I'm making this thread both to share what I feel are good apps and to discover other apps for myself. I have not installed Dexters 2.2 or rooted yet (though I intend to) so I'm not going to list anything that requires it, but feel free to do so yourself.
So:
Lockscreen: GOTO Lockscreen. I saw this a while back but never actually checked it out. It was featured on DroidLife today so I decided to check it out now and it's great. Great, elegant look to it, great functionality as well. I've been using WidgetLocker for ages and it doesn't compare. There were some issues at first but after rebooting everything seems to work perfectly for the most part(I saw someone mention this as well in the comments so I did it). It's also on sale right now. Might be a bit of a drain on battery.
HomeLauncher: LauncherPro (Plus). I love the look and functionality of this and most of all, the widgets (which are greatly enhanced by Signal's themes -that can be found in Android Themes section). Truth be told, ADW (/ADW EX) probably has more options and functionality at this time (and you can use Colorize Widgets app to replace LP widgets for free). For now ADW might be better, though I'm just waiting for LauncherPro rewrite to happen (going so slowly). GoLauncher as well is fantastic. As is Zeam. There are many great options right now (and so many more on the horizon).
Whatever the case, something that is crucial when using one of these (at least for me) is to select the option to "Keep in memory." I think all of the above have that option (not sure about Zeam). My biggest issue with launchers is that my screen always redraws itself so much (this is a problem with XT720 stock launcher as well), so I have to wait forever for my icons and widgets to load itself, which is really annoying. I've tried things to reduce it, but the only thing that ever got rid of it was to select that option. Now using LP with that option and no lags at all.
I also recommend getting home switcher for easy switching between launchers.
EDIT: SPB Shell 3D
Keyboard:
Stock XT720 keyboard isn't bad (for me). I tend to alternate between that and Swype. I prefer stock keyboard for use in landscape mode. Once I'm rooted I plan to install that app that lets you choose a keyboard for portrait mode (i.e that would be Swype for me) and another in landscape (stock).
EDIT: Stock Gingerbread keyboard
Music Player:
Stock is decent, but nothing special really. I do like the album cover flow in landscape mode though. I alternate between that and Connected music player, which is the ripped music player from the atrix and droid bionic I believe (I'm not sure where to get it since that thread has since been locked). Winamp is also pretty good. PowerAmp has a lot of features, but you get annoying popups after two weeks unless you buy the full version ($5). I'd love to know what others use.
Some apps specifically use stock music player so that's another reason I use stock. i.e. when using GoTo lockscreen, the lockscreen changes when you're playing music to give you music player controls, but only seems to do when using stock music player.
EDIT: Google Music/ PowerAmp
Browser:
Stock is not that great. Has that nice bookmark cover flow in landscape mode, but in terms of functionality there are better ones. I use Dolphin Browser HD now (blue theme). Best UI for browser out there currently imo. A lot of people seem to love Miren and Dolphin Browser mini, for reasons I can't understand (everyone says they are super fast but I never notice any difference on my already fast browser).
EDIT: Opera Mobile
Games:
Really loving Stupid Zombies right now, it's a lot of fun (though has slow loading times). Ninjump is great for quick little fun. Angry birds also remains fun, though repetitive. Would love to see what else runs great on XT720.
Customization/Widgets/:
Beautiful Widgets is great and has a huge range of themed clocks and toggles. The recently introduced "Super Clock" was a great improvement. So much customization with this. Colorize Widget is great if you're using something other than LauncherPro, Signals has themes for it also. Widgetsoid and MySettings, are great for quick access to settings.
Task Switching:
SwipePad is just phenomenal and has a great UI, I recommend you check it out if you don't have it already. Together with long press on home button, I have amazing task switching going on.
File Explorer:
File Explorer is a must for me on my XT720. It's how you can install APKs and browse your sdcard and everything and change things easily. ES File Explorer is great for that and has a nice UI.
There's more that I wanted to add I'm sure, but here's this for now. Feel free to share what apps you use on your XT720.
