Help Android Market VS Androlib VS Appbrain? Help!

[kwest12]

So I just realized that I know a lot about the phones themselves, but I know relatively little about the app markets... (the DX is on its way, and is my 1st smartphone).

I have read a bit about the Android Market, Androlib and Appbrain, but I really don't have a good feel for what the differences are, what the strengths are and how they compare overall.

If anyone could help break things down for me that would be extraordinarily helpful. Heck, if we get enough solid info, I may even request this to be stickied in a few different places and you know you want some sexy spotlight

 

[kwest12]

Bump...

Here are links to all three:

Android.com - Market

AndroLib, Find all the applications and games available in the Android Market for your Android Phone, HTC Dream, HTC Magic etc...

AppBrain - the best Android apps and games on the Android market

 

[yojoe600]

appbrain is the best imo

 

[kwest12]

appbrain is the best imo

I appreciate the input yojoe, but can you provide an explanation about why you like it the best?

 

[Gamble]

Actually, 4shared.com is my favorite

Out of the three that you mentioned, they are all the same to me. I use the regular Android Market from my phone. If I want to grab a bunch of apps at once, or copy someone's list, then I use appbrain on my netbook to build the list, then sync appbrain on my phone.

 

[hahaha what]

i like appbrain because you get the appbrain market app and then put fast web installer after it. then you can just go onto appbrain.com from your pc and whatever apps you want to install, they automatically get pushed to your phone and are automatically downloaded and installed without you touchin the phone

 

[Phoenix Zero]

My Droid X is also coming tomorrow and I've never had an Android device previously so I'm pretty confused about this as well.

What exactly are the differences? Can you only run apps from one market at one time or can you mix and match? Are they just different "sources" of apps that people can submit their apps to?

I'd love it if someone could clarify.

 

[Roze]

So I just realized that I know a lot about the phones themselves, but I know relatively little about the app markets... (the DX is on its way, and is my 1st smartphone).

I have read a bit about the Android Market, Androlib and Appbrain, but I really don't have a good feel for what the differences are, what the strengths are and how they compare overall.

If anyone could help break things down for me that would be extraordinarily helpful. Heck, if we get enough solid info, I may even request this to be stickied in a few different places and you know you want some sexy spotlight

Android Market is what everyone/thing has to use if you want to download apps the legit way . Adroilib and Appbrain are basically 'middleman'. They allow you to search apps in much more detailed than the Market itself and directs you to the app on the Market to download. I prefer Appbrain to Adroilib so can't say much on the latter. I believe they are very similar. Though I've only tried Adroilib on my computer and not phone.

With Appbrain, you sign in with your google account, so it sycs all of your apps with your phone when you install the appbrain app. I find Appbrain the best to use when you're waiting for your phone. It allows you to save all of the apps you want and when you get your phone, install the Appbrain app, and press 'download' all of all the apps you'e selected and saved on appbrain. Appbrain won't be able to install the app but takes you to the market and you install it from there. I find it's much much faster than typing in the app you're looking for and installing each one manually. With this you're directed to the app on the Appmarket so all you have to do is press 'install'.

Hope that helps

-Roze-

 

[Helicrewchief]

I prefer appbrain but I have found when I'm searching for a specific app that the Market will bring it up where as appbrain will give me different results. I cannot think of any examples and my phone is dead

 

[kwest12]

I just started playin around with AppBrain and so far it has proved to be almost unusable. I say that because the search bar may as well be nonexistent. I can do a search for "Google Maps" and guess what doesn't come up in the results: you guessed it, Google Maps. I wasn't able to complete a successful search for any of the popular apps I tried. It's almost like they designed the search specifically not to work... weirdness.

Androlib at least appears to have a somewhat functional search, although often it will display more than one result for a given app which leads to confusion.

The Android Market itself doesn't appear to have search box at all, so that isn't even an option. I have yet explore how easy it is to find apps without the search on any of the three.


I guess one thing I forgot to take into account too was "how to find great apps". I guess there are a couple approaches I can take:

1) Use the most downloaded, highest rated, "hottest", etc. apps.
2) Read reviews of the various apps (the best place to get solid reviews seems to be here: AndroidApplications.com . (Please suggest more places for this)
3) Use the "best apps to have" type of threads that litter every major phone forum @ AF and every other forum on the internet lol.


