Posts Tagged ‘android’

Android apps I use, November 2016

Last year I wrote a self-indulgent post about Android apps I use, with some details and explanations. It’s time for an update!

As much as it is an indulgent list, it has served a secondary purpose: the act of looking at the device and compiling a list encourages me to consider the apps I’m listing, and whether I really use them or need them. As mentioned in the original post, I’ve been wary of platform lock-in and dependency. I’ve also increasingly attempted to remove non-essential notifications and temptations for idle browsing.

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Nexus 5, ten months in

I like bunnie’s exit review idea (e.g. on his T60p, on his 8700c): the thought that you can write a better review at the end of a device’s life than after a week or two. This is not a true exit review, but I will bend the rules here a bit and say that ten months, one winter, and one broken screen is enough to write down some useful thoughts about the Nexus 5.

I bought a Nexus 5 in April 2014. This is my third mobile phone after a Blackberry Pearl 8100 and an HTC Nexus One. I’ve also owned Nokia’s N800 and N810 internet tablet devices.

Factors involved in deciding what phone to get were wireless networks supported, size, software hackability, input methods, software updates, storage size/options, and the camera in roughly that order.

I somewhat seriously considered going back to Blackberry but couldn’t find a pentaband model I liked and could justify cost-wise. I briefly tried a Nokia E72 but found software and keyboard lacking. At one point I considered a Nokia E6 but ended up forgetting it (oops) when I resumed phone-shopping.

I paid $132.50 (USD) for the Blackberry in September 2008, $200 for the Nexus One in October 2011, and ended up paying $463.62 for the black 32 GB Nexus 5 in April 2014. My thoughts are mixed.

Blackberry Pearl 8100, HTC Nexus One, and LG Nexus 5 phones viewed from the front

The family, with factory screen protector still on the N5.

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Android apps I use

Or, degooglifying myself, part 0

I’ve always been mindful of vendor lock-in. I like options; vendor lock-in takes options away. I’ve been particularly paranoid about smartphone platforms: a couple of dollars on apps here and there and before you know it you’re invested in your current platform to the tune of a hundred bucks or more.

Fleeing then-horrible Blackberry, I went with Android in 2011. Since then, Google has been progressively killing off sync options (Contacts, Calendar) to less popular platforms, raising additional fears about data lock-in. I haven’t found a “perfect” platform-and-device combination, so there’s always been a lingering dissatisfaction. (I started writing this post in April 2013.) Over the years I realized I would like to reduce my dependence on Google’s goodwill/advertising/world domination plans and start hosting my data myself.

The first step to quitting is knowing what exactly you’d miss. In 2012, I half-jokingly asked on Twitter about an app to track my app usage. I didn’t hear anything and some basic searches were not promising, so I ended up compiling a list by hand. Here’s apps I use, and have used, on Android.
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