I really like Zeam mainly for the small footprint & speed, I've used LPP & the widgets are very cool. My preferred keyboard is SwiftKey, once you use it for a while the predictive text feature is really nice. I'm still using the stock browser, that along with ChromeMarks gives me access to all my desktop bookmarks. For music I've got MusicMod (Froyo) for the widgets & the MIUI music app. I'd also recommend SIMI Clock (Time, weather & battery level in 1 1x4 widget & a built in launcher) & SIMI folder widget. I also find SwiFTP very usefull, just fire up the FTP on the phone & copy files between the phone & my pc without a USB cable.
Lockscreen: default--dexter froyo
HomeLauncher: GoLauncherEX---no lags n a lot of options.....nice interface
Keyboard: swype---easy n handy
Music Player:winamp---no equalizer but fast n flexible
i ll recommend mixzing also.
Games:angry birds, world`s hardest game, fruit ninja, ninjump, soccerball, drop,pinball deluxe, brick breaker---all f em addictive
File Explorer:andrpzip, astro
Tools-- android assistant, set cpu---both help a lot in makin ure phone fast n unlaggy
Great post. I loved some of the suggestions.
Customization/Widgets/:
I use Sense Analog Clock. It gives me SD Storage, Internal Storage, Internal Memory, Battery Level and Temperature in one place. Edit: it gives me weather, time, lunar phase (even tough I don't use that info) and quick access to my alarms as well.
Music Player:
Because of the media scan bug, I've tested loads of music players. Most of the players based on folder navigation did not impress me. So I chose the simplest one for now: Gtunes. Once the media scan is back to business, I intend to come back to stock or winamp.
BTW, where do I get Connected music player?
Games:
Andoku is a must have for Sudoku lovers.
I'm starting to play Pocket Legends, but I don't see it getting very amusing in the near future...
Memory Trainer is nice if you wanna test yourself.
Misc:
Pulse - for news
Evernote - for note taking and journal
Gtasks - to synchronize my gmail tasks
AppMonster - to save my apps
Looking for:
A good personal finance app with online support. Unfortunately, Mint doesn't work down here.
just a reminder guys, before some one gets in trouble
no reference to WAREZ related apps here on XDA
it's the XDA Forum rules
aCCleaner
clear the cache nicely. worth a try.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.a0soft.gphone.aCCleaner.free
hello, from argentina ,for radio app ?
very good. thx u
What about a boot animation changer? I tried BAC lite and it disabled my touch screen and I had to do a recovery to get it back. I am using the CBW update and universal androot on my 720. Thanks for any suggestions
Browser
Opera mobile
Why I download from many sites and no fail on downloading.
Launcher
Go launcher 2.31 beta great 3d and many launcher.
Filemanager
Efile work good for me.
Radio
Tunein radio best radio around.
Sent from my XT720 using XDA Premium App
By far the best app for me is Absolute system, it's paid but has so many goodies and is super well supported!
Just about the first app I install after Titanium Backup is Quick Settings and set it to have a status bar shortcut with hidden icon.
I have 186 apps installed on my phone, but those are my favorite:
Top 50:
aCalendar - cool looking
Adobe Reader
Alarm Clock Xtreame - ascending alarm
ALYac Adnroid Antivirus - best looking antivirus with awesome preformance also
AppBrain App Market - find it useful
Angry Birds - fun game
Battery Doctor - overcharging battery before calibration
BattStatt -Widget
BobClockD3 - Widget
Broken Screen - To [email protected]#$ your friends
CacheMate - easy to use cache cleaner
Call Faker - for annoying people
Catch Notes - Never used it, but I still find it useful
Compass
Desktop VisualizeR
Digitally Imported Radio - DI.fm app
ES File Explorer
Fancy Widget
Flash Player
Font Changer
Glow Hockey 2 - Game
Labyrinth - Game
LauncherPro Plus
Lyrics App
MissedIt! - widget
MoboPlayer - video player
Notepad
Optimize ToolBox - awesome app
QR Droid - barcode scanner
Quadrant Standart Edition
Robotek - Game
Root Explorer
SetCPU
ShakyTower - Game
Shazam - music finder
ShootMe - I like ShootIt! Trail more, but don't know why it seem to capture only black screen now
SiMi Clock Pro - widget
SoundHound - music finder
Skype
Stop Skype
SwithPro Widget
System Info Widget
SystemApp Remover
TeamViewer - Manage your PC from phone
The Worlds Most Pointless App
Titanium Backup
TuneIn Radio
Unit Converter
XDA-Developers app
Zedge
P.S.: Almost forgot - Battery Calibration... awesome app after flashing new ROM. (Thanks Mioze for letting me know it.)
