Digital Construction - Software Solutions since 1997 - Mark's Favorite Android Stuff

A lot of my friends have made the switch to Android from WebOS (Palm), iOS (Apple), or a Blackberry device and reach out to me with an exclamation like "Love my new phone! What apps should I get?".

They correctly assume I have experimented a lot with my phones (I have had more than ten Android devices as of 2011).

[A note for you if you know what "rooting" is in the context of smart phones - This guide does not discuss rooting at all, it is my belief that smart phones are amazing and everything I ever hoped the future would be like, and with some good advice you can make your expensive electronic device do everything you want it to without having to risk bricking your phone]

Here are some of my better experiments:

Swype - Swype is a magic soft keyboard replacement that makes a soft keyboard almost useable. As a rule I always have a phone with a physical keyboard (I type a lot--by the way, the Cliq is an old phone but the form factor of its keyboard is super, one of the best I have ever used), but when I have to use an on screen keyboard, using Swype makes it more enjoyable. Installing Swype used to involve some hacking and beta-test-signing-up, it might still be too challenging for a basic user. Some phones come with Swype already installed.

What I love - An awesome, free, mail client that does a great job of handling multiple accounts. This client was forked from the original stock email client and I have never had it crash. Like lots of other free stuff on Android it is professional grade.

User tip - Its not immediately obvious, but when you want to delete many emails at once, from the inbox view, swipe to the side on an email (across the subject line), that will put a check mark next to it, then you can click other emails, generating more check marks, then press the trash can to delete more than one message at once. ALso, get the K-9 Data Killer widget to turn off email checking for when you want to conserve battery or want to avoid interruption.

Feature I would like to see - I would love to be able to search my entire inbox by strings matched against the subject or body of all messages.

What I love - Another freebie, I use this like my beloved Garmin Forerunner 305 watch to record GPS tracks of various adventures. It is better than my watch because it integrates with Google Maps and shows you where you are. You can load old tracks, pinpoint your current location and figure out how to get back on track if you are lost. This has proven enormously useful in my winter backcountry and side country adventures. Every new snowfall obscures my previous tracks! MyTracks is perfect for this. You can also share your tracks with friends.

User tip - In settings, Location, make sure you allow GPS location, when the phone uses cell phone tower triangulation the accuracy is not very good (this isn't a MyTracks issue, it applies to any location aware application).

Feature I would like to see - When using Google Maps on my desktop there is a map layer called "Terrain" that includes topographical information (hints about elevation), I would love to see that available in MyTracks. Also when sharing tracks by email the GPX headers need to be fixed so they are automatically compatible for upload to sites like connect.garmin.com. I have to manually change them now.

What I love - I used to pay for a voicemail transcription service but now I get it for free. You can have these transcriptions emailed of texted to you and you can read them from the app. The transcriptions aren't perfect but they give you a general idea. If you like the efficiency of email you will love this feature. You can also set up the ability to text message from your computer or phone without incurring mobile service provider charges, and from your computer you can make inexpensive overseas calls. When I travel out of the country and don't bring my cell phone, I really appreciate the SMS ability.

User tip - If you frequent areas with good voice service but bad data service, make sure you know your phone number and pin to check your voicemails by the old fashioned method. Its frustrating not being able to play a message that is transcribed imperfectly.

Feature I would like to see - I would like SMS's to use my phone number instead of the Google Voice one. I understand Sprint has this feature already.

What I love - Wireless syncing of music. I have a folder on my laptop for music I want on my phone, by adding or removing songs from it, and running the desktop version of WinAmp with the laptop and phone on the same WiFi network the songs auto-magically appear and disappear from my phone. Soon, cloud based music services will make this seem pedestrian, but for now it is just freaking cool! I also love the phone interface, it is much better than the stock Android music application: no more buggy back button, enqueue feature, and better looking graphical interface.

Game Notes - I am not a big gamer, but most games you enjoyed on a different phone are available on Android. Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, etc.

Note taking note - I use Catch to take and store notes in the cloud.

Amazon App Store - They bribe you to use it by offering paid apps for free every day. It works.

ConnectBot - For you techie types, allows me to VPN/SSH ("tunnel") into remote computers. If I want to VNC into them so I can "remote desktop" / see the computer and interact with it from my phone there are plenty of VNC apps for Android as well.

Act-1 Video Player - Plays ripped DVD's I put on my SD card, best use case is air travel. (see Boostaroo below for airplane viewing)

Kindle - I still prefer paper books, but its neat to pick up a book I am reading by Kindle right where I left off if I am waiting at the DMV or in line at a grocery store, etc. With WhisperSync, whatever page you advance to your other Kindle devices will know about it.

PdaNet - A good tethering application, free with USB cable (but no https traffic), costs money for bluetooth connection.

Ringdroid - Splice up an MP3 into a ring tone and assign it to a contact.

Quickoffice - View Microsoft Office documents on your phone, most likely as attachments from email.

Astro - Manage files on your SD card, kind of a super user tool, but when needed very handy.

Maverick - I am just starting to play with this for offline GPS. For when you are outside of data service (hiking in the woods perhaps) you can pre-download Map tiles of the area you expect to be in and your phone becomes more like a GPS device you might have in your car (that doesn't have internet access).

Physical Accessories - This section talks about physical products I have tried, things you can hold and feel.

Bluetooth headphones - I love these! They are better than more expensive alternatives. Not an earpiece but real headphones, preferably wrap-around, are awesome for exercising--running or biking. Being able to take calls is an added bonus. On a bike its generally too loud and windy (due to speed) to have a decent conversation, but running really works for phone calls. There are a ton out there, but after a lot of experimenting I love the RF-MAB2 headphones. You can advance tracks and change the volume from the headphones so just throw the phone in your pocket or backpack.

Bluetooth earpiece - A must for safe driving. I like the Motorola H15. I have three of them because every time I lost one I would buy another, then I would find the old one. You can find cheap ones on eBay (new).

Boostaroo - Buy American! I started using this when I had an Evo and was flying a lot. I would rip DVD's and copy them onto my phone and watch them, but it was hard to hear dialogue over Engine noise with my Bose Noise Cancelling headphones. Boostaroo goes inline between the phone and your headphones and amplifies the sound output with a AAA battery. There is no off switch for my model, you just disconnect it and it turns off.

WakeMate - This is a bluetooth device you wear on your wrist when you sleep, it measures when you are moving and when you are still, it then uses this information to determine when you are in REM sleep and when would be the best time to wake you so you feel refreshed the following day. So instead of setting an alarm for 6AM, you set it for 5:40 - 6AM at the time that I am most likely to feel rested if woken. It allows you to upload your sleep metrics and view them on a website. You can also tag your sleep environment, so you can mark whether you slept at home, or in a hotel, or if the neighbors dog was loud on a particular night. I thought this was a very cool idea, but I don't really use it anymore. It requires your phone to be on and plugged in and nearby, and too often I have woken up to no data saved (some kind of overnight crash).