Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Dropbox

| FREE | Dropbox, Inc.

Android's 20 most useful smartphone apps of 2011 | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

The Android Market may not have as many apps as the iPhone App Store yet, but there are still more than enough to be overwhelmed, and it continues to grow at a breakneck pace. To help you sort through them all, here is my latest list of the 20 most useful Android apps (this is an update of my 2010 Android list). I’ve also recently updated my list of the most useful iPhone apps and you’ll notice several of the same apps on both lists. Remember that I primarily had business professionals in mind when making this list and also keep in mind that this is a snapshot in time. The Android platform is developing so quickly that I guarantee my home screen will look different a month from now. Still, here’s my list of tried-and-true Android apps that I can highly recommend. Google Voice is a service that is so useful I consider it one of the top benefits of Android itself. The service gives you a phone number that can ring to multiple places or devices and it allows you to access all of your voicemail and text messages from the Web. The Android app integrates even deeper. It can make outgoing calls look like they’re coming from your Google Voice number so that you can keep your real mobile number private. One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt performance or battery life. Advanced Task Killer (ATK) is my favorite on Android. It even comes with a widget that you can tap once to kill all open apps and you can also set up ATK to kill all apps at periodic intervals. Some people will argue that task managers are irrelevant and unneeded in Read More

Google Voice

| FREE | Google Inc.

Android's 20 most useful smartphone apps of 2011 | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

The Android Market may not have as many apps as the iPhone App Store yet, but there are still more than enough to be overwhelmed, and it continues to grow at a breakneck pace. To help you sort through them all, here is my latest list of the 20 most useful Android apps (this is an update of my 2010 Android list). I’ve also recently updated my list of the most useful iPhone apps and you’ll notice several of the same apps on both lists. Remember that I primarily had business professionals in mind when making this list and also keep in mind that this is a snapshot in time. The Android platform is developing so quickly that I guarantee my home screen will look different a month from now. Still, here’s my list of tried-and-true Android apps that I can highly recommend. Google Voice is a service that is so useful I consider it one of the top benefits of Android itself. The service gives you a phone number that can ring to multiple places or devices and it allows you to access all of your voicemail and text messages from the Web. The Android app integrates even deeper. It can make outgoing calls look like they’re coming from your Google Voice number so that you can keep your real mobile number private. One of the realities of having a multitasking mobile OS is that you have to manage your apps so that they don’t hurt performance or battery life. Advanced Task Killer (ATK) is my favorite on Android. It even comes with a widget that you can tap once to kill all open apps and you can also set up ATK to kill all apps at periodic intervals. Some people will argue that task managers are irrelevant and unneeded in Read More

Speedtest.net

| FREE | Ookla

Android's 20 most useful smartphone apps of 2011 | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Another one of the great things about Android (if you’re a geek or a tinkerer) is that you have lower-level access to the system itself. Astro is an app that lets you navigate the Android file system, which is mostly just interesting, but can be handy once in a while. I’m obsessed with running speed tests to check my bandwidth in various places, both to see 3G/4G fluctuations and to check the quality of Wi-Fi. There are a number of really good speed test apps, but my favorite is the Speedtest.net app. It’s generally consistent and it has some of the best graphics and options. I’ve never completely warmed up to the Amazon Kindle e-reader, but I’m a big fan of the Kindle mobile app. Since it was released I’ve read a lot more books simply because my smartphone is always with me and I can pull it out and read a few pages anytime I’ve got a couple minutes free. I’ve written a lot about Google+ since it launched in July and I’m pretty active over there (+Jason Hiner). One of the great things that Google did was to release a Google+ Android app at the same time it launched the service as a beta. And, surprisingly, the app was actually pretty good and has been improved since. It immediately became one of my most used mobile apps and definitely stole some of my time away from Android’s Twitter app, mostly because Google+ is a little more interactive. The TED conference features a meeting of the minds of some of society’s most influential thinkers. You’ll disagree with some of them since there’s a large diversity of viewpoints, but many talks are worth listening to in order to catch the latest creative thinking on society’s biggest challenges. The cool thing is that they’ve Read More

Maps

| FREE | Google Inc.

