So here are some questions for Matt and all the other Android experts out there.

The phone I have is running 2.2 if you didn't know already

The first question is in the web browser can I get rid of the zoom in and out on the lower right of the screen ? I keep hitting it by accident and don't need it anyway it's easier to use pinch to zoom.

Second I thought I was reading I could download a file unsupported by the phone and save it to the SD slot. I tried downloading one and just got told it was unsupported. Is there something I need to install to do this or did I read something wrong ?

So far I installed Gmail, Google Maps, Goggles, and Chrome to Phone. Goggles seems fun to play with but not too useful, it would probably be useful if I needed to translate something. Chrome to Phone will be nice to have now they need to make phone to chrome too.

I can't believe they shipped a phone without GMail. That app is the best thing about Android. Argh.


Anyway, my suggestion regarding the zoom buttons is frankly to try another browser. One nice thing about Android is that it has always supported completely different browsers from their own, so you can download Opera (now available on iOS too), Fennec (Firefox - in beta), or a number of other popular ones like Dolphin HD. The built in browser won't let you turn that off, but the others might not have it. I tend to like the zoom buttons as a good one-handed way to zoom.


That's odd, I could have sworn that I could download files and save them to SD. I'll have to play with this later. It's possible you aren't even using the stock Android browser, and the one you have is preventing this. Again, I'd try another one.


Yeah, I haven't found much use for Goggles, but it's neat. Chrome to Phone has pretty limited uses, particularly if you already have a GPS in your car, but if you don't it's great for throwing driving directions to your phone.

My recommendations:

- Try out alternative "launchers." They're basically replacement homescreens/desktops, and control how things are organized on the home screens and a little in the app list. Some of the most popular are LauncherPro and ADW Launcher. My current favorite is called Zeam.

- Browse around the app market online to find new apps you'd like to download. It's much easier than on the phone.

- I'll try to think of more suggestions later when I'm not hurrying out the door...

I thought that I may not be using the stock browser is there a way to tell ?

I have been looking at the online marketplace looking on the phone isn't that bad but it is nice to be able to install stuff from the online one.

My Motorola Droid X's browser doesn't have this zoom thing. Clearly they were thinking along the same lines as you.

Of all the various apps I've installed, I find I use relatively few of them on a frequent basis. They are:

- Twitter, Facebook (the official apps)
- Google Voice (plus my Verizon voicemail doesn't exist; it goes straight to GVoice; also cool to be able to send and receive SMS for free)
- DoubleTwist player (not as good as the iPhone, but usably close enough)
- Google Maps / Navigation (with the $40 dashboard attachment, works like a champ)
- Pandora (which, despite my having selected "high quality", often gives me low-quality while I'm driving)
- Google Reader (there are 3rd party alternatives, but the official Google app seems to work very well)
- RPN Calculator
- New York Times (supports offline reading nicely)
- Prey (front-end for PreyProject, a free service to help you track your phone if it's stoken)

Is there a way to make the notifications stand out more ?

Not normally, but there are some lock screen apps that might give you what you want. I prefer how Android does notifications to how iOS does it. There are some improvements they could make (and I think they're making them in upcoming versions), but overall I'm quite pleased.

My list of apps I use, only some of which I use frequently, in no order at all:

• Doggcatcher: okay, I lied, this one was put first on purpose. It's my most-used app, and a must-buy for people who are serious about listening to podcasts. I adore this app and use it every single day. The developer is responsive and constantly improving the app, and has added tons of great features and customizability.
• Tweetdeck: post to Twitter and/or Facebook from the same app/widget
• Scoreboard: for sports scores - previously the absolute worst Google-developed app because it never worked - it seems they've fixed it because it works like a charm now
• Google Reader: like Dan said, this is the best Reader app for Android
• Email to Self: my most-used app - all it does is put an icon on my home screen which, when pressed, brings up an email composition with my own address already filled out - it's my #1 productivity tool and I live by it
• IMDb: I may have been wrong, this might be my most-used app, because every time I'm watching TV or movies I have a need to check what the people on screen have been in before
• Soundhound: it's just like Shazam, but I like it more for reasons I can't explain...
• ZipList: combined with an account for their service, it's making dinners easier to plan and shop for. I haven't used it long, but it seems to be just what I've been looking for in a grocery shopping app. I save recipes on their site, and when I plan on making one, I add it to my shopping list and remove the ingredients I already have. I then tell it which of my grocery stores I'm going to and because I've told it the order of the aisles, I can dash through the stores!
• Power Control Plus: kicks the ass of the power control widget that comes with Android. It's fully customizable and can toggle pretty much anything on the device. For example, I have one button on my widget that toggles between WiFi off, WiFi on, and WiFi hotspot.
• Google Voice: for everything Dan said. I love having free SMS (I don't have a plan with my carrier), and voicemails for both of my phones go to it instead.
• Retro Camera: most of the effects it adds are awful, but I like the last one for some interesting shots
• SDWatch and SDMove: developed by our very own Bitt, when I install/update an app, SDWatch tells me if it can be moved to the card, or I can just launch SDMove and see if there were any I missed before installing SDWatch
• The Weather Channel: so far I haven't liked the other weather apps. I don't like this one either, actually, but I dislike it less than the others
• Traffic Cam Viewer: this app has saved me many hours in the car since I installed it. I have one client downtown, and there are essentially two ways to get home, one of which is faster but has occasional road work on it. I have traffic cams set up for those roads on my phone, and I just check before I leave the city.
• Winamp: DoubleTwist is good too, but it was claiming control from my podcast app for a lot of things, so I use Winamp instead. It'll do wireless syncing.
• Filer: for navigating the file system
• Dropin: for syncing my photos to Dropbox. I've noticed it isn't very quick, but it's better than what I had before (which was nothing)

Changing the calendar alerts and notifications to alert did what I want. Before I would just get the tone and a little icon in the status bar. Now I get the tone and a big thing covering the whole screen when I check the phone.

