The default clock widget on my Nexus 5 lock screen ain’t too bad – it’s your basic digital clock, after all, and there’s not really much it can do beyond that. I’ll admit I’m a bit lazy to enter the unlock pattern, but in a world where features like active display on the Moto X are becoming widespread, the demand to be able to faster access to notifications is definitely there. All phones with Android 4.2 (the second “Jelly Bean”) and above feature the ability to add and remove lock screen widgets; of course, I chose this custom apps route and came across dashclock.
A departure from the simple clock, the range of separate custom extensions allow you to check out the battery life, data usage, text messages, and all that jazz. Even though dashclock can be used both as a lock screen widget and a home screen one, the ability to customize these add-ons to your liking is especially an asset when it’s on your lock screen. Tweak away at the clock itself too for a sleek look.
My most frequent use for this widget would have to be checking for the sender of a text or facebook message quickly before reading the actual thing. Similarly, the battery statistics and data usage extensions I use as pictured below are also fantastic and are my top two picks.
In terms of storage, this app is very light, taking about only 2MB with extensions taking about 700KB. The same can be said about it’s performance, of course. Grab this free widget out from the Play Store and feel free to shoot me a comment on your experiences.
