We’ve got apps for that

Since I go on AT LENGTH about my phone and how generally awesome it is to live in the future, I thought I’d share my favorite apps and (aside from the obvious) how I use them.

Sudoku Free – This is my number one time killer. At work, on break this is my go-to distraction. For whatever reason, maybe late adoption, I don’t find Angry Birds all that addictive. This game I use every day.

Dolphin Browser HD – This is my go to browser, in no small part thanks to the Last Pass add on. Easy to use (swipe to the right for bookmarks, to the left for add ons) and it opens new tabs rather than new windows (unlike the default android browser).

Note Everything and the NE GDocs extension - A recent addition, which is pretty whip ass. It takes text notes, voice notes and paint notes (which means you can doodle on the screen). Two best features: note from barcode – when there’s a book you’re interested in (or other item) and don’t have time to write it down. What I use most often: Note from Google Docs. See, I like my phone but it’s not the easiest method for creating a shopping list. I like to do that when I’ve got my cookbook nearby, so I can also note the page numbers of the recipes for which I’m purchasing. I do this with Google Notes and then, at the store, I open my Note Everything and access the shopping list (which is formatted by department) to make sure I get everything I need. LOVE.

PowerAMP – A pretty awesome music player which scrobbles data to send to iTunes (number of plays, playlists) and vice versa, it’s also got an excellent equalizer.

Stitcher – Live updating podcasts,no downloading. Great for when you’re in the signal zone and, depending on how long you let it buffer, it can survive my 40 minute commute where my signal is gone for at least 20 minutes.

I feel like maybe I’ve already raved about Gentle Alarm but it’s good enough to merit revisiting. It’s got 4 different customizable profiles for different kinds of alarms. It’s got the pre-alarm feature where a sound of your choice will play a half an hour (or a time of your choice) before your actual alarm. I use the rowing boat and set the volume to 15% so that my brain hears it and I don’t. You can also adjust the light settings so the light on your phone comes up and to what percentage. The alarms fade in and out based on how long you want, sound of your choice, number of snooze options AND snooze-kill options. In short, it’s a fantastic and easy to adapt app. My alarm hasn’t woken my husband – a very light sleeper- even once.

iSyncr and iSyncr WiFi (worth the tiny add-on cost) are what keep my Droid talking to iTunes. It also allows me to upload items I download onto my phone from the Amazon cloud so that I can share all my music cordlessly.

I’ve got the Kindle and Nook app, but I only use them as a last resort – stuck somewhere and I don’t have my Kindle.

BBC News – Maybe the best news app in the market, honestly. Customizable to the topics you want to read about and not a space hog. It also looks pretty.

Calorie Counter by Fatsecret – I started using this last week because I’ve gone cold turkey off soda and I find it helps if I’ve got a monitor to keep me honest. This is great because not only does it have a huge item database, it also searches by barcode. The absolute best part: you can choose how you want to use it – weight loss (fast or slow) or maintenance. Not only that, it’s got a TON of exercise options to enter – everything from driving, standing and deskwork to running and badminton. It’s kind of cool to see what your body needs to run and be able to graph what you’re giving it.

I use a Jorte calendar with a 5×4 screen so I can see the month at a snapshot. It’s clean, easy to update and syncs with my Google calendar. Especially nice when you want to let other people add events.

Goodreads allows me to update on the fly or add books to my TBR list without needing scratch paper.

PasswordCard is a fantastic way to create safe passwords on the go, if you don’t have access to something like LastPass. I’ve used it a lot.

Real Simple’s No Time to Cook – Another cooking app, great for when you’ve got a protein (or not) and aren’t sure what to do with it. Press the screen, choose your protein, choose how much time you’ve got to cook it and you’ll get pages of options. Every Real Simple recipe I’ve ever used has turned out fantastic, so for me this was worth the cost of a single magazine issue.

These are the apps that all have shortcuts or widgets on my screen, aside from the Amazon MP3 and Amazon shopping apps. I also have a shortcut for Voice Commands.