10 Essential Apps for New Android Users

10 Essential Apps for New Android Users: "

The Android Market may not have as many apps as the iPhone App Store yet, but there are already enough out there now to overwhelm the average user and the number of apps is still growing at a blistering pace. The good news? It's just mean more choices for us as consumers. The bad news? As with the iPhone App store, not every app is a gem. So you’ve probably found yourself installing and quickly removing plenty of apps from your phone, hoping to find ones that are truly useful.

To help you sort through them all, here’s our list of the essential apps we’ve found to be useful to new Android users

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1. 
   

   Advanced Task Killer

   
   
   
   
   
   • One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS in Android is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt your phone performance. This app will also help you to conserve your battery life, as described here
   
   
   
   


2. 
   

   Astro File Manager

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Another one of the great things about Android (if you’re a geek or a tinkerer) is that you have lower-level access to the system itself. Astro is an app that lets you navigate the Android file system.
   
   
   
   


3. 
   

   My Backup Pro

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • With this application, you can back up to an SD card (or online site) your applications, contacts, call log, sms logs, settings, shortcuts, and just about anything you need. A definite must have for everyone that values the data and contacts on their phone. Another nice feature of this tool is a scheduled backup, making the process of backing up as hassle-free as possible. Imagine automatic backup of your phone data while you are asleep!
   
   
   
   


4. 
   

   Shazam

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Ever hear a song being played at a store or on the radio and ask yourself, “Oh, what song is that?” That’s where Shazam comes in. Just hit the button and let it listen for 15 seconds, query its database, and then return the name of artist and the song. It has about an 80% success rate.
   
   
   
   


5. 
   

   Tunewiki

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Music fans would love Tunewiki which lets them search for over 2.7 million songs on their Android phones. The app which is available from the Android market has an intuitive interface for your music library, provides access to Internet radio through SHOUTcast or last.fm, lyrics search, music maps, Top 50, play lists and more. You can also share your musical taste through Blip, Twitter or Facebook.
   
   
   
   


6. 
   

   Google My Tracks

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Outdoor trekking and fitness enthusiasts will appreciate My Tracks from Google which turns your Android phone into a GPS tracker which lets you view live statistics such as time, your speed, distance and elevation in real time while hiking, biking, running or participating in outdoor activities. You can also share your recorded tracks, upload them to Google Spreadsheets and view them on Google Maps.
   
   
   
   


7. 
   

   Qik

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Qik allows you to share live videos from your Android phone with others over the Internet via social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. A must have for all who values sharing information while on the go!
   
   
   
   


8. 
   

   HulloMail

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • How often have you had to call your voice mailbox provided by your operators and go through the lengthy steps of pressing this or that button before you can listen to messages left by callers due to calls you have missed, while incurring operator charges in the process? With HulloMail, the caller leaves messages which it records and stores on your phone itself for you to play back at your convenience and what’s best, it’s free!
   
   
   
   


9. 
   

   Documents To Go

   
   
   
   
   
   
   • The free version of Documents To Go offers a great little reader for Word and Excel files. You can upgrade to the full version (for $15) if you want to edit files and add PowerPoint files to the mix. If you do want editing capability, I’d also recommend taking a look at QuickOffice.
   
   
   
   


10. 
    

    Dropbox

    
    
    
    
    
    
    • Dropbox is a great cloud service that automatically syncs a folder of files between multiple computers (Windows, Mac, or Linux). This app extends Dropbox to Android and interacts with other apps (such as Documents To Go) to open the files.
    
    
    
    

Hopefully, the apps above are as useful to you as they do for us. If you have a great app that you are currently using that you will wish to share with us, do drop us a note or a comment!

"

Download Latest Angry Birds Rio for Android Devices

Download Latest Angry Birds Rio for Android Devices: "

Angry Birds Rio for Android is available to download now from the Android Market, for free. You can download right now the Free version of Angry Birds. Angry Birds RIO has been released last week exclusively on Amazon Appstore as paid game but were free for a limited time.

