397 replies to this topic

[amlothi]

I was hoping someone would split out the App related discussion in the other thread, but now it's gotten too hard to find what people suggested so I thought I'd start fresh.

Here is what I have installed on my Desire.

3G Watchdog - to track mobile internet usage and quotas
Advanced Task Killer Free - Don't use it for autokill. Just there in case something doesn't close properly.
Astro - File manager
Bookmarks to SD - plugin to backup bookmarks to SD card
ConvertPad - Unit converter. Helpful, since I live overseas.
Dolphin Browser HD - I tried lots and I just prefer the ability to switch tabs easily in this one. Not perfect though.
LED Lite - Lights up the flash bulb on the Desire's camera. Very bright and comes in handy.
Goggles - For barcodes or just to play with.
Google Pinyin - Chinese input
Google Voice
Hanping CE - The best free Chinese dictionary I have found that stores on SD card - does not require web.
Lookout - Security and lost phone recovery.
MapDroyd - Download maps to store on SD card. Not as good as Google maps, but nice to have an offline version.
MLB.com At Bat
My Maps Editor - links to Google Maps, so I can create maps on my computer of places I want to go or plan a trip, and sync easily to the phone
Nesoid / SNesoid /Toss It / Solo Lite / Mahjong - to kill boredom
HTC Notes widget - I like that I can type or draw with my finger
Places Directory (Google) - better than a phone book
Screen Cut - Dolphin plugin to let me save screen shots of webpages for viewing later
Tasker - I am playing with the trial. I'm not thrilled with it but like the idea of having things turn on and off based on location/other parameters.
Voice Recorder - Handy for meetings or other things
Wifi Analyzer - Great for analyzing your home wifi (or your friends)
XiiaLive Lite - Not able to get Pandora here. This is the best similar thing I've found. Uses Shoutcast streams.

Edit - Recently added the following that I would also recommend:

SMS Translate: Automatically translates SMS received in another language using Google Translate. (Awesome for me, since my mobile provider and bank often send me SMS in Chinese.)

Startup Cleaner Pro: Let's me prevent applications (including stock apps) from loading at startup. Increased my boot speed quite a bit once I removed things that I only need to use when I open them (or don't use at all).

Flycast: Lets me listen to WAAF or WEEI on my phone. (Maybe not a big deal for you, but cool to have in China).

Edited by amlothi, 18 July 2010 - 08:48 AM.

[lanstein]

Great list! I'd add PdaNet, for tethering.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Gesture Search - really excellent search if you don't feel like using the built in voice search
gTasks - allows you to see/edit your Google tasks
Dropbox - sync files between multiple places
Foursquare - because it is fun
Mint - best financial website
Flixter - great movie app (what is playing nearby, purchase tickets, maintain Netflix
NewsRob - great Google Reader aggregator
Qik - stream live video from your phone
SkyDroid - (not free) GPS coordinates of golf courses. Map your own if they aren't in there.

[Caspir]

Bump- Great app for sharing pics/contact cards etc.

App Brain- Download your apps, updates, manage them, and all that in one click. You can add apps online, then use your phone to open App Brain, click the sync button, and it adds everything for you. Much quicker than using the Market.

Battery left is a nice little widget if you want to know the (estimated) time left before the battery dies, plus other info like voltage, battery temp.

Car Finder- Good app if you suck at remembering where you parked

Double Twist- Music, podcasts, etc.

Gmote- Play music from your computer on your phone, even if the computer is off.

Handcent SMS- Way better than the stock message app.

Lightning Bug- I don't use it much, but it has some nice sounds to help you fall asleep if needed, and it has a sleep timer.

PDA Net- Tethering

TV.com- Has some good shows you can watch for free. Full eps and everything. Good stuff if you're on the train/plane/waiting room.

