The open nature of the Android platform has been endlessly touted by its advocates (including us on the Symbiotek Podcast), but so far it has little to show for this other than a much more open App Store than the iPhone.  The interface still has that open-source/GNU/Gnome feel to it that says screams ‘NERD’ at you every time you go to your home screen.  However, this week we get a taste of why the openness of Android is so important for the future of computing as Larva Labs, a mobile entertainment developer, introduced SlideScreen this week, a highly innovative customized home screen for Android phones.

The most exciting thing about this is simply the fact that it is possible.  Whereas with the iPhone, users are limited only to Apple’s interface, Android allows developers to create entirely new paradigms for such core functionality as the home screen.  This has huge potential for new ideas and paradigms to come how we interact with the device. However, the application itself is also highly refreshing.  Rather than interacting with applications (though this is still possible) the focus is on interacting with information.  Twitter messages, emails, missed phone calls, stock data, and reminders are all integrated into a slick list, with a slider in the center displaying date, time, weather and phone information.  Clicking on any item opens the corresponding application.

This is a first-draft version of the app. the implementation is not perfect and there is much expansion necessary, but the idea behind it bears some reflection.  The shift from application focus to information focus is a key part of the modern web and our electronics should reflect this.

SlideScreen via Gizmodo