Market Apps, Experiences, & Pics *Updated 12/29/09*

**xweaponx** · #1 (**permalink**) 12-28-2009, 11:06 PM

Let me state this first: I have a rooted phone and several of these apps will not work unless your rooted!

I have downloaded many market apps in an attempt to increase device usability or enhance current features. I thought I would compile a list of apps & my personal experiences of what I find to work very well. Here is a list of what I currently use and have installed:

Advanced Task Manager v3.9 - $
Cachemate v2.3.1 - need root - Free
Curvefish Battery - Free
Lookout b4.4.1 Release 4289 - Free
iMusic - Free
iVideo - Free
MixZing lite - Free
Quick Settings - Free
SU File Explorer - need root - $
RealCalc Scientific calculator - Free
MountUSB - need root - Free
Pandor Radio - Free

Handcent - A terrific "enhancement" for maintaining your SMS/MMS messaging. However I cannot justify the increased load size since the stock application works fine.
Note* handcent has given me some issues regarding notifications, duplicates, etc.
Link: http://www.handcent.com/

Dolphin Browser - I like this browser enough to have completely remove the stock browser from my phone. To enable wonderful flash viewing, you will need to set the User Agent to... um... "iPhone".

But this browser has gestures, multitouch, tabs, MANY other features and you can download YouTube videos.
Link: http://browser.mgeek.mobi/

Pandora Radio - Its been around for a while on WinMo & other platforms and has been well adopted for Android. At first I was skeptical over the interface and intuitiveness of the app but soon I realized that simplicity is a wonderful thing. It does exactly what it has always done; provide user defined music streamed from the internet! Its stable and I have not experienced a force close (FC) or other issue.
Link: http://www.pandora.com/android

Advanced Task Manager (ATM)- I like this app for maintaining processes & app installations. However, Flipzmode's thread here: http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-b...-with-android/ has been tested and confirmed by me to be very true. I still have my task manager but I have excluded all of the system ordained processes and have noticed significant difference in daily, continued use. With any tasking program, I recommend excluding these processes:

System Processes
com.smithmicro.DM - unknown
providers.htccdma - Reception service
app.vnotes - Voicemail, etc
com.htc - I believe is used for time & alarm functions

Apps
Lookout Mobile Security - Optional

Link: http://arronla.com/

iMusic - Just about the nicest app to find & download music... for free. There is also a seperate downloadable widget to place a Google Search-similar widget on the desktop. There is a upgrade past the lite version but unfortunately it requires Android 1.6 or higher but the lite works wonders!
Link: http://www.greencode.me/imusic.html

iVideo - A "sister" app to iMusic except for videos. These two apps are great and the selection of music is exceptional given the free status
Link: http://www.androidzoom.com/android_a...ideo_bjlh.html

Lookout - A highly recommended app if your a constant app-downloader/text/email sender. This program also has a backup feature that allows you to make custom backups to Lookout's server plus a phone-finding/locating service. The website is super-easy to use and the location service is just great. I couldnt believe how involved the services are. I could track my phone within 1000 meters with a Google Maps image within a couple minutes... all for free! So now you can find and pound the guy that doesn't return your $200 investment back. (Not that I condone or encourage violence, but someone is likely to get a surprise beating for failure to comply with good samaritan outlines)
Link: https://www.mylookout.com/

SU File Explorer - Personally, I have tried Root Explorer, Linda File Explorer, Astro and none are as full encompassing as SU File Explorer. It has root functions, plus a terminal. Of course it is not free but highly worth the $1.99.
Link: http://www.androlib.com/android.appl...-fbs-jmwq.aspx

Quick Settings - This program will allow you to bring every on/off, brightness, and volume function available on your phone in just one simple widget. You can also pich what controls you want displayed and place the rest under a "hidden settings" tab. Terrific app.
Link: http://beworx.com/bequick/index.html

Curvefish Battery Life - Who doesnt know about this battery metter? Customizable colors and allows for display of specific battery functions.
Link: http://curvefish.com/widgets/batterylife.htm

HTC Battery life - I do like this widget. Its clean, animated and takes up only 1x1 spacing as opposed to Curvefish's 2x2. However its larger in size (1+mb) and doesnt display extra flashy battery content. So Curvefish wins.
link: http://phandroid.com/2009/12/17/htc-...ets-on-market/