[Euclis20]

What I have that hasn't already been mentioned:

Flashlight (just what it sounds like)
Kindle (Books on your phone isn't for everybody, but I like having 20 different books with me at all times)
Live Scores (I've tried a bunch of different sports apps, this one has been my favorite)
Netcounter (for tracking data usage)
Newspapers (quick links to 50 different newspapers worldwide)
OI File Manager (for managing the SD card)
Sound grenade (entertaining every now and then)
The Weather Channel (yup)
Wikidroid (a bunch of different Wiki apps, I prefer this one)
Yelp (good for finding restaurants)

[Foulkey Reese]

Advanced Task Killer is a must imo.

Appbrain market is great and I love the website.

Astro for file management.

Better Keyboard (paid app) - My favorite keyboard so far.

Dolphin Browser - Best browser out there imo.

Engadget app.

Fox News app - Best news app I have found so far.

IMDB app - trailers, movie times, ect.

My Verizon - direct link to my bill and data info.

Nesoid (paid) - My pride and joy. Super Mario Brothers 3 on the can at work = heaven.

Phone Flicks - Netflix App.

Radar Now - Best weather radar app that I have found.

Twidroyd - Best Twitter app.

Weather and Toggle Widgers (paid) - Gives you the big clock that the Incredible has.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I don't think the task killers are useful at all.

http://androidspin.c...p-with-android/

http://geekfor.me/fa...r-with-android/

I've personally never used one on any of my droids.

[Foulkey Reese]

I don't think the task killers are useful at all.

http://androidspin.c...p-with-android/

http://geekfor.me/fa...r-with-android/

I've personally never used one on any of my droids.

Hmmm this is interesting stuff.

No Lock - Skip the lock screen.

LockMe Widget - Toggles the unlock pattern screen.

Buzz Lock - Locks the phone in vibrate mode, even if you hit the volume rocker.

Not Call Log - Forces phone to go back to home screen once you end a phone call, rather than going to the call log. Helpful because oftentimes you'll accidentally redial someone when it goes back to the call log.

Call Confirm - When you click on a contact in the phone screen, it asks for confirmation that you'd like to dial them. Prevents butt dialing and accidentally calling someone. Very helpful.

Going to check these out. Thanks.

[Three10toLeft]

Fratboy, you were wondering what the ADW launcher is in the Android thread, it's basically another home replacement but without the bloat of the others.

It runs very smoothly, with a lot of customizations that enable you to replicate the UI of the Froyo update. I personally bounce back and forth between the ADW Launcher and LauncherPro beta. Both are very smooth and add a lot to the OS. I don't even plan on messing around with Moto Blur when my DX comes. Just going straight to ADW or LauncherPro,

If you do bounce between home replacements, definitely download Home Switcher. It's a free app that enables you to bounce back and forth between HR's without having to go in to the settings.

[amlothi]

Does anyone know if there is an app that will let me select a different default email / messaging program depending on the contact?

For example, when I choose to send an SMS, it gives me a choice of sending using Google Voice or the default messaging program and I can choose to make this the default. If I make it the default, it becomes the default for ALL messages. Well, for some people I want to use Voice and for others I don't.

Similarly for email. If I want to send an email to a work contact, I want to use my exchange account. For a personal email, use Gmail.

Any ideas? Or do I just keep having to choose the correct app every time I send a message?

Edited by amlothi, 20 July 2010 - 04:37 AM.

[johnmd20]

Buzz Lock - Locks the phone in vibrate mode, even if you hit the volume rocker.

Excellent find, thanks, that app is a big winner!

[johnmd20]

I don't think the task killers are useful at all.

http://androidspin.c...p-with-android/

http://geekfor.me/fa...r-with-android/

I've personally never used one on any of my droids.

I don't agree and Google doesn't agree. Why Task Killer Might Help

I don't use the Task Killer that much on my phone, but it's good to have in a pinch if you want to shut a few things down quickly and easily.

[amlothi]

Got tired of the nag screens from Tasker asking me to pay. If anyone knows of a free program that can replace Tasker or Locale (meaning, an app that will automatically turn things on and off based on location) let me know.

For now, I'm using Timeriffic to turn things on and off based on the time and day.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Echoing Three10toLeft:

ADW Launcher

I completely changed the default Droid X UI with this. Much better than before, more customizable, and generally a great find.