I installed Download All Files so now I can save any file to the SD card. It was free but there are ads on it. You don't really ever need to look at the application so it's probably not a big deal. I might keep looking for something better.

There is no way to delete files from the SD card without installing one of the file managers right ?

I installed Zeam too and I think I like that one better than the default. I don't plan on making phone calls so it's nice to not have the phone icon down at the bottom. I tried Launcher Pro and that had even more junk at the bottom Zeam is much nicer thanks !

What keyboard are you using ? I tried swype for a few minutes and switched to the stock one. It works ok but I hit the wrong letter a lot. It seems like I need to hit the letter to the left of where it is.

You can replace all of the stuff at the bottom with Launcher Pro. I don't recall if you can with the default launcher.

You can't, and we don't even know if his default launcher is THE default launcher. I admit that this is a problem with Android.

And you can change things around in the bottom toolbar with LauncherPro, but I like how Zeam does it more. Zeam is nice and simple, and I think it runs faster.


Like with the browser, I can't be certain you have the actual stock Android keyboard or something the manufacturer put on there, but I suspect it's probably the standard one.

My favorite is Swiftkey ( free demo available). I just love it. I've discussed this in the other thread, so go search for it here.

Is there a way to tell if I have the standard keyboard, launcher,etc? The keyboards I have installed are called Swype and Android keyboard.

I'm not aware of a way, but I suppose if it looks similar to this shot of a Froyo keyboard on a Nexus One, it should be the stock keyboard.

I guess it does in am pretty sure it's the stock one.

Anyone use a to do list app ? I have tried about 10 of them and haven't found one I really like yet.

Astrid.

If you're a google user, gTasks. Syncs to your Google task list so you can see it when you check your email.

Bitt, have they added that to Astrid, or does it still only sync with Remember the Milk?

I wish Google would finally release an app for Tasks. I always figured it just wasn't something they cared much about, but after the last major update to GMail, they made it one of the three most prominent features, and assumed they'd put more effort into it. Not so. I still have to use the web app.

On my Desire HD the default browser doesn't have zoom icons.

My most used apps:

email/calendar - ActiveSync'ed to my work
Gmail
Skype
Google talk
DroidStack - (a stackexchange app)
TripIt - my personal travel manager :-)
Kayak - flight searcher. invaluable so far
Tweetdeck
FB Reader - better than the default one
AutoWifiEnable - learns where free wifi is available and only turns on your wireless in these areas. Good battery saver.
AppBrain - decent front end to marketplace which lets you select apps from your PC
DaTuner - very good guitar tuner
GO Launcher - I tried Zeam but it annoyed me too much
Goggles
Google Sky Map
Password Safe
Network Discovery
Picasa Tool
Soundhound
WifiAnalyzer

And I have a range of widgets for rapid control of functions, especially battery life ones. Still can't get used to having to charge the battery more than once a week!

I uninstalled Goggles. It kept eating my battery, and wouldn't die.

Astrid no longer syncs with RtM. They're now using Producteev.

Personally, I hate Google Tasks. It is clearly so much of an afterthought; the UI is miserable and there's zero integration with gCal.

Not entirely. If you set a due date on a task, it shows up in your Google Calendar with a checkbox next to it. From Gmail, you can create a task from any email, to which you can then add a date. It works much more seamlessly than Remember the Milk ever did.

On my phone, when I need to get to my Tasks, I use the web interface. Lame, but functional.

Weird - mine closes when I tell it to

Is it possible to uninstall Goggles? I think I tried to recently just to free up some space, and all I could do was "Uninstall Updates" or something like that. It was the same for Twitter, oddly...

Goggles is in the ROM for the Nexus One, so you can't uninstall it completely.

Mine didn't come with it pre-installed so I can uninstall it.

I use gmail for email and it seems like the gmail app doesn't check for new messages. I manually make it check for new messages and I will get some that are hours old.

A couple days ago I added a second gmail account to the phone and it seems worse since then.

Any advice ? I have email notifications checked and notify once un-checked in the gmail settings. I also under accounts and sync settings I have sync on for both accounts. Background data and auto sync are checked too.

By default the gmail app will check, and you can define how frequently it does this. You also need to ensure sync is enabled - if it is disabled the device will not try to connect (useful battery saving measure :-)

That's weird, though. I get GMail messages instantly. Matt, has it done this since you got the phone or is this new?

I think it was working when I got it. It seems lilike it started after I setup the second email account. I also have installed and removed a ton of programs. Last night I was reading reviews of the gmail app and there are a lot of people saying they are having this happen with the latest version. If that was the case I should have been having the issue the whole time since it hasn't been updated since after I got the phone.