Google Maps for Android now includes transit navigation for 400+ cities | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Summary: Google continues to plug in public transportation information with a new update for its Maps for Android app that includes stop-by-stop transit navigation. Google continues to plug in public transportation information with a new update for its Maps for Android app that includes stop-by-stop transit navigation. Although it’s still in beta mode, Google Maps for Android already has over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions on board. Now, with Google Maps 5.7, Android smartphone owners will also be able to access public transit directions in more than 400 cities worldwide. (See the full list here.) Essentially, the app utilizes the smartphone’s GPS function to determine the user’s current location along a particular route. Once the user inputs the destination, then the app will publish alerts about possible transfers and when to disembark. Obviously, one of the drawbacks could be reception interference. To be able to fully take advantage of this new feature, users will likely have to be above ground. Nevertheless, this function could prove invaluable to travelers when visiting cities with different languages and alphabets on signs that the user might not understand. (Of course, they just can’t forget about that international data plan first…) Google Maps for Android as well as mobile and desktop browsers was recently updated in June with live public transit information about real-time and scheduled departure times, route maps and service alerts. Some of the other enhancements in this version of Google Maps include an updated directions interface, improved search suggestions (with Google Places integrated), and a photo viewer for Place pages. Available for downloading now, Google Maps 5.7 requires Android 2.1 and higher. For a closer look at the new features, check out the promo video below: Related: Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco. Read More

LauncherPro

| FREE | Federico Carnales

5 Android apps that should be on every smartphone | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

I may be hard on Google for the mess that it has created with Android Honeycomb tablets, but on the smartphone front Android is still going strong. That is with good reason, Android phones are as good as anything on the market, and made even better with the right apps installed. No matter if you are a fan of HTC Sense phones with its attractive UI, Samsung TouchWiz phones, or stock Android phones, there are five apps that should be installed on every Android phone to make them better. . The Android launcher is attractive but very basic in design and function, and LauncherPro takes any Android phone to the next level. This alternative launcher adds a customizable dock bar for launching apps, but that is only a fraction of the functionality it brings to the home screen. Speaking of home screens, LauncherPro brings a totally revamped home screen environment, with a new app drawer for launching apps included. The app also makes a suite of home screen widgets available that can be added as desired to install a raft of new functionality on the home screens as desired. These widgets can be customized to the heart’s desire, and are skinnable to make them look just right. The Gmail widget alone is worth the price of LauncherPro. There are other alternative launchers but none match LauncherPro for features. You must have the Pro version to unlock all the features including the widgets. $3.49. The strength of Android is the ability to make the interface very personal, and Beautiful Widgets is the daddy of them all. The app installs a bunch of home screen widgets of varying sizes that make it a breeze to tailor the look and feel of the screens to the user’s personal taste. The widgets include HTC Sense Read More

Omaha Steaks Steak Time

| FREE | Omaha Steaks

Android apps to get the summer party started | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Summary: A good way to have a good summer season is by using smartphone apps to help make the best of those fun times. Here are some good Android apps to get the summer party started. The Memorial Day long weekend is upon us in the U. S. and it is the signal that the summer is here. Summer is the favorite season for many, with vacations and trips to the beach on the horizon. A good way to have a good summer season is by using smartphone apps to help make the best of those fun times. Here are some good Android apps to get the summer party started. . Summer time means barbecue time in my household, and the Steak Time app by Omaha Steaks is a good way to make the most of the grilling season. Steak Time has a bunch of great recipes of all types for the grill, along with good tips for how impress friends and family with your skill at the grill. Recipes can be tagged, creating shopping lists for picking up just what you need for the outdoor party. There are videos showing grilling methods of the real pros. Steak Time also serves as multiple timers to make sure you get all of those steaks cooked to order for each guest. Just hit the start all timers button and the app tells you when to put each persons order on the grill. The recipes are designed for using Omaha Steak products, but meat is meat no matter where you buy it. The app is free, with photos of all the dishes. . You need adult beverages to get the summer party rocking, and Drinks Master tells you how to make hundreds of them. Drinks are categorized by type, and the app includes drink Read More

Exchange TouchDown (Andro 1.x)

| FREE | NitroDesk, Inc.

