Yes, my first piece here will be on technology. That is not something I get to write about typically, but it is one my favorite topics. So, here it goes...
The Droid brought something to Verizon users that had been the territory of the iPhone for so long: a world of apps. As a long time BlackBerry user, I cannot explain how happy it made me when I browsed the marketplace on my new Droid. Now that I have had the phone for a while, here is the list of the top 10 apps that I have found. Oh, and I am totally not going to do like some others and include apps like google maps. Shit that comes with your phone totally does not count. And I will try to keep it to apps you might not have heard of.
#10: CauseWorld
This app is pretty cool if you are into the whole donating-and-making-the-world-a-better-place thing. The best part, you don't have to spend a dime. CauseWorld has some big corporate donors to back it all up. You just check-in, virtually, to any stores within .4 miles of you. It gives you points, you pick which of the listed non-profits gets the points, which add up to real money. Occasionally, a store like Starbucks will offer double points. That makes for a fun game on the highway, when you see a Starbucks sign, everyone rush to CauseWorld to check-in!
#9: News and Weather
You have to download the one named exactly that, "News and Weather". The app doesn't matter as much as the widget for your desktop. It let's you see the temp and a recent headline. What is better, is that if you click on the temperature, it pops open with a lot more info. I check temperature/chance of precipitation by hour every morning. Seems to be pretty accurate.
#8: Voice Recorder
A simple app to keep voice memos. Comes with a nice record button widget for your desktop so that making a recording is as simple as possible. I like simple apps.
#7: btunes
This is a music player that, as far as I know, replicates the iphone music player layout. I happen to like the feel of it better than my other music player, it makes more sense. It also pops up a little control box before the unlock slide bar when the phone is locked but the screen is on.
#6: NPR News
Great app! Let's you access any of the NPR radio stations. I used this to check in on Kojo Nnamdiv while on the road. This is also helpful for finding the local NPR radio station.
#5: My Tacks
This app lets you track yourself through GPS and view the results on a google map. It tells you things like, average speed, average moving speed, fastest/slowest speed, how far you traveled, altitude change, highest/lowest altitutde... etc. I tested this out while mountain biking the Arizona Trail during my visit to the Grand Canyon in April. Anyone who rides trails will appreciate this app.
#4: doubletwist
Let's you sync with iTunes. Makes loading your phone with music as easy as building a playlist.
#3: Playlist Builder
This app is amazing. I never built playlists on my phone before this. This let's you create a search of all the music on your phone. The search feature is incredibly easy an functional. You can search artist, song, album... etc. Your search can include the words you entered, or exclude, or match exactly. After you build a search, you preview it, and if it looks good, click build.
#2: PdaNet
This app, which has to be downloaded on both the phone and computer, let's the user tether the droid to a computer. The Droid becomes a portable modem for your computer. This app is crucial for me. I used it plenty on my two cross-country road trips this spring and summer. No matter how good the internet on the phone is, some things still need to be done through a computer. This feature saved me plenty of money on internet fees at Motel 6's.
#1: SMS Popup
This application lets the user set SMS/MMS messages to popup in a box on the middle of the screen. It means that when you get an SMS/MMS, it will be the first thing you see when you look at your phone, and you will see the full message. I ranked this as number one for two reasons: 1) I use it a lot. I send plenty of text messages, and I can't stand having to navigate to the message before I can read it. 2) It is so simple and obvious. This feature should have been included with the phone in the first place.
