Non-game Android Apps Recommendations Catch-All

I loved swype. The T9 Flex thing that was Amazon's free app (normally $5?) one day seems to fill that role just as well as swype did though, and it actually has some drawing and voice options included too. Since swype was a beta and apparently could disappear anytime I've stuck with this.

Stele wrote:

I loved swype. The T9 Flex thing that was Amazon's free app (normally $5?) one day seems to fill that role just as well as swype did though, and it actually has some drawing and voice options included too. Since swype was a beta and apparently could disappear anytime I've stuck with this.

I had all kind of UI issues with that.It had some good points, but I switched back.

The new Swype beta seems to respect the modifications to haptic feedback strength I made in CM's settings. <3

Just got home with an Acer A500 tablet. It's so spiffy.

[Edit] Hmmm, Gingerbreak just seems to be chillin'. Wish there was some kind of status indicator.

[Edit2] So I got it rooted eventually. I'm reeeeeally digging the tablet though. Very fun.

FYI SeekDroid is free on Amazon yesterday and still is this morning... Also if you don't follow the Android game thread, Peggle is the free app of the day. And lastly GrooveIP is $1.99 right now.

MonoCheli wrote:

I was just wondering how others read this forum on their androids? I have been using dolphin web browser but am less then thrilled with that. I really like the XDA app and use it all the time, is there any better app for reading and posting in the GWJ forums?

Dolphin, for some reason, hates GWJ. They just don't jive.

Actually, to be fair, I don't really like Dolphin HD for many things. I've gone back to the default browser. It works really well with the relatively new code GWJ has for mobile phones.

I never browse GWJ on my phone, but after having just tried it, Miren seems to work perfectly. It's a really nice browser, too.

https://market.android.com/details?i...

I've tried most of the browsers, I always end up going back to the default Chrome-based browser though. Works just fine and it's pretty fast.

Citizen86 wrote:

I've tried most of the browsers, I always end up going back to the default Chrome-based browser though. Works just fine and it's pretty fast.

I use Opera. Quite happy with it.

I have tried Dolphin, Standard, and Firefox. Firefox is too slow everywhere... The standard is nice on my phone but the mobile websites don't work so hot on the tablet and all the websites think you are a phone when you use the Android browser. I was using Dolphin because you can tell it to act like a desktop browser. I wish TapaTalk would work with our forums... or someone with better coding skills then me (I can make .bat files and that is about it) could make one. I'd pay for it...

MonoCheli wrote:

I was using Dolphin because you can tell it to act like a desktop browser.

You can do that with Miren.

Just saying.

I may give Miren a try. I went through a browser temper tantrum a few pages ago, and after trying about 5 of them (Miren wasn't included in that list of 5), I still settled on the default browser.

Firefox is by far the worst of them all. I actually liked skyfire okay but the interface was astonishingly cluttered.

Hyetal wrote:
MonoCheli wrote:

I was using Dolphin because you can tell it to act like a desktop browser.

You can do that with Miren.

Just saying.

I've had Miren installed for 15 minutes now. love the interface and the speed is competitive with the default browser. Unless it does something really stupid (large amounts of force closes, like firefox, or something), I'll probably switch to using it for most everything.

Here's a stab in the dark -- the most recent facebook app is not only unstable, but it's virtually useless for controlling "pages I admin." Given that I disseminate a lot of news from my blog's related FB page, that's annoying. The mobile version of FB is better, but not nearly as clean or efficient. Any ideas? I realize the other option is to jury rig the twitter account to piggyback onto FB. That may be my best option.

Glad you liked it!

MonoCheli wrote:

taer, correct me if I am wrong but i looks like your app is the free app of the day at Amazon today. If you don't mind me asking do you still get anything the day when your app is free?

Nope. Just a bunch of downloads. I was on vacation when it happened. They asked me if I wanted to participate, and they said it would be probably the 23rd or so. Almost forgot to check the free app of the day when it ran.

Overall, I think all it does is get you higher in their market.

I remember reading last year sometime that Valve have found that sales of games spike considerably right after the sale ends. Maybe apps could start to see - or already do - a similar effect.

duckilama wrote:

I remember reading last year sometime that Valve have found that sales of games spike considerably right after the sale ends. Maybe apps could start to see - or already do - a similar effect.

The next day did have a sales spike in terms of revenue, so it does confirm that finding. It vanished quickly though. And I saw a lot of sales on the Android market as well. I think some people use the free amazon deal to try out the app, then buy it if they like it on the market. Sort of how you used to have 24 hours to test an app. I miss those days.

taer wrote:

Sort of how you used to have 24 hours to test an app. I miss those days.

Seriously. I almost want to post that to the loathe thread. 15 minutes is seriously bullsh*t, especially on some of the apps that then have a large download after your purchase.

