[drewfus420]

I just got a Motorola Android the other day, and I am still learning my way around it. I am impressed with almost everything ( battery life sux...) including the SQ, which surprises me.
Anyway.. any Android owners want to share what apps they can't live without?
I am after mostly music related stuff and fun tech gizmo type things, but I will try most well recommended apps.

Thanks in advance,
Drew

 

[Bones13]

My battery life is pretty good actually, unless I am somewhere deep in a shielded building where the phone does not get reception (1 of the 3 hospitals I work at).

The key to battery life, is checking the refresh interval on your email. I use 30 minutes, and refresh more often if I am expecting something.

The other key is "automatic task killer" which shuts down background processes every time you turn the phone screen off.

Surfing 24/7 also tends to run the battery down.

As for apps from the "market"

Facebook, The Weather Channel, AK Notepad, Evernote, Amazon, Movie Finder, and some games Jewels, Torect Lite, Bubble Burst. Mostly I use the "lite" free version until I tire of the game, then move on.

I use the phone for phone, email, schedule, and web searching when needed. No music on the phone at this point. My iPod Touch is too good at that.

 

[bcpk]

HTC Google Nexus One: Must have apps? - gdgt

 

[dazzer1975]

layar, shop savvy, scan2pdf, nimbuzz, pktauctions ebay and locale off top of my head

 

[Enanthate]

Google goggles is very useful. Scans barcodes or entire pictures of products.

Also the google places directory is nice to find and bookmark any nearby locations.

 

[thread]

Reducing apps that create ongoing network traffic is a great way to improve battery life. Just remember that the screen is by FAR the largest user of the battery. I've also read that the battery life will improve after the first few cycles. (cycle == most to all drained, then charged.)

My favorite apps are ConnectBot (because there's a LOT I can do with ssh), NewsRob (best newsreader I've found; syncs with Google Reader), Google Listen for my podcasts...

Dolphin - excellent replacement browser with lots of cool features
Meebo IM - my favorite IM app
Advanced Task Manager - Best task manager app I've found. The usefulness of these things is up for debate, though.
Seesmic - Twitter! It seems like a friendlier UI than twidroid
Google Voice - free sms and more
Transdroid - remotely control my torrents
handyCalc - the best, free calculator I could find (has graphing and other advanced stuff)
Subsonic - Of course we have Pandora and Last.fm, but Subsonic lets me stream my own music from anywhere I have an internet connection! It works from any web browser or this sweet app. Really awesome app; highly recommended!

And Robo Defense is a really well done game. For killing time on your phone, especially if you dig tower defense... it's a good one.

 

[drewfus420]

thanks for all the suggestions!
Advanced task killer was the first app I got, and is a definite essential app.
It is going to take me a while to check all of the suggested ones, but I will...

 

[dazzer1975]

Id recommend checking out locale first, it can change your phone settings dependant upon the conditions you set re geographical location, date, time etc e.g. going into class then have locale automatically set your phone to silent and after class has finished it will set it back to volume, alternatively, when your at home with the parents have it automatically set your wallpaper as something safe, when away from home where you hang with your mates have something a little bit riske lol

obviously you set what you want your phone to do, look and sound like under whatever conditions u want, very useful app for the forgetful amongst us and you get a call half way through a lecture.

 

[KromaXamorK]

MortPlayer for music based on folder navigation.
MotoTorch LED and DockRunner for Motorola.
Kaloer Clock.

 

[trondis23]

Shazam does the same as Google Goggles, except it is for audio. If you want to identify a tune you hear on the radio, Shazam will record a few seconds of it and find it. I tried it yesterday, and it worked. First I tried a Beatles tune, then an old Jan Garbarek recording. It found the right tune in both cases. Then you get two links, one for Amazon, and one for YouTube. So you can buy the tune directly, or find a video for it.