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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Catch Up on the Classics - Aldiko Reader

I love reading, and so I was overjoyed when I discovered that there was an Ebook reader on the Android market. Although the Aldiko Book Reader is available on the Android Market in both a free and paid version, there is no difference between the two, the premium version is just a donate version. If you have the yearnings that I do to read a book while anywhere, then this is definitely an application that you will want to check out.

Catalogs

FeedBooks

This is a catalog of books that are either in the public domain, or are written by independent authors. This is the catalog that I have downloaded most of my books from, for the simple reason that I love Sherlock Holmes, and all of the books starring him are on FeedBooks. The books by independent authors range from completely original works to fan fiction, and the quality ranges from poor to excellent. It's definitely worth the time it takes to read the first few pages to find out.


Smashwords

Smashwords is a catalog for independent authors to market their work on. On here you will find hundreds of titles by independent authors who are looking for a chance to make it big. Like the independent works on FeedBooks, the quality varies, but there is usually a preview so that you can check it out first.

All Romance Books

This catalog is exactly what it says it is. All Romance Books has romance books in every conceivable area of interest that you can think of. I personally stay out of this catalog, but it may be something that you're into. If so, check it out. There are some free books available on here as well, so my fellow broke readers can still enjoy some reading.

O'Reilly Ebooks

If you are of a technical bend, then you will find this catalog to be a Godsend. O'Reilly creates tech books for a wide range of devices, OS's, and software. If your trying to figure out how to do something involving pretty much anything, and you want a manual, this is the place to look for it. For all of the mod fans out there, they also have back issues of Make magazine, one of the greatest DIY and mod magazines out there!

With access to such libraries, and the ability to customize font size, font color, and page turning style, Aldiko Book Reader is a great application. Since you can carry hundreds of book around in your pocket, and start reading any of them at the exact point that you left off, this app is great for reading a little bit any time that you've got a few minutes. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Swiss Army Android

I am always trying to find new ways to increase the usefulness of my Android. I know that it is basically a digital Swiss Army Knife already, but it could always be more useful. In light of this, I spend an awful lot of time searching the Internet and the the Android Market for new applications to help me with my mission. Here are some of my new favorites!

CallTrack

I hate scrolling through my call list to find someone that has called me the week before, or to try to figure out how long I talked on the phone during a particular day. This simple application solves all of those problems for me. What it does is sync all of your phone calls with you Google Calender, and you will then be able to see who called you on what day, and how long that you spoke to them. The only possible negative is that, if you share your calender with someone, as I do with my wife, they will also see your call log. This is not a problem for me, but you may want to consider it before you download the application.


FX Camera

How many of you use the camera on your Android? The most that I can say about the system camera is that it works. The sharing functions are there, and they are very nice, but sometimes you want a picture that has a little bit of character to it, and is a little more fun than just a standard picture. The FX camera has several fun modes to shoot in such as the Warhol, or the Toy Camera, and has the color filters that you can apply to a normal shot.

DoubleTwist

DoubleTwist is not an application for your Android, but is instead available to be downloaded to your computer. What is does is sync music, playlists, and other media to your Android device. The desktop also has a podcast search function, and is integrated with the Amazon music store so that you can buy music there if you would like. I find it to be extremely useful for downloading my Car Talk podcasts, and getting my music on my phone. Check it out! Also, please note that DoubleTwist supports hundreds of devices, including all sorts of phones and the PSP.

Bump

How many of you meet new people fairly often? Do you have to contact them later? If so, then you may find this application to be useful. Bump is a way to trade your contact information with someone. All you have to do is open up the application, select what information you would like to transfer, and then, while the other person has Bump open and ready as well, bump your hands together. The great thing about this app is that it works across platforms, and so you will be able to transfer contacts with iPhone owners as well as Android owners.

If you get a chance, try all of these applications out. I think that you will find that they are all great choices for increasing the usefulness of your Android. Please let me know what you think about them.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Keeping Up With the Androids

One thing that I like to do on my Android is keep track of what's going on in the world today. I like to read about what my friends are doing, and where they're going. I also like to know what's popular, and I like to know what's going on in the world of technology. I'm a curious man. Fortunately, my Android phone has a number of applications to help me keep up with the world around me.

Friends

Facebook

Everybody is on Facebook. Seriously. It seems that every time I log on there's someone else that I used to know that has a Facebook profile. I myself have a Facebook profile, and three fan pages that I admin. So, if your going to keep up with people, it's probably best that you have a Facebook app on your Android. The official Facebook application available on the Android Market works just fine for this task.

