Archive for category Apps

Don’t Pay $30+ For Droid Multimedia Dock — Get DockRunner Free

Dec 18

Posted by Sam Lustgarten in Android, Apps, Cell Phones | 1 Comment

asset-39480-qr-82 When the Droid was first released, a couple of interesting accessories from Motorola followed suit. I was dismayed to find hefty, $29.99, prices for things like the Car Dock and the Droid Multimedia Station.

There’s no reason that some sort of magnetic, plastic dock should cost so much. And for what? The docks are nice, but hardly a necessity. In fact, if you want to mimic the Car Dock’s features, just press the Car Home app in Android 2.0.x. But until now, users haven’t been able to mimic the Multimedia dock feature.

motorola-droid-accessories

I was simply browsing the top app list in the Market, when I found an unassuming app called DockRunner. DockRunner is a FREE download and mimics the Droid Multimedia Dock (shown above on the left). The time, weather, music, pictures, etc. are all displayed and the phone thinks it’s in the dock!

Save yourself $30 and just download this simple app. Desperately want a cheesy, clunky, plastic “dock”? May I suggest making your own? Stay tuned for a DIY dock later this December!

Tags: Android, app, Car, Dock, DockRunner, droid, Google (GOOG), Market, motorola, Multimedia, Station

Top 3 News and Weather Apps for Motorola Droid

Dec 15

Posted by Sam Lustgarten in Android, Apps | 2 Comments

A few weeks ago we wrote an article on the Top 5 Android Apps for Motorola Droid. It was an all-encompassing look at our 5 favorites. But we left out a number of great apps. In the next few weeks we’ll be looking at a variety categories and publishing our favorites! This week, we’ll be looking at the Top 3 News and Weather Apps for the Motorola Droid.

As always, with the help of Twitter followers and Luke, we’ve created a list of the Top 3 News and Weather apps. What we found particularly difficult was collecting apps that would actually do everything we needed from a news and weather application. I continued to go to different apps for more relevant and specialized content. Tell us what you think in the comments below and enjoy.

USA Today – [Link to Site]
- Winner: Best All-Around News/Weather App
- The 678kb USA Today app is powerful and fast. Flipping through the different panels of Headlines, Scores, Weather, Pictures, and Snapshots is a breeze. The application is set to update each time you start up the program and can be manually updated on the bottom of the screen. Weather is conveniently located in the banner with degrees Fahrenheit and basic weather logos. This program does headline news really really well with an elaborate array of: Top News, Life, Money, Sports, etc. By clicking the Weather tab, you’ll get a 5-day weather forecast.
- Dislikes: Weather is by default, set to New York City. Doesn’t allow for background news updates. Refresh interval isn’t customizable. News articles are little snippets of what a New York Times article would be.
Google Finance – [Link to Site]
- Winner: Best Financial News Source
- Unlike it’s iPhone counterpart, the Droid doesn’t have companies like E*Trade developing stock and market apps. Fortunately, the Google/Android team has created the Finance app. The application is a bare-bones streaming quote checker for the market. Check anything you want and it will stream the latest quote. In a simple, 3-tab design, the Finance application can have your Google portfolio synced and you’ll see all your favorites in one easy to access tab. The “news” tab has a basic collection of overall market sentiment and news. Want to know what is happening today in the market and where your stocks are? Then Finance is for you. Finance comes with a little widget for the home screen that can load your personal portfolio write to your desktop.
- Dislikes: It’s too simple. The streaming isn’t true streaming, just a periodic update from time to time with the most recent quote. Refresh intervals for the widget need to be quicker. A more graphical user interface could definitely make this application shine.
Weatherbug - [Link to Site]
- Winner: Best Weather App
- The Weatherbug application used to be an ad-ware filled mess of spam for Windows computers. Now you can get it for your Android phones! All kidding aside, the Weatherbug application is the most convenient, simple, and easy to use weather app for the Droid. Personally, I use it because it displays a temperature in the notification panel of my Droid. Even on restart of my phone, the Weatherbug application starts up and displays an accurate temperature to my location. I don’t need a fully featured weather application–just the barebones; current temp and high for the day. By sliding down the notification panel, I can see the current temperature again, but also see today’s high and basic prediction (e.g., “Partly Sunny”).
- Dislikes: The actual application is buggy (no pun intended). The ads can be cumbersome in the free version. The user interface seems a tad slow and outdated.

