Mobile Apps
I’m an Android user. I like the iPhone, but my carrier doesn’t have it. AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and C-Spire carry the iPhone, but US Cellular does not. Anyway, I LOVE my Android phone.
One of my favorite apps, a cloud storage app called ‘Box’ as in “put it in the box,” is currently offering 50GB of free storage for life if you download the app and activate an account by the end of March. The 50GB can be accessed from any device that accesses the web. If you have data you need to protect, for example, stuff you put in your Box, you should use Encrypt It for simple, straight forward AES 256-bit encryption.
Of course, I use Evernote just about every single day, as well as various Google apps. The Facebook app finally got decent, and I spend my lunch hour every other day with headphones on streaming TV shows from Netflix. Pandora is essential to me, as is Shazaam, an app for finding the names of songs by taking samples of them. Android’s first real credible analog to the iPhone’s Siri is Speaktoit Assistant. I could go on and on about various apps that I use or that I’m impressed with, but I’m pretty sure you’re already bored to tears. I’m pretty happy with my Samsung Mesmerize, the US Cellular version of the Samsung Fascinate on Verizon, and I don’t anticipate getting a new phone until USCC has 4G service in the OKC metro in the second half of this year. We also have a Toshiba Thrive tablet that we use for all sorts of stuff, but it doesn’t have a cell modem built into it. We tether it via bluetooth to one of our cells when we want to use it mobile.
What mobile apps do you guys use for your various platforms?
Open Thread, while we’re at it.
All this shite is verklempt, to me. Just give me a fuckin’ phone with buttons I can’t overlap with my ham hands. A phone is for phone calls.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:32 pm
My daughter
Misplaceshides my iPhone so I use find my iPhone a lot. Word lens is handy.February 23rd, 2012 at 8:33 pm
This isn’t an app but it’s pretty cool for iPhone photobugs. iPhone Camera Extender.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Not mobile, but Pandora made it to the Win7 jukebox laptop. I told MrsFromOhio, put all those cd’s in the closet.
When the pulse finally comes? We fracked, mon.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:37 pm
I have no idea what anything you wrote means. I’m not even old. I guess I’ll have to figure it out soon, though, so thanks.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Goodreader is a must on my iPad; general-purpose document management and viewing. For my professional library (academic articles), Papers.app is great. Kindle and iBooks are both free, so no reason not to have both installed.
(can you tell I do a lot of reading on my iThing?)
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Is there an app similar to (which you have to have Facebook or Twitter to join) where you can compile photos, notes, links etc?
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
There is a free stream of a Bill Maher’s show Crazy Stupid Politics at 10:30 pm if anyone is interested.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Where’s My Water and the Enyclopedia Britanica are the two I added most recently. Nothing exciting.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:40 pm
(grumbles about robots taking over the world.)
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:41 pm
@patrick II: Time zone? We are pretty spread out.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:42 pm
What I’m looking for but can’t find: An Android calendar program that does NOT communicate with Google calendar. I want to handle (and control) the data communication between the phone and the rest of the world myself.
Anyone know of one? Or do I have to write my own?
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:42 pm
My phone has two apps: It can both send and receive calls. No! Wait! There’s more!!
It can send and receive text messages.
It can even calculate the tip on a restaurant bill.
Just wow.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:42 pm
@SIA: FYWP. Should read, Similar to Pinterest
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:43 pm
In honor of this comment (among others) from the “No, I did not cook Tunch” thread,
I give you a smiling SweetPea.
And friends.
Edit – Phones are Androids. Love ‘em too.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:44 pm
I have an HTC G-2 on Tmobile, the resident google apps are pretty nice, PdaNet is how we tether the laptop when we’re on the road, although now that I have a Kindle Fire, I’ve been playing around with using the mobile wifi hotspot on my phone. I’m wondering how the speed compares to direct tethering, since come spring/summer we’ll be out on the road chasing storms… (on the laptop I use GRLevel3 for pulling radars… that is a sweet piece of software…)
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Yeah I like my android. With s-off and root the device becomes anything you want it to be. I liked the iPhone until being stuck in the Apple walled garden became too limiting. Thanks for the info on box, I’ll check that out.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:46 pm
I have always felt like I have been keeping up with technological change.
