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!

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.

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!