So you dug through the Android Market, and the Apple App Store, downloaded some app that made you smile and might have managed to get a smirk out of a friend or two. We've all done it. But these so-called awesome apps are really just robbing you of precious storage space, and many of them are poorly written to boot.
To tell you about the latest trend in uselessness is not what I am aiming for here. I am here to tell you what you actually need on your phone before you waste space on the silly but smile-worthy junk.
First, your phone comes with just about all the essential apps you're expecting: Navigation, Email, Messaging, Phone Dialer, Calender/Appointment Book, Browser, etc. What they only may come with are apps that connect you to your destinations, and hobbies. These you have to dig up on your own. Yes, I know you iPhone users have iTunes built in, but one of the most useful music apps is Spotify. You just type in a song, any song and sit back and listen. You can create playlists, and share them with your friends. You aren't walled into Apple's garden or the music you load on your device. It all magically rains down from the cloud.
Another app I consider essential is not actually one app but three. They are and you've probably guessed by now Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. I tend to use all three as opposed to using one. (I don't use each service as different channels to the same content.) My Twitter is mostly tech news, and developers. My Facebook is mostly for family and a few other contacts. My Google+ is my true home. I would provide links, but it would prove tedious to post them for each type of phone. So hit up the app market on your phone and get to downloading. I also think its safe to assume you knew that part.
Now that we have your music and social networking taken care of, let's move on to work. You know that stuff you do between weekends that sucks? Yeah that stuff. There are office suites out there, some came with your phone, but one I rely on now is Google Docs. It syncs with your normal Docs el Goog on the desktop and your Gmail, so you can find that bit of info you needed for your boss, no matter what machine you are sitting in front of or holding in your hand. I've typed blog entries here on my Droid X sitting at a park. Oh and it's also free.
So stay tuned, and I'll continue this path down essential app lane. I'll even throw in a few of those fun ones that mean nothing along the way.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.