Until reading this post, that is.
Get off my lawn.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:46 pm
I still play music and do a LOT of guitar repair/construction, and the app I cannot live without is Peterson’s strobe tuner app for the iPhone.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I got the Samsung Galaxy SII because it’s about the same price as the iPhone but has a screen that’s considerably larger. I’ve been very happy with it, especially with using it to take notes in seminars. I use Note Everything, not Evernote, but can’t claim which App to get was an informed decision.
In terms of taking notes, I absolutely adore Swype; the spellcheck dictionary is also considerably more user-accessible than the iOS one, where in any case you’ve got no options (I took notes on an iPod Touch for months before I got my phone, so I can make the comparison fairly well).
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I’m just waiting until December when I can switch from T-mobile and get an iPhone. I love my iPad and hate my current blackberry, so assuming I’ll like the iPhone.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:47 pm
TurboScan turns your iPhone into a multipage scanner for documents, receipts, notes, whiteboards, etc. With TurboScan, you can quickly scan your documents and store, search, print, or email them as multipage PDFs or JPEG files.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:49 pm
@Omnes Omnibus:
Maher at 10:30 EST. about an hour and 40 minutes from now.
Sorry.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Great Luckovich cartoon: Romney on the roof
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:52 pm
I have an iPhone but really I am not app crazy. I have a laptop for a reason. Mostly on my phone I use iMail and Twitter. I’ve got other apps but the only thing I really rely on is the voice memo feature for recording interviews.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:53 pm
I just finished watching the complete X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer and Avengers animated series from the 90s on my Blackberry Bold to and from work on the train everyday. I still have Spider-Man Unlimited to get through.
The thing I like best about my phone is having the ability to pull up the bus and train trackers. It just makes public transportation a breeze.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:54 pm
The Days Left widget has proven more useful to me than I thought it would. You can put one or more widgets on your screen that shows you the number of days that are left until whatever date(s) you set in it.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:55 pm
What the fuck is Evernote for? I tried to use it, but honestly couldn’t find a reason to use it.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:55 pm
No dedicated phone, but I make calls on my iPad using Talkatone. App essentials are Evernote, SimpleNote, Index Card, Twitter, Flipboard, Reeder, Downcast for podcasts, and a never ending duel between GoodReader and iAnnotate.
From a while back, I liked this blog post On My iPad. Some of this could apply as well to the iPhone or Android devices.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Since this is an open thread, I can share with you my moment of satori regarding who Rih reminds me of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THD1MTiBvEs
Except that Bruno Kirby was a fine actor – played the young Peter Clemenza in Godfather II.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:56 pm
@gnomedad: That’s pretty genius.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Proud to say, I’m in my thirties and have never had a cell phone.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Thanks for the tip re: Box! I won’t keep anything important there, but 50G would be handy on the road.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I use WootWatch and the TFLN (texts from last night) app. I love Zite on my iPad. Still haven’t found a Twitter app that I like.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I just got Overdrive and can now download library books directly to my Kindle Fire, that’s neat. I also like Tweetcaster as a twitter client far better than anything on the PC. MapDroyd lets you save maps onto your device, which is nice for the Kindle.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:02 pm
AroundMe, Flashlight and Viber for free calling/texting
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:03 pm
@patrick II: Thanks. It is one of those things that is easy to forget.
@Canuckistani Tom: I made it to 40 without one.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Anybody see Yutsano? Since he mentioned a Seattle meetup yesterday, I wanted to let him know I set up a site to direct people to, a place with the date(March 10) and place (Sazerac), so people can just point to it for info and people can check in.
If any juicers in other cities are doing a meetup, yell at me and I’ll add it.
http://meetjuicers.weebly.com/
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:04 pm
@SIA: I have heard if you get an invite from someone with a Pinterest account, you can skip Twitter/Facebook. You can also remove the Twitter account or whatever after you register, so you could probably use a friend’s account.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:09 pm
@MikeJ: Some of you guys are just damn useful and productive. I am going to make sure you are on the list of people meant to survive the Revolution. (I should also make sure the survive and do not survive lists are clearly labeled and kept separate. Otherwise, it could be kind of embarrassing.)
