Recommend me some neat Android apps!

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, I’ve finally decided to enter this decade and got one of 'em new-fangled smartphone gadgettos, and of course, now I’m having a bout of new toy fever and want to find out what cool stuff I can do with it. It’s running Android 4.4.2, and it’s an Xperia Z1 Compact, if that matters for anything.

I’m interested in, well, basically anything you think is cool, and/or useful. Every new trend in consumer electronics promises to revolutionize the way you organize your life, and that’s never happened to me—but then again, I guess I’m not really the life-organizing type; but I want to give it a shot. Also, any fun time-wasters to while away the train commute are always welcome; of course, free is always better, but I’d be willing to invest a couple of €. I’m somewhat weary of ‘free’ games with in-app purchases, however.

So far, I’ve got a chess app, which means that now even my phone beats me at chess, I’ve tried Angry Birds, but seem to have already tired of it, Google Sky Map looks really neat, Goggles has been a bit hit-and-miss, for some reason Spotify seems to insist on only running on shuffle, and well, that’s mostly it. One thing I’d be interested in is some sort of RSS-type app so that I can keep track of the couple of blogs/webcomics I follow.

Also, would you recommend buying a cover? I’d hate to get the glass scratched, and I’m not really a fan of those foil covers that always seem to develop blisters somewhere.

Basically, what’s the cool stuff you do with your Android phone?

2

Well, the apps that I use the most are CrossMe and CrossMe Color which are collections of nonograms. They’re 5 bucks a pop which is slightly outrageous but after I solved all the free ones, I couldn’t stop myself and I bought them anyway.

If you’re not worried about Google’s AllSeeing Eye, a lot of people have fun with Ingress, which is an augmented reality app. It uses GPS to overlay a game grid on your location and you find and activate portals that are tied to real world locations. Two teams, blue and green, battling endlessly for control. There’s a storyline about aliens or something.

I have the Zombies 5K app which is helpful for making my jogs slightly less soul killing.

I just saw that QuizUp is on android now. It’s one of the more enjoyable trivia apps I’ve played.

3

There are thousands and you’re about to see a list of most of them. :slight_smile:

Ones I’ve found essential are a GOOD calculator, a raw GPS readout app, a good WiFi finder (WiFi Finder being the best), a good multimedia note app like Evernote, a good weather app (I prefer Weatherbug) and at least three or four primary news source apps like AP and NYT.

Dolphin browser with the Jetpack blows the others away. Bookmark local semi-emergency things on it (I have National Hurricane Center, local power company outage list, school closings list and NWS for my locale to back up Weatherbug.)

Glass covers are mostly a waste of money, especially if your phone has a Gorilla Glass face. A good, slim-profile (silicone wrap with hard shell snap-over) case is a sine qua non, IMVHO.

4

Gotta have a few weather apps. When we are out on the pontoon boat it is great to be able to look at the radar and know if a storm will be short or if we should head in.

I’ve always used Otterbox products for my electronics, whether or not they are likely to get wet.

ETA: of course the kindle app is a must have.

5

I recommend putting the Google Now widget on one of the home screens. It shows a lot of useful information based on your e-mail, google search history, location, etc.

By “foil cover”, do you mean a screen protector film? I always use one. If yours is developing blisters, you probably aren’t applying it correctly. Make sure the screen and film are absolutely clean (no dust) before you apply it. I normally roll up my sleeves (or take off the shirt), and use a mister to spray water into the air, just to reduce the chance of lint or dust falling on the screen during installation.

I also always use a thin silicone sleeve (case) to protect the phone. Otherwise your phone screen will shatter the first time you drop it onto concrete.

