apps

PicSay's stated purpose is to e-mail or text annotated photo messages to friends, but there's nothing stopping you from using the free program as a makeshift photo editor.

PicSay is a simple application made especially for Google Android, but it's nevertheless the most customization-focused application I've reviewed today. You start by choosing a picture from your photo album or the image you most recently viewed (this won't work if your Android phone is in mass storage mode.) Then press the Menu key to start adding in the special effects: word balloons, colorful headings, cartoony images, … Read more

WikiMobile Encyclopedia has been around for awhile for the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile Pocket PC, so it's no surprise to see it formatted for the Google Android G1 phone.

Just as advertised, WikiMobile Encyclopedia crawls Wikipedia.com for articles, offering up predictive search queries as you type your term. You can also search Wikipedia for a random article or browse what's popular, especially if you have a few minutes to kill or are looking for a factoid to impress people at a dinner party.

Interestingly, instead of scrolling or flicking the results page vertically, the app slices the … Read more

Why isn't there ever a cab around when you need one?

The free Google Android application Cab4Me Light makes finding, scheduling, and calling cabs to your side virtually brainless. Cab4Me Light's interface is simple and efficient, with one tab that shows where you are on the map and another that shows the details of cab companies in your area.

Step 1, drag your approximate location on a zoomable Google map. You can use GPS to locate yourself or enter a new address or a contacts' address to call the cab to a different location. Step 2, either click … Read more

BreadCrumbz (beta) is another one of the new Android apps I like. I got a run-through of the free multimedia directions app a few months ago with the developer, and I gave it a spin on my own here in San Francisco. BreadCrumbz uses GPS, Google maps, and the G1's camera phone to help you track a route, like directions from the train station to your house.

You essentially start a new route, take photos along the way to mark the path, and label everything with helpful hints. You can tag an image and annotate it with an arrow … Read more

I won't lie. It feels good getting a G1 Google Android phone in my hands. It's also a little paralyzing: so many new apps to explore, a new interface to learn; where to start? The free Google Talk app Maverick is as good as any. Admittedly, the G1 dutifully hosts individual IM clients for AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, and of course, Google Talk. The difference is that Maverick adds some panache and pizazz by layering in multimedia capabilities, like sending photos, scribbles, your GPS location, emoticons, and snippets of text.

It's a fun idea that pans … Read more

It seems that more and more automakers are jumping on this iPhone app bandwagon. First it was Audi, with its driving game. Then Mercedes-Benz launched an iPhone optimized Web site featuring video. Now, it's Ford's turn to throw its hat into the iPhone arena. Where the previous two examples were directly related to the cars and car culture, Ford has chosen to release a free photo editor. What?

The Ford Flex Photo Lab--try saying that five times fast--is essentially a collection of six photo filters that allow iPhone users to fix up or trick out their pictures. What … Read more

If you're interested in a chess game for the iPhone or iPod Touch, look no further than the App Store. I just searched for the keyword "chess" and found more than 10 entries, most of which were actually chess games.

With so many chess games to choose from, why would a developer want to release another into such a crowded market? Well, obviously they think they can do chess better than the next guy.

99Games must be pretty confident in its product, as it's going one step further. On Wednesday, it announced the availability of two … Read more

Google officially opened its Android Market Wednesday and promised that beginning next year, programmers will get the lion's share of revenue from applications sold on the download site for the company's mobile phone operating system.

The first incarnation of the Android Market has more than 50 applications available for download, but they're all free. Google said the site will be able to distribute paid applications early in the first quarter of 2009.

More applications are on the way, and programmers will be able to add their own starting Monday in a process that reflects a much more … Read more

Wednesday marks the release of the HTC Dream T-Mobile G1 featuring Google Android. If you're planning to pick one up, you're probably going to want to do something other than make calls and send texts. I mean it is a phone, for crying out loud.

On the same day, Zelfi will release a new software development and gaming platform for Google Android, called Joyity.

Once you have it installed, you'll be able to play a number of games designed for the platform. Joyity games are unique in that they are physically interactive and some require you to … Read more