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Android apps… in order of importance:
-Swype (Cause the standard input method is a pain)
Andchat (IRC… now, get off my lawn, you singlecompany-dependent social network kids <_ <)-FBreader(ebook reader)
-ES Filer explorer (besides the obvious use, it also has a pretty nice FTP client, in order to transfer files to and from to computer)
-androidvnc (to remote into computers)
-MX Video player (because standard player has issues with way too much stuff)
Aedict (a japaneseenglish dictionary)February 23rd, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Oh, my;
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Rep. Neal is on Maddow now talking about her anti-vasectomy bill. Yay.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Tweetdeck is very cool for twitter users. I use gReader on my Android tablet to track RSS feeds. I’m a photographer, so I really like Gallery, especially with Picasa integration. XKCD viewer is a cool, if rather single purpose, app. And, of course, there’s always Angry Birds.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:16 pm
On my Droid X2:
Blip.me: Awesome free app that uses your text messaging to send voice messages (instant walkie talkie).
Foodspotting & Urbanspoon: Essential for people who like to eat out.
Google Sky Map: Awesomest app ever.
My Car Locator Free: Never forget where you parked the car again.
Soundhound: Shazam’s cooler brother.
Tricorder: :-)
Zippo: Just because.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Is there an app that can send smoke signals? That would be cool.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:17 pm
@Douglas: I love Swype. It came preinstalled on my phone and while removing non-words is a pain sometimes, the convenience on a touchscreen is totally worth it.
8Tracks has an android app; it’s all user-created playlists. Tends toward the indie but there are some total gems.
The TripIt app is good if you travel at all.
TuneIn Radio is kind of fun, it gathers web radio from all over.
FxCamera is a free ‘cheesy special effects’ app. I love it.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:17 pm
@The Ancient Randonneur: CNN comment section is such a sad, sad innuendoless place.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:18 pm
I have a good water bottle app.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:32 pm
I like the Kindle app on my iPhone, but nothing else special comes to mind.
(Swype has been mentioned a few times; I bumped into one of the co-inventors of ShapeWriter last week. Smart guy.)
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:34 pm
@Sasha:
Besides turn-by-turn navigation, that’s the biggest thing I miss about switching from Android to iPhone. That thing was fun.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:40 pm
I recently got a Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G for Sprint, and I love it. The Swype text input is great. Lighter and larger than the iPhone too. I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab, which I have had since Dec 2010 and which I generally have quite enjoyed, but the new Epic 4G phone is almost becoming my preference for many activities.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Android apps:
ES File Explorer
ElectroDroid – Codes for various components, pin-out diagrams
GO Keyboard
JuiceDefender – doubles battery life
Key Ring – stores “bonus card” accounts
Google Music – can access my library anywhere
Smartr – contact manager
Trillian – IM client
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:41 pm
@The Ancient Randonneur: At least little frothy rihy has principles to abandon.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:42 pm
@Canuckistani Tom: @Omnes Omnibus: Why in the world is that something to be proud of?
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:43 pm
GOP Rep. John Sullivan’s poor choice of words:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Oh, an App I rather like is a free one called “Word to PDF” which, as one might deduce from its name, quickly and easily converts MS Word files into PDFs so they can be viewed much better and see FNs, which are typically disappeared on iPads or tablets & phones.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:46 pm
I took advantage of Box’s “free” offer to store my data, but it’s more like they hold it for ransom. I needed to restore a folder to my PC, but it won’t let you download multiple documents unless you commit to a monthly subscription. So if you only need to restore one doc at a time, it’s a good deal. If you need to restore a bunch of folders, not so much.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Android phone and tablet user here. Check out “pulse” it’s a news aggregator and will keep plenty of news feeds loaded and current (and also too, bj), and some food/gastro friendly feeds too. I prefer wx channel app to, accu wx, google goggles is fun, as is barcode reader. Also have a “CBT” therapy app. And for my younger son, there is a light saber app that he enjoys.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Since this is an open thread: I had no idea Balloon Juice had a post category/keyword/tag called Fucksaw … until now. Huh.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:51 pm
@MBL: I was simply noting a fact.
