T-mobile G1 (android - google phone) - Top 10 Apps

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Compare Everywhere (http://compare-everywhere.com/):

Compare Everywhere is a handy shopping application that allows users to "scan" the barcode of just about any consumer product using the phone's built in camera. Then, it will bring up the price of the item at other stores in the area on an easy to use map and allow you to decide if you're really getting the best price.

By using the map, the application can route driving directions to a store of your choice, and it can allow you to call a store to verify the scanned item's pricing and availability. When you've decided on something you want, you can create a shopping list or wish list and share it with friends. Other features include product reviews, music clips, and movie trailers.

From our experience the application works great for common products such as basic grocery items, but as one would expect, it tends to be less useful for things found in specialty stores.

BioWallet (http://www.biowallet.net/):

BioWallet is a clever biometric authentication application that can identify users based on things such as a handwritten signature and iris scanning. The application's developer is currently running a poll which allows users to vote on which identification method they would like to see implemented next such as voice, face, or conventional password.

It works by allowing users to first store sensitive data such as passwords, certificates, documents, and more into its encrypted data system. Then, if a user needs access to their private information, it uses one its biometric methods to verify the users identity. By using biometric information, users no longer have to remember a myriad off passwords, and can safely take them anywhere in their BioWallet.

In an age where people are required to have numerous passwords and digitized secure documents, BioWallet makes it easy to keep them all safe, yet easy to access. We found BioWallet to be a very thoughtful, useful application.

Plox: Tower Defense (http://www.chickenbrickstudios.com/):

This application offers G1 users something that has been a staple of gaming for nearly 5 years. Tower Defense is a hybrid between action, arcade, and puzzle style games. Delightfully drawn enemies come in waves and travel along a path and the player must stop them by placing towers (or turrets) to shoot them down before they reach the end of the route.

Scoring is based on enemies destroyed combined with bonuses for doing it efficiently. The high score list is stored on a global database which means that players are competing for the top score against anyone, anytime, anywhere.

We found ourselves quickly addicted to the gameplay continuously trying to find a cleverer configuration of towers and upgrades before the next round of enemies. The concept is simple, but it definitely takes skill to make it to the top.

Locale (http://www.localeandroid.com/):

Locale is a simple, easy to use, and very practical application. It allows users to select GPS regions which, upon entry, will automatically adjust the phone's settings. It is particularly useful for zoning areas that you find yourself in often such as home, work, movie theater, library, park, bar, etc.

For example, when you're at work, Locale can be set to automatically switch your phone's ringer to vibrate. Leave your home zone, and it can notify your significant other that you're out on errands for the day. Out at the park? Locale can turn your ringer up to make sure you hear it over the buzz.

Other features of Locale include forwarding phone calls to different numbers based on your location or sending out status messages over Twitter. Pretty slick!

Shazam (http://www.shazam.com/music/web/home.html):

Shazam can analyze most popular songs using the microphone built in to the G1. It works by analyzing the song's waveform characteristics then uses a database to determine the song's artist and title. Like what you hear? After identifying a song, it can search for the song on YouTube, MySpace, or Amazon's MP3 store.

It can take a while to analyze a song, and may have difficulty deciphering if there is a lot of background noise, but all in all, it's a very well structured application. It's definitely worthy of your bandwidth.

Pac-Man (https://www.namcogames.com/corporate/press/4968.html):

It's classic. Pac-Man has been around for decades, and enjoyed by people of all ages. We thought that this version for the G1 is a solid port with everything you'd expect.

Tunewiki (http://tunewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page):

This music player for the G1 goes beyond your typical application. It can access a lyrics database to display song lyrics in real-time with the song you're listening to. Much like many of the applications for the G1, and as the name suggests (wiki), the application relies on a user generated database for the lyrics. The good thing is that there are more lyrics being added regularly, but the downside is that user-submitted content may contain errors.

All in all, we found the lyric display to be generally correct for most common pop songs. It's a fun way to practice your karaoke away from home or the karaoke bar.

Ringdroid (http://code.google.com/p/ringdroid/):

This application is your go-to app for ringtones. It allows users to create ringtones using MP3's, WAV's, or by recording their own using the G1's built in microphone. Then, the editing features provide capabilities to scroll through the audio file to select which portion to use as the ringtone. After creating a custom ringtone, it can be set to one of four different categories: Music, Ringtone, Alarm, or Notification.

Ringdroid stands out for its ease of use, convenience, and desirability. Given the G1's target market and existing user base, we feel that this application is a must-have. Gone are the days of paying obscene prices for specialized, custom ring tones. Kudos!

MySpace Mobile (http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mobile):

MySpace Mobile (m.myspace.com) allows MySpace users to keep on top of everything MySpace on their G1. The application offers access to your MySpace profile virtually anywhere and is, of course, optimized for the mobile phone. Users can view and send messages, browse photos, update mood and status, view friend profiles, approve friend requests and comments, send bulletins, read and review blogs.

For those hooked on MySpace, do yourself a favor and get this app! As for the rest of you, assuming you've already checked out MySpace, it's probably not something you need. However, given the application, its intended audience, its feature set, and its user interface, we think it's very well done.

Last.fm on Android (http://blog.last.fm/2009/01/23/lastfm-on-android):

Stream your favorite Last.fm stations, view your friends' profiles and watch out for upcoming events with this great application. It's a great tribute to open source, as last.fm houses many pages dedicated to local bands around the globe. Not only can you listen to music, but you can, of course, support the bands by buying their music from Amazon or looking for their events through the map feature.

Truly in the spirit of open source and that of the independent artist, we highly recommend this application.