This may be a little premature... I don't know how many others beside Glenn or me have 'droid phones. But I love mine.
My two favorite apps are:
Google Maps : I haven't used directory assistance in a long time! (although it does not always find the most direct route)
Google Sky : that is just a hoot to use...for those "what the heck is that bright spot in the sky" nights.
Yup -Google maps gets me places easily and finds me food. I used it on the Blackberry but the droid screen is double in size and much faster.
I have just loaded the beam and joist sizing tools - not played with them much but they are free and could be handy here.
I have always had a problem with Blackberry not reading PDFS well - possibly there was an app to buy but not a good free one. Droid has Adobe Reader free so no problem.
I find so many free apps, that I hate to spend money for any.... [waiting]
I hook the droid to my wireless wifi and load most apps directly from the net. Fast...
I should mention these two sites - not responsible for accidents with your phones though...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731454
http://samsungcaptivate.wikia.com/wiki/Samsung_Captivate_Wiki
Also - to move contacts
Sync your old phone with Windows Contacts - Sassy's I used Vista contacts -- mine I used Windows 7 (Outlook could work but mine was too old (2002) and not recognized).
Once your contacts are in Windows Contacts, go to the file - view your contact list - go to export - export as v-card files to Desktop or a place you can find them -in a folder. Hook the USB cable to the computer and droid - view files - Copy the folder to the droid internal or external add on SD card.
Go to contacts on the droid - menu-more - import / export -import from SD card / import multiple v-card files. They should all come out in your contacts.
That may not be real clear but should get you close enough to make it work.
Pandora - free streaming music - multiple channels - uses lots of data so have a big plan - I was grandfathered in on unlimited.
Had to look this up as it is new to me... I was researching the new Blackberry offerings when I found Android was better than it or Iphone...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28operating_system%29
70,000 to estimated 100,000 apps.
Frank - I loaded the Sky app as I was thinking of it before and now that you mentioned it I had to do it.
I found free Talking Bibles for Sassy too. Necessary to add speech synthesis (robotic sounding) and extended speech synthesis (near human sounding) for good quality reading - the read button is on the menu - just played with it enough to show her.
i got the samsung captivate with at&t about 2 weeks ago.
I agree with google sky, it's good.
Also, I use and like pandora - streamed music based on the music dna project. ie you seed it with a few artists / song names and it figures out what else you may like. You might be surprised by what it loops in.
c:geo geobeagle googlemaps justgps and radar for geocaching
Make sure you calibrate your compass before using google sky. Otherwise you'll be pointing in the wrong direction!
The compass app - I think I downloaded a separate one- (so many things - who knows [ouch] ) - has several types of compass's I like the antique one - I just noticed it can show true north rather than magnetic north. Way cool.
Anybody know how many apps the Captivate or other Android can load without a problem? I guess till I run out of memory?
Depends which droid you have. The HTC EVO has a built in app killer when you exit the program. Some keep running in the background and unless you download the app killer you run out of memory even though you thought you closed the app.
Otherwise, if you are just running multiple apps, it will depend on the system memory of the phone, much like the system memory in your PC.
I started out to load the app killer earlier today - got sidetracked on a lot of cool stuff and now I need to check to see if I got it done or not.
Gee, this looks like fun. I wonder if my 2001 mono screen Nokia Tracfone can run Android? (I don't get cell service at the house so use this only when on the road or getting someone at the airport.)
I hope they get that new cell tower built soon. :(
Any of these phones (or service plans) that can switch over to Wifi when cell service is not available? That could work for me.
Opps Glenn may have already found the phone I need - Samsung Captivate with Super Amoled screen.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=9398.msg120865;topicseen#msg120865
Yes John- and it runs WiFi with full internet HTML - videos etc. I have a 16GB expansion Micro SDHC card coming - it goes to 32GB along with having 16GB internally. The 16GB card is under $30 .....try to get a class 6 (or 10?) if possible for faster speed -higher class is faster. Don't get mixed up and get a mini- SDHC. The 32GB is excessively high yet for me $140 appx?
Try to get an unlimited data plan if possible - I got Grandfathered in for $30 per month. Had it on my Blackberry, but ATT wants new people on the 2GB plan for $25 per month with increasing prices for going over.
I run mine on WiFi here at home - no time charges for the phone data on WiFi - just pull down the notifications to turn it on and off to conserve battery - I think you may need to turn it on in settings initially, but easy to do.
Unfortunately, all smart phone service providers require a data package in order to enable your phone. I wanted to just get a smart phone and use the wifi feature only, and not have to have a data package. I'm actually glad now that I have it. Some of them charge to turn on the GPS, and some charge a fee if you have a specific type of phone. For example, if you have the Sprint HTC 4G EVO, Sprint charges you an extra $10 a month.
If you buy the cheapest data package, using your WiFi feature will save you $$$$.
A few other apps I have gotten to like.
bubble - it's a fully functional bubble level that uses the phones sensors.
lookator - wifi app, that uses your camera, you aim it and it shows wireless networks and signal strength. Useful for mapping wireless (especially back to specific houses, apartments, businesses).
gstrings - chromatic tuner - tells you whatr notes your hearing. great for tuning instruments but also good enough to help you figure out and learn songs.
scanner radio - listen to public scanner networks on your phone. uses the gps to auto-determine whats close to you.
fxcamera - neat camera app that has different effects you can play with
sniper shot - camera app that has sniper rifle sites for aiming the shot placement.
talking tom - kids love this one. you can talk, he repeats, you can pet him or abuse him. he's funny.
2 games I like - waveblazer and raging thunder. you use the phone itself to drive ... kinda like a wii controller.
you got to have a task manager - sometimes apps hang, sometimes my geocaching software will just keep using gps and eating the battery. being able to kill tasks and respawn them without having to restart the phone is great. The one I use is called Task Manager.
OK, muldoon... I give up - I'm loading the Talking Tom.
Already got the bubble, scanner and G-string (on the phone).
Talking Tom is a riot.