An Android mobile phone (whatever it is, a Samsung Galaxy, Nexus 5, Moto G or other), compared to an iPhone, is much more effective, in my opinion, in providing direct information that is useful to face the day. For example, therefore, waking up in the morning, the first time you pick up the phone, you can immediately check some useful information on the screen without having to open any app . This is possible thanks to the widgets, i.e. those interactive panels that can be inserted on the main screen of the phone, which automatically update the information provided. While we have seen, in another page of Navigaweb.net, the best Android widgets to be installed on the screen of mobile phones and tablets, in this we see only the most useful ones, those that should be installed on each smartphone, to view updated information such as, for example, the weather, the day's news and traffic information, all that you would like to know before starting the day .
NOTE : Widgets are installed as applications.
To insert widgets on the screen, just touch and hold in an empty space, then choosing the Widget option and scrolling through the installed ones. Just make sure you have enough screen space. Keep in mind that holding down on a widget it can be moved, removed or resized.
1) A weather widget with clock
Knowing immediately, as soon as you wake up, what the weather is outside, what the temperature is and what the forecast for the day is, I think it is one of the most useful information ever.
Without opening any app you can then add the weather widget which is already included on some smartphones.
Usually, the weather widget is combined with the time widget, in order to have exact time and weather conditions in the same box.
The best weather apps for Android all have a widget to add on the screen.
In another article we also listed the best widgets with weather and time for Android .
What I personally prefer is the 1Weather widget, customizable, of various sizes, where you can choose what to open by touching the time or temperature.
In one case I make sure that the alarm clock opens, in the other that the weather forecast, hourly and next days.
In the settings, change the units of measurement and remove the notifications.
The MeteoLive widget is also good with the forecasts of the next 4 days, various themes for a different aspect and hourly forecasts.
READ ALSO: Add date and time on the screen of the Android phone
2) Widget for the day's news
After the weather forecast, you can read the main news of the day, updated, to know immediately, before buying a newspaper or turning on the computer, if something has happened in the world and in Italy.
Among the best apps to read news about on the Android smartphone to have a widget to customize are
- Google News, which shows the front page news taken from Google News and which, optionally, can also give the weather forecast.
- News Republic, an aggregator of some of the most well-known blogs and information sites from which you can choose the category of news that you always want to have under control on the main phone screen. Both apps update in the background, you can scroll through the news from the widget and touch the title to read the entire article.
3) Calendar
To have all the appointments and events on your digital agenda under control, you can add the Google Calendar widget on the screen, which works well.
But if you want something more particular and more beautiful, then you can install an app like Month Calendar, which binds to Google Calendar or Exchange account, very minimal, transparent and customizable.
Another excellent calendar widget is Business Calendar, recommended for those who use Google Calendar, customizable, which shows the activities of the month, week and day.
4) Facebook and Twitter Widgets
To keep under control the news published by friends on Facebook or by the accounts followed on Twitter you can install the HootSuite app which provides an excellent widget to read the latest posts added on Facebook or those on Twitter directly on the screen.
5) System and battery monitoring
To find out at any time if the phone is fine and is not consuming too much memory and too much battery, you should install a widget.
The geeks can install System Monitor, a widget that shows the use of RAM, processor and battery.
6) Battery check
If you only need to check the battery level, you can install the minimal Battery Widget.
7) Residual Credit
On the store there are free widgets that allow you to always keep under control the residual credit thresholds and that of available internet traffic. We talked about these widgets in another article on the App to check the remaining credit TIM, Tre, Wind and Vodafone .
8) Real-time traffic
On Android, to know the traffic in real time, just use Google Now and set your home and work addresses on Google Maps. The widget is given by the Google app and shows the traffic to get home or work.
If you don't use Google Now, the best widget to install to always know how much traffic is on the way to work (or somewhere else) is Waze .
To configure the widget, open the app, then tap the options button and go to My Waze giving an address for Home and Work .
The widget will mark the time it takes to get to Work, at any time, from where you are.
9) Quick keys to activate and deactivate the telephone functions
This widget should already be present in every Android smartphone and called " energy saving control ".
If not, an app can be installed to have on / off switches for the main Android controls such as wifi, bluetooth, brightness, volume etc.
10) Other useful Androi Widgets
An excellent widget to monitor physical activities is given by the Google Fit app .
Gmail and other applications to manage Email on Android all offer a widget that shows us the latest messages received and the same is obtained for Whastapp, with the application widget.
For any other information that you want to keep under control at all times, you can search the store.
