Related
It was suggested that we start a thread specifically for the apps that run well on the Android port to the HTC Touch/Vogue. I personally own an (Sprint=CDMA) HTC Touch Diamond, but upon seeing the maturity level of Android running on the Touch, I immediately went to eBay and picked up the Touch handset...and I am glad I did. The only reason I boot back to winmo is for work calendar (Lotus), Skype (iSkoot kinda sucks), and Podcasts (hopefully we getting DoggCatcher soon).I've found that battery life with Togga on to be about 8-10 hours which I can live with it, but it's a pain to keep toggling if you really need to conserve (but it could be worse )I plan on posting more battery data soon, but need a few more days of collection. Hopefully we can find a more permanent way of managing the data connection with balance for battery life.
You can find many apps on http://slideme.org/, AndAppStore (both have phone clients - very market-like) and by searching ".apk" on 4shared.com
The apps I have found to run well on my CDMA with dzo/f00bar's (much respect) latest files:
-Scoreboard - I'm not that big of a sports fan, but this app is slick!
-aLastFM - Just got permission to post the link from the developer. Thanks Oleg!!
-Stocker - Simple but effective stock app, but no graphs. If someone could find a better one...
-Weather - Simple, but effective. Multiple Cities, current and forecast, with menu link to detailed outlook including radar from Undergroud Weather.
-AnyCut -Great for making shortcuts to just about any screen in the OS, especially useful for Battery and Sounds&Display
-TextEasy - for sending a text to multiple contacts, until someone can get a hold of ChomperSMS or K9SMS (K9Mail I have not gotten to work either, we need a better mail app, the native client doesn't even recognize URLS, wtf?!)
-OIFileManager - It's the only one I've tried, so can't comment on the others, but there are several out there. UPDATE: I tried out Astro and Glance. I liked Astro, but after a day it stopped working for me and gives me a force quit. I prefer Glance over OI FileManager, it's on 4shared I believe.
-OIFlashlight - amazing how handy this comes in
-OINewsReader - No frills RSS aggregator
-ShopSavvy - Did you say "We'll match any price"?...but be fast with your fingers, camera is not fine enough to capture the barcode
UPDATE:
I wanted to add SMS PopUp as another great app. You can find it along with a bunch of other APKs here. One of the G1 owners that grabbed all of the apps and is hosting them for download.
WANTED:
-DoggCatcher - for my daily podcast fix
-A true Skype client
-HEADPHONE SUPPORT!!
Please post replies with your own favorite apps that run well on this port (with links, please!)
Cheers!
Wow, no replies?!
I'm looking for SMS PopUp if anyone can post a link.
Cheers!
The Meebo app is well worth a look - look for it on 4shared.com. Lets you IM on just about any IM network (Yahoo, MSN, AIM etc). IMs appear in the notification bar while you are in any other program. Great stuff.
I believe im the only person hosting the meebo.apk at the moment.
Meebo Instant Messenger:
http://jonsingh.com/android/files/meebo.apk
I did recieve the "ok" from the meebo!
thanks
Jon
steve98 said:
The Meebo app is well worth a look - look for it on 4shared.com. Lets you IM on just about any IM network (Yahoo, MSN, AIM etc). IMs appear in the notification bar while you are in any other program. Great stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i installed and signed into my MSN account, however, just a white screen shows up. No list of contacts, etc. No menu options other than to add another account or sign off. Not exactly useful (at least this version). Is anyone using this successfully?
EDIT: I received a chat, and that gave me a buddy online, maybe no one on my list was signed on at the time I first checked.
Also, it doesnt remember your username and password, which is annoying because it randomly closed on me after tapping the notification in the bar during a chat session today. I'll keep looking for a better app or updated version.
Ideal2545 said:
I believe im the only person hosting the meebo.apk at the moment.
Meebo Instant Messenger:
http://jonsingh.com/android/files/meebo.apk
I did recieve the "ok" from the meebo!
thanks
Jon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you might be the only one who got the 'ok' from meebo but as i said, it can be found on 4shared.com also.
What about an updated version of Shopsavvy. Mine keeps saying there is a new version, but of course we can't update off the marketplace.
I'm looking for the Locale application. Even though we don't have GPS running, Locale still alows profile switching based on time and days of the week, which would be useful for office vs. non-office settings. If someone could post this I would appreciate it!
how do i install apps i have them saved to the storage card i just dont know how to load them up, sorry if this is a dumb question
thoughtlesskyle said:
how do i install apps i have them saved to the storage card i just dont know how to load them up, sorry if this is a dumb question
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they are in the AndroidApps folder then they should be installed already. I found that sometimes icons don't show up to launch the program, however. This is where AnyCut comes in handy. Use AnyCut to search in "Activities" to find your app. If you are not seeing it in this list then you may have to "manually" install the app. Open a file browser such as OI File Manager or Glance and navigate to your AndroidApps folder. Click on the .apk file and it should launch teh app installer.
Hope this helps.
Any word on aLastFM?
etx said:
Any word on aLastFM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See the update first post.
Scoreboard.apk
I am very interested in the Scoreboard app, I got it running fine, but the other day the game I added to my favorite never really gave me updates until the game was over by a few hours.
Isnt this application able to provide real-time results?
I am having more success simply by going to www.nhl.com :-S
Thanks for aLastFM!
I was looking around and found another 4shared user with a bunch of APK's!
http://www.4shared.com/dir/11234070/20e0c1f0/sharing.html
Someone in the main topic said something about an ebay app. What is it and is it any good? Is it secure? It'd be nice to have for me.
There's been a couple apps I liked that didn't fit our screen plus having to reinstall android files often I lose all my saved info so it doesn't work out for me. Sprint needs to hurry up with an HTC Android phone.
