Apps I have on my Blackberry Curve that I will need to have on my new Droid Incredible.
- Something weathery. I currently use Weatherbug on my BB, but am not all that wowed by it.
- Gmail (personal). I assume this won’t be a problem with a Droid phone …
- Exchange mail (work). The Incredible appears to be set up to do full ActiveSync with Exchange … but we actually are requiring an additional app for Android phones to allow remote self-destruct of mail data in case the phone falls into the wrong hands.
- Twitter. I currently use TinyTwitter. I’m sure there are several thousand Android Twitter clients …
- Google Talk (see #2).
- Facebook. Well, maybe not. Well, maybe so. We’ll see.
- WordPress. I have the BB WordPress client, but I’ve never actually used it for blogging.
- OpenTable. Because sometimes you need to track (or make) restaurant reservations, oui?
- LastPass. Because sometimes you need to look up your password on your mobile phone.
- I have no idea what browser the Incredible comes with. I’m currently using Opera Mini 5 (beta 2), but I’m not wed to it. (Actually, 90% of what I look up is Google-based, so I suspect I will be covered in a couple of different directions here, regardless.)
- Google Maps. Um …
- Yahoo! Messenger. Not sure I need this, actually, since I roll over to SMS / Texting when not signed into YIM at the office.
And that’s pretty much what I have on my BB. I hear there are some dozens additional apps for Android phones, many of them of reasonable cost. I suspect I will have to look into those.
N.B. I appreciate HTC trying to be very positive about their product, but, dudes, calling a phone “Incredible” is, even if accurate, not a good idea. The gods always punish hubris.
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I have an Android phone, though not the Droid. I can comment on some of your points.
1. I have the free Weather Channel app installed. I see a free version of Weather Bug in the market, as well as an “Elite” version for $1.99.
2. Gmail is pretty much mandatory on Android phones.
6. There is a free Facebook app.
10. I like the native browser better than the Opera 5 Mini I tried, which only seems to let me zoom in once. 😛
11. I use Google Maps on my phone extensively.
I use ACast to download my NPR podcasts (the NPR app did not do this when I downloaded it, but has been updated; you might want it), which I listen to on Meridian. Pandora is also available for your musical entertainment. Astro is a good file manager. Flycast streams radio stations, but no longer has the OTR stream I enjoyed, so I don’t use it much. ShopSavvy or Barcode Scanner help when shopping. If you install the Cestos, we can play quick matches. I also recommend Tricorder, a TNG app that Wil Wheaton really liked when I “scanned” him at ECCC. You can get a lightsaber app, too. 😀
2. I assumed so. Good thing I use it, then. 🙂
6. There’s one for the BB, too. I occasionally fire it up, but find it as annoying as the full PC browser version.
10. I use Opera largely because the native BB browser is godawful. Unfortunately, the most recent Opera upgrade tweaked the UI so that I can’t figure out how to use anything. Plus, it masks that I’m using a BB so when I got to mobile sites to download or check stuff, they can’t tell what sort of handset I have.
Other notes: I don’t expect I’ll be doing much podcast or music listening. I may be wrong, but it’s just not something I’ve gotten into. I will certainly look into the others.
I’d be a bit surprised if the native browser weren’t some kind of mini-Chrome.
Which reminds me: do you run the developer channel for Chrome? If you do, that provides access to some extensions that would probably greatly help your transition to that browser.
I don’t know if Chrome is ported down to Android. We’ll find out. I’ll certainly be giving whatever is on there a spin before hopping over to an alternative. (It has to be better than the native BB browser.)
Well, as of this there was no Chrome for Android. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/10-must-have-android-apps/29818
1. Something weathery. I currently use Weatherbug on my BB, but am not all that wowed by it.
I use Weatherbug and The Weather Channel app. The first one is for quick status info. The second is if I want to deep dive into weather with maps and radar and stuff.
2. Gmail (personal). I assume this won’t be a problem with a Droid phone …
Standard issue.