P.S.P.S: Lockscreen Widget pro too...
OriginalLucy said:
What about a boot animation changer? I tried BAC lite and it disabled my touch screen and I had to do a recovery to get it back. I am using the CBW update and universal androot on my 720. Thanks for any suggestions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolute system has many excellent tool, boot animation downloader included.
It's a paid app, but totally worth it Sherry, euh i mean Lucy .
I really like the functionality of "BusyMe (Lite)" which automatically set your ringer to vibrate (or: to quiet) during meetings on your Google Calendar and then return to normal afterwards.
No more hassle due to phone calls during meetings ;-))
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fernandodunn.android.busyme.lite
Taken quite a while for this thread to get any attention.
Some more apps:
Pulse
Speed X 3D
Afroid (XT720 light)
Apparatus
Cover Art Downloader
Androidify
Google+
SPB Time (I love this alarm clock though it's $6 as opposed to $2 when I bought it)
PowerAmp (really looking forward to the massive V2 update)
OriginalLucy said:
What about a boot animation changer? I tried BAC lite and it disabled my touch screen and I had to do a recovery to get it back. I am using the CBW update and universal androot on my 720. Thanks for any suggestions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this problem too. Really annoying. The home screen would come up and the touch screen did nothing. I was finally able to get a different bootup screen, but I had to work through a couple before I found one that wouldn't have that problem. I'm currently using the one where the apple logo is displayed and then pulled off the screen by our favorite android sporting a red and white stripped suit.
I noticed a couple things while messing around with it:
1- the boot animation sounds never worked for me
2- If I tried copying over larger boot anims, I would run out of space, but the CLI never told me that, so only part would be copied. (I think this has to do with the memhack/cache tweak)
3- When the touch screen went out I would just use ADB to recopy the original bootanim, then restart and then touchscreen would work again. (Save you a recovery).
In the end, I had to put a smaller file size on there but it's better than that eyeball bootanim, that was freaking me out lol.
With Dexter's Froyo installed and Gingerbread theme upgrade
So:
Lockscreen:
See Music Player
HomeLauncher:
LauncherPro (Plus), Launcher7(I simply enjoy it for being slick, and its status bar, but with a black status bar from gingerbread I've no need for it anymore.)
Slidescreen, this is a beautiful launcher that can also be ran as an app overlaying your current launcher.
If you simply want information, details stats, this is the one for you
Slide screen is slick and its advertisement for the free version, is an add to get the paid version.
sidenote--Home Switcher for Froyo
Keyboard:
Better Keyboard 8
Music Player:
Cloud Skipper
Serves as both a very accessible player and has its own lock screen with full access to the player itself upon hitting the unlock key.
Browser:
Opera Mini
xScope
Games:
Fruit Slice (not my slice of pie but some may like it, ran well)
Glow Hockey (Great game, if it supports vs over wifi, then wow)
Hex Defense (Plays like defense Grid)
Ninja Dash
Ninjump
Pew Pew (was interesting, but a little awkward for me)
Return Zero (interesting racer, and not too taxing on the system either)
Speedx 3D
YooNinja
Customization:
Metamorph is what i use for themes at the moment. May change to something else later on.
File Explorer:
OI File manager
I love saving space, and OI looks simple and efficient and runs extremely smooth.
Media Player:
Mobo Player
Management:
1-Click Clear
Appkik
As for games and excess apps, the ones that can't be ran from SD i backup with Appkik for later use to free up memory and space on the phone.
@ OriginalLucy
I used the following two videos for switching the boot animation
Search youtube for:
ANDROID Boot Animation (How-To Change It)
CyanogenMod Boot Animation
Got it running to replace that really bad boot animation from Dexter's Froyo
Great rom but the Boot animation was driving me bonkers.
