Android App/Game Recommendations Thread

[Eco-Logic]

I'd love to have a place to see what apps and games other people are enjoying on their Android.  I've owned the Evo since the 4th, so I'm still new to things, but I'll start us off.

First of all, you should checkout AppBrain.com.  There is an AppBrain app in the Market, that makes keeping track of everything you've installed etc. a breeze.

Here are my most used Applications so far:

Lockpicker: I had to put this first.  It's a very simple app, that makes my life much easier.  It alleviates the need to enter a password to unlock the phone (due to corporate settings on the exchange server).  Brilliant!

Handcent SMS:  Fantastic SMS replacement application. 

Spark:  Fully featured Xbox Live client.  It is awesome

Tapatalk:  This takes browsing forums from a mobile device to a whole new level.  Unfortunately, Simple Machines (which is used here at GT), isn't compatible with Tapatalk yet.  They are evidently working on an upgrade though.

Mobisle Notes:  This is the best note taking app I've used on a mobile device.  It's great, and free.

Zedge:  I just found this one yesterday.  It is an app that lets browse free wallpaper (3,959 wallpapers) and ringtones (402,993 ringtones), sample the tones before downloading, and set the tones for whatever notification you want without even leaving the app. 


I haven't really played many games yet.  I have Replica Island, but haven't tried it out yet.

Anyway, looking forward to more recommendations.

Eco

[LoneStarSpur]

K-9 Mail
Replaces the default client for use with Exchange

Dropbox
Nice having some files readily available (most work stuff...network diagrams, contact lists and the like)

Shazam
Haven't really played with this much

Twitter
official from Twitter

Layar Reality Browser
kinda neat, but I don't really understand it 

Handcent SMS
Very nice

HistoryEraser
Very useful

doubleTwist Player
Music player that I haven't messed around with much

Astro File Manager
Must have

pdaNet
I might get to use this eventually

Aura for EVE Online
OK for see what you have in the training queue

CallTrack
Syncs all your calls to a Google calendar. Love this one.

RingDroid
Very cool app.

Google Voice
Just got an invite today.

[Huw the Poo]

Astro File Manager
Must have

Yeah, Astro is the best app I've used.  Essential.

Shopper
From Google.  Scan barcodes or the items themselves to look up info, prices etc.  I'm told it's indispensable but it's not really that useful to we Brits unfortunately.

Tricorder
For impressing fellow geeks, of course!

SMS backup and restore
Does what it says on the tin; backs up your entire SMS history to your SD card.  It's slow, but really good at what it does.

I've recently installed a software update which meant wiping the phone so that's all I can remember now.

[Destructor]

SystemPanel
Need to know exactly what your Android system is doing and how much battery and CPU it's taking? You want a task killer and an uninstaller? You want to be able to chart said services over a long timespan? This is the program for you. My first purchase ($2.99) actually on the store. The free version has most of the above features.

Speedx 3D
A simple game (use the gyros in your phone to move), but oh so much fun. Short games (generally) too, so you can keep working on your skills over time.

Sound Manager
A simple program to adjust all the audio levels of all of your settings at once. There's other programs out there that'll do it, so find one you like.

Slacker Radio
Slacker Radio, of course. Best part is if you're a paying customer to their service, you can cache stations to an external memory card. Now you no longer need a cell connection to listen to random music of your liking.

Robo Defense
Simple, yet fun, tower defense clone.

Missile Intercept
Did somebody say Missile Command? I knew you could.

LED Desire Light
Yeah, it's not exactly designed for general use, but it works great on the Evo 4G. Want to turn your LEDs up to blinding level? Want to send Morse Code over your LEDs? Now you can.

Dolphin Browser HD
My current browser of choice. Supports tabbed browsing and looks real nice too.

Battery Indicator
Wish you knew exactly how much battery you have at all times? Now you can. Sits on your Notification Bar.

BTW - that Tricorder app is really flippin' cool. The Trekkies I know will love it.

