New and aspiring Android users often ask me what apps I have installed on my Nexus One. The list changes pretty often–especially when Leo and Jeff recommend something good on TWiG–but for the most part I keep my Applications menu pared down to just the stuff I actually use.
Thanks to AppBrain, I’m now syncing my list of installed apps to the web for easy sharing and updating. Here’s the complete list of what apps are installed on my phone right now. To the left you’ll find a neat widget that shows their icons on a handset. Click on any icon to get more info about the app and what it does.
By publishing this list I’m coming out of the closet as cheap: not one of my apps cost anything! In my defense, I did indeed pay for the desktop version of PdaNet.
What other apps should I install or upgrade to the pay-for version? Post your suggestions–and your AppBrain list–in the comments. (Man I would love to see Leo’s list!)
45 Comments
Brad Linder
My list changes pretty frequently as well, since I’m constantly testing new apps to review. But since the AppBrain list is chronological you can sort of get a sense of which apps I’ve had installed the longest (assuming they haven’t been updated recently):
http://www.appbrain.com/user/bradlinder/apps-on-the-phone
The only app I’ve paid for so far is Robo Defense, because the free version was like tower defense crack. I just couldn’t help myself.
I might also shell out some cash for a better podcast manager soon too. Google Listen is still just a bit too… quirky.
Gina Trapani
Oooh, you have some good ones there, several of which I will steal. Thanks for the list!
(How did I not know about XKCD viewer??)
Jon Adair
Aldiko: an EPub book reader
androidVNC: VNC client
FxCamera, PicSay, Photoshop.com: some camera toys
c:geo, GeoBeagle: geocaching tools
Gmote: remote for VLC audio/video player
Voice Recorder: a better recorderAntPlayer, StreamFurious: radio station streams
Pandora, Slacker: music for the cheap/lazy
SleepTimer: stops audio players after a delay
Nick Myers
Awesome. I recommend:
Estrong’s File Explorer
Aldiko
Slidescreen (Although, no GVoice support kills it a bit.)
Home++ beta
MapDroyd
xScope, Definitely the best browser I’ve used.
Android Agenda Widget, a very good calendar widget.
Droidbox, Dropbox, although unofficial. Official Dropbox is in the works still.
Touiteur, Twitter client. Best looking one, and has great features.
TWiT.tv by MediaFly
Fring, Skype calls over wifi/data.
Argonel
My list
http://www.appbrain.com/user/Argonel/apps-on-the-phone
Looks like I’m using a lot of the same things as everyone else. And yes I too am pretty cheap. My only paid app is Documents to go which I use for work.
DarkFox
I’d have thought you had more.
Then again, I’m probably biased, judging by my list: http://www.appbrain.com/user/DarkFox/apps-on-the-phone
gunnar
Is there anything similar to AppBrain for the iPhone?
nicefishfilms
Excellent, picked up a couple of great ones, thanks Gina. Mine = http://www.appbrain.com/user/nicefishfilms/apps-on-the-phone
neely615
The ones I have that you don’t are unfortunately not related to being productive:
Movies by Flixster
Cubed (music player)
Replica Island (my favorite game since you can pick it up and put it right back down)
Bar Control (I love having shortcuts in the toolbar, especially handy when using slidescreen)
Thanks for the list.
Christopher Urena
Here is what i have installed on my G1
http://www.appbrain.com/user/warbuff/apps-on-the-phone
lalligood
In no particular order, I’m rather fond of:
* Helix Launcher [free] (extra home screens!)
* JuiceDefender [free] + UltimateJuice [paid] (increased battery life per charge by ~50%!)
* Movies by Flixster [free]
* Sound Manager [free] (audio controls in one place)
* Auto Mount Your SD Card [free] (exactly what app says)
* Fuel Bear [paid] (track gas purchases/fuel mileage)
* Mobile Defense [free] + Lookout Mobile Security [free] (device locator, backup, & malware scanner)
* Compass [free]
* RealCalc Scientific Calculator [free]
* Transdroid [free] (bittorrent remote control)
Game-wise, I like Solitaire, Speedx 3D [paid], & Abduction! World Attack [paid].
Don LaVange
Very cool site, thanks Gina.