Myspace

Myspace seems like a dinosaur at this point, but, for reasons unknown, is actually the number two downloaded social networking app on the Android market, and, for a good while, was actually in the number one spot. With the ability to check and write blog posts, messages, and bulletins, you will be able to keep up with the few friends that may still check their Myspace.

Gowalla

This is, currently, my favorite social networking site. Having the ability to check in to places, and to see where my friends have been hanging out is actually really cool, and I love getting stamps and pins!

What's Popular

Yelp!

I don't know about you guys, but I love trying new things, and one off the best things to have when your going out into the world to try something new is Yelp. Yelp is an online review community, and is one of the best places to look if you want to know what everyone else is saying about the place that you want to go. As their database is community updated, you can find anything in the reviews from what to eat to where to sit. I usually use Yelp to find restaurants, but they cover pretty much anything that there is, and you can add your review on a bank, gas station, or even a public place.

Digg

Is anyone else here interested in what the popular web trends are? Digg is a page ranking site. What happens is that a user submits a website, and other users either dig it or bury it. You can see some of the most popular topics according to the crowds if you just spend a little bit of time looking around in here, and you can make your opinion count as well.

News

Express News

Express news is a news aggregator which, with a little bit of settings adjustments, delivers the news that you want to hear about, and leaves out the stuff that bores you. Political junkie? There are plenty of political channels for you to choose from. Are sports the only thing that you want to hear about? You can make this your sports news app. With its customization options, this is one of the best news applications that I have come across.

NPR News

This is really only on hear because I know that there are a lot of NPR junkies out there. You can browse the NPR topics, add items to your playlist, and listen to them all when you get ready. It's a well-made app, and is worth the download.

Twitter! (Seesmic)

For those of us who like to read our news articles online, this is probably one of the best sources of news you can find. I follow most of the technology and Android review sites, and having Twitter notify me that a new article has been written allows me to stay on top of the tech world. The Twitter client that I use is Seesmic, and I have no complaints about the interface.

There are more options out there that I did not touch on, but that is largely because I don't use them, and I don't want to review it unless I use it. This list is my current method for keeping up with what's going on in the world and with my friends, and I hope that you find it to be useful!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Want to Have More of Android?

Have you been wondering what else there is out there that runs on our beloved Android OS? I have put together some of the more interesting ones that I know of. Please note that this is not all of the Android devices out there. As there are nearly a hundred different devices available or planned to be released this year, it would be a little difficult for me to bring you a complete list.

Barnes and Noble Nook

The Nook is an E-reader developed and sold by Barnes & Noble. It has the amazing E-ink display, and also has a small touchscreen for navigating your library and purchasing new books. The Nook runs on a custom build of Android, and can obtain books through a 3G or Wi-Fi connection, both of which are free to use. With book sharing, apps, a web browser, and access to over a million books, magazines, and newspapers, this is the E-reader that I would purchase. It's an incredible piece of machinary, take the time to check out their website!

NIM 1000

This is a device designed by Touch Revolutions that is designed to be built into household appliances. You can't buy the product yourself, as they are only marketing it to manufacturers, but it is what makes Android appliance integration possible. You would have a dryer or washing machine that could send you a text when the clothes were dry, a refrigerator that played music and gave you the weather, and a microwave that that could look up the best time to nuke your food. All of them would, of course, be completely controllable by the touchscreen that would be your control center. Touch Revolutions has also done implementations of their product in desktop enterprise phones. I think that this is a very interesting implementation of the Android OS, and I would love to have a refrigerator that could keep track of my grocery list for me.

 HDTV

There are currently two companies that are planning on releasing televisions that run on the Android OS, and testing on the first is scheduled to begin in Europe in September of 2010. A television running Android would concievably be able to stream movies and shows from Netflix and Hulu, and would also have the ability to run multiple custom applications that are tailored to your watching interests. The possibilities are enormous, although the widespread use of these televisions would probably be the death knell storefront rental centers.

Cars

The worlds first car equipped with the Android OS is now in production in China, and will be launching at the Beijing Auto show. Having Android integrated into the vehicles will allow them access to GPS, web-browsing, and, of course, apps. There is also the possibility that Android could be hooked up to the actual vehicle controls, and then you would be able to perform such functions as remote start up of your car, unlocking your door, and monitoring your MPG and engine health, all from your in Android phone!

