Favorite Android Apps

...and now for something unrelated to programming: favorite Android Apps. As I mentioned in my First Post!, I've had my HTC Eris since a little bit before Christmas. I can't say I've sampled a TON of apps, but I have a few that I really like. In no particular order here they are:

- NewsRob. Man oh man I like this app. It's an RSS app that connects to Google Reader. I find myself surfing news sites less and less and allowing this app to grab the stuff I'm interested in. I can quickly scan headlines and read only the things I'm interested in. Surfing typically means I'm skimming headlines and content so this makes that kind of activity even quicker.

- Craignotifica. This app allows you to get Craigslist updates on your handheld. I've got several filters set up for For Sale: books, electronics, etc. Very handy to have!

- Dolphin Browser. This is a web browser. I like it in that it is able to load things in the background and it implements tabbed browsing. A few peculiarities it has is: the method for bringing up your favorite links isn't very intuitive; I haven't found the way to alphabetize my favorite links; it lacks Flash support that the built-in web browser has. That last one is a good and bad thing -- I normally don't like to visit Flash heavy sites, but when I do, it's annoying that I can't view them in Dolphin.

- Locale. This is a neat little program that sets up various properties on the phone based on your location. I have a default setting, and then a "At Home" setting and "At Work". At Home, I have it turn on Wi-Fi and crank the volume. At Work, I have Wi-Fi turned offer and have the volume subdued. It has other features too. Neat!

- Aldiko. This is a reader program for .EPUB files. I've got a ton of e-Books and this will essentially replace Stanza that I was using on the iPhone. On a related note, the Calibre program is compatible with the Android (at least, it recognized it the other day when I had it running and connected my Android up). I need to play with Calibre & Android a bit more to get the full power of that setup.

- ASTRO. This is file explorer for your phone. It can cruise through the SD card and allow you to do things that you'd otherwise need to be hooked up to a PC to do. Very cool!

- WifiScanner. Handy for sniffing around for nearby Wi-Fi networks.

- Advanced Task Kill. Nukes applications on contact. Nice for regaining memory and nuking apps that otherwise could be sucking down battery power.

- Honorable Mention: Barcode Scanner. Reads in barcodes via the camera and allows you to search the net for lowest prices.