more adventures in android apps

I've picked up the habit of downloading en masse interesting apps to see what they do. As one does when two of one's favorite tech toys run on Android. So below.



Kindle Fire

SimCity Deluxe (Kindle Fire Edition), $4.99 - I regret nothing in getting this one. The one major flaw is that no matter how much water you have, when you get to a certain size, it will say there's not enough. Just ignore it.

Playing: if you are a veteran of Nintendo et al, doing this on a touchscreen does have a learning curve. If you're too zoomed in when adding roads or zones or pipes, you can't zoom out again easily except by accident, so if you're adding something to a large area, don't zoom in too much. Your first city, go the easiest game possible and get used to using a touchscreen for controls. Trust me, once you get the hang of it, it is ungodly convenient for a lot of things.

Notes:
1.) The water thing - Zoom out, check your zones; if everyone has water, ignore teh warnings.
2.) Trash - just add landfills early because you will suddenly without warning have trash piling up everywhere.
3.) When there is a fire/disaster, click on the red button, then open up the disaster menu, then disattach it so it's a freestanding window, hit teh alarm, and summon your fire/etc. Keep doign that until the situation is copasetic.

This can be played without an internet connection. I have a city named Dallasville from when I was stuck there on my way to DC.

Calculator Plus Free (Kindle Fire Edition) - Free - Just a convenient calculator that is easy to use.

ES File Explorer - Free - A must have for anyone with a Kindle to get better control of your Kindle. Necessary if you download fic from AO3 in mobi form--you can use this to move your fic from the Download folder to teh Books folder.

Kindle Fire and Android Tablet

Bejewelled 2, $2.00 - I love this stupid game so much.

Office Caluculator Free - FREE - Another decent calculator choice.

Enjoy Sudoku - $2.99 - bar none, my favorite Sudoku app, with a daily set of sudoku puzzles in sixteen skill levels plus unlimited numbers of other sudoku in sixteen separate skill levels. REQUIRED INTERNET CONNECTION TO PLAY.

Missile Defender - $0.99 - eighties flashback with teh addictive qualities of crack. And dude, it only seems easy. Then all your buildings have holes and the trees are dead adn you hate everything, ever. Several times a night.

QuickOffice Pro - $14.99 - I've reviewed this before, but it and OfficeSuite Pro are my two favorites. QuickOffice Pro comes with built in integration with Google Docs, Dropbox, Box, Evernote, Catch, SugarSync, Huddle, and Egnyte. Works so far to display, create, and edit most Office Docs I've tried.

Skifra - Free - DLNA server for your kindle. I did an earlier review of it under the android apps tag.

Tablet

Chrome Web Browser - Free - it does not have the functionality of Dolphin, and it's pretty minimal, but it does sync with your desktop, and it is very, very stable.

Connectbot - Free - SSH server, command line, very functional.

Dolphin Web Browser - Free - has bells and whistles and the ability to add the javascript for delicious.com tagging on the left sidebar.

Do this:
1.) Click the + to the left of the address bar. A box will show up that says Add bookmark.
2.) Erase text in Name text box and add whatever. I use "tag".
3.) Erase text in Address and enter the following code:

 javascript:(function(){f='http://www.delicious.com/save?url='+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title)+'&notes='+encodeURIComponent(''+(window.getSelection?window.getSelection():document.getSelection?document.getSelection():document.selection.createRange().text))+'&v=6&';a=function(){if(!window.open(f+'noui=1&jump=doclose','deliciousuiv6','location=1,links=0,scrollbars=0,toolbar=0,width=710,height=660'))location.href=f+'jump=yes'};if(/Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent)){setTimeout(a,0)}else{a()}})()  

4.) Check that folder is Bookmarks.
5.) Click Add.
6.) Swipe to get the left hand bookmark page to show up. "tag" is now there. Click on it to add to your delicious account.

Dropbox - Free - if you aren't using this, you really should. Awesome.

Kitchen Timer - when one is timing food but the kitchen is very hot and laptop in another room.

Moboplayer - Free - most flexible player on the web for most video formats. I reviewed this under the tag android apps for more inforation.

My Days - Free - For those of us who really need something to keep track of our periods. It's very customizable, and after three months, for me it is deathly accurate.

I'm still reviewing some that scan teh barcodes of your movies and enter them into a database for you, but I am not really loving any of them so far, but I'm still working on the customizations and usability, so pending on this one.

Comments

[snakeling]

Ooh, nice. For Sudoku, I use Andoku, which has a Serpentart mode: ie the blocks inside are not squares, so it's more challenging.

What do you use for a music player on Android? The default apply is shit, but I can't find one that does what I want: I want to be able to specify a folder for the library (because mixing the audiobooks with the music is confusing), I want the ability to make smart playlists (everything in this folder is automatically added to the playlist) and the ability to play them on shuffle. I don't think that's asking too much, but every apply I've tried so far has failed me :/

[brownbetty]

re: music players, I want this too!

[fyrdrakken]

I've been using WinAmp for music, because that's what I'm used to using on my desktop and netbook. I can't say for sure about the library folders (because all the audio files I have on my Android are music, no audiobooks to separate), but it let me create my own playlist just fine, and I think there would be a shuffle option (though I haven't looked for it). I'm just using the free version, so I can't speak to what you get if you pay for the pro version.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

You have broken my f-page formatting with the java code! Cut tag?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I had it, but my pre codes to post teh code was breaking the cut tag. Should be fixed now.

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reviews! Very cool!

[be-a-rebel.livejournal.com]

My days in my personal saviour. Seriously. As is Dropbox.

[fyrdrakken]

I've been using Period Tracker, also a free app, which hasn't been predicting me entirely accurately (but then again, looking at the log from the last year and a half, my cycle has varied from 26 days to 35, so that's not the app's fault), but at least sends me a reminder for several days letting me know I'm more-or-less due. Also there's an online backup (which I appreciate since the app I was using on my Blackberry tended to lose all stored data whenever the phone's software updated), and I'm really charmed by the list of symptoms it allows me to keep track of on the calendar.

Yesterday I had fun trawling for live wallpaper, since I was kind of tired of what I've been using for the last month, but just picking an image from my gallery was kind of bland after watching a galaxy slowly rotating on my screen. I already had some snowfall wallpapers waiting for next winter, but I picked up some Xmas and Halloween options, and more to the point something with a gorgeous high-def palm tree gently waving in the breeze while in the background the water creeps up and down the beach, and seagulls fly past and dolphins leap and boats sail by. (I'm really in the mood for a beach vacation. Again. Gonna have to settle for phone wallpaper. This year.)

[aivilo-18.livejournal.com]

Bejeweled is a time suck of awesome.

[(Anonymous)]

Airdroid: free app that lets you wirelessly manage & control your Android Device from a web browser securely.

No need for a USB cable and Kies: you can control and move files on your Kindle (or any Android tablet) from your computer without installing any additional application. I love it.