From ComputerWorld: Microsoft has added to its stable of Android apps with the acquisition of Double Labs, the makers of the Echo Notification Lockscreen, a popular app on Google's mobile platform that helps users control the notifications they see.
Echo replaces the default Android lock screen with a new interface for handling push notifications. The app's marquee feature is its ability to categorize and sort users' incoming notifications and only wake their phone for high-priority messages. In addition, users can tell the lock screen to remind them of notifications at a later time or in a different place, so they can postpone seeing notifications about personal emails until they get home, for example.
It's not the company's first foray into Android lock screens, either: Microsoft's Garage division put out the Next Lock Screen app last year, which is another take on replacing the default experience for users of Google's mobile platform.
The acquisition, which took place in August but was first reported on Friday, gives Microsoft another beachhead on Android, but it's also aimed at getting Microsoft access to the personalization technology that powers the lock screen's features. Julie Larson-Green, the chief experience officer for Microsoft's "My Life and Work" team, told Business Insider that the work with Next and Echo will translate into information the company will use to improve products like Office and Windows 10.
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