[Meisterbrew]

ADW Launcher:   Great home replacement

Streamfurious:  great pls streamer

Drocap2:  Screenshots for android

Toddler Lock:  Self explanatory

Agenda widget:  Calendar widget thats better than the built in one

Wireless Tether for root:  Need root, but turn phone into wifi hotspot

Titanium Backup for root:  Backup/freeze apps

Astro:  Windows explorer for android

Callfilter:  Blocks unknown and other phone numbers

LEDs Hack (root):  Turns off LED's while in docking station

[corruptrelic]

+1 on callfilter. It'll block unknown/private callers (as an option) as well as any number you enter. You never hear your phone ring and have the choice of either automatically hanging up on the caller or sending it straight to voicemail.
Goodbye telemarketers!

For games -

Project INF - 100% online real-time multiplayer for up to 24 players. (12vs12) Team deathmatch and capture the flag modes with 3 different classes - scout, marine, and brute.
Free game and since every Android phone has internet access, there's no reason not to try it! The more you play, the more your character levels up and the more abilities are unlocked.

[Morgul]

Any good games, (single player probably, or ones that dont require groups) that are fantasy based?  elves, dwarves etc?  RPG?   Anything like that?

I got burnt on the tower games after about the first week.  Hoping to find something interesting...

Also, I NEED a good facebook appthat is comparable to the blackberry facebook app..   Anyone found anything good there?

My reccomendations: 

Flixster = great app for movies (with dirty rotten tomatoes, gps, and when they come out on DVD)

Handscent SMS-  for texting

Coin Flip - For when the kids fight over who gets the front seat

[Huw the Poo]

Also, I NEED a good facebook appthat is comparable to the blackberry facebook app..   Anyone found anything good there?

Possibly a stupid question, but have you tried the official Facebook app?  I haven't seen the Blackberry one but the official one looks good enough to me.  Also, Facebook's mobile site works pretty well on its own.

[kratz]

The Weather Channel app - good for weather... who would've thunkit...

Flixster - as mentioned

Google Skymaps (just awesome)

Pandora (was this on there by default?)

MSN Droid if you use MSN messenger

Flashlight (I just picked the highest rated one... it... works)

gStrings - an awesome chromatic tuner, if you play an instrument

AndChat - a good IRC client

Bubble - a good bubble level... I've used it during home improvement!

Google Goggles (might be on there by default?)  A barcode scanner that will also look up products by taking a picture of the packaging... yeah...

[Morgul]

Also, I NEED a good facebook appthat is comparable to the blackberry facebook app..   Anyone found anything good there?

Possibly a stupid question, but have you tried the official Facebook app?  I haven't seen the Blackberry one but the official one looks good enough to me.  Also, Facebook's mobile site works pretty well on its own.

Ignorance is Bliss   ;-)

But yes, I am using the mobile site/ native app now.  I have tried others a few months back, like bloo..  but all were crap.

[Eco-Logic]

Wow!  Swype is absolutely fantastic.  The Beta just opened this week. Really, try it now.

[LoneStarSpur]

AppBrain
Lordy, this makes finding apps so much easier. Find them on your pc and then download them on your phone.

EarthRot
Live wallpapers of rotating globes. I'm using Jupiter right now. It has tons of stuff for the Star Wars geeks. Dunno if the Moto Droid supports Live wallpapers, but it works fine on my Incredible although it does slow things down just a bit at times.

[Eco-Logic]

You can get Swype here:

http://beta.swype.com/

It is amazing.  I can't believe how awesome it is.

[Huw the Poo]

I think that any phone running at least 2.1 can use live wallpapers.

Does anyone know a decent "where did I park my car" app?

[Eco-Logic]

I think that any phone running at least 2.1 can use live wallpapers.

Does anyone know a decent "where did I park my car" app?

I have heard good things about this one:

http://www.androidtapp.com/a2b/

[Huw the Poo]

Cool, thanks.

