Best apps for Android smart phone?

[Music Lover]

The only app I have on my phone is a flashlight app...it comes in very handy.

 

[travelover]

Telephone app. Can call anyone anywhere. Works in any language. Who knew?


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[NW-Bound]

Oh, that app! Nice thing that it came preinstalled on the device.

 

[travelover]

Oh, that app! Nice thing that it came preinstalled on the device.

And get this....people can call you,too.



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[NW-Bound]

Even if you do not give out your number?

And in my case, even when I have the device turned off? It uses too much power and does not last as long as the old dumb phone.

 

[travelover]

Even if you do not give out your number?



And in my case, even when I have the device turned off? It uses too much power and does not last as long as the old dumb phone.

Yes, Microsoft technical services calls and they don't have my number. Evidently my windows have a virus.


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[bUU]

Oh, that app! Nice thing that it came preinstalled on the device.

Pfah, I prefer Google Voice to the preinstalled app.

 

[FIYes]

Is there an app to sync with icalendar? I keep my calendar on my iPad and would like to sync up to my phone so that if I am out and about and want to enter an appointment I can tell if my calendar is free at that time. I asked this question at the Apple Store and was told talk to my phone provider. Sorry, I have Tracfone and they are great for being cheap but forget about customer service. Hey, you get what you pay for and I plan to keep my cell phone cost at under a $100 per year. I have a basic lg android smartphone. Probably a dumb question with an obvious answer but I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction. I really like using the calendar on my iPad and it would be handy to sync with the phone.


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[Lsbcal]

I don't know anything about iCalendar but one can use Google Sheets as a form of calendar. Google Sheets will sync with an android phone.

Also there is Google Calendar and sync'ing works there too:
https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/151674?hl=en

 

[target2019]

Is there an app to sync with icalendar? I keep my calendar on my iPad and would like to sync up to my phone so that if I am out and about and want to enter an appointment I can tell if my calendar is free at that time. I asked this question at the Apple Store and was told talk to my phone provider. Sorry, I have Tracfone and they are great for being cheap but forget about customer service. Hey, you get what you pay for and I plan to keep my cell phone cost at under a $100 per year. I have a basic lg android smartphone. Probably a dumb question with an obvious answer but I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction. I really like using the calendar on my iPad and it would be handy to sync with the phone.

We use google apps for most things. The calendar is in google app. Add the google account to the smartphone, and your calendar(s) is there. Then add the google account to ipad. I do this on iphone, and I know daughter does this on ipad.

 

[bUU]

The biggest cross-platform support problem seems to be calendaring. We use Outlook on our PCs. It has not always been easy sticking with that. Microsoft now has Outlook.com, and therefore allows you to maintain a calendar in the cloud, but at times in the past the interface with the workstation copy has gotten munged. It seems pretty stable now (finally!) so we can rely on having the same calendar on workstation (even when it is briefly disconnected) and on our mobile Android devices.

What seems clear, though, is that Google's services are the most reliable with regard to interconnection between platforms. We'd switch to them wholesale if they had a mail and calendar client for the PC that is as good as Outlook.

 

[target2019]

What seems clear, though, is that Google's services are the most reliable with regard to interconnection between platforms. We'd switch to them wholesale if they had a mail and calendar client for the PC that is as good as Outlook.

Who is we? If it's business application, I see the advantage.

Gmail and other Google Apps live in a browser by design. I don't use desktop notifications or attempt to integrate apps with my pc. For very small business and home use Google Apps are sufficient.

I do use the owa hosted service with Megacorp email and that works well.

 

[kneehigh]

What seems clear, though, is that Google's services are the most reliable with regard to interconnection between platforms. We'd switch to them wholesale if they had a mail and calendar client for the PC that is as good as Outlook.

Switched from MS calendar client to Google services a long time ago and I'm glad I did. Outlook excels in visual interface and features but nothing beats Google for it's simplicity, practicality and integration in my IMHO. The benefits you gain out-ways the needless features you lose. Try it.

 

[karen1972]

Is there an app to sync with icalendar? I keep my calendar on my iPad and would like to sync up to my phone so that if I am out and about and want to enter an appointment I can tell if my calendar is free at that time. I asked this question at the Apple Store and was told talk to my phone provider. Sorry, I have Tracfone and they are great for being cheap but forget about customer service. Hey, you get what you pay for and I plan to keep my cell phone cost at under a $100 per year. I have a basic lg android smartphone. Probably a dumb question with an obvious answer but I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction. I really like using the calendar on my iPad and it would be handy to sync with the phone.


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I'm not aware of any that you can update an ical directly from Android. My honey only uses apple and me android. The best solution I've found so far is to keep 2 calendars using Cozi. I sent a link to him from Cozi and his ical recognizes it and displays it there. I can also link to his ical so I see his. So we both see each others, but its still NOT the same calendar. However, since no one else is relying on looking at it, it works just about as good... if you find something better let me know as I went on a 3 month search and this was the best I found.

 

[target2019]

This describes the concept. I think what is missing from the poster's tracfone is a Gmail account. Until a Gmail account is added to the tracfone (I have such on my tracfone), you are missing the full experience.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/synchronizing-ical-android-31913.html

 

[kneehigh]

So, I keep hearing about all these great apps for smartphones - that let you compare prices and do other useful things. What apps do you use a lot? Do you have any to recommend for sheer usefulness?

Thanks,

Amethyst

-Most of the useful apps have already been mentioned multiple times so I'll concentrate on the ones that were not mentioned.
-Along with the Harmony Keyboard, I use Harmony app to control all my devices either from the keyboard or the app. I control everything including ps3, tv, soundbar, roku, cctv, etc. With the app, I have the same access/control anywhere I have internet.
-I use YNAB to maintain my budget. This is the most valuable app I have. It keeps me from over-spending.
-WIFI Analyser helps monitor and troubleshoot the signal strength of your wifi. Found out that 2.4 GHz is stronger in a couple of rooms than 5 GHz.
-911 widget button. Dials emergency in one click. Have shortcut button for DW phone, etc.
-Hangouts and Facetime (iphone) for face-to-face communication with the family.

 

[FIYes]

Thanks Target! I have a gmail account on my tracfone. I must be missing some setting. I will review the link you provided.


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[bUU]

Who is we?

My spouse and I.

I don't use desktop notifications or attempt to integrate apps with my pc.

The main advantage of Outlook for us is the ease by which we can archive, search and retrieve old mail and old appointments, within our control on our own storage devices, even with the Internet is down or inaccessible. We won't switch until we have a very high assurance that we can do the same with Google, just as easily, and again, stored on our own storage devices.

We each have our own priorities - right now, Google doesn't measure up to our criteria.

 

[target2019]

Yes, your need to find old appointments and email is not something I prioritize. The Internet has not been down long enough to cause a problem, that I can recall. Use of email has evolved over time, so I have access to Gmail, thunderbird, yahoo and others. If really necessary, email can be archived locally. I don't have that as an absolute requirement, but do have a lot of email offline. Important pdf files for finances are stored and encrypted locally.

 

[target2019]

Chrome is installed on phone and tablet- both are android. I was using the supplied browser on tracfone yesterday, opened by accident. What drek that is.

On the phone, an Ultimate something irvother, I set Google news as home page, and investigate the news from there.

Phone is on WiFi, so the cost of reading is very small.