Top 5 Android apps for productivity | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Summary: There are a lot of Android apps, many designed to help users be more productive, but finding them can often be a burden. Here are five apps that will help most folks get more things done. Android is a good platform for getting things done, both on smartphones and the growing tablet segment. The key to productivity on Android and any platform lies in the apps available. There are a lot of Android apps, many designed to help users be more productive, but finding them can often be a burden. Here are five apps that will help most folks get more things done using an Android device. 1. . People need to work with documents all the time, and this app is as full of features as any. Docs to Go allows working with Microsoft Office documents, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It has a good interface designed to make such work easy, and uses the small screen to best advantage. In addition to handling Office documents, Docs to Go can access Google Docs in the cloud, and also handles PDF files with good effect. Free version available with limited features, full version is $14.99. 2. . Android has decent calendar and contact apps, but lacks in the native to-do list area. Pocket Informant is an app that handles calendaring and task management as good as anything available. The app can be configured to present calendars in any style desired, and the task manager can sync with the online service Toodledo. It takes a while to get familiar with all of the features of Pocket Informant, but once you do it is incredibly useful. $9.99. 3. Some Android phones handle Exchange email well, but it’s not uniform across the Android world. Exchange by TouchDown handles Exchange accounts very well, and Read More

ASTRO File Manager / Browser

| FREE | Metago

The Android Toolkit: 5 essential apps | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Summary: Here’s a review of five essential apps that belong in your Android device toolkit. I’m sure there will be some muttering along the lines of, “Oh, geez, not another software list article”. I tend to tune them out myself. The difference here is that I will be discussing applications that I use daily with my tablet. Possibly the most critical app in my kit is a file manager. I’ve used several since I first got an Android smartphone. I started with , but I can no longer recommend it since the author seems to have abandoned it and will not respond to support emails. It works fine if you use Android 2.2 or lower; newer revisions have major compatibility issues that cause Astro to crash regularly. I moved on to . File Expert is a great app for file management, and has the ability to connect to a SMB-based network (Windows networking). This allows you to access your Windows file shares across the network and copy files to and from the server with your tablet. An added bonus is that File Expert also has a built-in FTP and HTTP server, so that you can access the tablet remotely. File Expert does have some issues with running under Android 3.0 and higher. Recent revisions of the app will lock up the entire tablet requiring a hard reboot during any process that involves file copying or deleting. I have been working with the author to help get these issues resolved. He has been quite responsive to support and is willing to go the extra mile to fix bugs. Great service for a free app. While I am waiting to help the author of File Expert to send me code to test, I have been using . It is also an excellent, free Read More

Evernote

| FREE | Evernote Corp.

Android at Work: The Essential Guide for Business Users | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

The Android operating system has been growing into a popular tablet platform. It hasn’t hit the sales numbers that Apple’s iPad has reached yet, but the momentum is building rapidly. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom have enjoyed a measure of success, and future tablet devices from other manufacturers are soon to follow. Previously, I wrote an article on sysadmins using an Android device in place of a laptop for technical work. This time I would like to explore the workplace side of things, and see how Android can benefit the average office worker. The Android platform is well-suited to the workplace. Google has , such as remote device administration, integration with Google Apps for Business, and Google Voice. Out of the box, Android can sync with Google Apps, as well as Microsoft Exchange. Google has also added encryption to the Honeycomb operating system, allowing users to protect all of the data on their devices. If you use Chrome as your browser, . You can do the same if you use Firefox as your main browser and have installed on your tablet. That’s all well and good, but what else can Android do? Lots of devices can do email and browse the web, but we all know that the workplace requires more than just those capabilities. In order to replace a laptop in the office, the Android tablet needs to be up to the task. One of the main business decisions for laptops is the ability to access your documents and data on the road. Android tablets can handle that, too. If you’re one of the many users of Dropbox, then would certainly fit the bill. Note-taking in meetings is often necessary. Instead of loudly clicking away at your laptop keyboard, you could take notes more quietly Read More

XFINITY TV

| FREE | Comcast Interactive Media

Comcast churns out Xfinity TV app for Android | ZDNet - Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet

Summary: It’s a big day for Android apps. Already available for iOS, Comcast has outed the Xfinity TV app for Android-based devices. It’s a big day for Android apps. Already available for , Comcast has outed the Xfinity TV app for Android-based devices. The basic functions are all still present on this mobile application. That includes browsing TV listings and On Demand content, DVR programming and being able to change the channel. However, more personalized features such as recommendations and shortcuts are promised to be on the way in future updates for both the Android and iOS versions of the app. Two big features we can soon expect include On Demand video streaming and live TV streaming directly on a tablet. The app itself is free and ready to download from the Android Market now. Access to Xfinity streaming comes with a Comcast cable contract. Related coverage on ZDNet: Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco. Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated. Read More