Must have apps...

[Guest ptruman]

So I've been playing with this Hero for about two months now, and have mostly stopped fiddling with testing apps/games, and got a set few, which have made life considerably easier and/or more fun....and that I'd recommend ;)

This will get periodically updated as I find new things, or better replacements.

Updated : 08/01/10 (AndroZip File Manager)

Updated : 30/12/09 (EStrongs File Explorer)

Google Search By Voice (free, if not already included in your ROM)

- Does what it says on the tin, at least as long as it's quiet around you when you're talking. Saves typing on fiddly keys!

TopVoiceControl (free)

- Gets voice dialling back on the EU Hero - although you should disable everything OTHER than contacts, else it's performance is patchy - and it doesn't support voice dialling over BlueTooth

ConnectBot (free)

- SSH program for when you're on the move. Lets me access my routers & phone itself.

SilentMode OnOff (free)

- A nice widget for the home screen, just to shut the phone up

HulloMail Visual Voicemail (free - currently)

- Free, visual voicemail. I'm currently reporting some issues to them to hopefully help resolve a couple of minor problems. You pretty much need to be on a contract though - PAYG users generally can't setup the necessary diverts.

Barcode Scanner (free)

- Needed for 3D barcode shortcuts

FTPServer (free)

- A bit of a pain to setup initially, and (badly) displays passwords in the log when connections come in, but it allows you to get stuff on/off the Hero without USB

Places Directory (free)

- Very handy Google App to find out what's around you

OpenTable (free)

- Not yet used "properly", but might come in handy for booking a table if I'm out and about ;)

ElJay (free)

- Very handy LiveJournal updating client - saves using the browser

Carrr Matey (free)

- Again, not used "properly" but could come in handy when out and about (remembers where you parked so you can get back to your car when you're in strange towns)

AndroZip File Manager (free)

- Considerably useful, multi-format archive manager. Replaced ZipViewer

beebPlayer (free)

- BBC iPlayer - a bit patchy in terms of reliability, but with AnyCut you can jump straight to semi-live TV ;)

AnyCut (free)

- Shortcut to any application panel, menu or button

Shazam (free)

- Hear something playing on a shop radio and don't know what it is? Shazam will tell you ;)

SMS Backup (free)

- Fire and forget - all you need do is set it up once, and never touch it. All SMS messages are backed up to your Gmail account under an SMS label.

EStrongs File Explorer (free)

- Wonderful app - allows you to browse your phone, SMB network drives AND FTP - all in one UI, including copy & paste across them all. This has replaced SMB File Sharing and AndFTP (which I'd been testing) for me. It may also replace Linda File Manager as it has a built in application manager, which is very quick. It would also replace TasKiller if it had a widget/notification bar option :P

ShopSavvy (free)

- 2D barcode scanner, but used for price comparisons etc. Very handy.

Facebook For Android (the official one) (free)

- ALMOST getting en par for the website

Linda File Manager (free)

- Very nice file manager for Android, although a bit annoying it always brings up the keyboard.

Battery (HTC Battery Widget) (free)

- Now on my home screen - simple and effective

TasKiller (full) (paid) (free version available)

- One click to kill all apps - has an ignore list to leave the ones you want left alone, left alone :(

JScreenFix (free)

- It appears to have cleared a stuck pixel for me, so no complaints there

CoPilot Live Navigator 8 (paid)

- Probably the best SatNav I've had to date (I've used TomTom & Garmin units previously) - although it WILL crucify your battery, so keep a car adaptor handy! Recently updated to use the default keyboard rather than the built in non-qwerty one, which is very nice.

Google Maps (free, if not already included in your ROM)

- Pretty mandatory, needs no description from me :(

WaveSecure (free for Android users until Jan 2010 - sign up now!)

- Get it now whilst it's free - use Paul's MoDaCo update.zip to get it in ROM :( I really like knowing it's "there" if I need it.

