Favorite Android apps? - non aviation

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Albany Tom

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Albany Tom
I just setup a new Android phone, and put on my favorite apps. Things that are just helpful to me, or that might be. Mostly I'm just using the phone as a phone and for texting.

The apps I added are:
Free42 - calculator
Avare - backup nav
Uber and Lyft - mostly in case I get stranded someplace
banking app - new to me, mobile deposits, control of debit card, etc
GPStest - lets me see if gps is working

I've tried some apps over the years, but only Free42, Avare, and GPStest really stuck for me.

What apps, if any, do people on here like enough to always put on a new phone?
 
I just started using @voice to listen to epubs. Text to voice is pretty terrible all around, but, @voice seems to do it better than most.
 
Heaven-Above - just cool
Textra - best texting app with great customization options.
Google Drive/Docs/Sheets
Keep Notes - Auto synchs for notes, lists
 
Textra - like the texting interface, I paid for the no-ad version
Weather Bug - great lightning strike distance locator
Avia Weather - great quick easy view of favorite METARs/TAFs for the airports you save. Gives Flight Category for each of your saved favorites all on one screen.
DarkLight - backup red flashlight on my phone for the plane... I have other flashlights, but this was free and you can change the color (red, green, etc.)
Pool Pal - tells me the amount of chemicals to add to the pool based on sample/testing numbers
Torque - ODBII reader for the vehicles (pulls codes, resets codes, etc.), need a BlueTooth ODBII reader though
WhatsApp - another texting/SMS app. My family has iPhones and videos aren't sent to Droid that great all the time. Through WhatsApp they go through fine.
Flightview - if you fly commercial, you forward your itinerary e-mail to Flightview and it is a great app to see what gate and if you're going to be on time.
 
1000RR said:
Avia Weather - great quick easy view of favorite METARs/TAFs for the airports you save.
Click to expand...

Like Avia weather also. One thing I have noticed though, is it can be a little off when compared to the AWOS. (what weather app isn't though).
I have a small group of AWOS numbers for airports that I fly to often on my homescreen. One tap dials them, so that's a great feature, although not an app, it's useful.
Avare is installed, although I rarely use it other than fun..but it's there just in case.

Also rather than downloading apps, I will add shortcuts to weather pages (in another group on the homescreen) such as:
https://www.windy.com/37.980/-87.560?38.036,-86.951,9
https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KEVV&state=IN
https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/Wi...VV&Submit=Get+Forecast&hour=06&course=compass
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/il/schiller-park/41.96,-87.87

Nice to cross compare them and less apps installed that way, which means less ads and more phone resources available.
Going to check out some of the others mentioned above.
 
Skyrys62 said:
Like Avia weather also. One thing I have noticed though, is it can be a little off when compared to the AWOS. (what weather app isn't though).
Click to expand...
Probably just the timing aspect. I tend to try and group all my local-ish airports (within 100 miles) first so I can get a broader picture at a quick glance as to how the surrounding weather looks without having to pull out my iPad and Foreflight. The paid version will also give you wind components for each runway. I'll use it driving down the road too, just to compare what I'm seeing outside (clouds/ceilings) to what they're reporting.


Skyrys62 said:
I have a small group of AWOS numbers for airports that I fly to often on my homescreen. One tap dials them, so that's a great feature, although not an app, it's useful.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea to have the shortcuts. I have my local airport AWOS stored as a contact but I should create a shortcut... I like that.
 
I use MyRadar extensively.
Give a really nice big picture of whats going on around you as well as shows accurate prevailing winds over the whole country.
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Albany Tom said:
I just setup a new Android phone, and put on my favorite apps. Things that are just helpful to me, or that might be. Mostly I'm just using the phone as a phone and for texting.

The apps I added are:
Free42 - calculator
Avare - backup nav
Uber and Lyft - mostly in case I get stranded someplace
banking app - new to me, mobile deposits, control of debit card, etc
GPStest - lets me see if gps is working

I've tried some apps over the years, but only Free42, Avare, and GPStest really stuck for me.

What apps, if any, do people on here like enough to always put on a new phone?
Click to expand...


You said non-aviation, but you listed Avare.

Other than the usual email, banking apps etc... I like GPS Logger when hiking or walking.
 
Last edited:
For flying, Avare, Avia Weather, GPS logger, G-Meter
Engine RPM for tach checking

Spirit Level
Dolphin browser and Firefox
K-9 Mail
RealCalc calculator
Backcountry Navigator for hiking or hunting
Cool Reader, Play Books, and Kindle for ebooks
Pandora and Poweramp for music
Waze and Maps
Uber
OTG Viewer for my Ablescope
iSmart DV to control my Akaso cameras (gopro clones)
Simple Notepad
And some other less used apps.
 
Myfitnesspal to log weight (& calories but I stopped that)
Weather Bug
My radar
google maps
iexit
plug share
kindle
my bank's app
plugshare
Garmin Connect, only to sync with my watch
and then of course all the google stuff...gmail, maps, youtube, calendar

I remember when I got my first smartphone (an iphone3G) I used to look through the app store for entertainment and download all sorts of apps. Eventually I figured out the vast majority weren't overly useful to me
 
Brad W said:
Myfitnesspal to log weight (& calories but I stopped that)
Weather Bug
My radar
google maps
iexit
plug share
kindle
my bank's app
plugshare
Garmin Connect, only to sync with my watch
and then of course all the google stuff...gmail, maps, youtube, calendar

I remember when I got my first smartphone (an iphone3G) I used to look through the app store for entertainment and download all sorts of apps. Eventually I figured out the vast majority weren't overly useful to me
Click to expand...

Ah the good ole days!
Remember when getting a new phone was exciting? Now it's just a burden of having to hope everything transfers correctly.
 
yep. I even had an app that let me know every new app that was just put up for sale in the store since the last time I looked.
 
Yep, I used to pay more attention to all the new apps, too. Then I just settled in and kept the very few I really used. Going through the grief of having to upgrade my old 3G phone, I thought reaching out to this group would be a way to maybe catch some useful apps that I'd never heard of. Thought it would be much more productive than a random google search to find reviews by paid spokespeople. And it is! I like iExit, and in searching for a decent note app I found Standard Note as an alternative to the ones mentioned above. Going through the rest of the list and so far have decided that I want an offline map app again.
 
offline maps?
for non-aviation I use the google maps app and download my own areas as needed. It's not the whole world, but it can be pretty large pieces.
Often it even prompts when I enter a long route asking if I want to download the route for offline access.
Is that what you mean, or something more?
 
Free42 is RPN, too. HP-42 emulator. I have a 41 and a 42, and it's good.
 
Brad W said:
offline maps?
for non-aviation I use the google maps app and download my own areas as needed. It's not the whole world, but it can be pretty large pieces.
Often it even prompts when I enter a long route asking if I want to download the route for offline access.
Is that what you mean, or something more?
Click to expand...

Sorry, missed the question part. I do use google, but last I tried offline download of sections for when I had no cell service, it was clunky. But I can try again.
I think I want to play with the backcountry map listed above, and maybe some others.
 
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