What we still want to see:

New York Times – [Link to Site]
- Unfortunately, there isn’t a New York Times application like the iPhone. The iPhone version is incredibly powerful and the user interface is truly intuitive. We’d love to see NYT wise up and develop for the Android.
NPR - [Link to Site]
- This was previously mentioned in our Top 5 Android Apps article, and we have yet to see the application in the Android Market. Recent reports and news has suggested that NPR is fast on its way to having on for the store. Also, the goal is to make the Android app more feature-filled than its iPhone counterpart. We’ll see!

Please comment below or Twitter us if you have any other apps that we should take a look at or left out!

Tags: Android, Apple (AAPL), Apps, droid, finance, Google (GOOG), iPhone, motorola, news, top, usa today, weather, weatherbug

Review of Augmented Reality and Layar Reality Browser V3.0

Dec 7

Posted by Sam Lustgarten in Android, Apps | 1 Comment

Augmented reality for smartphones is seemingly the latest fad in the tech world. But the hype about augmented reality has been blown out of proportion. It’s a way of looking at the world through your tech device’s screen. In it’s infancy, companies have come to the niche in the market to develop apps for the iPhone and Android phones. The most popular augmented reality app is Layar Reality Browser.

BAt.u.cs.png After a several month hiatus from the Android market, version 3.0 has just been released. Fans of augmented reality have already been calling it the “Killer App of the Day.” Don’t be fooled, Layar Reality Browser is just another method of greater consumerism and hardly a reasonable information source.

Let’s say you’re in a mid-sized college town like I am. Here in Fort Collins, I turn on the Wikipedia Layer in the browser. My camera proceeds to turn on and show me an on screen radar and grid. I’m supposed to be immersed into the augmented reality. Instead of actually seeing the world, I see yet another screen — it’s mildly depressing. And if I thought the browser was going to truly change my perspective I ought to think twice. For instance, the only Wikipedia blip that results is Colorado State’s nearby stadium, “Hughes.”

Switching to businesses, I see a mildly larger population, with reviews, and a basic description of the food, service, etc. All the while, I reminded that I’m looking in a little box less than 4 inches, and the camera continues to shutter along while I comically lift my phone to face to look at a building or direction. I look like an imbecile. Perhaps this is the future of technology with these savvy technological devices, but count me out of this one.

Heck, if I want to look at review, location, and the type of food I’ll be receiving at a restaurant I use Google’s local search and/or a Google voice search with my Droid. Google has a highly developed voice recognition system that easily trumps Apple’s iPhone. Command your phone by pressing the mic, and simply say something like “pizza.” Google’s search is off to the rescue, cataloging the closest pizza places to your location, offering numbers, and addresses. And all the while, I don’t look like such an idiot.

Augmented reality is comparable to walking around with a metal detector. Interesting hobby, and I bet it produces a number of 43 cent finds, but is it really the future? I’d advise you to delete Layar Reality Browser after trying it out for yourself.

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear what you think about augmented reality and Layar Reality Browser!

Tags: Android, app, Browser, droid, Droid Does, Layar, Layar Reality Browser, Wikipedia

Droid Does Tethering: How-To Guide (Free!)

Nov 23

Posted by Sam Lustgarten in Android, Apps, Cell Phones, Computers | 2 Comments

Missing my iPhone is a long lost phenomena. I shudder to think about how cut off I was before the Droid. The Motorola Droid with Verizon Wireless service has been incredible. Where AT&T’s service was consistently inconsistent, Verizon’s is always on. Recently, I went on a road trip from Colorado to California and was amazed at the consistency of service across the desolate landscape of Nevada and Utah. I decided to get creative and really test my device’s capabilities.

The Droid has been advertised as the king of devices and the multi-tasker of the powerful. I naturally said, “Let’s see what you’re made of.” I had long known about a little company called PDAnet. PDAnet is an app maker for devices like the iPhone or Android software. I had always been tempted to use it with my iPhone, but was unfortunately dissuaded by horror stories and awful reception. The iPhone would require a jailbrake and then the app download; not that big a deal, but much harder then I would soon find out on my Droid.

The Android market and software system is incredibly powerful, but it’s taken me a few weeks to understand all of its potential. The market is very open, with few apps being removed because of the open market – users vote to remove an application. The market is so open that PDAnet, maker of the tethering app for my Droid, has a nice little home. Just do a simple search and you’re off. Download the app and it’ll be on your phone within seconds.