BizCardReader (free)

- Very useful OCR app for business cards, again, saves typing - use Paul's MoDaCo update.zip to get it in ROM :(

I also have and Google Sky Map and Listen installed - but don't use them as often. Tricorder is also worth a look and a play, but serves no real purpose :(

Anyone else got anything they can't do without?

Edited January 8, 2010 by ptruman

[Guest uk786]

I got some;

'AppManager' - back up apps and install [ http://tinyurl.com/yjmq8t9 ]

'Explorer' - file manager, like linda but better, also zip extractor [ http://tinyurl.com/yh9t3sr ]

'Hi MSN' - instant messenger [ http://tinyurl.com/yjntog2 ]

'Robo Defence' - best game imo [ http://tinyurl.com/ykwbffk ]

'SDrescan' - scans sd card for new files [ http://tinyurl.com/ylplh4p ]

'video player' - quick and easy way to access your videos [ http://tinyurl.com/yfcphby ]

[Guest]

beebPlayer

- BBC iPlayer - a bit patchy in terms of reliability, but with AnyCut you can jump straight to semi-live TV ;)

You have made my day a little better. I'm off to make some shortcuts. Can't believe that didn't occur to me before!

EDIT: Oh God, it's too hard. Is there a guide?

Edited December 20, 2009 by Guest

[Guest pillock]

ConnectBot

- SSH program for when you're on the move. Lets me access my routers & phone itself.

Have you had any keyboard issues with this? I found keyboard support quite buggy on the Hero, and it's down as a known issue but says it's for HTC to sort, it's a problem with the IME.

HulloMail Visual Voicemail

- Free, visual voicemail. I'm currently reporting some issues to them to hopefully help resolve a couple of minor problems. You pretty much need to be on a contract though - PAYG users generally can't setup the necessary diverts.

Which network are you on?

I've just tried to sign up for this, saw it advertised somewhere yesterday, but when I select T-Mobile it says it's currently unavailable ;)

[Guest ptruman]

You have made my day a little better. I'm off to make some shortcuts. Can't believe that didn't occur to me before!

EDIT: Oh God, it's too hard. Is there a guide?

Install AnyCut and beebPlayer - then go to ANY home screen, and click the + sign (bottom right), then click Shortcut, then AnyCut, the Application - then wait - when the list shows up, just find BBC One with the beebPlayer icon ;)

[Guest ptruman]

Have you had any keyboard issues with this? I found keyboard support quite buggy on the Hero, and it's down as a known issue but says it's for HTC to sort, it's a problem with the IME.

Nope - it's just a bit fiddly to get symbols (I use the symbol menu) - but it works.

Which network are you on?

I've just tried to sign up for this, saw it advertised somewhere yesterday, but when I select T-Mobile it says it's currently unavailable ;)

O2, with SIMplicity tariff (1 month rolling contract)

Are you in the UK? This page https://www.hullomail.com/service/register shows T-Mobile and the tariffs to me - but like I said in my post, if you're not on a pay monthly contract, you can't redirect calls, so you can't use their service - so if you're on Mix-It for example, you're probably hosed.

[Guest ptruman]

I got some;

'AppManager' - back up apps and install [ http://tinyurl.com/yjmq8t9 ]

'Explorer' - file manager, like linda but better, also zip extractor [ http://tinyurl.com/yh9t3sr ]

'Hi MSN' - instant messenger [ http://tinyurl.com/yjntog2 ]

'Robo Defence' - best game imo [ http://tinyurl.com/ykwbffk ]

'SDrescan' - scans sd card for new files [ http://tinyurl.com/ylplh4p ]

'video player' - quick and easy way to access your videos [ http://tinyurl.com/yfcphby ]

Ta - I'll check Explorer and SDrescan - the others look like they'd be taken care of by the "stock" apps/OS to me though ;)

[Guest]

Install AnyCut and beebPlayer - then go to ANY home screen, and click the + sign (bottom right), then click Shortcut, then AnyCut, the Application - then wait - when the list shows up, just find BBC One with the beebPlayer icon ;)

That doesn't work... If I click + then shortcut then anycut, there's only Direct Call, Direct Text Message, Activity and Make Your Own. If I choose "activity" all I can do is make one for Beebplayer.

