Light Flow LED Control updated to v3.0.4, fixes for Jelly Bean included

After the roll out of Light Flow LED Control v3.0, Google went ahead and introduced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This introduced some changes that needed to be corrected within Light Flow LED Control and now we're seeing v3.0.4 roll out to correct those issues as well as a few others:

• Jelly bean fix - this hopefully fixes most of the issues


• Gmail switching off fix


• Fix for several crashes which playing notification sounds


• Fix for Motorola ICS calendar


• Fix initialization settings so notifications are enabled correctly

If you've been having issues with Light Flow on your Jelly Bean device, go ahead and fire up the Google Play Store and grab the update. If you're new to Light Flow you'll find the download link below. Keep in mind, there is a free version available use as well in case you want to test it out before going all in.

Download: Paid, Free Thanks, eljedo!

Shot Control wins week 4 of #thenextinstall, 10 new apps try to knock it down

Can our community help discover the next great Android app? Welcome to a new experiment called #thenextinstall where we try to see if we can find an Android app in the rough, and boost its installs and exposure to new highs.

Carrier Coverage daily installs.

Last week our community selected Carrier Coverage, an app that attempts to answer the question ‘Which carrier is best for you?’, which is a pretty ambitious project. We thought it was a cool concept, but the developer might have a hard time finding success. The app hasn’t been updated since February and we discovered there are competing apps like Sensorly that have better reviews and a larger following. Not all our picks will turn into winners, but at least we helped boost Carrier Coverage’s daily installs to new highs.

This week was a very close call, but Shot Control by StarvingMind came out on top as our weekly winner. Our audience has a thing for camera apps, and Shot Control is one of the most details camera apps to come around in awhile. It was designed to help serious photographers take better photographs.

If you prefer to just point and shoot pics and know nothing about photography, then this app might not be for you. However, if you love to play with all your camera settings to get that perfect shot, then Shot Control is easily worth the $1.99 asking price.

Most customers who have reviewed the app have all praised the developer. Comments include, “Dev seems to very proactive in wanting to make this app stand head and shoulders above else”, “The developer responded to my email within minutes”, “The developer is excellent about responding to issues and questions”, and “He is clearly committed to making this the most flat-out functional camera app on the market. Get it!”

I went ahead and purchased the app just to support the developer, but I haven’t had much time this week to play around with it. Now that it’s on all my devices, I’m sure I’ll be spending some more time with it soon.

Key features include:

Multiple Touch Focus/Meter regions on ICS (on supported devices with Android 4.0)Direct access to exposure control and zoomOne tap access to ISO, White Balance, Scene Modes, Focus Modes, and Flash Mode Settings (based on device abilities)Custom mapping for hardware buttons (like volume down for focus, volume up for shutter)Pre-focus function35mm style film roll integrated with the viewfinder displayStar your favorite photos, which will be added to their own “Stars – Shot Control” group in the stock gallery app on most phones.With “Instant Upload” enabled in Google+, photos with stars will be “instant uploaded” to G+/Picasa as if they were taken with the stock camera app.

Browse over the new app suggestions and let us know if any make it on to your device.

Time2Go

Pitch: Never be late again. Notifications when it is time to leave to make it to your events on time.

PicShop Lite Photo Editor

Pitch: Beautiful design combined with tons of editing options and dozen’s of filters make this the premier mobile editing suite on the market.

LogiType Tablet Keyboard

Pitch: LogiType uses a new groundbreaking technology to give you the easiest and fastest touch-typing keyboard available for Android tablets.

Smart Statusbar

Pitch: Smart Statusbar is the first and only Status bar enabler in full screen app. You can now reveal status bar in any Full screen app with gesture.

App Folder Advance

Pitch: Organize your home screen quick and easy. Group icons and place them in a folder.

Solid Explorer

Pitch: Solid Explorer brings to you a new file browsing experience. This is the most attractive, eye catching and intuitive file manager for the Android.

Suggested by: amgala

SMS Flash

Pitch: Instant SMS notification without stealing focus! Unlike SMS popup, you can touch through the displayed SMS and continue interaction with the screen. Specially built for gamers.