Maybe a stupid question, not sure... Why can't someone extract the android market application from the G1 to be used on other phones? Seems a bit odd of Google to limit the market to only a specific phone.
There is a discussion about the marketplace on the big long forum. The marketplace is not open source. They're talking about the commands and encryption and such for it. I'd think it's not open because they plan on having pay for apps but I could be wrong
G1 Central
This is a must have for any one with a Grand Central account- G1 Central
http://evancharlton.com/projects/g1central
Allows you to place calls and check voicemail for your GrandCentral account. Pretty much allows for unlimited free calling. Works great on my friends G1.
Still missing a few features.. like the ability to call contacts that are only in your GC account, but still very good.
Heres the problem.. it crashes when trying to dial out on the Vogue!!! Ahhh!
So close to beating the telecoms... If anyone knows anything about error codes or how to get this working, I might have a GrandCentral account invite...
megalewis said:
I am very interested in the Scoreboard app, I got it running fine, but the other day the game I added to my favorite never really gave me updates until the game was over by a few hours.
Isnt this application able to provide real-time results?
I am having more success simply by going to www.nhl.com :-S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this also. i resolved by changing my time zone in settings. Only problem is that this then modifies your "synced" time with your carrier, it adjusts + or - according to your time zone, so you have to comensate...each time you boot. Not by any means an elegant solution, but if you need realtime scores this is the answer. Probably better off sticking with NHL.com
aven_soulgazer said:
Someone in the main topic said something about an ebay app. What is it and is it any good? Is it secure? It'd be nice to have for me.
There's been a couple apps I liked that didn't fit our screen plus having to reinstall android files often I lose all my saved info so it doesn't work out for me. Sprint needs to hurry up with an HTC Android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the "Ebay.apk" from 4Shared, but it doesn't display properly. The tabs extend all the way to the bottom of the other screen which is a common problem for us vogue port users.
So I bought my first non-WM smartphone. Below is documentation of my quest to replace, and surpass, the experience I was used to with my Touch Diamond 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5. I am what you would probably call a windows mobile 'power user'. I've been averaging about one new WM phone every 6 months since 2005, most of them HTC. But I always keep up on what the other platforms are doing. This is just the first time I've taken the leap, and I quickly became aware of what new doors Android opened for me in just the first few hours of using the Nexus One. The OS is nice, but like most people, it really comes down to the apps for me.
I was initially thinking I'd do a big blog review, but I've run out of motivation. There's plenty of info on the Nexus One hardware and Android out there, so I don't need to rehash that stuff. What I haven't seen a lot of, though, is detailed accounts of people switching and what exactly they found.
There remains a couple major things missing from Android. The lack of an OCS client is probably the biggest one for me professionally, but since it's a Microsoft product, I don't see that changing any time soon. That and the lack of xvid playback will keep me carrying around my TD2 as backup for the foreseeable future. But other than that, I'm extremely happy and will definitely be sticking with the Nexus for a while. The next post will be a comprehensive list of (practically) every app I've installed, what they do for me, and how they compare to their WM counterparts (if there are any).
On to the apps...
Android Apps I've installed and believe I will continue to use.
This is a bit of a brain dump, so I apologize for not editing more thoroughly. Hopefully it will be useful to some, and feel free to suggest other apps you think I should try.
Advanced Task Killer - List of running apps that allows you to easily kill unwanted tasks. Nice to have for an OS that allows background apps, but I don't actually notice it slowing down, it seems to manage memory and close apps as needed.
Aldiko (replacing mobiReader, much better) - eReader with nice UI and quick access to several libraries of free books. Found Doctorow's books right away.
Amazon store - really just easier than using the web browser, but it also does barcode scanning and some other useful stuff.
BeamReader (replacing Adobe's wm reader) - rarely needed, but have to be able to see pdfs on the go sometimes
Beelicious - direct (cached) access to my delicious bookmarks. UI could be better and it's a bit of a pain to wade through them all, but it's useful.
BeyondPod (replacing YomoMedia, HUGE improvement) - It took me years to find a podcast downloader for WM that worked at all, but beyondpod is amazing. The UI is superb and inuitive. The customization is great. I have it setup to download only at night while charging. It remembers my place in podcasts and creates 'smart playlists' to make it easier to start listening. It also integrates with google reader, which is hugely useful because I can add new podcasts I'd like to listen to anywhere from google reader and then import then very quickly into beyondpod later. Also worth noting is the homescreen widget, which gives me access to basic controls and status from my home screen, no need to always navigate back into the app.
Browser (replacing Opera mobile) - Really there's not much difference here. Neither android nor WM have flash or silverlight support yet (although you can sort of get it on WM through skyfire, but that's not performant enough to be an everyday thing). Usability is about the same, but since multitouch zoom isn't enabled on nexus yet (though the hardware can technically support it), you have to use the zoom in/out buttons. This isn't as nice as zooming on the TD2 (zoom bar) or the HD2 (multitouch). Android does links to outside applications better though. It recognizes when you are browsing to a youtube video or RSS feed and will prompt correctly.
Cab4me - Nice little app for finding nearby cab companies making it very easy to see which is rated best, has cars available, and place the call. Not a must-have, but it's one of the little things.
Camera - very fast, 5mp (same as on hd2 and td2 wm phones), the LED flash is certainly better than nothing. Geotagging is default.
Car Home - this is Google's navigation 'car mode'. I think is this very cool, but honestly I won't end up using it much because I have navigation built into my car.
Carr Matey - dedicated app for recording car location so you can find it again. Another little nice thing I didn't have before. Android is just so much better at doing location-aware apps right now.