App home: http://jbthemes.com/anderweb/

Edited by SeoulSoxFan, 23 July 2010 - 04:29 PM.

[SeoulSoxFan]

WEEI has an Android widget, a port of their iPhone app:

http://www.weei.com/member-center/app

[SeoulSoxFan]

Is there an app that basically acts as an extended part of your keyboard?

To put your phone on the left side fro additional shortcuts, along with the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard.

If it can be programmed for shortcuts for desktop applications (Photoshop, iTunes, VLC), that'd be awesome.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Also, DoubleTwist is a major fail on DX. Incredibly slow sync speed, almost 80% of podcasts and songs not transferred.

[maufman]

Dolphin HD is fast; if anything, the claim of 2x the speed of the stock browser is understated. Problem is, I find Dolphin opens web pages in a completely moronic way, usually giving me a close-up of the upper-left or lower-right corner of the page. Also, it sometimes doesn't show the full text box in which I'm typing. I hate to give up what seems to be a superior product, but these are major annoyances.

On a different subject, I second PSF's recommendation of NewsRob, though I'm not sure the premium version is worth the money. (I'll probably keep it and consider it a contribution to the developers; being ad-free doesn't suck.)

[SeoulSoxFan]

Dolphin HD is fast; if anything, the claim of 2x the speed of the stock browser is understated. Problem is, I find Dolphin opens web pages in a completely moronic way, usually giving me a close-up of the upper-left or lower-right corner of the page. Also, it sometimes doesn't show the full text box in which I'm typing. I hate to give up what seems to be a superior product, but these are major annoyances.

On a different subject, I second PSF's recommendation of NewsRob, though I'm not sure the premium version is worth the money. (I'll probably keep it and consider it a contribution to the developers; being ad-free doesn't suck.)

This is exactly my experience of DHD and I've gone back to the regular browser. What a shame too - like Opera on iPhone that doesn't know how to resolve column widths and font sizes at different zoom levels. Plus, the tabs are huge - real estate is kinda valuable on a mobile device, no matter how "big" the screen size.

NewsRob > still recommended.

Also try Shop Savvy - scan products when shopping to get comparisons, reviews, and a bunch of cool stuff.

[Jnai]

Also nice is App to QR (which allows quick app sharing) and Camera 360 (which can do simulated HDR)

[amlothi]

Dolphin HD is fast; if anything, the claim of 2x the speed of the stock browser is understated. Problem is, I find Dolphin opens web pages in a completely moronic way, usually giving me a close-up of the upper-left or lower-right corner of the page.

I've never had this problem. If you go to the Settings > System Settings there is an option to open pages in overview, and this is checked for me. I'm not sure if this will resolve your complaint or not.


Usually, my problem with the keyboard is that it blocks something I'm trying to see on the page as I type. For example, the sites that make you type in random codes to sign up or login. Not able to use the horizontal keyboard with those things.

[amlothi]

Plus, the tabs are huge - real estate is kinda valuable on a mobile device, no matter how "big" the screen size.

The tabs only show on my screen when I'm at the top of a page. As I scroll down, the tabs hide automatically. There's also a button for "full screen" mode in the side bar which gives you even more real estate.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Another 4 hours trying to find a decent sync solution (I listen and watch a lot of podcasts) and it's still a semi-disaster.

iSynchr, Songbird, iTunes Agent, DoubleTwist (got worse with the latest update), WMP, all of them will suck your soul and burp with glee.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Have you tried Google Listen yet, for your podcasts?

Corsi, I have, and was one of the first app downloaded. I do like it, but the holy grail would be a lighter, faster, easier iTunes equivalent for Android where no sync issues (DX has had a ton of issues so far), and everything is managed in one place.

Hopefully Google Music does that.

[maufman]

I've never had this problem. If you go to the Settings > System Settings there is an option to open pages in overview, and this is checked for me. I'm not sure if this will resolve your complaint or not.

