We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this update! Warning, this has nothing to do with news, politics, or anything else of a serious nature.
Those of you who have been reading my ramblings for a while know that I sometimes write about technology and some of the issues that surrounds that subject. More than once, I have written about the use of cell phones and how they have progressed from a basic handset to multitasking smart phones. I wrote a post last year, asking the question What’s In A Cell Phone? In it, I explained how I had came to the decision of purchasing my first smart phone, the HTC Aria, which uses the Android operating system. I have been nothing but satisfied by the Aria and what it can do. Sure, it has it’s quirks, like any computer will have, but it has been, and still is, a great phone. This past weekend, I was able to upgrade it’s operating system from Android 2.1 to Android 2.2, better known as Froyo. Don’t ask me where that name came from, but I will say this, it made the little Aria an even better phone. I don’t know what they changed exactly, but the battery lasts much longer and the WiFi is much stronger.
One of the things that sets an Android phone apart from any other phone, other than the iPhone, is the number of applications, apps for short, that are available on the Android Market. Many of them are free, with some costing from .99¢ to a few dollars. Their usefulness ranges from not at all to indispensable, from borderline silly to can’t do without. Many of them are games and others serve a much more important purpose. I don’t know how many of my readers use a smart phone, but I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of the apps I have installed and give you an idea of just how useful this little gadget we call a cell phone has become. At the very least, we may all get a good laugh and maybe learn something along the way.
First of all, one of the most useful apps I have came installed on the phone. Have you heard of Google Maps? I thought you might be familiar with that one. No, I don’t have to know my precise location all of the time and yes, I know where I am most of the time, but if I happen to be in an area that I am not familiar with, this little app uses the GPS built into the Aria to find my location and shows me a map of my surroundings. Now, I have used the GPS on my Samsung Eternity and it was okay, but the GPS that the Aria uses is much quicker to load and to update my location.
Speaking of GPS, the new version of Android for AT&T has it’s own turn by turn navigation system, aptly called Car Panel. Since I have a Garmin for the dashboard of my Ford Edge, I may never use Car Panel, but I have prowled through the app and it seems to have a lot of features. It does have turn by turn navigation, as well as a voice activated search feature, which could come in handy if using the app in an unfamiliar place. Admittedly, this app came loaded with the phone and not from the Market, but it is still 
worth mentioning.
Have you ever been shopping for a particular item and wondered if the price you were getting was a fair price, or if you were about to be taken to the cleaners? If you have an Android phone, go to the Market and search for Barcode Scanner. It’s a little app that uses your camera to take a picture of the barcode. It then does a search on Google and gives you the details for the item, as well as the price that it sells for elsewhere. Be aware that there are several different apps on the Marked that will scan barcodes, but the one I use is from ZXing Team. It’s simple to use and it could keep you from visiting the dry cleaners on the corner.
Do you use text messaging? When our family first acquired our cell phones, I scoffed at the idea, saying a phone was to talk on, not to use to send messages. Could it be that I have evolved? Maybe that’s so, because I send text messages every day. When I am at work and am unable to talk on the phone, my wife and daughters can send me messages and I can reply as needed. Over the weekend, I discovered a messaging app on the Market that goes by the name of GO SMS. As far as I am concerned, it is the cat’s meow of messaging apps. It can be customized in several different ways, but I have it showing the messages in bubbles, which makes it easier to locate an individual message. The best feature of GO SMS is the popup that can be shown on the home screen of the phone. It can be set to turn the screen on or not, as I prefer and it allows me to reply right from the home screen, without opening the main app screen. This makes messaging much quicker for me and as a result, more productive.