ETA: Also too, I have had one for seven years now.
Also also too, is having a cell phone something to be proud of?
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:52 pm
@gnomedad: Shame on you, posting that without coming up with a way to say “Both sides do it.” You’ll never get invited on the Sunday morning shows with that attitude.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:53 pm
I was just over at LGF, and saw that Republicans in the state Agriculture Committee have passed an ultrasound bill like that in Virginia, that’s now up for a vote in the House.
Fuck this. Women’s health initiatives should NOT be coming from a goddamned Ag committee. What the fuck, Illinois?!
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I have a plain vanilla phone and an iPod Touch, which makes me happy. I got a ZTE Peel through Virgin Mobile so I can have $20/month pre-paid internet for those times when I’m away from free wi-fi.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Got a Transformer Prime Minister a couple weeks ago. No problems to report yet. Though I live in such a small apartment that it would be pretty damn impressive if I had issues with my WiFi.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Got a Transformer Prime Minister a couple weeks ago. No problems to report yet. Though I live in such a small apartment that it would be pretty damn impressive if I had issues with my WiFi.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:59 pm
@gnomedad: Jesus. Really, I got nothing else. My mind, it boggles.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I’ve got an oldie but goodie phone. A phone for lovers.
I use it for phone calls (both in and out!), for texting my youngest sister, and as an alarm clock on occassion.
It NEVER gets used while my car is in motion.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Got an iphone. I use Flashlight, Virtual Zippo (concerts), Starmap & Harborside Health Center.
Last app thread others said one of the other astronomy apps was better but I have this one so….
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:02 pm
iPhone here.
Dropbox
Evernote
1Password (and on my Mac)
Pastebot (automatically syncs your Mac clipboard to your phone, so you can cut a URL in your computer browser and paste it into your phone browser)
USAA - came in handy when I hit that lady’s car last year – submitted all of my claim information, takes pictures right off the camera. [sigh – I was an idiot] I also have apps for my credit union and broker, etc.
CameraSharp is a camera replacement app that has things like on-screen bubble levels, continuous photos (take one every minute, that kind of thing) and self-timers including a really handy one where a clap will active a 3 second timer.
Photosynth is a very cool Microsoft app that lets you snap photos and it’ll build a panorama photo.
TED so I can easily browse TED talks.
Quickshot, another camera app that puts your photos automatically into a Dropbox folder you specify. Handy for me since we manage our family photos on my wifes computer, and I gave her access to my Dropbox photo folder.
Wolfram Alpha because I’m a geek
MyRadar is a simple app that shows you a live animated radar map, weather warnings, etc. Really handy if you’re wondering if those clouds are going to screw up your barbecue.
Plus all of the built-in and otherwise normal apps.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:08 pm
@Benjamin Franklin: Damn straight. The only ‘mobile app’ I have is a cell phone, which is a little too modern for me to figure out all the nonsense.
I make something called ‘phone calls’ on it. You dial a number that connects you to another person’s phone, and you can talk to each other. Think about that!
I also have some olde tymey mobile apps: jack knife, keys, ball of twine, secret decoder ring.
Edit: either an Alfred E. Newman or Dick Tracy secret decoder ring, I forget which. But, hey, it works fine.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:09 pm
@jenn:
Speaking as an Illinoisan, I assure you it has no chance of passing-Dem governor, Dems control both houses of the lege. But the salient fact of Illinois politics is that if you took out Cook County we’d be Alabama. The GOP’s continuing irrelevance in Illinois politics probably makes them more willing to try crazy shit like this.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:10 pm
@jenn:
Republicans think women are cattle.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:13 pm
I have had a Droid Incredible for almost two years and like it a lot. I use Google Navigation all the time, both driving and walking, the latter mostly in downtown D.C. Really handy to come up out of the Metro, get a bead on where you need to go and then orient yourself in real time. A few months ago a cute Scandinavian tourist stopped me (because I had a Whole Foods bag, I think) and asked me if I knew where there was a health food store. I ran a (voice) query on the Droid, showed her the map and gave her good directions. She was duly impressed. So you yoots will have me to thank in 30 years when she’s the prime minister and graciously decides to admit U.S. refugees from the post-apocalyptic Amerikan diaspora. But I digress.