Thank you.

This solved my biggest problem with Dolphin HD. The other annoyances are relatively minor, and worth tolerating for Dolphins markedly superior speed.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

For the store account/membership barcode program lovers out there, I was a huge 'Cardstar' fan on the iPhone, and while it's in the Android market as well, I find 'Key Ring' to be better.

Edited by CrouchingTonyHiddenPena, 25 July 2010 - 10:32 PM.

[Bosoxx]

Anyone try this app yet?

Jetflicks

A co-worker showed it to me today. It has a rather extensive TV show library. I saw Dexter and a Family Guy show. Performance looked good on 3G. Price is subscription based after $1.99 to buy app in marketplace.

$9.99 Monthly
$19.99 Tri-Monthly
$29.99 Semi-Annually
$49.99 Annually

I read a lot of not so positive comments, more on the customer support side, people being incorrectly billed, double billed, slow or no email replies. But little bad about the product performance. I was a little concerned about the "legality" of streaming TV shows but they've been on the marketplace for almost a year now.

Thinking about taking a chance for a month for the chance to watch 24 at work.

[SeoulSoxFan]

Anyone try this app yet?

Jetflicks

A co-worker showed it to me today. It has a rather extensive TV show library. I saw Dexter and a Family Guy show. Performance looked good on 3G. Price is subscription based after $1.99 to buy app in marketplace.

$9.99 Monthly
$19.99 Tri-Monthly
$29.99 Semi-Annually
$49.99 Annually

I read a lot of not so positive comments, more on the customer support side, people being incorrectly billed, double billed, slow or no email replies. But little bad about the product performance. I was a little concerned about the "legality" of streaming TV shows but they've been on the marketplace for almost a year now.

Thinking about taking a chance for a month for the chance to watch 24 at work.

So the app makers may be double, triple billing you, and it may be violating the law by streaming shows illegally, and you want to take a chance? Does it really matter about the performance of the app at this point?

[PortlandSoxFan]

Another excellent homescreen replacement is Launcher Pro. I liked it so much I got the Plus version; you can have up to 7 screens, but with the scrollable dock on the bottom you can make 15 shortcuts accessible from any screen.

http://launcherpro.com/

[Caspir]

If anyone is looking for a new gimmicky feature to show off, downloadSamsung's RoadSMS which works on all Droid phones. I probably won't use it, but teenage girls will think I rule.

[SeoulSoxFan]

If anyone is looking for a new gimmicky feature to show off, downloadSamsung's RoadSMS which works on all Droid phones. I probably won't use it, but teenage girls will think I rule.

That's actually a fairly smart app. Especially in big cities.

[mt8thsw9th]

For anyone that's a slave to the MBTA bus routes, 100s of routes' GPS trackers were released to the public yesterday. There are a number of apps in the Market that pull this info.

http://www.androidzo...bta/by_matching

Here's a story from earlier in the month about how this came about:

http://www.wickedloc...system-in-works

[mt8thsw9th]

That's actually a fairly smart app. Especially in big cities.

And especially behind the wheel. No longer will my phone block my line of sight!

[amlothi]

If anyone is looking for a new gimmicky feature to show off, downloadSamsung's RoadSMS which works on all Droid phones. I probably won't use it, but teenage girls will think I rule.

I'm guessing this app is not for those who care about battery life.

[Caspir]

That was my first thought. I only used it for a few minutes, and didn't check the battery widget, but I'm thinking activating the camera for long lengths of time is not a good idea if you need to keep your battery fresh all day. I'm gonna give it a workout while I walk to class this morning and see how bad it is.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Installed Tasker yesterday...I actually paid for it (I had only paid for 2 things on my previous 2 droids)....holy CRAP does this have potential.

http://lifehacker.co...ated-superphone


I've only done a couple of things:

1. Created a widget that shows battery life percentage (not really needed; I was just playing with creating a widget)
2. When my phone is in the car dock, Wifi turns off, GPS and Bluetooth turn on, and any txt messages I get will be read to me. When the phone is removed from the dock, my GPS location is stored in a variable.
3. Created a shortcut on a home screen that when pressed, opens up Maps and gives me directions to my car using the previously stored variable.

