Best smartphone set up for travelling - which Android apps do you use?
Replies: 10 - Last Post: May 8, 2013 7:34 AM Last Post By: retiree
jump to
Best smartphone set up for travelling - which Android apps do you use?
I'm about to head off to Central America for 6 months, maybe longer and have most of my gear already from other trips. I'm going to be taking my DSLR and netbook which, although not indispensable (I started traveling in the pre-internet/ipod/smartphone era so I know it can be done without much tech) are must have's for me as things stand. The netbook only weighs a kilo and it means I can back up my precious photo's as well as being able to access the internet, sort out my music, watch a film etc.I managed to hold off on the whole "smartphone revolution" until a few months ago and thought that I'd leave it at home and just take a basic phone with me, but I've changed my mind and now it's coming with me! I didn't go for the latest, greatest but got a solid phone and put a custom ROM on it and it runs like a dream with ICS.
I've trawled the net to find the best and most useful apps and have had a good look through this forum (this had some of the better suggestions but many were iphone only 8 Travel Apps for the iPhone so I'd like to see what people think about the apps I'm running and what their suggestions are for some to take with me. I'm not looking for social networking, more practical stuff that I don't need a data connection for. I'm assuming I'll be able to access the internet via wifi here and there so I'd use those times for updating when I need to. Also, I'll be using my netbook for most of the web browsing and internet based gubbins...
Right, for those of you who might be in the slightest bit interested about the phone its an HTC HD2 running tytung's nexushd2-ics-cm9-hwa v2.7 ROM.
For day to day stuff that I'm most likely to use here and on the road...(you can find all of them on the Google Play Store...)
Adaway
Android Music Player
Amazon Kindle
Astro File Manager
Avast internet security
Browser (inbuilt in CM9 ROM's)
Camera ZOOM FX
Camera 360
Digital Clock
Evernote
Friendcaster (much better than standard Facebook App)
Gmail
Link2SD (invaluable as I've only got a limited amount of internal memory to install apps on)
Play Store
Pocket Auctions (ebay)
RAM Booster
ROM Manager
SIM Contacts
Smart Tools
Superuser System Tuner Pro
Titanium Backup
Undelete
VLC (media player) WhatsApp
Yahoo Mail Link
Swype Beta (amazing keyboard app that's being rolled out on Jellybean devices now. Not available through the Play Store).
As for these, I'm not sure whether they'll make the cut/be of any use while I'm in CA but they're on my phone at the mo
Alpine Quest
Around me (though I'm not sure how well that will work in CA)
Backpacker GPS Trails
Google Chrome
Hotukdeals
Metoffice
Red Laser (barcode scanner)
Skyvi (siri clone for Android)
Sleep as Android (Sleep monitor/alarm)
Torque
I'd like to find something GPS based for maps that I can use offline. I've tried the Alpinequest and Backpacker GPS apps and they're handy but I don't know how useful they'd be overseas - any suggestions?
I'm up for suggestions for alternative browsers as Chrome takes up a fair bit of room and isn't the quickest but it's very handy being able to access the bookmarks from my desktop/netbook). I've had a play with Dolphin Mini and have heard good things about Opera.
As much as ZOOM FX is a hady app, I'd like something with a little more control over the settings BEFORE the image is taken....
Thanks in advance for your suggestions, other than the "Eee, when I were a lad and this were all fields, I dunno how we managed without all this technology stuff and still enjoyed ourselves" ;)
1
I use an Android based phone, with no phone service; wifi only. For navigation, i use Google Maps, as I haven't found an offline maps program to use. With Google Maps, I save the map of a region I'm visiting for offline use (newer versions of Google Maps allow this). The GPS works offline, so you'll know where you are. Only trouble is you can't search. What I also do is mark/star ahead of time from a computer (or the phone) which locations I will be visiting, so I can see the star on the map, and know where I'm going. Another cool feature is you can create custom maps with custom destinations and paths/routes, which can be downloaded to the phone.Another app I use is Endomondo. I use this to track my route by GPS, so I know where I've gone, how far, etc..
I use MX Player for videos, though I suppose VLC is also good.
Astro is a very good file explorer, I use that.
Poweramp for audio. Excellent app. great control of the audio, and plays most everything.
Animated Knots - to learn how to tie any knots. Excellent app
TubeMate - to download YouTube videos to the phone for later viewing. This app isn't in the market, you have to download it from their website (easy to find).
Screen Filter - allows the screen to be dimmed as much as you want. Helps with reading or navigating at night.
GPS Status - helps 'prime' the GPS location
Offline Dictionary - learn new words
Babbel - learn Spanish
Dolphin Browser - very good browser (when you have internet connection)
Aldiko - excellent ebook reader. I've tried a few others, and I like this the most
Skype - for communicating with people
Alarm Clock Plus - great alarm clock app
ConvertPad - great conversion app (converts most everything)
Deluxe Moon - for those interested in the moon
tTorrent - for downloading torrent files (when connected to wifi)
Vignette - camera app. Useful when battery is <15%. Stock Android camera won't function when battery is <15% (stupid feature if you ask me).