Other apps I use are:
All these apps are free.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:15 pm
@maya:
You don’t want to let the magic smoke out of your phone.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:15 pm
Well I have what might be called a Jethro Gibbs’ special, military spec flip top with an improved antennae.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:19 pm
@jenn:
I think it’s a Freudian slip, or a Kinsey gaffe, or what have you. It shows their true attitude toward women.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:22 pm
@jenn: Really does show what they think of women, though, doesn’t it?
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:22 pm
I hate my droid phone! Thank you very much.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:26 pm
@Spaghetti Lee: I am relieved to hear it! Still grumpy that to the Republicans on that committee, women and Holsteins are interchangeable.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:26 pm
BlackBerry user here. I keep it pretty basic: push e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Google Maps, Opera Mini.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:27 pm
nokia …
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:31 pm
@parsimon: I have no idea what the origin of that category is, but it amuses me so I add it to my posts now and again.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:36 pm
@slag:
Luckovich is pretty much the only reason to keep the AJC bookmarked.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
OK. Since this is a mildly tech related open thread, I have a question:
Anyone here have much experience customizing Salesforce plugins? If so, does doing so mostly involve delving into Apex, or am I missing a big fancy GUI somewhere?
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
@Persia: No kidding. I have to admit, if you had told me last year, that in 2012 we would be fighting for the ability to access birth control, I would have thought you’d lost your mind. I’ve come to expect that Republicans are capable of pretty much anything, but this … wow. On the positive side, they’ve pissed me off so completely that I’m going to volunteer for the local Dems this year! Not to mention future elections.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
@Soonergrunt: Ahem.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
air attack hd
madden 12
ninjump
heavy gunner
camera zoom fx and paper camera
asphalt6 hd
paint movie
Zoo
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:39 pm
the new Google Maps for android, also and too.
officially hate andless now, and the default Music player sucks too. suggestions for an app that is like WinAmp but doesn’t suck like WinAmp?
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Saw a little squib earlier tonight that Obama is coming to Atlanta on March 16. I wonder how much they’re going to want for the opportunity to be in the same ballroom. If it’s more or less what I would have given anyhow to the re-election campaign, I might be tempted. But I suspect the event is going to be WAY too rich for my blood.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:43 pm
poweramp. worth the five bucks.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:51 pm
romney’s dog gives an interview.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:52 pm
@some guy:
poweramp, worth the five bucks.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Hey, I just came across this link at TNC’s place
http://www.aljazeera.com/indep.....31607.html
about Komen and Planned Parenthood – with a quote from our very own bloghost!
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:02 pm
If you travel more than 1-2 times a year, get the TripIt app. It organizes your travel schedule & confirmations pretty well.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:03 pm
@orygunian:
thanks. will check it out.
big dude has mastered the 1st level of air attack hd tonight. all by himself. score.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:03 pm
@MikeJ: I just RSVP’d. You’re a gem for setting up that site.
I have a cell that makes and takes calls and text messages and that’s it.
I’ve gone as far as talking to a salesperson about iPods, but didn’t make the leap. I was frankly more likely to get one when they were mostly music players.
I don’t see the appeal of watching movies or TV shows on a 3” screen.
I refuse to become one of those people who go through life with their heads down and ear buds in, staring at their little blue screen, paying little to no attention to the world around them.
I also have better uses for the $50-75 per month it would cost to get unlimited data.
