Android Nerd World-- week 1

My first week of Droid nerdhood has commenced, and nearly come to a close. I will blogging more about it later this month, but I just couldn't keep quiet. So here are a few pics, notes, and a list of APPS for Android I've fallen in lust with. Seriously? It's not a stand-alone device. But adding it to my life has allowed me to ditch several other devices, and made nerding-on-the-go pretty simple, light, and hassle-free.

The version Ahmed got me is small... which is a personal preference. I like little stuff. My Android tablet is 7 inches, and just as light as a feather in my pocketbook. It's about the same size as a smaller e-reader. I love it for reading ebooks, in fact.

The keyboard is not writer-friendly, but it's not really meant to be. I did find an APP that makes it much better, more flexible, and customizable (see list below). But frankly, blogging a bit, doing twittery stuff, facebooky stuff, and light typing is all I'd recommend. I'd never attempt to write a novel on it... but I'd edit one.

Also consider that these devices are going to be inexpensive, and memory will reflect that. My Eken model came with 128MB installed, and an option for up to 32GB flash cards. There is also a USB port. Google Android OS 1.6 is the operating system that will come installed. Since these models are not in the US yet, most of the info I have been able to get has come from pre-release reviews. I've discovered that some of these do not allow for APPS to be downloaded, which would be absurd. Mine does-- holy hell, I have become an APPaddict.

Some of the APPS I have fallen in love with have also made using my Android tablet an absolute blast, and many have vastly improved usage, speed, and navigation. I'm listing the keepers here, most of which are free.

AroundMe-- a GPS add-on with localized info including hotels, venues, etc.

Picsay-- Photo Editor that rivals Paint Shop and is surprisingly light

Dolphon Browser-- tabbed with FB, twitter, and more

WaveSecure-- lo-jack type for your android device, it will lock it down if it is stolen and use GPS to ping the location

TuneWiki-- media player with lyric search and more

Trapster-- uses GPS to get speed trap and surveillance camera info in your current location... for those of us who have led feet

Barcode Scanner 3.1-- uses Google's zxing java library to process any barcode and gives price comparisons in your area, etc. (I am totally HOOKED on this!)

Better Keyboard-- improves functionality of the android keyboard and allows tons of tweaks... this one was a major life-saver

BigOven-- also available for apple, this APP suggests ways to tweak recipes, and includes a cookbook for storing favorites

Task Killer-- widget that lets you kill apps and track usage on android; similar to Task Manager, but this app is free

Documents to Go-- read and edit pdf or office docs

Weather Channel-- up to date weather (hey, I live in New England)

Dial Zero-- this free app keeps an updated list of major companies customer service numbers and HOW TO CUT STRAIGHT TO AN OPERATOR

Pandora-- streaming music app with customizable radio, complete with album art

TuneWiki-- free app that plays music files on your SD card, and can sync them with lyrics that scroll across the screen

SPB TV-- ten bucks, and you get 100 free, live TV channels from more than 17 different countries streaming live to your android device