Documents to Go (replacing ms office mobile) - I'm using the lite version, which does not allow editing, but I have just never had the need to edit office docs on my phone. Sometimes I get one in an email and want to read it though, and this looks to do that fine. I'm happy.
Evernote (replacing Evernote) - I'm using this more and more as a dumping ground for everything that's not in email but I want to remember. This is what I use anytime I want to take a quick note (audio or text), or take a picture of a wine bottle or business card for later reference. It syncs with the cloud immediately and I can search that from anywhere.
Flashlight - not a big deal, but nice to have.
flickr droid (replacing shozu) - i like to have an easy way to upload a picture to flickr, this gives me that. I really like how android allows it to integrate with the normal gallery app. So after I take a picture I just have to view it, select 'share', and then select flickr droid (or other things like email, twitter, etc). It's more centralized than WM.
Flip2Silent and Vibrate During Meeting (replacing WM + HTC ringer management) - The ringer management on android is lacking as compared to WM. I used to be able to have my phone automatically go to vibrate during meetings, and silence the ringer after I pick up the phone (so it doesn't continue to be loud and annoying while I'm deciding whether to answer), AND there was a pocket mode to switch to vibrate and louder ring when the phone detected it was in a pocket. Vibrate During Meeting gives me back the meeting function, but it only works with the google calendar, not the exchange touchdown calendar in which all my actual meetings are stored. My work-around is to sync my exchange calendar with google via desktop outlook, but this doesn't keep it updated unless I have a desktop logged in. The good news is that the developer of this app says he'll look into touchdown. Flip2Silent gives me the option to just lay the phone screen-side-down to mute the ringer/vibrate functions. This will work while a call is coming in and I want to ignore it.
Foursquare - App for checking into various locations. It's treated like a game, you get points, but also get to see where your friends are and if they happen to be near you. Plus people leave tips for places.
g-backup and mybackup (replacing myphone on wm) - MS's myphone app on wm will automatically backup all user data (sms, mms, pictures, video, docs, etc) to the cloud every night. It can also restore these for when you get a new phone or hard-reset your current phone. I got used to having this. All my email and contacts are in exchange or the cloud anyway, but I don't want to lose these other things. MyPhone is also nice because all that data is accessible via the web. g-backup is cool because it will upload all this stuff to gmail, so you have it there, but it can't restore anything. MyBackup will backup and restore most things, but not pictures/video. So I'm using them both, but I'd like a more comprehensive solution.
Gallery (replacing HTC photo gallery) - The nexus gallery is implemented in 3d and is pretty cool, but ultimately it works about as well as the HTC version (which is also flashy). They need to add multi-touch zooming.
GCDroid (replacing gcz) - This is my geocaching app, but only until the official geocaching.com android app comes out (which is soon and it will be cool if their iphone app is any indication). Even though there isn't an official app for wm, the community created apps were pretty good. GCDroid is barely usable, but overall this category will be an upgrade over wm soon.
Glympse (replacing Glympse) - Something I'll rarely use, but it's cool when it applies. You can send a link to anyone that will allow them to track you via a webbrowser for x-minutes. So if you say you're on your way, they can actually see how far along you are.
Gmail (replacing hotmail) - both MS and Google have their email services integrated tightly with their mobile os. I used to forward all my gmail to hotmail so I could easily get it on my phone, so now I just flipped it. I like gmail well enough, and there are certainly features that are ahead of hotmail. I'm just happy to happy to have my personal email pushed to my phone.
Google maps (replacing google maps and bing) - This is definitely better than on WM, but ultimately it does the same stuff. It's smoother and a little easier to navigate (except, again, zooming is more difficult).
Meebo IM - nice to have an app that can log into ICQ, MSN, and GTalk all at once. Likely will rarely use it.
Messaging (replacing txt message HTC app) - this seems to be just what you'd expect. But at least it's very fast and predictable, unlike the HTC app which is sometimes laggy as hell.
Flixter Movies (replacing bing) - MS's bing app was good for finding local theaters and showtimes, this one does it with a bit more flash and some awesome additional features that i just found. It shows the rottentomatoes rating along with every movies. Plus, it has netflix integration, so it checks whether any movie is in my queue and lets me add it while browsing. It also has a list of recent dvd releases, which is great with the netflix thing. It also essentially serves as a mobile imdb. Very impressive.
Mother TED - dedicated app for watching TED talks. It seems ok but not great.
Music (replacing HTC media player) - Nothing special here. I don't know that I'll even use it much since i mostly listen to pandora or podcasts.
OpenTable - for the rare occasions when I make reservations (especially last minute) this will make it easy to find a place with an opening.
Pandora (NOT ON WM) - this is almost a reason to switch by itself. I hate that this isn't on wm yet. Very nicely implemented on android because it has a homescreen widget. I get all the basic controls without even having to go into the app, and I can use other apps while it plays in the background. Sound quality is great too.
Dialer - The android dialer is pretty basic, but it seems to get the job done. At least you can add a pause (with a comma) so that dialing conference numbers is somewhat doable (but still WAY harder than it should be, they don't do any smart parsing in meeting invites). This is still hard on WM though too.
PhoneFlicks (replacing official netflix wm app) - This is barely a replacement. Netflix's own app was better, this one is slower and harder to use, but at least I can do basic queue management from my phone, which is really nice sometimes.
SeattleBusBot - This is SO cool, and something I've wanted but couldn't find on wm. Seattle has the gps info of its buses available publicly, but their website is basically unusable on a phone (even on a desktop). This app will tell you exactly when a given bus is going to arrive, not just when it's scheduled.
Seesmic (replacing m.twitter.com on wm) - really good mobile twitter app. There are plenty of wm twitter apps, and HTC even builds one into the os now, but they tended to be slower. I think the HD2 is probably just as good as seesmic.
