Customize iOS 5's Notification Center with Quickpick
I don't use the Notification Center that iOS 5 ushered in nearly as much as I thought I would when I first saw it. With the 99-cent Quickpick--The Universal iOS Launcher app, however, I am pulling down the Notification Center on my iPhone with greater frequency.Really, the only things I've done with the Notification Center since its debut is delete the occasional alert and remove the stock ticker so I no longer have to watch prices scroll by for stocks I don't own. With Quickpick, however, I can call, text, and e-mail my favorite contacts with a swipe and a tap, and I can access commonly frequented apps and Web sites. The design of the app leaves a bit to be desired, but the added functionality it brings to the Notification Center is much appreciated.Note: the Quickpick app disappeared from the App Store this morning. I'll add a link to its page in iTunes should it make a return.You can add a title and URL manually to create a Quickpick entry, or you can use the Composer to select from four preconfigured options.Matt ElliottThere are two ways to add an item to the Notification Center with Quickpick. Launch the app and hit the plus-sign button in the upper-right corner. You can then either manually enter a title and a link to create a new entry using the Title and Link fields at the top of the screen, or you can tap the Composer button below to use four preconfigured options for making a phone call, composing an e-mail, composing a text, or opening a Web site. For the first three, you'll be taken to your address book, where you're able to select a contact and phone number or e-mail. The contact information is then added to the Title and Link fields. Hit Done and a new entry gets added to the Notification Center.Use Quickpick's Composer tool to easily create shortcuts to the Notification Center.Matt ElliottIf you select the Open Website option from the Composer tool, it simply adds the "http://www." prefix to the Link field, leaving the rest of the URL field for you to fill out, along with the title. I had mixed results in entering URLs. For example, I easily created an entry for CNET.com but was unable to create an entry for CNET.Howto.com. You can skip the Composer tool and use the Title and Link fields to create shortcuts to apps. The app supports URL scheming for this functionality. For example, typing fb://profile in the Link field creates a shortcut to the Facebook profile page of the Facebook app. Similarly, fb://feed takes you to the News Feed, while twitter://post?message opens the New Tweet screen of the Twitter app. Other examples include youtube:// to open the YouTube app, music:// to open the music app to the song currently playing (or paused), and itms-apps:// to open the App Store. For more, check out the various URL scheme lists here.You can use URL schemes to create shortcuts to many of your apps.Matt ElliottBy default, Quickpick displays five items in the Notification Center. If you have less than five created, it lists unassigned items, which is annoying. For example, if you set up three Quickpick entries, you'll see two lines in the Notification Center listed as Quickpick unassigned 4 and Quickpick unassigned 5. You can change the number listed in Settings > Notifications > Quickpick to 1, 5, or 10, but it'd be better if Quickpick just displayed the number you created in the app. You can create as many as you'd like in the app, and tapping the Edit button, you can rearrange the order (the top 5 or 10 entries listed in the app are displayed in Notification Center, depending on your settings). On the iPad (Quickpick is a universal app), you can up to 20 Quickpick entries in the Notification Center. Unassigned entries will litter your Notification Center if you created fewer than the number of entries you selected for it to display in Settings.Matt ElliottAlso annoying is every entry in the Notification Center has "Quickpick" in bold as its title, which is redundant and, sadly, uneditable. Below in regular-strength font is the title you gave each entry in the app. To delete a Quickpick entry, don't go to the Edit field but simply swipe on an entry from the list in the Quickpick app and tap the resulting red Delete button.Lastly, the action isn't always smooth in leaving the Notification Center. When you tap on a Quickpick entry, the Notification Center whisks away, but you frequently make a brief pit stop at the Quickpick app before being taken to your destination. Despite its few hiccups and design flaws, Quickpick makes for many useful additions to the iOS 5's Notification Center.(Via: 9to5Mac)
Roku surpasses 700 channels, adds Roku Ready TV partners
Roku surpasses 700 channels, adds Roku Ready TV partners
LAS VEGAS--Roku has no new hardware here at CES 2013, but that's not stopping the company from building on its success: content, content, content. The company just crossed the 700-channel benchmark for its line of smart TV boxes, and it's got even more new services on deck for 2013. Among the new channels that Roku is planning to add (in the territories indicated) in the first quarter of 2013:TWC TV: This app adds upwards of 300 live streaming TV channels for existing Time Warner Cable subscribers at no additional charge. (U.S. only)Fox Now: This is Fox's answer to Hulu -- full episodes of many Fox network TV shows. Sorry, cable cutters -- this is only available to customers who subscribe to a "participating TV provider." (U.S. only) PBS: According to Roku, this new channel will include "hundreds of full-length videos from local PBS stations, including episodes from new programs as well as the PBS archives, with new national and local content updated daily." (U.S. only)PBS Kids: The kid-friendly version of the above, with "more than 1,000 videos" including content such as Curious George and Sesame Street. (U.S. only)Blockbuster On Demand: Dish's pay-per-view movie service -- yet another alternative to Amazon, Vudu, and the like. (U.S. only)Dailymotion: The YouTube