Hope this helps out.
An easy way to change your boot animations is set up a folder on your SD card named Boot Animations and put the zip in there. Then go into /system/media and copy the original and put it on your SD card in case something ever happens and you can replace it with the original. Take your new boot animation and just replace the one that is in /system/media and reboot.
Obviously make a back up before you do this b/c not all work well.
Also watch your size. While they do look cool, some take up a ton of space.
wondering why no one mentioned some of these:
- "LBE privacy guard" --> control & take away the rights of your apps, e.g. don't allow facebook to access your contacts or send SMS , in my opinion one of the best apps so far. only for rooted devices!
- "history eraser"
- for users in Germany: "Öffi" -> great app for public transport, in germany we call it "öffentliche Nahverkehrsmittel"
- SMS Backup & Restore
- Titanium Backup
- WhatsApp -> like SMS , but works via internet connection and sends messages via internet -> no costs for sms
I recently installed CM7 on my touchpad, and I had a few questions for those using android. I have an android phone so I'm pretty familiar, but many applications are not optimized for tablets, landscape or just the resolution. What are some tips or suggestions you all have.
1. Laucher : using go right now, but I'm not liking it too much. Most launchers don't play well with the horizontal orientation, or the bottom taskbar.
2. Phone calling: I would love to be able to make calls though google voice or something. I like gmail calling on my computer, but I'm not sure that will work. I have skype but would like something free. I use ooma at home but their app is expensive and has bad reviews.
3. Weather: I already have enough trouble finding a weather app for my phone, but most don't seem to work in landscape.
4. Market : there seems to be a lot of incompatible apps, even amazon mobile. I tried the market fix but no luck.
5. Keyboard : I'm using SwiftKey x tablet right now and love it, but woud like to hear other people's suggestions.
Thanks,
-Keith
Thumb keyboard is outstanding. Was free app of day from Amazon a while back
Sent by Logo the turtle
Launcher - I have tried them all and I always come back to the stock ADW that comes with CM7 because it is the most configurable and generally works well in landscape mode. I also use the ICS theme to get the buttons and status bar more to my liking.
Phone Calling - CM7 is still in Alpha so some stuff still does not work.
Weather - Don't know what you are looking for in a Weather app or widget but I use the 3D Digital Weather Clock for local weather (tap on the Sun/Moon to get the 5 day forecast). There are a ton of things out there.
Market - I guess I haven't had a problem with anything that I have needed or wanted. You could try programs like LCD Resolution or LCD Density and change it to 200 to see if more stuff shows up in the market for you.
Keyboard - Thumb is great.
market 3.3.11 works just fine for me
I'm sure many ex-iphone owners ask this question, but is there an app/widget that gives you play/pause/skip control to whatever app is using the media player?
I use Spotify, Pandora, Google Music & BeyondPod on a regular basis and hate that i have to have 4 widgets each with their own media controls.
Are their any universal media apps that have widgets to control whatever is playing like the iPhone does?
Thanks
griffindodd said:
I'm sure many ex-iphone owners ask this question, but is there an app/widget that gives you play/pause/skip control to whatever app is using the media player?
I use Spotify, Pandora, Google Music & BeyondPod on a regular basis and hate that i have to have 4 widgets each with their own media controls.
Are their any universal media apps that have widgets to control whatever is playing like the iPhone does?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is what you're looking for...Phantom Music Control: https://market.android.com/details?id=cz.jhg.musiccontrolwidget
Hope that helps!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
Yep that's the type of thing, is that the only one you know of?
Hiding isn't really a deal killer (although it's a nice feature), something that shows album art would be pretty great too.
Thanks for the help
Please delete
Sent from my SGH-I717D using XDA App
get MiUI lockscreen media control
I also was looking for something like this. But to take it a step further, I wanted it accessible from any application just like on the iPhone when you double tap the home button. I don't want to have to stop what I'm doing, switch apps over to the home screen (for a widget) or to the app to change tracks or pause the music.
