Considering Android - Need Opinions Of Apps

[rebecker]

I'm currently using WM6.1 but am considering a new phone running Android. However, I a bit hestitant because I've gotten use to certain applications. I would like opinions from current Android users regarding the following kinds of apps (in no particular order of importance) that may be available for the Android:

1. GPS mapping similar to Tom Tom.
2. International currency converter.
3. Sudoku.
4. News reader similar to Viigo.
5. Worldwide tide chart.
6. Quick hand written memo app with alarm function.
7. App to change settings like alarm volumes, vibrate/sound function, etc. based on time of day or phone operation.
8. Screen lock.
9. Worldwide weather with radar.
10. Browser similar to Opera Mini.
11. Music player that syncs with iTunes playlists similar to Pocket Tunes. Must play mp3 and m4a files.
12. Sync MS Outlook to Android.
13. Opinion of whether an app is needed to get full access to Calendar and Task items. Possibily something similar to Pocket Informant.

Thanks in advance.

-Bob-

 

[TheBrit]

I can answer the questions I know the answer to:

1. CoPolit live.
2. Currency Converter: Plenty of these on the Android Market. Many free.
3. Sudoku. See 2.
4. News. See 2 again but don't know if they are like Viigo.
5. Tide Chart. A few in Android Market. Not sure if they do what you want.
6. Notepad with alarm. Many notepads in Market with differing options. With alarm? Don't know.
7. Settings app. See 2.
8. Screen lock. Yes.
9. Weather with Radar. Many weather apps and widgets. Aviation Weather has a radar option and other might too.
10. Browser. I use the one built into the Hero. It works well. Others are available.
11. Don't know about sycing with iTunes specifically but several music players available. Look around the forums for an iTunes syncing solution.
12. Yes. Hero comes with a desktop app called HTC Sync which is supposed to work a bit like ActiveSync. Also, you can sync OutLook on your PC with Google Calendar which syncs with the calendar on Android. It works well like that for me.
13. Don't really know the answer here as I have the functionality I want on the Hero. There are many apps in the Android Market which might add any extra functionality that you require. There are widgets that can display your agenda on the home screen.

Hope this helps.

 

[justjimjpc]

I'm currently using WM6.1 but am considering a new phone running Android. However, I a bit hestitant because I've gotten use to certain applications. I would like opinions from current Android users regarding the following kinds of apps (in no particular order of importance) that may be available for the Android:

1. GPS mapping similar to Tom Tom.
2. International currency converter.
3. Sudoku.
4. News reader similar to Viigo.
5. Worldwide tide chart.
6. Quick hand written memo app with alarm function.
7. App to change settings like alarm volumes, vibrate/sound function, etc. based on time of day or phone operation.
8. Screen lock.
9. Worldwide weather with radar.
10. Browser similar to Opera Mini.
11. Music player that syncs with iTunes playlists similar to Pocket Tunes. Must play mp3 and m4a files.
12. Sync MS Outlook to Android.
13. Opinion of whether an app is needed to get full access to Calendar and Task items. Possibily something similar to Pocket Informant.

Thanks in advance.

-Bob-

You can search the link below to see what the apps in the Market hold for you ....

Cyrket - Android Market Browser

 

[Andronix]

10. Opera mini for Android exist.

 

[justjimjpc]

10. Opera mini for Android exist.

and here is a link >>> Cyrket - Opera Mini

 

[rebecker]

You can search the link below to see what the apps in the Market hold for you ....

Cyrket - Android Market Browser

Thanks for your response. Very helpful.

-Bob-

 

[rebecker]

I can answer the questions I know the answer to:

11. Don't know about sycing with iTunes specifically but several music players available. Look around the forums for an iTunes syncing solution.

Does the newest Android OS include a music player? If so, what file types does it play?

Thanks for your response.

-Bob-

 

[rebecker]

and here is a link >>> Cyrket - Opera Mini

Thanks. While the user reviews for this version seem a bit negative, it's encouraging to see that the app is being developed.

-Bob-

 

[KlaymenDK]

6. Quick hand written memo app with alarm function.

By hand written, do you mean handwriting recognition (I don't know WM so I don't know if it supports that)? Well, Android is finger-operated (not stylus) and has a lot of swiping motions -- so no handwriting recognition built-in, and probably very difficult to pull off anyway. (...sigh. That's the #1 feature I miss (out of several) from my old Palm...)

 

[rebecker]

That's the #1 feature I miss (out of several) from my old Palm...)

Please tell me about the "several" features you miss.

And yes, regarding notes; I have a little app that allows me to use my finger nail to write short notes like "Call Pete" and then set an alarm. As I understand you, there is no capability to "draw" using an Android phone, correct?

Thanks for your response.

-Bob-

 

[KlaymenDK]

As I understand you, there is no capability to "draw" using an Android phone, correct?

Well, there are finger painting apps out there (of which I haven't tried any), but there is nothing that does character recognition. As far as I know --- if anyone knows differently, please do speak up!

Please tell me about the "several" features you miss.

Ooh boy, don't get me started on this one!
Caveat: This is not a troll or flame post! It was asked for. Mind you, I knew from the start that what I was after was a pda with a built-in phone, but they don't exist any more; all you can get now is a phone with a lot of pda-like features. It's just not the same thing.

Here goes:
#1 As mentioned, handwriting recognition. On my Palm T3 I was able to write nearly as fast as with regular pen&paper, which is 3-4x faster than what I can type on this tiny, slow, dumb, qwerty softkeyboard (the fact that I use Dvorak don't exactly help either).