There are things I’d like a smartphone for – getting up to the minute bus schedules, finding places while I’m on the go, and maybe the little camera that makes it so easy to not only take pictures but send ‘em – but none of these are enough to overcome my really strong objections to the things.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Android phone, Southwest Airlines app to check flights and check in, Xfinity app so I can set recordings on my DVR, along with DoubleTwist, Pandora and Rhapsody.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:18 pm
@MBL:
I’m proud because I’ve always viewed a cell phone as an unnecessary annoyance. If I’m out, no one can reach me, and that’s the way I like it. No one has ever bugged me away from the office or on a weekend, my work and home life are separate. No telemarketer has interrupted me on a date, and I’ve never forgotten to turn the damn thing off when I’m in a movie. You want to call me and I’m not home, leave a message. (and heck, I didn’t even have a cordless phone until last year)
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 pm
For cole’s eyes only.
Dingo baby case re-opens in Australia
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Deleted, never mind
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:22 pm
@The prophet Nostradumbass:
I know you can turn it off, but I’d probably have the thing off more than on, so what’s the point of having it on my person?
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:26 pm
So apparently Newt beat Mitt to proclaiming Obama’s apologizing for America over the Quran burnings.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Android phone and tablet user here..
Quick Office Pro works pretty well on viewing MS Office apps on Droid platforms. Great for minor editing and previwing@reviewing docs. Seems to handle PDF docs better than the Adobe Droid ap. Best $10 I’ve ever spent on an app.
Dropbox—it’s similar to Box. Love it as I don’t have to fuck with wagging around a flash drive to keep current version between multiple platforms and locations.
Springpad..it’s a cloud app that let’s you organize notes,lists tasks, photos, barcode/QR scans, etc.
Google Maps, Earth nd Google My Tracks-they’re the shit. Love My Tracks as you can recorddata of offff road meanderings on hikes and jogs and record location of where you take photos of stuff.
Love my Droid phone. You can keep the overpticed IPhones. Apple will fuck up like they did in the PC market. Just give them time…
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:43 pm
@jenn: That was an interesting—if rambling—read. Made me want to re-watch BVS, for one. Second, that quote from JC was true for many of us.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Forgot one…
ChromeMarks—good syncer of all your browser bookmarks on multiple machines for Google Chrome browser..nice t be able to pull up something if you have shioads of organized bookmarks on you r PC platforms.b
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Thanks for the tip on Box. I’ve had dropbox for a couple years now, but that only has 2GB of free space. 50GB is awesome.
Apps I highly recommend for Android:
Google Music – Just started using this, but I’m really digging it so far. I’d had all kinds of problems with playing music on my Droid Incredible. I may have a cheap SD card, but it seemed like it had a heat problem when I played music too much and I kept getting this “SD card has been unexpectedly removed” error, and then I’d have to reformat and reload all my music only to have it do the same thing a few days later. Now I’ve got about 70GB of music in the cloud, and it plays quite nicely. Only issue is that you’re limited to using when 3G is available.
Quick Settings – Opens a small control panel that enables shutting up or down Wifi and GPS and Bluetooth and volume controls and ringer controls. Much easier to use than the main settings.
Fast Reboot – Androids multitask, unlike iPhones, but they aren’t good about shutting off apps when you’re done with them. A one button task killer (that actually turns off everything) is a must.
Hotmail – If you have a Hotmail account, they have a relatively new app for Android and it’s just as smooth as the Gmail app.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:54 pm
A couple more…
Astro File Manager – Great app for browsing the folder structure on your phone.
B&B Quick Uninstaller – Easier than doing it through the Market.
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:57 pm
@CaseyL:
I forgot that, because I haven’t been riding the bus the last two months. The Washington Metro system has an excellent mobile Web site that gives you real-time “next bus” information for every stop in the system, based on GPS info from the buses. I used it all the time when I was riding the bus every day.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:21 am
Skydrive with one note is fairly awesome.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:25 am
@jenn: state Agriculture Committee? They are so round the bend, knowing this couldn’t pass and still having it come out of that committee. We can simply not let these ads die. Such a big bow they put on this one.
