Moved from iOS to Android, app suggestions?

S

slh28

Gawd
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Apr 10, 2012
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So I've recently got a Samsung GS3 after owning iPhones for several years, been getting grips to it and loving it so far. While the iPhone was very locked down by default, I installed loads of Cydia apps which let me customize pretty much whatever I wanted, so I'm wondering what the best Android apps are to replicate the following Cydia apps:

Activator - lets you remap the hardware buttons and gestures to perform certain actions, e.g. swipe across the status bar to launch an app, press volume buttons at the same time to reboot. You can also define the actions under different scenarios, e.g. while the phone is locked I remap the volume up/down to previous/next track but while it's unlocked they function as normal volume up/down.

iScheduler - automatically schedule actions, e.g. switch the vibrate and ring off between 12am and 6am, launch an app at a certain time (so I can have all my news downloaded when I wake up).

biteSMS - quick reply: a pop up box comes up when I receive a message and can reply to it without switching to the messaging app, useful when playing a game or running another app and a message comes in. Quick compose: pop up box comes up with a gesture configured with Activator (see above), again this is useful for multitasking,

Any other suggestions for useful Android apps are also welcome! Haven't installed much on it so far.
 
I use...

Quick Settings - Let's you customize some settings pretty quickly like brightness, volume, turning on/off GPS and WiFi, Airplane mode, etc. It even has a flashlight icon to use the camera flash as a flashlight.

Expense Manager - I use this to record my daily expenses.

JuiceDefender - Help improve battery life. The free version has limited options, but the paid version offers more tweaks.

My Verizon Mobile - Obviously only for people using Verizon phones. Allows you to keep track of your account; minutes / data / text used. Check balance.Change plan. Etc.

Lookout - AntiVirus app.

PowerAMP - Used to play FLAC format audio files. Not free.

Where's My Droid - An app to track your phone in case you loose it. Free version.
 
Handcent SMS does the popup thing. Probably a lot of others too, and maybe even the default messaging app. It's not exactly an exclusive feature.
 
Mr. Pedantic said:
Handcent SMS does the popup thing. Probably a lot of others too, and maybe even the default messaging app. It's not exactly an exclusive feature.
Click to expand...

Downloaded it, love it!

JaguarSKX said:
PowerAMP - Used to play FLAC format audio files. Not free.
Click to expand...
I use my Sansa Clip+ for music ;)

JaguarSKX said:
Lookout - AntiVirus app.
Click to expand...
Now that you mention AV, is it advisable to run an AV program and if so would it slow the phone down by much? iOS had 1 or 2 high profile PDF bugs (highlighted by the jailbreaking community ironically) but they were patched quite promptly. Is Android more susceptible to viruses?
 
Antivirus on Android is completely unnecessary if you have the SLIGHTLEST amount of intelligence. Stay away from apps like "1000 free boob picz!" from unknown sources (AKA not on the Play, Amazon or GetJar Stores), don't pirate apps, etc. Anything out there will have to ask for your permission to install, so it's basically common sense stuff.

Apps like Juice Defender are a sham, and actually use MORE battery life, unless you kill your phone's functionality.

As for SMS apps, try GoSMS, it's a bit lighter than Handcent. Just remember to turn off their chat function, or when you go to set it up, choose the "light" profile.
 
Ive been using JD for the past year since I got my phone. It seems to work pretty well to me.
 
Keep the app suggestions coming...my phone should be here this week! :)
 
Might want to look at:

-Taskr
-Dolphin HD (gets lots of hate, i love it though, the Lastpass plugin is invaluable)
-Moon+ (if you do ereading)
-Pandora/Slacker/iHeartRadio if you like to stream music
-Wallet (If thats your thing)
-Robin (Just in Beta, i'm trying it out, its kind of a response to Siri)
-Jefit (Use it for workout logging)


Those are pretty much my go-to apps when it comes to my phone.

edit: Note- I do not have taskr, but have heard great things about it, I personally have no need for it, but the OP sounded like they could use some of its features.
 
Facebook, Craigslist Notification, Twitter, Play Music!! Let's you stream from computer to phone saving you space,
 
Tasker will do what ischeduler was doing for you. I don't know about the others as those aren't things I've messed with.

Since you're asking for app suggestions try airdroid. It allows you to control some of your phone actions (texts, clipboards, etc) through your desktop computer interface.
 
For AV, I used Lookout, Avast, and TrustGo.

Avoid Lookout. It has the least features of all three and it seemingly drains battery. Not sure if it is indeed them, but Lookout has the least amount of features, and it's not any easier to use compared to Avast. That said, Lookout probably already has all the feature an average user needs anyway.

Feature-wise, Avast has the most and doesn't hurt battery life. If you have a rooted phone, Avast can become even more powerful.

TrustGo has a little bit more features than Lookout. But the most important element is this, Dolphin integration! Avast is only integrated with Android Browser. TrustGo has that and Dolphin. What TrustGo can do is also block streaming ads and annoying pop-ups. (Very handy for ****hub.com!)

So I'm currently using both Avast (for it's root functionalities) and TrustGo.
 
AirDroid, send text messages from your computer, wirelessly transfer files, yadi yadi yadi...
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, checked out Tasker and Airdroid and they're really useful.

Slightly surprised there isn't anything like Activator though, maybe it's because Android devices have different hardware buttons but all iPhones are the same?
 
Check out this site

http://www.holoeverywhere.com/

It features Android apps that follow the design guidelines and they all look great. Personally I'd suggest Reader HD for RSS feeds, Boid for twitter, and Nova launcher for recent apps I've been using a lot.
 
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