Droid Does

About six months ago I made a couple of major changes in the area of my business cell phone.  I changed carriers and also switched from a Pocket PC platform to a Motorola Droid on the Android platform.  I have been very pleased with the result and will share some of my experiences and purchases in this article.

Software

Six months ago when I started with the Droid, there were fewer than 10,000 applications for the platform.  There are now over 100,000 and it just keeps growing.  Here are some of my favorite apps that I use regularly.

Advanced Task Killer lets you stop programs from running in the background. This saves on battery consumption.

Adobe Reader lets you read PDF files.

Amazon lets you order and track purchases on your phone.

AndroidTapp RSS Reader lets you keep up on current events on their web site (see Information Resources below).

ASTRO lets you see and manage the files on your Droid.

BatteryTime provides information on the current battery status.

COL Reminder lets you set reminders for phone calls and parking.  This has saved me numerous parking tickets.

Documents To Go lets you works with Microsoft Office Document on the Android.

Droid Life keeps you up to date with the Droid-Life web site (see Information Resources below).

Dropbox provides a repository for files on the Internet. You can share files between PCs and phones.

GbaHours works with QuickBooks for time tracking. This is great for consultants with billable hours to keep track of.

Grocery IQ is your shopping list companion.

Kindle lets you preview and read Amazon Kindle offerings.

Lookout provides security for your phone.

PdaNet lets you tether your phone to a laptop via USB or Bluetooth for Internet connectivity.

RedBoxer helps you find and reserve movies at those RedBox movie kiosks.

Remember the Milk keeps me up to date on my task lists (see my article on Productivity).

Tasker sets up various profiles for the phone. I use this to conserve battery life by turning components like wireless, Bluetooth, GPS, and screen intensity on or off depending on where I am.

Vlingo lets you use give voice instructions to the phone and dictate into it. It can also read incoming messages to you while you are driving.

Some of these are paid apps but many are free. You can find them by searching in the Android Market on your phone.

 Accessories

When I used a Pocket PC, I had trouble making it through the day on a single battery charge.  With this in mind, I purchased a second battery for the Droid which I have found quite useful. 

                http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-DROID-1300mah-Standard-Battery/dp/B002ZG8BQM

To keep my batteries charged, I bought a charging dock stand that charges both the phone and the spare battery at the same time. It also puts the phone into docked mode.

                http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038TVCFC

To protect the Droid I have a suede-like sleeve that also keeps the screen amazingly clean.

                http://www.sfbags.com

I want to have the phone handy while driving so I have a wonderful vehicle mount from ProClip.  You order this in two parts, one that matches your vehicle and the other matches the phone.  Best of all, this holder actually looks like it belongs in the car and wasn’t just tacked on.

                http://www.proclipusa.com

Of course I also have a Bluetooth headphone so I can answer calls without pulling out the Droid. I use one from Plantronics.

Information Resources

Since the Android environment is increasing exponentially, it pays to have reliable places to go to keep up on what is going on.

Droid Life provides general information on current events with an emphasis on the Droid market.

                http://www.droid-life.com

Android Life is a new blog by the same people as Droid Life but covers the Android platform in general.

                http://an.droid-life.com

Android Tapp is a good resource with general information and reviews on software for the Android market.

                http://www.androidtapp.com

Conclusions

I hope that some of these comments will save you time and help you to enjoy your Droid to its fullest.

Disclaimer:  I do not receive any compensation from products mentioned in this article.