10 Great Android Apps - MORE Shit You Totally Need

Another list of 10 NEW highly recommended and totally FREE Android Apps that you totally need.

Following up on my previous post, 10 Great Android Apps - Shit You Totally Need, we have a whole NEW list of another 10 Android Apps -  MORE Shit You Totally Need!

As another belated Christmas gift to yourself,  I offer you even MORE shit you totally need.  All FREE!  This isn't some NYTimes best apps of 2010 puff piece.  This article, and my last one, are actually full of QUALITY FREE APPS.  I swear to god I see another new article peddling the same crappy pay apps (that they most likely get paid to promote), I'm going to send the author and the editor a rage comic on the subject. 

Oh, and if you're really hard up from Christmas, because all you got was a fruitcake and an ugly sweater, I suggest you also browse my list of Top 10 Android FREE Live Wallpapers!

Handcent SMS
The stock SMS/MMS for Android 2.2 is "meh".  Handcent is "aww yeah baby".  New styles, additional themes, customization, font packs, colors - more settings than you shake a stick at.  Hell, it can even make your SMS look like the iPhone with "the bubbles".  Some girl I met at a bar described the messaging that way when she saw it, "Oh that has the iPhone bubbles".  LOL.  Seriously though, it's a killer app and a definite improvement over the stock version.  Free.

Liquor Run Mobile
This little app comes in handy more often than you would think!  It lists all the liquor stores near you (or anywhere in general).  Plus it has cocktail mixing directions and tons of other features.  The mascot is perhaps the coolest part though, it's a bottle of booze running.  Who couldn't love that mascot?  I want a t-shirt with him on it.  Free.  

AppBrain App Market
Although similar to the Android Marketplace, this is definitely superior to Google's stock offering.  There are more ways to sort, search, and filter.  You'll find a lot more cool apps through this market than you will in the stock marketplace - guaranteed.  Install it.  Free.

Winamp
The original badass MP3 player is available on Android.  And yes, IT REALLY WHIPS THE LLAMA'S ASS!  This is probably the best free player out there.  Plus it will sync with your desktop version of Winamp (if you so choose).  All in all a really great player and big improvement on the stock media player.  Free.  

App2SD
Since Android isn't gay, like some of it's competitors...it allows you to install Apps to your microSD card.  This is really nice and ultimately allows you to install tons and tons of apps.  However, it's tough to know which apps support this feature of running on SD (not all do).  Furthermore, you have to do it by hand - individually.  SUCKS.  But this little app solves all that.  It searches your phone apps, finds which ones can be moved to SD, and helps you move them more efficiently.  Free.

GTunes Music
GTunes is kind of like Google, for music.  Search, and download.  It's that easy.  It will let you preview before you download too.  The app also has charts for billboard, specific genres, and countries around the world.  So if you're just looking for some 'Pop', hit up the chart, and start searching.  Downloads MP3's right to the phone.  Somehow I don't think the walled garden is down with that...so jump that wall, sucka!  Free.

PageOnce Travel
I did an earlier article, awhile back, on a head to head comparison of PageOnce Travel and TripIt.  Both apps rock, and both apps make this list.  PageOnce is still slightly ahead because it offers free flight status updates.  In addition to this handy feature it auto-creates your trips from your accounts.  Very nice to have for anyone who travels, even if it isn't that frequent.  Free.

TripIt
TripIt is still a badass app, and it sure as hell ain't no slouch when it comes to travel organization.  Now that it can auto-create trips from confirmations sent to your Gmail account, it's taking big steps forward.  It also handles things like dinner reservations, special events, etc. etc.  I run both PageOnce Travel and TripIt, and you should too.  Don't get caught at the airport or the hotel without your confirmation number.  You're holding up the damn line!  Free.

XBMC Remote
Ok, so first off, if you don't have XBMC...you should.  God knows you have a ton of media on your computer(s).  Music, Pictures, Video, Movies, TV Shows - I know you have it.  Install XBMC, get a media library, and watch your content like a pro.  Impress your friends.  Find a nerdy girl and get her on your couch.  Then, pull out your phone and use it as the remote.  Aw yeah, baby...that's right.  My full review is here.  Free

ADW Launcher
This is the beginings of full customization of your Android phone (minus a custom rom, of course).  ADW, and it's array of themes + customization give you complete control over the look and feel of the phone.  Change the drawer, change the icons, change the status displays, change it all.  There really isn't a limit once you get ADW Launcher going.  Which is very easy.  Download, install, find a theme, and use it.  Then hit your home button.  Done.  Free.  (maybe in the future I'll do a full howto on this...)

