As I enter CNET's New York
offices each morning, like
clockwork, I silence my
Galaxy S III , adjust the
brightness, and turn on Wi-
Fi. These actions have
become so routine that I
barely recognize I am doing
them, but it doesn't have to
be this way.
Android is a unique platform
that gives users the ability to
customize just about
everything on their device,
including being able to set up
automated tasks that can be
triggered by a specific action
or location.
We previously told you about
Tasker, a powerful
automation app available on
the Play store. Unlike Tasker,
which costs $2.99 and can
be complicated for average
users, Mini Tasker is a
simplified automation tool
that is available for free.
Mini Tasker, which isn't
affiliated with Tasker, started
as a school project from
Israeli college students Anton
Wolkov and Michal Romano.
The app is still in its infancy,
with the two founders
explaining that it is currently
at "more of a proof-of-
concept stage, to show what
can be done." Even so, it still
offers dozens of easy-to-use
automation options, and this
is just the tip of the iceberg.
"We're planning to continue
with the project and let it
expand. We've got tons of
requests already," Wolkov
and Romano wrote in an e-
mail to CNET. "We're also
considering to open source
the project to get some help
from the community and add
features even quicker."
While Tasker, Locale, and
other similar programs are
arguably more powerful (at
least for the time being), Mini
Tasker can be a great tool for
the average Android user; the
fact that it's free is an added
bonus.
Wolkov and Romano are
looking toward the future and
have big plans for Mini
Tasker, which they admit will
inevitably have to be
renamed.
"We might have to change
the name soon, it was not
our pick anyway, it was
assigned to the project," the
duo explained, adding that
the entire experience from
creating the app to receiving
such positive feedback has
been a little overwhelming.
One feature that we could see
in the future is the ability to
have your phone
automatically forward a text
message to your e-mail.
"These are obviously not
trivial to do, but we think we
proved to ourselves we can
do fairly complex things
pretty well," Wolkov and
Romano concluded.
The question remains, what
exactly is Mini Tasker and
what can you do with it? No
need to worry, we've got you
covered. Here's everything
you need to know about
Android newest automation
app:
Getting started
Mini Tasker is designed to
automate different Android
actions, for example if you do
X, then Y will happen. The
first time you open the app
you will be greeted with a
blank page that contains two
icons, a plus symbol and a
cloud icon, located in the
upper right-hand corner of
the screen.
To add a new action simply
click the plus icon and
choose an option from the
three different sections: apps
and music actions; calls,
sms, and notifications
actions; and battery- and
screen-related actions.
There are hundreds of tasks
to choose from, which we will
talk about in more detail
later, but Mini Tasker also
includes stock tasks that can
be quickly added to your
device.
These include things like
silencing unrecognized
numbers, changing the
brightness when the battery
is low, and setting the phone
to vibrate during late night
and early morning hours,
among other things.
To access these, click the
cloud icon and choose the
action you wish to
implement.
Automation
Everyone is different and
each person uses their
devices for different things. I,
for one, cannot live without
music on my commute to
and from work each day.
That's the reason I use Mini
Tasker to automatically
launch Pandora and start
playing once I plug in my
headphones. I also have it
set to reduce my brightness
when my battery is low, in
addition to silencing my
phone and turning Wi-Fi on
when I arrive to work each
morning.
These are just a few of the
things this powerful app can
do.
Mini Tasker can launch and
close apps, schedule a text to
be sent at a later time,
enable or disable system
settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
or brightness, and even
silence calls and notifications
from private numbers. The
app can be set up to do
these different tasks at a
specific time or place, if the
battery is running low, or if
you perform a specific action
with your phone.
Setting up automated tasks
based on a specific location
can be very helpful. Your
phone will constantly check
your coordinates, however,
which could affect battery
life.
Popular tasks
Say you want your phone to
launch a specific app when
you plug in your headphones.
This isn't a problem for Mini
Tasker. To do this, click the
plus icon and select the
"Launch an App" option.
Next, choose the the app you
wish to launch (for me it's
Pandora), scroll down, and
click on Headset Connected.
From here you will be given
three options to choose from:
a headset with a mic, without
a mic, or either.
Another useful automation is
to have your display dim
when your battery is low.
This can be done by selecting
Screen Brightness, setting the
desired dim level, and
scrolling down to the Low
Battery option.
We previously told you how
iPhone owners can now block
people from contacting them
with iOS 7. For Android,
unfortunately, it isn't as
simple; but with Mini Tasker
you can set up your phone to
automatically silence
numbers you don't recognize.
Selecting the "Silence
Incoming Calls" option will
give you the ability to silence
specific numbers, private
numbers, and calls from
people not in your contacts
list.
The actions you have created
should now be displayed on
the Mini Tasker launch page.
Toggling the on/off switch on
the right-hand side will allow
you to quickly disable or
enable the action, while a
long press will give you the
option to edit, share, or
delete the specific task.
There is much more that Mini
Tasker can do, I recommend
you play with it and set it up
to fit your own needs.
It is worth noting that
automating GPS and in some
cases Airplane mode require
a rooted device. The other
actions, however, can be
done on all devices running
Android 4.0 or higher.
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