ShopSavvy - barcode scanning that tells you the closest places to get the given product and for how much. Haven't had a chance to see if this turns out to actually be useful, but I like the concept and test scans in the house have been accurate (which kinda surprises me because I had heard that phone barcode scanning doesn't work, but maybe the 5mp camera and snapdragon is making it more pratical).
TorrentFu (replacing starting torrents via Live mesh mobile) - This is a major upgrade (and rejected from itunes if I remember correctly). I finally switched to uTorrent on my server so I could use this. It uses the utorrent webui to connect, but exposes all the functionality like a local app. You can see progress, search for and start new torrents, and pause/resume. Very cool.
TripIt (replacing tripcase kinda) - I've only started experimenting with these two services, and i don't travel as much as I used to, but they are pretty good at what they do. Just forward your reservation emails and they build up a comprehensive itinerary and keep you updated. having a native app makes using these that much easier. Tripcase is on wm, tripit (which seems to be the better service) is on android.
tv.com - streaming tv from cbs, showtime, and some others. Haven't used this much, but always nice to have some free content.
Google Voice - At first I was skeptical about this because I don't have a real need to create a central phone number that rings all my phones, which was what i thought this service was for. Turns out you don't have to use that feature, and they also provide visual voicemail on android plus they send you transcriptions of the messages to your phone. so you can see who left messages and what they said (approximately) without even listening. So I'm definitely appreciating this feature.
Wapedia - native version of wikipedia. Nice and quick. why not?
y5 - Battery - This app is genius in its simplicity and value. It simply keeps track of where you are when you enable wifi, and remembers that going forward so it can automatically re-enable it when you come back to the same place. The rest of the time, it disables wifi to save battery. The end result here is that I never have to remember to turn wifi on or off when i come home or leave the house.
youtube (replacing youtube) - works well. nothing special to report except google's browser seems to be better at realizing when it should forward you to the youtube player.
yxflash (failing to replace coreplayer) - The only android app that claims to do xvid/divx decoding. I tried it on an xvid torrent that wm's coreplayer had no trouble with and it choked pretty hard. It played, but with extremely jittery video and slow sound. Not usable yet, but at least i know I might get something soon.
Touchdown (replacing exchange activesync on wm) - Saved the most important (and expensive @$22) for last. Without this app I wouldn't be able to sync my exchange data (contacts, email, calendar, tasks) with my phone because Android doesn't support all the required security features by default. (our company, like many these days, will not sync data with a platform that doesn't allow them to force the use of encryption, pin lock, and remote wipe) Beyond that, without the recently added feature of allowing me to flag emails for followup, I would not be able to switch to android because this workflow is too important to my everyday life.
Explanation: I check email on my phone often, and if I can respond then and there, I do, but if I can’t and need to follow up for any reason, I flag it. This creates a task in outlook which I will see the next time at my desk, so i KNOW i won't forget about it.
But there is an additional, more subtle, benefit at play here. And honestly, it's a little unfair to count it, but it makes such a huge difference in my enjoyment of my phone that I can't ignore it. I'm speaking about how the previously mentioned pin lock for exchange only applies (on android) to the touchdown app. I am not required to set a pin to unlock the phone itself. Ever since they turned on that requirement I've been punching in a 4 digit pin every damn time I wanted to glance at my phone, check the time, or even change the stupid volume! Now I'm finally free of that because google didn't bother to properly build in exchange support at the OS level. NICE! seriously though, this saves me so much annoyance it was almost worth the $530 by itself.
For a true windows power-user, it's worth shelling out the <$10 for Remote RDP. It works incredibly well, even when connecting to my Windows 7 PC from 3G across town (or presumably, the world).
The ability to USE MY HOME PC from ANYWHERE WITH NET ACCESS...
Absolutely incredible for a phone..
EDIT: my home net speed is pretty quick, which owes to fast remote access. Wifi will always be fast, though, and that's what this app is really designed for.
Good recommendation. Just downloaded the Remote RDP demo. Seems to work well.
Thank you for the run down... I just made the switch myself and a number of the apps you mentioned helped me fill some of my void from WM. I'm still a little pissed about the exchange issues but the real truth is any company I work for issues me a blackberry and doesn't allow other devices to connect to thier servers. I worked for one midsized company once that let me and that was the only time I was completely in love with my WM device. Since my personal email is through gmail the nexus one is really amazing as my personal phone.
Good Stuff! I'm in the same boat WM to Android and no turning back I'll check out some of the apps u listed...
One thing I'm looking for is a widget with power/memory/storage/sd gauges.
Always had this on the wm home for reference & cool stats!
If you geocache then GeoBeagle is the other main geocaching app. I don't cache much any more, but I have tried GeoBeagle and liked it, though I can't compare it to GCDroid...
Wanted to say thanks for the excellent app list. Touchdown is awesome. A way for me to connect to work without merging my exchange contacts with the rest of my phone. Now thats a win!
@Seraph321 - want to add my thanks for your app info. i'll be getting an N1 soon and knowing there are options to some of my "must haves" apps/features/functionality (e.g., Exchange) will help shorten my learning curve. i'm not going to abandon WM because it will continue to serve as my work phone. the N1 will be my after work/personal phone until i'm comfortable tweaking Android. that's my plan, but once i have the N1 my plan may change!
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Browser
Dolphin Browser is hands down the best browser on Android right now. Multi-touch zooming, delicious integration, tabs, themes, and much more.
Flashlight
Do a market search for Nexus One Torch. It utilizes the LED from the camera flash to use as a flashlight. Very bright.
