Applications

Create a simple to-do list on Android home screen

Many people use sticky notes at home and work to act as simple reminders. Their ease of use and high visibility make them perfect for creating a daily task list, keeping a shopping list for the grocery store, or taking important notes. Sticky Note for Android provides the same basic functionality with some extra helpful features.

Developed by Bratag, Sticky Note works by placing a small widget anywhere on your home screen. The widget looks exactly like a real note that is pinned to your desktop. Tap the note once and it expands to full-screen mode to display all the … Read more

Other Pre Users Speak Out: Part I

I asked Pre users at PreCentral.net what they would say to Sprint/Palm about their user experiences if they had the opportunity, and here's what they said (more to come in future posts).

User "jimhuff" had the following to report:

I switched to Sprint from AT&T just to get the Pre. I'm extremely happy with the phone out of the box and I'm excited about it's potential. My salesman at the corporate store is great and I've had several good experiences with customer service on the phone. I really got … Read more

Third Party Apps: Tweed

Let me just get this out of the way: The Palm App Catalog sucks. Give it time and there will be plenty to choose from, but right now there are only a few gems in there. I was at first eager and hopeful when I saw Classic, by MotionApps, which is an emulator and allows you to install any of the applications that were designed for Palm OS on webOS. It would make thousands of applications availble to Pre owners, but two things are keeping me from purchasing right now: the $30 price tag and the plethora of poor reviews. … Read more

Still no Public Transit Info on Palm

About a day after the public transit option on Google Maps was released on the web, I wanted to be able to use it on my phone. Of course, it was not available at the time, but I remained hopeful that one day soon I would be able to make use of it to check bus schedules on the go, a killer app for someone who is vehicle-less in a metro city. One by one, my firends with iPhones and Windows Mobile phones got the use of public transit and I still waited, left out in the cold by Palm/Google.

Eventually, I found out that Google never planned to develop a new update of their Maps application on the old Palm OS. That made sense, I reasoned, with webOS coming out so soon. Surely, they must develop the option for the new Palm OS though, right? It was one of the first three things that I checked upon getting my Pre activated and it sure seemed to me that the option still was not present.… Read more

Top 5 iPhone guitar tools

Guitarists are typically a pretty hesitant bunch when it comes to adopting new tech. In fact, most guitarists I know spend their time lusting after vintage guitars and vacuum tube amps--casting disdainful sneers at anything that looks as though it were invented after 1980.

That said, the majority of my musician friends are also iPhone owners. Their excuse for allowing a smartphone into their otherwise low-tech lifestyle is that they want to stay connected with their fans via e-mail, SMS, Twitter, or whatever app of the month might help them promote their music and their shows.

If you're a … Read more

Featured App: Camera

My impressions of the camera on the Palm Pre.

The camera on the Palm Pre is pretty nice. Images are much more clear and colors more true than they were on my Blackberry Pearl.

Using the camera is straight-forward. The screen view shows you a very small (too small to see) thumbnail preview, a green camera button that can be used to capture images, and a flash on/off/auto button.

With no zoom or video recording capability, the Pre's 3.2 megapixel camera simply takes a pretty good picture and offers no bells and whistles. And it takes it relatively fast. You can capture about 4 pictures in 5 seconds.

I have read that some are unhappy with the fact that once you take a picture, you do not see a full, clear image of the shot you just took--rather, you see the small thumbnail. However, if this is the necessary compromise for being able to take pics so fast, I am actually totally fine not having a larger instant preview.

I love having the on/off/auto flash button right there on the first screen. I found it very annoying with my BB Pearl that I had to open a menu, scroll to flash, open flash, and then choose the option I wanted, and back out to take a pic. The Pre makes this adjustment much easier.

Manage multiple Twitter accounts with your iPhone

Some of us have multiple Twitter accounts that we need to manage. We have an account for work and an account for personal use. In that case, switching between usernames can be a pain. Luckily, there's an easy way to manage multiple Twitter accounts with some basic apps.

We've taken a look at a couple of services that will help you manage those accounts on your computer, but what about when you're away from home?

We have you covered there too. Let's take a look at iPhone apps that help you manage multiple Twitter accounts.

Manage multiple accounts

LaTwit Although LaTwit lets you post updates to multiple accounts, including those from Twitter, Identi.ca, and others, its interface is difficult to get used to. In fact, it detracts from the experience of using the app. If you're looking for other features, LaTwit also lets you post multiple tweets if your update exceeds the 140-character limit. But for $2.99, it might not be worth the price tag.

SimplyTweet SimplyTweet comes in two flavors: a Lite version for those who want a free app and a paid version with all the SimplyTweet features, which includes multiple user accounts. Don't let SimplyTweet's name fool you--it's not so simple. The app lets you draft notes, update your stream with iPhone photos, and more. It has a slew of features. The paid version is available for $3.99.

TweetDeck TweetDeck is my favorite mobile Twitter client. Like its desktop alternative, the app provides a column view, making it easy to see all kinds of Twitter data pass you by. Plus, it makes it extremely easy to manage multiple accounts, creating a scenario where updating all your accounts will only take just a few seconds. TweetDeck also shortens URLs before you post to your stream. Overall, it's a great app. And since it's free, you'll probably like it even more.… Read more

Android ringtone swap: First Look video

You've got time to cut and save one ringtone on your Android phone, but what about three or ten or twenty? If you're too busy to edit a bundle, check out Sharetones 1.0 beta, a new app that takes a clever twist on the concept of ringtone sales.

We'll leave you to our First Look video for the details, but let's just say it's legal and lightening-fast. Best yet, for a limited time, it's also free.

Here Come The Apps

The biggest drawback of the Palm Pre for me right now? There are very few

applications in the App Catalog since it has yet to open to third-party developers. However, word is that Palm is slowly starting to ask developers or were let in on the Mojo SDK beta to start submitting the finalized version of their apps. Let us all rejoice! PreThinking has a sneak peek at one of these very applications, Flickr Nearby.

So as apps are going to start to trickle in, I thought I'd make a list of some I'd really like to see on the Pre. Hit the jump to check them out!… Read more

Pandora headed to Android with premium features

It took awhile, but Pandora is finally coming to the Android mobile platform. And even better, it's set to launch a new premium service called Pandora One.

Pandora is a music discovery service Web site created by the Music Genome Project that's currently available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and most recently the Palm Pre. By analyzing over 400 musical attributes, Pandora is able to identify traits in music and suggest new songs that are similar to what you requested. Just type in an artist or song you like and Pandora will create a personalized radio station based on that single selection.