Doesn't matter what carrier you're on - most of the apps are pretty universal. Here are some of my favorites and a little blurb/description:

Advanced Task Manager - $0.99 - Enables you see current "processes running" with the ability to end them. You can also set up "exclusions" for apps you don't want ever ended, as well as set an "auto end" interval to end all running apps (that aren't excluded). This will help your new found multitasking.

Snap Photo Pro - $0.99 - A nice replacement for the default camera app. Gives some more options for picture taking and it personally improved my picture taking experience with Android. Now I know Android v2.0 might negate the use for this app but you could try the free version to try it out.

Weather Channel - Free (ad supported) - I've used MANY Android weather applications in the past year and this one is my favorite. I mainly use the "location aware" widget that sits on your screen and gives you the current temperature and forecast for your current location. It can also alert you in the event of severe weather.

Handcent SMS - Free - If you don't like the text messaging built into Android, then replace it with this one. Gives you a LOT more options for customization and the ability for pop-up notifications.

Twidroid/Twidroid Pro - Free/$5 - Absolutely positively the BEST Twitter app for Android, so far. Pro version adds support for multiple accounts, widget, and more color schemes.

Astro File Manager - Free (while in beta)  - Possibly one of the most powerful applications (that doesn't require root access) for Android. This app allows you to manage all the files and folders on your SD card. It gives you the ability to zip/unzip files, backup installed applications, share files on your SD via email, and much more.

tAttachApkInstaller - Free - Allows you to install .apk files (the installation file Android uses) right from the built in GMail application.

WiFi Analyzer - Free - This one would really only apply to the "uber-geek" users out there. It allows you to see in much more detail, than the default WiFi finder, all the WiFi access points around you.

Scoreboard - Free - An application made by Google that allows you to keep track of all your favorite sports teams. Offers LOTS of sports as well as notifications for score updates.

Last.fm and Pandora - Free - Stream music over the air to your device. Both have widget support.

Shop Savvy - Free (ad supported) - Gives you the ability to scan bar codes on products to get their prices online and at retailers nearest to you.

NewsRob - Free - A RSS reader that syncs with your Google Reader account - there are many others out there, but this one seems to work the best. It DOES synchronize items you read on it to your Google Reader account.

Ten More Neat and Productive Android Apps [Downloads]

The Android Market keeps growing, new phones are coming to seemingly every carrier, but finding the best, most useful stuff remains a challenge. We're helping out with 10 apps that get things done and make Android life easier.

We've previously posted our Android app picks, in two different lists of a dozen each. This list adds some recent discoveries and neat apps we've stumbled upon.

Want to see the whole list without all the clicks? View all the items on one page here.

As always, we heartily welcome your own suggestions for useful, productive, or just awesome Android apps in the comments.

Astrid

What sets Astrid apart from the many, many task/to-do managers out there? Two great features. One is its mostly seamless synchronization with cloud-based task manager Remember the Milk, which can happen in the background or when you hit "Sync". The other is its turbo-charged nagging powers. Astrid places itself in your notification area when a task is due and literally forces you to head over to the task to get rid of that nagging little squid-like icon. That's right—hitting "Clear Notifications" won't kill your to-do, and when you arrive at Astrid's home screen, it pops up the thing that needs doing with a rotating phrase, like "Do it and you'll feel better" or "Are you ready, tiger?" That might sound annoying to some, but to those whose thumbs are quick to put things off, Astrid is just the right kind of cure. Finally, if you're into the whole geolocation thing, Astrid can plug into Locale, the awesome conditional phone manager mentioned in a previous Android round-up, to do things like remind you to buy stamps when you're near a post office, or drop off those clothes in your trunk whenever you're around a Goodwill.

SnapPhoto Free

It must be said that SnapPhoto is not the most stable of applications. When it does work, though, it adds a slew of photo geek tools to your camera with a slide-out top panel. ISO controls, automatic or custom white balance, stabilizing software, effects, and, perhaps most helpful, a timer are available, along with quality and size modifiers. Reviewers' consensus and personal experience find that the app gets less stable the more shots one takes, but for pulling off one key frame with your phone, it's definitely worth the price.

ACast

It's a free, full-featured podcast client for Android—not an easy thing to find. It sports a few small ads that run along the bottom of the screen, but they're far from intrusive. ACast can search popular podcast databases to find your podcast feeds or accept manual URL entries, and lets you set up whether it updates, downloads, or streams your shows over Wi-Fi only or through a cell network. The app's own podcast player allows for auto-queueing of downloaded items, but those happy with Android's own minimal music player (assuming they exist) can simply play their tunes as normal. Be sure to hit up ACast's flush settings menu to customize how and when your shows are culled from the net.

Rounded Labs' Toggle Widgets

When Android's "Donut" revision lands, users will have a dedicated widget for one-click settings changes. In the meantime, Rounded Labs offers up five separate one-square widgets that simply turn Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and your phone ringer on or off, and change your screen brightness with every tap. The GPS widget actually sends you to a settings dialog to click once more and toggle GPS, but two clicks are definitely better than four.

