The Android App Thread

[kutulu]

Rooting Apps:
Superuser Permissions
Root Explorer
Terminal Emulator

I used these to delete the horrible and loud startup and shutdown audio files as well as to delete just about all of the crapware the phone came with.

Others I like:

RealCalc - scientific calculator
Gas Record - track fuel MPG
Audio Manager - easy way to change volume levels

[Shadowex3]

With the Froyo update removing the control buttons at the top of the notification bar I've had to resort to a few stopgaps, I've also picked up another app or two since then.

I now use Appbrain instead of (or rather with) the default market, which gives me a MUCH better idea of how good an app is and much better searching. I've also replaced GPS/Bluetooth/Wifi controls with a (more accurate) Battery Monitor Widget that sits quietly on my primary screen, switched from launcherpro for several reasons to the newer and imho much faster Zeam, and lastly I've got Android Agenda (a widget) sitting on my main screen as a 4x2 widget. It's a nifty little calendar+agenda widget that ties right into just about anything directly.

The first one is a simple app that lists what apps are running. You check the ones you want to "kill" and press the kill button and it shuts them down. I'm still learning how Android works, but it's my understanding that the OS automatically multitasks apps when you launch them. That is to say, if you launch an app, it will in most cases reside in memory until you actively close them somehow. Advanced Task Killer is a quick and easy way to drop things out of memory to keep things fast and to save your battery power.

Your understanding is correct but your conclusion is wrong. Apps are stored in memory, yes, but it doesn't work like a computer. You're not losing any extra juice having that memory full, it saves processor power to have things stored that way, and if necessary android will intelligently close things by itself.

You can find many dozens of explanations ranging from about as detailed as my previous sentence to flowcharts of the actual underlying processes but here's a nice middleground between all technical explanation and "bad droid".

A short highlight:

"Task killers make my battery last longer" - FALSE!

Task killers actually do the opposite, they make your battery life shorter! Lets look at what exactly you are doing when you kill a task. You are completely removing it from memory. Ok, so compared to leaving it in memory you are expecting to save battery? No, whether or not that bit of memory is used by an app or is free, the same amount of battery is going to be used. You are actually reducing battery life because when you next go to use that app, you have to fully reopen it, this uses more memory than simply bringing it out of memory.
"Task killers make my phone run faster" - FALSE

Task killers cause your phone to become unstable and jerky. Killing processes is bad because a process may be shared between applications. When you kill it, you are causing disruption within the OS, forcing apps to reopen, to reopen a shared process.
"There is no exit button, thats why i use a task killer" - FALSE

There is no exit button because android was designed to never have the need for a user to close apps. If an app needs closing, android will do this itself.

Also keep an eye on data usage when you're wirelessly tethering with something like barnacle, if you start youtubing that way on a laptop odds are your Cellco will notice the massive data use and guess what you're up to. They'll never be able to PROVE it since its all the same on their end but they've got enough regulatory capture that the contracts are basically one-sided anyway.

[SecretMethod70]

shadowex: Not sure why you left in the first place, but you might want to retry LauncherPro once Federico finishes the rewrite. As of Jan 10, development on Zeam has been halted while the developer focuses on real life.

---------- Post added at 12:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

Another great Android app is Audiogalaxy, which allows you to stream music directly from your PC. I don't even store music on my SD card anymore, because I have access to everything that is saved on my desktop computer, no matter where I am (so long as the desktop is on and connected to the internet). There are other apps that do the same thing, but Audiogalaxy is great for its simplicity.

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by Shadowex3

Your understanding is correct but your conclusion is wrong. Apps are stored in memory, yes, but it doesn't work like a computer. You're not losing any extra juice having that memory full, it saves processor power to have things stored that way, and if necessary android will intelligently close things by itself.

You can find many dozens of explanations ranging from about as detailed as my previous sentence to flowcharts of the actual underlying processes but here's a nice middleground between all technical explanation and "bad droid".

Thanks for the info. I'm an Android newb.

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:25 PM ----------

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

Another great Android app is Audiogalaxy, which allows you to stream music directly from your PC. I don't even store music on my SD card anymore, because I have access to everything that is saved on my desktop computer, no matter where I am (so long as the desktop is on and connected to the internet). There are other apps that do the same thing, but Audiogalaxy is great for its simplicity.

