Non-game Android Apps Recommendations Catch-All

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EDIT 5/4/10: Added some links.

The Android Market by doubleTwist lets you search the Android Market on your computer. Also has Featured, Top Paid, and Top Free app categories to browse.

AppBrain is another web front-end to the Android Market that features some junk app filtering. Install the AppBrain app on your Android device, then you can browse AppBrain's website and queue up apps for installation on your phone. Very nice! Also lets you search and browse the Android Market and features top apps in different categories.

AppAware shows you what Android users (who have the AppAware app installed on their device) are installing and uninstalling. Also has stats on the top installed/updated/etc. apps available through the web. The app also lets you show what apps people near you are installing/uninstalling.

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I know we have a thread for Android discussion, but that thread has covered everything.

As a soon-to-be Nexus One owner, I'm looking for Android app recommendations from other Goodjers, and I'm sure other future Android users will appreciate an easier thread to browse for app recommendations rather than digging through the Android catch-all thread.

I'll throw in Locale, which I know somebody posted in the other thread. From their site:

With Locale, you create situations specifying conditions under which your phone's settings should change.

The only thing I remember seeing about this app is that it uses up your battery rather faster.

I should predicate this saying that I have a Droid. The problem I've had with Locale is that it randomly turns on my Wifi, despite the default (and other location settings) have it set to "off". Plus it is $10.

I love:
MotoTorch - a flashlight program that turns on the camera LED. Plus it can also strobe SoS
The Weather Channel
Places Directory - basically an attraction locator
FiOS Mobile - allows you to control your DVR on the go
TextsFromLastNight - because I'm a pervert
OI Shopping List - simple, effective list program
AP Mobile - news feed
Advanced Task Killer - a must have to kill random tasks running

CyanogenMod (or any other root-providing firmware) + android-wifi-tether + netbook or laptop

K-9 mail client

MyTracks exercise tracking app. It uses GPS to track your run and then exports data to Google Maps & Google Docs spreadsheet.

Listen podcast app

Installed apps on my Droid:

Touchdown ($20, only worth it if you use the phone for business in an Exchange environment)
Touiteur (Twitter client)
ShopSavvy
GroceryIQ ($1, lets me share grocery lists with my wife and her iPhone)
Google Voice
Ringdroid (create clips from audio already on phone)
AndFTP (file manager, I use to upload to company FTP site)

Slidescreen - it's worth a try at least. It's a home screen replacement that I quite like.

Pandora for the win.

CarrMatey is fun, it locks onto your car and helps you find your way back to it. It works well enough to be useful even in small parking lots.

Connectbot - Awesome SSH client

Tweetsride - My phone twitter client

Barcode scanner - Weird, but a qrcode scanner, and being able to share stuff via qr codes works really damned well. (Plus, you can just scan a QR code off of the monitor if they have one as a link to an application, which works pretty well.)

Handcent SMS - just make sure to turn notifications off in the regular sms app.
MyPOD - automatically downloads your podcasts for you.
Seesmic - Great twitter app that's really only missing a constant status bar icon.
Gesture Search - One of the best google apps for the Android OS
ASTRO file browser - Great file browser
Dial Zero - Handy for companies you get tired of wading through prompts to talk to people.
Shazam - Tells you what song you are listening to.

C25K (couch to 5k)

A really simple app but instrumental for me getting back into running at a sensible pace. It follows the routine from this site:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/...

Using this app along with Mytracks and Listen has made a huge difference in this years attempt to get fit.

My thanks to Oso for the heads up on this.

TubeDroid - Downloads YouTube videos right to your SD card.
KeyRing - Allows you to input the codes on those little keychain membership tags for places like Shop Rite, CVS, PetSmart, etc. THe cashiers can scan the barcode on your phone. Bye bye annoying keychain tags!
Opera - IMO best mobile browser.
Gmail Unread Count - Widget that is the Gmail icon but with an iPhone-like number indicator for how many unread emails you have. Replaces stock Gmail icon.
More Icons - Allows you to make much smaller icons so that you can fit 4 icons in the place of 1 standard sized icon.
MountUSB - Icon that mounts your SD card to your PC via USB with one click.
Nav Launcher - Icon that brings you directly to GPS navigation.

trueheart78 wrote:

MyPOD - automatically downloads your podcasts for you.

How does this compare to Google Listen?

If you root the phone (and you should), SetCPU is great. You can set profiles to scale back your CPU to 250mhz when the screen isn't on, then allows it to scale up to 800mhz on demand so you have a snappier experience, while saving battery. Along with saving the battery, Screebl is very handy. Uses the tilt sensor to turn off the screen when the phone is horizontal for a given time period, but prevents dimming/power down when you're holding it.

General Crespin wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

MyPOD - automatically downloads your podcasts for you.

How does this compare to Google Listen?

