Droid app recommendations?

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kniedzw and I finally joined the twenty-first century yesterday, buying ourselves a pair of smartphones to replace the ancient flip-phones we’ve been using for years. We went with Androids — mostly because of my husband’s overpowering hatred for AT&T — so now I ask the internets: what apps do you recommend?

Free ones are fabulous, but I’m also willing to pay for stuff that’s good. In particular, I’d like a recommendation for some kind of calorie tracker, because I know my eating habits are very bad; not in the usual way (“oh, I eat too much ice cream”) but in the “I kind of forget to eat in the first place” way. I don’t know what, if anything, I want to do to change this, but I figure it can’t hurt to spend a couple of weeks actually paying attention to what I’m eating, and when, and what it adds up to. Having a phone app to track it with would help.

Beyond that . . . y’all know me. I do not need the Nascar app that came installed on the phone and is seemingly impossible to get rid of, but geeky things like Google Skymap are totally up my alley. What do you recommend?

0 Responses to “Droid app recommendations?”

  1. ashcake

    I don’t, in fact, know you (so take this as you will!) but through the magic of internets stalking of authors, here I am. I too have recently acquired an Android, and nearly the first app I picked up was ShopSavvy. It’s great for comparing prices. I also have Mute (to easily turn off that annoying BING SS makes when it registers a bar code), and Key Ring. Tippy Tipper is very nice for figuring out tips, and just for fun I have the US Army Survival Guide.

    GasBuddy compares gas prices in your area. Calorie Counter may do what you’re looking for, with regards to eating. You may wish to also make a (free!) account on the website (caloriecounter.com). Because I’m a huge geek, and have need of these, I also picked up DiceBox. Juice Defender is going to help a lot in keeping your battery living longer than 12 hours between charges.

  2. forestdweller

    Aldiko! It is an EXCELLENT e-reader for Android phones and has an extensive library of free books to download. I loves it.

    http://www.aldiko.com/

  3. stormsdotter

    My partner recommends WeatherBug, Slacker and Pandora. The second two are for listening to music. Google Maps has a navigation feature that turns the Droid into a GPS for free, and there is nothing to download; you just got to the site.

    He owns a Droid. I just have a flip phone, because I don’t need mobile internet and I’m really hard on my electronics. Ironically, the main character in the book I’m writing has one.

  4. skirmish_of_wit

    All of these are free apps (or, at least, have both paid and free versions).

    Handcent is a really great and deeply customizable text messaging program that I love.

    Calorific is a simple calorie tracker made by the same developers who produced CardioTrainer (another program I like for tracking exercise). If you just want to track the types of food you’re eating and when, it’s the simplest option out there.

    Games: Angry Birds! So addictive. There’s also an adorable little mini-WoW style MMORPG called Pocket Legends that’s amusing (if you have a high or unlimited data plan).

    Social Networking: Tweetdeck allows you to manage Twitter and Facebook from one interface, which I like. However, installation is more complicated than usual.

    Yelp is good for finding local restaurants (or whatever) and seeing ratings — especially useful when traveling.

    GroceryIQ is handy for grocery shopping.

    • unforth

      I’ll second Angry Birds. Haven’t played it myself but I know two or three folks who can’t put it down and recommend it to anyone looking for games.

      • lamaudite

        Oh, yes, Angry Birds. 🙂 And check for specials. There was a very nice Halloween version and more recently an ‘advent calendar’ style one for Xmas.

  5. unforth

    I have an iPhone, not a Droid, but I bet some of the apps are the same or pretty similar from major providers – I’d suggest the Weather Channel’s weather app if your phone didn’t come with a good one (my phone came with one that was crap). Also, if you want some new music, the Pandora app is pretty good.

    I actually don’t use a cal counter on my phone so can’t help with that one – though in general Calorie King is an excellent calorie counting resource (though they don’t have a tracker that I know of – they have a book and a free website)

  6. Anonymous

    Gizmodo to the rescue

    Gizmodo just did a round up of health & fitness apps (including a calorie tracker or two, I think) today: http://lifehacker.com/5725547/the-best-health-and-fitness-apps-for-android. Hopefully there’s something useful in there!

    On my Droid, the must-haves are the Kindle app, OpenSudoku for games (free and fun!), Flood It (another game, very addicting), Yelp, Goggles, and AppsUninstall (which may help with that Nascar app). Hope you like Android! I think it’s a great platform, and I absolutely love my phone.

    –Cassie

  7. shakatany

    The NY Times has a list of their 10 best apps at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/technology/personaltech/02smart.html?scp=3&sq=phone+apps&st=nyt

    Shakatany

  8. findabair

    I have an Android phone, and couldn’t do without FxCamera for photography.

  9. pingback_bot

    Linkspam is running out the door

    User referenced to your post from Linkspam is running out the door saying: […] Also bookmarked: Marie Brennan asking for Android app recommendation […]

  10. gossymer

    If you have family or friends who like to chat via Google/Yahoo/AIM/MSN or if you just want to call people internationally at cheaper rates than I wholly recommend Fring.

    You can also use Google Voice if you live in USA for calling anywhere in North America for free for now.

    I use TextPlus for texting my sister in Texas since I moved to Vancouver, BC and I also updated my googlemaps.

    Definitely second The Weather Channel and Yelp though the former is a couple MB in size on my HTC Dream so you might want to pay attention to how much space you have on your phone or SD card

    • gossymer

      Oh and Fring and Google Voice are pretty much VoIP apps so you need an internet connection active to use them for calls.

  11. d_c_m

    OMG!!! Hubby and I got Droid Xs this summer and they are FANTASTIC!!! Verizon service has been great for us, BTW.

    I love the Nook app and the Kindle app from Amazon.com. In fact I’m reading this really fun book “A Star Shall Fall” on my smartphone!

    I also like the phases of the moon calendar and the game “Angry Birds” is a must. Of course I recommend the lighter app that makes your smartphone face look like a lighter flame. Gotta have it for the concerts. I also have an app that turns the phone into a flashlight and that is great.

    Enjoy!!

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