What are your "can't do without" Android apps?

Here are mine...

ES File Explorer File Manager
My favorite app of all time. So many uses, so powerful. Has a great multi window option, too.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop&hl=en 


Smart Launcher Pro 3
I have tried many home replacement programs over the years, this is the first one though that I have zero issues with. My phone is faster with it, and my screens are better organized. I love this program. There is a free version, too.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ginlemon.flowerpro&hl=en 


CM Security
A fantastic security system for your phone, so much more than just anti-virus. It even blocks known telemarketing numbers.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.security&hl=en 


Clean Master
From the same people who make CM Security, this is a great app to have running on your phone. Lets you know when you need to close apps due to cool down your phone, or free RAM, control apps that auto start, etc etc. Way too many things for me to list.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard&hl=en 


SD Maid (Pro)
The ultimate in system cleaning. They have a free and a paid version
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.thedarken.sdm&hl=en 


PrinterShare Mobile Printer
The best printer app I have seen for Android, has never failed to work a network printer for me. There is a paid and a free version
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dynamixsoftware.printershare&hl=en 


WPS Office
One of the best Microsoft Office alternatives I have seen. And totally free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.wps.moffice_eng&hl=en 


Poweramp Music Player
Powerful music player for your phone. Paid and free versions available.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer&hl=en 


VLC for Android
VLC has long been one of the best, most diverse free music / video players on the market for home computing, now you can get it on Android, too.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc&hl=en 


KitKat External SD Card Patch
If you haven't updated to the latest version of Android yet (5.0 Lollipop), then you still probably are having your access to your external SD card limited. This is a nice easy patch that solves the problem and restores full access for you.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.geeksoft.extcardpatch&hl=en
   



So...does anyone else have some favorite apps they would like to recommend?

Dang you are way more app savvy than I am.  I only have a few that I use regularly.  Besides some of the obvious ones (IMDB, Facebook, Netflix, Photobucket & Spotify)  I also get relatively regular use out of these.

Shazam
Great litte app for figuring out who plays that song you are hearing on the radio.  Just let the app "listen" to the song for a few minutes and 99 times out of 100 it can tell you the name of the song, the artist and the album you can find it on.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shazam.android&hl=en

Map My Walk
Gives you real-time updates on how far you have walked and what your average speed is.  It does a ton more, but that is about all I have used if for (both free and paid version, I use the freebie).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapmywalk.android2&hl=en

Life 360
Want to know where your friends and family members are?  This little baby will give you a (relatively close) location of where they are at for any given time.  Great when you are trying to call or text someone and they won't/can't reply, you can at least see where they are at.  Or if you just want to spy on them.  My wife uses it all the time to tell where I am at on my 25+ mile commute home.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.life360.android.safetymapd&hl=en

Staybrite: "Or if you just want to spy on them"  

Instead of Map My Walk, I use "My Tracks", which is a free Google app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.maps.mytracks&hl=en

I used to use Shazam, but ever since I got the paid version of "SoundHound" for free from Amazon, I have been using that.

Wow, you have a ton. I have Android 4.4.4 not sure what that means (Motorola Moto E from Straight Talk). This phone does all I need it to do. I have "Lookout" and I like that a lot. Malware Bytes has a good app too. But I really don't use a lot of apps. Probably my favorites would be the one from my Credit Union (so I can see my accounts), Weather Channel, Soundhound (identifies songs for you), What The Health (gives you findings on local eateries from the latest Health Dept audits), Zedge (ringtones and wallpapers) and Temple Run. That's it.... Oh and I do use the Amazon Music Player, I find it to be better and easier to use than the default player (although I prefer my iPod over the phone for playing music). 

Now here is a question I have for you NoOne, you mention above a KitKat Patch. Call me stupid but I don't understand what it does. But the reason I am interested in it is because my daughter has the Alactel Pop Icon (Straight Talk)



She loves that phone, and it is nice, nicer than mine. Nice big screen and runs pretty fast. However you cannot move stuff to the SD Card. You can't move apps or even pictures. The only way to move media to the card is to hook it up to the computer, copy the pictures to the computer, then copy them over the the SD Card then delete them off the phone. My Motorola has a "Move Media" option in the settings and it is awesome, I can move stuff over quickly. On hers we can't do that. Does that KitKat patch fix this issue? I have read reviews about the Pop Icon and people love the phone but they hate the fact that they can't move apps or anything over to the SD card.

MikeInFla wrote:

Wow, you have a ton. I have Android 4.4.4 not sure what that means (Motorola Moto E from Straight Talk). This phone does all I need it to do. I have "Lookout" and I like that a lot. Malware Bytes has a good app too. But I really don't use a lot of apps. Probably my favorites would be the one from my Credit Union (so I can see my accounts), Weather Channel, Soundhound (identifies songs for you), What The Health (gives you findings on local eateries from the latest Health Dept audits), Zedge (ringtones and wallpapers) and Temple Run. That's it.... Oh and I do use the Amazon Music Player, I find it to be better and easier to use than the default player (although I prefer my iPod over the phone for playing music). 

