New Droid Owner - Must Have Apps?

[TedEBearNC]

Hello all!

I just got my Droid yesterday and so far I'm loving it! I just didn't like my old phone (Samsung Omnia) so decided to upgrade even though it would most likely require me to pay full retail as I'm not that near my contract anniversary and used my NET upgrade last year. I deliberated for a while about waiting for the Nexus One but after reading all the customer support issues with Google and HTC and the mysterious cracked screen issue I decided to go with the Droid. At least that way I know I can get my phone insured and I know I can get good support with a Verizon issued phone.

So I popped in to my local store yesterday expecting to shell out full retail and they gave me the 1-year renewel deal plus I got a little corporate discount from work AND a $100 rebate so ended up only having to pay $229 for the phone, so I was very pleased. That is until when I left the store and did the install for 2.0.1 and the phone wouldn't get past the boot animation. So back I went and she got a new one and it decided it only wanted to do setup in Spanish and wouldn't switch nor go past setup so out comes the third phone and all worked fine so now I'm a happy camper!

So, now I need to know... what are the must-have applications for this phone? I'm reading through the apps forum for ideas but thought I'd ask here thinking it'd be quicker than poring over tons of posts.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[square]

http://androidforums.com/android-applications/1183-favorite-app-so-far.html

 

[gizbug]

Welcome......try "searching" the forums. This question is asked almost daily. MANY TOPICS on it.

 

[messenger13]

I'm reading through the apps forum for ideas but thought I'd ask here thinking it'd be quicker than poring over tons of posts.

Just imagine what this forum would look like if every brand new DROID owner created the post that you just did. All for the sake of "it'd be quicker than poring over tons of posts".

We're not trying to be jerks here. We're just asking you to be a little patient, considerate, and do you due diligence.

 

[Joewoowoo]

Joe, If I am not mistaken you are not a moderator of these here forums. It appears that you bring alot of negitivity to this forum. I have seen very few posts or yours that are actually helpfull, most of the time your slamming people, you have done it to me and alot of other folks here. Look at the previous post to yours, that is the proper way to get that point across,simple ,welcoming and no attitude.Gizbug said everything that needed to be said ,in my opionion you didnt even have to respond ! Why dont you get off your high horse and relax, loose the attitude. This is a public forum and and place for people come and learn and teach not get lectured from you . Moderators I reccommend you keep your eyes on this guy, one word POISON !

 

[TedEBearNC]

Thanks square, I'm working my way through that thread already.

gizburg, as I said in my post I am searching through the forums, already. I just thought it might be quicker to find the few apps that make the phone function better by asking than wading through a huge list of apps people just like a lot that may or may not be anything I need.

Joe, I find it amusing when people say stuff like "we're not trying to be <whatever>" to justify their being <whatever>. No worries, though. I know you were only trying to be... "helpful". Thanks.

 

[josh0875]

Joe, If I am not mistaken you are not a moderator of these here forums. It appears that you bring alot of negitivity to this forum. I have seen very few posts or yours that are actually helpfull, most of the time your slamming people, you have done it to me and alot of other folks here. Look at the previous post to yours, that is the proper way to get that point across,simple ,welcoming and no attitude.Gizbug said everything that needed to be said ,in my opionion you didnt even have to respond ! Why dont you get off your high horse and relax, loose the attitude. This is a public forum and and place for people come and learn and teach not get lectured from you . Moderators I reccommend you keep your eyes on this guy, one word POISON !

Well said Joewoowoo..... yooohooo....

I agree that if people are not just adding any value to original poster or correcting anyone's mistake should take a blanket and watch movie.

To answer the original post:
I use following:
Traffic Cams (I travel everyday)
Google Voice (thinking of taking it out)
Bartender (my evening friend)
Amazon (shopping geek)
GameTime Lite (NBA updates)
AndroZip (file explorer)
Pandora (listen radio)
Sound Recorder Minus (recording classroom trainings)
Google Listen (listening podcasts)

Hope that helps as a starter.

 

[MicroNix]

Joe, If I am not mistaken you are not a moderator of these here forums. It appears that you bring alot of negitivity to this forum ... Gizbug said everything that needed to be said ,in my opionion you didnt even have to respond ! ... This is a public forum and and place for people come and learn and teach not get lectured from you

Joewoowoo, I have to tend to agree with you here. It can be said in much nicer ways. Perhaps a link or two to someone's favorite thread that they can recommend with a "you can find even more with awesome search engine this site has". This forum should be a place where anyone with a Droid can come and feel part of our community.