In other Androidy news, I have no idea whether my poor little Tattoo will ever get an update.  HTC are being, publically at least, completely tight-lipped about it.  Every now and again someone on some forum will say they emailed HTC to ask and was told that it was definitely coming but they can't say when, then someone else will post that they heard from HTC that there's nothing planned.  It doesn't look good, really.  As much as I love HTC phones, I might not buy another if this is what their support is like.

[Huw the Poo]

Ha, look at this: Baby ESP

"Baby ESP helps you easily track your baby's activities (eating, sleeping, pooping and more) with your cell phone.

It's the only Baby Tracking app for Android you need!"

[jersoc]

Ah...I read a lot of android sites, so I got lots of recommendations. I'll try not to double up.

First of all, I highly think everyone should root the phone. It's extremely easy, albeit a bit time consuming your first time. It's really hard to brick. You have to mess up 3 things together. You can mess up 1 and still be ok. I've rooted my phone many times and never even came close to a problem. Just read the directions carefully before you start and again when you do it. This opens a lot of stuff. I'm running froyo right now from rooting.

Dolphin HD-IMO, the best browser you can get. The UI is extremely slick and it's fast as hell.

Astro-Great file manager, can install apps from the sd easily.

Fancy Widget-Gives you an HTC sense widget with the time and weather. Not sure if it's free anymore though.

Double Twist-IMO the best music app. Works for galleries and others too I believe.

The blizzard mobile authniticator-Free and will save your account.

3banana-imo the best note app. it synchs with the website too. I use it grocery lists. You can edit notes both in the app or website.

Appbrain-A much easier to navigate market place. Synchs with the website and lets you use your google account to sign in.

NFL mobile-pretty much all you need to know is there

ESPN-again, pretty self explanatory.

Shapewriter-a good sub for swype. free. Well balls, apparently they are pulling this from the marketplace. I don't know why. But it's easy to find apps on the internet.

TED mobile-Watch the TED lectures. I almost capped my 5gigs a month using this

[ROTC1983]

Check out launcherPro...good stuff   My favorite desktop replacement app so far. 

Anyone have a good keyboard replacement?  The one that comes with the Nexus One kinda sucks

[SkyLander]

Check out launcherPro...good stuff   My favorite desktop replacement app so far. 

Anyone have a good keyboard replacement?  The one that comes with the Nexus One kinda sucks

Swype, or Keyboard Pro.

Or wait for Froyo to come out with the new keyboard.

[Jag]

Swype. Definitely Swype. It was just released, google it and get it from the homepage.

[Eco-Logic]

You can get Swype here:

http://beta.swype.com/

It is amazing.  I can't believe how awesome it is.

Or just get it from the link I posted

[Jag]

You can get Swype here:

http://beta.swype.com/

It is amazing.  I can't believe how awesome it is.

Or just get it from the link I posted

or you can GOOGLE IT! 

[LoneStarSpur]

I tried that launcherPro, but missed my HTC widgets too much.

I loaded Swype but I'm almost afraid to try it out. 

[GuidoTKP]

I tried that launcherPro, but missed my HTC widgets too much.

I loaded Swype but I'm almost afraid to try it out. 

You should also give ShapeWriter a shot. After goofing around with both, it seemed like ShapeWriter was a little more accurate for me. This is *very* subjective, though, so you should try both to see which one feels better.

[ATB]

Anyone know of any aps that turn of the LEDs of the phone when it's in the docking/multimedia station?  Heck, about  an ap that lowers the brightness when it's in the station? Even clicking the 'low light' setting leaves the thing lighting up half the house.

[LoneStarSpur]

I tried that launcherPro, but missed my HTC widgets too much.

I loaded Swype but I'm almost afraid to try it out. 

You should also give ShapeWriter a shot. After goofing around with both, it seemed like ShapeWriter was a little more accurate for me. This is *very* subjective, though, so you should try both to see which one feels better.