An easy way (I thought) to have this done would be to have controls in the notification bar. However, it doesn't seem possible on gingerbread, or at least I haven't found anything. I guess ICS has that by default though so at least there's hope for the future.
pj_rage said:
I also was looking for something like this. But to take it a step further, I wanted it accessible from any application just like on the iPhone when you double tap the home button...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out Quick Desk in the market.
https://market.android.com/details?id=sg.ruqqq.quickdesk
It you double tap Home it brings up a screen where you can add widgets or shortcuts. You can invoke it anytime. Very handy for say volume or music widgets while playing a game.
Sent magically through the air from the mighty Note!
Hey guys! I've recently started using Fourth Bar Jellybean (and by far the most impressive desensed ROM yet), however there are a few bugs I've noticed that desensed ROMs all tend to have and I was wondering if there would be any fixes for the following:
Google Play music turns the wallpaper on the lockscreen black and doesn't show any music controls
HTCLinkifyDispatcher.apk tends to screw things up. For instance, if I click a link to YouTube it will take me to the browser page instead of the YouTube app. If you delete or rename HTCLinkifyDispatcher this fixes the issue, however in chat clients such as imo, IM+, or Google Talk, clicking a link will crash the app.
Those are the most prominent bugs that I can think off right off the top of my head. Like I said, Fourth Bar Jellybean did a REALLY fantastic job of desensing the ROM, but a couple of HTC Sense bugs still remain.
Let me know what you guys think - is there a fix for any of this?
Thanks!
If Rom devs changed their base to a telus base the link issue would be fixed all round without the need to modify anything, the Google music part I'm not sure of since I don't use it.
sent from a smooth place where my fingers trace across the screen to see your face and make you scream!
I think the google music doing that has something to do with the theme. It's not playing nice I'm most likely a bug. I remember flashing a theme and some music controls weren't showing up but they were there since I knew where they were I clicked. Are yours still function?
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
fcpelayo said:
I think the google music doing that has something to do with the theme. It's not playing nice I'm most likely a bug. I remember flashing a theme and some music controls weren't showing up but they were there since I knew where they were I clicked. Are yours still function?
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thing though is that it's not really a theme, I think it's an issue with the lockscreen itself. Come to think of it, it seems like EclipzeRemix got his to work in his Project Butter ROM. Maybe the apk can be extracted from it and reflashed/replaced in Fourth Bar?
bo1g said:
This thing though is that it's not really a theme, I think it's an issue with the lockscreen itself. Come to think of it, it seems like EclipzeRemix got his to work in his Project Butter ROM. Maybe the apk can be extracted from it and reflashed/replaced in Fourth Bar?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's worth a shot, don't ya think? Better to try and fail that to sit doing nothing until your rom dev fixes the issue, though I do think it may be a system issue, tried updating the app itself?
I have a GP 4.2 and want to know how I can change the Internet App on the Homescreen below the dots for changing screen pages?
I am really liking my first android more than my itouch but I DDID like changing the default homescreen apps on the iTouch. I changed the default Media Players and Web browser on it.
I would like to change the default Internet icon to launch a better web browser. For that matter I would change the Video player to launch something else as well.
Thanks.
Open your app drawer press menu -> edit and drag and drop icons to your dock and rearrange your app drawer how you wish
Sent from my YP-G70 using xda premium
Thanks. That was easy! Can you recommend a good "Beginners book that might cover things like this (It was NOT in the docs that came with my unit.)
Now my last complaint with Android is finding a good replacement for the Audio player that has navigation similar to an iphone wher eI can navigate albums in and out like folders instead of everything being in just a really looooooong list!
Thanks again.
Personally i have my 2500+ song uploaded to google play music, its a great cloud music player. And i dont know of an in- depth guide to android mainly because i just figured it out as i went, i bricked my player within the first 2 days of having it so i had to get good, fast. Just lurk a bit, youll get the hang of it.
Sent from my YP-G70 using xda premium
Personally use player pro for my music for quality and album art customization. Easy to navigate.
Here is a good guide for you to look at as well.
http://androidnewbies.com/basic-guide-for-the-android-newbies
Sent from my YP-G70 using xda app-developers app