Sherpa

Sherpa's not the first app that finds the stuff around you using GPS or Wi-Fi location, but it might be the most personalized. Sherpa's results come in a familiar map layout or a revolving "carousel," and are filtered by the time of day—it theoretically won't send you to a dry cleaners at 3 a.m. unless it's an 24-hour spot. Sherpa also "learns" from what you've previously selected, so that it presents Caribou Coffee shops when you're visiting Raleigh if you've looked for them in Atlanta. It could stand to move a bit faster, but it hooks in well to Android's native map, email, and location tools, and might just discover something new for you right across from where you're standing.

Sound Manager‎

If Locale's uber-customization and multi-part settings are a bit too much for your needs, and you just want your phone not to ring at night and buzz while you're at work, Sound Manager is what you should grab. The basic screen lets you set individual volumes, so notifications are silent while ringtones are audible, for instance. The scheduling capabilities are where it's at though, given that most of us work, sleep, eat, and do other ritual activities we'd rather not have interrupted by new Twitter direct messages or emailed Amazon shipping alerts.

PdaNet for Android

We've mentioned this Windows/Android app combo before, but it's worth noting again because it still works, and it's still probably the easiest way to turn a 3G/EDGE connection into a connection of last resort for your laptop. Uncooperative eateries and ransom-pushing airports can be bypassed with a simple click of Connect on both the phone and a Windows taskbar item. The bummer is that it requires having a USB cable connection between the handset and the computer, but otherwise it provides a decent hook-up for low-bandwidth necessities. (Original post)

Amazon Android App

Like its iPhone counterpart, Amazon's app can "remember" whatever you take a picture of and send to it with reasonably amazing accuracy. Where the Android app surpasses it is in its barcode scanning ability. If an item you want to save to a wishlist, suggest to a friend, or note for your own purchase later doesn't photograph well, or can't be found by Amazon, the bar code will almost always hit the nail on the head. Whatever you do in the app is also noted in your Amazon account, so it makes for a great list builder, whether or not you've got the time to tinker right there in the store. (Original post)

Astro File Manager

Astro is one of those apps you wish wasn't necessary, but are glad a developer took the time to whip it up. It's basically a serious file browser, one that can download (nearly) any file you feel a URL for, pass files on your SD card along to the Gmail client for attaching, find the files that your music or movie player can't seem to find on their own (insert grumbling here), and back up your downloaded applications to your SD card. You won't use it too often, but you'll be glad it's there when you need it.

Retro Defense

Okay, so you could theoretically call this a goofy tenth item tacked onto a list of nine perfectly productive apps. But that theory assumes you'll never be stuck in an unbearably long line, terminal, or car ride, and desperately want to engage in a little Tower-Defense-like action with eye-catching Tron-style graphics. The free version contains only one level at Normal difficulty, but it's more than enough to keep a casual defender captivated. From notably extensive testing, this also doesn't appear to be as much of a battery drainer as other Android games.

A hearty welcome to NewsGator users

A little while back, our friends over at NewsGator told us that lots of people who use their client RSS readers like FeedDemon and NetNewsWire had been asking for the ability to synchronize with Google Reader, since maintaining two separate subscription lists was a hassle. Today, we're happy to report that we've worked with NewsGator to make this possible, and new versions of their client readers released today will use Google Reader as the synchronization backend. If you use one of these applications, check out NewsGator's instructions and FAQ on transitioning your subscriptions.

Now that Google Reader can be used as the online companion to NewsGator's client applications, they've decided to discontinue consumer use of NewsGator Online, their free web-based RSS reader, at the end of August. If you've been using this service, you'll need to transition your subscriptions to Google Reader. To do this, all you need to is a Google account (you already have one if you use Gmail), and here's a video to help you get started. To those of you who have been waiting for this integration and to those of you who are using Reader for the first time, welcome!

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback in our help group, Twitter or Get Satisfaction.

Motorola Morrisson with T-Mobile 3G and UMA hits the FCC

[Via CellPhoneSignal; thanks William]

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Morrisson with T-Mobile 3G and UMA hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Voice for Android Adds Notification and Call Options [Downloads]

Android: An official Google Voice app update plugs two niggling holes in its settings and options, allowing users to determine how and when their phones alert to new messages, and whether Google Voice or the phone hardware makes their calls.

The first release of Google Voice for Android offered Voice users an all-or-nothing proposition. Either you wanted to use Google Voice for every U.S. call, only for international calls, or not at all. The latest version available in the Android Market, 0.1.415, adds another option to ask you before placing each call whether to call on your standard carrier number or through Google Voice. It would be great to see a toggle setting for each contact—the boss gets your Google Voice number, friends on the same network get their free minutes—but it's a helpful step.

The other settings tweak deals with your voicemail/SMS notifications. You can set a specific ringtone/bleep for them, and/or have your phone vibrate and use its LCD light. Not a big sexy update, but it's something Voice users encounter every day.