There's no icons at all. I presumed you were using the "make your own" option and that's what was too hard. Any more guidance? What am I doing wrong! ;)

[Guest ptruman]

That doesn't work... If I click + then shortcut then anycut, there's only Direct Call, Direct Text Message, Activity and Make Your Own. If I choose "activity" all I can do is make one for Beebplayer.

There's no icons at all. I presumed you were using the "make your own" option and that's what was too hard. Any more guidance? What am I doing wrong! ;)

Hmmm, I apparently was barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Click +, click Activity, click BeebPlayer, then click BBC 1.... ;) (you don't need AnyCut)

[Guest]

Hmmm, I apparently was barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Click +, click Activity, click BeebPlayer, then click BBC 1.... ;) (you don't need AnyCut)

Ha! Cheers for that, it was there all along!

[Guest starfarer]

I think this was already in another thread somewhere here..... Anyway depends on one's needs. What we actually need is some kind of comparisions as for WM. For eg best sms clients: Chompsms vs Handcents sms vs default... like this things from those who have used all three. And also need to state whether paid or free.

Personally only I would recommend at the moment is Dolphin Browser. Even then I've not extensively tested others or the default one. But from my experiences it satisfies my needs apart from unable to close the program which simply stays as background service. I use Co-pilot coz there are no other alternatives and not willing to spend simply for testing. Tried Linda file manager but using Astro at the moment and don't intend to change. Beepplayer is for UK only, my first installation on Hero. Google maps are preinstalled on ROM.

What I'm interested is skype-skype voice. Got frings but still to figure out how to add new skype contact on phone itself and still to test voice. Find camera performance better than expected after reading reviews before buying Hero. If it's limitation on hardware nothing will improve software-wise ie slow camera lens. My holy grail is to get something better dialpad than the stock one.

Saying this, I'm fully satisfied with TouchPal keyboard which is now paid version.

In all, Hero stock is as good as any on market.

[Guest stevenz]

3G Watchdog - Keeps an eye on data usage

Aldiko - Great eBook reader

AppManager - Self explanatory

Astro - Good filemanager

Autostarts - Check what the phone insists on running

Barcode Scanner - Self explanatory

Camera Zoom FX - Improvement over the stock camera, still hampered by poor camera hardware

DoggCatcher - Good podcast app (Better than Listen IMO)

Dolphin Browser - Improvement over stock

eBuddy - MSN/AIM/Facebook etc. chat client (Meebo is a waste of time)

Facebook (official) - Obvious

FoxyRing - Adjusts ring volume relative to ambient sound, also has a quick "silent" widget.

GPS Status - More informative details on GPS stats

Handcent SMS - Big improvement over stock SMS/MMS app

K-9 Mail - Big improvement over stock Mail app

Midomi - Same sort of thing as Shazam, but more versatile

Seesmic - Improved Twitter client

TasKiller - Free up memory by killing unwanted apps (Also use ForceClose notification tool to close the current app)

XBMC Remote - Controls XBMC on Windows/Linux/Mac/Xbox. Great app.

That list made me realise I've got way too much stuff on my phone.

[Guest Cutefox]

thats not alot.. i got 400 apps on my iphone and im wondering how many apps would i have on my hero when i get it in about 2 wks..

[Guest ptruman]

thats not alot.. i got 400 apps on my iphone and im wondering how many apps would i have on my hero when i get it in about 2 wks..

But do you *need* your 400 apps? Are they all "must have"? I'd doubt it :)

[Guest]

FTPServer

- A bit of a pain to setup initially, and (badly) displays passwords in the log when connections come in, but it allows you to get stuff on/off the Hero without USB

I've had a bit of a fiddle with this... Any chance of a guide, I asked on the developer's page to (currently) no avail. I figured since you did so well explaining the Beebplayer stuff that you might fancy a go at this? :)

[Guest JamesKing]

Just installed and set up HulloMail.

