Applications are meant to make things easier for us whenever we use our Smartphone. When it comes to social media and networking having applications that could help keep you connected is very important. There are many applications that are available that will allow you to do just that. I chat a lot and I use  Facebook on a regular basis, I try to stay in touch with friends and family too, hence the need for applications that could provide me with reliable service. Without much ado let me show you a few of the social media applications I use on my phone.

Facebook:

This Facebook application enables you to view the news feeds, your friend’s profile, photos, take a photo, view notifications, post a status update and view your own profile. I can’t say it doesn’t have features, but it is still lacking compared to the iPhone application which features a Facebook Chat. With this new Facebook update, one can view pictures within the app though tagging is still not enabled. They’ve also added an inbox so I can view my messages within the application which is a huge improvement. I can comment or like a status or post, and if I have to view a link it opens in the native browser . If you could bear with the shortcomings of this application then you should have no problem using it. FYI no Farmville or Mafia Wars .

Seesmic:

There are many twitter applications available on the Android OS and Seesmic is one of them. Released around December ‘09 Seesmic for Android has been a very reliable application to use when tweeting. No force closes and the basic features are straight forward and easy to use. You could view the timeline, mentions or @replies, direct messages and view your profile. It also allows one to use multiple accounts and switching between them is a breeze.

Palringo:

This is a multi-platform chat application that allows you to chat with your buddies from different services, Gtalk, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook and so many more. You have the option to appear online or offline or invisible for various IM services. You could send a picture via chat and the person receives it as a link, which they could view from any web browser. It is very simple to use and very straight forward.

Gtalk:

I use Gtalk to communicate with my close friends and associates. Its a great messenger to have on your android phone, whenever you are on the go. Not too many people use Gtalk but it is fun to use regardless of it’s popularity.

FourSquare:

Foursquare is a location sharing application. Some people consider it unsafe to share their location, I consider it to be my breadcrumbs. You get badges and mayorships depending on how much you use the application to log your location. I sometimes forget to use it for godsake and I am missing out on the badges :/!!!

Twitter for Android:

Twitter for Android was released a few weeks ago. It is light, and easy to use, most of all its the official Twitter application for android. You have the options to view tweets, your list, your @mentions, retweets, direct messages and your profile. No you can’t add a second account and  you can’t edit retweets.

Do you have applications that you use regularly for social networking and it was not mentioned? Please share your apps !

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion and in no way did I receive compensation for these application reviews.

There are a list of twitter apps for android each having their own pros and cons. Yesterday Hootsuite released HootSuite for Android and welcomed the robots.

Despite worldwide adoration, the HootSuite iPhone App seemed a bit lonely. So the thoughtful developers went back to the factory to build more robots including HootSuite for Android. In fact, they had so much fun, they made Lite (free) robots too.

HootSuite is a professional Twitter client that lets users manage their entire twitter experience from an easy – to – use interface. Business users are mostly fond of it as you could schedule tweets and look at data from the ow.ly links. There are two versions of the HootSuite for Android application, the free (lite) and the full version. Both the free and full versions feature multiple accounts with the lite being limited to only three accounts. Plus there is on-board click-through statistics tracking to see what’s working in (almost) real-time available in the full featured version only. The good thing about HootSuite is that it syncs your web profile to the phone .

Streams:

View Full Album

You have the option after you login to view whichever stream you want. Home Feed, Mentions, Direct Message (inbox) and Sent, it all depends on the settings of your web application. It’s a real simple way of getting access  to your streams to view tweets. The overall layout of  HootSuite is clean, similar to Seesmic’s layout. I could see that they really had fun creating this application. With the flick of your finger (right or left) you could go through all of your streams with ease.

Profiles:

View Full Album

Having the ability to view a follower’s profile is very convenient. The layout makes each section accessible with a tab to view. The tabs are as follows the Profile, Timeline, Mentions, Following stats, Follower Stats, Favorites and List. You have full access to a person’s profile all within this application.

Scheduling Tweets:

Scheduling tweets is an easy way to tweet while you away from your computer. HootSuite utilizes the same methods from it’s online web app, schedule for later. I’ve used it and it works as said, no glitches and no late tweets. If you see a tweet and you don’t have the time to retweet it save it for later .

Posting a Tweet and Retweeting:

It’s easy as 1-2-3 and send. Tweeting using the HootSuite App is very easy. Unlike seesmic you could see a calendar icon which allows you to schedule your tweets, it also has a camera icon and a link shortener icon both of these are on the seesmic app. You can edit your Retweet and see how many characters you have remaining.

Unmasking a Shortened Link:

I noticed that all links are unmasked to give you the full link  an excellent feature of HootSuite for Android. I will know if the link is broken or if it is spam. Thumbs up on that feature HootSuite!!

This is a roundup on the HootSuite for Android application.

Pros:

• Clean Layout and UI
• Very User Friendly
• A lot of Options
• Schedule for later
• Unmasking links
• Updates fast
• Syncs web profile to phone app

Cons:

• There are no cons at this moment well in my humble opinion if you do find a con please comment to let me know.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion and in no way did I receive compensation for this application review.

A few months ago I posted about some cool apps for your windows phone, today I will be doing the same for Android. Its been about 2 months since I’ve had my Moto Droid and I have to say I am still in love with it. Upon the request of a friend I will share with you a few of the apps I consider to be a must have. Android is gaining users and I welcome my friend and Designer Jerlyn…she just moved over to the dark side .

While the Android Market is  not as big as the Apple App Store, there are still applications to choose from. Some of them very useful while others less could be said of them. Here is part one on how I use my Android phone.