I gave it a shot and wow. It's too cool...except for figuring out where the damn letters are which is truly bizarre.  I learned to type in freaking 1972 fer cryin' out loud. 

[SkyLander]

I've been looking for the HTC widgets I guess they are totally connected to sense. I have found a couple cool widgets like the Beautify widgets.

[Eco-Logic]

I tried that launcherPro, but missed my HTC widgets too much.

I loaded Swype but I'm almost afraid to try it out. 

You should also give ShapeWriter a shot. After goofing around with both, it seemed like ShapeWriter was a little more accurate for me. This is *very* subjective, though, so you should try both to see which one feels better.

Indeed, it is very subjective.  For me Swype is way more accurate.

Swype, and Shapewriter for that matter, are like keyboard crack.  I'm so incredibly fast with Swype now that I actually surprise myself.  I mean I'll do it so fast and think to my self no way will it recognize that, and voila there it is.   Occasionally there will be a word that I have a difficult time swyping (like Drudgereport, it always types Drudgery), but the nice thing is that the Swype keyboard works extremely well as a regular keyboard in those scenarios. 

Skylander,  I'm fairly certain the Beautiful Widgets on the market have almost identical clocks etc., to HTC Sense. 

[Destructor]

I tried that launcherPro, but missed my HTC widgets too much.

Grab Fancy Widget (and do so quick - HTC is forcing them to change it). It's practically exactly the same as Sense.

For other Sense clones, go look up everything this guy makes - they look and replicate the functions that Sense provides.

[Huw the Poo]

Well shit, since a minor update my phone will now only ring once.  Nothing I can do about it.  Spent 20 minutes on the phone to HTC who said all they can do is recall the phone, re-flash it with the original ROM (which isn't available for me to do it myself) and then send it back.  So I will be minus the update and without my phone for two weeks.  Sod that, being without the phone for two weeks is even more annoying than it only ringing once.

Between this and the lack of Android 2.1, I've gone from thinking HTC phones are the dog's bollocks to thinking I'll probably never buy another one.

[Eco-Logic]

Which htc phone do you have?  If 2.1 wasn't available for my phone, I would definitely root.

[Huw the Poo]

I have a Tattoo - which makes having 2.1 all the more important to me because of the performance enhancements; the CPU is a bit slow.  I might consider rooting but last I checked a hacked 2.1 for Tattoo hasn't been perfected and I'd miss some features.  It's the contempt that HTC is showing its users that really bother me.  Stop releasing half a dozen phones a month and start supporting the ones that already exist, dammit!

[Destructor]

Go look up 'Mario Live Wallpaper' in the app store and download it. Now. Who knows how long it'll stay up due to copyright issues.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/28/mario-live-wallpaper-for-android-better-than-a-tanooki-suit-in/
(a few videos showing why this is so cool)

Just be warned - yes, it will drain your battery fast.

[Eco-Logic]

That is too cool.  Thanks.
FYI, the Kindle app is out now!

[Kevin Grey]

That is too cool.  Thanks.
FYI, the Kindle app is out now!

Finally!

[SkyLander]

And it looks like Froyo is rolling out for the Nexus One finally. Woot to wifi hotspot.

[WalkingFumble]

Go look up 'Mario Live Wallpaper' in the app store and download it. Now. Who knows how long it'll stay up due to copyright issues.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/28/mario-live-wallpaper-for-android-better-than-a-tanooki-suit-in/
(a few videos showing why this is so cool)

Just be warned - yes, it will drain your battery fast.

This is cool once you get it running.  I was never able to find it in the app store, but thankfully there are other ways to download and install apps.

[Eco-Logic]

I thought you all might find this useful:

http://androinica.com/2010/04/28/incredible-apps-the-60-best-android-apps/

A lot of the apps have already been mentioned here, still, a pretty great list imho.

[farley2k]

I just bought a Nexus One off ebay so when it comes in I will be app shopping, so keep those recommendations coming.