App Review: UltimateFaves PRO

30/01/2010 — efan78

This is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for ever such a long time but never got round to.  As you may know (if you’ve ever read this blog before or seen my twitterstream) I love my Android phone – and it’s apps like UltimateFaves PRO that explain that love.

Now, I need to start off with a bit of a disclosure, Lior – the fantastically responsive dev behind UltimateFaves PRO, did forward me an email to join the affiliate programme for the app, I haven’t joined and don’t intend to for two reasons.  One: You know that this is a completely true record of how I feel about the app – I’m not making any money from this and have bought the product myself, and two: I haven’t done any work whatsoever on the application and so I truly feel that Lior deserves every penny, cent or whatever denomination you pay.

Android Market QR Code for UltimateFaves (free)

Now, unfortunately – because the Android Market isn’t worldwide just yet – UltimateFaves PRO can’t be obtained directly from the market – but you can at least download the free taster version ‘UltimateFaves’ and try it out.  If you want to support the app after that, or realise just how great it is and want to increase the number of carousels you can use, have a look at Lior’s UltimateFaves Blog and buy using PayPal.

Don’t forget, when you send it to your phone you’ll need to allow your phone to install non-market applications.  (Yes iPhone users – we’re not tied to just the one marketplace – that’s the idea of an Open OS! ;-P)  You can do this by going to: Settings > Applications > Tick the ‘Unknown sources’ box > Click on OK.

Now I’m sure you’re asking yourself “why would I want to download it?”  Well, it’s quite simple – UltimateFaves allows you to create scrolling carousels of your favourite apps that scroll around in a visually pleasing way.  You can also create shortcuts to those carousels on your home screen (a bit like folders) which means you’re never more than a click, swipe, click, away from your programmes.

Now, as I’ve rooted my phone and use apps to SD this really helps me – with over 125 apps in my phone it can get a bit unwieldy – but UltimateFaves means that I can keep all my Office-type applications on one carousel, system apps on another, games on a third and more!

But wait… UltimateFaves PRO doesn’t stop there – contacts, bookmarks, phone direct dials can all be added too.  The latest version even includes the facility to create a carousel of currently running apps and with a long click either shut them down or uninstall them without having to go to the market or manage applications in settings.  (Yes iPhone users – I know you don’t need this facility – that’s because you only ever have one app running! Bwahaha!)

Now, a little background, when it was released the app ran as a straightforward application but that wasn’t good enough for the market and they demanded widgets.  I didn’t know how it could be done but Lior figured out a way.  Of course, as we all know – widgets slow down your home screen.  But then the Android team released v1.6 – which allows the creation of shortcuts directly to parts of an app, so Lior stepped in and included this in a newer version.  As I said earlier – he’s really responsive and you can tell that he has a passion for the application that he’s developed.

I’m really interested to see where the app’s heading – to be honest, I felt that Lior could quite easily have sat on his laurels as it was, and yet he continues to make UltimateFaves PRO do things that I never knew I wanted but now I need!

And I’m sure you’ll feel the same.

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My Android top ten

15/11/2009 — efan78

Inspired by the release of the Droid and the expected influx of new Android users the guys over at Phandroid have just released 5 x top ten application lists for newcomers to the Android platform.  Now, I mentioned a few a while back but that was before I bothered to root my phone, and get soooo much more from it than I ever imagined!!!

So I thought I’d revisit the subject and have a look for my top ten applications – you know – the ones that I just HAVE to have loaded and running.  Although with the number of apps being released this is probably out of date before I even post it :-D

Android top tenMy first recommendation to anyone who’s new to Android is to get root access – it’s such a lifesaver and believe me, the difference between the way that Android works as provided and when rooted is amazing.  Firstly it’s quicker, the modders (developers who create front ends for rooted phones) spend most of their time tweaking the code to make it faster, you can also “over-clock” your phone too – this means that the phone works harder, of course it also means that your phone won’t last as long (think of it as making your phone run or jog everywhere instead of walking – it’ll get tired more quickly).  But considering the average phone life that won’t make too much of a difference.  You can also get hold of themes for your phone without downloading a Home Replacement app (like aHome, dxTop or Openhome).  Don’t get me wrong, I loved aHome when I was using it, but it did slow my phone down somewhat!

