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.

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.

Finally I got my hands on Spotify and I am praying dearly for it to be finally released here in the US. Don’t ask me how I got to try it out, just know that I did. IT IS AMAZING…that is the simple way of putting it. I could see where they were coming from trying to reduce the number of piracy, and illegal downloads happening *cough* *cough*. However, with it being only limited and as of now a price tag of £9.99 or $16.00 USD is really not very appealing as I pay only 3.00 per month for last.fm. The question on the table is will people be willing to pay $16.00 a month just to run an app like Spotify or will Spotify reduce the amount that people will have to pay in order to access the service.

Here are some of the things I loved about Spotify:

Search:

The ease of searching for a song and finding a whole CD or even a few of the artist’s songs is really what should I say, impressive? I searched for Buju Banton and had the pleasure of finding some old hits, and even some songs that were practically stuck in my head for days. The good thing is you could play the whole list from the search results. Which brings me to the next  pointer:

 Offline Play:

With each search result, you could right click and add that song to a personalized playlist. Mine for example is called just for play. The offline mode allows you to virtually add the song to your playlist without buying it and so you could play it at will on that device whenever you want. Disadvantage to that is you will have to buy the song if you want it to play on other devices. I have no need however to add my songs to another device, and so I am quite comfortable with my playlist.

  Home:

The home tab shows you all of the latest and most popular songs that are available and those that are being played by other users. Plus they give you access to new releases which is actually a great opportunity to hear an album before purchasing it .

 Desktop Application: 

The desktop app once signed in gives you the same access as it would on the phone. Your playlist is available and you could also search for songs and add them to your playlist. Please note that your playlist would be updated on the phone almost immediately and vice versa.

Spotify is a work in progress however, and I do hope they reconsider their pricing as no one would want to pay such a high price just to listen to music that cannot be transferred. A great application that could possibly curb  your appetite for illegal downloads and an excellent choice if you want to listen to an artist’s hit songs without buying the cd. So far I am loving my run with Spotify, it sure gives itunes a run for its money. Hopefully you can try it too when it is released hopefully in 2010.

Disclaimer: I am using a fully paid and active version of Spotify Premium.

Well sorry for neglecting you for some time, and yes I know it’s been a long time but I’ve been getting things sorted and making complicated decisions. You know the things adults do (yuck ). I do hope that you are enjoying this day a special day not only meant for giving gifts but for cherishing the moments we have with family. I know times are hard but that  doesn’t mean however that you can’t enjoy the holidays. In times like these a smile and a little bit of love is all someone needs. Having fun times together is cherished more than a gift, but hey people think differently. So Merry Christmas to you!