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Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

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Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#51

Post by 100tonmantis »

I have a Nook Color running CM7. Here are some things I use that I hadn't seen much mention of yet:

* FBReader and PDF Viewer for ebooks. - I haven't found the need to use anything more complicated than these. They both save my place in the file and pick up there again when I reopen it. They are also very reliable.

* SoundCloud for finding new music. - This app could be more featureful but it gets the best parts of the site.

* Reactable and Caustic for trying to make music. - These are both really amazing. Caustic is a more traditional interface (like Reason) but really well done. Reactable is a really fun toy that lets you manipulate sounds using an interface made for touch and experimentation.

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#52

Post by wickedchicken »

I wrote some posts about this: http://qrunk.com/view/more-android-apps and http://qrunk.com/view/sweet-android-apps but a few are worth mentioning here:

Airpush detector (screw these guys)

Aix Weather Widget

DI Radio (great electronic streams, been listening for 10 yrs now)

G-Stomper (sweet drum machine)

Twicca (elite Twitter client)

Android Agenda Widget/Agenda Widget Plus (lets me see my calendar and Astrid tasks in one list view)

Kalør Clock (classy desk clock while my phone is charging)

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#53

Post by flexd »

riams wrote: post #15
flexd wrote: post #12

I have a SGS2 myself, loving it! How long does your battery usually last? I find myself having to charge nearly every day but a friend with a very similar usage pattern only has to charge every other day. His phone is newer than mine but we run the same software versions :-/ Here's the stuff I use: - DrumSound app for those times you need a quick drumsound! http://trommelyd.no/ - JuiceDefender (free at the moment), s…

It lasts a little more than a day, regular usage, not too much gaming. I noticed that the latest 2.3.4 ROM really helped boost battery life. As a side note: Samsung has released an official 2000mAh battery for the SGS2. It's very reasonably priced here in Sweden, at less than 300 SEK. See: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239719

Nice find! I'm still on 2.3.3 and it says there's no update available yet.

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#54

Post by martincmartin »

I've got a Galaxy S2 as well (Epic 4G Touch), here's what I use:

- k-9 for home email. It's an open source email reader based on the standard Android email reader.

- WeatherBug widget for weather

- MapQuest for navigation, since it generally choose a better route than Google Navigation for long/tricky drives

- Google Navigation for my daily commute, since it has a better traffic display

- GTasks for note taking, it syncs to Google Tasks.

- Peapod whenever I'm running low on something in the kitchen, I just scan the barcode and it's automatically added to my Peapod order. It's awesome.

- Touchdown for work email, since it has great Exchange integration, plus it can read emails to me while I'm driving.

- Pandora

- Audible.com for listening to audio books while driving (I download them at home on WiFi, although I now have an unlimited data account so I don't really need to)

- GOdroid, since it consistently beats me on the easiest level. :)

- DropBox

- ASTRO for process/file management.

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#56

Post by thedufer »

Malcx wrote: post #36
avar wrote: post #35

I'm running a Samsung Galaxy S2 that I've rooted. Here's my most commonly used applications, all of which I recommend: * Smart Keyboard Pro: https://market.android.com/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeybo... -- Allows me to use a Dvorak keyboard on the phone, but even if you don't use Dvorak it's still a great purchase. It has a lot of options to make your typing more efficient that the stock keyboard doesn't have. * Th…

>>There's no way to turn off the shutter noise on it, Use root explorer to find the sound files (sorry I can't remember where they are off the top of my head) rename them or just delete them and restart your phone. You need make sure you get all the focus/shutter files.

There was at some point a bill to make it illegal for a phone to not make some sort of shutter noise. I can't determine whether it passed (I don't think so), so you may want to be careful about this. This may also explain why you can't turn it off easily - manufacturers would have been responsible for changing it so you couldn't turn it off had the bill passed.

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#58

Post by mrich »

riams wrote: post #13
mrich wrote: post #10

Apps aside, I can recommend putting the latest beta MIUI ROM on the Samsung. The default Samsung UI is kind of ugly in my opinion. With MIUI you get a beautiful interface which is very customizable. Standard disclaimers apply. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130951

From what I can gather, the MIUI SGS2 port isn't officially supported by MIUI, and has a few bugs and issues. Do you think it's good enough to use on a day-to-day basis?

There are some bugs, and with the beta I had two months ago I ended up in a state where the phone wouldn't boot anymore. Afterwards I flashed it again and didn't have any problems since. Haven't updated to the latest version though. Everything I need works (so basically all the features of the phone).

Re: Ask HN: What Android apps do you use?

#59

Post by mrich »

mkopinsky wrote: post #38
mrich wrote: post #10

Apps aside, I can recommend putting the latest beta MIUI ROM on the Samsung. The default Samsung UI is kind of ugly in my opinion. With MIUI you get a beautiful interface which is very customizable. Standard disclaimers apply. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1130951

For someone currently happily using a dumbphone, who recently had an embarrassing experience that could have been prevented if I had a GPS and is now considering drinking the kool-aid, what can you tell me about the standard disclaimers? I know that rooting the phone means you lose your warranty, but what I'm not sure of is a) how easy is it to restore the original ROM so that VZW can't tell the difference, b) how mu…

First, I can definitely recommend getting a smartphone. I'm normally a late adoptor, but I am glad I switched relatively early to a smartphone. I ran into people now and then who tell me they don't need their phone to do X, they just want to call people, but I'm sure once they have all the functionality in one device they would never give it back.

Regarding risks, I ran into a problem with the custom MIUI ROM where I couldn't boot the phone anymore. I was scared there for a second (since I couldn't even get into the recovery mode) but I just found the current official Samsung firmware, flashed it and everything ran fine again. You can tell though that it has been modified, since each flash of a firmware increase an internal counter. So in theory there is always the risk of a bricked phone or voided warranty. But I don't know anybody who had this happen.

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