If you choose to root then I can state categorically that Cyanogenmod’s versions are fantastic, quick, easy to use and with so many great little touches it just makes the standard GUI look pathetic!

So, my top ten “must have” apps that I can’t leave off my phone…

1. Twidroid - Okay, I don’t know if you’re on twitter or not, but if you are then Twidroid is pretty much the app to beat.  All the other twitter apps are compared to this one, just check the market!  It’s not without its frustrations but the great thing is that they’re constantly releasing updates and listen to their customers.  If you’re not on twitter then I’d like to recommend that you join it, you can get updates from AndriodGuys.com (@androidguyscom), AndroidAndMe.com (@AndroidAndMe), ForceClose.com (@ForceClose) and others!

2. GReader Notifier – It’s an old app now and not without its problems (the email story function doesn’t seem to work and other little things like that) but it uses the standard Google Reader interface so you know exactly what you’re looking at – there are a lot of things that I’d like to have in it but it’s very functional and does all that I need!  (See – I can tell the difference between need and want – just like I NEED a Vega! ;-P)

3. Documents to Go – There are a few apps out there that cover Office-type things but I haven’t been able to find one that holds a candle to Docs2Go.  It covers everything that I need, full editing (yes, including formatting etc…) covering Word, Excel and PowerPoint up to 2007 and a simple way to forward it – I use it regularly when out jobhunting and the like to send on my CV (and I can alter it to match the job that I’m applying for!)

4. K-9 Mail – I have a G-Mail account (obviously!) and it’s ideal for me to use as my personal email address, but (for the aforementioned job-searching) I also set up a separate personal email address using my own domain, and couldn’t stand the built in email app.  Thankfully the open source community out there had the solution – K-9, it’s everything you need in an email system including (my favourite little function) – Signatures!  (Did you hear that Google – Signatures, give me signatures on my phone goddamit!)

5. AniWidget - I mentioned this over on ForceClose.com, it’s a multi-function widget with an Analog clock, digital clock, calendar, to do list, agenda, weather app, and the obligatory flashlight, mute, wi-fi and airplane mode toggle you get a lot of bang for your buck, and it all fits into a tiny 2×2 or 4×2 widget – leaving you loads of space for shortcuts and other widgets.

6. UltimateFaves – Yes, you could just add a bunch of folders to your desktop, but the thing that UltimateFaves have over simple folders is quite simple – look at it – it’s way cooler!  Whoosh!

7. 3Banana – It’s still my favourite notes app, yes I’ve downloaded (and bought) other note taking apps (like Note Everything) but I still come back to 3banana.  You can jot down a quick note, sync it to the web, share it with your friends via a URL or QR Code, they can add notes to it you can add URLs, embedded images/YouTube videos, hashtag labelling.  It really is everything I’ve found I’ve needed!

8. TuneWiki - This is a great application that allows you to listen to your music that you’ve loaded onto your phone, it scrobbles with your Last.fm account and also has last.fm and Shoutcast radio support.  But its unique selling point?  It makes your Android phone a mini karaoke machine thanks to the lyrics being shown on screen in time with the music!  Oh, and there’s even a little map showing what people nearby are listening to.

9. AddressBook – It’s currently in beta and a little buggy but I love this – it’s the first app that I’ve found that brings together all your contacts in one place, it links your address book contacts (phone/mobile/email) with twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more and aggregates them together in one place.  Want to drop someone a message?  Just open Addressbook and you can check their Facebook account to see what they’re up to.  Was that not updated recently? Send them a tweet!  If they’re not on twitter drop them a text to find out what they’re up to then send them an email with the details of that nightclub you want to meet at.  And all of these are stored in your call history!  It’s really got potential and I can’t wait to see where they’re going to take it next!

10. Camera ZOOM FX/Photo BURST – Hmm, does this count as cheating? Adding 2 apps in one place? Well, if it does, tough! ;-P Camera ZOOM FX is the way that the camera should have been set up, with effects, 3x Zoom and loads of fab little add ons it’s the perfect way to customise your photos as much as you’ve customised your phone, and Photo BURST? It’s the Gallery to show off your Camera ZOOM (what’s with all the capital letters!?!) creations.

