Recall Snowball, the Android app that consolidated all your messaging apps into a single place. What started out very much as an early experiment in taking advantage of Android’s extensibility has evolved into a must-have app for social addicts.
But Snowball suffered from a reliance on a Chat Heads-like interaction model that overlaid a small circle on top of existing windows. The latest version of the app, released in late January, does away with that legacy model, employing instead a “hot zone” on the right side of the notification shade (see video below).
Compatible with Android 4.3 and above (so roughly 48% of the Android user base), Snowball is now accessed from a swipe down on the right or left side of the notification panel, funnelling all relevant messages to a single spot. It also provides quick access to one’s five most-used messaging apps, from Hangouts to Slack to Facebook Messenger, just in case.
I’ve found Snowball to be an indispensable tool in this new format, so give it a try and let me know what you think!
[source]Snowball[/source]
