My favorite things: Android apps

Above: BlueMail in use on Android.

BitDepth#1437 dated December 18, 2023

There are three types of applications that you can get on your smartphone. System apps come with the device and cannot be removed with some exceptions.

Unfortunately, this also includes cheap games on low-end hardware that are included there under contract arrangements.

Then there are the apps that provide services.
Do you need to attend virtual meetings? Therefore, the requirement will be Zoom or Teams, depending on the company’s preferences. Fan of Spotify? You will need their app.

Finally, there are optional apps that make your device special and serve you.

Here are some that work for me.

In general, I avoid hacking the home screen and UI. Most of them, like Nova Launcher, are nice, but they don’t really change the way you work with the interface. Niagara Launcher is the exception, and it’s worth paying for.

Instead of screen after screen of app icons, Niagara replaces this default metaphor with a list you can configure with frequently accessed apps.

If you include a media player and date and time, you can list nine to ten apps in the list. There is a convenient alphabetical key on the right that you can use to jump to programs that are not in your primary menu.

If you can’t think of nine apps to put on the list, Niagara can track the apps you access most frequently and add them to the list for you. If you agree, you can install them there.

Try it. I would be confused if it didn’t work on the phone and this is a clear indication that the interface is improving.

It’s hard to find the right word processor in the Play Store. You’ll find quite a few applications, but the files they produce don’t open properly in a desktop word processor.
If you use Office365, there is an Android version you can install.

Moving between operating systems, the best apps run on multiple platforms, and Evernote has a capable, if uninspiring, word processor that delivers clean, usable text wherever you open the app.

If your smartphone is connected to the Internet, every time you save, your data is copied to the cloud and then to every instance of the app you have installed.

Evernote’s free plan syncs two devices. If that’s enough for you, you’re all set.

I’m on the tier 1 Personal plan, and since I’ve been bothered by the software subscription license, that means Evernote had to check a lot of value boxes before I paid.

It’s possible to create a simple to-do list with Evernote, but why not take advantage of all the great sorting and organizing features of Microsoft’s free To Do app.

Create a list of this app and it will instantly appear on every other device you have it installed on. I don’t have the words to say how much frustration it saved me from being in grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies.

It’s also useful for planning your workday, although I still use scraps of paper for this assignment (echoing and displaying writing assignments works better for me).

I have a very annoying number of email addresses to keep track of and prefer to view emails using one comprehensive app.

For Android, that’s BlueMail (if you don’t have access to Outlook), a well-designed, full-featured mail client for Android (and every other platform) that connects to many mail servers, including some dedicated Android mail servers throttled.

Business users can get additional business tools for a fee of $12 per user per month, but individuals get a great mail client.

Entertainment on a smartphone should be seamless. If you need to access files downloaded to the device (many services have their own dedicated app), VLC is the app of choice for video files and just like on a computer desktop, it will read any file encoding you download.

For music and audio files, I can’t recommend my former favorite Rocket Player anymore. As an early adopter, I have a paid key for the app that circumvents the new subscription fees, but the app isn’t as smooth and bug-free as it used to be, and it’s accumulating bad reviews on the Play Store.

Consider AIMP and Player Pro, the stars in a much broader field of audio players for Android today. Both have functional free versions that support audiophile digital formats such as FLAC.

Player Pro has an Internet Radio feature that self-populates with TT Radio stations, although it can’t play some broadcasts. It costs $5 to get the ad-free version.

The eBulletin digital book reader is an essential addition for books you’ll never find time to read. Moon Reader matches the Kindle app experience (easy setup, disappears during use) and like Player Pro, has an ad-free Pro version that costs $9, although this price has been known to vary during the year.

The reason most people pay more for a premium smartphone is to take advantage of a higher-quality camera system.

Third-party options for alternative controls in capture apps on Android are very limited. It’s often possible to download Google’s Android camera capture app on premium brand smartphones, but I haven’t found any benefit in doing so.

Samsung offers a professional app for its smartphones from the S21 onwards called Expert Raw, but you have to download it from the Samsung App Store (registration required).

ProShot ($6.99) doesn’t add any features to the Huawei P30 Pro that the standard phone app doesn’t already have, but you can download an “evaluator” app that you can use to see if it unlocks features that the standard app hides.

However, there are several Android apps you can consider for serious photo editing on the device.

DevMacGuyver’s A Photo Editor, my former favorite photo-editing app on Android (there are multiple apps with the same name in the Play Store) has become outdated. The tweaks to other apps are at least as good, and often better and faster.

The best option for most people is Snapseed, which looks identical to the version Google bought from Nik Software nearly a decade ago, but has been quietly improved under the hood. Snapseed also supports direct editing of RAW footage from the phone.

For something better than Snapseed, you can try Lightroom Mobile, which offers some useful features for free but to access all of its tools, you must have an Adobe subscription.

On1 Photo Raw Mobile, a newer alternative, is largely a new product without the long years of development that have refined Snapseed and Lightroom.

I have always been a technology enthusiast, and one of my favorite things is discovering new and useful Android apps. From productivity tools to entertainment apps, there are so many incredible options available. I love exploring the Google Play Store and finding apps that make my life easier, more enjoyable, and more organized. Whether it’s a game that helps me unwind, a fitness app that keeps me on track with my workouts, or a social media app that allows me to stay connected with friends and family, I’m always on the lookout for the next great Android app to add to my collection.

My favorite things: Android apps

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