Set-top TV Boxes

Google has been in talks with Intel, Sony, Dish Network, and Logitech to create an open standard for set-top boxes that would allow Android integration, and allow for access to web-based content providers such as Hulu and YouTube. Of course, with a set-top box, you would have the same options that the televisions running Android would have.


More...

There's so much more stuff out there, and even more to come. With all of the Android integration that is going on, if you can think of it, it's just a matter of time before it runs Android! Let me know what you think!

To Many Social Networks?

I don't know if this makes me unusual in the eyes of the masses, but I have more than one social network. I am a posting member of Facebook, Twitter!, MySpace, Gowalla, Digg, and Stumbler. That's a lot of stuff to keep track of, and it was sort of a headache to keep track of each of these websites individually. That is why, when I heard of Lifestream beta for the Android, I rushed to the Android Market to check it out.

Now, if you have a phone that uses MotoBlur, such as the Devour or Backflip, then you may not find this application to be particularly useful, although I believe that Lifestream aggregates more social networks than the Motorola OS does. Lifestream is a social network aggregator, or an app that pulls updates from your various social networks and displays them in one area. It is also capable of posting updates on particular networks to your other social networks.

When you first start the Lifestream application you are given the choice of creating a Lifestream account, or just logging in with your Facebook account. After you log in you will be able to go to the Me section of your Lifestream, add whatever social Networks that you are using, and begin posting! Lifestream is able to link to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Digg, Foursquare, Delicious, Flikr, and YouTube, and pretty much everybody that I know has an account on at least one of these networks.

You can also search for locations and people to follow on the actual Lifestream network, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of action going on there.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that this is the beta version of Lifestream, and so it is still a little buggy. I have noticed that, sometimes, all of the comments that have been made to your posts don't show, and that the icons that show who made different posts are sometimes incorrect. Also, after you use Lifestream on your Android to check updates or post to numerous sites at once, please remember to use an application such as Taskiller to close out the the Lifestream application. If you don't, since Lifestream is constantly checking multiple social networking sites for updates, your battery will suffer a very quick and painful death, leaving you without a phone.

Overall, the Lifestream application is a very good concept, and, once it gets out of beta, I have high hopes for it, but, at the present, it is still useful for doing a quick check of all of your social networks at once.

Lifestream is produced by AOL, they have a web presence in addition to their application offering, and their app is available on the iPhone as well.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Keep Your Droid Fast

I love my Samsung Moment, but I would be lying if I were to say that there have not been things that have caused me problems while owning it. One of the problems that I noticed after using the phone for a while was that it was losing some of the zippiness and responsiveness that I had gotten used to. I would attempt to open up my drawer of applications, and the drawer would slowly pull up from the bottom of the screen, seemingly mocking me with it's sluggishness. As you can probably guess, this drove me a little crazy, but, after doing a little searching around in the Android Market, I was able to find an app that solved this problem for me.

The issue was, you see, the use by some of developers of their ability to run applications in the background on the Android OS. The Android OS has true multi-tasking, and can run many programs at once, but, since each phone has a limited amount of processing power, many apps running automatically in the background can cause your phone to run slowly, and even eat away at the life of your battery.

You probably want to avoid this at all costs.

If you have version 2.1 of Android, then you have system tools that work fine for controlling your applications, but, if, like me, you are running 1.5 or 1.6, then you don't really have the tools necessary to control this aspect of your phone. Do not despair though, because there is a remedy!

The remedy can be found be going into the Android market and typing in TasKiller. There are two versions of Taskiller on the market, the free version that runs ads and has some reduced functionality, and the full version. But, in either of these versions, Taskiller is an application that lets you close out any applications that are running in the background that you may not want to run. All you will have to do is select the Taskiller from your list of applications, and it will bring up a list of all of your open applications. From there you can either pick the apps that you want to close manually, or you can choose to close all applications. Please be aware that closing all applications also closes the system applications that control your connections, and will clear out all of your notifications. The system should start your connections back up automatically, but it would probably be best if you checked your notifications before killing all applications. TasKiller full also comes with widgets that you can install on your home screens so that you can see how much memory you have left, what applications are running, and so that you can kill apps without opening TasKiller.

