Favorite Android Apps (1 Viewer)

[Hanson]

Google Play Store is having a 25 cent app sales to celebrate their 25 billionth download. Android Central has a list of the apps they've found so far:

http://www.androidcentral.com/google-play-25-cent-apps-open-post

The biggest bargain is OfficeSuite Pro 6+. I think that's around $15 normally.

 

[Hanson]

25 cent app list growing (per Androidcentral.com):

• 
  Paper Camera
• 
  World of Goo
• 
  Cut the Rope: Experiments
• 
  doubleTwist Alarm Clock
• 
  SketchBook Mobile
• 
  Shark Dash
• 
  The Going to Bed Book
• 
  Flick Nations Rugby
• 
  FIFA 12
• 
  Dungeon Village
• 
  Mini Motor Racing
• 
  Color & Draw for kids (phone)
• 
  Color & Draw for kids (HD)

And then there's the stuff that went on sale yesterday...

• 
  Angry Birds Space Premium
• 
  Asphalt 7: Heat
• 
  The Cat in the Hat
• 
  Clouds & Sheep Premium
• 
  Draw Something
• 
  Granny Smith
• 
  Let's Create! Pottery
• 
  London Bus Checker
• 
  NFL Kicker 13
• 
  Ocean HD
• 
  OfficeSuite Pro 6+
• 
  Runtastic PRO
• 
  Sudoku
• 
  Symphony of Eternity
• 
  Tasks

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Been watching the 25 cent Android specials. Nothing mind blowing --- but
I do know there is more to come.

I did buy TASKS and I'm glad I did. Seems to be an excellent program
to keep on top of tasks -- much in thanks to the widget that you can place
on its own screen so it's there to remind you day after day.

Is there a link where we can see the updated list of 25 cent apps as it grows?
I have my eye on iFLY PRO (since I travel often). It's rather expensive
at $7 so I am hoping that gets a drop.

 

[Hanson]

Per Android Central:

Google Play's 25-cent promotional sale has gone into day 3 with a handful of new apps and games that are just about as good as free. Topping the list are:

• 
  Amazing Alex
• 
  TuneIn Radio Pro
• 
  Temple Run: Brave
• 
  HD Widgets
• 
  PicSay Pro
• 
  Monsters Ate my Condo
• 
  Flick Golf!
• 
  ezPDF Reader
• 
  Kids ABC Letters
• 
  Rebuild
• 
  ZombieSmash
• 
  mSecure Password Manager
• 
  Mass Effect Infiltrator
• 
  Dragon, Fly!

Ron, if you go to Android Central every day, they will have an article listing all the 25 cent apps. Unfortunately, they create a new article every day, so there's no one set URL to check.

 

[Citizen87645]

You can always subscribe to the site's RSS feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/androidcentral

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Cameron,

Been subscribed. Great site.

I am subscribed to just about every Apple and Android
site out there. Have a great app that sits on my Mac desktop
and just updates itself every minute with news.

 

[Hanson]

Don't know if that Let's Create Pottery app is still 25 cents, but holy shit is that fun and addictive. The entire family has been playing it all weekend. The auction feature is what elevates this "game" from s creativity app to full blown mobile crack.

 

[Hanson]

FYI - - today is the last day of the 25 cent app sale. A new batch of apps as well.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Nothing great. I just purchased on app (TASK) the other day.

 

[Hanson]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/08/native-facebook-for-android/

Final-f*cking-ly.

Now Amazon just has to make an Android streaming app and all is right with the world.

 

[Hanson]

Snapseed has been available on iOS for a while, but Google bought them and released the Android version today.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed

It's actually the best photo editor on Android out of the gate. And if you like those Instagram style filters, you can apply those without have to cut down the resolution of your pictures.

Since it's free, this is an easy program to recommend.

Oh, and good news for the iPhone/iPad crowd -- the iOS version dropped from $4.99 to FREE today.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you, Hanson. Downloaded.

Also, someone said Pixlr Express is just as good or better.

Downloaded that as well. It was Free.

 

[Hanson]

I checked out Pixlr Express, and there are more options for granular adjustments than Snapseed. However, the auto adjust in Snapseed was way better while the manual adjustments and filters in Pixlr Express left me with weird artifacts.

If you have a stylus, try out AutoFocus. It allows you to define the focus, mid, and background areas by painting them in, and then the software applies blur to the mid and background areas. This gives you the bokeh effect, where the background elements are blurred and makes the foreground pop. I sorta liked it on my SG2, but it was difficult to define the borders with my finger, and the auto feature created jagged artifacts. The stylus, however, makes painting the borders a breeze.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Thanks, Hanson. I'll let my wife know to try Snapseed then. Hopefully, she'll actually start taking more pics now that she has a smartphone w/ capable enough camera for decent snaps...
BTW, despite all the hullabaloo about the pink haze on the iPhone5 camera, I saw some nasty purple/pink haze in similar context w/ the GN2 camera when playing around w/ it in the house last night -- saw it on the camera display when ceiling light was right at/near the edge of the frame though I didn't actually take the snap to make sure it shows up in the photo. Definitely looks like what I thought about how these tiny sensors can have issues coping w/ overload/bleeding, especially in that low light, pushed ISO context, although maybe the in-camera processing might fix the blowout (to at least not take out that colored haze) to yield a plain white haze for the final pic instead -- quite possible the camera app can't handle that in realtime for composition display.
_Man_

 

[Hanson]

I've never seen the purple haze, but I have noticed that if I turn anti-shake on, it makes indoor pictures appear grainy. Maybe it's more suitable for low light pictures that would come out grainy anyway.