#2 Responsiveness. Going from a real-time embedded device OS to a Java-based OS running in a VM really shows a difference, and not in a good way. Apps start afresh (akin to MS Word), instead of just swapping on-screen from static ram.

#3 Slow operation: application launch. I know what I want, I just need to find it. I thought that the three home screens were a bit over the top (and the Hero's seven very much so), but I find that not being able to sort or categorize apps effectively requires you to put it on the desktop if you want quick access to it. My T3 had 5 (programmable!) hardbuttons for starting apps blindfolded, plus the 5-way navigator etc. All the Android phones have exactly two -- both hardwired to the phone and home apps, respectively.

#4 Slow operation: ui design. The mere act of operating Android is simply slow. To a large extent, this seems to be due to the capacitative (that is, finger-operated) screen, which requires all UI components to be rather a lot larger than a stylus-based UI. So many things are relegated to the menu instead of having an on-screen button (in GMail the classic buttons, while shown, are placed way down at the bottom of the mail). Another poor design decision is the tendency to bury option lists in submenus requiring at least thee taps instead of using a combo box requiring just one.

#5 (lack of) Exhaustive Local Search: Oh sure, there's a widget for doing a Google search, which you might as well do from the browser, but where is the exhaustive local search? Well, there is none, and there won't be, because the Android security model prevents apps from looking at each other's data unless they explicitly publish it (guess: does the Android phone book publish all its data?).

#6 Virtual keyboard: The virtual keyboard, especially along with the suggestion bar, leaves very little room for the text being edited, because when the keyboard opens the normal app ui is replaced with a (what's left of) full-screen text box representing the field you're in. I know I could have chosen a first-generation HTC G1 instead of a Galaxy, but I was not expecting this to be so severe.

#7 Poor GMail support: If GMail needs to sync, please tell me why you can't use the mail app while offline?? If the GMail-on-the-web address book has all these fields, why does the GMail phone book not even show them?

... I told you to not get me started!

 

[Andronix]

#3 create folders on the desktop and group apps

#4 "Toggle settings"

#5 "Moov" app

#7 google announced offline app

other things are matter of preference

 

[rebecker]

Well, there are finger painting apps out there (of which I haven't tried any), but there is nothing that does character recognition. As far as I know --- if anyone knows differently, please do speak up!

Actually, I'm not looking for character recognition. See the attached screenshot. What that app offers is the ability to set an alarm to bring the note back up as a reminder.

I would like others to comment on the speed issue. I'm using a 2 year old HTC TyTN II which I am very happy with from a speed standpoint. My interest in a new phone is because of the tiny screen, I'm looking for a 480x640 minimum screen size. There are also some issues with playing music and watching videos that I am hoping to see improved with a newer phone. Can those of you who switched from Windows Mobile to Android tell me your impressions; improvements and disappointments?

Lastly, am I correct in my view that there are two Android operating systems, versions 1 and 2? Is there a marked improvement from 1 to 2?

Again, I appreciate the respnses.

-Bob-

 

[TheBrit]

Current version is 1.5 and in answer to your earlier question: there are several music player apps.

 

[KlaymenDK]

(Sorry Bob, I really don't want to hijack your thread. It's just that these suggestions are not helpful

#3 create folders on the desktop and group apps
#4 "Toggle settings"
#5 "Moov" app
#7 google announced offline app

#3: folders are worse than the bottom drawer, because they need to be manually closed when returning to the home screen. The drawer itself should have categorisation or sorting (say, by most-launched, most-recently-used, or spent-most-time-in).
#4: Say what? I love Toggle Settings -- but it does not magically fix the UI of the entire OS. Compare the amount of controls you can fit onto a screen (without cluttering!) in Android, PalmOS, and WinMo. I'm sorry, but in Android, everything is just plain oversized (and perforce nested too deeply).
#5: Nope. Moov is merely a front-end for a bunch of custom web searches; it can't even find a word in the "Notes" field of a contact, to say nothing of what's in various Notepad applications. That's a long way from being an exhaustive local search.
#7: Right, Google announced this in January, but searching for android offline gmail will only turn up a single demo from February -- it's not implemented in Android yet.

But I do appreciate you taking time for the suggestions!

 

[Andronix]

(Sorry Bob, I really don't want to hijack your thread. It's just that these suggestions are not helpful

#3: folders are worse than the bottom drawer, because they need to be manually closed when returning to the home screen. The drawer itself should have categorisation or sorting (say, by most-launched, most-recently-used, or spent-most-time-in).
#4: Say what? I love Toggle Settings -- but it does not magically fix the UI of the entire OS. Compare the amount of controls you can fit onto a screen (without cluttering!) in Android, PalmOS, and WinMo. I'm sorry, but in Android, everything is just plain oversized (and perforce nested too deeply).
#5: Nope. Moov is merely a front-end for a bunch of custom web searches; it can't even find a word in the "Notes" field of a contact, to say nothing of what's in various Notepad applications. That's a long way from being an exhaustive local search.
#7: Right, Google announced this in January, but searching for android offline gmail will only turn up a single demo from February -- it's not implemented in Android yet.

But I do appreciate you taking time for the suggestions!

#3 you can close folder anywhere on the top bar, not only on "x" sign. I agree about your suggestions for drawers.

#4 yeah, it's not a fix, but a quick workaround, you can customize it quite well

#5 I agree it's not perfect, you can just wait for Donut or Eclair to fix global search on Android.

#7 try k9mail K9 Mail Android App Review by AndroidTapp.com | Android Tapp. Android App Reviews