Related
Let me start by introducing myself. I'm the new owner of a Droid 2 Global (but I'm posting in Plain Droid 2 General, because the distinction has no relevance for my questions).
I previously owned an HTC Titan (which I left stock, which is unusual for me). Before that I had an HTC Apache, which I customized heavily, back in the day when XDA only covered HTC WinMo phones. I was even customizing ROMs, although not at a particularly advanced level. I mostly followed other forums, but many of the important utilities used originated here.
But enough of the old history. I now have the D2G. Relative to the tiny low resolution screen of my WinMo phones, this was a real upgrade .
So the first thing I did was root the phone, and installed Fission. I've also installed various apps I've seen recommended, and am wanting to hear any suggestions people have for other apps.
I'm no interested in most of the things that top many "must-have apps" lists, like social networking apps, and I'm especially interested in knowing about interesting obscure apps, but I could still have missed some interesting mainstream apps.
I'm including an annotated list of my currently installed (non-rom) apps.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Current Apps:
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 (com.adoble.flashplayer)
Adobe Reader (com.adobe.reader)
AudioManager (com.smartandroid.audiowidget) I'm not particularly happy about this app's widgets being refreshed by polling, rather than by somehow subscribing to the volume change events. Is there a similar root-only app hat works like that?
Barcode Scanner (com.google.zxing.client.android)
Compass (com.apksoftware.compass)
Dolphin Browser HD (mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser)
Droid 2 Bootstrapper (com.koushikdutta.droid2.bootstrap)
Earth (com.google.earth)
eSpeak TTS (com.marvin.espeak)
Fission Rom Manager Lite (br.romdownloader)
GMail (com.google.android.gm) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Goggles (com.google.android.apps.unveil) Interesting, albeit not practical
Google Sky Map (com.googl.android.stardroid) A bit more practical
Google Translate (com.google.android.apps.translate)
GPS Test (com.chartcross.gpstest)
Maps (com.google.android.apps.maps) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Root Explorer (com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer)
Shopper (com.google.android.apps.shopper)
Street View (com.google.android.street) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Superuser (com.noshufou.android.su) Downloaded latest version from market, so I am notified of updates
Terminal Emulator (jackpal.androidterm)
Titanium Backup (com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup)
Titanium Backup Pro (com.keramidas.TitaniumBackupPro)
Voice Search (com.google.android.voicesearch) Fission omits this since it is on the market
YouTube (com.google.android.youtube) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Update: Apps I've tried based on suggestions and think that I will stick with (unless I see something better) will be added to the above list, in bold.
Handcent sms. Best text messaging app out there and its free. Launcherpro is also awesome.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
i would get a cpu control app like setcpu, or if you want to overclock go with droid overclock by jrummy, i personally cant use an android phone without fancy widget. i also noticed that there wasnt an xda app in there
orkillakilla said:
Handcent sms. Best text messaging app out there and its free. Launcherpro is also awesome.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I'd go ADW launcher though
theimpaler747 said:
Agreed, I'd go ADW launcher though
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theres a new version called adw ex and it costs$2.50 but it is SO worth it. so much more customization. i also second handcent sms.
botnryan said:
theres a new version called adw ex and it costs$2.50 but it is SO worth it. so much more customization. i also second handcent sms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it, and love it as well
Here's some worth checking out:
Google Voice: Google Voice will transcribe your voicemails to text, store them on the web, make them searchable, and allow you to archive them forever. Single most amazing thing to happen to phones since they got data connections. Ignore the rest of this list and get google voice. It's worth the few minutes of setup time.
qik: You can stream video live to the web. I haven't really found a great use for it, but how cool is that?
Dropbox: If you don't use Dropbox on your PC, that's a whole other story I need to tell you about, but there's an app for your android. It syncs your data to the cloud and keeps all your computers in sync with the newest versions.
Google Sky Map: Do you see a constellation? Hold your phone at arms length in front of the stars in question and google sky map will tell you their names, the name of the constellation, and other cool stuff. It's one of those you have to see it to believe it.
Jorte is a much better calendar than the default one. You can put much more useful widgets on the desktop and see the names of your events when you're in monthly or weekly views.
ADW is an awesome launcher (I use it), but Launcher Pro is probably cool too.
Get your bank's mobile banking app. Super useful.
Verizon has an app that shows you your minutes used, txts sent, and data downloaded.