This is fantastic. They have it for Mac too. I'm firing it up right now!

Though it would be nice if you could stream locally via wireless connection (i.e. not waste bandwidth when you are at home). EDIT: Wait...it lists wi-fi in the description. Does this mean a wi-fi only option?

Also, there's this:
My public library recently gave all members access to the Naxos Music Library, which allows you to stream hundreds of thousands of tracks of classical and jazz music.

They have an Android app too. It's handy, as it has built-in playlists that work a lot like browsing genres, etc., in your iPod. Add in a search feature for their entire library, and bam! I now have less of a need to load classical music up on my iPod or my phone. I have the app on both devices.

[Shadowex3]

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

shadowex: Not sure why you left in the first place, but you might want to retry LauncherPro once Federico finishes the rewrite. As of Jan 10, development on Zeam has been halted while the developer focuses on real life.

A number of reasons. LP has been getting more bloated and unresponsive with each patch and on top of that there's the "HAHA GOTCHA BITCH" smug nature of only telling you which features are pay-only AFTER you try to use them combined with the recent phone hijacking mess.

Now I do try to follow Hanlon's Law wherever possible and not assume malice where stupidity would suffice but both of those TOGETHER points to a developer that is just the wrong combination of careless and entitled.

[jewels]

What are your favorite chat clients? I've tried Meebo, Trillian, eBuddy and not thrilled with any of them. I'm debating trying something called fring, but guess it's probably more of the same.

I want to be able to chat with friends and family and, of course, everyone uses a different service. I'm not thrilled with the idea of trying to recall a username or password from years ago or setting up a new account at each one just to do this.

Am I dreaming, not doing it right, or is there really a client that will allow me to do this from my Android?

[Shadowex3]

I tried meebo but it kept losing connection and not automatically reconnecting to whatever client got dropped so now I use Ebuddy, which imho has a better interface as well. Ofc for some reason ebuddy won't play any sounds even when I tell it to... but at least it vibrates.

Also Ebuddy and Meebo both allow you to set up one main account with each of their services that auto-logs into all of the individual clients.

[kutulu]

I got Winamp for Andriod today, it is much better than the stock player. The stock player wasn't easy to navigate, this is much better. It works perfectly with the bluetooth audio and steering wheel controls on my car as well.

[animosity]

I have an HTC Incredible. It looks like I am late to the thread here, but I would recommend rooting to anyone with an Android phone. Rooting is not very difficult with all of the tools out there today, e.g. unrEVOked.com, and it allows for Custom ROMs which can change your okay phone into your dream machine!

As far as apps go--it looks like all of the great ones have been posted, but I have found appbrain to be the best app/market for finding new applications.

Clockr is my favorite clock widget. It displays the time in text, e.g. nineFORTYtwo

Titanium Backup is a must for all Rooted phones.

Google Voice is great for anyone who wants to save money on texting and wants a better phone experience in general.

Originally Posted by Shadowex3

I tried meebo but it kept losing connection and not automatically reconnecting to whatever client got dropped so now I use Ebuddy, which imho has a better interface as well. Ofc for some reason ebuddy won't play any sounds even when I tell it to... but at least it vibrates.

Also Ebuddy and Meebo both allow you to set up one main account with each of their services that auto-logs into all of the individual clients.

Trillian is the best multi chat program, imo... but I just use gtalk.

[SecretMethod70]

The stock Android browser is nice and has always gotten the job done for me, but I recently tried two browsers which are competing for default status on my phone:

Dolphin Mini

Miren Browser

Both browsers are attractive, relatively lightweight, and add features without sacrificing simplicity. I strongly encourage anyone to try them out and decide which one is best for you.

If you're looking for a more full-featured browser - including extensions - then you should check out Dolphin HD if you haven't already. It's a little clunky in my opinion, and the Dolphin Mini UI is more attractive to me, but it's definitely the most feature-full browser I've tried.