Ringer Management
Locale manages your phone based off time and location. Never used it myself, but heard good things, and I believe it was and Android Developers Challenge winner or something.
Backup
I'm simple and only need to backup text messages (most everything else is stored via SD card or synced with Google anyway). I use SMS Backup to backup my texts to Gmail, and it works fantastic. Uploads directly to my mail account, archives the texts, puts them in threads according to contact, tags them, and marks them as read. I can then easily search my text conversations from my phone or desktop browser via Gmail, and don't have to worry about deleting conversations from my phone and losing something. I've never used g-backup, so it may have this function already.
Twitter
I've tried a couple Twitter apps (not Seismic, though I'll be trying that next) and have landed on Swift, which currently is the fastest, and the best looking Twitter app I've used. I'm not a giant twitter user, so I don't know if it supports all the features any other apps might, but it works great for me, and would recommend it.
That's all for now. I don't have my phone next to me or I'd give it a quick run through and suggest something you might be missing, but I'll have to do that another time.
As for getting multi-touch support in google maps, the browser, and gallery... just wait, it's been hacked in for the G1/MT3G, it will certainly be hacked in for the Nexus One.
I'm still up in the air between ASTRO File Manager and Linda File Manager, but a file manager is an important addition to your tools, if you plan on keeping a lot of documents/files on board. Additionally, I know at least Linda has the DownloadCrutch functionality, associating itself with every filetype so that the browser will allow you to download such. To me, this last bit is essential.
Great stuff, I think a lot of people will be going from WM to Nexus because MS have failed to deliver for so long & there is now a great alternative with an OS that can be modded and a really cool handset.
So far I am happy to leave the N1 standard (not rooted) and play with apps - it is a real joy to have so many available & a single source for them.
Never going back !
+1 for Dolphin Browser... definitely a big step up over the default browser IMHO
SpyderMS said:
Great write up, and welcome to Android
A few suggestions
Text Messaging
The two heavyweights are Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS. Both are considerably better than the default SMS app, it mostly comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
bofslime said:
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
The Jones said:
I tend to agree though why doesnt the icon to the app on my home screen tell me how many unread SMS there are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMS Count
ok, at work with nothing to do, so I browsed through my phone, and here's a couple Apps you may be interested in. Some of these are useful, some are just kind of cool
AudioManager Widget
Nice little app that lets you adjust all your volume levels easily and quickly.
AppControl - Full Version
Best app manager I've used. Really fast, nice interface, and lots of options.
Barcode Scanner
Barcode scanning from the phone is fantastic. It's very pronounced in the Android community as well. You'll see barcodes not only on these forums, but on App websites like AndroLib.com, which let you scan the barcode, and instantly be linked to a website or Android Market page. It's not only useful on the Nexus One's 5mp camera and 1GHz processor either. Worked great on my G1.
Google Goggles
Take a picture of just about anything, and Google will search for relevant results.
Google Sky Map
Virtual Planetarium on your phone.
Layar Reality Browser 3.0
Augmented Reality browser. Displays information about objects in front of you overlayed on the camera display.
Pkt Auctions for eBay
If you use eBay at all, this is a great companion tool.
Shazam
Lets you identify music being played around you by letting your phone listen to and analyze it.
Personally, I find the text bubbles childish and cheesy. I much prefer the stock sms app with sms popup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
handcent settings -> conversation style.
handcent has a ton of settings options, including different settings for individual contacts (conversation style, font, notification tone, etc)
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've already spent too much work time today finding and installing the ones I like.
I don't actually do THAT much texting, so I'm sticking with the stock sms app for now, but I did install sms popup and set my girlfriend to popup. That's convenient.
Someone mentioned SMS backup, and yes, g-backup does the same thing only for more data, but they both need a scheduling option.
I see the nexus one torch app requires rooted access. I'm no stranger to hacking my gadgets, but this app (plus tethering, and maybe installing to the sd card) are the only things I've seen so far that have me interested in doing it. Can anyone provide some examples of why they consider rooting a must?
You mentioned Wi-Fi tethering already, but that reason alone is a pretty big reason. You may also want to theme your phone. Any kind of advancements that developers like Cyanogen come out with will require root as well. Cyanogen is known for pushing the envelope, helping to increase speed, and overall functionality of the G1, and other devices; not to mention you will get features from new versions of Android faster than those without root. I'm sure there are other reasons to, these are just off the top of my head. A lot of people are waiting until someone finds out how to reverse the bootloader unlocking process before they root, in order to preserve their warranty, and that's certainly a good idea if you don't have a lot of use for root at the moment. I did it, like most people that did, just because I can.
I'll make sure to watch the Cyanogen stuff closely. I never followed the G1 enhancements, so I guess I don't know what to expect. Sounds like it's likely I'll do it at some point though.
Is it easy to get all your apps, especially the ones that you paid for, back on your phone after rooting? Does the marketplace just remember it all and let you re-download?
I should just search for these answers.
Hi everyone,
I'm searching for an efficient, fast, and well designed google reader application but have not come across one that is really good.
What I'm looking for area these:
- the first level should show the folders, such as Android folder, economy folder, technology folder, etc.
- When I click on the folder, I do not wish to see the feeds such as CNN, engadget, but to the items list. I want the option to say how many items I want to show, and whether to show only new (unread) or all item.
- I want to be able to mark the items as starred item with merel one swipe, or to unmarked it.
- I want a to with one button indicate all e item on the screen as read, and fetch the nest batch of unread items. I want another button to mark all items in that folder as read although they have not been listed on the screen yet.
- when I click on the item, I want to read part of the news. Then I want to be able to swipe to the next item or go to previous item. I also want to be able to share that item to facebook, to mail to friend, etc. And I want to be able to bring up my default web brewer to go the the original web page.