Cool games:
Rocket Bunnies
Mechanics Touch
Robo Defense
Repilica Island
Air Control
Buka
Radiant
Totemo
Feedback on the suggestions: (Updated)
Its really not clear what Handcent SMS gets me over the default provider, especially since I don't use SMS very much. Also if I do decide to go Google Voice in the future, said app becomes somewhat moot, since AIUI only the GV app works well with GV's SMS.
ADW Launcher EX looks interesting. I do have some reservations though. I remember that early on all replacement launchers had issues that varied from effectively locking you out of the phone by breaking (with the breakage surviving restarts), through to eating up battery like crazy. Have those all been pretty well resolved?
The XDA-Developers app has ads, and more importantly does not seem to let me refer back to older posts while composing.
I'm not sure what to make of Dolphin HD. It has ads unless you buy a license, but those ads are hidden away in places like the bookmarks management screen (while the bookmarks sidebar is what you use most of the time). It does support downloading any file even if no app for the format is installed. On the other hand functionality like a password manager is only available in an add-on (and the password manager one is a paid add-on).
I've used both adw and launcher pro, I loved adw but I just didn't find it as stable or as smooth as launcher pro, so I stayed with launcher pro, just a little input for your consideration
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
I'm sure there is someone who will disagree, but I really like Dolphin HD browser. It may be a hair slower than some other browsers, but I really like the bookmarks bar on the left side.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Some other apps I've found are the miui music app (best music player app I've found) and also the miren browser from the miui rom. Worth checking out and they are free.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
I just downloaded that miren browser, I haven't heard of it. I'm going to have to test it for a while.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
AdFree if you don't like the ads. Cachemate, drocap2. Just some suggestions
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Tried the miren browser. I still prefer dolphin though.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
chompSMS over Handcent for me. Main reason for these is the popup notifications. Saves me from turning on screen, unlocking, dragging down status bar, tapping message, and then being able to read it. Auto lights up screen (20 sec configurable for me) and opens a pop-up window, you can instant-reply there too. Oh and the quick-compose, I map that through the LauncherPro activities feature to search button + P to instantly start composing an SMS.
andChat if you ever need irc
tTorrent Lite looks nice haven't used it just have it installed
K-9 Mail much better than gmail (gmail hogs precious vertical viewing area when in landscape mode)
GTask, enable tasks in google labs on your gmail (if this is still a labs feature and not official now).
MusicJunk: I won't spoil this one for you.
I'd say that's it.
I actually like go sms, its very customizable and has the pop ups like chomp, although I disable them from time to time. And I also found hancent a little buggy, sometimes it wouldn't send my messages, go sms sends them very fast, almost as soon as I hit send.
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
rusty815 said:
I actually like go sms, its very customizable and has the pop ups like chomp, although I disable them from time to time. And I also found hancent a little buggy, sometimes it wouldn't send my messages, go sms sends them very fast, almost as soon as I hit send.
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
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Click to collapse
IMO, Go SMS, like most apps, uses too much vertical space. Who needs half an inch for a message ? I wish more would do it like k-9 mail and just make it like 1/4th inch high at the max.
I don't use very many social networking apps and mainly use my phone for media purposes aside from some of the more popular news type apps like Tapatalk, Pulse news reader and stuff here are a few you may be interested in:
Media Apps:
BeyondPod - If you like podcasts this app is amazing. Doggcatcher is pretty good also, but I simply prefer the more minimalist style of BeyondPod.
iSyncr - if you want to sync music from itunes to your phone
PlayerPro - imo this is the best music player for android hands down. its very customizable and has a ton of options and features. If you are interested in trying it check out the Sens skin for it.
RockPlayer - plays literally any video format. Eventually I hope to move to vPlayer, but that isn't all that stable on the Droid 2/X phones atm.
XiiaLive - a shoutcast streaming player with a pretty good interface. I think Winamp may also stream as well.
System/Widget Apps:
LauncherPro - other people have mentioned it. To clarify I have never had a reboot lock problem or any battery drain from it and I have been using it since I got my droid 2 back in the summer (4-5+ months), so I can confidently say it is more than stable and very fast.
Volume Toggle (Free or Pro) - I have been using free for months. Its similar to AudioManager except superior in every way. I am fairly sure it works with system change events in the latest versions of it. If nothing else give it a shot. It has a nice widget you can tap to change profiles and can auto-profile things like the headset. The ads in the free version are so minimal you wouldn't notice them as they only exist down in the profile creation screens so you wouldn't see them 9/10 days.