In Angry Birds Rio, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to the magical city of Rio de Janeiro, where they eventually escape their captors and set out to to save their friends, Blu and Jewel – two rare macaws and the stars of the upcoming Fox motion picture, Rio. Angry Birds Rio will pair the physics-based gameplay of the original game with unique twists based on the film.

Angry Birds Rio features:

- Two fantastic episodes with 60 exciting levels!

- Completely newachievements!

- Special Hidden fruits – discover them all!

- Put your AngryBirds skills to the ultimate test in a spectacular boss fight!

- Expect plenty more where this came from: Episodic updates throughout 2011!

Angry Birds Rio was developed for Android by Rovio Mobile Ltd.

Package name : com.rovio.angrybirdsrio.apk

File size: 12.5MB

Download the latest Angry Birds Rio for Android Devices from Android Market for Free.

Thanks

To Buy Click On Ads:

"

Best Friends Fornever #1

Best Friends Fornever #1: "

Editors note: This is something I’ve been kicking around for a while, and it’s finally time to launch. This will be a weekly (or so) series about four friends and their lives together.

Click strip for larger view.

"

In-app Billing Launched on Android Market

In-app Billing Launched on Android Market: "

[This post is by Eric Chu, Android Developer Ecosystem. —Dirk Dougherty]

Today, we're pleased to announce the launch of Android Market In-app Billing to developers and users. As an Android developer, you will now be able to publish apps that use In-app Billing and your users can make purchases from within your apps.

In-app Billing gives you more ways to monetize your apps with try-and-buy, virtual goods, upgrades, and other billing models. If you aren’t yet familiar with In-app Billing, we encourage you to learn more about it.

Several apps launching today are already using the service, including Tap Tap Revenge by Disney Mobile; Comics by ComiXology; Gun Bros, Deer Hunter Challenge HD, and WSOP3 by Glu Mobile; and Dungeon Defenders: FW Deluxe by Trendy Entertainment.

To try In-app Billing in your apps, start with the detailed documentation and complete sample app provided, which show how to implement the service in your app, set up in-app product lists in Android Market, and test your implementation. Also, it’s absolutely essential that you review the security guidelines to make sure your billing implementation is secure.

We look forward to seeing how you’ll use this new service in your apps!

"

Need a Mobile Web App Template? Mobile Boilerplate 1.0 is Here

Need a Mobile Web App Template? Mobile Boilerplate 1.0 is Here: "

Mobile Boilerplate 1.0 has just launched, providing developers with a trusted template for building mobile Web applications. The site provides templates and documentation that can help developers create cross-platform mobile Web applications which work on modern-day smartphones, but also offer fall-back support for older BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices. The project itself is not a standalone framework, but works with jQuery Mobile, Sencha Touch, Phonegap and Appcelerator.

Sponsor

The homepage for the project showcases two hilariously, but accurately, titled lists: 'Why It is Awesome' and 'Why It is Aweome-er.' Both detail the many features provided by this new toolkit, such as:

• Cross-platform compatible (Android, iOS, Blackberry, Symbian)


• CSS class to target IE Mobile 7


• Home screen icon (Android, iOS, Symbian)


• Cross browser viewport optimization for Android,iOS,IE,Nokia,Blackberry, Opera


• Optimized viewport scaling (Android, iOS, Mobile IE, Blackberry, Opera)


• Option to enable iOS start-screen in full screen mode


• Better font rendering on IE Mobile


• Adaptable markup and CSS skeleton


• CSS stylesheet for low-end devices


• Mobile sitemap


• Mobile MIME type support


• Build tool for mobile


• Integrates well with PhoneGap and Appcelerator

And then, the 'awesome-er' features like:

• HTML5 offline caching for smartphones


• Hide URL bar to maximize screen area


• Button clicks that don't wait for the default 300ms delayed click event


• Textarea autogrow


• Hide Safari browser chrome


• Mobile bookmark bubble


• Browser Database Wrapper API


• Robust optional User Agent Detection in .htaccess


• Mobile optimized default CSS


• Media queries polyfill for Windows Mobile


• Google Analytics for low end mobile devices

Version 1.0 of the toolkit offers two different downloads - the documented version with hints and links and the comment-free version. The project is also available on github here.

