Apps

One thing I have not yet talked about is apps for the Android that aren't games so here what I've done in a nutshell...

First, I've organized my phone so that news related widgets are on the first panel (sports, weather, stocks, and news), icons for frequently used apps are on the second panel, and other stuff is on the third (currently pretty empty) panel. As for the apps, here's a roundup of what has made it onto my phone...

Advanced Task Killer is one of those things that you shouldn't need, but do. It kills off running processes. It's almost like rebooting the phone as I can't tell you how many times I've run this after an app or game has failed only to have it succeed.

AK Notepad is a quick little place to jot some notes down much like like Post It! notes for the Android.

Aldiko is software that gives you access to the massive collection of books that are freely available on the web. No these aren't NY Times best sellers, but they're also not junk. You'll find classics like Alice in Wonderland available and oh so much more.

Amazon has an app that gives you a more friendly shopping experience than when using the browser on their site (mainly due to screen size). It also features support for scanning/searching by bar code.

ASTRO is a file manager. It lets you see and manage the files on your Android including your Storage Card (which is mounted at '/sdcard').

Barcode Scanner lets you use your phone to scan a barcode and then looks the item up on the Internet to find the best price. We saved $20 on a new faucet the first day we had our Droids with this little app.

Bible is just a nice pocket bible with access to several of the different available translations.

Express News also offers a widget that I use to get the latest news from a variety of sources.

Facebook is just that... a Facebook client.

Finance gives me access to quick stock quotes and also provides widgets for various market charts such as the DOW and Nasdaq.

Google Sky Map uses the GPS and compass to give you a tour of the stars in the sky.

GPS Status shows you the status of the GPS. I find this useful as it shows how many satellites the GPS has locked onto (i.e. am I close to getting a valid reading or is it hopeless).

IP Cam connects to various IP Cameras across the globe and lets you watch. For the voyeur in all of us.

Movies shows the latest movies and previews along with local (and not so local) theater show times. It also provides info on the latest DVD releases. A great app for the movie lover.

Pandora streams music over the Internet based on your tastes. Create various stations based on favorite artists and then it tries to play music of a similar genre. You can only skip 6 songs a day though in the event that it plays songs you don't like.

Pkt Auctions eBay is an eBay client that integrates with the Android providing last minute outbid notices and the works. Very nice for eBay users.

ShopSavvy is another app like Barcode Scanner, but sometimes one finds a match when the other does not.

SMS Popup shows incoming SMS messages in a popup dialog box vs you having to dig into your phone to find your message. This is a must have if you use SMS/MMS.

Speed Test checks the speed of your Internet connection. Curious how much bandwidth Verizon is actually providing? Now you'll know.

SportsTap gives access to the latest sports scores in a variety of popular and not so popular sports, but also doubles as a width showing scores for your favorite teams. My only problem has been that it limits you to six favorite when I might like to monitor the teams competing with my teams down the stretch.

Tricorder is an odd app as it tries to simulate a Star Trek tricorder with its GUI, but yet provide useful information instead of simply being a geeky joke. It provides satellite info for your GPS (eliminating my need for GPS Status), audio activity, sunspot activity, ...etc. I found the audio activity to be kind of neat as it'll show me the pitch at which I whistle.

The Weather Channel provides the latest forecast, 10 day outlook, today/tomorrow, and maps along with video reports related to the weather. I don't know why I'm so much more into the weather as I've gotten older especially as I know they can't accurately predict more than about 3 hours into the future, but like a trained dog I still check the 10 day forecast.

TV.com lets you watch (yes, WATCH) TV programs from CBS, Showtime, and a handful of other sources on your Android. While I admit I haven't actually sat down and watched a 30 minute show on my 3.8" screen it's cool to be able tell people that I could if I wanted to.

Twidroid is a twitter client. It doesn't take much looking to learn this is among the best if not the best twitter client available for the Android platform. A lite and full version are available.

Wapedia is a Wikipedia (online, free encyclopedia) client. Once again it just makes using the site easier given the Android's lack of screen size.

Where is a swiss army knife type of app that allows you to look up places, find low gas prices, check the weather, and many other things all from one app.

WhitePages is the white pages for the whole US of A in the palm of your hands.

WiFinder scans for nearby WiFi and provides more detailed info such as what channels people are using. I found it handy in choosing a channel that others nearby were not using in an effort to have a better signal for my WiFi.

Yellowbook is the yellow pages in the palm of your hands.

So there you go. 28 or so apps that have made it onto my phone and for the most part appear to be staying there. I'm pretty such all were free or are lite versions that have proven to be useful or just plain cool.