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by avar 5370 days ago
I'm running a Samsung Galaxy S2 that I've rooted. Here's my most commonly used applications, all of which I recommend:

* Smart Keyboard Pro: https://market.android.com/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeybo... -- Allows me to use a Dvorak keyboard on the phone, but even if you don't use Dvorak it's still a great purchase. It has a lot of options to make your typing more efficient that the stock keyboard doesn't have.

* The Kindle app to read books. Now I mostly use it to read .mobi files I've downloaded instead of buying things at the Amazon store, for which it works brilliantly. I wish it allowed copy/pasting of text though.

Google Reader for RSS/Atom

* GMail application for GMail.

* The stock Mail application for work IMAP, although I'll test out K-9 mentioned in this thread

* ColorNote for taking notes / shopping lists.

* live logcat for the novelty of having a l33t boot sequence (and getting rid of that annoying Samsung boot-up sound): https://market.android.com/details?id=eu.chainfire.livelogca...

* Root Explorer to manage root-only files.

* Skype to make video calls

* ConnectBot to ssh from the phone, although I haven't found out how to enable landscape mode in it, which is annoying.

* Listen for podcasts, although I haven't found out how to make it auto-download say the last 3 podcasts of everything I subscribe to.

* BBC News and Al Jazeera video for some world news

* Gh4a to browse GitHub

* AdFree to block spam

* Screenshot to take screenshots

* WolframAlpha for any sort of conversion / math queries.

* A PushUp / SitUp / Squats app (all separate apps) for managed stationary exercise. Although I'd like to find something that I could turn on and would give me instructions for a general N-minute workout that could be done at home.

Things I wish I didn't have to use, or don't know how to do, but haven't found out how to replace / do:

* The default Samsung camera application. There's no way to turn off the shutter noise on it, and it'll plain refuse to take pictures if the battery is low.

* The default task switcher, which often doesn't list the application I've just switched from (even though it's still open)

* The default system clipboard which doesn't seem to have a history / search feature like Emacs's kill ring.

* Having the default Samsung apps installed on the phone. I tried to use Titanium Backup PRO but it didn't work for removing or freezing them.

* Having something like Gesture search which searches across the entire phone but doesn't require me to draw on the screen, I just want to type a query.

* Sometimes the phone will go into some sort of voice command mode. I haven't found out how to disable it.

Lastly I plan to write an application that hooks into the "Share" handler for text/plain content and extracts the content of the clipboard, scans it for a URL, and pastes that to the clipboard.

I've found that quite a few apps have a "Share" functionality, but no "copy the URL of what I'm looking at to the clipboard", and I haven't found any existing app that works around this.

8 comments

something ... which searches across the entire phone

You can actually use the default Google Search app that comes installed on most versions of Android. You just have to go into its settings and tell it to search more than just the web.

And as far as removing those default apps that you can not uninstall: since you already have your phone rooted, you can just delete or rename their process files and they will be effectively uninstalled.

>>There's no way to turn off the shutter noise on it,

Use root explorer to find the sound files (sorry I can't remember where they are off the top of my head) rename them or just delete them and restart your phone.

You need make sure you get all the focus/shutter files.

There was at some point a bill to make it illegal for a phone to not make some sort of shutter noise. I can't determine whether it passed (I don't think so), so you may want to be careful about this. This may also explain why you can't turn it off easily - manufacturers would have been responsible for changing it so you couldn't turn it off had the bill passed.
That works for everything but the autofocus sound, I disabled the shutter sound using this method, but the autofocus sound is compiled into the camera application.
Just one comment on this high-quality list, for podcasting.

Google seems to have basically abandoned 'google listen'. After trying various programs, I've settled on BeyondPod. While it takes a while to configure and has some rough edges, it will automatically download new episodes and delete old ones.

It lets you set to only download when the phone is on wi-fi, or charging, or both (my personal preference).

I wish Google had at least released the sources for Listen. I like it far better than the three or four podcast apps (including BeyondPod), but it needs maintenance.
doggcatcher is the app I use for podcasting. It is highly configurable, can do all the things you mention and a lot more, and isn't rough around the edges at all.
//* Screenshot to take screenshots

Does the back button + Home combo (works for Galaxy S) not work for S2 ?

>> I tried to use Titanium Backup PRO but it didn't work for removing or freezing them.

Worked for me. What happens if you launch them after attempting to freeze?

>> Screenshot to take screenshots

You don't need an app for this. Hold menu + power button.

It just refused to work (i.e. clicking on "freeze" with those apps returned an error), and since it's a paid application I only had 15 minutes to try it out if I wanted a refund.
On samsung it is hold back button + click home button.
This sounds like just what you're after for a N-minute workout

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skimble.workouts&#...

>>> Sometimes the phone will go into some sort of voice command mode

That happens when you press the home button twice. Happens to me all the time.

Or a double-tap of the phone body it's a feature in Settings>Motion
There is no sound on mine when I've turned sound off. You didn't try muting it? :-)