Opera and Firefox are both promising, but neither is ready for prime time on Android for a variety of reasons. Skyfire might be good if you're looking for a social browser with Facebook integration, otherwise there's no reason to use it over the others mentioned above.

[Shadowex3]

I used to use Opera but on 2.2 the stock browser really is more or less the fastest in most situations.

[Daniel_]

Originally Posted by Shadowex3

I used to use Opera but on 2.2 the stock browser really is more or less the fastest in most situations.

Seconded - I deleted Opera yesterday, as I realised I hadn't used it since the upgrade to Froyo on my HTC Desire.

[SecretMethod70]

I don't know if Dolphin Mini or Miren are faster than the stock browser, but they're not any slower as far as I can tell. The main appeal, for me, is that they add features without sacrificing the agility of the stock browser. Much, MUCH easier tab management (which is almost non-existent in the stock browser), a speed dial feature for easier access to common websites without wasting homescreen real estate, better data management, private browsing mode (in the case of Dolphin Mini), and a whole bunch of other features - all while remaining lightweight and fast.

Don't get me wrong, I think the stock browser is great and I would always return to it after trying out different browsers... which is why it's a big deal for me to recommend Dolphin Mini or Miren. They're literally the only two alternative browsers I've ever considered using full time. I just haven't settled yet on which one it will be.

[kutulu]

My problem with the stock browser on 2.2 is that the number of tabs is limited to 4.

[SecretMethod70]

Well I know for a fact that Dolphin Mini supports infinite tabs. I'm not sure if there is a limit to how many tabs can be used in Miren, but I if there is I haven't run into it.

-----

On the music player front, I still like Winamp the best, but Songbird recently came out with a beta of their upcoming Android app and it looks promising. Even RealPlayer's Android app is pretty nice. Neither supports last.fm scrobbling at this time, though, and that is a make-or-break feature for me.

[SecretMethod70]

Here's a nice and free customization icon I've just started using: Desktop VisualizeR - Android app on AppBrain

Since I've been using AppBrain instead of the Android Market, Plume instead of Twitter, and now either Miren or Dolphin Mini instead of the stock browser, I've had to look at the app-specific icons instead of the function-based icons that Android came with. No more!

Desktop VisualizeR allows you to customize the icon with your shortcut, and it even allows you to use icons from other installed applications. Now AppBrain uses the standard Market icon, Plume uses the standard Twitter icon (it is installed as well), and when I decide on Miren or Dolphin Mini I will set my choice to use the standard internet icon.

It has features beyond that which I have yet to explore. There are other popular apps with the same functions - BetterCut comes to mind - but the nice thing about Desktop VisualizeR is that it's free. If you've ever wanted a little more power to customize your homescreens, definitely check this out.

[Baraka_Guru]

I'm pleased with the Goodreads Droid app.

It has a barcode scanner.

Yes, I'm pleased.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

I'm pleased with the Goodreads Droid app.

It has a barcode scanner.

Yes, I'm pleased.

Looks nice, I'll have to check that out. I wish there were a LibraryThing app

EDIT: Oops, didn't realize it was a paid app. I don't use Goodreads so it's not worth it right now, but maybe if I start in the future.

[Baraka_Guru]

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

Looks nice, I'll have to check that out. I wish there were a LibraryThing app

EDIT: Oops, didn't realize it was a paid app. I don't use Goodreads so it's not worth it right now, but maybe if I start in the future.

I just started using Goodreads. I tried it out when the Visual Bookshelf app/site was temporarily down. I had visited the website several times from random Google searches about books, and I finally gave it a whorl.

I've used LibraryThing in the past. I like Goodreads very much. I don't recall liking LibraryThing as much, and I like Goodreads more than Visual Bookshelf.

[jewels]

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

I like Goodreads very much.

Thanks for the tip. I've had a Shelfari account for years but like this better.

[kutulu]

Downloaded Dolphin mini, I like it so far.

[laconic1]

I have a Dinc, and rooting it was worthwhile just to remove all the stock bloatware. 19 stock apps that couldn't be removed otherwise really cuts down on the clutter. The only app I have that hasn't been mentioned here is the TeslaLed flashlight app. It is brighter than the stock flashlight which is handy for those times where you just need a flashlight for less than the minute it would take to go and find a real flashlight. I'm having a hard time getting wireless tether to work though, it would be nice to have as a backup internet access source, since I'm at the outer reaches of my apartment complexes free wifi.