So there you go.  10 Great Android Apps - MORE Shit You Totally Need.  Combined with my last list, that's 20 FREE and HIGH QUALITY Apps for Android.  The best part is, I didn't have to sell out to write these lists, nor did I have to study Journalism in college and suckup to some loser in a turtle neck.  New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal - I'm looking at you fools.  Your app lists suck.  Mine do not.  Stoneycase - 2, MSM - 0. 

Pageonce vs Trip It - Free Versions Head to Head

Since I use both TripIt and PageOnce, I thought it would be cool to do a review and comparison to help anyone looking for more info.  Travel organizers and applications are all the rage these days.  Both PageOnce and TripIt are phone apps, and work on the computer as well.  I'm on a bit of a phone app kick lately (VyprVPN for your iPhone/Android!)

PageOnce Personal Assistant for Phone & Computer

I'll try to stick to talking the free versions, as an apples-to-apples comparison.  But, I will throw in some discussion on the extras that are offered in the paid versions.  They may swing a person one way or the other, whatever.

Let's get the first thing out of the way:

• PageOnce Personal Assistant tries to organize all your accounts (financial, travel, rewards, etc)
• Trip It focuses on just your travel accounts (hotel, air, car rental, etc)

PageOnce has an additional application, exclusively for travel.  It's also called PageOnce.  Yeah, it's actually two apps.  No, trust me on this.  Look in your fancy iTunes App Store.  See how that one has a little plane logo displayed prominently?  Yeah that's the travel one, "Trip Tracker".  PageOnce "Personal Assistant" is their main software product, it has shopping bags and credit cards on it's logo.  PageOnce "Trip Tracker" has only that plane on the app logo, and it focuses only on travel.                                 

PageOnce Personal Assistant

PageOnce Trip Tracker

So, again, apples-to-apples...we're talking PageOnce (for travel) vs. Trip It (for travel).  The free versions, with some minor banter about extras that cost money.

Alright so lets get started, here is a quick rundown of the feature sets:

PageOnce TripTracker vs TripIt - Feature Comparison Guide

Right off the bat you see both apps handle most major airlines, hotels, and rental cars.  There is one exception, Southwest Airlines.  Southwest has recently decided to prevent applications such as TripTracker from accessing travel account information.  Yeah, I did that table myself.  Woo Woo

TripTracker displaying itinerary

Which leads us to our second major point in this reivew - building of trips and itineraries, either by auto-creation or manual methods.  TripTracker is auto-creation.  You provide the app with your account(s) and password(s).  The app fetches your travel reservations and assembles the trips.  TripIt does not go this route, and instead has the user email travel plans, receipts, and bookings to "plans@tripit.com".  So, on the one hand we have an automatic building of trips, and on the other an email forward.  Your choice.  Automatic is certainly easier, but as you can see from the SWA ban, it has it drawbacks.  Of course, so does email.  You register your email address(es) with TripIt and send the reservations.  Occassionally you need to help TripIt understand what you just sent - although 7 or 8 times out of 10 it will do just fine.  It can understand a Southwest E-Ticket for example, or a Marriott hotel reservation.

TripIt displaying upcoming trips

TripTracker does really well with offering a lot of features for free.  One of the major wins for TripTracker is the live flight details, flight status, and mobile alerts.  In order to match this in TripIt you will need to pay.  Also, TripTracker offers the details as an auto-build from your travel plan details - like maps, etc.  TripIt will support this detailed information, but you will need to manually add it using the website.

PageOnce TripTracker Screenshots on Android

But don't count TripIt comletely out of the picture.  TripIt will track your mileage, flights, and travel days in a nifty little report.  Available via the website.  TripIt will also give you a Calendar feed, so you can have your gCal automatically update with your travel plans.  TripIt also has sharing, and groups - which can be really good for an organization look for travel management (for free).

TripIt & TripIt Pro (Paid) - Only the paid version provides flight monitoring and notifications!

Either way, they both have phone apps and are fairly easy to manage online.  I recommend TripTracker over TripIt only because of the live flight tracking, status, mobile notifications, and auto-building of trips.  However, since both are free Apps, it doesn't cost you anything to install both!

TripTracker gets the nod for more free features

**Updated 23 Sept 2010:  I had an opportunity to test the auto-gmail pull that Tripit just released.  Thanks to the Anonymous poster who referred me to this link!  This does indeed work like a charm and gets close to leveling the playing field between the two apps.  TripIt is now able to "auto-create" trips, if your confirmations go to Gmail, and if TripIt can read the reservation!  However, TripIt is still missing flight status and notification in their free app, so PageOnce TripTracker is still getting the nod from me for this awesome feature!**