As I mentioned earlier, many of the apps for the Android are free, some of them have ads and some do not. There are a couple that I use 
that are not free, although they were very inexpensive. The first is ToMarket, a shopping list app. Trust me when I say, I do not like to shop. My wife and our daughters freely say they hate shopping with me, simply because I usually know what I am going after and do it as quickly as I can. There have been instances when Tammy was unable to do her own shopping and ToMarket was a lifesaver for me. She is a great keeper of lists and I am a great keeper of the same lists, only on my phone. I can enter the list into the app, which is easy for items I have previously entered. One check mark is all it takes. It is much easier for me to keep track of my phone and to check the items off one by one, effectively moving them to my “cart”. I can also input the price of the item and ToMarket will keep track of how much money I am about to spend. It has many features, such as categories and stores and all in all, it is one of my favorite apps.
One of the other apps that I was glad to pay for, again very inexpensive, was a little jewel called Time2Fish. I suppose I don’t have to tell you what
it does, but if I didn’t, what would I write about? I have always liked to fish, but had gotten away from it in the past several years. Last year, my brother got me started again and I found this little app to be rather useful. Obviously, nothing can tell you if the fish are going to bite or not, but Time2Fish does give you an idea of what the conditions are going to be like, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, best times to fish, etc. If you pay for the full version, you can get as long a forecast as you need. For those of us who like to fish, Time2Fish is a nifty little app to have around.
As you can see, I can go on and on about the apps I have on my HTC Aria. There seems to be no end of what this phone will do, courtesy of the Android Market, but I have to stop somewhere. Just one more app, as I would be seriously amiss if I failed to mention the one game I have on my phone. It is one of the Android version of Bejeweled, called Jewels. What else can I say but that it is the ultimate waster of time and can be very addictive. I don’t like a lot of the games, but this one, I enjoy a great deal. Not much of an explanation is needed about Jewels, just match three or more jewels up in a row and start racking up the points. Did I mention how addictive it is? When I get started playing this game, it is very hard to stop.
The apps I have listed are by no means the only ones available on the Android Market. I am over 1500 words with this post, but it would take me many more to list and describe all of the ways these apps have made the Aria a truly productive little gadget that is much more than just a phone. Once a person who thought a smart phone was an unnecessary luxury, I would find it hard to do without mine now. All because of the apps available on the Android Market.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programing of news and politics.
That was an interesting post on the apps of the Android, LD. I like the Market app with the bar code scanner so you are able to find out whether the merchandise or good is a fair price. I would make use of that app often.
Thanks, Teresa. I know this is a different kind of post than I normally do, but I enjoyed writing it. And yes, the barcode scanner comes in very handy.
I’m on my 2nd Android phone (HTC Evo) and love it. But the Android market is crowded and it’s tough to find things. As a consequence I only use a few (IMDB is the main one). The good thing about Android is it’s open source so many ideas at work but this is also its downfall as quality is uneven and the OS varies from phone to phone. Still, since I use the Marketplace rarely and HTC seems to be fairly pure in its implementation of Google’s software I’m happy.
I hope you write more on technology I find it a good change of pace here!
I am glad you liked the post, Harrison. It is a good change of pace and something to write about that isn’t all doom and gloom. I think that’s why I enjoyed reading your posts about your vacation so much.
You are right, the Market is crowded. I have a tendency to look around on the Internet and find what I want, before I go to the Market. Gives me a lot better idea of what I want, without having to wade through some of the trash that is there.
The Aria is my first HTC phone, but I am very happy with it and Android. I see no reason why I will not stick with HTC when it is time to get another phone.
Great post, A phone is just a phone but when you starting all the apps you’re right the possibilities are endless, I can see us shopping and paying for stuff with our phones we might even get to a stage where we don’t need our wallets any more because everything will be stored on our phones, credit cards, loyalty cards the lot
Android is innovation. Google is trying to position itself for success.The growth and decisions that are being made are progressive and consistent with a company growing toward success. Innovation is bounced around a lot, but many organizations still subscribe to 80′s management tactics. These company’s can’t compete against emerging economies.
Thanks, your article gave me an idea of developing an app that use android phones for improved shopping experience. I will let you know it first when i will design the first draft of the app.
Thanks again.
Lamar