I really, really liked Google Listen. Really. My biggest issue is, for example, it wouldn't see a new GWJ Conference Call until Thurs or Fri. I set MyPOD to poll the feed for new updates at a 3 hr interval and I now have the CC when I wake on Wed morning.

One of the downsides is that it tends to forget where you are in the podcast. I'd give the free version a try and see how you like it - takes some getting used to, but I've been decently happy with it.

General Crespin wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

MyPOD - automatically downloads your podcasts for you.

How does this compare to Google Listen?

I like Listen better. I don't have the feed update issues that appear to plague others though so take that into account.

Alright, so what is rooting, what does it do for you, why do it, why should you not do it, etc etc?

While I liked the swype keyboard, I was wondering what other touchscreen ones people might recommend.

I rooted my nexus one yesterday and really like some of the new features. The led on the trackball can change colors now, I can rotate the phone in all four directions and the screen re-orientates unlike before. I really like that app Bagga mentioned, SetCPU. Now the processor scales like a laptop. If I only need 300 Mhz, that's what it is. If I need the full 1 GHz, that's what it ramps to. That should help with battery life.

Edwin - what hacked firmware did you go with?

Also, the Opera 5 beta doesn't work well with GWJ after logging in to the site. Bah!

AK Notepad

trueheart78 wrote:

Edwin - what hacked firmware did you go with?

Also, the Opera 5 beta doesn't work well with GWJ after logging in to the site. Bah!

I just used the Cyanogen one. I didn't realize there were others for the Nexus One.

karmajay wrote:

Alright, so what is rooting, what does it do for you, why do it, why should you not do it, etc etc?

If you ask that question of an Australian, they will blush and change the subject.

For geeks, 'rooting' is a short form of 'gaining root access', which means you can install and run any damn software on your phone that you want. On Unix, the root account is the master key; it can bypass all restrictions and do anything the machine is capable of.

Malor wrote:
karmajay wrote:

Alright, so what is rooting, what does it do for you, why do it, why should you not do it, etc etc?

If you ask that question of an Australian, they will blush and change the subject.

For geeks, 'rooting' is a short form of 'gaining root access', which means you can install and run any damn software on your phone that you want. On Unix, the root account is the master key; it can bypass all restrictions and do anything the machine is capable of.

Keitha wrote:

Look, Big J, You've got two options: A, sit around here asking me stupid questions, or B, get in that bedroom and root me again.

Jermaine wrote:

They're both good options.

While I like my phone enough sometimes to Aussie-root it, the typical rooting process gains you access to some features you otherwise wouldn't have. For instance, since the phone has a wifi chip, it acts as a wifi client out of the box. However, if you root it, you can also use that wifi chip to be the wireless access point using the 3g signal. That's called "wireless tethering" in android world, but it's a very handy feature you can't normally get unless you shell out a lot of money. Also, rooting allows you to install custom ROMs that people have put together, changing the look/feel, adding features from new versions before they're officially available, etc. The rooting process has become so easy, you really have nothing to lose by trying it.

Is rooting easy to reverse? If Google rolls out an Android update, do we have to unroot before we can update?

Seriously, swype is the best keyboard out there. Mine stopped when they started their whole "beta" thing so I'm sad. I bought the droid to have the physical keyboard but once I had swype I was able to use the virtual keyboard very easily. At first it seems challenging to use but you can get real good with it pretty fast.

I wish I could still use it

General Crespin wrote:

Is rooting easy to reverse? If Google rolls out an Android update, do we have to unroot before we can update?

Good question. I'm also interested in finding out more about rooting (the non-Aussie version). I'm not an uber-geek, but technical enough to understand a bit of what is going on.

Do you have to root it? On Verizon's Droid, you can go to Settings > Applications and check 'Unknown Sources'. This option is described as "Allow install of non-Market applications".

General Crespin wrote:

Is rooting easy to reverse? If Google rolls out an Android update, do we have to unroot before we can update?

You don't have to un-root before an update. If you're running a custom ROM, then you'll want to update with that custom ROM and not the stock update. However, you can revert back to the stock ROM at any time and upgrade normally.

BishopRS wrote:

Do you have to root it? On Verizon's Droid, you can go to Settings > Applications and check 'Unknown Sources'. This option is described as "Allow install of non-Market applications".

Yes, because rooting unlocks pieces of the hardware which otherwise wouldn't be accessible to applications; market-based or not.

I just picked up a Droid and I'm wondering if there are any other app recommendations. So far I have:

Pandora
Advanced Task Killer
Wallpaper (forgot name)
Barcoder

Handcent SMS
Google SkyMap
Droid Light
Weather Widget
Zilch free

Amazon
Astro
Bank of America
Compass
ICE: In case of emergency
iTriage
Kayak
Mabilo Ringtones
Meebo IM
My Tracks
NPR News
Opera
SetCPU
ShopSavy
Tip Calc
Touiteur
UrbanSpoon
Google Voice
Zillow
Yelp

Edwin wrote:

Touiteur

That's a great twitter app. Premium version was worth the money.

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