Oh, and why I wandered over to the Open Thread. Still more stuff on the out of control NYPD that isn’t somehow being covered in the US despite all the govt threat to govt freeeedommmmm! shrieking crowd. NYPD intelligence chief wanted sources in every mosque within 250 miles
February 24th, 2012 at 12:27 am
I am working on an app that transfers drug testing samples directly to FedEx so employees won’t take them home for safekeeping.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:28 am
@Steeplejack: I assume you mean the Seattle based onebusway.org app.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:28 am
@jenn:
Good article. And I thought it was funny that apparently they have a FYWP block-quote problem like we do here. I think Cole’s quote was four or five paragraphs, not just the first one that got block-quoted. Good times.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:30 am
@Spaghetti Lee:
Sounds familiar:
Pennsylvania: Philly on the right, Pittsburgh on the left, Alabama up the middle. (H/T Carville)
(Sorry to slam on all the ‘bama folks tonight)
February 24th, 2012 at 12:30 am
@Bago:
Not an app; it’s just a Web page optimized for mobile devices. Put in the stop number (posted at all stops) or look up by route, direction and stop location, then get the info. I have a bunch of bookmarks saved for stops that I use a lot.
ETA: Trip planning and other stuff available too.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:37 am
thanks for the box tip. 50GB is a nice amount of online storage.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:41 am
I’m a big fan of NitroDesk’s Touchdown for my droid, in addition to Evernote, Skitch, and Google Maps. Wifey and I are house-hunting and Google Maps’ free navigation is just wonderful.
I also have Quartic Software’s RealCalc…great calculator!
For security, I use Lookout and DroidWall.
PowerAmp for my tunes and Titanium Backup to back up the whole rig.
While Box sounds like a good app, I wonder how it will compare to Google Drive?
February 24th, 2012 at 1:34 am
I’ve got an android, and I like the Slide It keyboard (much like Swype).
I’m also into making music and like Caustic. It’s a very rich synthesizer/ sequencer that I just can’t believe works on a phone. Check out the free version, and if you like it, buy it (paying opens some features). I just paid for it.
lastly, I just got Space Cat. Totally fun. You are a cat flying a saucer thru a maze of hallways, avoiding obstacles and collecting mice. check it out for the graphics alone. Very funny.
February 24th, 2012 at 1:42 am
Clearly you are one of these IT guys who loves to make things way more complicated than they need. Never understood that.
People who like to spend hours, even days learning hundreds of different little 3rd party apps and plug ins are curious creatures to me. They think they are somehow making things better but seem to have lost the plot.
btw because I know this will be the assumption. I’m not an apple guy. I also use Android. I don’t pollute it with hundreds of semi useless apps though.
Don’t need to store 50Gig of junk that takes longer to upload than I would ever spend using it.
A free gmail account gives you over 7 Gig and if you really need more than that for some reason get another gmail account.
50Gig…..lol
February 24th, 2012 at 3:03 am
@Billy Beane: Derf – it sounds like you’re very upset since you couldn’t find the asshole app.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:53 am
If you are a runner/biker/skier, Runmeter is pretty awesome. Like Runkeeper, a bit more to it though.
Maps runs, logs them in the calendar, graphs all the data, nags about pace, compares times on repeated routes, and works with a Wahoo bluetooth heart rate monitor. I say all this as someone who never ran with more thought than tying my shoes for years, but training for a half marathon this is surprisingly useful and rewarding. And takes very little effort to use.
Agenda is a beautiful face for the iphone’s ical. Worth it.
TuneIn radio might be my most used app, awesome.
Dropbox, Skype, 1Password, Dragon Dictation, Feedly, Itunes Remote, lots of the usual maps/travel/yelp kind of things
quirkier ones I use are Guitar Toolkit (works with all sorts of alternative tunings), 3-in-1 Improvising, Chatternome (talking metronome counts out the beats verbally), MLB GameDay for the summer, Bill James Baseball Reference, and Skyview/Nasa kinds of things
February 24th, 2012 at 4:37 am
@Nutella:
I think..and don’t hold me to this, but Jorte has (I think it was just added but again, I’m not sure) an option to choose your calendars and one is only for Jorte. I’m also not a big fan of integrating everything together.
February 24th, 2012 at 8:22 am
@MBL: I’m on their side. Don’t have one and don’t intend to get one.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:05 am
@Chris: Thanks for the heads up about TuneIn. That’s awesome – and saves me having to look around everywhere for different streaming links
February 24th, 2012 at 12:26 pm