January 21st, 2010
Top Android Apps for Motorola Droid
The following is a short list of my top apps that are must haves and work well specifically for the Motorola Droid. Just my two cents.
0. K-9 is a an alternative mail reader to replace the default Android mail app. While it has a few issues and some bugs here and there, it is a much much better solution for reading mail on your phone and is highly configurable.
1. Home++ replaces the home navigation system with a highly customizable and powerful application. Allows for the increase of screens with apps/icons, overloads lots of information and links in a strip across the bottom. It does crash from time to time (really just restarts the app) but I find it FAR superior to the built in home screen management.
2. SMS Popup better notifications for SMS messages- I prefer this as it actually opens the message in a modal window on your phone without having to open the messaging app (make sure to turn off default notifications from the built in messaging app)
2.5 Swype is a pre-release software package that is a totally new way to type. You just drag your finger across the keyboard without ever lifting it and it guess the word. It requires a little more back-end work to install as it is not in the app store yet, but I have found it to be pretty great, and is *especially* good for one handing typing as you can just drag your thumb. Follow these instructions to install Swype (warning, slightly experimental!)
3. NewsRob an RSS reader that syncs with google reader for your feeds. Very slick and well done and makes reading your feeds excellent on your phone and avoids repeat content sorting. You can use the volume keys to article up or down- makes reading your feeds on the go a snap.
4. Yelp & OpenTable pretty self explanatory, both good apps
5. Advanced Task Killer is a must for keeping control of what your phone is running and shutting down power hungry processes. Also try Advanced Task Manager which is a much more powerful but similar app.
6. Amazon, Barcode Scanner & Shop Savvy are three well known and solid shopping apps
7. Night Ringer is a great app for automatically changing volumes, vibration and other notification based on time of day. You have to upgrade to get the full functionality (like selecting several emergency numbers to turn the volume on) but a good app if you don’t want drunk friends or opposite coast people waking you up in the middle of the night. If you DO want that, don’t use this app.
8. Last.fm is probably the best music app for Android.
9. Evernote app is basic but good if you are a user of the product. Next iterations should allow for local storage of content when the Android OS allows access to SD card memory vs only the built in memory.
10. Wixel is a great boggle like game with online game play
11. WaveSecure allows you to lock down your phone or even erase it via SMS if it gets lost or stolen.
12. Calorie Counter and Cardio Trainer are decent health/lifestyle apps. Not as good as ones on the iphone (IMHO)- Calorie Counter does have a nice barcode scan feature with the camera, but managing your food is a little clunky. Cardio Trainer is a great GPS based app for working out outside and tracking where you go, but if you are a serious athlete or really want precise distances for times/splits you’ll find it too inaccurate. Here’s a review of the accuracy of WorkSmart’s CardioTrainer
13. NYTimes this is not a great app but allows for headlines and a sentence or two summary as well as allowing you to load headlines from sections. Clicking articles loads the actual article in the browser, but if you like the NYTimes, this all that is out there, and it is ok.
14. WTD- What the Doodle is a great pictionary like game you can play in real time against people drawing on the touch screen and using the keyboard to guess words. Totally worth the $1.50 upgrade (free version is good too)
Other notable apps that you may have seen on lots of other lists:
Google Sky Map- awesome if you like stars
DockRunner- allows you to run the Droid like it was in its alarm clock docking cradle without the cradle
Fring- allows for Skype integration
Meebo- IM
Twitdroid- Twitter client (meh, twitter)
Qik- stream video in real time from your phone to the web (totally sweet)
