Android flashlight apps: Do any support double-press lock button on lock screen?

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
I just switched from jailbroken iPhone 4 to a Sony-Ericsson Xperia Play (AKA "PlayStation Phone") and it's my first Android experience (Android 2.3 Gingerbread). I'm still trying to figure out task management like app switching and closing, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it (still trying to figure out how to close the native music app without rebooting so it will stop responding to my attempts to remote-control Pandora).

One of my most-used iOS jailbreak apps was a combination of SpringFlash and Activator, which I would set to activate and toggle the LED camera flash when I double-press the lock/sleep button. This worked even when the phone was locked. I always used it as an example of why jailbreaking was so useful (Apple would not let apps interfacce with the lock button). I would usually mention that Android allows this kind of functionality for apps from the get-go. Now I'm looking through the Android Market and I see no mention of any lockscreen flashlights, so I'm starting to wonder if that was the truth or not. I would assume that it is if you could download a customized lock screen without hacking anything, but I am coming up empty-handed.

Is there an app that can do this? Flashlight apps are some of the most basic and common apps that are often ridiculed for being too numerous, so there has to be SOMETHING out there that does this.

What is a good Android community for asking such questions in the future?
 

Fire&Blood

Platinum Member
Jan 13, 2009
2,333
18
81
XDA forums is good place to start. I don't know how you can achieve this but I can tell you right now you will need to root your phone to get it done. If none of the flashlight apps you tried will do it, you may look into custom shortcut/hotkey apps.
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
look into widgetlocker. you can put a flashlight widget on your lock screen.

not quite as convenient as the lock button double tap, but probably as close as you will get.
 

I Saw OJ

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2004
4,923
2
76
I was running MIUI on my OG droid for a while and it had that functionality. At the lock screen if you pressed and held the home button it would activate the flashlight.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Thanks for all the input. I may end up ditching the original ROM even if that means losing access to Xperia Play exclusives if there is enough reason to do so. So far it has a lock screen flashlight controlled by a hardware button, a battery percentage indicator in the status bar, and unofficial tethering going for it.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
It looks like this phone can be rooted without unlocking the browser using something called "Gingerbreak." That sounds like a userland exploit specific to Gingerbread, so I hope it can persist through the ICS upgrade.