Android has always had a better notification system than iOS. With Android 4.1, rich notifications were introduced. These rich notifications can be expanded to reveal more information and even execute certain actions. My favourite examples of rich notifications on Android are Pocket Casts with its playback controls available on expanding a notification and TV Show Favs allowing you to mark an episode as watched right from the notification shade. When I got my Nexus 7 back in August, I started experimenting with apps that made use of all the new stuff Android 4.1 brought in. One app that has stuck with me from early on has been Notif by Eric Carboni.
Notif allows you to create custom text, picture or list notifications. Each notification can be set to ongoing and can be assigned a lovely icon. These icons are from the Android Icons set we featured on the second platter. The icon shows up in the status bar indicating the notification is active. For text notifications you can add a complete paragraph that will be visible on expanding. Picture notifications are awesome. A picture notification is represented by the picture as the main icon and the picture is fully visible in the notification shade on expanding. The list notification is the highlight of the app. You can create a full shopping list and have it visible at all times reminding you to go shopping or that you need to buy something. The app is simple and yet it allows you to do so much. It is one of the first Holo themed apps I really liked and it looks classy. If you happen to want to reuse notifications created earlier, notif history with its lovely cards interface and crisp typography has you covered. Notif goes a step further and has an option to have an ongoing notification to create a quick notification using the app. The app has a light and dark theme but I prefer the light theme because I’m not a fan of apps looking like the settings app on a device. Notif also allows creating notifications with Google Voice search by saying “Note to self….” and then selecting Notif.
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Notif is a great little utility that makes full use of everything new and great in Android 4.1 and above. Right from its icon to its smoothness, Notif is a polished modern Android application that deserves to be on your device. Notif is available for free on Google Play with a few limitations like editing and fewer icons available. The paid version has no limitations and it is available on Google Play for $1.