Android OS: list your killer apps

[beesonthewhatnow]

Try importing something like a 2MB file of a tube map - something with small text and lots of details - and you'll see it blurs it. Other people have reported the same problem. It can't open big GIF files either, which is a bit rubbish.

How big are we talking here? Until I downloaded the "London City" app I'd got a large tube map saved for when I was working in london and it worked fine, plenty clear enough for me to read station names and work out routes etc.

 

[editor]

Do you want me to mail you the file? PM me your email addy and you can have a go.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I've just tried it with a 1.5meg tube map, and it seems fine, maybe a slight softening aound the edges of text at max zoom, but still perfectly readable.

I'l have a play with some larger image files when I've got a moment later...

 

[bmd]

Cyrket - Android app market via PC or Mac or whatever.

 

[bmd]

I tried TideApp but it seems broken atm, would really like something that showed tide tables if anyone knows of a good UK one.

 

[dweller]

acontacts is a nice clean contacts app if phonebook wasn't your bag.
good for setting up group texting and t9 searching of contacts

 

[cliche guevara]

Cyrket - Android app market via PC or Mac or whatever.

Also, if you download the barcode scanner, you can use it to scan any app you come across. Saves having to find it again on your phone.

 

[editor]

The Telegraph news app is *excellent* - really slick, and there's even video stories in there.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

The Telegraph news app is *excellent* - really slick, and there's even video stories in there.

Just a shame it's the fucking Telegraph really

 

[dweller]

two apps I used today

BuddyRunner is a great app for recording
your runs. it uses gps and while you're running a voice tells you when you hit half a mile and how fast you are running,
when you end your run it sends your info to a webpage with a map of your run, speed and elevation.
It is way cool!!!

don't want to carry books with you on your run?
settle down and switch on textonphone
brilliant ebook reader, I found a great book to read today by browsing through "today's reads" and you don't need to download the whole lot,
just read it a page at a time online - it saves your place - perfect

 

[editor]

iTweet is a fabulously slick Twiter client, well worth the £1.60.

 

[Macabre]

Flood-it is an excellent puzzle game that keeps me entertained on the chube.

 

[sumimasen]

Flood-it is an excellent puzzle game that keeps me entertained on the chube.

Blatant rip-off of Coloroid, but to be fair it's a more attractive improvement for sure.

Other cool games are
Labyrinth - use the tilt to get a metal ball from A to B.
Light Racer - kinda like Snake, but with motorbikes!
Chess for Android - challenging enough
Papijump - addictive fucker

 

[sumimasen]

ConvertAll is a useful app from miles to kilometres, pounds to ounces etc. Categories include volume, time, kitchen, mass, energy amongst others so pretty comprehansive.

Needs hard keyboard so doesn't work with HTC Magic, I believe.

 

[cliche guevara]

Better Keyboard is great. I was sceptical about paying $2.99 for a slightly different keyboard at first, but it's worth it imo. Added functionality of being able to swipe left/right to get to the alt/number keys is great, and a quick swipe down puts it away. A long press on any key gives you the alternative characters, and these are actually written on the keys for ease of use. Customizable skins make it easy to fit in with your theme, although I find the Android one to be the most pleasant looking. The only thing it is missing is an upward swipe to capitalise, but i'll be feeding back my thoughts to the developer on this.

 

[cliche guevara]

ConvertAll is a useful app from miles to kilometres, pounds to ounces etc. Categories include volume, time, kitchen, mass, energy amongst others so pretty comprehansive.

Needs hard keyboard so doesn't work with HTC Magic, I believe.

It works fine with the Magic.

 

[editor]

Better Keyboard is great. I was sceptical about paying $2.99 for a slightly different keyboard at first, but it's worth it imo. Added functionality of being able to swipe left/right to get to the alt/number keys is great, and a quick swipe down puts it away. A long press on any key gives you the alternative characters, and these are actually written on the keys for ease of use. Customizable skins make it easy to fit in with your theme, although I find the Android one to be the most pleasant looking. The only thing it is missing is an upward swipe to capitalise, but i'll be feeding back my thoughts to the developer on this.

OK. I'll give it a go!

 

[cliche guevara]

Worth bearing in mind with paid apps that you can always get a refund within 24 hours if you don't like them, so there's no reason to be scared of trying them out.

 

[Ozric]

Is Better eyboard as laggy as the reviews say?

 

[editor]

So far not, but I've only had a quick play.

 

[cliche guevara]

I've had no lag with it at all. The standard keyboard had more lag.

 

[Fez909]

Anyone using the last.fm app? Is it any good?

Getting a G1 when my contract is up, but have been putting off getting an mp3 player in case last.fm android makes it redundant!

 

[editor]

Google Maps has just been updated:

Google has released an upgrade to the mapping software built into Android-powered phones. This includes some new features and fixes a few bugs.

The latest version of Google Maps for Android offers voice search, making it easier to look up places while on the go. When searching for a business, the listings now include content such as store hours, prices, ratings, and reviews.

The new version also adds transit and walking directions. This allows users to get directions using public transportation in over 250 cities, including New York City and San Francisco.

In addition, Street View has been integrated it more tightly into Google Maps for Android, Users can now check out Street View directly from any search result where imagery is available. They can also long-press any point on the map, in map view or satellite view, and see a Street View thumbnail wherever imagery is available.

Latitude Improvements
Many of the improvements in the new version on in the Latitude service, which allows users to share their location with their friends. A bug that caused background location updates to periodically stop for some people has been fixed.

It also has an experimental feature called Updates that lets users easily send messages to friends when they're at interesting locations.

Downloading Instructions
Unlike past Android software updates, the new Google Maps release isn't being automatically pushed to the T-Mobile G1 or HTC Magic. Instead, the upgrade is available for download in the Android Market.

To find it, search for "Google Maps" in the on-device software store, and install the update.

 

[Stig]

Google Maps has just been updated:

I'm so glad I saw that, because directly underneath it is an app to sync the updated goole maps with the 'my maps' feature, which I've been wanting fopr ages!
I've made quite a few google maps, including a london pubs map, and been wanting to be able to use them on the phone without the clunky horrors of going through the browser.

So thanks loads for that tip!

 

[editor]

The public transport directions are comically bad for London. They haven't got access to LT data so every suggestion involves weird buses, long walks and coaches to Victoria!

 

[cliche guevara]

I've ditched Chomp SMS for Handcent. Better, more customizable layout, awesome text notification pop ups, quick reply from the pop up. It's great. And free!

 

[Macabre]

Anyone got a good, free app for recording phone calls? All the recording apps just record your own voice and not the callers.

 

[dweller]

Anyone got a good, free app for recording phone calls? All the recording apps just record your own voice and not the callers.

I haven't come across anything - you have to put the phone on speakerphone to pick up their voice.

 

[editor]

I've ditched Chomp SMS for Handcent. Better, more customizable layout, awesome text notification pop ups, quick reply from the pop up. It's great. And free!

Based entirely on your say-so I deleted Chomp and downloaded this one. I'm impressed but it doesn't seem to display the character count when you're typing a message.

 

[cliche guevara]

Based entirely on your say-so I deleted Chomp and downloaded this one. I'm impressed but it doesn't seem to display the character count when you're typing a message.

That's been frustrating me too actually. Its a shame because everything else in the app is great. I'm gonna feed it back to the developers, you should too.