SimiClock - A great homescreen widget with date/time/weather and a super minimalistic look.
Launch-X (Free or pro) - A pretty neat launcher widget with a decent amount of customization.
Other Interesting Apps:
TippyTipper - easy tip calculator
Urbanspoon - find good places to eat fast!
psx4droid- Play playstation games on your phone
An app you will probably never hear of:
SimplyNoise - A White noise generator. It really helps me when studying and/or programming. Its basically a version of the website http://www.simplynoise.com/ stuffed into a concise little app. Its kinda weird, but I really like it!
swift key
its a keyboard with the capability of predicting the next word you're going to write and it works very well with the physical keyboard (the whole purpose of owning a droid 2 lol) it is a paid app but it is so worth it
Just wondering if there is any way to lock the wifi in the off position. Say for example I wanted to let my kids use the Nexus 7 but not be online and if they took the Nexus to the library or any public location to read books only or use the installed apps only offline and to make sure that they are not surfing the web etc?
Also wondering how to make the google play ALWAYS ask for a password? It seems to easy to make purchases which is a good for me but basically wondering if it is possible to make it so they are not able to purchase anything. Similar to the way Apple iPad works where there is a "enter password" for every purchase.
TIA
You can set a pin the market settings to prevent installs/purchases.
Also you can download an app blocker from the market and black list certain apps without a password. Including settings/play store/ etc. Set it up to block access to certain apps. I use a app blocker instead of the built in lock screen pin. To keep Wifey out my SMS when she feeling nosey.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
You can try blocking the settings app with an app blocker AFAIK.
Thanks the app blocker will probably do what I am looking for.
I have the Verizon LG G2. I bought a more generic type car mount that does not have the magnet to activate Car Home. It does not show up in my App drawer. Is there a way I can get it to show up in the App Drawer so i can manually launch it? I am rooted with standard rom. Also have Titanium backup if that helps.
Thanks
Oaklands said:
I have the Verizon LG G2. I bought a more generic type car mount that does not have the magnet to activate Car Home. It does not show up in my App drawer. Is there a way I can get it to show up in the App Drawer so i can manually launch it? I am rooted with standard rom. Also have Titanium backup if that helps.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its my understanding they got rid of car home in jellybean... many car home replacements in play store...
canecbr600 said:
Its my understanding they got rid of car home in jellybean... many car home replacements in play store...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The APK is in system/app It is called LGCarhome.apk
Oaklands said:
I have the Verizon LG G2. I bought a more generic type car mount that does not have the magnet to activate Car Home. It does not show up in my App drawer. Is there a way I can get it to show up in the App Drawer so i can manually launch it? I am rooted with standard rom. Also have Titanium backup if that helps.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are the google APKs for their car home if you need. May have to fool with permissions..I always drop them into the rom zip before i flash.
venelar said:
Here are the google APKs for their car home if you need. May have to fool with permissions..I always drop them into the rom zip before i flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I was just curious why the LG one was in the apps folder but didn't show up in the apps list.
Oaklands said:
The APK is in system/app It is called LGCarhome.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Opened and tried to install apk with no luck (both update install and full install failed). Is there any way to get Car Home working without the LG magnetic dock sold by Verizon (I use a custom mount in my car).
empiremaster23 said:
Opened and tried to install apk with no luck (both update install and full install failed). Is there any way to get Car Home working without the LG magnetic dock sold by Verizon (I use a custom mount in my car).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the app working first. It can be downloaded from google play store.
You can purchase some pretty cheap NFC tags and program one to launch the CHU app. Stick the NFC tag on your car dock and whenever you put your phone into the dock the NFC tag will launch CHU.
David
Use tasker. If you connect to your car via bluetooth, Have it trigger car mode on connect to the head unit, or anything else, NFC as was mentioned above can be the trigger for tasker as well.
Ex iphone user here.
How can I get Google maps to pop up notifications while navigating?
Back on the iPhone, if I was using another app, maps would notify me the next turn was coming up with a notification balloon.
Anyway to get that on my Nexus?
Curious what you're doing with the phone while driving that prevents Google Maps from being open? I have never used an iPhone, but I'm thinking you might mean how the screen turns on and shows the popup like it does for a text. I don't think this is possible with Google Maps and/or stock Android at this time.