Here’s my list: http://bit.ly/aefn3v
Christopher Maddalena
Seeing some great apps I didn’t know existed. Here’s my list:
http://www.appbrain.com/user/cmaddalena/apps-on-the-droid
I definitely recommend Touiteur for a Twitter client. Free with a Premium version.
The same developer also has Beautiful Widgets. It’s a great clock/weather widget that also comes with a few other little widgets. Not free – €1.49.
I also love Not Call Log. No more pressing the Home key after I hang up. This app just bypasses the Call Log. Free.
GDocs is also really handy. The best part is it doesn’t require you to enter your Google credentials. Free.
google.com/profiles/ch…
I love AppBrain, especially with the most recent update that adds app browsing and other features to the app itself. Here’s my list:
http://www.appbrain.com/user/chuckfalzone/apps-on-the-t-mobile-g1
Paid apps that are well worth it:
Beautiful Widgets
Vignette (camera app with loads of faux-film/camera/lens filters)
NESoid
MyBackup Pro
Kevin Purdy
Like Brad above, I shelled out for Robo Defense, and I find myself irked, often, by Listen. Like Gina, I paid for PdaNet, rather than pretend that I love to flash my firmware:
My AppBrain list
Other notables:
* JuiceDefender, which seriously boosts my battery life. As in, two days with no charge, sometimes. Little quirky itself at points, but generally works.
* 3, the badass music player.
* LastPass, which I need to get around to upgrading to a full version.
* ReadLater, which, despite the name, actually adds Instapaper as a “Share” option to the browser.
* Repligo, because I need to read PDFs once in a great while, and the built-in QuickOffice either didn’t work or stunk, can’t remember.
Derrick
Here’s my list: http://www.appbrain.com/user/dlwaddell/apps-on-the-phone
Gary Hanson
here’s mine
http://www.appbrain.com/user/dalekg/apps-on-the-phone
Oh, and Bloo > official Facebook app
Josh Centers
Thanks for sharing, Gina. Here’s my list. All kinds of neat crap to sort through.
http://www.appbrain.com/user/tozlink/apps-on-the-droid
You should talk Leo, Jeff, and Kevin into sharing theirs!
grimmy
http://www.appbrain.com/user/grimmy/apps-on-the-phone
Yes, I’ve got way too many Twitter Apps… Right now I’m deciding between Seismic and Twicca… they both have features I like which are missing from the other, but are both pretty quick on my HTC Magic compared to the other offerings.
mrdiggit
You’re a minimalist I see. Still, a good list. You have a few I want to try out. Here are a few suggestions for you.
Thinking Space (Mind mapping app)
SMS Backup (backsup SMS to Gmail)
Corporate Directory for Droid (For Exchange users, pulls Global Address List)
UStream Broadcaster
FXCamera
OurGroceries (sync a family’s shopping list)
SSI gTasks To Do (syncs with GMail task list)
Handcent SMS (a much better interface for SMS)
Auto Mount Your SD Card
AppMonster (app backup)
Executive Assistant (e-mail, calendar, news, Facebook, Twitter aggregator)
Carr Matey (never forget where you parked your car again)
c:geo (if you are in to GeoCaching)
Reality Browser (Look through the camera of your Android device and see digital information displayed on top of it.)
Hope you find a few of these useful.
I really enjoy the TWIG show. You, Leo, and Jeff do a great job with it. I look forward to listening to a new episode on my Monday drive to work each week.
Brad Linder
@Kevin, I tried Juice Defender, but found that it generally just disconnected me from the network too often and I wasn’t getting status updates at all.
How much tweaking did you have to do to make it usable?
John Childs
Hey Gina, heres a list of apps that you dont have which i think you should check out: http://www.appbrain.com/user/dajmeister/apps-for-gina
notably:
Twicca http://www.appbrain.com/app/jp.r246.twicca – this is my current favorite twitter app for android, it is minimalist but functional and super fast!
HelixLauncher http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.helixproject.launcher – this is a homescreen replacement with 3 to 7 screens and 4 pinned apps at the bottom of the screen. (helix launcher 2 is in beta and adds the 3d launcher but is still to unstable to use).
cintra
Hei Gina
Here’s my list 🙂
http://www.appbrain.com/user/cintra/apps-on-the-htc-magic
doogald
Here is mine: http://www.appbrain.com/user/doogald/apps-on-the-phone
(It should be noted that I am stuck on Android 1.5) Some notables:
SMSBackup, which backs up your text messages to an archived label in your gmail account automatically as they are sent and received, as conversations.