10.1 (bugger it – I’ve already broken the top ten app rule anyway!) beebPlayer – It’s only really of any use to UK Android owners so it doesn’t count towards my top-ten – honest!  But if you want to watch the iPlayer on your phone then this is the bunny for you!

OK, so, if this ever gets read by someone who’s just got themselves an Android phone I just have to say.  ”Welcome to the fold, you have in your hand one of the most fantastic pieces of tech you could ever own, the possibilities are almost limitless and you have my permission to walk up to anyone you see with an iPhone and say ‘Baaa!’ then run away laughing like a loon!”

I hope this will be at least a little bit of use to someone, and if it isn’t then I’m sorry for wasting your time!

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Why am I so anti-Apple?

14/11/2009 — efan78

Apple LogoI know I seem to spend a lot of time getting annoyed with Apple, and in particular their marketing and I’m sure that some people will wonder why.  Even if you’re not wondering I’m going to tell you anyway!

I had an epiphany the other day.  There are two companies which, while they seem to be the darlings of the public, I absolutely hate.  And I’ve realised that they have a lot in common.  The companies are Apple and Virgin.

Both companies have some fantastic products and have been truly successful in their chosen fields.  Both companies have made truly innovative products and led the way in so many different ways, but my problem is that they are whiners.

Rather than use their industry leading workforces and ideas to compete with established brands (or continue to innovate in those areas where they are the leaders), the management team of both Apple and Virgin seem to prefer belittling their competition and “stamping their feet” when someone comes out with something better, or work harder at achieving their goals.  They also both have a very strong idea of what they want as a company and the public just has to accept that this is the way that it is.

Now, I’m no business analyst and what I don’t know about marketing could be written in very big writing across the sky, but this approach does seem to work with some people.  The question is, is it connecting with enough people?  Well, the fact that Apple still only own 12% of the market share and Virgin Atlantic only have 31 Airports listed on their website suggests to me that it isn’t.  While the fans of the respective companies fight their corner vociferously it seems to me that they simply make more noise, but this doesn’t equate to more customers.  So, what do these companies do?

virgin_atlantic_logoWell, Virgin decides to belittle it’s competition and suggest that it be better that they go bust and 40,000 Jobs be lost.  While Apple decides to offer what it’s competitors do too but pretend that it’s new and that only they have it (“There’s an app for that – ONLY on the iPhone” anyone?  All of the things that I mentioned in my “What’s so great about the iPhone?” post.)

I think what makes me annoyed is the fact that I know these companies could do so much and yet they just rest on their laurels.  Now I’ll admit I am most definitely a Google fan, but I think that a big part of this is because, even in this high-tech world where I can’t see a niche that isn’t already filled, they find them.  And they create simple, easy to use solutions.  Until GDocs we were happy to download MS Office or Open Office and either email documents to ourself or store them centrally, now the software’s online and you can edit a word processed document through your browser.  Want to keep a calendar/appointment diary, Outlook and Lotus Notes were the two main ways of doing this for businesses (or they’re the ones that I’ve had dealings with) but with GCal you were able to create an event quickly, simply – and because it was online and tied in with your GMail and Maps it just worked.  And now we have Google Wave.  I’ve had a play around with it and, although it’s not much use for me at the moment, I can see situations where it would be and am watching how it grows with interest!

Image taken from http://www.ryebrye.com/blog/

Image taken from http://www.ryebrye.com/blog/

And then there is my beloved Android.  I’ll be the first to admit – I’m a geek.  When the iPhone was released I lusted after it, I lusted so hard.  But I waited, something about it didn’t feel right.  And then came the backlash – so many things that were found to be wrong with the iPhone.  There were so many “design over function” decisions that Apple made and I knew that I’d made the right choice.  Then Google announced that it would lead the Open Handset Alliance in creating Android – an Open Source operating system.  This was what I had waited for.  Now I could have a phone that gave me all of the advantages of the iPhone (internet connectivity, smartphone capabilities, apps etc…) BUT it was open source.  This meant that anyone could amend the code and make the phone do what they wanted.  Now, I’m not in any way a programmer and there’s no way that I could do it, but I was sure that someone would, and to date I haven’t been disappointed!

And of course, because it was led by Google that meant that my GMail, GCal maps and everything else all just fitted in, in my hand, without a problem – even my contacts could all be synced online – making it simple to keep on top of contacts and not being scared of losing my phone.  (Well, not for that reason anyway!)

