Android : my 15 Essential Apps

I kinda fell in love with my HTC Hero which is a Google Android OS based device : I personally believe Android to be the future of cellphones.

Today’s an entry to share what apps I’m using, in case it can help someone ! If you have some advices to give or apps to recommend, be free to leave a comment !

Since I have the HTC Hero, I’m using the Sense UI which features some nice applications. But I can’t tell which one belongs to Sense and which one doesn’t, so I may forgot some very cool apps in my list (like the Wifi/Mobile Internet/GPS toogle widgets). Sorry for that !

If you want to quickly download those app, first download Barcode Scanner app from the Android Market, then use it to scan the QRCode (see below).

The Essential Apps

First of all, there are apps that enhance your Android experience so greatly they are mandatory to install.

Messaging/Internet

chompSMS : the best replacement for default sms/mms messaging app. The UI is highly customizable (colors and background) and quite nicely arranged. It’s easy to use and simply integrates with all your Android phone.

GMail : of course, if you are not a GMail user, this app is pointless. If you are, it is greater than the default mail app since it has push-mail feature (you receive your mail in real-time). Every feature of Gmail is also available (labels, starred, etc…).

GMail is included by default in Android, but might get removed by local provider (like in France, hate you Orange). In this case, you have to download the apk file (google it, or ask me) and install it with your computer through the Android SDK.

Meebo IM : great app when you are using more than a single instant messaging client. I personally have GTalk and MSN accounts (though I don’t use the latter that much). The official GTalk app is nice too, but it has a hard time with syncing and refreshing the contact list (for me).

Swift : my favorite Twitter client so far, way faster and cleaner than Twidroid. And when I mean faster, it’s REALLY faster. The fastest client I tried, actually. It is neat, maybe not that handsome, but it does quite well the job. It only lacks a refresh button (or maybe I didn’t get how I can manually refresh without quiting the app ?).

Dolphin Browser : internet browser replacement. It got updated yesterday, and before that I was thinking to switch back to Chrome Light, the default Android browser. But the update for Dolphin brought speed, UI improvements, and a lot more stability. One thing that lacks Chrome Light is redirecting Youtube link to the Youtube official application : Dolphin does it !

User Interface

Simeji : a virtual keyboard replacement with Japanese IME input implemented and some cool features like automatic smileys, etc… Actually, the Sense default keyboard is a really great one, way better than the Android default, but responsiveness is not perfect. Another really awesome app is Better Keyboard, which is near from perfect, but it’s not free (well, it’s worth the price though). But I needed Japanese input so here goes Simeji.

LockBot : a lockscreen replacement. I don’t know why but changing desktop and lockscreen wallpapers with the Sense UI makes the pictures’ quality really bad. LockBot Free is a great solution to that problem (at least for the lockscreen), plus you can use the other Android version lockscreen (Eclair, Flan) or even the Iphone lockscreen. You should also try Wallpaper Set and Save if you want full quality wallpaper desktop !

Android Agenda Widget : the default calendar widget is not that good. AAW is an useful and customizable widget that you place on your desktop and then get easily reminded of all your appointments !

Camera Zoom FX : the single thing I badly hate on the HTC Hero, and which makes that phone NOT perfect, is its camera, hardware AND software. Seriously, I didn’t understand how to use the default Camera app : how do you focus ? oO Camera ZOOM FX takes very high quality photos and intelligently auto-focus ! You can also add a lot more of add-ons to get nice effects to add to your photos. It’s a paid app, but worth the deal !

System Tools

Process Manager : what Android really lacks is a task manager. Hence there are lots of apps like Taskiller, Advanced Task Manager, etc… Most of them are free and great. But I think the best task manager so far is Process Manager (available in free (ad-featured) or paid version). It features the basic options like ignoring apps, kill-all, etc… but what makes it the best is that you can also manage phone processus, boot apps, and system files that are running. Another great feature is the possibility to uninstall any apps very quickly (PM loads the application list way faster than Android). Process Manager also includes a widget you can place on the desktop to easily and quickly kill any apps. This last feature makes it all in my opinion.

Android System Info : great app if you want to know everything about your beloved phone !

3G Watchdog : an useful app to keep eyes on your Mobile Internet usage, in case your “Unlimited data plan” is not that unlimited. @_@

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Get a better Android experience !

Then there are some useful and funny apps. Here are those I use the most.

Google Maps : not that essential when living in a city like Paris (there are maps everywhere you go) but it can be pretty useful at some times. GPS+Internet hugely needed though. An offline feature would have been so better (I mean offline storable maps). I think Mapdroid do that. Anyway, Android Google Maps is the same as Computer version : satellite, land, traffic and street view all available.

Google Maps is included by default in Android, but might get removed by local provider (like in France, hate you Orange). In this case, you have to download the apk file (google it, or ask me) and install it with your computer through the Android SDK.

Places Directory : another Google app that lists and localizes every restaurants/shops/bars/coffee/etc near you with the GPS. Great to find restaurants !

Reality Browser (Layar) : a wonderful (essential) app I use as my GPS when walking in Paris. It uses Augmented Reality function to show what you are looking for while you are filming where you are. You can find address, restaurants, shops, etc… by using the Local “Layer” (which is based on Google Maps data). There are a lot more of feature like finding twitters that had GPS-located their tweets (well, it’s a bit useless but there are some great other layer to enable). Here’s a video showing how it works : click.

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Hope it helped ! Don’t hesitate to leave your recommendations !