TasKiller is a good application that, properly used, can help to keep your system fast, and increase your enjoyment of your Android device. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Better Keyboard - Speaks for Itself

How many of you struggle with the onscreen keyboard on your Android phone? I hate that it, just like the iPhone, has an onscreen keyboard that I can barely see around my thick fingers. Maybe no one else has this problem, but I just don't find a full Qwerty keyboard on a touchscreen to be easy to use, and the system Android one is no different for me. That's why I bought the Moment, because I like to have a hardware keyboard, and the Moment's keyboard is hard to beat. But, after owning my phone for a couple of months, I found that I was wanting, at times, to type out a quick message with out having to slide out the keyboard.

I had no luck at all. My fingers covered up the keyboard so that I had to lift my whole hand up to see every time that I touched the screen, and I couldn't do it with one hand! I decided that there had to be a way to fix this problem, and so I went to the Android market to look for it. After all I had an Android phone, and they are extremely customizable. I found several keyboards on the Market, but the one that I decided to stick with is the Better Keyboard ($3.24).

Better Keyboard is made by the developer Better Android, and is, simply put, an attempt to make a keyboard that is better than the system one. In addition to the standard Qwerty keyboard to which they have added larger keys, there is also a compact Qwerty keyboard, and a T9 keyboard. The compact Qwerty has a standard Qwerty set-up, but there are only nine letter keys to tap, and all of the keys have three or four letters on them. The T9 keyboard has a very similar setup to the keyboard on a standard "dumbphone",  and both of these compact keyboards work with predictive text.

All of these keyboards can be set up for use in your Android settings menu, and there are many other settings that you can access from there or by touching the application icon on your menu. You can change the appearance of your keyboard with one of the hundreds of skins available on the Android Market, or you can set your phone up to enter all of your texts in LeetSpeak, although this will have the effect of confusing your friends and making you look like you spend to much time on the internet. Most of the skins are free as well, so feel free to customize your experience!

I definitely recommend this app for anyone running Android on a phone without a hardware keyboard, and it's still a useful tool for those of you that do have a hard keyboard. The greatest benefit to me is that I can now type out a text or a quick note with one hand, and, since I use the T9 as my default, can do so with out having to hunt for the keys. Check it out people, it'll be worth the time, and, if you decide it's not for you, you still have your standard refund period to return it.


Please feel free to comment, but, be aware, any abusive or spamming posts will be removed.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Get Out There! Gowalla.

In today's world of computers, video games, movies and constant television, we often miss the opportunity to go outside, enjoy the sunlight, and meet new people. I'm certainly not trying to judge, but, to many of us, the tanning bed has taken the place of sunlight, and Facebook has taken the place of actually meeting people. It's just a consequence of living in this technologically advanced world. At times the things that we can do at home seem much more engaging and entertaining than anything that we can do outside.

The people at Gowalla feel that they can help you to enjoy the best of both of these worlds. They have created a social application that uses the GPS in your phone to make a game out of going places. Gowalla can be downloaded for free from the Android Market. Go ahead and get it, and we'll start your adventure.

On starting up Gowalla you should be prompted to create an account. After you have done so, you will be taken to the main screen, where you will see several tabs.

Activity

This tab will show the recent activity of any friends that you have connected to on Gowalla, and give you the opportunity to look for more friends. It is useful for those times that you are meeting up with friends in a downtown area, and you want to know if they are at the bookstore or buying coffee.

Spots

This is the main screen of the application, and the default page when you open the application. Here you will see a list of the locations and points that are close to your location. You can check into a location, and receive a stamp for doing so. You also have the ability to create an event. An event is a lot like a spot, in that you can check in there, leave comments or photos, you receive a stamp, and it is based on location, but it expires in twelve hours. There is no reason to fear that you are wasting your time by checking in or creating it though, as there is a page created for your event, and all of the photos and comments will be saved on it. If you have enough people check into your event, it will become a Hot Spot and be featured on Gowalla's home page. Quick tip: If you've turned off your GPS to try to reserve your battery life, you are going to need to switch it back on to use Gowalla. 

Trips

On the Trips tab you will find groups of spots organized into trips. You have things such as all of the sports arenas in the Dallas area that have won a championship, BBQ restaurants in Austin, or Off the Wall spots in Oklahoma City. Most of the trips are located in Austin, simply because the developer is based there as well, but there is an option on the website to take some of the spots in your area and make them into a trip. Your Gowalla Friends will then be able to see your trips and go on them themselves if they so please.

