Android Apps that Rock!

[memason]

I've drifted over to the "Dark Side" with a Droid X phone. ;)

Is there a need to have an Android thread ???

Here's a couple cool apps to start us off:


Tunein Radio
Free in the Marketplace
Has radio stations from all over the world. Works great on 3G connection.



ParkDroid
Free in the Marketplace
Will let you mark you car location via GPS in large parking lots or anywhere else you may be some distance from your parked car. Works great at a large mall or any other large outdoor parking facility.

[tony]

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were memason, the Mac guy. Never mind.

[pooh]

Welcome to "THE DARK SIDE!" http://www.tentechnologies.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/android_froyo_droid_incredible.jpg

That parking app is something I will immediately download....I can forget where the heck my car is at SweetBay!

Thanks.

[Russ_Boston]

Great thread!

Google Sky - Free. Point you phone at the sky and it Id's the constellations. Always wanted an app like that:)

[natickdan]

I'm on my second android phone. The first was the HTC Hero and I've been enjoying the HTC EVO for over a year now. My son has the new iPhone and he really likes my EVO.

Sportstap is one of my favs...you will be alerted to the scores of your favorite professional teams...at close to real-time.

As Russ suggested, Google Sky is a program you'll enjoy. It is amazingly accurate.

ICE ( In Case of Emergency ) is one of the few programs I purchased. You can input a number of fields, such as ( personal info, contact info, blood type, health issues, insurance info. meds and the name & number of your doc ).

Regarding the Market...I continue to be blown away by the number of programs available at either no charge or very little charge. There are always new and updated programs, so you may benefit by checking it often.

Here are some sites I've found helpful:

Phandroid.com
droiddog.com
androidcentral.com
androidguys.com

[natickdan]

I've drifted over to the "Dark Side" with a Droid X phone. ;)

Is there a need to have an Android thread ???

Here's a couple cool apps to start us off:


Tunein Radio
Free in the Marketplace
Has radio stations from all over the world. Works great on 3G connection.



ParkDroid
Free in the Marketplace
Will let you mark you car location via GPS in large parking lots or anywhere else you may be some distance from your parked car. Works great at a large mall or any other large outdoor parking facility.



BTW...Welcome to "The dark side", Mike!

[chuckinca]

Shazam: Point phone at music source and it provides info on song being played


Sit or Squat: Finds local public restrooms


ScanLife: Bar code scanner


Talking Tom Free: Virtual Cat


Key Ring: Keep and display bar code for store discount cards

.

[getdul981]

I've wanted a Droid ever since they first came out. We finally upgraded and got the Droid 2 and we both love it. One app that I have downloaded is Advanced Task Killer. It saves battery life by stopping some apps running in the background that you forgot you had running. I also just downloaded battery life. It's also suposed to help extend your battery charge.

I like the fun ones like bubble, compass and a very neat one is droidlight.

[memason]

Here's another one of my favorites...


Speedview
Free in the Marketplace
Is a speedometer and trip computer. Work well in the car and the golf cart. It will reverse the display to create a heads-up display on your car or golf cart windshield.

[fraurauch]

Freecaddie is a good app. Includes most of the courses in TV. There is also a paid version for, I think, $14.50. Hubby and I use it all the time.

[Russ_Boston]

I don't know the name of it but there is one that acts as a level. My son has it and it came in handy when I was working on his deck one day.

[getdul981]

I don't know the name of it but there is one that acts as a level. My son has it and it came in handy when I was working on his deck one day.

Russ - that one is bubble. There's also a studfinder. (for walls not for single women)

[memason]

OK Boys and Girls.... I have way too much time on my hands, so I created a "basic" web page with all the apps discussed in this thread.

You'll see the app name, cost, short description and the QR link to the Market to download the app to your phone.

First, you need to download the bar code reader, which you will use to scan the QR code for each of the apps. That will take you to the app in the Android Market, where you can download the app to your phone.

As new apps are added to the thread, I will update the website to reflect the new app and its link.

Here's the web link: https://sites.google.com/site/villagesapps/

Enjoy & keep the cool apps coming..... Mike

[champion6]

Here's my list. Sorry it's rather long.

Handcent SMS - I use it for texting and love it.
Quick Settings - Quickly change many phone settings from one screen.
Opera Mini - Replacement web browser. They claim it's faster because they cache web pages on their servers for quicker downloads.
CalWidget - I like it for the way it displays my calendar
Google Calendar Sync - I use it to sync my Outlook calendar (for work - Microsoft Exchange) to my Google calendar. When I retire, I will quit using this.
aCar - Record gasoline purchases and vehicle maintenance
handyCalc - powerful calculator
GDocs Notepad - Record notes. I like it because it syncs with my Google Docs account.
Pandora - online music source
Facebook & Twitter - obviously. I use and like the "official" apps for both sites.
Antennas - see where your cell tower is on a Goggle map
Astro File Manager - Manage your files - move, delete, etc.
Color Flashlight - turns your screen bright white plus has many fun effects
Flashlight - turns on the LED flash
Compass - name says it all
GasBuddy - app that goes with gasbuddy.com - find nearby gas prices
PdaNet - tether the phone to your laptop for Internet access. You do not pay an extra fee to your carrier.
Radar Now - displays weather radar for your current location. Knows where you are via GPS.
TipCalc - for calculating tips in many different ways.
WiFi Analyzer - Finds and measures the strength of wifi signals.
Winamp - Android music player from the developers who brought us the famous music player for our computers

All the above are free, although a few have a paid version that doesn't have ads.

