KinScreen for Android turns your screen on and off when you really need it

If you find Android lacking in its ability to automatically manage the screen time-out time for you, try KinScreen. This app wants to keep your screen on when you need it — for example, when you're reading, or strategically planning your next on-screen tap — and quickly turn it off when you don't to save precious battery.

To achieve this, KinScreen uses your device's motion detection and proximity sensors. It senses small movements made unconsciously as you hold your smartphone or tablet, and uses this information as a signal to keep the screen on. When motion is not present, the screen will turn off after a little while. Motion can be also ignored, for example when the device is idle, facing up on a horizontal surface that moves or vibrates.

With the proximity sensor, KinScreen senses when your device is covered up by something — your face or whatever — and turns off the screen accordingly. You can also wave over the proximity sensor to signal you want to keep the screen on a little longer.

KinScreen also supports tilt angle. Tilt your smartphone above a certain angle and the screen will be kept on. And the final screen regulating scenario keeps the display on while your phone is charging and unlocked. There's an option to keep the screen at peak brightness as well.

KinScreen is very small, and is designed to be lightweight, using as little CPU power as possible. Sensor monitoring is disabled once the screen is turned off, so the device can enter sleep mode without experiencing battery drain. The app doesn't interfere with in-call patterns, games, or other applications that keep the screen on or off according to demand.

KinScreen does not require root, but keeps a persistent notification running so that the system doesn't force close the service. You can get rid of the notification if you wish, though. KinScreen will continue to work, but a system process might interfere with it.

The app is free, although there are three inessential pieces of functionality that are reserved towards a $1.99 in-app purchase.

Developer: TicTec	Download: Android
Category: Tools	Price: Free (with in-app purchases)