Zillow Rentals

Pitch: Find apartments and houses for rent with this app designed for renters in a hurry and on the go. Zillow Rentals is the easiest way to find your next apartment or rental home.

Make Me a Pirate

Pitch: Arrrr you a real pirate? Just take a photo and look like a pirate within seconds!

Schemer

Pitch: Schemer. The beginning of everything worth doing. Are you curious? Ambitious? Daring? Start doing more awesome stuff by using Schemer.

If you want to play along, then join the league of app addicts.

Over the coming week, we will continue to monitor all the apps and see which generate the most buzz. We will be watching the installs, download clicks, review scores, coverage on other sites, and more to see which app comes out on top.

Next week we will name the winning app, and then put it up against 10 new apps to repeat the process.

Top 10 most popular Android apps from last week: Shot Control, Google Drive, …

Every week we cover Android gaming on Wednesday, followed by Top 10 app updates on Friday. Now every Monday we will look back and see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps from your peers.

For the second week in a row, AfterFocus was the most popular app on our site. This camera app is still less than a month old, but it continues to surprise me with the number installs it gets each day. Last week we saw the app receive its first update, which fixed several bugs and improved support for the Galaxy Nexus. The developer says a Pro version is coming in May, so be on the lookout.

Any app related to the camera, battery, or weather normally performs pretty well and Weatherwise followed that trend by debuting at the #2 spot this week. This app was featured in #thenextinstall column and I think people responded to the cool looking promo image above. The app is free so I gave it a try, but it didn’t impress me that much. Only one theme comes with the app, and then additional themes are $0.99 each. It still has an average review score of 4.3, so others are enjoying it more than me.

Carrier Coverage won week 3 of #thenextinstall, so it’s no surprise to see it finish near the top this week. The app still has some bugs, but the developer tells us that a new version is already in the works. If you like the concept of this app, some other alternative include Coverage Mapper, Cell Phone Coverage Map, and Sensorly.

Last week Google updated their Docs app into Google Drive, and the daily installs spiked to an all time high. The wait for Google Drive was a long one, but many people checked it out to get the 5 GB of free cloud storage.

Phonedeck is a new app that lets users manage a mobile phone right from their computer. The online dashboard lets a user read and send SMS, get incoming call notifications, edit contacts, view usage stats, and even locate a lost phone. I don’t have a need for the app so I haven’t tried it out, but early users are giving it mixed reviews. Some love the included features, while others say the app is clunky and uses up too much data. The app is still young with only 10,000 installs and we think it has potential, so it will be interesting to see how it develops over the coming months.

Samsung unveils the next Galaxy phone on May 3rd, and you can watch it live on the Unpacked 2012 app. It had some problems when it was first released, but Samsung has pushed out several updates that add support to a host of devices.

Down a couple spots from last week, AIVC comes in as the #7 most popular app. Voice functions in the free version allow you to control call, SMS, email, translation, navigation, alarm, timer, app launcher, calculator, Facebook, web search, weather, and search images. The app is ad-supported, but a Pro version kills them for $2.99.

For the 3rd week in a row, Battery HD makes our Top 10 list. If anything, I think this shows how important battery life is to the average Android user. The app has racked up 500,000 installs this month and it’s on pace to pass 1 million soon. Battery HD won’t extend your battery life, but it can tell you how long you can use each app.

Nova Launcher is a highly customizable, performance driven, home screen replacement for Android 4.0+ devices. We see launchers come and go quite frequently, and Nova and Apex Launcher are the new kids on the block right now. Both launchers are free, so give each one a try and see which fits your needs.

Shot control is a paid camera app designed to help serious photographers take better photographs. I haven’t used it yet, so I’ll refer you to a reader review from Trent. ”Simply put: this is a great tool for every mobile photographer out there. Having all of the camera controls on the main screen is heavenly, & you are able to adjust white balance, flash, exposure, & basically everything else without opening a menu. I love that you can map camera functions to the volume rocker. The developer is extremely responsive & the app is constantly being fine-tuned & refined. He is clearly committed to making this the most flat-out functional camera app on the market. Get it!”