Now here is a question I have for you NoOne, you mention above a KitKat Patch. Call me stupid but I don't understand what it does. But the reason I am interested in it is because my daughter has the Alactel Pop Icon (Straight Talk)



She loves that phone, and it is nice, nicer than mine. Nice big screen and runs pretty fast. However you cannot move stuff to the SD Card. You can't move apps or even pictures. The only way to move media to the card is to hook it up to the computer, copy the pictures to the computer, then copy them over the the SD Card then delete them off the phone. My Motorola has a "Move Media" option in the settings and it is awesome, I can move stuff over quickly. On hers we can't do that. Does that KitKat patch fix this issue? I have read reviews about the Pop Icon and people love the phone but they hate the fact that they can't move apps or anything over to the SD card.

The external SD card is an add-on to give you more storage than what came with it. It also allows you to save files back and forth to it and shuttle the card between your home computer and phone. Very convenient. But with the KitKat version of Android, they basically locked you out of it. The Android operating system could still access the external sd card as it saw fit to store system files, but it took away your ability to manually work with it and a lot of apps could no longer even see the external card to write to it. 

This patch restores that ability.

In the new Android 5.0, they have reversed course and once again allow access to the external SD card.

It does require the phone to be rooted, by the way.

Thankfully, rooting phones is pretty easy nowadays

NoOneIsHere wrote:

It does require the phone to be rooted, by the way.

Thankfully, rooting phones is pretty easy nowadays

And I have no idea this Chinese language you are speaking...    I don't want to mess up her phone so I don't want to try anything I don't understand. i just told her that when her memory starts to fill up let me know and I will copy stuff over. I am glad they have fixed the issue. Wonder why they did it to begin with? My phone (Moto E) can still copy files and apps to the SD Card. I really hope they update her phone. Motorola has promised at least one US Update to the Moto E but I don't know when it is coming out.

Now off to see what this "root" is that you speak of...

I have an iPhone and I can live without any of the apps.  I'm sure it would be the same if I had an Android.

MikeInFla wrote:

NoOneIsHere wrote:

It does require the phone to be rooted, by the way.

Thankfully, rooting phones is pretty easy nowadays

And I have no idea this Chinese language you are speaking...    ...

I hear you Mike, it's like he's speaking Greek. 

This is what I have and I like it a lot. It does not have a front facing camera (dont care!) and no flash or auto focus. But it was too good of a deal to pass up. I knew on Black Friday Walmart would have the Galaxy S4 on sale so I bought one for my wife. While I was online I noticed the Moto E which retails for $99 was $9.99! I wasn't looking to get one myself but I couldnt resist. I was still a flip-phoner but it was acting up so this was too good of a deal to pass up.


Does what I need it to do. I still use my iPod quite a bit but they do not update Gen 4 anymore and some of the stuff no longer works properly. It is almost as if they force you into another one. They are too expensive to be disposable every 3 years. I want to keep this iPod for a long time, not buy a new one every year when a new model comes out.

Mikeinfla, I have 119 apps installed.. Lol...
But I do a lot with my phablet. It's an LG Optimis G Pro that runs better today than when I first bought it. Other than copying CDs anything I can do on the computer I can do on my phone..

Rooting is basically taking over the administration rights of your phone. It allows you to do a lot more with it...and to it...including running custom ROMs on it (so you can use custom operating environments).

For me, I like rooting only so I can delete preinstalled apps I don't like and run thorough clean ups. And of course, accessing the external sd card.

As for why they locked people out of it in the first place, I assume it was done to protect the integrity of the preinstalled software as they don't want people flashing new ROMs. But I never really read up on why they did it. Apple devices have never even had an external sd card option, BTW. Android rules...lol

Rooting Alactel Pop Icon


http://playfuldroid.com/how-to-root-alcatel-pop-icon-in-less-than-an-hour/


http://www.skyneel.com/2014/08/how-to-root-alcatel-one-touch-pop-c7-with-easy-guide.html

Mikeinfla,

If I over explained the SD card and what it does, sorry. I missed part of your post when you said you had to take her card out and do it on the computer, which shows that you know what an sd card is..lol..  I didn't realize that you had continued talking underneath the photo. I read the text above it and but not below it 

I didn't catch that until after I had posted my explanation

Some of my favorite apps:

C:GEO  A free program for Geocaching

Avast! Antivirus

Avast! Battery Saver

Map My Walk

YouVersion (Bible app)

Walmart Savings Catcher

ShopKick (You get points for going into stores and those points turn into free gift cards)

I have an iPhone and only have some apps.