Anyway, if you guys have any more insight to share, on the Android Market, AppBrain and Androlib, please don't be shy. Suggestions on ways to narrow down the best apps are also welcome (please don't suggest actual apps though).

 

[yojoe600]

I appreciate the input yojoe, but can you provide an explanation about why you like it the best?

haha sorry... but it comes with an app that you can sync with the website so you dont have to browse for them on your phone... i like using my pc then hitting the install button. so when i sync with it on my phone it is ready to install

 

[Legato]

The Android Market itself doesn't appear to have search box at all, so that isn't even an option. I have yet explore how easy it is to find apps without the search on any of the three.

I have never used the websites, so i have no info there for you. For the Market itself, there is a search. If you click the Magnifying lens on the top right, it opens your search window. Type what you want and hit the magnifying lens again to search for your apps. Works great.

edit: as to finding great apps. Yeah, try the most downloaded and be sure to ALWAYS read reviews. Yeah they will vary, but some decent reviewers will actaully explain why they gave it a 1 or a 5. Most are just, app is good/app sucks with no detail as to what phone they had or why it was good/bad. Usually though there are some quality reviews.

Other things to try, go the the Application area of this forum and click on the recomended apps thread. Tons of pages of apps peoiple love. Once again, many will not explain what it does or how it works, but you get the occasional nice person who gives some detail about said app

 

[Roze]

I just started playin around with AppBrain and so far it has proved to be almost unusable. I say that because the search bar may as well be nonexistent. I can do a search for "Google Maps" and guess what doesn't come up in the results: you guessed it, Google Maps. I wasn't able to complete a successful search for any of the popular apps I tried. It's almost like they designed the search specifically not to work... weirdness.

Anyway, if you guys have any more insight to share, on the Android Market, AppBrain and Androlib, please don't be shy. Suggestions on ways to narrow down the best apps are also welcome (please don't suggest actual apps though).

Oh man that is weird. I searched for Google Maps on the appbrain app and Google maps was result number one. Now when I searched the website I get the weirdest results like British Film Locator and Alpha Dialer. I tried searching for some of my other apps and I realized that for some strange reason the website only looks at the body when its searching and not the title. So common words are missed. Just a thought.

I'd check all of the threads that posts pictures of home screens. They give me ideas on what widget I like visually plus gives me idea on how to set up my home screen

 

[Eryl Flynn]

I haven't tried Androlib or 4shared but will give them a try. Appbrain works well but is not perfect as mentioned above there are issues with searching. But the ability to find apps on the PC and tell the phone to install them is great.

 

[kwest12]

I appreciate all the input guys. I'm gonna start putting together a list of apps I'm going to install now so I'll post back here if I find anything that makes my task easier. I'll be doing it all via computer as this will be my 1st Android and I wanna have a good idea of some solid apps before it arrives.

 

[kwest12]

So far in my search for apps (via PC, NOT phone) I

 

[Piiman]

I just started playin around with AppBrain and so far it has proved to be almost unusable. I say that because the search bar may as well be nonexistent. I can do a search for "Google Maps" and guess what doesn't come up in the results: you guessed it, Google Maps. I wasn't able to complete a successful search for any of the popular apps I tried. It's almost like they designed the search specifically not to work... weirdness.

Androlib at least appears to have a somewhat functional search, although often it will display more than one result for a given app which leads to confusion.

The Android Market itself doesn't appear to have search box at all, so that isn't even an option. I have yet explore how easy it is to find apps without the search on any of the three.


I guess one thing I forgot to take into account too was "how to find great apps". I guess there are a couple approaches I can take:

1) Use the most downloaded, highest rated, "hottest", etc. apps.
2) Read reviews of the various apps (the best place to get solid reviews seems to be here: AndroidApplications.com . (Please suggest more places for this)
3) Use the "best apps to have" type of threads that litter every major phone forum @ AF and every other forum on the internet lol.


Anyway, if you guys have any more insight to share, on the Android Market, AppBrain and Androlib, please don't be shy. Suggestions on ways to narrow down the best apps are also welcome (please don't suggest actual apps though).

