The Android Project Reviews: Advanced Map Live Wallpaper

Category: Wallpapers

Price: Free
Gotta-have-it factor: 5

I realize that it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this blog. Work has been pretty crazy lately, so my extracurricular activities have to take a back seat. Things have calmed down a bit and I’ve regained some motivation to start working on the blog again so you may see a few more posts in the near future.
Today, I wanted to write about a recent discovery that I made while perusing the interwebs for cool stuff to put on my Droid. I found a cool new Live Wallpaper called Advanced Map. Advanced Map is fairly self-explanatory. This Wallpaper brings many different types of maps to the background of your homescreen. It’s not just limited to Google Maps.

Now I’ve hesitated to use Live Wallpapers in the past because they use up processing power and don’t add much besides aesthetic value. However, the developer of Advanced Map Live Wallpaper came up with a way to cut down on processor and battery use. The map tiles are cached locally on your phone once they are loaded, which should cut down on the data downloaded to your device and the app shuts down whenever the homescreen is not visible.

Advanced Map Live Wallpaper is still in beta, but it’s as polished as most of the other apps I’ve seen out there, and it’s free. So jump to the Market right now if this is something that interests you. I gave it a gotta-have-it factor of 5 because many people still don't have access to Live Wallpapers.* Let me know what you think about it in the comments.

* Remember that Live Wallpapers are only supported on Android 2.1 and up. I’ve also noticed that only certain home replacement apps support live wallpapers, so your mileage may vary depending on your setup.