More importantly, I want all these operations to be instant, without lag.
For those of you coming from iPhone background, you will recognize this as the RSS g Flash application.
I love that design very much and hope to get something like this from the market place, or as close as possible.
Could anyone help? TIA.
I use Feedr its simple yet powerful can sync folders structure. Try it
Try Newsrob.
You want NewsRoom. I found it does everything I wanted from an rss reader... it's now on my first homepage.
Thanks guys. Keep the suggestions coming. I'll try everyone before deciding which one will stay on my desktop.
Cheers.
eaglesteve said:
Hi everyone,
I'm searching for an efficient, fast, and well designed google reader application but have not come across one that is really good.
What I'm looking for area these:
- the first level should show the folders, such as Android folder, economy folder, technology folder, etc.
- When I click on the folder, I do not wish to see the feeds such as CNN, engadget, but to the items list. I want the option to say how many items I want to show, and whether to show only new (unread) or all item.
- I want to be able to mark the items as starred item with merel one swipe, or to unmarked it.
- I want a to with one button indicate all e item on the screen as read, and fetch the nest batch of unread items. I want another button to mark all items in that folder as read although they have not been listed on the screen yet.
- when I click on the item, I want to read part of the news. Then I want to be able to swipe to the next item or go to previous item. I also want to be able to share that item to facebook, to mail to friend, etc. And I want to be able to bring up my default web brewer to go the the original web page.
More importantly, I want all these operations to be instant, without lag.
For those of you coming from iPhone background, you will recognize this as the RSS g Flash application.
I love that design very much and hope to get something like this from the market place, or as close as possible.
Could anyone help? TIA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for Feedr....
Tyxerakias said:
You want NewsRoom. I found it does everything I wanted from an rss reader... it's now on my first homepage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same, i like the look and feel of it, very nice
it has that elegant yet simple clean look, that makes reading feeds and news update a joy.
+1 for feedr
+1 for NewsRob
I've tried a lot of the client apps but they all take too long to sync (and I don't like things like that happening in the background).
I've yet to find anything as good all-round as the mobile webclient from the browser.
Is there a trial version of feedr? I would like to try first before I buy.
I love the interface and response time of newsroom. It's just a pity that I can't view it by the google reader folders. I would also love to be able to see the item list first before going down to the article itself. On my iphone and iPad, I usually skim through a couple of thousand articles each day, some are repeats, or articles that don't interest me. I've also no time to read all of them. So the item list view is useful.
The news-rob is so slow I don't think it's useable for me. Too much waiting at the black screen and syncing takes too long to complete.
I've also tried out gReader which is also incredibly slow.
News reader, together with browser, music players, picture viewers, and YouTube, are among the extremely high usage application, and I don't mind paying good money of it if it is really good. But I must be assured that it meets my expectation first.
Any other recommendation?
hey guys,
I'm writing an android app which is going to be, as the title suggests, the ultimate to do app. Aside from the obvious to do app things like adding/deleting/being notified of tasks etc... the main feature of the app is it is going to sync with EVERYTHING!!! And when I say everything I mean the following:
- Remember the Milk
- Simplenote
- Toodledo
- Evernote
- Google Tasks
- Google Calendar
- Outlook
- Dropbox (as todo.txt file)
- Windows Live Skydrive (as todo.txt file)
- Sugar Sync (as todo.txt file)
Feel free to suggest any others I may have missed.
The other main feature of this app is it will be fully customisable, you aren't required to fill in any fields and you can choose to hide fields you never use.
I will compile a list of all of the features I have completed and have left to do.
In the meantime I'm hoping you guys will be able to suggest features they would like to see in the app to make it the definitive to do app for them. Also if there's any services you'd like it to sync to then feel free to suggest them.
Thanks.
Evernote?
It's gonna be daunting if youre gonna sync from the services directly from servers, maybe it's easier to do natively from data from the apps installed in the phone?
Then again you would needto monitor all the supported apps updates... Well that's what I think.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
that's some ambitious ****, son!
agentxq49 said:
Evernote?
It's gonna be daunting if youre gonna sync from the services directly from servers, maybe it's easier to do natively from data from the apps installed in the phone?
Then again you would needto monitor all the supported apps updates... Well that's what I think.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added evernote, thanks. The app itself will use a todo.txt file locally and then periodically or on demand sync the tasks with the selected server.
dolby71 said:
that's some ambitious ****, son!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha if you gonna do something might as well do it big
More ideas are welcome...
I was going to suggest windows live skydrive but I guess that's what you mean by "live space"
smaskell said:
I was going to suggest windows live skydrive but I guess that's what you mean by "live space"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol yh, i forgot what it was called for a minute there
If you need some help with the UI, I'll be happy to help.
check out my new app on the market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fima.episodes
hope you do it ........... but wow a big task to take on..............
dolby71 said:
If you need some help with the UI, I'll be happy to help.
check out my new app on the market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fima.episodes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks good but I think i'll be alright, thanks for the offer tho
oka1 said:
hope you do it ........... but wow a big task to take on..............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yh lol, right now i've got pretty much everything working for the app except for the syncing parts which i'll be starting on next week
is it possible to takes "tasks" from exchange?
I've been using Astrid for a while now and love it.
This sounds very promising. One feature that I suggested to the Astrid team that they have not implemented would be the following:
I open an email in Gmail on my desktop. I decide that I should make a task out of this and click on that function there. When I then look at my google tasks, it has a link to the relevant email so I can refresh my memory when I have the time to take care of the task. I suggested to Astrid that they include this link when it syncs with your google tasks so that I can have the email open up in the android gmail app. So far they have not done anything with this. I would LOVE to see this in a To Do app.
mdubs said:
I've been using Astrid for a while now and love it.