Not a Framework & Not a "Build Once, Deploy to 1000+ Devices" Solution

To be clear, the Mobile Boilerplate is not meant to be a 'build once, deploy everywhere' solution, but instead offers a set of best front-end (markup, CSS) practices for mobile Web developers to utilize in order to leverage the features of high-end smartphones like those running Android or the iPhone, for example, while still providing some basic support for older Web browsers.

Interested developers can learn more by visiting http://html5boilerplate.com/mobile/.

And for more inspiration, there's a thread on Quora listing several good examples of HTML5 mobile websites here.

Discuss

"

TWO DOGS DINING

7 Of Google Android’s Little Annoyances & How To Fix Them

7 Of Google Android’s Little Annoyances & How To Fix Them: "

Have you noticed there’s a few things lacking in the native Android OS which really should be there? Or are you plagued by those little Android annoyances that just shouldn’t be this much of a pain to fix? You’re not alone!

Luckily there’s not too many of these little annoyances and most of them have a free application to help us out with a quick fix. Here’s a selection of things that bug many people about Andoid, but which have a simple, easy fix you can use today.

1. Need Phone Silence At Night

There are a great many apps to make your phone silent at night. Some allow certain people’s calls to get through. Others just block out all calls, SMS and notifications. Silent Sleep is a basic, free answer to this problem. I personally think an application like this is the first thing any Android phone needs.

2. Stop Accidental Phone Calls

All it takes is one little application called Call Confirm to prevent your phone ringing people quite so easily. This is handy if you’ve got favourite people on your homepage or if you keep your phone in a bag often. All it does is pop up a “Do you really want to call? Call/Cancel” box whenever you try to make a call. Simple, yet very effective.

3. Need To Free Up Space Regularly – Clean Cache & Data

ACCleaner is an application cache and data cleaner which allows you to remove unwanted caches and data in one click or piece by piece. This can free up lots of space in an instant by using the “Clear all cached files” button.

4. Need To Organise Applications – App 2 SD

Froyo supports the moving of applications to your SD card, however it doesn’t do a great job of helping you to plan which applications to move. Using the Android interface, you could easily miss a large application on your phone simply because you didn’t realise it could be moved to the SD card. If you use a dedicated App2SD application, you’ll see clearly which apps can be moved and which apps you’ve already moved.

5. Clean Up Your Contacts

When you start using Android your contacts are imported from Gmail and they could be a complete mess. Simon explains in this article how easy it is to organise and merge contacts in Gmail so that your Android contacts are exactly what you need.

6. Need To Monitor Your Space

DiskUsage is a free application which allows you to visualise how the space on your phone is being used. It will certainly let you find those oversized files you forgot about!

7. Get Root Access (Hopefully) Without Voiding Your Warranty

Ryan may have hit upon the answer to get root access without voiding your warranty. The application SuperOneClick enables you to give root access to certain applications without having to unlock the bootloader. According to Nexus One, that won’t void your warranty. Obviously, you might want to check the case with your phone dealer before you attempt this.

More Android Apps & Tricks

If you’re looking for more great Android apps and tricks, see also:

• 5 Awesome Android Applications That Could Make Life Easier
• 10 Free Android Apps For Your New Android Mobile (Part 1)
• The 7 Best Android Forums To Learn More About Apps & Features
• 10+ Tricks To Try With The Google Android Operating System
• 10 Free Android Apps A Busy Mom Will Love
• 4 Cool Android Phone Solutions To Everyday Problems

What other annoyances have you found with your Android? Did you find a great app to fix it? Let us know in the comments!

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