Android App Inventory Update
The last time I took a look at what was running on my G1, the list looked like this:
- K-9 Mail
- Weather Channel app
- Greed
- Locale
- AppManager
- TasKiller
- OI Safe
- T-Mobile MyAccount
- FaceBook app.
- Twitdroid and TritterRide were on my phone for a while. But, as little as I use Twitter, I found it was easier to just put a bookmark on my home page and use the web site directly.
- Mobile Defense by Neevo.
- Cyanogen ROM image.
- Retro Clock and Retro Date widgets.
I posted this list last September. A lot has changed since then. For one, I dumped the Cyanogen ROM and when back to the straight factory issued 1.6 firmware. After several total reinstalls from scratch episodes, I decided I needed my phone to work reliably more than I needed the benefits of the alternative ROM. I do miss the ability to move apps to the SD card.
The Retro Clock and Date widgets are still here, front and center. Joining them on the home page is the Weatherbug widget. The Weather channel app really lost performance with the admob ads running. And the Weatherbug widget just looks and works better.
I’m still using the Facebook client. It seems to work fine, especially for as little as I use it. I’ve been trying out more Twitter clients. I’ve tried Seesmic, Swift App, and now TweetCaster. I like Swift App quite a bit, but TweetCaster has displaced it recently. So far, I really like it. Greed is still my Google Reader client of choice.
I am still running Mobile Defense, OI Safe, and T-Mobile MyAccount.
If I am actively buying, selling, or just shopping on eBay PktAuction is on my G1.
The most recent change is that I dumped Locale. I had been running a beta version for a while. It work well enough, but since it relied on the GPS, it was a battery hog. The beta expired, and Locale is now a pay app. Which is fine, but the price is $10. I really like the concept behind Locale, but it doesn’t work well enough to pay $10. And reports on the new version have not been positive. So, I search for replacement, and found Setting Profile. It does basically the same thing, and costs $3. It does not rely on the GPS for positioning, but either on cell signal triangulation, a specific cell tower ID, or a WiFi AP SSID. Although none of these provide the precision of the GPS, they are more battery friendly, and less fiddly when going in and out of buildings. It has taken a couple of days to learn how to set up profiles, rules, locations, but it’s working pretty well. I recommend it as an alternative to Locale.
That’s the inventory highlights. What’s on your ‘droid?
CyanogenMod Wiki
If you like living on the Android edge, there are a number of alternative ROM images to try. I’ve ran the CyanogenMod image for several weeks before switching to “Donut” last week. If you want to give it a try, take a look at the new wiki. Several step-by-step tutorials, reference info, troubleshooting guides. It’s better than a lot of commercial software out there.
My Current Android App Inventory
So, what I’m using lately?
After a brief time using the new Work Email for Exchange email, I went back to K-9 Mail. It does IMAP well, it has a good feature set, It keeps my email in sync with Exchange (which Work Email didn’t do frequently), and it’s free. If you have to do Exchange, do it with K-9.
I keep going back to the Weather Channel app. I’ve tried WeatherBug, Accuweather, etc. But, the Weather Channel app works the best. However, it now features adMob ads at the bottom. It doesn’t help performance.
I still use Greed regularly. I still like it. And the price has gone down, so it’s an even better deal.
Locale still works well for managing my ringer volume, etc. depending on my location. It’s a little funky to set up, but it works well when you figure it out.
I’ve been using AppManager and TasKiller for a few weeks, and I like both. I recommend both apps.
OI Safe still has custody of my passwords, but I’m looking at alternatives.
T-Mobile MyAccount is an app I don’t use a lot, but I like having it.
I’ve been using the new FaceBook app. I’m not much of a FaceBook user, and it works well enough for me. I’ve tried several Twitter clients. Twitdroid and TritterRide were on my phone for a while. But, as little as I use Twitter, I found it was easier to just put a bookmark on my home page and use the web site directly.
And lastly, Mobile Defense by Neevo. I like this app so far. I’m looking forward to the backup option and remote wipe. For free, it’s a start.
Probably the thing I use the most is the Cyanogen ROM image. It brings the MyTouch apps to the G1, including the very nice power control widget. Along with the CM Updater, it was worth the upgrade.
Oh, and I can’t forget the Retro Clock and Retro Date widgets. They bring back that 1978 vintage “digital clock” look. If only I could get that annoying “bleat” alarm sound for my phones alarm…
My New G1
It’s actually the same T-Mobile G1 i’ve had since last November. But, it acts like a new, better phone.
How?
By rooting it and flashing it with a modded ROM.
Why now?
I’ve been annoyed by how sluggish my phone has been responding. It has been slow to acknowledge touch screen input, and even the hard buttons. This has gotten worse as I have added new apps to the phone. Some of the apps are running background tasks that are sucking up CPU cycles, most are just occupying the limited memory of the G1. Less available memory, less performance.
There are a lot of articles/posts/etc. on the internet with instructions to ‘root’ your G1. This opened up all kinds of hacking opportunities, but doesn’t address many real features. Plus, the process was complex, error prone, and tedious. So, I stuck with my stock phone with the OTA updates.
A couple of days ago I ran across an article on lifehacker: Five Great Reasons to Root Your Android Phone. The number 1 reason? Performance boost. But, the best part was a link to blog post: How to Root a T-Mobile G1 and MyTouch3G Android Phone, which detailed the easy two step root method, as well as the traditional downgrade root method. The instructions were clear, complete, correct, and not written for a Linux kernel hacker.
While looking through the instructions and checking out the links to other posts/sites, I found the 6th great reason to root your G1, App2SD. If you use the right ROM (Cyanogen!), and partition your SD card appropriately, new apps are installed on the SD card keeping your main memory on the phone free, which helps performance.
So, I charged my phone, gathered microSD cards, card reader, card adapter, usb cable, Macbook Pro, charger, Laz-E-Boy, and beverage.
I won’t go through the details. It went fairly smooth and fairly quick. Except for the ring tones. There was one. Apparently, the Cyanogen ROM does not include the original ring tones in the ROM, they have to be loaded separately. A minor issue, easily fixed.
So, the results:
It’s not a speed demon, but it is significantly more responsive. Battery life is similar to the original, so far. I haven’t reloaded all of my apps yet, so we will see how it responds. I am finally able to use the SD card for something useful!
Android Apps I Still Use
Back in December I reviewed my favorite applications for the G1 and Android. I thought it was time to revisit the subject. I’ve added a few new apps that I use frequently, and I’ve replaced several apps.
- Greed – I am a GReader addict, and this app just feeds my dependency. It’s the only app I’ve paid for. It’s worth your $5 if you use GReader.
- Locale – This does a great job of putting the location based capabilities of Android to good use.
- Weather Channel – Still one of my most used apps.
- PktAuctions eBay – This is a really nice eBay app. It is easy to use, and it works great.
- Ring Control – This was the first app I installed. I am biased, a good friend of mine wrote it. The paid version adds new functionality, i’ve stuck with the free version.
- OI Safe – This app is an upgraded replacement for Password Safe. Still works well. My old favorite eWallet is now available for Android, but not at the magic price of free.
- Google Finance – This has replaced Quote Pro.
- K-9 – This has gotten better since my last review. It alerts properly, even when the phone is locked.
- ConnectBot – On the rare occasions that I need to SSH into a server, and my laptop is miles away, this one works.
- Handstand – I don’t use this as often as Greed, but it’s still a nice app.
- ShopSavvy – Still cool. I used it today at the local Microcenter, saved myself $30.