Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Android Appetizers

Here's a quick list of apps I use and love on my Android phone (ALL FREE!), sorted and followed by a short description. Enjoy!

Cosmetic/Functional displays (widgets, wallpapers, etc)

Mulitcon Widget - Allows you to make mini icons and different sized shortcuts on your page. Super helpful.
Simple Calendar FREE - Calendar widget, best I've found, professional, simple. takes up 2x4.
Fallout 3 Wallpapers - To give your phone that "wasteland feel."
Brightness Level (by CurveFish) - Allows you to drop the brightness lower than 0%, thus saving more battery.
SilentMode OnOff (by CurveFish) - Button tap to vibrate, and silent.

Multimedia (Media Players, Editors, etc)

Adobe Photoshop Express - Powerful and lite photo editing tool.
Top Secret Picture - Stop people from seeing your private photos with password protection.
Ambling BookPlayer Lite - Audiobook player/downloader. Great for long trips, most books are free!
Skyfire Web Browser 3.0 - Best Browser on Android. Has separate media player for flash, way better than browser.
msnbc.com - by the Zumobi Network. Visually stunning, great news app.

Financial

Mint.com Personal Finance - Balance every account, track every purchase, help save money.

Games

Pocket Legends (3D MMO) - Yes this is a real MMO for your phone. Saps battery power, so it's best to play when you have a dedicated power source, but hey, its fun.
Market Millionaire Enhanced - Play the stock market with play money. Buy real stocks with your fake $100,000 and check the leaderboard for your progress.

Miscellaneous

Dropbox - 2GB storage online accessible via computer, web browser, and android phone. Great Doc/Pic folder.
KeepTrack - Record numbers, stats, text, and more. Graphs data and yields statistics like sum, mean, avg, etc. I track my vital stats, Heart Rates (sat mornings), weight, and how long I can hold my breath so I can see if I'm improving.

Promising New Ideas

Unified Remote - DL the program on your computer and now control your computer from your phone like you would a remote. Great if you connect your computer to a large tv like I do. Some connection issues.
AutomateIt - Set up rules and your phone reacts for you. (ex. when I plug in my phone it automatically turns on silent so I get an uninterrupted sleep). cuts battery life by maybe 10%, still works all day, easily.
FREE Webcam and IP Cam Viewer - set up your computer's webcam as a remote camera accessible by your phone. Needs tons of work, but way worth following the updates.

There are many other apps I use, but these are some that may not be in your arsenal. I'm using a Motorola Droid (1), Android OS 2.2.2. Nothing lags so on a more powerful phone these apps will be great. In fact, Mulitcon speeds up launcher load times because it's just one app and not tons of shortcuts like you would have displayed otherwise.

Hope you enjoy!