Android App thread

[71T Targa]

I'm making plans for an HTC EVO and would like to get all of the info on Android I can get.

What are some of the apps you love?

What are the things you could live without?

How about links or instructions on 'root'ing and tethering?

Thanks.

[Brando]

Advanced Task Killer - Necessity.
Where - Great to have.
ASTRO - Excellent tools.

[UconnTim97]

The ones I use most:
Advanced task killer
Flash player
Angry birds
Handcent SMS.

I also have Where's my Droid? just in case I misplace my Droid.

[notmytarga]

if you excercise much - or even walk - CardioTrainer is great
If you explore - Google's My Tracks
If you leave home - Google's Maps (comes on all Android Phones)
Pandora and some of your own music too.


Another rec: Just like before spending anything buying an iPod you want to download iTunes and put all your CD's on it; in a similar vein - you want to set up a GMail account ahead of time - import contacts and make it all work nice. Then you walk in, buy the Android phone, enter your GMail address and password and as you leave the store your phone is synching over the air and has all the info on it. iPhone users would likely be back home synching to iTunes etc.

[Halm]

I have Advanced Task Killer too. But there seems to be some controversy within the Android world if this helps or actually hurts.

Other than that, it seems to be that you can pretty much customize Android to pretty much the way you want to work.

[Steve Viegas]

xda-developers is the place to learn about "modifying" your Android based phone.

I am a Word Up widow, but I have to say I can't blame her, it is a fun game.

[TimT]

But there seems to be some controversy within the Android world if this helps or actually hurts.

I use task killer to shut down unwanted tasks that are running, A habit left over from the days when there was not abundant RAM processing power, storage etc. (think Windows 3.0 Win 98 era)... So I shut down unnecessary apps/processes out of habit.

Android is odd that I can force close, or use task killer to clean up running apps... then if I check running apps a few mins later, a bunch have restarted.

Google Sky Map is a neat app
RadarNow is a simple weather app
Wheres my Droid
Barcode scanner is neat, and use Google shopping? finds best prices
Adyno uses the internal accelerometers to calc vehicle performance

[LeeH]

Verizon shocked me yesterday... we were chosen to be part of a market test for unlimited text and unlimited data at a reduced price. Yes, I just used "Verizon" and "reduced price" in the same sentence! We'll save $15/month and I'll move up to a smart phone from a feature phone.

+1 on Google Sky Map - My wife has that on her Droid and I'm amazed every time I use it.

[rayporsche]

Originally Posted by Steve Viegas

xda-developers is the place to learn about "modifying" your Android based phone.

I am a Word Up widow, but I have to say I can't blame her, it is a fun game.

Correct...'xda-developers' is a key part of owning an android device....

[masraum]

I've had an Android phone for about 2 years, first a G1 (1st Google phone) and now the G2 (ver 2 of the Google phone on T-Mobile).

I love Android! I love my iPad, but have zero desire to get an iPhone. Androids rock.

You'll only need root if you want to tinker (which could make your phone less stable) or you want/need a specific function that's only available with root. I believe you can tether via the USB without root, but if you want to turn your phone into a wifi hotspot and tether wirelessly, you MIGHT need to root. If you want to VPN into your company, and your company uses a Cisco IPSec VPN with a group user/pass and an individual user/pass then you'll need root. Lots of apps and games include ads. If you root, you can install an ad blocker to block them.

I've rooted both of my phones (for the VPN and wifi tether, plus, I like to tinker). My current phone is essentially stock (as stable as any unrooted phone) but is rooted.

must have apps.

I'll list some great games first.

Air Control Lite -- free version of Air Control - simple but addictive
Air Attack -- simple but addictive
Angry Birds -- great game, and free (not free on the iPhone)
Atomic Bomber -- simple, and ok, but you won't write home about it
Bonsai Blast -- nice time waster
Classic Tetris -- ok
Duck Hunter -- kill the zombie ducks, ok, but not great
Hungry Shark Free -- tons of fun, control the shark, eat fish, birds, people, stuff
idemolished lite -- free, fun
Labyrinth Lite -- free wooden ball in a maze simulation game
Meteor -- a nice version of a BreakOut style game (good enough that I bought the full version)
Orbs Knockoff -- nice diversion, sort of like pool, but not
Robo Defense -- good tower defense style game
solitaire -- decent free solitaire game
Tank Recon 3D -- great fun, I may buy the full version of this one too
Trap -- decent
Winds of Steel -- lots of fun 1st person flying shooter, I may buy this one as well.


Some apps that I find useful

AdFree (root) - ad blocker

ADW Launcher -- Awesome! Adds enhancements to your desktop, and changes the way some parts of your home screen work. (some folks like Launcher Pro, it's ok, but I prefer ADW)

Bar Control -- allows you to add apps to the status bar
barcode scanner -- use your phone to scan bar codes (and search the net for prices, etc....)