Cachemate - There is a lot of caching that goes on between emailing, internet browsing, music playing, etc. This app seeks and clears these hiding caches. It can also be customized to clear certain places and has settings for 150+ apps builtin. Between ATM & Cachemate, my Hero runs VERY smooth.
Link: http://www.androidappcritic.com/index.php/cachemate/

Fantasy Lockscreen - Another Curvefish thought, it is a awesome & clean lockscreen alternative. If your familar with the dot-slide lock function similar to some WinMo apps, then you will like this. however for me, the idea of turning on my phone, sliding down the Android lockscreen and then sliding over the dots in a preset manner and THEN getting to the desktop just seems to take a little too long for me. But if security is a issue, then I do recommend it. I removed Htc.Lockscreen from my device (245kb+\-) and have the default screen seen below.
Link: http://curvefish.com/widgets/fantasy-lockscreen.htm

RealCalc Scientific calculator - Its free, highly usable and has too many features to simply list. I removed the stock calculator app and replaced it with this one.
Link: http://brain-overspill.blogspot.com/

MountUSB - If you connect to your desktop and transfer files to and from often, this simple widget app allows you to quickly mount & un-mount your SD card for quick transfer, etc.
Link: http://www.bkmobility.com/index.php/apps.html

Spare Parts - I think just about everyone knows of this add-on for controlling hidden features & tweaking screen animations, etc. Its a small app (45kb-ish) and offers so sought after extras.
Link: http://www.androidfreeware.net/downl...are-parts.html

MixZing lite - Again I replaced another stock app with another; this music player offers huge widgets, searches album art for your automatically and has large, easy to use features which makes music playing very enjoyable.
Link: http://mixzing.com/

There are many other apps but I wanted to review the ones that I thought had more relevance. I will update this post as I continue to explore and add to my Android experience!

Please remember that this is merely a opinion-oriented thread and in no way reflects the vote of the people. With a fast growing market of Android apps, I thought a little more clarity & explanation would help others in deciding what best suits their needs.

**xweaponx** · #2 (**permalink**) 12-28-2009, 11:07 PM

I figured I would add some screenies so people would feel a little more comfortable seeing what I was talking about! I can add more if needed...

Home Screen

Default Lockscreen (Htc.Lockscreen removed)

SU File Explorer

Cachemate

Pandora Radio

Lookout

RealCalc Scientific

Dolphin Browser

MixZing lite

Advanced Task Manager

QuickSettings

iMusic

iVideo

**flipzmode** · #3 (**permalink**) 12-28-2009, 11:21 PM

Excellent, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Thanks weapon.

**xweaponx** · #4 (**permalink**) 12-28-2009, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipzmode

Excellent, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Thanks weapon.

Thanks Flipz.

I might add that your rom is the base and your various threads have contributed to the enjoyment I get from my android!

**xweaponx** · #5 (**permalink**) 12-28-2009, 11:42 PM

Tips:

Sprint Navigation - If you plan to remove this, you will need to set Google Maps as preferred app for address location & mapping through contacts, etc. Otherwise you may receive a Force Close (FC) error later as a list box pops up every time with a choice between Google Maps (GM) & Sprint Navigation (SN) until a default is selected. And if you do not select GM before removing SN, it will error for Android is trying to find SN and include it as an option...

Task Exclusion - Setting exclusion list for primary Android processes (see above for a brief list) is essential for a Task killer/Manager. In addition, adding prefered processes/apps like email, message, voice, security, etc services to exclusion will allow them to be accessed much quicker since they allowed to keep running. This way every time a task killer is activated, all primary processes & preferred apps are ready for quick access and overall system speed is increased (sounds opposite of what we have experienced but trust me)...

princem131 · #6 (**permalink**) 12-29-2009, 01:20 PM

Nice I think I'll take a look at the MixZing Lite. I think I like that default lock screen too, how easy is it to switch back if I changed my mind? could I just put the htc.lockscreen file back and reboot?

**xweaponx** · #7 (**permalink**) 12-29-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by princem131

Nice I think I'll take a look at the MixZing Lite. I think I like that default lock screen too, how easy is it to switch back if I changed my mind? could I just put the htc.lockscreen file back and reboot?