NoOneIsHere wrote:

Mikeinfla,

If I over explained the SD card and what it does, sorry. I missed part of your post when you said you had to take her card out and do it on the computer, which shows that you know what an sd card is..lol..  I didn't realize that you had continued talking underneath the photo. I read the text above it and but not below it 

I didn't catch that until after I had posted my explanation

No prob. What I normally do is hook up her phone via USB. Then I copy pics over to the computer then back to the phone but on the SD card. I will check out the link above later for the pop icon. Sounds interesting. I know if I can get stuff to move to her SD card she will be thrilled.

alldatndensum wrote:

Some of my favorite apps:

C:GEO  A free program for Geocaching

Avast! Antivirus

Avast! Battery Saver

Map My Walk

YouVersion (Bible app)

Walmart Savings Catcher

ShopKick (You get points for going into stores and those points turn into free gift cards)

I use Savings Catcher, also...liked it a lot more when they ran the promo that if you signed up for Bluebird and pushed your reward dollars to it they doubled it.

I have yet to get the scanner to work in it though...I ALWAYS have to type in the receipt

I used to have a ton of apps, but my son works at T-Mobile and told me not to have so many 3rd party apps as it slows down the phone and can sometimes crash it. I didn't fully think that'd happen to me, so I loaded up and sure enough, I started having glitches and the apps began loading slower and slower. So I have since whittled down my apps to a small handful.

I can't live without the following apps- in order of importance to me:

SOUNDHOUND (use all the time, esp on long trips)
AROUND ME (has helped us find places of interest and even helped us find an ER one time I was 3 hours from home, on the freeway, and began passing a kidney stone... so that program kinda saved my life !)
And lastly: DROPBOX -I have all my music collection and want lists as well as all my personal Bible studies in the DropBox cloud and love having access to these dox wherever I go. When I'm flipping thru records or CDs and am not sure if I already have an album or not, I check my Dropbox dox and never purchase a duplicate again. 

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I used to have a ton of apps, but my son works at T-Mobile and told me not to have so many 3rd party apps as it slows down the phone and can sometimes crash it. I didn't fully think that'd happen to me, so I loaded up and sure enough, I started having glitches and the apps began loading slower and slower. So I have since whittled down my apps to a small handful.

I can't live without the following apps- in order of importance to me:

SOUNDHOUND (use all the time, esp on long trips)
AROUND ME (has helped us find places of interest and even helped us find an ER one time I was 3 hours from home, on the freeway, and began passing a kidney stone... so that program kinda saved my life !)
And lastly: DROPBOX -I have all my music collection and want lists as well as all my personal Bible studies in the DropBox cloud and love having access to these dox wherever I go. When I'm flipping thru records or CDs and am not sure if I already have an album or not, I check my Dropbox dox and never purchase a duplicate again. 

Just wondering, after you removed a bunch of those 3rd party apps did your phone operate faster?

G/f,

It all depends on which 3rd party apps you have on.

It also depends on how you handle them. I use software that allows me to block which apps I want kept from autostartng.

The problem is a lot of people don't do that, so they have a ton of apps running in the background.

You can have a million apps, but if you have them blocked from autostarting it won't drag your system down.

This is different, by the way, than just using a Task Manager and ending all running processes. That's only a temp solution. Keeping them from auto starting in the first place is the only real solution w/o uninstalling them.

My phone flies....

and it is several years old....still out performs most of the new phones people have in my office.

MikeInFla wrote:

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I used to have a ton of apps, but my son works at T-Mobile and told me not to have so many 3rd party apps as it slows down the phone and can sometimes crash it. I didn't fully think that'd happen to me, so I loaded up and sure enough, I started having glitches and the apps began loading slower and slower. So I have since whittled down my apps to a small handful.

I can't live without the following apps- in order of importance to me:

SOUNDHOUND (use all the time, esp on long trips)
AROUND ME (has helped us find places of interest and even helped us find an ER one time I was 3 hours from home, on the freeway, and began passing a kidney stone... so that program kinda saved my life !)
And lastly: DROPBOX -I have all my music collection and want lists as well as all my personal Bible studies in the DropBox cloud and love having access to these dox wherever I go. When I'm flipping thru records or CDs and am not sure if I already have an album or not, I check my Dropbox dox and never purchase a duplicate again. 

Just wondering, after you removed a bunch of those 3rd party apps did your phone operate faster?

Affirmative.  It quit crashing too.  It would freeze on certain programs and the only way I could get it working again was to power down and restart.  I no longer have problems with it since I removed about 20 Apps.

NoOneIsHere wrote:

G/f,

It all depends on which 3rd party apps you have on.

It also depends on how you handle them. I use software that allows me to block which apps I want kept from autostartng.

The problem is a lot of people don't do that, so they have a ton of apps running in the background.

You can have a million apps, but if you have them blocked from autostarting it won't drag your system down.

I totally agree !  My son taught me how to power down all the auto-running apps and the ones that stay open after using them...
So yeh, I'm having zero probs now.

Rooting is not that easy if you're on Verizon at least as they seek to close any exploits found ASAP. I did finally manage to root my Razr M but can't unlock the bootloaders to load custom ROMs.

Anyway, the main apps I use are GasBuddy (find/report gas prices), Greenify (kill off idle apps or prevent them from starting - requires root), RedLaser (price checker) and Deadbeef (thin music player that actually supports ReplayGain tags)