BTW, there are some interesting camera modes you should check out. There's a low light mode and an HDR mode, but I can't figure out if it's all post processing or if the camera is actually taking the picture differently. There's a nice burst mode, and in the video settings, there are slow-mo modes including an 8X speed, which according to math should be 240fps. The 720 X 480 resolution for this mode is way better than the 340 X 240 my P&S camera gives me at the same speed.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Unfortunately, doesn't look like the GN2 will be in my own future at this point... just my wife's, and there's no way she'll be fiddling around w/ all those settings herself. My only real use for a phone camera will likely be quick snaps for Facebook or similar and for quick video grabs -- actually, more likely the latter. I will always want DSLR quality for anything beyond that... and usually lug my kit (or at least the body+walkaround widezoom) w/ me everywhere.
OTOH, since looks like I will likely be working for NASDAQ a few months from now, maybe their company policy for phones will change that for me... and the GN2 may be a fair bit cheaper by then as well...
_Man_

 

[Hanson]

Nova Launcher just BLEW IT UP. Nova Launcher Prime had always had a feature called Swipe Actions, but I never played with them before. They recently updated the app to allow for all icons to incorporate Swipe Actions and someone mentioned how cool it was and how easy it is to incorporate. In a nutshell, long press on any app shortcut or folder icon, on any homescreen or even in the dock and select edit. One of the options is for Swipe Action. Now you can give the icon a secondary function if you swipe it up instead of tapping it. For instance, if I tap on the Maps icon, it launches maps. But if I swipe up, it launches Navigation. Swiping the camera app launches the gallery. Swiping the phone icon launches contacts. And so forth. But now I can make my folder icons more useful. I have a folder with all of my webapps. Now I can tap the folder normally or swipe to launch Facebook. And my direct dial folder swipes to call my wife. The only elements that won't swipe are widgets. If you have Nova Launcher Prime, you should check it out. If you don't have it, you should buy it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hanson, I did an update to Nova Launcher last night. Saw the "swipe action" among the list of updates. Had no idea what it meant, and if not for the fact you took the time to explain it here, would probably never have explored it. Thank you explaining it all. Sounds fantastic! I have been a huge fan of Nova Launcher and can't imagine my Note II without it. I tell you, to this day, I have not regretted switching from Apple to Android. I know I keep saying this, but the Note II is the best phone I ever owned.

 

[Hanson]

A couple of tips : 1) You can custom arrange the icons inside of folders. Move the swipe app to the front and it will give you a clue about what opens with a swipe. 2) You can edit the name of the app icon to match the swipe action. For instance, my music app is named Flashlight since that's the swipe action app.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

After owning my Android device for 3 months, I have come up with my
list of absolute "must have" apps. Hope it helps you discover some gems
that you may want to download on your own....
FAVORITE ANDROID APPLICATIONS

AQUA MAIL PRO
The worst part of the Android platform is its email. I don't think there
is really any "great" email program out there when you compare it to
Apple stock mail or Sparrow for iPhone. However, in the long list of
duds, there is one email client that stands out -- Aqua Mail. With a
terrific UI and more customization than any other email client I have
ever seen, this one is a winner. Try it for free. Pro costs $4.95.

BEAUTIFUL WIDGETS
Everyone knows about Beautiful Widgets. With its wide selection
of beautiful widgets, owning this app is a no-brainer. PAID APP

ANDROID PRO WIDGETS
Speaking of really cool widgets, there is a wealth of really nice
ones to be found here including a scrolling Facebook widget that
I readily use. PAID APP

AMBIANCE
I have become an addict for sleep machines. I can't sleep
without one. Ambiance is the KING of sleep machines. It has
thousands of sounds you can download from tranquil beaches
and rain to noisy airports and highways. When not using it as
a sleep machine you can use it as a means to introduce
background noise into your environment. PAID APP

DOUBLETWIST ALARM CLOCK
The most beautiful alarm clock interface for Android. I use
it as my default screen when I dock my device. PAID APP

NOVA LAUNCHER
Make this your default launcher for your Android phone
and you'll never want to go back to TouchWiz again. Nova
Launcher allows you to customize your phone like never before. PAID APP

NOTIFIERPRO PLUS
Miss the banner alerts on iOS? NotifierPro works with
every app on your Android device to send out alerts whenever
you receive new email, SMS, breaking news, etc. With hundreds
of banner themes and the ability to add custom sounds to each
alert, this is a valuable app to have. Please note that it will not
work with the stock Android email client. It does work with GMAIL,
AQUA MAIL and K9 MAIL. FREE AND PAID APP

