Microsoft + Android: Next Lock Screen

Microsoft this weekend updated its Next Lock Screen app for Android, a personalized lock screen replacement that lets you see your calendar, missed calls, email and text messages at a glance, and then act on them without unlocking your device.

Next Lock Screen is a Microsoft Garage project: the group seeks to make ideas into shipping products quickly. And if you’re an Android user, this is a good one: you may want to check it out.

According to Microsoft, the key features of this app are:

Calendar. Quick glance at your day and scroll through upcoming meetings and their location to plan your day at a glance.

One swipe to dial. Next Lock Screen dials you in a conference call, enters the PIN and gets you talking without effort.

Quick app launch. Whether on the go, at home or at work, Next Lock Screen shows your most used apps based on your location and your apps are right there for quick access.

Make it yours. Make your lock screen background dynamic throughout the day by having the background change depending of your location.

But this weekend, the app was updated with a number of new features, including:

Music player controls. Now you can control music playback. (Requires Android 4.3 or newer.)

Multimedia Messaging (MMS) support. MMS notifications will now appear on your lock screen.

More instant messaging support. You can now receive instant messaging notifications for Skype, Line, and Google Hangouts (Android 4.3 and newer).

Quick-toggle mobile data. Turn on or off mobile data with a single tap.

More. Improved performance, memory usage and number of bug fixes.

I had installed this app on my Nexus 5 before upgrading to Android 5 and then resetting the device, but I may have to take another look. This really does look sweet.

You can download Next Lock Screen for free from the Google Play Store. It requires Android 4.0 or higher, though as noted above some features require newer Android versions.