Passport

The Passport tab contains the photo and your statistics. You will be able to see the last place that you checked into, and whatever digital items that you may have picked up on your way. The digital items serve no real purpose, but you start out with a few, you are rewarded them for going places sometimes, and you can pick up ones that fellow Gowallaians have dropped if you check into they location that they did so at. From here you can also access your Stamps and Pins. You receive a stamp the first time that you check into a particular location, and you receive pins for accomplishments, such as checking into a certain number of locations, or completing trips.


All in all, Gowalla is a fun program to use. Setting trips up for you and your friends can be an enjoyable experience, and the competitive urge in a good many of us may cause us to try to get as many stamps and pins as we can. So, if you can't figure out what to do this weekend, get Gowalla. Get out there!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Love Keeping In Touch? Handcent Is For You!




How many of you like to text your friends? You're all nodding your heads, aren't you? Well, the Android does, of course, have built in texting functionality, but, honestly, it's a bit boring. Some of us like to spice things up, and I'm hoping that your with me on this one, because there's not much that's better than customization.
Handcent SMS is available for free in the Android Market, and is a fairly simple application. If you want, you can download it and just use it for your text messages without using the customization, but you would then be missing out on some of the greatest aspects of Handcent SMS.

Main Screen
Once you select Handcent to run the application, it will start you on this screen. In the top right hand corner is a button that will take you to the Handcent settings, and in the top left hand corner is a button that will start a new text for you.

From here you can treat this like your regular system messaging app, but I recommend that you press your menu button, and select Settings.

Bam!

This is where the magic happens. There are forty-nine entries on the settings menu. Seven of those entries are actually additional menus! You can change your font size, change your font, change your background, change your notification appearance, decide whether or not you want a pop-up field to answer your texts in when they come, change your conversation style, enable quick composing, and even spoof your phone as a different device when sending messages.


As there are far to many different settings for me to write about, I'm going to give you a quick overview of the ones that I have adjusted on my phone.

Pop-up
This causes messages to pop up on your screen over your other applications so that you can answer it. I personally have no use for this. With Android's built in notification system, it is much more practical for me to use the Notification bar. But, if you like the idea of having a pop-up box, by all means, activate it.

Notification Settings
I don't like to have my phone look just like everyone else's, and that is why this setting is so enjoyable to me. From here you can set the appearance of your notification icon, decide whether you want the number of unread messages to be displayed in the notification bar, and set whether you want the message to scroll through without you having to open it up...You know, just in case you have nosy people around who might read your messages in your notification bar without unlocking the phone. A quick tip here; if you decide to use Handcent, you need to go into the system messaging menu and turn the notifications off, otherwise you will receive two notifications every time someone sends you a message.

Handcent Keyboard

This is actually a separate download on the Android Market, but is coded by the Handcent people, and is integrated well with it. It is a T9 onscreen keyboard, and, while you may think, “What do I need that for, I have a slide-out/system keyboard?”, this keyboard does make one-handed operation not only feasible, but also fairly simple. Adding to the dictionary is a simple matter, and, all around, I think it is a good addition.

Overall, this is one of the applications on my Moment that I use the most. I don't have any problems with crashes, and it provides me with the customization that I yearn for so much. It's free to, so don't let anything stop you from downloading it and trying it out!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Note Everything - Be Productive

How many people love their Android? That being said, how many of you want to know what you can use your Android for? The simple fact of the matter is that, if you plan on using your Android handset for anything other than listening to music and playing games, you are going to need some sort of productivity tool. You will need to prepare notes, jot down ideas, draw sketches, and record your ideas when you can't seem to find time to actually type them in.

Note Everything is a Notebook application, created by SoftXperience, and available for free on the Android Marketplace, that will be able to accomplish all of these tasks, and do it well. Note Everything is not flashy, but it is well made, and will do the job that it needs to do. The free version is able to create text notes, voice notes, and paint notes. It is also able to create shortcuts to notes on the main screen. The paid version also has checklists, durable checklists, the ability to stick notes in the notification bar, notifications, gallery notes, and a few more functions as well.

I personally use Note Everything Pro constantly, and consider it to be the best app purchase I have made on my Moment. I will break down the functions of the app, and tell you what I personally use them for, and hopefully it will be of some use to you. If there is an * beside the title, that function is only available on the paid version.


