My wife gave me a Motorola Droid last December for my birthday. I have been refraining from blogging about it, as there are about a million other phone blogs out there… However, there have been so many good applications released in the last few weeks, that I thought I would share my “Best Apps List”. I think the Android platform has made some significant progress in the last few months. It finally seems like the phone platform does not really matter any more, Android or IPhone OS. All of the “must have” applications are available on the relevant platforms. This is great for consumers, as we are not forced into a platform for specific applications, but rather the experience or philosophy. With the recent releases of Dropbox, SlingPlayer and Kindle applications, combined with all of the other major applications, WordPress, Facebook, Twiiter, Ebay, Flixter, NFL, DirecTV, etc… Now, you have the option to burn hours of your life away on the phone, rather than sitting at your computer!
I use the following applications on a regular basis, applications that give me the most value from my phone and make the experience fun! Sorry if you were looking for some good games, I’m not much of a gamer and most of the games seem pretty weak, when compared to the IPod Touch games that my kids play. Maybe that will all change with the 3.0 release of Android that was just announced…
| LauncherPro | I have not tried many of the home screen replacement applications, but Launcher Pro is a keeper. It supports the multiple desktops, tons of customization, and performs very well. I really liked the concept of Slide Screen, but the RSS reader did not sync with Google, and I don’t think it worked with IMAP mail servers. |
| Swype | This by far the coolest application/utility on Android. It takes a little getting used to, but once you build confidence and become fluid with your swipes, you can really crank out those words. I’m still amazed how well it seems to determine the words I swipe. It is still beta, but seems to be included in many of the newest Android phones. I hope they don’t take advantage of us when it comes out of beta; I’m sure I would purchase it; it is that good. |
| NewsRob | Until this week, this has been my RSS reader of choice. It works very well, so well that I did not bother to purchase the pro version. I read a lot of feeds on my phone and don’t have any complaints. However, I just installed Google Reader, and am considering the switch. It works equally as well, but I think I like the user interface a little better; plus it gives you a widget for your desktop! |
| Kindle | Not too much to say about this application, as it was recently released. It works exactly like my DX. I installed the software, logged into my Amazon account, and it synced right up the to book I was reading. I have been waiting for this application for a long time, as I did not want to carry both my Kindle and phone. Now, I can pick up my book, any time I want. Sweet.. If there were only more hours in the day to read! |
| Pandora | Pandora is just the bests. I run two miles every morning and listen exclusively to Pandora. If I want to listen to my own music, I use ^3 (cubed). It seems much nicer than the default Android application, but it is just hard to beat Pandora! |
| WP Stats | I use WP Stats and Google Analytics on my website to track what you are reading, but seem to only watch the WP Stats numbers. Google is obviously cool, but too much for my little blog. This application gives me most of what I really care about, daily visitor information. It can also provides a simple graph of our visitor trends. Unfortunately, the application does not do weekly or monthly roll-ups like the WordPresss plug-ing does, but still worth it! |
| Craigslist Notification | Unless you are into Craigslist, this application will not do you much good! I use it to watch Craigslist for items and alert me when they show up. It actually works really well, providing multiple queries and pictures of the items that I’m interested in. |
| Dropbox | I was very happy when Dropbox finally came out for Android. I have been using Dropbox on my home computers for quite some time. It works great to share files between my Linux and Windows machines, and even store files that you want to access remotely. |
| RAMDroid Widget | This is a little widget that looks like an old fashion memory chip. You just give it a tap and it will show you how much free memory (system) you have left. More of a geek thing, but I like it. Another nice little geek utility, is Uptime. Makes me feeling like I’m really running a little Linux box! |
| Handcent SMS | Text Messaging application, much more visually appealing than the default application. Pictures, audio, treading, pop-up notifications, and many other configurable options. Highly recommended. |
| Keepass Droid | This is one of my favorite, multi-platform applications. I use it on my Windows and Linux boxes, and now Android. It is a basic, open-source password vault / manger. The Windows version is really nice; you can just double click on an entry and it opens the default web browser and fills in the user id and password. I realize there are lots of other solutions for this problem, but this one is free and works on all major platforms. |
| DiskUsage | Another geeky utility. Use this to keep an eye on your disk (SD) usage. I thought the user interface was very innovative. You can do the typical pinch, zoom, double tap actions to explore your file system. |
| Google Voice | If you have a Android phone, then you have to get Google Voice! I don’t use the VOIP feature; I’m thinking it won’t be a reality until Verizon rolls out their 4G network. I like the the voice mail features and it as my primary voice mail system. The application gives you “Visual Voicemail” without any additional cost. The transcription service is a little iffy, but the experience and interaction with your voice mail is simplified and streamlined. |
| App Brain | This is a simple little application and web site to watch what other users are downloading or looking for. I check it out every so often to find new and popular applications. |
| Timeriffic | Simple application that lets you configure profiles which can be automatically activated at different times of the day. I have a profile to mute my phone at 9:00 each night and another which turns it back on when I get back to the office. You can also control the WiFi, brightness, and several other phone functions. |
| Fancy Widget | This is an HTC clone widget, which makes your non-HTC phone look ‘cool’. Unfortunately it was so nice, HTC has forced the developer to discontinue development and remove it from the market. I would keep my eye on this developer, as he promises to release an ever better version; I guess we will have to wait and see. |