CallTrack. A similar app. It creates a Google Calendar event for each phone call.
Mobile Defense, an app like the iPhone’s Mobile Me service that lets you locate a missing phone, remote wipe it, etc. I hope that I never need it.
For the most part, I tend to prefer the UI of Seesmic, but I find that Touiteur runs better on my phone. I tend to switch back and forth, though.
LastPass. Awesome app.
Gary Hanson
Seeing as how we’re all talking & sharing apps & things… has anyone found a shopping app that is like HandyShopper? I’d like to enter items that I can get at multiple stores, then be able to sort by store. For work I go to a couple different stores for various supplies and their inventories overlap, but not exactly. Also, is there any calculator app that emulates a plain ol’ adding machine, with the tape and everything?
Jason Barone
Here’s 2 I like that I didn’t see on many of the lists:
cVolume – adjust the volume for everything very quickly and easily in one screen
Fake-a-Call – makes your phone ring like someone’s calling you
Also, tip for Lastpass. I use the default browser because I find it much better as a browser. When I need to log into something and I know I have a password saved for, you can press Menu > Share > Lastpass and open that particular page in Lastpass w/ your login already filled in.
Matt Hogg
@Gary Hanson – not sure if you’ve seen Grocery List? It allows you to have multiple stores and you then tell it when you’re going shopping which store you’re going to.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.plutonium.grocery_list
Jason Krellner
Here’s my list (just south of $49 spent):
http://www.appbrain.com/user/jkrell/apps-on-the-droid
Jesse Esquibel
This is a very cool site. Too bad it took me this long to discover it.
http://www.appbrain.com/user/jesse_esquibel/apps-on-the-phone
Robert Ancker
http://www.appbrain.com/user/tahoerob/apps-on-the-phone
juwlz
Hi Gina
As a heavy Google addict, I’ve been a listener to TWiG for a while, and although what I really want is a Google Experience phone with physical QWERTY (Nexus Two??), my contract still has almost a year to run. However, I have just found a good PAYG deal on a Motorola DEXT (Cliq), so thought I’d try that out while I’m waiting. So I have become an Android user after years with Symbian phones (I’m in the UK).
My list is http://www.appbrain.com/user/juwlz/apps-on-the-phone . It’s changing all the time at the moment, as I try to find apps to perform the same functions that I have on my Nokia N97, so in some cases there are apps that essentially duplicate similar function while I work out which ones work best for me.
However, the thing that intrigues me (having heard you talk about Apps accounts (GAFYD) vs. gmail accounts) is how you (or anybody else who can help) have got Listen working.
I really need to find a working Podcatcher (I listen to podcasts in the car during my daily commute), but when I try to use Listen, it tells me that I need a gmail account to sync with reader.google.com. I may get the terminolgy wrong here, so I’m going to avoid (mis)using technical terms. In system preferences I have gmail set up for my domain account, and Picassa set up for my vanilla gmail account. Listen tells me I have to add a new account in System Preferences, but I can’t see any way to add one for either Listen or Reader. I have an apparently fixed list of MySpace, Facebook, Google, LastFM, Twitter, Email, Corporate Sync, Picasa, Photobucket and Bebo. (At least, I think it’s fixed, as nothing appears to have changed since I installed any apps.)
I can find threads in Google Groups for Listen that suggest that Listen will only work if your gmail account is a gmail.com account, but giving no workaround or anticipated fix date.
Have you got around this, or simply not updated to the latest version?
I have a Motorola DEXT (aka Cliq in the US), which runs Android 1.5 🙁
If there’s anybody who can help an Android newbie, either with a workaround or a suggestion for a (free) alternative podcatcher, I’d appreciate it.
Julie
Brian Douglas Hayes
I’d like to think that I could be nominated for “user with most apps on a T-Mobile G1”. I’m not running stock Android, of course; I’ve got Cyanogen 4.2.x with the apps2SD trick which installs apps to a partition on the SD card. Currently 65 apps, give or take a few. Runs brilliantly, even with a cheap Class-4 8GB microSDHC card.
