tech swoon - android apps

If you read my review of the Samsung Galaxy S3, you may have caught on that I may just be a fan of the Android platform.  And by "may just be a fan of," I really mean "am massively into and obsessive over."

In honor of having rooted my phone last weekend, I thought I might pop in and share some of my favorite Android apps with you.  iPhone gets a lot of love in the blog world, it seems, so this is my little attempt at balancing the scales and showing some Android pride.



+ Plume - So far, this is my favorite Twitter client (however, Carbon for Android should be released by the time this posts, so that might have changed!).  It runs smoothly, and has some really neat customization options, such as color-coding specific people you follow so they stand out in your twitter feed.


+ Reddit News - My favorite Reddit reader for my phone.  The user interface is clean and nice to look at, and posts and their comments load at the same time which is convenient -- you don't have to keep switching between, say, the imgur post and the comments section of the post in two separate "windows."  Not to mention, Redditors approve!

+ Pocket - Pocket is one of my best friends.  You might have known it to be Read It Later back in the day, but it's got a new name, new UI, and is better than ever.  I have it installed on my phone, tablet, work computer and home computer, and it's a great way to keep sites that you want to check out later or don't have time to read.  I often use this to collect the pages for my Weekend Link posts, but it certainly isn't restricted to that.  One click, and it's saved for me to access anywhere, anytime.  Lovelovelove.



+ Mint - I'll admit it:  I'm not very good with my money. Actually, I'm pretty bad at it.  I have little savings, and I spend money a bit too impulsively for my taste.  Mint.com, the Personal Finance website, has an app that shows me just where my money is going to every month -- how much is coming in, how much is going out and where to, and creates budgets under each spending category to let you know if you're spending more than average. I'm proud that my fast food category's budget per month is about $10, and that's pushing it... but my coffee budget?  Well, I should go back to making it at home.  At any rate, it's great to see just how my money is being spent and where it's going.  It also helps you in putting away to meet financial goals, whether it's a wedding you're saving for, an emergency fund (gotta start one of those...!), or a custom goal of your choice.  Into it.


+ Instagram & Magic Hour - Pretty much all I need for awesome photos taken on my awesome SGS3's awesome camera, to share awesomely with all of my awesome friends.  No, really -- I love Instagram mostly as a social media platform (and was admittedly heartbroken when my account was "disabled" accidentally for a few days), and Magic Hour is full of different filters and photo adjustment options.  The two together pretty much handle all my smartphone picturing.  

These are only a few of my current favorites; naturally since I've been pro-Android since the G1 I've been around the app-block and there are a lot of awesome app omissions here!  

Do you have an Android phone?  If so, what are your favorite apps?  I'd love to hear about some new ones!