Memoires - great journal app. Though I use Gmail drafts to write notes/book recommendations, etc...
ColorNote - allows notes to be saved as widgets to the screen (maybe to quick reference phrases, notes, etc...)
Silent Mode Widget - for putting phone in silent mode (rather than vibrate mode via the volume buttons).
Those are the most popular apps I use.
2
Cheers for that! That's just what I was after.Out of those I'm now about to google...Endomondo, Animated Knots, GPS Status, ColorNote and ConvertPad.
I don't think the google maps option would be my first choice - it's something I've already looked at but it could be a fall back.
With Endomondo, do you have to have GPS continually in use for it to work fully?
4
Yeah, I think I'll keep google maps for a backup but would like to find something where I can use offline maps.I'll have a play with Endomondo here but will uninstall it when I'm away.
I'd really like to make the most of the free wifi so would be interested in peoples opinions on wifi finding apps. Are there any that show if the wifi is secured or not?
5
Yeah, I think I'll keep google maps for a backup but would like to find something where I can use offline maps. So far I've been looking at locus, mapswithme and mapdroid. I've also noticed that navfree works overseas, but that's more of a sat nav type set up.I'll have a play with Endomondo here but will uninstall it when I'm away.
I'd really like to make the most of the free wifi so would be interested in peoples opinions on wifi finding apps. Are there any that show if the wifi is secured or not?
6
Hmm, that seems a little one sided - not exactly an objective comparison of the relative uses. Anyway, each to their own. I won't slap off your older phone but will instead counter one or two of the issues you raised r.e. smartphones.I bought my first smartphone earlier this summer and it's been great. I regularly get 2 days out of a charge.
I have one of the latest custom ROM's on my HTC HD2 (which cost me £110) running ICS and have the ability to pretty much completely customize the whole phone including overclocking and undervolting (so I can up the performance for times when battery life isn't an issue, as well as dropping the max cpu speed), I have the option to freeze apps completely as well as stopping most of them from auto starting.
Yes, if you use all the phone's functions it hammers the battery life but I can pick up knock-off Chinese batteries for around £3 and a genuine HTC's for £5, so really, battery life isn't a massive concern to me especially as I have a very light, compact charger for batteries that aren't in the phone.
As for typing, have you tried an app called Swype? It's being rolled out by google in the new Jellybean packages but you can download a BETA copy now. I didn't like the idea of typing messages on a piece of glass but after a while, the intelligent predictive text capabilities overcame that and then when I changed to Swype, things have gone lightening quick. I was never a slouch when it came to texting on a phone with buttons but now I'm way quicker!
As for apps well it's horses for courses on that one but the one thing I will say is that there'll be a continual development with Androids apps...
Initially I thought that I may keep my old phone to use on my upcoming trip to Central America but after changing the HTC over from Windows to Android (not the most recent version, but one of the most stable) it's safe to say that it'll be making it's way to the airport with me!
7
So far I've added these to my list...Hostelbookers
Pro HDR (camera)
UK & World Sport
Tunein (radio)
Total Commander (File explorer)
Onavo (data usage tool/tracker)
Opera Mini (browser)
I've got rid of Kindle and will be looking at other options - possibly Aldiko as previously recommended. I want something to use to view my digital copies of LP so this is the best place to be asking!
It looks like Opera Mini will be my main browser - it's way quicker than anything else I've tried so far.
Any other suggestions out there?
8
That would be great to use. Many of us have our smartphones with us pretty much all the time. There are thousands of applications that do thousands of different things accessible at the push of a button. And a few of them can even get you just a little extra pocket change.9
For offline maps I can strongly recommend BackCountry Navigator.It is very strong when it comes to offline use. You can select map areas (worldwide) from a wide variety of different mapping sources and download them over WiFi. Uses GPS and can record tracks, give position, but is not a turn-by-turn navigation app. Does work online but its real design is for you to select areas to download (most people use WiFi!). You manage the downloaded maps on your phone - so it is far more secure than local caching. Download an area and it stays on your phone until you delete it. Designed for off-road hiking but the maps include roads, POIs, etc. and the GPS plots your current position.
Having recently switched from Android to iPhone ('cos my Android phone was complete junk) BackCountry Navigator is the one app I really miss (as it is Android only).
The demo version if full functionality (I believe) but only runs for 16 days - but this allows you to check out the maps available for where you want to travel. The full app is not expensive.
Another very very useful tool if using GPS on Android is GPS Status & Toolbox by MobiWIA. Free. The main reason I used to use it was it forces downloads of AGPS data which ensures you have a far faster fix on activating the GPS. It can show you satellite plots, signals, etc. but it is really the A-GPS data download that was the reason I used it (maybe because the phone I had was not good at doing this and a GPS fix could take forever (consuming battery!!).