Here’s the list…
http://www.appbrain.com/user/beehaze/apps-on-the-phone
Having so many apps at your disposal is the way Android should be; I couldn’t ever go back to the limited space for apps on a stock G1. It also makes backups easier by making an image of the apps partition periodically. I understand piracy concerns, but that hasn’t stopped me from purchasing apps. If anything, having the extra space allows me to purchase and try even more apps without having make room by deciding which app needs to go.
GuillermoMozota
Thanks Gina for your make my life easier
Here goes my list from Barcelona 🙂 http://www.appbrain.com/user/guillermomozota/apps-on-the-phone
Eric Booth
Huge fan of TWIG and pretty much any Gina does. This was an amazing find Gina. Thanks
Here’s my list
http://www.appbrain.com/user/ericsapps/apps-on-the-phone
Mark Orr
Check out my Android Apps: http://bit.ly/9dQUfS via @addthis
Gina,
Love TWiG, hoping still that wave is not broken or about to die. Nothing gets better than smarterware for tech geeks. Just wanted to show off my apps. Wish they had this for the iPhone, outside of blippy….
-Mark
bhydock
My list might be pretty pedestrian. I just install everything that Gina or Leo recommend. Except the apps that aren’t supported by Android 1.6 🙁
http://www.appbrain.com/user/bhydock/apps-on-the-phone
Sean Francis
Love this app, love being able to share and find out what others are using.
http://www.appbrain.com/user/sdf2008/apps-on-the-phone
Eric Moritz
I haven’t looked at everyone’s list but try “A world of photos” its a blast
blog.floehopper.org/
On the TWiG podcast you mentioned that you’d like something similar to AppBrain for the iPhone. You might want to have a look at my site – http://installd.com/ – it comes with OSX desktop app which syncs your iPhone apps from iTunes to the website.
I’m building installd.com, because I want a better way to discover useful iPhone applications. The App Store’s list of Top or Hot applications is interesting but too generic, and not tailored to my interests. So, to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, I’d like to know what applications my friends have installed on their iPhones.
It’s a bit of a work in progress at the moment, but you’re welcome to give it a try. I’d love to have your feedback.
James.
ThisIsMyName
I currently have installed:
3banana – A note taking app.
Action Complete – Task List
AndChat – Free IRC client, kicks ass
Assistant – Finance Manager
Barcode Scanner – Scans barcodes, is awesome.
Break The Blocks – Game
Buka – Game
CardioTrainer – Jogging tracker, best one I’ve used so far.
Celeste – Skymap
Documents To Go – Office programs.
Dolphin Browser – Web Browser
Ex Zeus – Pretty good arcade game
FRG Deluxe
From Below
Gensoid
Goggles
Google Sky Map
Google Translate
idemolished
Layar
Listen
Meebo IM
MotoTorch LED
Nesoid
NPR News
Pandora
Picsay Pro
Radiant
Raging Thunder
Retro Defense
Robo Defense
ROM Manager Pro
Shazam
Shoot U!
Shop Savvy
SNesoid
Sound Recorder (native app in Bugless Beast rom, the rom manager makes installing roms much less technical)
Space Physics – AWESOME game
SpeedForge 3D – 3D racing game, not that great.
Speedx 3D – Amazing 3D tunnel game.
The Weather Channel – Excellent weather app, lists local temperature in your notification bar, also has small widget.
Don McDonald
Love this app.
http://www.appbrain.com/user/dmmacs/apps-on-the-phone
Alexandru Lapusan
Hello Gina, take a look at Sharoid.com whenever you have the time, similar approach but Facebook oriented.
cwaidner.myopenid.com/
Nice list, I found several that I also consider as a must-have.
If anyone is interested, my list can be found here (in German!): http://www.warumblog.de/?p=473
Amir K
Nothing special in my list, but I do have a question – can anyone recommend a good & free RSS reader – I don’t need enclosures, just the text (I do have BeyondPod). I’m aware of NewsRob, but since I don’t use Google Reader, I need an RSS reader that will be able to import an OPML file and will not depend on Google Reader.
Thanks
Dmitry Baranov
http://www.yeahreader.com – is also good rss feeds reader