The document discusses customizing the look and feel of Android devices through various methods like skins, themes, widgets, and custom launchers. It provides examples of apps needed to replicate a specific home screen look, and notes that Minecraft allows customization through textures, skins, and modifications. Branding is also mentioned as a way companies individualize their Android devices with logos and mascots. The document concludes by comparing the NextBook 7 Premium and Galaxy Tab 2 tablets across criteria like features, power usage, and value.
2. Customization
Themeing
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Patchwork
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Widgets
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Visual Components
Skinning
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Entire Package
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Contiguous
Theme
”Currently, there is no way to get your
home screen to look like this in one-click. You
will have to install apps like Nova Launcher
(set it to 7×7 grid without a dock), BobClockD3,
Circle Battery Widget, Minimalistic Text
weather widget, wallpaper, and icons from
DeviantArt. Additionally, you will need
WidgetLocker to customize the lock screen
and you may use Phantom Music Control to
automatically hide music buttons when not in
use. All of these apps, tweaks and widgets are
readily available from the Google Play Store.”
6. Head
To
Head
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Galaxy Tab 2Galaxy Tab 2
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EntertainmentEntertainment
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High end MachineryHigh end Machinery
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Bells & WhistlesBells & Whistles
7. Head
To
Head
●
Galaxy Tab 2Galaxy Tab 2
●
EntertainmentEntertainment
●
High end MachineryHigh end Machinery
●
Bells & WhistlesBells & Whistles
Editor's Notes
As a side note, the best part of this assignment was learning that my tablet and Ipod can take screen shots. I tried to find a way to do it with the NextBook, but wasn't able to figure it out.
Two types of customization verbiage comes into play, Themeing, and Skinning. Although there is contention as to the definitions of each, it has been my experience that Themeing is the patchwork style, where different widgets and visual components are put together to create the finished look. Skinning then, is when a complete package is created, an entire contiguous visual look. As an example, take Minecraft.
The texture in Minecraft is how the game looks to the user. A skin is the graphic a player wears on the character, this is persistent and appears on the player-character even on multi-user game fields. A mod is an actual change to the game, by adding items, or system changes, such as altering graphic properties such as render distance.
A yellow M in a red square means McDonald's fast food restaurant. A blue bird silhouette is Twitter, 140 character micro blogging site. Unless you have a Google device you might never have seen what the stock Android UI looks like. Samsung's UI is called TouchWiz, HTC's is called Sense, and Motorola's used to be called MotoBlur, but the most recent version for Android Ice Cream Sandwich is un-named. But they don't call it a skin. When speaking to Gizmodo, manufacturers wanted the term to be 3rd party UI.
If you are not willing to customize Android yourself, a 3 rd party UI is definitely the way to go. Small but smart manufacturers can compete on a more level field with big names by putting resources into designing clear interfaces, and allocating manufacture budget to the admittedly shallow end user’s visual experience. It can be argued that the Nextbook is skinned to appeal to a less sophisticated user. One who is interested more in E books, and willing to admit they need help, upfront. That seems to be the driving message behind the design.
While the Galaxy is designed with Samsung's previous phone users in mind, on the hardware end and the home layout. Social items are first, as are entertainment items. The Galaxy's ability to capture screen shots speaks to an information sharing culture, among users. All in all, Android's customizability is well utilized by manufacturers to skew their products to the target market, allowing nearly unnoticeable component cutbacks and purchase end savings.