If you are trying to keep the screen on music like Spotify or Pandora, you could try something like AutoMate (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitspice.automate&hl=en) which has a dashboard style home screen that can show music info and maps info in one screen. It emulates Android Auto on the device and works very well. I use it every day.
fury683 said:
Curious what you're doing with the phone while driving that prevents Google Maps from being open? I have never used an iPhone, but I'm thinking you might mean how the screen turns on and shows the popup like it does for a text. I don't think this is possible with Google Maps and/or stock Android at this time.
If you are trying to keep the screen on music like Spotify or Pandora, you could try something like AutoMate (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitspice.automate&hl=en) which has a dashboard style home screen that can show music info and maps info in one screen. It emulates Android Auto on the device and works very well. I use it every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was looking for!!! Thanks
My 6P, like every other Android device I have had, turns the screen on every day at 12:00 AM, 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM. It has to be an app that I install on all my Android devices, but I have been unable to nail it down. I am running the latest 7.1.1 dev preview. I'm not rooted. Does anyone know of a program I can install that will tell me which app is activating my screen every 6 hours? Sometimes the screen will only stay on for a short while, while other times, if I don't catch it, the screen will stay on for several minutes (of course eating the battery).
If anyone can help with an app suggestion or other ideas to find out which app is doing this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
No one has a suggestion for an app that can tell me which app is turning on the screen every six hours?
Oh and there should be a 6:00 AM in there as well.
I guess the best way would be to go through the logs?? Not sure of any app as such.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Are there not apps that show wakelocks? Isn't turning on the screen even worse than a wakelock? I'm surprised that no one else has this issue. I can't be the only one that has an app that does this. Someone else must load the same app but to date I haven't been able to figure out which app does it or find anyone else who has the same app and problem.
Also, not sure where to even find the logs you speak of? Can anyone help or at least point me in the direction that I can read up on and try to find out which app it might be? Thanks.
You won't see anything unless you are rooted.
Only you can find the app.
Use dichotomy
Uninstall apps from A to M.
Test
OK go on with installing from N to S
NOT OK uninstall from F to M.
Test
etc..
For 128 apps you'll need 7 tests.
For 256 apps you'll need 8 tests.
Have fun ?
rchtk said:
You won't see anything unless you are rooted.
Only you can find the app.
Use dichotomy
Uninstall apps from A to M.
Test
OK go on with installing from N to S
NOT OK uninstall from F to M.
Test
etc..
For 128 apps you'll need 7 tests.
For 256 apps you'll need 8 tests.
Have fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL...Yeah, I thought about this but c'mon...that's crazy to go app by app to try and find the culprit. Really don't want to root on the Beta Program with this phone so that's not going to happen. Sucks there isn't an app that could let me know which app is turning on the screen at that time without root. I tried GSam Battery Monitor, but it was no help unfortunately.
I was referring to logcat, but I assumed that we could make use of root, it's a lot harder without root. If you pulled a logcat to schedule a min before and end a minute after the event, it would be more than enough to find what's triggering the screen wake..
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Yeah, sorry, no root. I usually don't bother rooting my phones. At least the pure Nexus phones. Really no need to with straight Android and consistent updates from Google. Guess I'll never know what app is doing it. Oh well.
Depends... I personnaly don't need a specific ROM, I might need a kernel for better battery. But I definitely need root. Why? Because of exactly this: logcat on all processes and wakelocks monitoring ?
And more generally because I want to access to all features of my phone.
Oh don't get me wrong, I know why people root. I just couldn't be bothered to do it myself with a phone that runs pure Android like the 6P. I never said there was no reason to root, just said I don't do it myself.
Maybe list all your apps here?
sent from my pixelated Nexus 6p
Hmmmm....that would be a pretty big list.
hard to help you then. without knowing what you have on it, how can we make a suggest? frankly, it will take time to chase it down as you dont want to root.
pickupman66 said:
hard to help you then. without knowing what you have on it, how can we make a suggest? frankly, it will take time to chase it down as you dont want to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I get that. In order to root, I need to unlock the bootloader right? So total wipe. Really don't want to wipe and start over. Thanks anyway. Wish there was an app that didn't need root that would tell me which app is the cause. I have 123 apps installed. Would take forever to list them here.
