, but makes available the entire app list from within any app. Like SwipPad, it’s also lightweight and easy to use. While SwipePad opens a hidden panel spanning across the entire screen, Swapps opens up in a list form next to the chosen edge. The top of the list shows ‘Starred‘ or favorite apps, below them are displayed recently used apps. After that, the whole app list could be made available. The display of recently used apps, and entre apps list is optional.

Pros:

1. Add up to 15 ‘Starred’ apps: Swapps allows adding upto 15 favorite apps, that’s more than the maximum twelve allowed by SwipePad.

2. Display recently used apps and entire apps list: Users can choose to display recently used apps and even the entire apps list after the starred apps. Thus, Swapps allows an easy access to the entire apps list from any app.

3. Good for bigger devices: The Swaps list looks a little cluttered on phone (in comparison to full screen panel of SwipePad), but looks quite good on bigger screen of Tabs.

Cons:

1. Only 2 options for Hotspot: Only the left or right edge can be used to trigger the app. However, the height and width of these hotspots are customizable.

3. No option to add shortcuts: Only apps can be added as favoruite, unlike SwipePad that allows adding of various other shortcuts.

4. Manual closing: When you accidentally trigger swipepad, just lifting the finger exits it. But in case of Swapps, you would need to tap on the empty space of screen or the ‘Close Drawer’ button on top of the Swapps list. Of course, if you use the list to launch an app, that automatically closes the list.

5. No customization option of the list: It would have been good if it was possible to customize the width and background of the Swapps list.

Easy Touch

Easy Touch:

Easy Touch-Assistive Touch is yet another free app that gives an access to other apps from within any app. However, instead of being activated by sweeping inwards from an edge or corner, it gets triggered by a customizable button that ‘floats’ on the screen. This button can be easily moved around on the screen, and stays visible no matter what you are doing on the phone or tab. Touching this button opens up the panel that contains all the shortcuts.

Pros:

1. More Favourites: Easy Touch allows adding more favourites. How many? I can’t say because I stopped after adding twenty apps.

2. Quick Switches: Easy Touch also allows adding some quick switches. These include toggle switches for WiFi, Sync, Sound, bluetooth etc.

3. Add Contacts: Adding shortcuts for contacts is also possible.

3. Check Memory: It also gives option to check memory use and running processes from its panel.

Cons:

1. Look: It might be just my personal taste, but I didn’t find its user interface very visually appealing. Apps and shortcuts in its panel are labelled in tiny, gray text. I would have liked them better a little bolder.

2. Button visible everywhere: I also do not much like the idea of having a button floating over everything. It gets kind of irritating and I feel like sweeping it off the screen. The button size is customizable and it can be made quite tiny, but still I find it irritating, especially on the smaller screen of a phone.

3. Manual Closing: Like Swapps, it also needs to be manually closed if accidentally triggered.

4. Customization: No color customization for the trigger button or the shortcut panel.

All these apps are easy and simple to configure and use. All three are light weight and kind to battery. The one thing I don’t like about all of them is that they all require the ‘favourites’ to be added one by one, instead of selecting several together from the list.

*****************

Jyoti Arora
Author of Dream’s Sake, Samsung Mobiler

www.jyotiarora.com