6

Excruciatingly long list of apps installed on my phone:

NEWS

NPR News https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.npr.android.news

BBC News https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bbc.mobile.news.ww

New Scientist https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.newscientist.mobile

GAMES

Chess Free https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.aifactory.chessfree

Doodle Jump https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lima.doodlejump

Fractoid https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=byrne.fractal

Game Of Life https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.favpix.gameoflife (Conway’s cellular automata game)

Sokoban https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.perunlabs.app.box (very addictive)

Unblock Me FREE https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kiragames.unblockmefree

ASTRONOMY

Google Sky Map https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.stardroid

NASA Space Weather https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nasa.gsfc.iswa.NASASpaceWeather

Aurora Forecast https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tinacinc.auroraforecast

TRAVEL

GasBuddy https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gbis.gbandroid (finds best gas prices)

Raindar https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghvandoorn.Raindar (animated doppler radar map)

Transit! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eleventhree.transit (finds next bus/train based on your gps)

Translate https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.translate (turns your phone into a universal translator)

World Clock widget https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lge.sizechangable.worldclock

ENTERTAINMENT

Podcast Addict https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bambuna.podcastaddict (favorite podcasts include Mission Log and Hardcore History)

iHeartRadio https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clearchannel.iheartradio.controller

TuneIn Radio https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player

QuickPic https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder (manages your stored photos)

Scanner Radio https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.scannerradio (listen to police/fire/etc.)

TV Guide https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tvguidemobile

Worldscope Webcams https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kukurin.WorldScope

POKER

PokerStove https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rps.pokerstove.pokerstove

Poker Calculator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.perunlabs.app.poker

Poker Odds Range Calculator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pnl.precisepokerodds

PokerStars NET https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pyrsoftware.pokerstars.net (play poker online)

Ultimate Holdem Timer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.upt.timer.core (blinds timer for hold-em)

MISC

a41CV https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.andsen.hp41 (a decent rpn calculator)

Aldiko https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aldiko.android (ebook reader)

First Aid: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cube.arc.fa (first aid instructions)

Flashlight: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devuni.flashlight

Shopping list: Out of Milk https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.capigami.outofmilk

RedLaser https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ebay.redlaser (barcode scanner, useful for comparison shopping)

MAINTENANCE

Clean Master https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard

CM Security https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.security

FXR WiFi fix and rescue https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brilliapps.wifiandmorefixer

JuiceDefender https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.latedroid.juicedefender

Lookout https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout

Speedtest https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.zwanoo.android.speedtest

Wi-Fi Finder https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jiwire.android.finder

WiFi Connection Fixer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.in.zextr.wcf

WiFi Manager https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.WifiManager

Shared by ‘My App List’ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.projectsexception.myapplist

7

Scrollable widgets are one of the best things about Android; very useful for keeping track of different stuff. I use Plume for Twitter and Baconreader for Reddit but there are lots of others.

8

I got lucky with CrossMe and CrossMeColor - they were both free apps of the day at Amazon’s appstore.

For what it’s worth, I now rarely buy anything there; their versions are often quite a bit behind the version that’s on Google Play (and what idiot came up with THAT name, by the way).

Go Launcher is something I love. If for nothing else, the fact that I can have more than one row of apps in the “dock” (the row at the bottom of the screen). I have my dozen most used apps right there, can very quickly scroll through those to get to them w/o needing to bring up the list of all my apps, or cluttering my homescreen too much.

I use CarHome Ultra as a car dock - it’s the best I’ve found so far on the app store. My Droid X came with a fairly nice one but that only worked properly when I was using the Motorola dock (and that had its own issues).

I use Widget Locker in place of the stock lock screen; this lets me have a few app widgets that let me do some actions w/o even unlocking the screen (sadly, those are very limited, but things like setting it to sleep mode is one of them).

Med Helper is a nice medication-tracking app. There’s a free and a paid version (I have the paid version). Sleep Bot is a very nice sleep tracking app (and it’s free!); I use it for sleep tracking obviously, but also as an alarm clock. When you use the widget to put it into sleep mode, you can configure it to automatically put it in quiet mode so you won’t get awakened by calls / texts.

Dropbox, of course (or similar) - this is a must have for us!!

A grocery shopping app. We use ToMarket because it’s the only one I’ve found that can track aisle information for an item at multiple stores. All the others seem to require you to put the item in for each store, or have it listed as “all stores” without store-by-store aisles. It doesn’t include cloud synching (e.g. if you need something, check it off on yours and your spouse’s copy gets updated) but that wasn’t the primary feature we wanted.

A fuel tracking app - I use Fuel Log. I enter the information every time I fill up or have service, and it makes a nice record plus calculating the car’s mileage.