These two are paid apps.

PowerAMP $4.99 - Another music player, but this one has a graphical equalizer which makes a HUGE improvement in the sound from your headphones or speakers. You can download a 15-day trial version from the Market.
SwiftKey "On sale" for $1.99 the last time I looked - Keyboard replacement. I love it for its ability to predict the next word. It learns from my previous typing. There is a free version where the predictions expire after 31 days.

I'm sorry this list is so long, but have fun testing out these apps :icon_wink:

[Pturner]

OK Boys and Girls.... I have way too much time on my hands, so I created a "basic" web page with all the apps discussed in this thread.

You'll see the app name, cost, short description and the QR link to the Market to download the app to your phone.

First, you need to download the bar code reader, which you will use to scan the QR code for each of the apps. That will take you to the app in the Android Market, where you can download the app to your phone.

As new apps are added to the thread, I will update the website to reflect the new app and its link.

Here's the web link: https://sites.google.com/site/villagesapps/

Enjoy & keep the cool apps coming..... Mike

Wow Mike, how nice. It's still hard to get used to you being a Droid guy though. :faint:

[memason]

Wow Mike, how nice. It's still hard to get used to you being a Droid guy though. :faint:

Yeah, for me too! I was at the Apple Store today... I've decided to wait for the iPhone 7, before jumping back in .... :icon_wink:

Don't forget, I still have the iPad, so Apple apps are still important....

[linandvin]

I can't decide if we should go over to Verizon. I love my IPHONE but Verizon was telling me some very cool things that Android can do...hook up to TV and show movies? talk and type text? He said they have classes every Sunday to teach the great things it does. Is it really that much better? I have the original IPhone and yes, they will grandfather you in but it will COST more $$$$. $15 per month PLUS texting. We will be in the Villages this weekend and will text the reception on the IPhone at the new lot.

[nkrifats]

OK Boys and Girls.... I have way too much time on my hands, so I created a "basic" web page with all the apps discussed in this thread.

You'll see the app name, cost, short description and the QR link to the Market to download the app to your phone.

First, you need to download the bar code reader, which you will use to scan the QR code for each of the apps. That will take you to the app in the Android Market, where you can download the app to your phone.

As new apps are added to the thread, I will update the website to reflect the new app and its link.

Here's the web link: https://sites.google.com/site/villagesapps/

Enjoy & keep the cool apps coming..... Mike

Thanks Mike, I am apple user that has Droid phone. Waiting to see how things settle out with Verizon and of course this contract being up before I go to IPhone.

[getdul981]

Thanks Mike for putting together that list. I think I already have most of those apps.

Another feature of the Droid 2 (I'm not sure about any other models), is that when you want to do a search or type a text, there is a little microphone icon on the screen, and you press that and when it says to record your message, you just speak what you want and it usually picks it up correctly. Of course, you can just type in the message, but this feature is really cool.

The classes are certainly worth going to, but only last for about 45 minutes. You can go into the store any time and they will help you with any question you have. I'm referring to the store near Best Buy.

[getdul981]

Another one that's kinda neat is Instant Heart Rate.

[memason]

Before I update the web with the latest apps, please PM the answer to the question below. Majority [of responses] will rule.

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/memason1/question.png

Thanks.... Mike

[tony]

12,271 or how many people cannot figure out what this is.

[fraurauch]

Yes, I am using the QR code.

[memason]

Yesterday or the day before, Google announced and opened a new Android App Store. Here's the link:

https://market.android.com/

Cheers.....

[Mich_Duval]

One of the best apps is TV Shows Stream. You can stream current TV shows and old episodes from your phone.

[Hawkwind]

Just picked up a smart phone that uses the android o/s and I am getting use to the thing. I have now gotten to the point of adding apps and ran across two that are must haves and they are free. Those are:

GasBuddy - to check on the lowest price for gas. This also will use the on-board GPS so you don't have to know the town name or zip code for your location. This is from the same group that has the on line web site for gas prices.

Trapster - this app will let you know the locations of red light cameras, spreed traps, school zones and a lot more. It also has a feature that allows you to add an update to the database with a tap of the phone. The way it works is that once a location is reported it is added to the database on Trapster.com servers. As more people report the locations it moves up higher in the verified site location. One drawback is that you may have to change the warning setting depending on your planned route. For example I set it to warm me at 1.5 miles before a speed trap and I found that it was warning me of any school in a 1.5 mile radius of my location. For city driving the range would have to be reduced as compared to interstate driving. On an interstate route I would turn off the school zone warning as it can be done very easily.

