T
tr.slate
Guest
From the first somewhat frustrating early days of Android on the G1, StatusToggle has appeared to save you time by making switching between wifi and cellular service an almost seamless experience, and best of all, keeps you from swearing at your phone out of shear wifi related frustration.
One of the first issues I noticed when using the original Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was there was no good consistent way of switching from cellular 3G to wifi data services. If you were on the Android home-screen you could access the wifi settings in a variety of ways, from downloading a third-party switch widget, to simply pressing "menu-->settings-->wifi." Furthermore if your wifi was already running you would be notified that a new signal was detected, but only if already switched on. The one drawback to these solutions being they did not work well while already browsing a web page for instance necessitating that you return to the home-screen and launch the settings manually one way or another, or they could potentially drain a days worth of battery power in mere hours.
Enter StatusToggle, whos designer anticipated this flaw and set it right for the Android faithful. StatusToggle uses the well loved and always present notification bar to display a wifi shortcut, which appears much like any other notification on Android, simple and out of the way, but there when you need it most. StatusToggle's notification setup is very close to flawless and best of all unlike other solutions, it is available for switching even while browsing or running other data intensive applications.
Simply download the StatusToggle app, install, and click on the icon from your launcher to enable the ever present StatusToggle icon to appear in your notification bar. From there, it's as easy as pulling down the notification bar and pressing the notification itself. StatusToggle lets you know that wifi has been enabled using a small pop-up, then you will be asked if you would like to view available networks. If you need to visit your wifi setting simply press yes and you are taken straight to the needed info. Press no and it launches wifi and connects to your trusted network, both quickly and easily.
Although one of my favorite apps because of its sheer usefulness and simplicity, StatusToggle is not without a few small faults. It can be a bit annoying at times to have to constantly tell StatusToggle you don't want to see the wifi settings, and it would be nice to be able to disable this option for those that find themselves switching many times a day to the same wifi signals they have used previously. Personally, I travel mostly in the same stomping grounds with the same wifi networks, and very seldom need to add a new network to my list . Another great change would be the addition of a setting that would allow your wifi to "time out" after your phone is asleep, reverting it to cellular only data service to save battery power. When I emailed the developer asking if they planned on adding similar functionality, they stated that for one reason or another they weren't interested, but as they say, "There's an app for that..."
Luckily for us, another application does, and when paired with StatusToggle it will convert your normally tame Android handset into a lean, mean, data-destroying machine. It's called Wifi Buddy, and it includes the missing functionality of making the wifi turn off after a period of time, and includes several other great functions. Best of all, the price is right on both of these apps, completely free.
All around, StatusToggle is a great app to have on hand. Its ease of use and almost invisibility on your screen saves you clicks, and saves you from red-faced frustration while you try to switch while browsing a web page.
One of the first issues I noticed when using the original Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was there was no good consistent way of switching from cellular 3G to wifi data services. If you were on the Android home-screen you could access the wifi settings in a variety of ways, from downloading a third-party switch widget, to simply pressing "menu-->settings-->wifi." Furthermore if your wifi was already running you would be notified that a new signal was detected, but only if already switched on. The one drawback to these solutions being they did not work well while already browsing a web page for instance necessitating that you return to the home-screen and launch the settings manually one way or another, or they could potentially drain a days worth of battery power in mere hours.
Enter StatusToggle, whos designer anticipated this flaw and set it right for the Android faithful. StatusToggle uses the well loved and always present notification bar to display a wifi shortcut, which appears much like any other notification on Android, simple and out of the way, but there when you need it most. StatusToggle's notification setup is very close to flawless and best of all unlike other solutions, it is available for switching even while browsing or running other data intensive applications.
Simply download the StatusToggle app, install, and click on the icon from your launcher to enable the ever present StatusToggle icon to appear in your notification bar. From there, it's as easy as pulling down the notification bar and pressing the notification itself. StatusToggle lets you know that wifi has been enabled using a small pop-up, then you will be asked if you would like to view available networks. If you need to visit your wifi setting simply press yes and you are taken straight to the needed info. Press no and it launches wifi and connects to your trusted network, both quickly and easily.
Although one of my favorite apps because of its sheer usefulness and simplicity, StatusToggle is not without a few small faults. It can be a bit annoying at times to have to constantly tell StatusToggle you don't want to see the wifi settings, and it would be nice to be able to disable this option for those that find themselves switching many times a day to the same wifi signals they have used previously. Personally, I travel mostly in the same stomping grounds with the same wifi networks, and very seldom need to add a new network to my list . Another great change would be the addition of a setting that would allow your wifi to "time out" after your phone is asleep, reverting it to cellular only data service to save battery power. When I emailed the developer asking if they planned on adding similar functionality, they stated that for one reason or another they weren't interested, but as they say, "There's an app for that..."
Luckily for us, another application does, and when paired with StatusToggle it will convert your normally tame Android handset into a lean, mean, data-destroying machine. It's called Wifi Buddy, and it includes the missing functionality of making the wifi turn off after a period of time, and includes several other great functions. Best of all, the price is right on both of these apps, completely free.
All around, StatusToggle is a great app to have on hand. Its ease of use and almost invisibility on your screen saves you clicks, and saves you from red-faced frustration while you try to switch while browsing a web page.