Textnote

This is the most basic of note functions, although the people at SoftXperience have added a few extras into it that make it much more useful. To create a text note, you simply have to press your menu key while inside of the app, and select Textnote. You can define your title, and enter text into the body of the note. If you do not define the title, the app will automatically generate one based on the body of the note.

If you select menu while in Textnote, you can chose to delete the note, discard your most recent changes, or to send the note. In addition to the share function that is common on Android, you can convert the note to a Barcode. You can also create a shortcut on your homescreen, just in case you need to access that particular note more often.

I use the text note when i need to jot down a few notes during service, or while riding in the car. I also generally create large SMS and email drafts in the text function, and just send them when I'm ready to do so.

Paintnote

Paintnote is a simple drawing tool in which your finger is the stylus. In addition to the sharing functions, you can adjust the width and color of the pen, clear the drawing, and pull up an eraser in order to clear a specific part of your drawing.

I normally create paint notes when I'm texting my friends. I just enjoy sending little had written notes, or drawing a picture of my brother with a Mohawk. :)

Voicenote

Voicenote is a voice recording function. To create a new Voice note you can chose Voicenote from the menu, or, if your phone has a built in camera button, simply push the camera button while in the Note Everything app. You will just have to touch the record button to record, although, if you accessed it through the camera function, the app will automatically start recording.

Once you have recorded what you need to record touch the stop button, and you will be asked if you want to use the recording or discard. If you use the recording, you will be taken to a screen where you can listen to your recording, add text notes to it, and share the recording via Gmail.

This is very useful for when you have an idea while driving, or if you want to record what a speaker is saying. While there is no direct voice to text function built in, you can listen to your voice note while typing text in the note area, and then convert the text that you written into text.

Photonote*

You can access this function through the menu like all of the other note creations. When you select Photonote, it will start your camera, after which you can snap a picture of whatever it is you were wishing to record. Once you have taken the photograph you can chose to either attach the photo or discard it. After you select the attach function, you can add text to the note, send the note, or even rotate the picture to a more appropriate view.

My most common usage for this is when I see an object that stirs my curiosity, and I want to remember to check it out.

Checklist*

This creates a list of items, which you can check off once completed. To start a checklist, simply access it from the menu. To add items to the checklist, simply type in what you are looking for and press enter. The menu allows you to cleanup your list, which removes already checked items from the list, and also convert to a text note or durable checklist.

I use this constantly! I use the stick note function to keep this in my notifications, and I add all of the things that I need to get done for the day to it. It allows me to keep track of what I have left to do, and keeps me from having that "what did I do today?" syndrome. I simply pull it down at the end of the day, and review everything that I've done...It is certainly useful for me!

Durable Checklist*

The durable checklist is different from the checklist in that you create a list that is meant to be used over and over again. You have three tabs: All, Need, and Done. You enter items the same way that you do on the checklist, and they show up on your All and Need tabs. Once you have acquired the item that you need, you touch the check, and it will move from the Need tab to the Done tab, but will remain on the All tab with a green check. Once you have completed your list, you can bring up the menu to clean up the Done tab, or you can do so manually from the done tab. When you clean items out of the Done tab, the show only on the All tab, and are grayed out. If you tap the gray block next to the item, it will appear back in the Need tab.

This is an incredibly useful note! It's great for grocery lists, job lists, or recipes. Some of you would probably put your whole grocery list on there, and select the items you need when you need them, but saving recipes is also a great idea. i personally use this for maintenance jobs. I have a list of all of my tools, and when I need to get the tools together I select the tools that I will need for that job. It works very well for those of us who are absent-minded.

Gallerynote*

The gallery note function acts very much like the Photo Note, except that it takes you into your gallery, and from there you select a picture that you have already taken, and then add notes. Your able to share the Gallery notes just as you can most of the other notes.

This particular note is useful for the same things that the photo note, but is time designed for those times when you just had to take the picture and keep going, but have time later to muse.

Note from Barcode

This function requires that you have a bar code scanner application installed on your phone, but, if you do, you can scan a bar code and add notes about it in text below. You are also able to share just as you can with most of the other notes.

Note from Google Docs

This Note function requires that you download NE GDocs from the marketplace, and that you have a Google Docs account, but it allows you to share text notes and the like with Google Docs.

Extras*

If you purchase Note Everything Pro you will receive several additional functions that really make this app shine. My personal favorite is the ability to Stick any of the notes that you have created in your notifications. This is enormously useful for the checklist or durable checklist, and still very useful for all of the other things that you may need to remember. You will also gain the ability to backup your notes to your SD card, the ability to add notifications, and an encryption function.

