I just recently got a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1″ tablet PC and I love it! It’s Android based so I don’t know if the apps I’m finding helpful are available for other devices as well or not, I’ll note the ones I found that are listed on the site as available for both Android and iPhone, but if I don’t note its safe to assume I don’t know.
One of my reasons for getting a tablet pc was to try to gain some sense of control over the little scraps of paper I have written notes on about appointments and other important info that have lived in a pile on my desk…. not the best system to say the least. Appointment books don’t work well for me since I forget to look at them, but I’m very gadget oriented so I thought maybe a tablet pc might be better, and more versatile than an appointment book.
I should also note that with my particular tablet, I can only connect to the internet using wi-fi so even though the apps themself are free, there is a possibility that you could be charged for data usage if you are using 3g or 4g depending on your plan type.
The Android based apps I found for various tasks that seem to be working really well for me so far are ….
MyFitnessPal.com – Available for Android, iPhone/iPad and blackberry devices, it allows the user to track calorie intake and exercise so you can easily see how many calories you have left for the day. for me I have a base of 1200 calories (as instructed by my doctor) and 1 hours of exercise per day as my goal this app allows me to see how I’m doing with both those things, and lets me know if I’m eating more or fewer calories then I should. it uses a simple search feature that you type in the item name and it will bring up info about it. It also allows you to scan bar codes for items to search for items without having to type. I’m awful with math, so trying to track calories on paper was super challenging, but this app has really simplified the process.
If you want to scan bar codes using an Android device with a camera, you need an app that will allow your device to use the camera as a scanner. I use one simply called “Barcode scanner” I found it on google play and it was completely free.
I use one called S Note, that came bundled with my tablet, but I found a free app that is very similar to what I use and it’s called “S Memo” also found on Google Play it is like having a virtual note pad you can handwrite notes and ideas or even use it as a simple sketch pad
Medscape – is a mobile app for accessing the medscape news feed and some basic information. not only is this app free, but the information is free to use as well it is tied to a website at http://www.medscape.com/
Ovuview – This is a free period and fertility tracker that can be a simple period tracker or help you predict when you are fertile so you can have an idea when it’s safe to have sex or not depending on what you plan with regards to pregnancy also found on Google play. One thing I really liked about this tracker is that unlike many others I looked at the designer gave it a more “professional” look instead of making the design look like a bottle of pepto got dumped on it like many others do, and this particular one felt to me like it was more serious and not trying to make something I dread into something pink and cute which just irritated me…. this is an app for women who don’t feel the need to have everything related to their period in shades of pink.
And for fun, I have a few game apps I installed including
Angry Birds Star Wars – The link takes you to the free android version, but there is also an HD version of this game for android that I think is about $3 the version I installed is free though and is one that I don’t need an internet connection to play so it can be played anywhere regardless of if I have access to wi-fi or not.
Angry Birds Seasons – Same idea as Angry Birds Star Wars, only it is themed based on seasons …. also free on the Android. I suspect that Angry birds in some form would be available for other devices though since the merchandise associated with the game is sold in large quantities at Wal-Mart.
TheSims Freeplay – I love this except that I have to be connected to the internet to play it, otherwise, this free game by electronic arts helps me feed my sims addiction. I’m not positive, but I think I recall seeing somewhere on TheSims.com that the app was available for iPhone also, but I can’t seem to find the page I saw it on, so the link I’m including is to the Android version on Google Play
For appointments, I like the S Planner app that was bundled with my tablet, it works great for my needs.
For my shopping lists I use an app called “Out of Milk” which allows me to keep track of what is in my cupboards, and easily make a shopping list based on what I’m out of instead of having to go through all my cupboards every month I can simply track what I have and as I run out of something I can copy it to my shopping list. This app also allows you to scan bar codes to enter items, or if the item isn’t in the database, you can easily enter it manually. it also allows you to know how much you paid for something the last time you bought it by giving you space for price, and even allows for jotting down notes about items. I’m using the note feature to note which items have starch in them so I know what to avoid without having to read every ingredient list on every item I pick up in the store. There is a pro version and now I think that the key for the pro version is $1.99 so it’s reasonably priced if you want to upgrade to the pro version
I also purchased the geocaching app found through http://geocaching.com and from what I remember is also cross-platform usable on both android and iPhone. This app cost me $9.99, but it will work with my geocaching.com account I won’t likely pay that much for an app again, so this was a huge exception to my keep it low-cost rule. for the Android it can be found through Google Play
So, those are some of the apps I’ve found helpful to me that I find I use almost daily for various tasks.
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