Is your phone rooted? If so, its as easy as running "cmd" in Start\"Start Search" prompt:

cd\
cd androidsdk\tools\
adb devices
adb install c:\"location path to htc.lockscreen.apk"

And reset your phone.

I copied the entire system app folder to my SD card and transferred it to my computer using SU File Explorer. This gave me essentially a backup of all my apps that I can re-install back onto my phone if needed.

MILH0U5E · #8 (**permalink**) 12-29-2009, 02:37 PM

quick question... I see your flip clock is clear, not white like the stock settings. I have the 'clear' theme installed on Fresh .07, but my clock is white. Is the clear flip clock a part of the 'clear' 1.0 theme?

Thanks for an excellent post...

princem131 · #9 (**permalink**) 12-29-2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xweaponx

Is your phone rooted? If so, its as easy as running "cmd" in Start\"Start Search" prompt:

cd\
cd androidsdk\tools\
adb devices
adb install c:\"location path to htc.lockscreen.apk"

And reset your phone.

I copied the entire system app folder to my SD card and transferred it to my computer using SU File Explorer. This gave me essentially a backup of all my apps that I can re-install back onto my phone if needed.

Hmmm smart I may check that out (I am rooted)... How does the default lock screen work with media player(s) I really like being able to access basic controls without unlocking (especially when driving) is that still an option?

I really like the MixZing app its faster than stock (EDIT: the more I play with it the more I notice the speed difference) but there are a few issues the auto playlist thing doesnt seem to work quite like I expected it seems to just make a new list for every song i play but i may need to mess with it some more. I really was hoping to utilize the album art feature but a lot of the tracks I have with out album art are mixtapes and it cant really find the covers (no biggie!). The only real issue is no support with lock screen

.... Otherwise I love it! The widgets are cool too.

I had to call my brother immediately after I installed it cuz he has the Moment and is always complaining about its wack media player and asking can he get mine, this app will be awesome for him! again Thanks and nice finds!

Oh yeah the only other complaint is that once you click a playlist it plays that list. I'd like to be able to click it and see a list of songs within it, then once one is selected they should play. Just my preference. It allows me to browse the list for a specific song with out interrupting playback

Edit: I think this was mentioned too but no more auto pause when headphones are removed either

**xweaponx** · #10 (**permalink**) 12-29-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MILH0U5E

quick question... I see your flip clock is clear, not white like the stock settings. I have the 'clear' theme installed on Fresh .07, but my clock is white. Is the clear flip clock a part of the 'clear' 1.0 theme?

Thanks for an excellent post...

Im not quite sure what 1.0 theme you are referring to. I did extract the Htc.ClockWidget.apk from my phone and edited the .png files; I simply inverted the colors of the flip clock and added some transparency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by princem131

Hmmm smart I may check that out (I am rooted)... How does the default lock screen work with media player(s) I really like being able to access basic controls without unlocking (especially when driving) is that still an option?

I really like the MixZing app its faster than stock (EDIT: the more I play with it the more I notice the speed difference) but there are a few issues the auto playlist thing doesnt seem to work quite like I expected it seems to just make a new list for every song i play but i may need to mess with it some more. I really was hoping to utilize the album art feature but a lot of the tracks I have with out album art are mixtapes and it cant really find the covers (no biggie!). The only real issue is no support with lock screen

.... Otherwise I love it! The widgets are cool too.

I had to call my brother immediately after I installed it cuz he has the Moment and is always complaining about its wack media player and asking can he get mine, this app will be awesome for him! again Thanks and nice finds!

Oh yeah the only other complaint is that once you click a playlist it plays that list. I'd like to be able to click it and see a list of songs within it, then once one is selected they should play. Just my preference. It allows me to browse the list for a specific song with out interrupting playback

Edit: I think this was mentioned too but no more auto pause when headphones are removed either

There are no longer controls for music on the lockscreen. This was handy feature with the default lockscreen but I like the idea of not mistakenly hitting music buttons by accident in my lockscreen. Now everything is secured and you have to press the "Menu" button to unlock.

So far album art has been dead on. But regarding mixtapes? MixZing has downloaded album art for any song independent of the other types of music. You will need to setup locations (more than 1 can be established!) from which MixZing is to look for music.

True, no more auto pause but the developer could release a version in the future with this included. I think I just might send him/her/them a eamil with this suggestion!