(G1 app reviews - all apps are available from android market, some are free, some charge. None are anything to do with me, I'm just a user passing on what I'm finding).
Lock 2.0, I loved the idea of this, a nice unlock screen which can have various skins appended to it and I can even make my own, or show the battery level on the unlock screen (as well as on the unlock screen when charging as standard) as a reminder of how much juice is left every time I pick up the phone to use it. a great idea, I bought the donate version, but it turned out it was the app responsible for making my phone a bit sluggish and I actually prefer the (implied?) security of the 9-dot pattern lock. no longer using Lock 2.0
NetCounter, one of the first apps I downloaded, on day 1, it records my data use via the network and via wifi (seperately) and I've set an additional record my monthly data use from the date of my account with my network with an alarm set at my limit of 1Gb, so it'll let me know, accurately within my account period if I go over my allowance (and thus risk a hefty bill). so far I'm not even close as I download most apps etc when sitting at home and thus via my wifi, but it's nice to have it there in the background, it doesn't reset on a reboot (as some do) and you can add and change the measuring periods as much as you like and it'll alwaysbe correct as it's not resetting anything, just reading the data form it's database. for anyone with any limit on their data usage it's very highly recommended. Still using NetCounter.Opera Mini, Until firefox pull their fingers out and get something organised I'm liking opera about as much as the stock browser, it's pretty easy to use and quicker than the stock browser. Still using opera mini.
Twidgit Lite, Is there a better, full non-'lite' version? I don't know, I'll check it out if I find one. twidgit lite sits on the desktop as a widget and shows the last twitter post, tap it and it shows the last few and allows you to post an update. you can set it's update frequency, I set mine to 15 minutes, and it sits there quite happily doing it's thing not noticibly using up your sys resources. still using twidgit lite.
Locale is a great app, I loved it but for one thing, it really chewed up my resources, both the battery noticibly and slowed the system down, the former isn't for long an issue, the latter certainly is, it's a great app especially for free but I couldn't stomach the drag. no longer using Locale.Batterylife is a widget and I have it sitting on the screen keeping an eye on my battery power, also showing the condition of the battery (will be more handy when I add three 'third party' batteries to my kit), also shows the voltage and temp (ditto re additional batteries), the battery life is shown as a coloured battery that 'drains' and you can customise the colours and colour-change levels, and it shows the %. Very customisable, very cool. Still using BatteryLife.
Get Me Home (London) a route planner for london public transport, as mentioned earlier I'm on-location every day, usually in London, this finds me routes. Not used it much yet, but is something I like to have. Still Using Get Me Home (London)
TubeStatus takes the information from the TFL website about london underground tube line status (open, closed, delays, suspended etc). the only gripe is when you open or refresh it it's not obvious if the data is current or the refresh has worked, so there could be problems showing that are no longer there, or there could be problems that are not shown. not cool. however I'm still using TubeStatus.
SMS unread count widget sits on the desktop as a link to sms messages and when you have some unread it displays the number, simple and handy. still using SMS unread count.
gmail icon widget as above but for your gmail (though it takes it's info directly from gmail which I usually access from pop via thunderbird so I have 40,000 odd unread messages according to it, not sure how to get around that easily). due to the perpetual tens of thousands of 'unread' messages I've uninstalled this widget as pointless in my case. no longer using gmail icon widget.
Sticky Memo Widget Lite I am always making notes to myself, rubbish memory, this is a handy place to have them, right there on the desktop, post-it style. I love this app! Still using Sticky Memo Widget Lite
WeatherBug I like to be up to date with the weather as well as being able to predict it, after trying a few I'm using weatherbug as I like the more details when you click it as well as the desktop display information and layout. I now have two of these widgets installed side by side, one shows the weather at my home address and is fixed, the other shows the weather at my current location as supplied by the GPS, very handy indeed as the weather can be quite different just being at the other side of london never mind further away. each can be tapped to show more information and a forecast. perfect. Still Using WeatherBug.AutoLock the pattern-lock thingy is nice and (implies?) security but it's a pain in the bum if you put your phone down for 10 seconds and then rtemember you have to do something else, even though I lock the buttons when I put the phone down, AutoLock doesn't engage the pattern lock for another, however long you want, 15 minuts in my case. handy. Still Using Autolock
Bettercut (there is a free version with less features) I've used this to apply custom icons and text to the icons on the desktop (not widgets, just the icons) so you can use icons form free icon packs for ahome or save some png's to your sd card and use those. I like making my phone more 'mine', still using bettercut.CameraPro this one appeals as I'm a photographer, it's an interface with alot of options etc for the phones camera, it's at least as fast as the stock interface and adds new features, only been on a few days, see how I like it in a few weeks, for now: still using camerapro
Toggle Settings is a quick link to some commonly used settings namely:
Airplane mode, auto sync, bluetooth, screen brightness toggle, gps, screen timeout, silent mode, wifi, on the first tab.
2G/3G network, screen brightness %, ring+vibrate, screen timeout setting, volume controls, on the second tab.
it could probably use more and maybe some kind of automation but for what it is it's very handy. still using toggle settings.
PureRSS is a simple (supposed to automatically update but doesn't seem to unless running) RSS reader that I have sitting next to Twidget Lite to inform me of any posts on twitter @me. it's lack of auto-update almost makes it pointless but it's easy to open and update manually do until I find something better I'm still using PureRSS
Digital Clock is a screensaver looking thing that shows the time in a variety of colours with a variety of brightnesses, easily changeable. I tried it as a bedside clock and found it hard to set the brightness to exactly where I wanted it leaving me with either irritatingly bright or too hard to read. nice app but I'm no longer using Digital ClockDigital Clock Widget is paired with the above clock, but is a desktop widget (tapping it activates the above app), the small widget is 2 squares wide and the large is 4 wide. Displays the time and date on your desktop nice and neat in Black and White. I'd have liked to have seen customizable opacity and colours, as it is it's taking up too much space for little (and ugly) benefit. No longer using Digital Clock Widget.
Profiles something thats missing from the G1, selectable profiles for ringtone volumes etc, something I used alot on my nokia to silence the phone completely, vibrate only, normal, quiet or 'outdoor' (loud). You can customize each ones settings and add additional ones, set an icon for each one which is displayed in the notification bar at the top of the screen, which you can drag down and tap to change to another profile, quick and easy. Still using Profiles.
ChompSMS is an sms interface/handler a-la-iphone, I liked the look of it with the whole speech-bubbles thing but I saw no read-receipt settings nor any displayed, and thats a feature I like, also seemed to run slower than the stock sms handler. No longer using chompSMS
HandcentSMS is another sms interface/handler, has that iphone speech-bubbles thing going on but in a more customizable way, it does have settings for read-receipts, I liked it but after a days testing it, again, seemed slower than the stock handler. But I'm going to keep it for a while longer anyway as it ticks alot more boxes than it misses. Still TESTING HandcentSMSBubble is a three-plane spirit level, I tried another more complex one which wasn't free but was rubbish, bubble is free, neat, easy to use, easy to calibrate, it's just damn nice for those odd occasions when a spirit level would be needed. Looks like the one I saw on an iPhone ad once so probably comes from there. Still using bubble.
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