Moving/Removing a Widget

Widgets move just like any other item on the home screen of Android, just tap and hold till the widget expands and you can move it wherever it will fit on the current panel, the menu item also appears as a trash can so you can remove the widget and it will no longer run in the background on your device.

Using Widgets

Some Widgets to try

Built in Widgets

Analog clock – simple clock

Music – access the music on your phone from this control, this will use playlists from the Android Music application.

Picture Frame – put a picture frame on your home screen using a picture on your device.

Picture Frame – put a picture frame on your home screen using a picture on your device.

Power Control – control some settings directly from your home screen.

Search – Goog le search widget from the home screen, can do type search or voice search.

Calendar – check upcoming events from your Google Calendar.

Some others to Download

Facebook – 2x4 widget that can enter “what’s on your mind?” status updates and also review ones from your friends right on your home screen.

Twidgit Lite – 1x4 widget that can update and check your twitter account from your home screen.

Advanced Task Manager Free – 1x1 widget that kills running applications instantly.

TasKiller - 1x1, 2x1 and 4x1 widgets that kills running applications instantly

Battery Life – 2x1 widget that shows percentage of battery left, temp of battery, battery power, and battery type.

Conclusions

Your device uses a lot of processing, internet bandwidth and battery to use widgets as they are always running. That said, too many widgets may bring operations to a halt on your device if you are not careful. When using widgets I would recommend to try to remember that when you are adding them as there is overhead to each however with newer versions of Android rolling out here and there the OS will definitely get better at managing the resource consumption of widgets to give you a first class home screen that is truly customized to your liking.

That caveat aside, they are a great thing to use on your device and I am currently using about 6 on my own home screen with a lot of satisfaction, with a simple glance at my home screen I can look at my calendar, email, messaging, twitter and facebook and kill running processes without opening a single application. They are truly a piece of functionality that you should be using.

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