Crowdsourcing: Android smartphone apps?

[firecat]

I just got an Android smart phone. What apps should I install?

Comments

[roane]

What sorts of things do you want to do? I'm fond of TweetDeck for social media stuff. Shazam is one of those ridiculously clever apps that you'd never think you'd need until you start using it (it can identify what song you're listening to--I love it for identifying music in tv shows, commercials, etc.). My bank has an app, so I use that one a lot, too.

[apis_mellifera]

I've just started using the Goodreads app an it has built in scanning which is sort of awesome if you have a backlog of TBR books like I do. I also like having Dropbox and 1Password--but that's because I use 1Password for all my password storage needs and I like having a portable backup/access to my passwords (and other files!--if I need to reference a paper I wrote in 1992, I HAVE THAT COVERED).

Kindle app is good, I have yet to find a weather app that doesn't make me batshit so I just use the built in widget. Tumblr's app is decent, and I just grabbed picplz to play with silly photo filters since Instagram is iPhone only. I don't use a fancy Twitter client, just the official Twitter one (mainly because I don't follow that many people). I also have Angry Birds and block puzzle game called Unblock Me. I had LineUp on my old phone but it's formatted weirdly on my new one, so that makes me sad.

Forefox was super-slow on my new phone (Nexus S 4G), so I'm sticking with the standard Android browser for now.

[roane]

Ooh yes. Unblock Me is fun. :)

[apis_mellifera]

And Abduction, with the bouncy cows!

[snippy]

I have and like: aFlashlight (what it says on the box), Plume for Twitter (much prefer it to the Twitter client), Dropbox (synchronized cloud file storage), Read it Later (kind of a bookmark list), Taskos (to do list), Advanced Task Killer (utility), Google Sky Map (it's just cool), Star Wars Light Sabers (again, cool).

[auntie_m]

I have Color Flashlight. It was recommended by a friend. But search on Flashlight and see which one you like best. It is a must have utility.
Google Sky Map is lovely.
Because of the area we live in, Earthquake Alert. It will tell you about that earthquake you thought you just felt. ;)
Tricorder - It looks cool and has some fun things it is "reading".
Tune In Radio has a bunch of Radio Stations (real feeds of real ones) and radio "stations" of various online and lists. Several of my radio stations use it for their Android feed.
Warning - Currently, my phone will only let me install aps that I get through Google Aps. I cannot just go to a website and download something. Your phone may be different, but do check it out before you buy that cool ap on the web.

[epershand]

There are a lot of different text input methods you can try in place of the standard Android keyboard. I've tried a lot of them, and I suggest trying some out to see if any of them work for you. Swype is the most popular, but I'm actually really addicted to SwiftKey, which uses text prediction on the basis of your text message history to auto-suggest words before you type them. 8pen is a really different concept, totally unique and I think more suited to a single finger than a keyboard is, but I was addicted enough to the SwiftKey predictions that I didn't stick with it. If only the two of them had a child...

[deakat]

These are the ones I use most frequently.

E-reader: Aldiko
Twitter: HootSuite
Alarm Clock: Alarm Clock Plus (love this one)
Browser: Opera Mini

[trixtah]

JuiceDefender - helps save your battery. The free version is cool, but the paid version is really good. Both do things like turn off all your radios when the screen is locked and suchlike.
Aldiko
A torch (flashlight) app that can control the LED.
Dolphin browser
I really like Swype for text input.
Jorte to integrate with Google Calendar/Tasks. It installs way too many widgets, but you can uninstall the ones you don't need. Having lots to choose from is good though - for example, you can display a task list/agenda on one screen and a simple calendar on another, or have tasks/calendar in one view.
Google sky maps IS very groovy.
Dropbox
Plume for Twitter
Friendcaster if you do Facebook (costs a wee bit)
Handcent SMS for pretty SMSing
I haven't made up my mind about the Taptu newsreader (RSS) yet - it's got a great interface, but adding feeds that aren't already in their database is a big annoying PITA.

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

My favorite app is the Shush! app. It silences the phone's ringer for a specified length of time whenever you set it to silent. Since I turn my phone's ringer off to teach and frequently forget to turn it back on, that's a real benefit to me.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a lovely one! What would also be nice is one that let you have it put the phone on vibrate during certain specified hours. (I'm at work from 8:30am-5:30pm, so I want it on silent during those hours, for instance.)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Angry Birds. I'm pretty sure it's in the EULA of every portal computing device that you must install Angry Birds on it.

[mdlbear]

There are several different apps that let you use the camera flash as a flashlight, and at least one that uses the GPS as a compass.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

I get good mileage out of the Yelp app.

[fattest.livejournal.com]

I sometimes use the "mindfulness bell," which gives a soft ring at random times.

ConvertPad is convenient when I'm not near a computer but need a conversion.

EasySpirit Level can be handy.

RehearsalAssistant is great.

RingDroid will let you make custom ringtones very easily.

[fattest.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant Rehearsal Assistant it great for recording rehearsals. It is probably good for other things, too, but I've only used it for music rehearsals.

[flippac.livejournal.com]

Subject to how much you trust the security model, DropBox. FBReader and the Kindle app both have their uses. There's a range of IM clients if that's a good thing for you - I'm currently using Trillian and vaguely hoping for a libpurple-based client to exist someday. Tasker's good for scripting stuff you can't find an app to do readily and/or figure you can't be bothered to go hunting for :-)

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

OO! oo oo! I have SO MANY apps. For, you know, JUST IN CASE I might need them. Which phone did you get? (I was just bemoaning the fact that I was looking forward to the dual-core Bionic...when I read an article about the up-coming *quad-core* phones. D'oh!)

The fun ones include: The Wilhelm Scream and Tricorder. Flashlight. Useful ones include Kindle, Nook, (and Aldiko if you want). Amazon app store app, they give away a free app every day. Get a different web browser like Skyfire, the native browser sucks. Swiftkey or Swype keyboards, whichever is available for your phone. Audible.com app. All the Google-branded apps. Pandora. Netflix.

To see all the apps I personally consider worth getting, check out my list at:
http://www.appbrain.com/user/mamatiger/apps-on-the-phone
(Appbrain is a useful app as well!)

[firecat]

Thanks for the list!

I have an LG Optimus V (Virgin Mobile branded phone). I have no idea how many cores it has. It has an acceptably high resolution screen, although not as good as the iPhone/iPod Touch screen.

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, I think I read the average number of apps is like 35 or so. :) I'm apparently an app-hoarder. You probably want to get Lookout, which is a security app -- you know you're living in the future when your phone needs antivirus! The Astro file manager is also useful for poking around on your sd card if necessary.

Just be sure to use your wi-fi anytime you're doing anything data-intensive, like streaming video or listening to Pandora.

There are many many Android news sites, all of them give quality advice on apps; the Amazon Android market is also helpful.