So now I get visual voice mail for all my mail, and I get a copy of each voice message emailed to myself. Awesome :)

[Guest ptruman]

Just installed and set up HulloMail.

So now I get visual voice mail for all my mail, and I get a copy of each voice message emailed to myself. Awesome B)

Indeed - although it's got an error (for me at least) - apparently one (of maybe my?) phonebook entries is causing them a parsing error so they don't display the name/pic of who calls me - but other than that it works :)

I need to tweak it though, as it's SMSing me, emailing me AND I get the phone missed call notification.... ;)

(but it is good - getting your voicemail via the web, phone and Android handset is quite handy)

[Guest ptruman]

I've had a bit of a fiddle with this... Any chance of a guide, I asked on the developer's page to (currently) no avail. I figured since you did so well explaining the Beebplayer stuff that you might fancy a go at this? :)

Certainly.

Start it up, hit menu, and hit preferences.

• In user, enter whatever username you want to use to login to the phone
  
• In pass - enter a password (for that user)
  
• In port - enter a port number - I'd suggest 2121
  

Then go down your list of "allowed connections" and select any which match your home wireless SSID (I have two for mine, as I have two WLAN access points on the same SSID, but it sees them as unique as each AP's MAC is different). I would recommend you UNCHECK any other connections (like 3G etc etc, so you can't be accessed by anything other than devices on your trusted WLAN)

Then hit save and restart service

Then, if you're using DOS/windows command prompt, you can type :

ftp 

open your_phone_ip_address 2121

then login with your user & password...personally however I'd use Windows Explorer, go to Network and "add network place" and then enter ftp://your_chosen_username@your_phone_ip_address:2121 as the FTP site and use that, it's more reliable than the cmd prompt.

Hope that helps.

[Guest ptruman]

I've acquired autostarts (paid), SDrescan & Dolphin Browser to play with for the time being, and updated which of the apps in my list are paid or free (which was a fair comment) :)

Edited December 22, 2009 by ptruman

[Guest starfarer]

Can I uninstall safely native sms and mail program if I opt for others like Handcent and k-9? Just checked K-9 :) and thanks for suggestion. BTW anyone thinking/already of not using Sense? I'm struggling to fill all those 7 home screens ;)

And what all of you guys removed from stock?

[Guest]

Hope that helps.

It did! You're my favourite person today! Thanks very much!

[Guest ptruman]

Can I uninstall safely native sms and mail program if I opt for others like Handcent and k-9? Just checked K-9 ;) and thanks for suggestion. BTW anyone thinking/already of not using Sense? I'm struggling to fill all those 7 home screens B)

And what all of you guys removed from stock?

Someone may well correct me, but I'd leave anything "stock" in place (other than HTC Sync) as it may be called by other apps - but if you want to play, do a nandroid backup and rm away - the worst that can happen is you'll wind up with force closes? (then a restore)

I like the stock apps for the most part, so can't complain :)

[Guest shields399]

FTPServer (free)

- A bit of a pain to setup initially, and (badly) displays passwords in the log when connections come in, but it allows you to get stuff on/off the Hero without USB

is there a guide anywhere to set this up?

thanks

[Guest jazz5000]

does anyone know a app that will allow the htc to work as a media server so i can stream all the songs from my pc to my phone on wifi?

Also is there a app that monitors utorrent? I know on a jailbroken iphone there was a app that allows you to view and pause resume downlaods etc.

[Guest ptruman]

FTPServer (free)

- A bit of a pain to setup initially, and (badly) displays passwords in the log when connections come in, but it allows you to get stuff on/off the Hero without USB

is there a guide anywhere to set this up?

thanks

Yes, read the whole thread ;-)