9

Oooh -and covers: Most phones these days seem to NOT come with a case that covers the screen, though there are some exceptions. Otterbox comes to mind. I’ve got a case that covers the back and sides to provide some drop protection and cushioning. I do have the adhesive cover on the glass and have been fortunate with no bubbles; they’re cheap enough that you can always discard and retry with a fresh one. I’d say it’s worth it - crack that glass and you’ve just destroyed a device worth hundreds of euros.

10

A flashlight app can be a real lifesaver, but don’t position it on your main screen or you’ll go to turn your ringer off in a theater and accidentally do your lighthouse impersonation.

11

Could someone maybe recommend a good “tape recorder,” something that I can record ambient sounds – budget meetings or bird calls – and save as .mp3? Er…something a clumsy idiot can use?

(Every so often, I have to go back to the AT&T kiosk where I bought my phone and ask for lessons. “How do I move an attached photo from Text Messages to Gallery?” They’ve been wonderfully patient.)

12

My most-used apps:

Pandora- for when I’m driving;
Waze- for when I’m driving (see a pattern?);
Open Table- for making dinner reservations on the fly;
UrbanSpoon and Yelp- for researching restaurants;
Runkeeper- to track my workout mileage; and
Drobox.

I don’t play games on my phone, and I’m not sure if I even have any. [checks phone…] Nope.

13

Around Me has been a very useful app for me. It takes your location and suggests nearby services/stores/restaurants – very helpful if you’re in an area you don’t know very well.

Somebody also mentioned Gas Buddy – uses your GPS and gives you a list of surrounding gas stations with their current prices.

I use Color Note to make grocery lists and the like.

Dictatroid Lite is the free version of a well-regarded recording app. You can record anything in 5-minute increments and saves them to, I believe, a mp3 file. You can email it and/or share it. I use it for generating story ideas.

Other apps:

NPR News
a local TV station’s news app
Snapseed (the best free photo editor out there, IMO)
Google Maps
Healthy Recipes (app for Spark People)
Eating Well app (has tons of recipes)
Foodeducate (can scan practically any grocery item and it calls up its nutritional info)
Candy Crush Saga
Papa Pear Saga

14

Absolutely. Some phones come with them but there are better ones for DL.

Most phones come with a Voice Recorder app. I’ve used the one on my Samsung many times. It’s as simple as an old Pearlcorder.

I’ve never had anything but sucky results with OpenTable. Either they show nothing available (and a call to the restaurant does), or they take the rez and hours later, or on arrival, the restaurant negates it. Maybe it’s gotten better since I last tried it.

15

Absolutely. Some phones come with them but there are better ones for DL.

Most phones come with a Voice Recorder app. I’ve used the one on my Samsung many times. It’s as simple as an old Pearlcorder.

I’ve never had anything but sucky results with OpenTable. Either they show nothing available (and a call to the restaurant does), or they take the rez and hours later, or on arrival, the restaurant negates it. Maybe it’s gotten better since I last tried it. I just look up the restaurant and tap dial. Works much better for me.

16

Oh, this sounds like something I might try out on my upcoming holidays, I’ve got no travels planned; but I’ll have to check out whether it’s well distributed in Germany.

That’s something I’ve been looking for, do you have a recommendation?

Anyway, thanks, all, for the suggestions, keep them coming! And does anybody know about a good RSS reader app, or has that kind of thing just died with google reader?

17

Some others:

Robo Defense
Backgammon free
Gin Rummy Free
Wifi file transfer

18

My absolute favourite calculator app is RealCalc Plus by Quartic Software. This is the paid for version of RealCalc Scientific Calculator and both versions are so close to the experience of using a regular calculator that you forget your’e not. I don’t remember what the exact difference was between the two versions but I upgraded to just to show my appreciation to the developer.

If you want a graphing calculator I have used Graphing Calculator by Mathlab Apps. It was great for a recent calculus class I took, but it has this weird restriction on only working when you have a network connection to display ads. I didn’t use it enough to go with the ad-free Pro version.

19

Pixel Dungeon
Ingress
Moon+ Reader My favourite eBook reader.

20

One of my favorites is called Field Trip, which I think comes from one of the Google labs. As you travel around, it pops up random factoids and points of interest when you get near them. Like, for example, a lot of times it’ll pop up a historical photo of the place you are or bring up an article from a travel guide. It takes a bit of tweaking to get the frequency and types of things you want, but it’s pretty fun.