A Guide to Android

8:14 AM / Posted by Ryan / comments (0)

One of the problems facing new smart phone owners and even older dumber phone owners, aside from the question of whether to surrender their free will and self-respect to the hive mind by buying an iPhone, is what exactly the need on their phone. the market is exploding with new applications (apps for you trendy abbreviators) every day, and it seems like the only way to know which ones you will actually use is to download and try them yourself, trial and error searching for functional needles in an ever growing haystack.

That is why we decided to save you the trouble. Here at The Left Coast Biased we assigned our team of crack researchers to download and explore every single app in the Android Market. That's right, every single one!

Well, at least all the free ones.

Ok, maybe just the ones that looked interesting.

In any event, we came to a pretty well rounded familiarity with what Android has to offer right now. For example, the Facebook applications are all terrible, and you don't need to spend 14 pounds on a freaking designer alarm clock unless it is making you breakfast in bed and giving you a Swedish massage. And it isn't. We looked into it.

- Android Games -


Don't worry. Even on your phone Mr. Dream still owns you.


Emulators: This is how you know that you live at the apex of a glorious age of technological wonder - you can have and run practically every Nintendo,Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Genesis, and Sega Game Gear game on your phone. The best of the emulators available are by yongzh (identified by the *oid suffix) and come in a paid or free/Lite version. The difference between the two is the ability to save your games, so if you are just looking for a little diversion in a nostalgic moment, then the Lite should work just fine. The Lite version even comes with a pleasant elitism that these emulators kick the crap out of anything offered on the iPhone.

Time Wasters: A few games that stand out as diverting while not being taxing at all are SuperYatzy, Backgammon, and Solitaire. A little more demanding are Age of Conquest: Europe, a classic Risk-style conquest game, and Robo Defense, the best of the many tower defense games offered on Android. Combine these staples with the emulators above and you are well equiped to never have to worry about being productive again.


- Utility -

Browsers:
Another aspect where Android kills its Jobsian competitor is on the browser front. The standard browser is a pretty significant upgrade over the Safari, and the Opera Mini is even better. Far and away the best browser offered, though, is the Dolphin Browser, brought to you by the visionaries behind Firefox. it is such a pleasant experience that I wish I could use it on my PC. What really sets it apart, even more than the effortless transition between tabs, is the ability to write instruction on the touchscreen with the gestures. Draw "N" to open an new tab. Draw "X" to close a tab. Design and set your own gestures for any number of different commands. the best thing to happen to mobile browsing since the Internet itself.


App Killer: One thing that is a bit frustrating about the Android platform is that it is difficult to close out of apps after opening them. It is easy to switch to a different app, just difficult to close, slowing the phone down and draining the battery. An app killer is just a third party app that will go through and turn off apps which you are no longer actively using, and is essential. the best one on the market is the Advanced Task Killer (ATK), having an interface which is a bit friendlier than comparable apps.


File Manager: Organize your downloads, media files, and documents on your SD card with a file manager. There are a few out there, but we like Astro File Manager, but there are a number of others that function as well. this is the only way to access you SD card, so it is fairly essential if you plan on utilizing that extra space at all.


Others: A few apps that are pretty useful, if not as necessary as those above are Google Voice, mkRemote, Shop Savvy, and PicSay's photo editor. The Voice app allows you to make calls from your Google Voice number, which makes having a Voice account actually useful. mkRemote costs $4, but allows you to control your mouse and keyboard over a Bluetooth connection, which is handy for watching movies on your computer, especially if you connect a computer to your television. Shop Savvy is just a barcode scanner which searches the internet and nearby stores for better prices, and PicSay just lets you do more things while editing a photo than the Photoshop app does.



- Multimedia -


Music:
The two best apps for audiophiles are with out doubt Pandora and Shazaam, not to be confused with the epic Genie classic film by Shaq. Pandora is an internet radio app, which you probably need to go online and set up your personal account before using. You pick a song, or a genre, or a group that you enjoy and Pandora plays similar songs. You have the option of approving or disapproving of each song, and the more feedback you provide, the better of a selection Pandora is able to provide for you. Shazaam listens to whatever song is playing near you and tells you the artist and album, and makes them both available to you for purchase. Or you could just plug that information into your Pandora app and listen to that song and others like it for free.


Video: There are a number of video streaming apps available in the market, most of the usefulness of which will depend on the speed of your internet connection. The YouTube app allows you to browse their site and watch videos on your phone, but a large number of the videos are unplayable. TV.Com offers a lot of clips, but not many full episodes. SPB TV provides over 20 different stations, many international news stations, and is one of the few apps on which we would recommend dropping $10, should you live in an area with strong 3G coverage. Many of their channels are not regularly offered in the US. Personally we are breathlessly waiting for the Hulu app to come and rock our world, but that looks like it is several months away, at least.