The Weather Channel will now tell your Android when rain will start and stop
There are no shortage of weather apps for Android devices, but many of us are already familiar with the Weather Channel, making it a fairly easy choice -- I switched to that app a couple of years ago after leaving Weather Bug. Now the TV network has issued a major overhaul of its mobile app for Android.
The first thing you will notice in the update, which began rolling out late yesterday, is a completely revamped user interface. The Now screen, which opens by default, still shows the temperature and current conditions, but comes with an ad background -- which is a bit annoying. Still the additional information is useful. For instance, my Now screen is currently telling me: "Rain likely Tuesday at 11:15 am EST".
The menu has moved from the bottom of the screen to the top and now has fewer options. Social, for instance, has gone, replaced by four simple choices -- Map, Now, Videos, and Forecast. Above these are icons for Search, Share and Settings.
Share is a new and much welcome addition because it has been an inclusion in the aforementioned Weather Bug for some time and allows users to share their local conditions, forecast or maps via a number of options, including Facebook, Twitter, cloud services, and a lot more.
In addition, the forecasts now offer more detail, the app has been optimized for tablets, there is a refresh button, and users can set up favorite locations to take full advantage of weather widgets and notifications.
All of the updates, with the exception of the ad background on the Now screen, are very welcome in my opinion. New users get walked through a series of tutorial-type screens when the app first launches and you will also need to reset your home location, but after completing these minor tasks I think most will find the updates very rewarding.
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