So I joined the world of smart phones at the beginning of the month with my Droid MyTouch 4G and entered a whole unknown territory. Then I got fed up with the Swype Keyboard – specifically the weird placement of the space bar in landscape mode and the horrid battery life and switched to the G2.
InshaAllah I won’t be looking back or switching to a new phone anytime soon. Let go back to the whole unknown territory part of the post.. the Android App Market.
The Apple App Store is really straight forward and most apps are trust worthy given they had to go through the Apple Store approval process – which filters out the sucky apps but the Droid Market is like that bar in Star Wars where Hans Solo meets up with the Jedi – the OK Corral of App Stores – where your entering the saloon and not sure what your going to get what you ordered at the bar once you paid.
So I thought I might help fellow readers who have Droid out by sharing the Apps I love and use regularly.
–General Apps–
Islam Athan Alarm- I first tried Masjid Now and it turned out to be a rogue app – killed my battery. Then I found Islam Athan Alarm by Cantan Group Inc – perfection in its simplicity – an athan alarm that functions even when the phone is locked and a compass which is accurate as well. It also comes with the ability to change the language interface so you don’t need to read English to use it.
AK Note Pad- Perfect for jotting down a random reminder or keeping passwords on hand. It also can be locked with a password to secure any information you enter into the app.
Touch Down- *Free Trial* My old mytouch4G although advertised to work with Microsoft Exchange mail server – actually didn’t. So to work around this fault in the phone – I downloaded the trial of this app. It works great! Syncs everything in Outlook including my work calendar. However its price tag $39+ dollars is painful. If my G2 can’t pull mail.. I will cough up the coins for this app but InshaAllah I won’t have too.
Google Voice- Visual voicemail that works with any phone – I even used it with my old Blackberry Curve.
WomanLog – I think this is a great app for any woman but even better when your a Muslimah to be able to plan ahead on tracking that time of the month to plan when you can fast & pray.. and when you can’t. I just wish it had a code lock feature.
—Helpful On the Go—
BART Usher- This is a great app for making sure to catch the BART on time. It has a BART map, it allows for scheduling ahead of time to catch the BART and any advisory notices that pop up.
Yelp – When I need to find any business fast and know if its worth the money or not – this is my go to App. In addition the Nearby feature is great when your in a rush or looking for a place to eat and your somewhere unfamiliar
Relax and Sleep- This is like a sound machine in your pocket. I often have difficulty sleeping in new places due to unfamiliar sounds – so this little app lets me play the same Ocean sound like I have at home without packing my whole sound machine with me on my trips.
Skype- Calls over Wifi and IMing with people from far away places? Oh yes you can.
QR Droid- Allows your phone to read QR Codes and create them with any information you want to encode – everything from a phone number to a random question.
Google Sky- Ever been curious about the night sky? This app takes your camera on your phone and you on a journey to the stars.
—-Food—-
Epicurious- Out of ideas for meals? This is an awesome way to get new recipes to try and ideas for when nothing comes to mind. It has a great shopping list feature that you can add recipes you like to so you won’t forget what you need when you go shopping.
Urban Spoon- Hmm.. hungry… I want to find some Mexican but not pay over $10.. click click .. shake.. Ta Da! A spot on the next block.. excellent way to find new places to try and keep within a budget if you want.
—-GAMES—-
Wordfeud- As a words with friends addict – this is the replacement for my Droid. It’s like scrabble you can play with others – even people you don’t know! I play regularly against @Eyeslam from twitter.
Word Search- Its a word hunt that is pretty easy and entertaining.
Flood It-The object is to get the screen all one color in a limited number of moves. Highly addictive.
Color Drip- Goal – clear the screen of blocks by matching them by color and number of blocks in a limited number of moves.
Bubble Blast 2- Figure out how to pop all the bubbles in 3 moves or less.
Reversi- Dominate the board by strategically reversing the other players pieces.
Checkers- Old School Checkers with a 1 and 2 Player mode – slick graphics
Trival Droid- Trivia Questions – Yippie – For a nerd like me this is as close as I am going to get to Trivial Pursuit on Droid.
**If I missed any that YOU think are awesome and deserve a mention – leave a comment.. I am always on the hunt for the next great app!**
American Muslimahs Musings 
