Got a Droid? Here's are some "Must Have" Alternative Apps for You!

Got a Droid? Here's are some "Must Have" Alternative Apps for You!

Michael McGhee is a one of the principals of Anexeon. He is a technology visionary -- always ahead of the tech curve. Following is a "cheat sheet" Michael authored regarding Droids and how to get the most out of them with great apps.

Smart phones based on the Google Android operating system continue to gain in popularity. All major carriers offer Android based phones and a number of new phones are in the pipeline (http://www.androphones.com/). One of the major benefits of the Android platform is the evolving marketplace for applications. Similar to Apple's app store, marketplace is teeming with applications, with one distinct difference - Google doesn't have to approve apps before they can run on your phone. This means that a plethora of alternative applications and enhancements to the basic functions of Android are available. Don't like the web browser or email client that comes with Android? No problem, there's a replacement available. Want a different media player or an application to enhance the core calling features of the phone? No problem.

Because the platform is more open, it is also fractured, meaning that not all apps run on all phones and since all phones don't support every version of Android, you need to make sure the application will support your version of the Android OS and phone before you download and/or purchase. A quick way to do this is to thoroughly read the comments for the application in the Marketplace before downloading.

Below is a list of applications that I have installed as enhancements to my phone, the Motorola Droid, categorized by the type of program they replace.


CATEGORY
Email / Communications

Application & Notes:
• TOUCHDOWN -- A much-improved fully functional Outlook Client that surpasses BlackBerry for outlook integration
• VISUAL VOICEMAIL -- Verizon App, Visual Voicemail
• GOOGLE TALK -- Google’s chat app for Gmail
• GOOGLE VOICE -- Droid front end and integration for Google Voice app

• Browsing / Documents
DOLPHIN BROWSER -- Replaces standard Android browser, much more capable, pinch & zoom capability.
• ASTRO -- File Manager
• ANDROZIP -- Zip file support
• DOCUMENTS TO GO -- Word/Excel/PDF

Media / Commerce
• AMAZON MP3 / AMAZON Front End for Amazon’s music store, regular store
• DOUBLETWIST -- Load on PC, synchs music from iTunes library and others to Droid. Must upgrade to iTunes+ first (eliminate copyright protection)
• BEYONDPOD -- Outstanding RSS reader, front ends Goggle Reader as well.
• PANDORA -- Streaming Music
• DROIDLIVE -- Front end for Shout cast (radio)
• PAYPAL -- Manage Paypal account

Social Networking / Information

• DROIDIN -- Front End client for LinkedIn
• TWIDROID PRO -- Twitter
• FACEBOOK -- Built in FaceBook app
• WEATHER CHANNEL -- Interface to Weather Channel
• FLIXSTER -- Outstanding Movie / Showtime app
• NEWSPAPERS FULL -- Great front end for major newspapers
• AP Online Associated Press app. Great interface. Loads the RJ automatically.
• PLACES DIRECTORY -- Great directory by major categories (banks, medical, etc.)

Other

• WIFI TOGGLE -- One touch toggles Wi-Fi off/on
• ADVANCED TASK MANAGER -- Manages processes on the droid, keeps battery usage low
• SPEED TEST -- Bandwidth Tester
• REMOTE RDP -- Take over Screen/Kbd/Mouse
• POWER MANAGER -- Excellent Power Manager, uses profiles


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