competitor comes to Roku. (U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland)iHeartRadio: The ClearChannel audio service will add to Roku's now-comprehensive audio roster. (U.S. only)Flingo: Roku says: "More than 70 new channels, including brands like TMZ, A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, Transworld, Warren Miller, Fitness Magazine, and CollegeHumor. Select channels are availablenow. New channels will launch every month." But it's unclear exactly what content will be available, and how Flingo plays a role.Those new offerings will join Roku's already category-leading lineup, which includes Netflix, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Crackle, HBO Go, MLB TV, Pandora, Dish World (live international programming), as well as the recently added Amazon Cloud Player, Spotify, and Vevo channels. Still notably, frustratingly, curiously absent: YouTube. Aside from that and Apple's iTunes, though, Roku has nearly every major video and audio service out there (including, for the record, our own CNET channel). Related stories:CES 2013: CNET's complete coverageTWC TV app brings 300 live TV channels to Roku ownersRoku LT: The CNET reviewRoku Streaming Stick: The CNET reviewMore Roku Ready hardware partnersSeparately, Roku also announced that it's expanding the list of "Roku Ready" hardware partners -- those companies that ship TVs and other AV products that include or are designed to work with the Roku Streaming Stick. Add Coby, Harman-Kardon, Hisense, TCL, Voxx (which sells under RCA and other brands), and Westinghouse to the Roku Ready roster. They join 3M -- maker of the cool Streaming Projector -- Element, Haier America, Hitachi, Insignia, Oppo, and Apex.Sarah Tew/CNETOf course, that list leaves out every top tier TV manufacturer -- Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Vizio, and the like -- all of which prefer to build their own smart TV suites and platforms. The irony is that Roku offers a far more extensive content selection than all of them, and it tends to upgrade and expand its offerings more frequently than the mainstream manufacturers. But competition is amping up -- streaming video is arguably the hot topic here at CES 2013. Expect a slew of announcements from the majors in next few days as they pronounce their plans to out-Roku Roku in 2013 and beyond.
LAS VEGAS--Roku has no new hardware here at CES 2013, but that's not stopping the company from building on its success: content, content, content. The company just crossed the 700-channel benchmark for its line of smart TV boxes, and it's got even more new services on deck for 2013. Among the new channels that Roku is planning to add (in the territories indicated) in the first quarter of 2013:TWC TV: This app adds upwards of 300 live streaming TV channels for existing Time Warner Cable subscribers at no additional charge. (U.S. only)Fox Now: This is Fox's answer to Hulu -- full episodes of many Fox network TV shows. Sorry, cable cutters -- this is only available to customers who subscribe to a "participating TV provider." (U.S. only) PBS: According to Roku, this new channel will include "hundreds of full-length videos from local PBS stations, including episodes from new programs as well as the PBS archives, with new national and local content updated daily." (U.S. only)PBS Kids: The kid-friendly version of the above, with "more than 1,000 videos" including content such as Curious George and Sesame Street. (U.S. only)Blockbuster On Demand: Dish's pay-per-view movie service -- yet another alternative to Amazon, Vudu, and the like. (U.S. only)Dailymotion: The YouTube competitor comes to Roku. (U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland)iHeartRadio: The ClearChannel audio service will add to Roku's now-comprehensive audio roster. (U.S. only)Flingo: Roku says: "More than 70 new channels, including brands like TMZ, A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, Transworld, Warren Miller, Fitness Magazine, and CollegeHumor. Select channels are availablenow. New channels will launch every month." But it's unclear exactly what content will be available, and how Flingo plays a role.Those new offerings will join Roku's already category-leading lineup, which includes Netflix, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Crackle, HBO Go, MLB TV, Pandora, Dish World (live international programming), as well as the recently added Amazon Cloud Player, Spotify, and Vevo channels. Still notably, frustratingly, curiously absent: YouTube. Aside from that and Apple's iTunes, though, Roku has nearly every major video and audio service out there (including, for the record, our own CNET channel). Related stories:CES 2013: CNET's complete coverageTWC TV app brings 300 live TV channels to Roku ownersRoku LT: The CNET reviewRoku Streaming Stick: The CNET reviewMore Roku Ready hardware partnersSeparately, Roku also announced that it's expanding the list of "Roku Ready" hardware partners -- those companies that ship TVs and other AV products that include or are designed to work with the Roku Streaming Stick. Add Coby, Harman-Kardon, Hisense, TCL, Voxx (which sells under RCA and other brands), and Westinghouse to the Roku Ready roster. They join 3M -- maker of the cool Streaming Projector -- Element, Haier America, Hitachi, Insignia, Oppo, and Apex.Sarah Tew/CNETOf course, that list leaves out every top tier TV manufacturer -- Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Vizio, and the like -- all of which prefer to build their own smart TV suites and platforms. The irony is that Roku offers a far more extensive content selection than all of them, and it tends to upgrade and expand its offerings more frequently than the mainstream manufacturers. But competition is amping up -- streaming video is arguably the hot topic here at CES 2013. Expect a slew of announcements from the majors in next few days as they pronounce their plans to out-Roku Roku in 2013 and beyond.
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