Overview

I personally own this app, and I feel that it was a great purchase, but if you don't feel like investing the $4-$5 to access these functions, the free version is still very useful in it's own right. Please take the time to check it out, and let me know what you think!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Samsung Moment - Three Months of Android Love

Well, hello there boys and girls. After three months of using the Samsung Moment, I believe that it is high time I let all of you know how my experience has been. I want to include everything, and so the layout of this blog will be on each component separately.




Hardware



Screen


The Moment's screen is decent for what I use it for, but does not show most videos that well. I have never been a fan of YouTube, or the myriad videos that one can find there, but you may be different. If that is the case, you may want to get a phone with a greater resolution, and a larger screen. The couple of videos that I did watch were rather choppy, and really indeciperable.

Optical Trackpad

I must unapologetically state that this component is a complete waste of space. I have tried using the trackpad from time to time, but it does not seem to register the fact that my finger has passed over it at all. I can press it to select an item that is highlighted, but, if I am unable to use the trackpad to to highlight an item, then I am unable to highlight an item. I would have preferred a treckball, or even nothing, as I have used the phone with no real issues, and have not missed the trackball.

Hard Buttons

There are a total of five non-keyboard buttons on the Moment. There are the typical Call and End Call buttons, a two-way toggle for controlling sound, a camera button, and a voice activation button. I have no complaints. The End Call button also functions as the Sleep button, and will be the single button that you use the most on this phone. The camera button is useful, and I prefer using it rather than the touchscreen camera button, if only because it is difficult for me to hold the camera still while trying to operate the touchscreen.


Touch Buttons

There are three Touch buttons right below the Moment's screen. They are the Home, Menu, and Back buttons. These have all operated very well for me the whole time that I have owned this phone. The Home button in particular has been of great use to me, as you can long press it in order to bring up a small menu of the last six apps that you have had open.

Camera

The camera on the Moment operates well enough. It isn't anything special, and it takes it a little while to open, but, as I stated above, the Hard button on the side does make for ease of use.

Slideout Keyboard

This component is the Moment's greatest triumph with me. I love the keyboard on my phone. There are a total of fourty-seven keys on this lovely slide-out, and they are all nicely spaced out. While this may not be an issue for everyone who uses smartphones, my fingers are very thick. Most of the time when using a touchscreen, I can not see around my finger to touch the next spot on the phone, but must instead use the hunt an peck method with my touchscreen. The Moment has a full number row, all twenty-six letters, a space bar, an arrow pad, an enter key, a backspace key, a period key, a shift key, a fn key, and a dedicated search key. After a short amount of time getting used to the spacing and placement of keys on my Moment, I have come to love the ease of use with which I can text and write.

GPS

The GPS on the Samsung Moment is somewhat of a disappointment. When I am at home, it always shows my position to be at a location that is almost a mile down the road from me. This Location will change if i stand outside and wait, with my phone held out, for around ten minutes. this makes any location based apps almost unusable. I say almost unusable because the phone will eventually register your location, you just may not want to wait the ten minutes that it takes it to do so. I am hoping that the newest update from Android will help this problem, although it may be the hardware, and not the software.


Software



Operating System


The Moment is currently running on v. 1.5 of Android. The OS works well, and, of course, the integration with Google is fantastic. I am anxiously awaiting the update to 2.1 that is supposed to be coming out in late April, because there are more and more apps that are coming out only on 2.1.

User Interface


Samsung chose not to create their own user interface for the Moment, which is a good thing in my book, but only because I would prefer my display to be simple.

Bloatware


The Moment comes pre-loaded with several undeletable apps compliments of Sprint. These are Nascar, NFL, Sprint Navigation, Moxier exchange, and SprintTV. I have no use for any of these Applications, and would be more than happy if they did not exist.

Onscreen Keyboard

I quickly found that the Moment's onscreen keyboard was just slightly more than useless to me. As I have mentioned earlier, it was impossible for me to use because of my inability to see the screen past my thick fingers. I would recommend to anybody that finds that they need to use the onscreen keyboard for one-handed use to download a T9 input keyboard.

Summary

All in all, I love my phone. I must admit that a large part of what makes me love it is the fact that it is running Android, the use of which has been a pleasure, but the slide-out keyboard has also claimed it's share of my love. Thanks for reading kiddos, see you next time.