This sounds very promising. One feature that I suggested to the Astrid team that they have not implemented would be the following:
I open an email in Gmail on my desktop. I decide that I should make a task out of this and click on that function there. When I then look at my google tasks, it has a link to the relevant email so I can refresh my memory when I have the time to take care of the task. I suggested to Astrid that they include this link when it syncs with your google tasks so that I can have the email open up in the android gmail app. So far they have not done anything with this. I would LOVE to see this in a To Do app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will have a look into that when i look at implementing google tasks. A feature I do mean to add though is to be able attach files to tasks much like you would do in an email, which is similar to what you mean just a bit simpler to implement and I don't think any other to do app does this. Although obviously this would only be local attatchments as I can't sync them with rtm etc... maybe with dropbox tho... thanks for the idea, keep em coming
try my ToDo app from here ToDoid
Mecid8 said:
try my ToDo app from here ToDoid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice plug lol
I think, that you shouldn't write just another todo implementation. Maybe something more like "Best Android" David's Allen GTD implementation with ability to sync with any of those mostly popular webapps like Toodledo, Tracks, Nozbe and so on.
Maybe with plug-in architecture? It would be simpler to maintain and expand.
But if you want to stay just with "customizable todo list app", there should be some presets available from the start (after install), like:
- GTD,
- ZTD,
- Basic todo list,
- and so on....
Currently I'm using Toodledo (paid option) + Due Today (paid) for my GTD lists and Springpad for notes and bookmarks. It's not perfect, lacks some features... but I couldn't find anything better.
hakatu said:
I think, that you shouldn't write just another todo implementation. Maybe something more like "Best Android" David's Allen GTD implementation with ability to sync with any of those mostly popular webapps like Toodledo, Tracks, Nozbe and so on.
Maybe with plug-in architecture? It would be simpler to maintain and expand.
But if you want to stay just with "customizable todo list app", there should be some presets available from the start (after install), like:
- GTD,
- ZTD,
- Basic todo list,
- and so on....
Currently I'm using Toodledo (paid option) + Due Today (paid) for my GTD lists and Springpad for notes and bookmarks. It's not perfect, lacks some features... but I couldn't find anything better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you expand a little by what you mean GTD lists? How does this differ from normal todo lists?
I'm using Gtasks by Dato that is pretty good and I'm looking forward to test your application.
Here's a list of features that I would like to have (besides the basic ones) :
- repeated tasks (when for a monthly task I mark it done, it would automatically create the same task for next month)
- pop up window that would show when it's reminder time and would detail task content (in Gtasks I have an icon in the status bar and a sound alert when it's reminder time but I still have to open the icon to read the task)
- nice widget (with scrolling or paging)
missparker76 said:
I'm using Gtasks by Dato that is pretty good and I'm looking forward to test your application.
Here's a list of features that I would like to have (besides the basic ones) :
- repeated tasks (when for a monthly task I mark it done, it would automatically create the same task for next month)
- pop up window that would show when it's reminder time and would detail task content (in Gtasks I have an icon in the status bar and a sound alert when it's reminder time but I still have to open the icon to read the task)
- nice widget (with scrolling or paging)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recurring tasks is already implemented (user specified time period)
I'll have a look into that kind of notification.
I'm planning a widget in future releases
Ok guys I'm about a week away from completion of the app minus the syncing which is about 2 weeks away from completion. I will be releasing a lite and a paid version initially so I'm not sure of the rules of releasing it to the forum for testing if it isn't free.
I was just wondering though how many, if any, people would be interesting in doing some initial testing for me?
crazyfool_1 said:
Ok guys I'm about a week away from completion of the app minus the syncing which is about 2 weeks away from completion. I will be releasing a lite and a paid version initially so I'm not sure of the rules of releasing it to the forum for testing if it isn't free.
I was just wondering though how many, if any, people would be interesting in doing some initial testing for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ill be happy to test the lit version.
(This is intended to be a 'how do you show off your stylus', although in retrospect, it's going to turn into a 'best apps' thread,
so perhaps it should be moved?)
Just wondering how you show off your stylus, or what makes people oo and ahh at it?
I don't draw and my handwriting sucks so I don't do either. (Might have to get that 'Draw something' game though)
the new game 'Shogun' is a ton to play with the stylus.
It's a 'bullet hell' game and it's MUCH easier with the stylus as you can see all the bullets around your ship. I think it's my new stylus 'show off' app.
I had a lot of fun playing 'nemo picross' with a very tiny grid, and drawing with the stylus. Really nice.
- Frank
Its an S pen. Not a stylus. Stylus is what was used with old resistive touch screens.
Baghli said:
Its an S pen. Not a stylus. Stylus is what was used with old resistive touch screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehh, no.
It is a stylus as is a wacom pen that always have been called stylus or wacom pens.
s pen it is only a marketing word.
kersh said:
Ehh, no.
It is a stylus as is a wacom pen that always have been called stylus or wacom pens.
s pen it is only a marketing word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm, ok sorry my bad.
ChodTheWacko said:
(This is intended to be a 'how do you show off your stylus', although in retrospect, it's going to turn into a 'best apps' thread,
so perhaps it should be moved?)
Just wondering how you show off your stylus, or what makes people oo and ahh at it?
I don't draw and my handwriting sucks so I don't do either. (Might have to get that 'Draw something' game though)
the new game 'Shogun' is a ton to play with the stylus.
It's a 'bullet hell' game and it's MUCH easier with the stylus as you can see all the bullets around your ship. I think it's my new stylus 'show off' app.
I had a lot of fun playing 'nemo picross' with a very tiny grid, and drawing with the stylus. Really nice.
- Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any other awesome shmups on the Android? Unfortunately Cave went to the iOS
I haven't found any fun use for the stylus until you mentioned shmups. I am now a very happy camper.
EDIT: Already am 220th in the country. Its a grazing shmup.
i think the best stylus app is s-memo i use it very often!
i havent found an as useful stylus app... but maby anywhere out there is an better one???
I prefer Jotter (For Galaxy Note) for the following reasons:
-option for palm rejection
-option to disable back key
-just one tap on a widget to start writing
david.huwyler said:
i think the best stylus app is s-memo i use it very often!
i havent found an as useful stylus app... but maby anywhere out there is an better one???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
olympicchicken said:
I prefer Jotter (For Galaxy Note) for the following reasons:
-option for palm rejection
-option to disable back key
-just one tap on a widget to start writing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
freenote - the handwrite/freehand mode lets you put much more text on the screen
LectureNotes - Good note taking app
SketchBookMobile - Basically photoshop for the Note
OmniSketch - Cool sketching app
Pretty sure they're all available as free/paid versions, I bought all 3.
how about the xda galaxy note forum page as the best stylus demo
the demo is - that all frustration is lost with this phone, including having to zoom up just to hit a link or read text and miss hit the link anyway. So I have 3 demos I show all the time - really this is one:
I have a url ready to go of a dense page of the XDA forum with small text and many pages of comments, and I show how with my stylus how perfect and fast I can hit on even the supper small next of an author or the next or number page buttons perfectly ( on the bottom right of the page). I explain how I can do this while walking and never miss any hyperlink or button again. demo 1
I then have a pressure sensitive demo with zen brush all set up, where I go into a great picture already made ( already they are impressed) and I have purposely made room available at the bottom to make a very light to very hard brush strokes, where the different levels of pressure sensitivity show up by seeing the very very thin to very very think brush strokes - people go wild. it takes pracitse to do the very light especially with a screen protector. demo 2
last I have a smemo page ready to go with 3 lines of text I already wrote out in freehand (' buy more potatoes' is one of the lines). I have enough room to add another line and usually write "do it now" ( easy and I never mess it up). Then I hit the 'handwriting to text' button and get perfect text ( which I already knew would work). now folks with mouth open. demo 3
I also mentioned that this is approximately what apple would call a retina display, this is the only retina display with a full wacom tablet underneath it.
additional non stylus demo
The vlingo dead accurate speech recognition is actually the most successful demo to freak them out. I have it ready to go, say 'Hi Galaxy' , say Play "Let it be" and the music starts, I then either say dial the persons phone number and wait for their phone to ring, or 'say gmail' in which I show them swype ( many folks seemed to have no clue about swype) and then hit the mic and dictate alot of email. all perfect.
Lastly I have a HD movie, of nature from youttube downloaded on my device (called Best of HD movies: water/wasser) to show the beautiful screen.
I also show I can use it with one hand, put it my pocket and put it up to my ear. I mention the phone is a game changer and if Apple came out with it the world would be going crazy. and Smile.
ps - google 'gesture search' app (always a shortcut on my front page) impresses folks too, when they see I can call anyone, play any music, open any app in one or two swipes.
Thanks for the heads up on freenote.
The best note taking app for me.
I really like being able to combine handwriting, text and drawing all really easily.
Still trying to work out which handwriting mode works best for me (I think 2 cell - as long as I keep my writing in a straight line so words split over the 2 halves of the page don't end up looking wonky). And still tweaking the recognition timing thresholds, but definitely my favourite so far.
The limit to the amount you could fit in sMemo is way to small to be useful for anything more than post it note type notes.
Freenote will be useful for taking notes in just about any situation.
Rich
Hi,
Anyone knows about any remote desktop app that can take advantage of the stylus?
Thanks
Citrix works...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
smaragdhk said:
Citrix works...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, do you know if it works with terminal services alone? Or do you have to install Citrix on the deskt aswell?
Vasko said:
Thanks, do you know if it works with terminal services alone? Or do you have to install Citrix on the deskt aswell?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think it works as a standalone app. For work we have it running on a server, and staff use the client software on their handheld devices.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
smaragdhk said:
Don't think it works as a standalone app. For work we have it running on a server, and staff use the client software on their handheld devices.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, I'm looking for a terminal server client which could be less cumbersome with the stylus than the actual app i'm using.
Vasko said:
I see, I'm looking for a terminal server client which could be less cumbersome with the stylus than the actual app i'm using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... Remote RDP perhaps? There is lite version.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
Why better than lecture notes or Will?
QUOTE=richlum;23945608]Thanks for the heads up on freenote.
The best note taking app for me.
I really like being able to combine handwriting, text and drawing all really easily.
Still trying to work out which handwriting mode works best for me (I think 2 cell - as long as I keep my writing in a straight line so words split over the 2 halves of the page don't end up looking wonky). And still tweaking the recognition timing thresholds, but definitely my favourite so far.
The limit to the amount you could fit in sMemo is way to small to be useful for anything more than post it note type notes.
Freenote will be useful for taking notes in just about any situation.
Rich[/QUOTE]
I couldn't find LecureNotes in the Market on my phone (tried searching for Acadoid, and also tried changing my region using Market Enabler too). I could find it on my web browser on my PC, but when I try to install it via the web, it says it's not compatible with my Galaxy Note and won't let me proceed.
I'm not sure what Will is...?
I did try out Handrite, Fliq, Genial Writing and sMemo.
For me, the handwriting entry process works best in freenote.
It seems to be the most tweakable to be able to get the settings just right for your speed and style of writing.
Plus it's quick and easy to swap between different modes of input (handwriting, typing, drawing freehand, highlighting)