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Cover promises contextual lock screens and smarter task switching for Android
Lock screen replacements for Android aren't exactly new -- some even come as part of a larger overlay that customizes your home screen experience entirely. However, few lock screen replacements do as much as Cover, a new invite-only solution that launches today, promises to do. Not only is Cover contextual so that it provides different lock screens for different locations and different times, it even learns which apps you use and places them front and center so you can return to them much quicker. Todd Jackson, Cover's CEO and co-founder, tells us the app recognizes your location not through GPS, but via geofencing with WiFi networks and cell towers. So when you're at work, it might display stock and weather apps, while entertainment options like Netflix and Pandora could be more prominent at home depending on your smartphone habits. Further, Cover's able to detect if you're in the car versus when you're on foot based on your phone's accelerometer and gyroscope. "It looks to see if the phone is moving on a single axis with constant acceleration -- that's how it knows you're in the car." This way you can have it come up with GPS apps when you're on the road, but walking directions when you're on foot. What has us particularly intrigued, is a unique "Peek UI" feature that lets you take a glance at an app without unlocking the phone -- simply hold down on the icon and slide right to reveal it. "As you're pulling it back, you can actually launch the app from scratch." The effect is surprisingly instantaneous.