Well I don't know what you're doing wrong but appbrains search works just fine. I typed in goggle maps and goggle maps was first thing on the list. I've never had any search problems on AB unless I misspelled something.
The only time I use the market is if AB doesn't have it yet or I need to re download paid apps.

The auto download is a super nice feature of appbrains

 

[jreed2560]

So far in my search for apps (via PC, NOT phone) I’ve learned the following:

• Androlib seems to be a standout on the PC: it has the best search feature and the best filters/sorting catagories, etc for browsing. The one issue I did have with Androlib was that I noticed an outdated version number listed for an app more than once (ideally, it would always show the most recent version #... not to certain why it didn’t a few times&#8230. I didn’t check out AppBrain, but I did notice that Androlib was pulling (and probably pushing) the comments for each app from (or to) the Android Market. This seems like a good for obvious reasons. I’d like to suggest that the Phandroid/AF owner & co consider adopting this comments feature. Definitely keep the reviews separate (some of the are really awesome!), but competing comments are never a good thing when you’re competing with the actual source (Android Market).
  
• Trying to use the Android Market itself on the PC is next to impossible. It only gives you access to “Featured, Top Free and Top Paid” apps. I was kinda puzzled when looking through the “Top” apps b/c I only recognized a few… the rest seem almost like they’re just arbitrary picks. Not a good system at all.
  
• AppBrain is only semi-useful. The search function is broken for all intensive purposes and the apps browsing isn’t nearly as useful as on Androlib. You can select from one of the application catagories and then limit to Free, Paid, New, Updated, Price Drop or Latest. Additionally you can select “Hot” apps, but similar to the the Android Market, the way “hotness” is calculated seems suspect.

what I like best about AppBrain is the ability to find the apps that you want, put them on a list to save them, and then grab your phone a sync them. Androlib may have a better search feature, but you still have to manual type the name into the market search on your phone a dl it that way. Like Piiman I have had no problems searching for things on the Appbrain website. I absolutely hate searching for apps on the phone itself. Maybe you could try searching for the app in androlib, then pasting the name to appbrain and then sync to your phone.

BTW quick tip for app brain. Make a new folder called backup or something on the website. Put all the apps you like and want to keep as a backup there. once create an appbrain account it will make a folder for you called apps on my Droid X or something to that nature. Once you sync up for the first time move all the apps you want from your backup folder to the "apps on my_____" list and resync.
The reason I say do it like this, I had a Eris. Had the silent bug(back before it was a known issue) and ordered a replacement phone. Used appbrain to backup all my apps, but didn't put them in a seperate folder. Well when my replacement phone got here i resync'd everything, or so I thought. It actually overwrote what I had in my default folder with everything I currently had on the phone (which was nothing) so I lost all my apps.

 

[Roze]

The reason I say do it like this, I had a Eris. Had the silent bug(back before it was a known issue) and ordered a replacement phone. Used appbrain to backup all my apps, but didn't put them in a seperate folder. Well when my replacement phone got here i resync'd everything, or so I thought. It actually overwrote what I had in my default folder with everything I currently had on the phone (which was nothing) so I lost all my apps.

Ouch, that would SUCK! I've been reading from various posts that Google sync/backups your apps to your gmail account (free? purchased?). There were few people that used that to get all of their apps though I don't know how that works. Insight anyone? lol

 

[jreed2560]

paid apps are tied to your gmail, so no matter what they will be there in the market waiting for you. Sometimes non paid apps are there after you do a factory reset (not sure about if you replace your phone entirely) but you have to manually click on each one and intall it. and if you ever accidently back out of the market in the middle of going thru your list, your SOL because they won't be there if you go back in to the market.

 

[kwest12]

UUUMMM I just tried searching AppBrain again and now it works without a hitch!!!! AWESOME! It absolutely beats out AndroLib now. I can't tell you how happy I am!

I am not sure what happened before... maybe I did something wrong or maybe the search was screwed up for a few hours when I initially tried it, but as long as it keeps working, it will absolutely be my go-to.

Thanks for all the suggestions and info guys.