Yeah they fixed it to the extreme. 1 hour would be a reasonable compromise. Something like 6 hours would be more appropriate if there is an external download too.

or just let the developer decide...

MonoCheli wrote:

or just let the developer decide...

Problem with that is the customer would be confused and you'd have a lot of complaints asking for refunds when they didn't understand what a particular app had set for the refund time. While I would like it, I can see why google would never do it.

MonoCheli wrote:

or just let the developer decide...

this

MannishBoy wrote:

Problem with that is the customer would be confused and you'd have a lot of complaints asking for refunds when they didn't understand what a particular app had set for the refund time. While I would like it, I can see why google would never do it.

They could make it a big bold item on the purchase screen. Call it an eval period. Devs who make 1 hour games could make it smaller. Games that need huge wifi downloads would be longer.

taer wrote:

They could make it a big bold item on the purchase screen.

People would still ignore it.

I've dealt with too many customers ignoring user interface stuff over the years. I'm jaded.

I'll stick it here since it's mostly app related.

Rooted my phone with no troubles yesterday, and was a bit ashamed that it took me so long to get to the grownup party. Here's a quick rundown on what I've done thus far:

1) made a nandroid backup because every website on the planet told me to

2) installed Titanium backup, made another backup, then deleted a whole crapload of Sprint bloatware (GOODBYE NASCAR APP)

3) installed wireless tether and proceeded to feel hugely justified in buying the wifi-only iPad -- this thing works perfectly

4) installed CPUtuner in an attempt to increase battery life -- It didn't work at all (in fact it seemed to drain the battery), so I deleted it. Is SetCPU any better?

5) tried and failed to hack the Netflix app. Apparently I will need to get myself a ROM based on 2.3 to get this running. Not sure if this is worthwhile at the moment.

6) considering installing JuiceDefender. A buddy of mine gets 20 hours of heavy use out of his Epic 4G, and I get maybe 6 hours of heavy use. Trying to get up closer to his numbers.

MannishBoy wrote:
taer wrote:

They could make it a big bold item on the purchase screen.

People would still ignore it.

I've dealt with too many customers ignoring user interface stuff over the years. I'm jaded.

I agree this would happen but this is the consumers problem assuming the dev has made it clear in the first place. It is like reading EULAs. If you don't read it and then agree to let some program do whatever it wants... poop poop on you...

I would assume this would be even easier to see then reading through those stupid to read EULAs, like the permission screen in android when you install an app.

MonoCheli wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
taer wrote:

They could make it a big bold item on the purchase screen.

People would still ignore it.

I've dealt with too many customers ignoring user interface stuff over the years. I'm jaded.

I agree this would happen but this is the consumers problem assuming the dev has made it clear in the first place. It is like reading EULAs. If you don't read it and then agree to let some program do whatever it wants... poop poop on you...

I would assume this would be even easier to see then reading through those stupid to read EULAs, like the permission screen in android when you install an app.

I wish I lived in that world. In the end, the consumer who misread or misunderstood when an app didn't follow the same rules most others did would still be mad at google, who would have to support them.

It's like when our devs say that's a user training issue. While possibly true, the reality is that the only way to fix the problem is to make a consistent user interface with as little user training required as possible.

Like I said, I'm jaded.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Just got home with an Acer A500 tablet. It's so spiffy.

[Edit] Hmmm, Gingerbreak just seems to be chillin'. Wish there was some kind of status indicator.

[Edit2] So I got it rooted eventually. I'm reeeeeally digging the tablet though. Very fun.

You lucky somFemale Doggo! I want a 10" tablet soooo bad, but I won't be able to afford one for a long while. I have so many RPG PDFs that I want to read and after viewing a few on my mother-in-law's iPad I've come to the conclusion that a tablet is the single best way to read them. I'm not an Apple fan so I've been drooling over the various Android tablets and dreaming of the day I can make them my own.

Funny you mention that, long PDFs are one the main reasons I've wanted a tablet. With Tegra 3 tablets coming out this holiday season, and the Amazon "Hollywood" Tegra 3 tablet leaked to be coming out at $450, I bet you can get a 10" Tegra 2 for close to $300 around then.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Funny you mention that, long PDFs are one the main reasons I've wanted a tablet. With Tegra 3 tablets coming out this holiday season, and the Amazon "Hollywood" Tegra 3 tablet leaked to be coming out at $450, I bet you can get a 10" Tegra 2 for close to $300 around then.

If you're looking for a good PDF app check out ezPDF. I've been using it on my phone and it works like a dream. I got it as a freebie from the Amazon app store a while back, but I think it's only like $2 or something normally.

I'm using the official Adobe PDF reader now. What am I missing out on?

[Edit] Ooooo, Zinio is out on Android. Electronic magazines! I'm on Star Trek!