An updated Google Voice app can be downloaded free from the Android Market, or found at AndroLib. Thanks Gordon!

How to use a command line version of Google

Google has some amazing services to offer such as search and translation. Goosh is a web based service that brings you the power of Google in a command line interface in your web browser. Goosh stands for Google Shell. Note: Goosh is NOT an official google product!

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Don’t be deceived by how simple this web application looks. At the command prompt enter search simplehelp.net like in the example above, and watch Goosh run a search and return web sites just like Google usually does. You can also run more specific searches if you like.

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If you want to run an image search for boats you can run the command images boats. Or if you want to run a search for boats in Wikipedia, use the command wiki boats. Goosh smartly returns results to all these queries right in the command line interface.

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What’s more is that Goosh allows you to log into your GMail account right from the command line also. Enter the word login followed by the Return key, and voila, the GMail login screen will appear.

So, have fun exploring and using Goosh. I find that once I get used to it, it seems to make web searching quite efficient, and a lot of fun.

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Related Articles at Simple Help:

• How to post to Twitter from the Linux command line
• How to perform Mac specific searches using Google
• Google Webmaster Tools Adds Subscriber Stats Feature
• Download: Google Analytics AIR widget
• Some useful Linux bash tricks

How to use a command line version of Google - Simple Help

How to take screenshots of your Android based phone from Windows

This tutorial will walk you every step of the way through the process of taking screenshots of your Android phone.

1. Start out by downloading and installing the drivers for your Android phone.
2. On your Android phone, select Settings.

   

3. Then select Applications -> Development -> and enable USB debugging by placing a check in the box next to it.

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Related Articles at Simple Help:

• Another category, look out Windows Mobile users
• How to automatically upload pictures from your mobile phone to Flickr
• How to take Screenshots with the Nokia N95
• How to setup and use Skype on your Windows Mobile Smartphone
• 20 ways to use Twitter from your mobile phone

How to take screenshots of your Android based phone from Windows - Simple Help

Beware! Google Reader Notifier for Firefox Is Now Crapware

Anybody using the very popular Google Reader Notifier extension for Firefox should probably remove it immediately, as it is now tracking your browsing and displaying ads in your status bar without your consent. Despicable.

The ads are sneaky, and they don’t show up right away… this screenshot was taken from Bernie Zimmermann’s blog, but I’ve personally checked the source code for the extension and found the problem definitely exists—not to mention the Mozilla bug report explains it in detail.

If you want to see the offending code for yourself, browse down into your Firefox profile’s extensions folder, find the {efa1abef-cb1c-4e40-9bc5-e2e69a3fb329}\chrome\content folder, and you’ll see the st_ads.js file.

Once you open up the javascript file, you’ll see Loads of tracking and ads going on.

And whatever you do, don’t click on the ads, because they will take you on an endless redirect through ad-filled pages.

So, How Do I Get Rid of the Despicably Intrusive Ads?

Personally I’d remove the extension entirely, and maybe print the source code off and burn it. But if you absolutely Must keep using this extension, you can simply uninstall the current version, and then install the old version at this URL:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addons/versions/3977#version-0.71

You’ll want to stick with version 0.71 and make sure that when you are prompted to upgrade the extension later, Don’t Do It!

Rant About Firefox Extensions: What Is Going On?

This isn’t the first time a very popular Firefox extension has sold out to the dark side and become badware. Slashdot reported a while back that the NoScript extension started hijacking the Adblock Plus extension, and while the author has since apologized profusely, I don’t see this problem as going away.

What’s to stop yet another Firefox extension from turning into badware, sneaking in tracking codes, or stealing your personal information? It’s already happened with two of the most popular extensions… Somebody at Mozilla needs to do something about this.

What Can I Do?

Head over to the extension page at Mozilla Add-ons and leave a review expressing your displeasure.

And in the future, you might not want to simply approve every extension update blindly – go to the extension’s page at Mozilla Add-ons, and check the recent reviews before you install any updates.

Thanks to Lifehacker reader Daniel for the head’s up on this one.

Nice to See That GPS is Unlocked on Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour

One of the things that really worried me about the BlackBerry Tour was that Verizon has a tendency to screw up GPS on their BlackBerry devices. I think the BlackBerry Tour is the first Verizon device to drop with GPS unlocked and unfettered (not sure about the 8230).

I know the Storm, 8330, & 8830 have been unlocked for awhile now on Verizon but I can confirm that Google Maps, Telenav, Poynt, and other GPS applications are working on the Tour.

Now if only Verizon would hurry up with the Wi-Fi… They love being a step behind everybody else with everything (BREW/J2ME, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi…)

Related Articles:

• Verizon BlackBerry Tour Gets Reviewed Again
• Verizon BlackBerry Tour Gets Unboxed
• BlackBerry Tour Spotted in Verizon Inventory System
• Bell & Alltel Also Getting the BlackBerry Tour
• Sprint Also Getting BlackBerry Tour This Summer – $199.99 AR