[kutulu]

I'm getting rid of dolphin. Recently it started having to reload all tabs when I go back and forth between apps. It also started reloading previously closed tabs when I start the browser. Hopefully miren will be better.

I also flashed the bionix-v rom and I love it so far

[Shadowex3]

I've made some changes as well: I've given up on Zeam as I was constantly getting low memory warnings from Tasker with it and the development's gone dead.

I ditched appbrain's app because it never seemed to work anymore, wouldnt install or update anything, and the fast web installer STILL didnt work so with the new market improvements it's fairly redundant on the phone (still wins on the computer though).

I'm also growing more pissed off with ebuddy every day. Aside from the fact that it never seems to consistently vibrate OR play a sound and even when it does often plays the sound at a ridiculously low volume it's also had this horrible set of facebook chat glitches where it floods the phone with DOZENS of messages (my record was near 100 for over 12 people, nearly crashed my phone) from every single person I've spoken to in weeks and constantly randomly resends me the last few things someone said.

In terms of new apps I've got Connectbot for SSHing and two sleep related apps: Sleep Bot Tracker which records when I sleep and for how long so I can track sleep debt and sleeping patterns, and ElectricSleep which is supposed to be a movement sensing alarm clock that wakes me up when I'm in a good stage of sleep... although I can't tell you how well it works because I keep waking up like clockwork between 8 and 9 every day at only 6ish hours of sleep (or less). Maybe it's just really good... or there's something up with me since my sleep motion graph looks like a night-long earthquake with no breaks.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally Posted by kutulu

I'm getting rid of dolphin. Recently it started having to reload all tabs when I go back and forth between apps. It also started reloading previously closed tabs when I start the browser. Hopefully miren will be better.

I also flashed the bionix-v rom and I love it so far

I've been having that issue as well and also solved it by switching to Miren.

[kutulu]

Miren started annoying me also. The problem is that if you double tap a tab it closes it. Sometimes it doesn't respond and I tap a second time, this then causes the tab to be closed.

I just switched to dolphin HD, I'll let you know what I think after I have some time to evaluate it.

[Shauk]

Digitally Imported Android App Pleased with this so far.

[Radio Monk33]

Cool thread..

For those that are new to the system but want to learn more and how to tinker with your phone, check out XDA...great source for unlocking the potential of your smart phone. Brilliant folks there.

As for browsers I'm pretty happy with stock, but I do use dolphin HD occasionally. I used Mirren for a while but found the data usage surprisingly high.

[kutulu]

I was using winamp as my music player and although it was a significant improvement over the stock music player, there were still some annoyances. The biggest issue I had was that when I'd scroll through the albums in the library the app would freeze up every 10 albums or so. Extremely annoying. Also, if you enable the lock screen during playback, you still need to clean the stock lock screen after you clear it.

The other day I downloaded the trial of PowerAMP and I'm very impressed. I don't have the album scrolling problems I had with Winamp. The lock screen allows you to bypass teh android lock screen so that is more convenient, and even better, the lock screen has a bunch of controls on it that winamp didn't have. With Winamp you have play/pause, prev track, next track. Power amp allows you to FF or Rew, skip to next o previous folder, repeat, and shuffle. It also displays the album art much better. You can also rewind from teh start of one track back through the previous track, something I've missed since I moved from CD's to MP3's. Playback isn't gapless but the pause is very short.

For settings, there is a 10 band eq with preamp control. You can save custom eqs and have them apply exclusively to headphones, bluetooth, etc. There are tons of customization options, it is intimidating at first as was navigating but now that I've gotten used to it I like it more than winamp.

The trial lasts 2 weeks and the app is about $5. I don't usually get paid apps but I'll make an exception for this.

[SecretMethod70]

I liked PowerAmp when I tried it, but not enough to pay for it. I've been using Songbird since they came out with an Android app and I have been pleased with it. There are still some features I'd like to see them add, but I'll stick around and see where the development goes.