That said, I've had a Droid since day 1 of its release and find the following apps useful:

• Locale (I think you'll find this at the top of nearly anyone's list) - Use it to change settings on your phone based on GPS, time of day, etc. I use it to turn off wifi at work, on when I'm home, bluetooth when not at work or at home (for the car), turn the ringer down at night and when I'm at work. PRICELESS!
• TuneWIKI - Replacement music player for the built in pathetic excuse that Google included. I've tried all the popular ones and IMHO this one tops them all with a more polished interface. MixZing is a close second and if the dev adds in the features he has listed for a future release, I think I'll be going back to it.
• AP Mobile - Associated Press news. Can't live without the "Wacky" headlines which are always good for a laugh and help balance out the day to day "downer" news.
• Mobile Buzz widget - News widget that can be configured to deliver you Android related news stories. Really easy to use and lists up to 20 news stories from leading Android sites.
• WeatherBug - Runs close with the Weather Channel app but I think the bug edges it out with their widget.
• Beautiful Widgets - Gives your Droid that HTC look with the large clock and weather. The dev has had to slightly change it after HTC sent him a S&D (it really did look nearly identical in every detail) but still looks great.
• Pandora - Nuff said
• DroidLive Lite - Awesome interface to ShoutCast radio stations. One of the better interfaces I've seen anywhere.
• Movies (Flixster) - If you enjoy going to the movies and movie trailers, you'll like this app.

I have more, but these are the use-a-lot apps.

 

[TedEBearNC]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I finally finished browsing the Fav app thread so now I have a nice long list to attack the market with. It should keep me busy for a while.

 

[JDW]

Swype
ChompSMS
MeeboIM
FeedR (RSS feeds) I love this one.
Pandora/iHeart
K9 (email)
Seesmic (Twitter)
Astro (File editor) seems ok.
Call Filter
Ring Guard

 

[milrtime83]

Joe, If I am not mistaken you are not a moderator of these here forums. It appears that you bring alot of negitivity to this forum. I have seen very few posts or yours that are actually helpfull, most of the time your slamming people, you have done it to me and alot of other folks here. Look at the previous post to yours, that is the proper way to get that point across,simple ,welcoming and no attitude.Gizbug said everything that needed to be said ,in my opionion you didnt even have to respond ! Why dont you get off your high horse and relax, loose the attitude. This is a public forum and and place for people come and learn and teach not get lectured from you . Moderators I reccommend you keep your eyes on this guy, one word POISON !

But he was right, this has been discussed multiple times already and the OP being too lazy to read through the other posts isn't a reason to start another thread about it.

 

[TedEBearNC]

Too lazy to read am I? When I specifically mentioned in my original post AND a subsequent post that I was actually reading the forums and looking for myself? If you'd actually read my posts you'd have seen that. It seems like I'm not the one too lazy to read.

Unless you're a moderator then the only appropriate responses, other than answering my question, would be ones such as square or gizburg gave. If you didn't think my post was necessary and didn't have anything constructive to say you should have just ignored it and let it drop off the page and disappear. Your playing Goderators only keeps it in view.

I've found what I needed from the app thread and with the help of a few kind people so this thread can be closed since it upsets some people's delicate sensitivities so much.

 

[GrandMasterB]

Joe himself said it best in his signature,


"If this post helped you, good.
If it made you laugh, even better.
But if it upset you, you're probably taking this stuff too seriously. "


He was in no way rude with his post in this thread. Granted I have seen him come accross a little harsh in posts before but thats where we tend to take this stuff a little too seriously. He is a very valuable asset to this community and I have seen him help people more often than alot of others around here.

An at the end of the day he has a valid point, imagine what the forums would look like if everybody asked this question on their first day.... it wouldnt be pretty.


TedEBear, I would like to welcome you to the forums. There is alot of valuable information here, just have a look around, and I hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[hrdnhvy]

Well I am still fairly new to my droid & this forum as well, but my #1 app I used the most is a free one called "quick settings"

Others I found very usefull:
Astro
Note Me
To do list
ES file explorer
OS monitor (though im thinking of ditching this one)
Moto Torch
Zedge
Documents to go

Im sure I missed a few.