Switching from iphone

[cschriver]

Hey so I have had an iphone for like 4 years but am switching to verizon getting the droid razr. Needless to say I know nothing about the android operating system. I was just wondering if there were some basic apps that most people have and/or what apps are a must have. I am getting pandora and netflix other than that not sure.

 

[itsallgood]

Welcome to Android. As fare as certain apps to suggest, tell us what you would like to do with/on your phone. Also, there is a learning curve to the OS system not to mention the phone its self. You can pretty much do anything with your phone, from customization, productivity and fun stuff. Here are a few apps that I have.

1) Lookout Mobil Security - antivirus/malware/spyware
2) Quick App Manager - Automatically clear caches
3) PowerAMP Pro - music player
4) ColorNote - Simple note taking/check list app.
5) Google Maps/Navigation/Places - These might already be on the phone. (# different apps that work together and free.)
6) Data Manager - Keep track of your wifi/mobil/tethering data.
7) Battery Left - Widget to keep track of battery %, temp, etc.
8) Apps Organizer or File Organizer - Create folders and group apps to place on home screen. (Just like iOS)

 

[cschriver]

ya thats good what about music downloader "FREE" and somekind of work out things like on my phone i got an app that tracks your run. I know the razr is going to have that watch thing but i really dont want to pay like 200 for it after i just buy the phone

 

[pat3332]

I switched after 3 years. I think must have apps will mainly depend on what what you use your phone for and what apps you considered must have apps on your iPhone. You can find a lot of the same apps for Android and others that may not have the same names as the iPhone apps, but that do the same things.

I didn't find going from iPhone to Android much of a problem. Android just assumes you're an adult and lets you make your own decisions and be accountable for your actions. Also, you're no longer tied to iTunes which has lowered my blood pressure considerably. There are several apps for transferring your music from iTunes to your phone, or anywhere else you want to store it. I used isyncer, but there are several and some that do it wirelessly.

My favorites:
Kindle
MyBackup Pro
Business Calendar
Everyone has their favorite browser, but I like Dolphin and XScope
I pay for Xmarks to keep my bookmarks synced
Astro, or File Expert for file managers
Evernote
Mighty Grocery for a shopping list
Watchdog to notify you if any of your apps are using too many resources
Air Push Defender to show you which apps are using air push to send you spam in your notification bar
Elecont for weather
TuneIn Radio
Astrid Tasks for To Do's
PowerAMP music player
Brightness Profile to easily control the screen brightness.

Everyone has their favorites, but these may help get you started. I usually just go to the Android, or Amazon markets, type in what I'm looking for and look for 4 or 5 star ratings.

Task Killers are one thing that always stir up controversy, but my opinion is you don't need it with Android. Do some research and make up your own mind. I use Watchdog to alert me if an app is using too many resources and then I can kill it if it's out of control, but I can't remember the last time that happened.

Power Mangers, some like them, but I don't see that they do anything that I can't do myself by making adjustments in the settings.

Keep in mind that there is only one iPhone, but many Android phones, so all of the apps may not work on all of the phones.

Welcome to Android

 

[ravenas]

Hey so I have had an iphone for like 4 years but am switching to verizon getting the droid razr. Needless to say I know nothing about the android operating system. I was just wondering if there were some basic apps that most people have and/or what apps are a must have. I am getting pandora and netflix other than that not sure.

Basic apps for me tend to fit into groups.

Productivity: Evernote, DropBox, SugarSync, and some word editing apps (Google Docs, Polaris Office, QuickDocs, Docs2To) and Sketchbook for drawing. Colornote is a good app for adding sticky notes to your home screens.

Media Playing: MX Video Player, Mobo Video Player, Plex Media (for streaming off the home network), Netflix, Slingplayer (if you have a Slingbox setup at home and want to watch your TV remotely)

Music: Pandora, TuneIn Radio, Spotify for streaming services. Amazon MP3 and Google Music for streaming your own music.

Tools: your weather widgets, locker screens (Widget Locker), Home screen launchers (ADW Launcher, Circle Launcher), File Explorers, web browsers (Opera Mini, Dolphin HD - if you want an alternative to the stock browser) etc.

Social Media: Twitter, Skype, Google Voice, Google+, Facebook, etc.

Photos: PaperCam (photo effects), QuickPic (Gallery replacement that feels more like iOS), PhotoBucket (backups my photos % videos online)

Games: Angry Birds, Early Bird, Plants vs Zombies, Moron Test, NinJump, FruitNinja, Dragon Fly, Asphalt, etc.

I tend to make sure I have a decent video player, music player, some productivity apps (Evernote at the very least), Photobucket to auto-backup my phone's photos, a few games, Skype for video calling, and then I'll experiment with launcher and widget apps.

The biggest change from iOS to Android is the ability to customize your Home Screen with widgets. Weather tends to be the most used widget, but there are many others. It's a relief being about to see actual data on the screen instead of just a number on an icon.

 

[itsallgood]

ya thats good what about music downloader "FREE" and somekind of work out things like on my phone i got an app that tracks your run. I know the razr is going to have that watch thing but i really dont want to pay like 200 for it after i just buy the phone

Cant comment on music downloader, don't use it. As for workout, I use "Cardio Trainer" free and it is really nice. Easy to use and has a widget. You can back up your exercise log too. I forgot to mention a file manager, I use "ES File Explorer."

 

[Niteperson]

Some of my favorites...

Soundhound - Music recognition, better than Shazam
QuickPic - Fast Gallery replacement
Gasbuddy - Best gas prices
Barcode Scanner - Scans UPCs and QR codes
Business Calendar - Great Calendar replacement
BeWeather - Nice weather app
MyBackup Pro - Backup utility
Astrid - Personal task/Reminders app
PrinterShare - Print from your phone
DocumentsToGo - Nice Office/PDF app
Evernote - Cloud-based notes
AllRecipes - Just what it says
Kindle - Books
ESPN Scorecenter - Scores, etc.
Astro - File management
GPS Status - Helps lock on to GPS satellites

 

[alostpacket]

what about music downloader "FREE"

Those apps tend to be dangerous. I dont know that one in particular though.

If you want free music, there are many legal ways to get it nowadays and those apps are not one of them.

Look here:

http://androidforums.com/android-media/378821-looking-free-music-here-your-legal-options.html


Also someone mentioned Lookout, read this before you go downloading either anti-virus, or shady apps:

http://androidforums.com/android-ap...ps-avoid-viruses-guide-those-new-android.html


Finally, because there are a lot of these threads, you should have a look here:

http://androidforums.com/android-applications/335976-best-category-app-thread-list.html

and here:

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



Hope that helps

 

[Adauth]

If you root Bloat Freezer is a must

 

[Martimus]

ya thats good what about music downloader "FREE" and somekind of work out things like on my phone i got an app that tracks your run. I know the razr is going to have that watch thing but i really dont want to pay like 200 for it after i just buy the phone

Welcome to the Android Forums!

Free music downloaders also tend to be in violation of copyright laws. As such it is not a subject that we are allowed to discuss on this forum.

http://androidforums.com/introductions/704-site-rules-guidelines.html

 

[Riotpump]

Welcome to Android....the other operating system. Just listen to the Mods/Guides and you will be fine.