My Siamese Dream

MUST-HAVE ANDROID APPLICATIONS

By Justin Alberts | Volume 1

In a world punctuated by smartphones and "apps", one does not often get the chance to stay on top of what's available for your mobile device.

Trial and error (besides being a monumental waste of time) can be frustrating and potentially harmful to your device.

In this, the first of a series, I have listed my current list (at time of posting) of applications that I feel every Android user should have on their phone.

For those who are reading averse, here is a summary of my top picks (coincidentally all of these "apps" have at least a 4.5 out of 5 user satisfaction index according to the Play store):
WhatsApp | Skype | Facebook for Android | Onavo Count | Advanced Task Manager | Quick Settings | Airdroid | FNB banking | Pixlr-o-matic | Camcard | Zedge | TrackID | Endomondo

I'm not a particular fan of Twitter (I feel that Facebook status updates fulfill the same function), but I do have a dusty version of TweetCaster installed - so any Twits out there are welcome to recommend a useful tool for the Tweet needy.

Lets have a run through these 13 must-have "apps":

WhatsApp: 

The darling of mobile IM platforms. WhatsApp has bridged the gap between mobile device manufacturers in a way that no other IM software has. With its support of Android, iOS, Black Berry, Symbian and Windows Phone operating systems, it can truely claim to be the IM liberation fighter the current times. No longer do you have to buy a specific brand of phone (I'm thinking specifically of Blackberry's infamous BBM) to be able to keep in contact with your friends, family and collegues.
                         Key features include Standard and Group IM-chat, picture/video/audio/
                         business card sending capability and more.

Skype:

Although most people won't use it as often as WhatsApp, Skype for mobile phones gives you most of the functionality of the desktop version, bridging the gap with PC users. Combine Skype with WhatsApp and an email client on your phone and you have a formidable in-time connectivity armament for the most demanding road warrior. Skype for mobiles includes the ability to make video and/or audio calls to PC or land/mobile lines.

Facebook for Android:


Facebook for your phone - like the website with less fluff. If you use Facebook and want to keep up to date with events around you, this is what you need. Poke, poke-poke-poke...

Onavo Count:

Until the day comes that mobile data providers offer an affordable uncapped data plan, data usage is something we all want to keep to a minimum. Onavo Count tracks your data usage with useful statistics such as a complete breakdown of each application's data usage (high to low) and the ability to limit application to only use data when connected to wifi (very handy if you have WiFi at home).


Advanced Task Manager:


At the heart of it, a smartphone is a computer and as such it is limited by its RAM management subsystems. The more apps you run, the more memory is used, the slower the performance. Android's memory swapping is a bit 'iffy at times. ATM allows you to manually select and kill applications running in the background which aren't being used - freeing up memory for better overall performance. ATM also allows the user to set automated kills and kill exclusions at your perogative. Killing of "apps", mind you.


Quick Settings:


Quick and simple selecting of all the major features of your phone (GPS, LED flashlight, WiFi, Screen brightness etc.) from one easy to use interface. Many phone manufacturers include a similar application, but I would still recommend giving QS a try.




Airdroid:


This application allows any Android device to be controlled via a web browser - remotely. Manage your contacts, download photos and videos, send and receive SMS messages etc. I find this particularly useful to use when charging the phone on the rapid (wall) charger and downloading documents off of it at the same time through Airdroid and WiFi connectivity. 


FNB banking:


This is only applicable to FNB customers, but the FNB banking application WILL make your life easier, allowing you all the functionality of the online banking website from the convenience of your phone. Ever need to make an online payment to purchase something on the spot but dont' have a laptop at hand? No problem, make the payment from the security of your own device, on the spot.


Pixlr-o-matic:


The best picture taking application for Android at the moment. Forget the over-hyped Instagram, Pixlr-o-matic offers more. Get it and be done with it.

Leave the hipsters to their social media photo toy - brah.



Camcard:


Here's a keeper for those of you who swap business cards on a regular basis. Camcard allows you to take a picture of a business card and using advanced OCR techniques, populates all the card details into a new contact in your phone's address book.

Less hassle, more time for cocktails and networking.


Zedge:


If you enjoy customising your phone you will know what a task it is to hunt for decent wallpapers and ringtones. Zedge gives you easy access to these in catagories that are searchable, free and available in HD (for those of you who demand the best).




TrackID:


Do you every listen to the radio and wonder who the artist was of that catchy track you just heard? TrackID from Sony allows you to record a few seconds of the music playing and it will give you the artist detail and song name etc. Each track that you ID is kept in a list for easy reference.



Endomondo:

The world of fitness has gained much from the smartphone revolution. We now have a GPS in just about every mobile device and this allows us to extract time, distance and route information from our exercise routines. Endomondo is a fully comprehensive exercise management system with a brilliant website allowing you to record all your runs/cycles etc. with stats on just about anything of relevance.


There is no doubt that there are many more useful "apps" out there and I'll be sure to add them to the updated list in future. For now, if you know of something that is blatantly missing, feel free to drop a comment.