Techphiles

If you want to read e-books on the go, but don't have the room or desire for a dedicated e-book reader, the Kindle app for Android might just be for you.

Just like the Kindle device, you can purchase and download books. If you have access to kindle on another device, the app will automatically sync your purchases, and where you last left off on your book.


I read through a book on my EVO, and found it to be a pleasant experience, though that is probably because of the EVO's massive high resolution screen!

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.amazon.kindle
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/kindle-for-android/com.amazon.kindle
Developers Site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=red_lnd_shrt_url?ie=UTF8&docId=165849822

OK, I promise this will be my last shopping app on this list.

Shop Savvy is an app that serves a simple purpose, it allows you to search for an item through all of the usual means (text, voice, barcode), and then shows you a list of the lowest prices from both online and local retailers for that item.

Once you find your item, you can filter it by new or used versions, use the navigator to locate a local store, set up price alerts, or just save the item to a wish list.

No, it's not absolutely perfect (a store that has been closed for almost a year keeps showing up in my results), but in my opinion it is the best price comparison app available.

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.biggu.shopsavvy
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/shopsavvy-barcode-scanner/com.biggu.shopsavvy
Developers Site: http://www.biggu.com/

Go ahead, admit it, you've always wanted a real Pokedex just like the characters in the Pokemon games and TV show. Well your in luck, 'cause Pokedroid is as as close as your going to get (because you really would not want to carry this around).

If you play the Pokemon video games and need quick info on a Pokemon your training, you can search Pokedroid for their stats, evolutions, and move lists. If you want quick access to your current team, you can save them to your favorites.

One other neat feature I wanted to point out is that you can have Pokedroid read out a Pokemon's bio to you, just like a Pokedex on the show!

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.nolanlawson.pokedex
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/pok%C3%A9droid-android-pok%C3%A9dex/com.nolanlawson.pokedex

I know there are plenty of shopping apps on Android, but I buy most everything at Amazon.com, so naturally I would love their app.

 The Amazon app allows you to search for items by text, voice, barcode, and by image. I tested out the image search feature with some items I own, and it worked most of the time, you just want to make sure to have a nice clean view of the item your taking a picture of.

Besides searching for items, you have access to your wish list's, saved items, and Amazon's Gold Box promotions.

Market Link:  market://search?q=pname:com.amazon.mShop.android
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/amazon-com/com.amazon.mShop.android
Developers Site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/anywhere/sms/android

So far there hasn't really been that big of a push for gaming on Android, that might change in the future, but for the time being your options are limited. As much as I enjoy my EVO for virtualy everyhing else, the lack of a keyboard make it that much harder to have an enjoyable gaming experience.

Before I go any further, I would like to mention that it is ok to use emulators for homebrew games and apps, you just can not download game roms.

I played around with Gensoid Lite, and was really impressed with how well games ran with it. For phones like the EVO with no keyboard, you can use on screen buttons that take advantage of the multitouch capibilities of the phone, and you can also use the acelorometer as an option.

If Genesis is not your thing, there are also NES, Super NES, and Game Boy Versions avilable by the same developer. The lite versions are all free, if you want the ability to save your progress it will cost $3.49 for each variety of the app you download.

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.androidemu.genslite
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/gensoid-lite%28sega-genesis-emu%29/com.androidemu.genslite
 Developers Site: http://www.gensoid.com/

I like Grocery iQ because it isn't just a run of the mill shoppimg list app, for example, you can scan the barcode from items and they will instantly be added to your list. As I was scanning items to test the app, I noticed certian items that were scanned would automaticly be placed in to the general aisles they would be located in at the store.

Don't have a Barcode? Well you can search for the item you need by voice or text, and a list of results will appear. For instance, I entered Pepsi, and was then presented with a list of different varieties and flavors to add to my list (including Pepsi Blue!). Even though the search function is only for items that are sold in a regular grocery store, I scanned the barcode from some DVD's and video games I had, and they were also added to my list.

One minor complaint I have about this app is that it has a tab that shows coupons for certain items, yet to actually use the coupons you have to send them to your email address, then install software on your computer to print them out. It would be way more convenient if there was just a simple connection between your phone and printer to print out the coupons.

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.coupons.GroceryIQ
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/grocery-iq/com.coupons.GroceryIQ
Developers Site: http://www.groceryiq.com/

While I personally love the Mario live wallpaper by pikipirs, wouldn't it be awesome if you could make any video on your phone a live wallpaper? Well now you can with Video Live Wallpaper!

Simply select Video Live Wallpaper under your live wallpaper settings, and choose the video on your phone you want to play in the background. One really cool feature is that as you swipe between screens in HTC Sense, the video frame shifts along to the side. There is no sound of course, but that's actually a good thing, no one wants to hear your Justin Bieber background in public!

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.ccpcreations.android.VLW
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/video-live-wallpaper/com.ccpcreations.android.VLW
Developers Site: http://www.ccpcreations.com/index.php

When I was doing my write up about the Hulu app, I was searching the xda-developers thread trying to find a picture of the app's home screen to put in my post, after searching endlessly I remembered that I have ShootMe.