Anycut (free version of bettercut) allows you to make different sorts of shortcuts on your desktop (I purchased bettercut)
If you're running Froyo (Android 2.2) then you probably won't need a task killer. I've found that they seem unnecessary with the newer software

Bubble -- it's a handy bubble level with lots of extra features (uncluding a calibration)

Buzzoff -- allows you to turn off your ringer for a specified period of time (like 2 hours if you're going to a movie, or 30 minutes for a meeting or an hour if you're in a restaurant) I find this useful because I used to forget that I'd turned my ringer off. I have Buzzoff in my status bar (via Bar Control) so I can get at it quickly

Catch -- nice "notes" app. You create a logon at catch.com, then when you create a note on your phone, you can also access the note via the web.

Contacts GroupU -- allows you to more easily create and control contact groups in your phone. For instance, I have certain family members in the "Family" group, and I have a specific ring tone applied to that group so when the phone rings, I know it's a member of the group. If I wanted to do that without the app, I'd have to edit every members ringtone individually.

Flash LED Torch -- my phone has an LED "Flash" for the camera. This app (actually a widget) allows me to use the LED as a flashlight. There are several other similar apps

Flightstats lite -- checks flight stats

GPS Speedo -- just what it says, check the accuracy of your speedo

GPS Tracker -- create a login at instamapper.com. "My Tracks" has replaced some of the functionality of this app, but what you also get is the ability to send a text to the phone, to turn on the GPS and then find your phone on a map (assuming that GPS is getting a signal). We used it to find my wife's phone when she lost it. We tracked it to a garbage can in a parking lot.

Handcent -- better than stock texting app

Linda Manager -- file manager much like "Astro File Manager"

Meebo IM -- if you want to use IM on your phone (does several different networks)

My Tracks -- if you run, ride a bike, rollerblade, or want to create driving "courses" you can track/record your course and get stats like top speed, average speed, time spent moving, total time, etc...

Navigation -- free turn-by-turn nav using google maps.

Orienteer -- compass and/or GPS

Quote Pro -- simple stock ticker app

RPN Calculator -- if you like RPN...

Scan2PDF Mobile -- take a picture of a doc and then email it to yourself as a PDF

SHazam -- hear a song on the radio or TV or in an elevator and wonder what/who it is, just let your phone listen and tell you. Works AMAZINGLY well.

Signal Generator -- make a tone at different volumes and frequencies (good for screwing with your dog)

Star Contact -- Adds some enhancements to the way you see your contacts and call logs

The Weather Channel -- nice weather app

WiFi Scanner -- allows you to see all of the signals that your phone sees (more than you see normally)

Wikinotes -- nice cross linked notes app

Originally Posted by RAYMONDPORSCHE

Correct...'xda-developers' is a key part of owning an android device....

Absolutely. That's where you need to go to learn about rooting your phone. Most phones have a slightly different "root" method. XDA has separate forums for each phone.

[WolfeMacleod]

I like Shop Savvy over Barcode Scanner.

Saved loads with Shop Savvy. Scan item, ask about price match, show phone to register operator....

[VaSteve]

I just d/led angry birds. Damn that's addictive.

[masraum]

I just d/led angry birds. Damn that's addictive.

Over 400 levels. Try to get 3 stars on all of the levels. They definitely get harder.

[wcc]

Any dyno or g-tech type apps that are free/useful?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by TimT

Adyno uses the internal accelerometers to calc vehicle performance

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Originally Posted by wcc

Any dyno or g-tech type apps that are free/useful?

There are actually several.

There's also Dinodyno that seems like it might be decent and is free

There's one called Dynomaster that's $5. I don't know anything about it.

[71T Targa]

This is great information! Keep them coming.

Originally Posted by notmytarga

Another rec: Just like before spending anything buying an iPod you want to download iTunes and put all your CD's on it; in a similar vein - you want to set up a GMail account ahead of time - import contacts and make it all work nice. Then you walk in, buy the Android phone, enter your GMail address and password and as you leave the store your phone is synching over the air and has all the info on it. iPhone users would likely be back home synching to iTunes etc.

This is something I hadn't thought of. I've had a gmail account for years, but all of my contacts are in outlook because I've had Palm phones until now. I've just imported all of my contacts to gmail, complete with pictures and all.

[HHI944]

Most of the facebook apps will synch with your contact list as well.

PDAnet is great for tethering. I use my droid to tether my macbook 2-3 times/week with pdanet without a problem.

[gtc]

PDAnet works well... though I wish it were cheaper. $16 is pretty steep for a phone app, IMO.

Radiant is a fun space invaders style game. Well worth the 2 pounds / ~ $3.

Phoneflicks is a pretty good netflix queue manager.
It really pisses me off that iphones can stream netflix but we can't.

Astro file manager - handy for browsing SD Card

"Movies" is good for checking out new movies and watching trailers

I use the ebay and amazon apps all the time.

Skype would be awesome if Verizon would let me make calls over the 3g / wifi connection.

[71T Targa]

It looks like PDAnet requires you to attach via USB? I'd really like to use it as a hotspot for the kids iPod touch etc.

I will want to VPN in to the work network. I think we are able to use either the Cisco or Microsoft VPN client.

Then I'll want a TN5250 client.

[asphaltgambler]

is there a player like adobe flash for droid ? My unit will not playback anything adobe