Edit: Found an app that lists them for me. Here they are:
ABC Volume abc.software.abcvolume
Adobe Acrobat com.adobe.reader
AIR MILES com.airmiles
Allo com.google.android.apps.fireball
Alto com.aol.mobile.altomail
Android Auto com.google.android.projection.gearhead
Android Pro Widgets com.rdr.widgets.core
Ango com.maxpatchs.ango
Appy Geek com.mobilesrepublic.appygeek
APW License Key com.rdr.widgets
APW Theme Blue 2.0 com.rdr.widgets.core.theme.blue
Audio Manager com.hideitpro
Banking com.cibc.android.mobi
Barcode Scanner com.google.zxing.client.android
Battery Widget Reborn net.hubalek.android.apps.reborn.pro
Beautiful Widgets Animations Addon com.levelup.bw.forecast
BeautifulWidgets com.levelup.beautifulwidgets
Canada Post com.canadapost.android
Canon Print Service jp.co.canon.android.printservice.plugin
CCleaner com.piriform.ccleaner
Chronus com.dvtonder.chronus
Colourform cloudtv.hdthemes.colourform.free
Comic Reader com.blogspot.applications4android.comicreader
Command Center com.motorola.commandcenter3
Cribbage Classic com.gamesbypost.cribbageclassic
Cygnus com.ddev.cygnus.beta.iconpack
Daily Horoscope info.androidz.horoscope
Dives com.vertumus.dives
Docs com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.docs
Dropbox com.dropbox.android
Duo com.google.android.apps.tachyon
Exchange Services com.google.android.gm.exchange
Facebook com.facebook.katana
Fancy Widgets com.anddoes.fancywidgets
Farkle viral.farkle.farklemobile
Fit com.google.android.apps.fitness
Flud com.delphicoder.flud
FreeRange TV ca.shaw.freerangetv
Gateway ca.shaw.shawgogateway
Glass 2 com.ambor.iconpack
Google Opinion Rewards com.google.android.apps.paidtasks
HD Dark Lite vertumus.hd.lite
HD Widgets cloudtv.hdwidgets
Holee com.melkisser.Holee Ikon com.BladeXDesigns.Ikon
Kairo cloudtv.hdthemes.kairo
Keep com.google.android.keep
Kijiji com.ebay.kijiji.ca
Light Manager Pro com.koo.lightmanagerpro
List My Apps de.onyxbits.listmyapps
Live data wallpapers com.ustwo.lwp
Material Pop com.themezilla.matpop
Messenger com.facebook.orca
News & Weather com.google.android.apps.genie.geniewidget
News Digest com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.atom
News+ com.noinnion.android.newsplus
NHL com.nhl.gc1112.free
Nova Launcher com.teslacoilsw.launcher
Nova Launcher Prime com.teslacoilsw.launcher.prime
Opera VPN com.opera.vpn
Outlook com.microsoft.office.outlook
Pandora com.pandora.android
PC Plus com.sap.mdc.loblaw.nativ
Power Toggles com.painless.pc
Poweramp com.maxmpz.audioplayer
Poweramp Full Version Unlocker com.maxmpz.audioplayer.unlock
PRINT jp.co.canon.bsd.ad.pixmaprint
QuickPic com.alensw.PicFolder
Rondo com.benx9.cactus
Shazam com.shazam.encore.android
Sheets com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets
Silhouette com.xonyxltd.icon.silhouettedonate
Slides com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.slides
Solid Explorer pl.solidexplorer2
Spotify com.spotify.music
SwiftKey Keyboard com.touchtype.swiftkey
TeslaUnread com.teslacoilsw.notifier
theCHIVE com.thechive
TVShow Time com.tozelabs.tvshowtime
Twitter com.twitter.android
Unico njad.unico.iconpack
Wallpapers com.google.android.apps.wallpaper
WhatsApp com.whatsapp
WhatsApp Wallpaper com.whatsapp.wallpaper
Wifi Analyzer com.farproc.wifi.analyzer
Word com.microsoft.office.word
World Newspapers com.world.newspapers
this happens with mine too, i am using resurrection remix MM.
but happens with whatever rom base i am.
i dont have ambient display on or anything like daydream.
and it happens randomly, i think it is the proximity sensor that turns it on by itself.
because the way it happens for me is ,i grab the phone and dont even press any button and it turns itself on
but i think it could be caused by the 'double tap to wake' gesture , do you have the option 'prevent accidental wake up' in the settings? it checks the proximity sensor prior to waking up the device, i personally havent tried this option yet, but i think this could fix the issue.
I don't have ambient display on either, but I can't imagine it is a proximity sensor issue. It happens every 6 hours right on the hour. Every day, every 6 hours, on schedule. An app has to be waking the screen.
Um, so @pickupman66, you ask me to list my apps and I did. Now what?