3. Exchange mail (work). The Incredible appears to be set up to do full ActiveSync with Exchange … but we actually are requiring an additional app for Android phones to allow remote self-destruct of mail data in case the phone falls into the wrong hands.
I wish I could get my work mail, but my company won’t allow it (officially). The weird thing is that it works when I am in the office on the wifi, but when I leave, it won’t update…even if I VPN.
4. Twitter. I currently use TinyTwitter. I’m sure there are several thousand Android Twitter clients …
I use Twidroid. Basic, plain twit client.
5. Google Talk (see #2).
I have it on the phone, but I never use it. I do, however, have Google Voice replacing my standard voice message client. I get text messages and emails without even listening to the VM.
6. Facebook. Well, maybe not. Well, maybe so. We’ll see.
The FB client app is ok. Not great.
7. WordPress. I have the BB WordPress client, but I’ve never actually used it for blogging.
I haven’t even considered blogging from the phone. Hrm…
8. OpenTable. Because sometimes you need to track (or make) restaurant reservations, oui?
Yes, there’s an Android app for that. I also use Urbanspoon and Yelp. The Places Directory that comes with Android is actually pretty good, too.
9. LastPass. Because sometimes you need to look up your password on your mobile phone.
I use Keepass.
10. I have no idea what browser the Incredible comes with. I’m currently using Opera Mini 5 (beta 2), but I’m not wed to it. (Actually, 90% of what I look up is Google-based, so I suspect I will be covered in a couple of different directions here, regardless.)
The browser in my droid is Google…pretty sure it’s Chrome.
11. Google Maps. Um …
Built in. I really like the Navigator and have used its voice driving directions quite a lot.
My favorite apps not on this list:
Locale – Allows you to program the phone based on timeframe, where it is located and orientation. I use it to automatically mute the phone in certain places (like church) in case I forget, but its real value is in turning off stuff when I’m not using it (like in the middle of the night) and when I set it face down.
Pandora – The real reason to have a smart phone is to plug it into your car stereo and never turn the radio on again. Ever.
Google Listen – For the podcasts that I listen to whilst commuting.
Wapedia – Wikipedia for Android
NewsRob – Google Reader app
Flixster Movies
Google Sky Map – Just too cool for words.
Let me say that Locale sounds Teh Awesome. I’ve been very unhappy with the inability to set profiles on the Blackberry based on date-time (like I could on the Palm); adding in location (“When at church, go to buzz mode”) and orientation (“When the phone is set face-down, go to buzz mode”) is brilliant.
The others will definitely bear review.
Oh, and I almost forgot about OpenHome (home page replacement), Advanced Task Killer, APNDroid (one touch turn on/off the battery-sucking network), and Mobile Defense (LoJack for the phone).
AppBrain is a site that syncs your Android apps between a web site and the phone and gives suggestions for more toys.
I’ve got a mobile phone. It’s, er, somewhere around here, I definately had it on me Sunday, just in case my wife needed me while I was at the wargames show. Once every 4-6 months I charge it up and ring it from my home phone, just to make sure the SIM stays active, and they don’t steal my number back, again.
I keep a little man in a box by my bed to tell me the weather when I wake up. He also manages to get into the box in the bathroom as well. A freind of his lives in the bigger box with a glass side, and they both tell me the weather frequently. I sometimes use ‘Windows 0.0 Original’. Basically Bill Gates (I assume its Bill, it is called a window) has cut a large glazed hole in the side of the building, and through that I get completely upto date information about outside.
The trouble with maps is that the screen on a mobile is quite small – even the big ones. And subject to power loss. If only someone could find a way to transfer these onto some form of pressed plant matter of a usable, yet still portable, size. I would say “At las, here is something I need”
Who needs to TRACK a restaurent reservation? “Your table is just outside Swindon, and should arrive at 7:30. Unfortunately your starter, napkins and flatware is being rerouted via Thirsk.”
Right — next thing you know you’re going to be trying to convince me that you keep a calendar scribbled on paper hanging on a wall somewhere, or something equally improbable.