Astro File Manager

Once you mount your phone to your computer and gain access to the SD card you could drag files onto the card, so you could take them with you. However, there is no native way of accessing that card via your phone. That is where Astro File Manager comes in. It is a simple application that gives you access to your SD to view the files that you transferred over from your computer.

WaveSecure

Wave Secure is an application that could be used to backup SMS, contacts and call logs. It is an alternative to MobileMe for the iPhone that could be used to lock down your phone if stolen, and also wipe data. Its an  easy and simple way for me to backup my info.

Dolphin Browser:

When I got my Droid about a week later they confirmed that it was a multi-touch device also. Sometimes I hated to double tap just to zoom so I got the Dolphin browser app. It is fast, very responsive and it renders web pages with ease, though you know it could make do with some improvements. Its no Safari Mobile browser but its still something .

PdaNet:

In order to tether on an Android phone one has the option to root their phone (Only people willing to brick their phones should attepmt) or to purchase PdaNet for $29.00. I can attest that it works…well maybe not for the Sprint customers. Remember however even though your plan says unlimited please be careful what you use your tethering abilities to do.

**Update**

PdaNet is working on the Sprint Network

Flixster:

Everytime I think of a movie and what time should I go I always use the app flixster. It is a simple way of finding out which movies are out, which movies are blockbusters, which movies are coming out the current week.

WordPress For Android:

Since its release I have to say that this application is essential for on the go blogging. It is very easy to use and creating a post and reviewing comments. It is a must have if you are a wordpress blogger.

Shazam:

Shazam is a funny name for an app I must say, but it’s an app that works. No longer do you have to rely on Verizon’s V-Cast app just to be able to identify that song. Its a plus especially if I hear something I like I could get it right away and use it with my Spotify app.

Spotify:

The release of this application has not been announced and there are quite a few of us waiting for its release here in the US. Having an offline playlist and even the ability to search and play on the go is a plus. I love using it with shazam to discover new music on the go.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion and in no way did I receive compensation for these application reviews.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I loved Apple’s implementation of MobileMe locate and find for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. To see companies create apps for the other phones that could compete with MobileMe locate and find is actually great. On my Samsung Omnia I used LookOut Beta which I will review later on for you. Which brings me to talk about Mobile Defense.

Mobile Defense is an application now in its beta form for Android Phones. I’ve seen where people refer to it as the Lojack for Android as that is what it does. I am really impressed by this application, praying that I do not have to actually use it one day, it could be a great app to have on your phone.

Locate and Find: 

The locate and find feature states that it will take up to 4 minutes to find your location. However it depends solely on the GPS transmitting your location. A text message is also sent to your phone which enables Mobile Defense to connect to your phone and your GPS to activate. Surprisingly it gives you a very accurate location so you know exactly where it is.

Details:

Once you click on the details option the tracking details are shown. You could view the location info, the phone status and the location providers. It gives you a very detailed tracking information, which is impressive. You could email yourself the information or simple close the box.

Alert:

You do have the option to play a sound (which is LOUD) and send a message or require a pin to unlock and send a message. Both are very effective and should aid with finding your phone. Only one issue it could be deactivated when pressing the back button . Hopefully they will address this problem.

Lock and Unlock:

Speaks for itself, it unlocks and locks the phone remotely. So if you have the pattern lock it will unlock your phone. One other issue it removes the pattern lock.

Mobile Defense is a very comprehensive app that could help with the easy recovery of your phone. With room for errors I should say, it is indeed a great application, with only a few minor issues. So it is therefore a great app to keep handy. If you hold your phone as close to your body as I do I doubt you will need it, its however better to be safe than sorry.

The year 2009 has shown me that in life there are challenges and there are challenges that people create just to pull you down. As I am getting older, I’ve come to realize that if you don’t care about yourself no one really cares about you. I’ve accomplished a lot during this past year, and I have to say there were some things that evaded me. Can I say that I regret 2009? The answer is NO, as signs were sent to me and I learned quite a bit from them. Not to be negative, but I learned that there are friends and then there are “friends”. People would do anything to keep you where you are not wanting you to progress, like crabs they pull you down with them.

It takes a trigger to make you wake up and realize that something is wrong, and that you need to do something about that problem. You meet new people and realize that they have more issues than you, but then you learn about yourself as you try to help them. You realize that life is not as bad as it seems and therefore you stop wading in your misery, pull up your socks and you decide enough is enough. My favorite quote for the year 2009 is: "Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege."~Unknown. I think it’s self explanatory .

As I reflect on the year 2009 I cannot dwell only on the bad things, as that is not good. It was a good year despite the shortcomings and I am appreciating my blessings, my family and the friends I have. Life is too short to dwell on the bad, so many lives were lost suddenly due to car accidents, murders and illness. Cherishing your loved ones till your dying breath, loving them unconditionally (minus having to pay their expenses when it’s their fault) and showing them that you care is living happy. Learning to love yourself and cherishing yourself is also a way to see happiness.

I will not make any resolutions for the coming year 2010 as life is what you make of  it. Life is so unpredictable at times and therefore I see it fit to deal with the circumstances as they come. That does not mean however that I do not have a plan for a “just-incase-matter”. I do wish upon myself as I will wish for others that they will have a prosperous New Year and that good things may come their way. Despite any shortcomings they appreciate life and whatever it dishes out to them. We all have to make sacrifices, but in the end the reward is satisfying.

As the New Year dawns upon us I wish everyone a bright and a prosperous New Year.