I am on the lookout for a good app for weather (radar maps) and stock quotes. The ones that I have loaded so far are okay but not outstanding. For the stock quotes all I want is the DOW, NASDAQ, S&P, gold, oil and half a dozen stocks that I own. The ones that I have found give me a few of my wants but not the others. The same goes for the weather. I did find one weather site from a local TV station that was good but it used a lot of memory just to display the stations pictures and it had pop ups.

Also looking of a TOTV message reader. I have found a program the goes to the Vbulletin (company that writes the software that runs TOTV) and logs into their forums so I know it can be done. I will have to dig into the phone and see what the program look like.

[Bosoxfan]

Freecaddie is a good app. Includes most of the courses in TV. There is also a paid version for, I think, $14.50. Hubby and I use it all the time.

Free Caddie Pro is $ 9.99 It's a little better than the free version.It will tell you distances to all points on the hole!!

FreeCaddie is the #1 golf GPS rangefinder on Android with more than 400,000 downloads!

Get the distance to the front, center and back of each green. Over 21000 mapped courses!

Upgrade to FreeCaddie Pro and get distances to bunkers, hazards, rotated maps, shot measuring, stats, four person scorecard and more!

[Hawkwind]

Thanks Bosox for the info. I have seen a number of apps that have both a free version and a pay for version and was wondering the difference.

I am already looking into rooting (jail breaking) the phone to be able to over clock or under clock the processor and also allow for tethering to the lap top to create a hot spot. That process takes a couple of downloads and about 20 seconds to do.

[memason]

Thanks Bosox for the info. I have seen a number of apps that have both a free version and a pay for version and was wondering the difference.

I am already looking into rooting (jail breaking) the phone to be able to over clock or under clock the processor and also allow for tethering to the lap top to create a hot spot. That process takes a couple of downloads and about 20 seconds to do.


Hawkwind.... Can you provide us the benefits of rooting and over/under clocking an Android phone? I unlocked my iPhone, but that was to use programs outside the Apple App Store, as well as use a different carrier. Now I have the Droid X, but have not been tempted to root...yet :D

Thanks....

[Francie]

I can't decide if I should go with android, iPhone or Blackberry. I have such a mixed bag....work I use a PC, home I use a Macbook, work issues me a Blackberry and I have an old LG cell phone. I need a new smartphone and want something user-friendly. Would love to hear recommendations.

[Hawkwind]

Hawkwind.... Can you provide us the benefits of rooting and over/under clocking an Android phone? I unlocked my iPhone, but that was to use programs outside the Apple App Store, as well as use a different carrier. Now I have the Droid X, but have not been tempted to root...yet :D

Thanks....

Mike
There are pluses and minuses to under clocking / overclocking the phone. If you over clock it things will run faster up to the limits of the connection to the network. You can make it really fast but the minuses are it reduces the battery charge. Now the same is true for under clocking in that you can reduce the processor speed to extend the battery charge life.

Say for example you forgot to charge the phone last night and were at the airport and needed to check on your flight. You had done that yesterday so a lot of things are cached. You see that your battery is low so you change the setting to get your information and off you go. Same goes if you charger the phone full last night and now have to check or change your flight in a hurry. Kick up the clock speed and you get the job completed quicker.

One thing I feel that may happen in overclocking is that the battery / phone will get warm. It will also allow you to load programs onto the SD card and install them from there. There are a lot of programs out there and I have not even begun to look outside the apps stores.

I am not 100% sold on rooting yet as I have not found something that I had to have. If you go on YouTube and do a couple of phone searches there are all kinds of videos on rooting and apps review. I spent waaaay toooooo much time last night following the links. Always something to play with and hack into.

Hope that helps just a little.

[Hawkwind]

I can't decide if I should go with android, iPhone or Blackberry. I have such a mixed bag....work I use a PC, home I use a Macbook, work issues me a Blackberry and I have an old LG cell phone. I need a new smartphone and want something user-friendly. Would love to hear recommendations.

I wanted a smart phone just to get on the internet as I make very few calls. I also had a phone number that has been in the family since the 50's and wanted to keep it. I purchased a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V at Radio Shack for $149.95 as Virgin is out of the phones and have been for almost a month now. Also signed up for a $25.00 per month plan that gives me 300 minutes that I will never use up and this is what I was paying for the land line service. This is a no contract plan and gives unlimited text, e-mail, data and web, and they were able to port the phone number over from AT&T land line to the Virgin cell.

I think if I was to buy a contracted service phone I would look at the Droid X over the iPhone but that is just me. It would all depend on what you really want to do with the phone and how much do you use it. Most smart phones are user friendly but there is a little learning curve to them especially if you have one with the on screen touch keyboards. I have found that the hardest thing to get use to.

[Francie]

Thank you Hawkwind for your thoughts. Very helpful.

[bellabrownn]

Android is now really very growing OS in the recent time...! Every mobile is now always connected with the android OS..! It is really very nice and great OS..!