As a previous iPhone owner, this is where I say, “That’s too easy, something is bound to fail or block me.” But then I install the software from PDAnet’s website, USB tether my Droid, and plug it into my new HP Mini 311 netbook (review coming soon!).

Connect.

Verify.

On.

That’s it. On the internet and surfing at rates up to 2.4 Mbps, but it’s more like 115 Kb/s average. Regardless, it feels like high-speed DSL, and I’m insanely happy. My netbook can have internet whenever and wherever I want!

I have been reading about tethering for a few weeks now, and have noticed a common theme in forum posts. “Does PDAnet work with the Droid?” Verizon associates have been telling consumers that the Droid “does not tether” and that it will be about “$15 more a month to enable tethering on the Droid [next year].” Verizon is not exactly lying, but it isn’t the whole truth. Verizon will most likely announce tethering software a la Verizon-brand to the market next year. After that, Verizon customers will be able to download the software and tether; albeit at a cost, $15 a month. Why suffer the extra cost burden and wait?

Tethering isn’t illegal; in fact, the Android system encourages this type of open development, which is geared towards internet for all. Go try it out today – let us know how it works or if you have any questions below.

Caution: Remember Verizon still has a cap on the “unlimited data” — it’s still just 5GB of data per month.

Tags: 3g, Android, AT&T (T), does, droid, free, how-to, HP, iPhone, Mini, motorola, Netbook, pdanet, tethering

Top 5 Android Apps for Motorola Droid

Nov 17

Posted by Sam Lustgarten in Android, Apps, Cell Phones | 15 Comments

It’s been a couple weeks without my iPhone, I expected withdrawals; instead, I’m loving my new Droid. This device is powerful and when people ask what I think, I don’t know how to respond. You’ll like your iPhone, no doubt, but give this device a chance and you’ll go crazy over the Motorola Droid. But this isn’t a review, we’ve already done that.

I’ve been trying to hone in on the most important and vital apps for my new Android 2.0 phone. With the help of Twitter followers and Luke, I’ve come up with a great list of top 5 Android apps for my wonderfully powerful Droid. If you enjoy this, check out our Top 3 News and Weather Apps for Motorola Droid too!

Google Voice – [Link to Site]
- I’ve been addicted to Google Voice, it saves me something like $15 to $20 every month on texting and I can call ANY number with a secure, controllable line from Google. Google Voice may actually be more important, relevant, and usable than Google Wave. There’s so much potential with this technology. On an Android phone, unlike the closed off iPhone, you can have the Google Voice App take over all calls — even international ones! By taking over the device, any call that I make through the phone emulates my Google Voice number. No inconvenient Google Voice mobile website for me [on an iPhone], now I just make a phone call. The application transcribes my voicemails and allows for a visual form too. This visual system saves me yet another $2.99 — Verizon charges that for visual mail access.
- Downsides: No messaging app support, SMS messages are not pushed (fetched at every 5 mins — fastest rate), must have a data connection to make phone call through GV number.
Pandora — [Link to Site]
- This is nothing new, and it’s still the ultimate personalized radio. Pandora delivers a fantastic application and service to Android and iPhone. The experience is hindered by a basic ad on the bottom of the application, but it’s nothing compared to the ads and messages that Pandora places on its website. Pandora let’s you create personalized stations with a thumbs up/down voting system. It allows you to bookmark songs and artists for later viewing. The application also supports the adding and removal of new “stations” that can be based off of artist, song, album, etc.
- Downsides: Advertisements on the bottom of application, improper Bluetooth support (doesn’t stop playing if Bluetooth headphones are disconnected), and still slow, despite the Droid’s processor power.
DoggCatcher — [Link to Site]
- There is no native application to download, subscribe, and listen to your latest podcasts. DoggCatcher is the perfect accoutrement to your powerful device. It comes at a price though, $6.99, which makes it one of the most expensive apps in the Market. In fact, it’s the only app that requires a purchase on this list. But it’s still well worth it and powerful. DoggCatcher lets you select and subscribe to your favorite podcasts, and unlike the iPhone (AT&T), you can download as large a file as you’d like. While burning through battery, it can download that 131 MB episode of Diggnation for immediate viewing. And if you don’t feel like burning through battery life, you can choose to have the device only download new episodes on Wi-Fi and/or while being plugged into power. Unlike Pandora, DoggCatcher responds to disconnects from headphones and Bluetooth, pausing where you are.
- Downsides: Price tag ($6.99), no automatic downloads despite a subscription (still need to queue downloads), and small selection of suggested podcasts.