So what are the best android apps?

[Red Storm]

Apex - My preferred launcher (yes I have Nova also)

Can I ask what you like better about Apex? I found Nova early on and very rarely even look at other launchers, so I'm interested to know what makes Apex your preferred choice.

 

[blankslate]

Can I ask what you like better about Apex? I found Nova early on and very rarely even look at other launchers, so I'm interested to know what makes Apex your preferred choice.

They're both good with comparable features. Apex has more gesture swipe up, swipe down, etc. without paying for the unlocked versions. If happened to have unlocked versions of both and did a side by side comparison there probably wouldn't be many differences aside from cosmetic.

I have heard that Nova is faster but since there are many types of android phones out there ymmv. Apex Launcher is noticeably faster than touchwiz... but then touchwiz is meh.


Back on topic here is a good news app that gives you short summary briefs on the latest news and you can read more on the stories that interest you. The app also provides links to the original stories that were used to develop the briefs.

Circa News
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cir.ca&hl=en


....

 

[luv2liv]

is there an app to record conversations? the apps out there now can only record with the speakerphone on, which isnt clear.....
sometimes mom tells me story about the good old times. would be nice to record it for the grandkids to hear later on.

 

[WelshBloke]

is there an app to record conversations? the apps out there now can only record with the speakerphone on, which isnt clear.....
sometimes mom tells me story about the good old times. would be nice to record it for the grandkids to hear later on.

Try this...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boldbeast.recorder

 

[luv2liv]

Try this...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boldbeast.recorder

wow. it works great! crystal clear recordings on both sides!! initially, i had to go through a lot of trial and error for the recording modes. Mode 3 was the one that works best on my htc one m7. thanks!

 

[Midwayman]

Fun one I got recently.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.broapp.app&hl=en

Broapp. Will automatically text your wife/gf based on you leaving wifi AP. So every morning they get a variant of "I miss you", I love you, etc. Safety features too.

 

[lxskllr]

My top five most used apps(that aren't Firefox :^P )...

Ghost Commander
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=ghost+commander&fdid=com.ghostsq.commander

OsmAnd
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=osmand&fdid=net.osmand.plus

K9 mail
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=k9&fdid=com.fsck.k9

Tomdroid
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=tomdroid&fdid=org.tomdroid

Document Viewer(pdf)
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=document+viewer&fdid=org.sufficientlysecure.viewer

 

[WelshBloke]

wow. it works great! crystal clear recordings on both sides!! initially, i had to go through a lot of trial and error for the recording modes. Mode 3 was the one that works best on my htc one m7. thanks!

Yeah, it's a tad overcomplicated but it's great when you get it configured.

 

[RossMAN]

Transit is awesome if you take public transportation and your transit authority participates.

 

[soccerballtux]

NimaGL2 version of Maps v6. Smooth, clean, quick animations. None of the hitch in the more recent versions.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2566159

 

[clamum]

I saw it mentioned once earlier in the thread, but does anyone use an app like FoxFi (allows you to use your cellphone as a mobile hotspot for other devices like tablets)? I've also tried PdaNet+ and that doesn't work either.

I used to use it, and it worked great, but neither Wi-Fi nor Bluetooth modes work for me on my current phone.

 

[Red Storm]

Fun one I got recently.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.broapp.app&hl=en

Broapp. Will automatically text your wife/gf based on you leaving wifi AP. So every morning they get a variant of "I miss you", I love you, etc. Safety features too.

lol the wife would not be happy if she found out I automated this.

 

[tami]

Couple from me that weren't [frequently] mentioned:

Sunrise Calendar (free, seems comparable to the paid calendar mentioned)
Aviate (my launcher of choice)
Cover lockscreen (but it's a bit buggy since Twitter acquired them over the summer)
SwiftKey (but open to alternatives here since SwiftKey doesn't handle web addresses well)
Backup to Gmail (backs up SMSes and phone calls to a Gmail account)
Helium (a decent backup tool to Titanium without needing root)
HoverChat (pop up SMS messages that allow you to multitask without needing to switch out of the app)
Shazam

 

[jdoggg12]

Couple from me that weren't [frequently] mentioned:
Backup to Gmail (backs up SMSes and phone calls to a Gmail account)

Buggy as hell for me, but it works fantastically once you get it going. I love that it saves MMS images too!

 

[WelshBloke]

Buggy as hell for me, but it works fantastically once you get it going. I love that it saves MMS images too!

SMS backup+ is pretty good for that if you want something easy to set up.

 

[tami]

Buggy as hell for me, but it works fantastically once you get it going. I love that it saves MMS images too!

True. I haven't been able to save call logs in forever (but that's not so important to me anyway, so it's not a dealbreaker) The dev doesn't seem to reply about it.

Thanks for the SMS Backup+ tip. When it supports MMS, I will need to check that out.

 

[bamx2]

Super Backup is pretty good too. You can choose to backup up apps, sms, contacts, call logs , calendar, bookmarks

Waze for navigation

SMS reader

 

[tami]

SMS reader looks interesting. It physically plays it for you? Interesting.

Is there an app there that does good caller ID without opting into some pay plan? Verizon had something which was actually quite good but it was a few bucks per month. The apps I'm seeing in the Play store do nothing useful.

 

[lopri]

Can I ask what you like better about Apex? I found Nova early on and very rarely even look at other launchers, so I'm interested to know what makes Apex your preferred choice.

Apex gives you finer controls on UI animations and transitions so you can make your Android phone feel just like iPhones. Usually that means slower animations and transitions with bouncing/zooming effects, and you can fine-tune them to your liking (very consistent frame rates) and the end result is almost indistinguishable from iOS animations.

Nova is usually faster at adapting new Android stuff, like transparent navigation bars, dotted separators and new themes, etc.

I use Apex/Nova/Action launchers depending on my mood. Action launcher is somewhat different than the other two. Apex and Nova are by and large equal, IMO.

 

[lopri]

Does anyone know of good Material design icon packs?

 

[xSauronx]

i have been really enjoying the microsoft next lockscreen
http://www.androidcentral.com/microsoft-updates-next-lock-screen-local-weather-info-and-more

 

[Dulanic]

i have been really enjoying the microsoft next lockscreen
http://www.androidcentral.com/microsoft-updates-next-lock-screen-local-weather-info-and-more

That surprisingly isn't half bad. For some reason it won't support cal meetings on my note 4.

 

[tami]

Glympse is definitely a great one. Love that one.

 

[tami]

i have been really enjoying the microsoft next lockscreen
http://www.androidcentral.com/microsoft-updates-next-lock-screen-local-weather-info-and-more

I like Cover (beta) but Twitter acquired it and butchered it--they stopped development over the summer.

I realize my Cover issues (I've had 3 phones and multiple flavors of Android Kitkat) were associated with the right hand pull down, which fortunately is something you can disable (I didn't know this until recently).

I'd love for Cover to have this Microsoft Next Lockscreen integration built in. Would be a killer combo!

 

[kyz-02]

latest app that i like "Greenify and Night Camera"