Smart phone advice

[SusieBlu]

Okay so I have been holding out for a while on getting a smart phone. I now just bought one, a Samsung Galaxy 3, for the main purpose of using it to stay in touch with the family and having camera to cloud access to document my travels across Europe. I need some advice on what apps are must have, good to have, and no gos.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Vicarious Ink]

If you are going with an Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S III is amazing. But if you are a full techie and like to root your device, then I would go with the Nexus. But seeing how you want it for family/travel/etc, I would go with the S3. Eventually it will be upgradable to 4.1 Jelly Bean, which comes with Google Now (Google's amazing version of Siri).

As far as apps, they are hit and miss, you can not go wrong with the staples:

Instagram (Picture App)

Facebook (Social Media App)

Twitter (Social Media App)

Google Maps (Map App)

Google Drive (Cloud service)

Zombies, Run! (Fitness/Running App)

Voxer (Walkie Talkie App)

Spotify (Music App)

Flixster (Movie Times App)

Chrome Beta (Browser App)

There are plenty more, but these are a really good start.

EDIT: Forgot to add: "Tapatalk" so you can easily browse Nerd Fitness on your phone. It also allows you post and edit them. As a matter of fact, I'm using it now.

[shortstuff]

Second Zombies, Run! Tried it today and was lots of fun

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

tapatalk: forums

waze: good gps

fitocracy: fitness leveling system

colloquy: chat room

kindle

facebook

[joeyb]

http://lifehacker.com/5924212/lifehacker-pack-for-android-our-list-of-the-best-android-apps?tag=downloads

[fire.eagle]

Third for Zombies, Run, and the lifehacker link's a good one. Another one to check out is Carat. It's a research project, but it takes snapshots of data to try to find battery hogs on your phone. Might not help as much when you're just starting to install stuff though. Takes about a week of snapshots before you start getting reports from it; you just have to open it every once in a whole for it to gather data.

[Centurion]

I like using Handcent SMS as an alternative to the standard message app. I really like SwiftKey 3 over the bog standard keyboard app but that's personal preference and it really depends on which version of android/the model of phone you get, I just found that a lot of the others I tried I kept hitting 'b' or 'v' when I wanted to hit space and it was getting really annoying, SwiftKey seems to have helped a lot. There's also a great little game called Alchemy that I tell everyone to get

[leadchipmunk]

-Llama - Awesome app that I cannot live without. It basically performs certain actions when certain criteria is met. I have it set up to darken the screen, disable 4G, turn off wifi/gps/bluetooth and other things to save battery when my battery goes so low. I also have it set to go on a quieter profile when I hit certain cell towers around work and silent when I hit certain other towers where I need my phone silent. It is pretty much infinitely customizable. (FREE)

-Dolphin Browser HD - My personal favorite mobile web browser. (FREE)

-Google Drive - Cloud tool. I only use it for Google Docs (FREE)

-Go SMS Pro - I can't stand the stock SMS app, but love this one. (FREE)

-iris.alpha - Siri, but backwards (FREE)

-Launcher Pro - Much better than the default homescreen app (FREE)

-Mileage - Simple app to keep track of your car's MpG (FREE, notice a theme here?)

-Minimalistic Text - Widget to display information (such as time, weather, Wifi status, battery, etc.) in text. Looks pretty and really customizable (FREE)

-Amazon App Store - I only use it for the free app of the day. Every day they give away a new app that normally costs for... You guessed it, (FREE)

[Ryan Sannar]

Posting to follow for when I take the leap and get something expensive.

[airen123]

Second Waze.

My bank and credit card apps, current news, weather.com

FB, Pinterest, Twitter, Kindle, Fandango, Amazon, Googlemaps, Groupon, livingsocial, MFP, Words with Friends (play me! airen123), Bejeweled, Foursquare, Flashlight, IMDB, redbox, linkedin, scan, careerbuilder, scoutmob, joann's, free pedometer with GPS, Michaels Arts and Crafts, Netflix, Path, GroupMe, USA today, Jiffy Lube, Draw Some, Instagram, Target, LogosQuiz.

I don't like tapatalk-find it easier to post via safari.

[Ryan Sannar]

I know with FoxFi you can create a mobile hotspot for free

[leadchipmunk]

I know with FoxFi you can create a mobile hotspot for free

Carriers watch for that and if they notice excessive hotspot traffic, they will either limit your plan, cut you off or charge you for hotspot service. So, use sparingly.