Day 2: The Essentials

Okay, so now you bought a droid. You feel good, Google feels better, and the world becomes a bit more connected. Now what? Well I would say you need the following bare essentials to get you through the day:

1) Advanced Task Killer

QR Code

Okay, you will discover quickly that a Droid unleashed will eat through battery power faster than a fat kid eats cake. That's because when they say it's a "multi-tasking" machine, they really aren't kidding around. So if you open an application and then close out of it, often times it's sucking up precious RAM just being on. The Advanced Task Killer works great as a front page quickie, that you open every once in a while, select all unused programs and hit "Kill". It's fast simple, and really helps with battery power. 

While I'm at it, also remember to occasionally go into "Settings"---> "Application Settings" ---> "Running Services" to keep an eye on what's running. Often times apps will have never been opened, but their access to check for constant updates will have them running in the background.

2) Barcode Scanner

Okay, so basically this is a must. This nifty little app helps you scan in any bar code and read the info provided. That includes Data Matrix and QR Codes. So let's say you want to know what your Cereal Box code says, just line up the barcode to the red line and scan, presto... info. What's more is you can search the Internet for that code to find additional info. Not enough? Well imagine being able to link to contacts, restaurant websites, and a host of other places through this nifty app.

Still not enough, well think of it this way. From now on, those QR codes you see above will be the fastest way to link to an app in the market place. Just scan and it takes you directly. Also its a cool way to impress people with your phone prowess (and it makes Blackberry users jealous, since they just pass around Pin's through this tech).

3) Dolphin Browser HD

So the little browser that comes with the Droid is a start. But compare it to Safari on an Iphone and you might start to get jealous. That's where you whip out your Dolphin Browser and send any Iphone fanatics back to Cupertino, CA (there's a great Google Maps app for that). First, it allows multiple tabs. Second you can train it to respond to finger drawings to cut down time. Third, with Flash, it comes pretty close to mimicking an actual browser. All in all, an awesome product.

4) Facebook

You knew this was coming right? Yes, I know, Facebook may or may not run your life yet, but it will soon (I'm pretty sure even Skynet is a little unnerved by the amount of information available about humans on-line). But why fight it, right, I mean the machines will come soon enough. So download the FB app (mind you the Droid comes with it's own version of "Social Networking", but it is terrible. This app is stream-lined and brings minute-by-minute coverage of what Timmy thinks about yellow fire hydrants (he thinks they're "weird").

5) ShoutOUT

This text-to-speech app is great because its relatively accurate, very handy, and most importantly, it's free. For those of us who went from keys to touch screen, typing long messages gets annoying. Here you just push a button, say it, and see it on the screen. Now, to be honest, it does occasionally screw up the words, and it doesn't understand slang or similar-sounding words as well as I'd like, but again, it's free. A particularly convenient alternative to typing while driving.

Congratulations, your Droid is now considered "basic".