[amlothi]

You guys should try SmartBar. Free from the app store.

It lets you add lots of things to the pull down bar and includes a task killer. (I uninstalled Advanced Task Killer after I found this.)

Also, try adding the shortcuts to your desktop. I use "Favorite Apps" and "Quick Settings". The Quick settings is nice because it gives you one touch access to all sorts of settings (APN on/off, Wifi on/off, all volume settings, etc) and only uses a 1x1 space on your home screen.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

I'm finding that taskkiller doesn't actually keep tasks off. The tasks that the phone came loaded with start up two seconds after I kill them making the app pretty useless. Apparently they don't burn much in the way of resources but I was worried about my battery life. I'm going to look for something that monitors battery usage to see if I can track how these apps are draining it. I've got my GPS and Bluetooth turned off, which will help, but I'd like to maximize my battery life without rooting if I can.

[amlothi]

I'm finding that taskkiller doesn't actually keep tasks off. The tasks that the phone came loaded with start up two seconds after I kill them making the app pretty useless. Apparently they don't burn much in the way of resources but I was worried about my battery life. I'm going to look for something that monitors battery usage to see if I can track how these apps are draining it. I've got my GPS and Bluetooth turned off, which will help, but I'd like to maximize my battery life without rooting if I can.

It might not be exactly what you are looking for, but Startup Cleaner Pro can be used to block things from starting when you reboot the phone. It says it only runs at boot, so it won't be running all the time draining your battery - which also means it won't be running all the time and blocking those processes from starting up later.

[Caspir]

Check out Battery Left as well. You can add the widget to your home screen and customize it from there. It can monitor battery level, hours remaining before it dies, battery temp, voltage, and tell you what's draining your battery, what's using it currently, etc. You can also customize the colors for alerts at certain battery levels, and some other cool stuff. You just have to run the phone from fully charged to dead every once in a while to keep it accurately calibrated.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

It won't be a problem running it to dead on a semi-regular basis. I used my phone a lot with work, so I can just avoid using the car charger here and there and I'm sure it'll drain in no time. Thanks for the tips, both of you.

[PortageeExpress]

Installed Tasker yesterday...I actually paid for it (I had only paid for 2 things on my previous 2 droids)....holy CRAP does this have potential.

http://lifehacker.co...ated-superphone


I've only done a couple of things:

1. Created a widget that shows battery life percentage (not really needed; I was just playing with creating a widget)
2. When my phone is in the car dock, Wifi turns off, GPS and Bluetooth turn on, and any txt messages I get will be read to me. When the phone is removed from the dock, my GPS location is stored in a variable.
3. Created a shortcut on a home screen that when pressed, opens up Maps and gives me directions to my car using the previously stored variable.

I'm pretty impressed by Tasker. I set it up to:
- Turn WiFi on at home and off at work
- Shut down the WEEI app when I unplug speakers/headphones
- Not lock the screen when I'm plugged in to power and have speakers connected

[opes]

Is anyone running a calendar app that is not stock? I'm looking for a nice one.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I'm using stock calendar, but I use the Agenda Widget to show upcoming events (the resizeable Motorola widget doesn't work well with Launcher Pro)

[Monbo Jumbo]

Someone (probably Corsi) had recommended the paid version of Weatherbug (called Elite). The doppler maps overlaid onto google maps were relatively kludgy when I first got it. - now after two upgrades in the software plus the froyo upgrade, the maps run really well. Recommended.

[mt8thsw9th]

Does it give scarf recommendations?

[PortlandSoxFan]

Someone (probably Corsi) had recommended the paid version of Weatherbug (called Elite). The doppler maps overlaid onto google maps were relatively kludgy when I first got it. - now after two upgrades in the software plus the froyo upgrade, the maps run really well. Recommended.

The doppler maps overlay on google maps in the free Weather Channel app.