No, ShootMe is not a Russian Roulette app (although there are plenty of those available if you're into that), it is a screen capture app. Once you activate the app, you simply shake your phone to save an image of the current screen to your sd card. One thing to note, according to Good and EVO, this app normally requires your device to be rooted, yet for some reason this isn't necessary on the EVO, so keep that in mind if you can't get this app to run on your device.

Market Link: market://search?q=pname:com.bw.picme.local
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/shootme-%28screen-grabber%29/com.bw.picme.local
 

I have sort of a love / hate relationship with Hulu. I love the fact that you can view thousands of episodes of TV shows (and some movies) for free. Yet, I hate the constant ads, removal of older episodes, and the fact that they block you from watching it on certian devices. I guess you get what you pay for, which is why I do most of my online viewing on Netflix.

As for this Hulu app, it's a little more dificult to install then most Android apps, I personnaly couldn't get it to work until I put a custom rom on my EVO. Since it's not an official app, the UI is not very intuitive, and the videos are really slow to start playing (at least for me in non 4G land). This is still a cool app as a proof of concept, and if you want access to Hulu on the go. The good news is there is an official Hulu app on the way, however you will have to pay...

xda-developers link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8132408&postcount=1

Remember the days when the cell phone carriers expected you to pay almost $2 just to call 411 to find a phone number? Oh wait, they still do!

Anyways, I really like the Free 411 app for it's clean and simple UI, which makes it way more convenient then Google Maps when you are trying to find a number in a hurry. The app tracks your location using GPS, allowing you to easily find numbers in your area just by doing a simple search, or you could use one of the popular categories such as "Stores" to find local businesses. For those of you that prefer to find numbers the old fashioned way, there's a big link at the top of the app to dial 800-Free-411.

Market Link:  market://search?q=pname:com.free411.catsearch
AppBrain Link: http://www.appbrain.com/app/free411-yellow-pages-search/com.free411.catsearch

Note: I originally posted this feature on Sprintendo, but I think it might be more relevant on this blog.
 
I just purchased a HTC EVO 4G recently, and I have to say, I haven't been this amazed by a phone since I got a Sanyo 9000 almost five years ago. Even though I was really impressed with what HTC managed to accomplish in the Touch Pro series of smart phones, the difference between Windows Mobile and Android is night and day!

One place where Android (and the EVO in particular) shines is in the apps. I had a chance to try out a lot of apps over the past couple of weeks, and to celebrate today's milestone of the Android Market having over 100,000 apps, I have decided to share what I believe is the 25 best.

Every day I will post a new app, starting with #25, and working my way up to the best app. For your convenience, I will include a QR Code in each posting that you can scan that will link directly to the app.

A quick note, this list of Android Apps isn't necessarily limited to the EVO, they should all be able to run on any Android device, however ymmv on performance due to whatever version of Android you are running, screen resolution, etc. Also, I personally recommend rooting your EVO to unlock it's full potential, some of the apps I am going to list only work on a rooted EVO, here is a great guide on how to do it

So let's get started with number 25!

Nintendo once again continues to dominant with it's Wii and DS consoles. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced at a recent press conference that in December 2009, over 3 million Wii consoles were sold in the U.S. alone. Iwata also revealed the fact that over 10 million DS and DSi systems have been sold in 2009 in the U.S., setting a new record.

According to VGChartz, over 64 Million Wii's, and 123 Million DS consoles have been sold worldwide since launch.

Source

At Microsoft's 2009 CES press conference, CEO Steve Ballmer stated that over 39 million Xbox 360's have been sold since it's launch in November 2006. Of that number, only about have of them have registered for Xbox Live.

Note that why all Xbox 360 owners are able to register for a free Xbox Live Silver membership, to play online and use premium features such as Netflix and Facebook, you have to pay $50 a year to become a Xbox Live Gold Member.

Source

Sony has released slaes figures indicating that they have sold through 3.8 Million Playstation3 consoles during the five week period from Black Friday to the New Year. This is a 78% increase from the same time period last year, largley atribbuted to the recent slim model, and price drop to $299.

Source

The Motorola Backflip is a newly announced smartphone using the Android 2.1 operating system. What sets the Backflip apart from traditional clamshells such as the enV is it's unique flipping feature: When closed the keyboard and screen is on the outside.  Outside of flipping, the Backflip has a 3.1" 480x320 LCD, and 5 megapixel camera.

The Backflip will be released Q1 of this year. Why Motorola hasn't specified which carriers the phone will be released on, Engadget speculates it will be AT&T.

Source

HTC has announced at CES today that the HTC HD2 will be released by T-Mobile in the U.S. this Spring.

The HD2 is a fully featured smartphone that runs on Windows Mobile 6.5. Hardware features include a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5 megapixel camera, and a massive 4.3" capacitive touchscreen LCD display.

An exact release date or pricing details have not been released.

Source

Google has officially announced the Nexus One smartphone.

 Hardware wise, it features an incredible 3.7" 480x800 AMOLED screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and a 5 megapixel camera. Under the hood, it's running on android 2.1, and features a new 3D app launcher, and a voice keyboard.

The Nexus One is available for purchase on google.com/phone for T-Mobile in the U.S for $179 with a two year contract on an $80 a month plan, or you can purchase it unlocked with no contract for $529. It will also be available on Verizon Wireless this Spring.

Source