VOICE SHORTCUTS LAUNCHER
You can launch any app on your phone just by speaking its name.
All you need to do is download this launcher, program it with your
voice and selected app, and then use the widget to launch your
favorite apps. FREE APP

LOOKOUT SECURITY & ANTIVIRUS
Who says the best apps aren't free? This is a must have
app for scanning all your downloads and making certain your
system is free of potential viruses. Though there is a paid
subscription option, I use all the great free options that include
a weekly email sent to my inbox alerting me of my phone's overall
status. FREE APP

LUX AUTO BRIGHTNESS
Does a far better job of adjusting your screen brightness
levels than the Android device itself. Automatically adjusts
brightness levels according to your environment. You can
even train the app to adjust to the brightness level you select
in everyday environments. FREE AND PAID

NOTIFICATION WEATHER
I love weather apps. This one resides on your notification
screen and its simplicity makes it the perfect app to check
weather conditions on the "fly." Comes in a FREE version
that works great. For $1 you can upgrade to the PRO version
which adds some nice upgraded features. FREE AND PAID

GOOGLE READER
The best RSS reader is from Google. Keep current with
all the RSS news feeds from your favorite websites thanks
to this app and a Widget that you can place on your Android
homescreen. FREE APP

WIDGETLOCKER LOCKSCREEN
What fun I have had creating my own custom lockscreen
for my Android. You will too, and I urge you to give this app
a free trial. Use this in conjunction with Zooper Widget Pro
for some really wild options that will have your friends wondering
how you put it all together. PAID APP W/FREE OPTION

DRIPPLER
Keep on top of the latest news concerning your Android device.
DRIPPLER is the leading news app for everything Android including
hardware and software reviews. Download the version tailored for
your phone or tablet. Use the widget to keep current. FREE APP

GROCERY IQ
There are many shopping list programs out there, but what I like
most about GROCERY IQ is that I can create a shopping list on
my computer (via its website) and then sync it to the app on my
phone. FREE APP

YOUMAIL VISUAL VOICEMAIL
Wow. This proved to be one of the best apps I put on my device.
When I moved from iOS to Android one of the big things I missed
was visual voice mail. I hated having to call a phone number to
get my voice messages. Well, here comes YouMail, a free service
that restores visual voice mail to your Android. It also allows you
to make personalized greetings to individual callers. There is a wealth
of features in this free app. The only thing you have to pay for, if you
wish, is voice to text translation which I don't bother with. This is an
app you need to try! FREE APP

ADDONS DETECTOR
It may not happen now. It may not have happened yet. At some
point, you are going to download a free app that pushes ads to your
notification screen. This app detects those "air push" adds and identifies
the culprit app so you can easily uninstall it. FREE APP

CRACKLE
Watch Full-length Hollywood Movies and TV shows on
your Android device. FREE APP

THE WEATHER CHANNEL
I prefer the paid iOS version over the free Android version,
but nonetheless, this remains one of the best free weather
programs for your Android device thanks to its local and national
weather and radar. FREE APP

DOLPHIN BROWSER
This is an amazingly fast browser with lots of cool options.
With the optional Dolphin Jet Pack, it is perhaps one of the
fastest browsers on the Android platform. FREE APP

MY BACKUP PRO
This is one of the most valuable apps I own. It helped
me immensely when I moved from the Galaxy S3 to the
Note II. This app backs up all your apps and their data
to an external SD card so that you can reinstall it in a new
or newly formatted phone. PAID APP

SWIFTKEY 3
By far, the best keyboard app for Android there is.
Far easier to use than the stock keyboard and you
can customize it to your heart's content. The only
reason I don't have this on my Android presently is
because I actually like Samsung's stock keyboard
in 4.1.2 and its handwriting to text conversion. However,
do give this app a try. There is a free trial version
before considering the paid. PAID APP


Pushbullet
Have a note, reminder, address, file or even
Google Map directions you need pushed from
your computer to your Android device? Pushbullet
makes those tasks simple. Simply open their
website on any computer (Mac or PC) and link
whatever you want to push to your Android phone's
notification screen for easy access. FREE APP

DROPBOX
I was hesitant to include this on my list because
I thought, "Who doesn't use this app?" Well, just
in case you have been living in a cave, Dropbox
is the essential app for cloud sharing just about any
type of file between multiple PCs, phones and tablets.
FREE APP

SKYDRIVE
Another cloud based sharing service like Dropbox.
Doesn't hurt to have more than one free storage
service, and Skydrive is an excellent second choice.
FREE APP

Price Check By Amazon
Need to check that item in a store to see if Amazon
has a lower price? Simply scan the product barcode
with your camera and instantly find out if you can save
money purchasing that product on Amazon. FREE APP

AMAZON APP STORE
You won't find this in the Google Play Store. In fact, it will take a
small amount of effort to load it on your Android device. Why have
another app store you ask? Because the Amazon App store sometimes
has cheaper app prices than Google Play -and- every day they offer a
paid app of the day for FREE. Most of the time the free apps of the day
are complete crap, but once in awhile they offer a really excellent paid
app for nothing. Read instructions on how to install it on your Android
device here.