Yes all the Apple fans talk about the fact that they can jailbreak their phones.  But this is frowned upon, and if Apple get their way – illegal.  Now I suppose you could talk about the cease and desist order Google served on Cyanogenmod but that was simply Google protecting their own closed source apps which have been closely tied to Android.  The whole point is that you can do whatever you like with Android – and that’s why I love it!

Maybe I’m on my own, then again, let’s see what the internet thinks:

What Does The Internet think about Apple?What Does The Internet think about Google

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ADC2 – Android Developer’s Challenge

26/09/2009 — efan78
Image from AndroidGuys.com

Image from AndroidGuys.com

OK, so the second Android Developer Challenge is underway and the ADC2 team have released an app to allow the community to vote.  It’s a bit of a mare to find as they haven’t released it into the “Sort Apps by Date” category so you either need to do a search for ‘Challenge’ (it’s up there at the top) or follow this handy QR code that Phandroid provided on their review of the app :-D adc2qr1

Now, as the Phandroid guys mentioned, there are a couple of issues with the app, for me the first one is that it’s incessant!  But I just cleared the notification and now I know that I can just pop into and out of the app when I want.  The second is that most of the apps can only be downloaded through the ADC2 app itself, and – like the Mission Impossible tapes – they self destruct after you’ve reviewed them.  You can’t start reviewing a new app until you’ve reviewed the old one, even if it’s something that you have no interest in, or even can’t understand!  (I had an app in Japanese that I had to review so I just did my best with the limited info I could get).  Another problem is if you are given an app that asks for permissions you don’t want to allow – you can’t refuse to download it and move on to the next one you HAVE to install the app and then review it then it will be removed.

Has no-one in the ADC2 team heard of security???  One example that particularly concerned me was NovuPhone.  It’s an intriguing concept and I really wish them well, but I’m not comfortable giving my personal details to a company that can’t even fill in the links on their homepage, and particularly not an app that needs my IMEI number, phone number, and the permissions to take full control of my phone.  I’m sure they’re a nice enough company and I doubt that they have any malice but I don’t want to take that risk.

It makes me wonder if these limitations are going to skew the voting somewhat – it seems a very draconian process and I don’t think everyone will have the patience to trawl through all the apps they get bombarded with.  But we shall see.

Anyway, I started making a few notes because the ADC2 app only allows you to mark apps with the usual 5 star rating but this time in categories:  Originality of Concept, Effective Use of the Android Platform, Polish and Appeal & Indispensability.  And I thought I’d share those notes here (As I make more I’ll probably just tag them on later!):

Design Draw by Moplix Software

This is a fun app, although not something that I’d want to keep. It gives plenty of scope for users to tweak the designs and would be quite good for scrapbookers etc… I’m not sure that it’ll be much use to actual companies or people who want to create their own personal brand. It makes good use of the touchscreen and trackball although the input buttons do seem to be a bit lethargic and unresponsive. While it makes use of the functions of the platform it doesn’t actually take into account what has become standard practice across the OS (no use of the Menu button etc…) and so isn’t as user friendly as other apps. The GUI also looks a little unpolished and dated, almost like it had been designed for Windows 3.1 era. I only had one forceclose issue when closing my G1 and the screen moving from Landscape to Portrait but the programme rescued itself admirably!

White Noise Free by TMSOFT

This app looks quite professional, with 11 sounds including airplane engines, thunder, rain and the (to be expected) white noise. The images that are included to demonstrate the sound are a high quality and the previous & next buttons fit well with the Android GUI. The timer option is great and works well.

There is however some difficulty because the prev & next buttons are the only way to navigate. This app could probably do with a menu to get to the sound you want quickly.

The 10.5 MB size of the app is a huge problem too!

Virtual Q by Antony Jose Vijay David

I really don’t understand what’s going on with this one, it’s very user unfriendly, just a selection of 4 buttons, a search function which needs the exact name of the queue you want to join.

This app needs a help function, preferably with some description of what people would use this for. It feels like it has potential, I just don’t know what the potential is for!

Xeeku Reader by Xeeku Services

This is an excellent and attractive RSS/Google Reader app that’s straightforward and easy to use. The only concern that I have is that it does seem a bit like information overkill.  You can find a couple of their other apps here.

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