Android User Apps
About Enterprise Apps
BOOK:
ISBN:9781430230007 
Android for Work:Productivity for Professionals
(Apress, 2010, 309 pages)
by Marziah Karch
Business Intelligence (BI) Analytics
- Discrete probability distributions: Binomial, Hypergeometric, Negative binomial (or Pascal as it is also called), Poisson, and Zipf
- Continuous probability distributions: Beta, Cauchy, Chi^2 (Chi squarred), Exponential, F (or Fisher-Snedecor as it is also called), Gamma, Normal (or Gaussian as it is also called), Student's t, and Weibull
- Statistical tests One way ANOVA, Chi^2 tests: Pearson's Chi^2 test for independence and observed vs expected counts
- Student's t-tests: One sample and two sample (both homoscedastic and heteroscedastic are supported)
- SAS
- MicroStrategy
- Oracle
- SAP Business Objects
Enterprise workers often need to make sense and see trends in lots of data/. Drag-and-drop apps to view enterprise Business Intelligence (BI) data in data warehourses are available from all BIA vendors:
-
APP:
STA: Statistical Toolbox for Android from
evolve (Mikkel Meyer Andersen in Denmark)
is an amazingly full-featured tool calculating and graphing (using ChartDroid) statistics and probability:
APP: $99 Roambi App (from MeLLmo ) on the iPhone accesses $750/user Roambi Enterprise Server 3 (ES3) which transforms business reports and data in business apps into cool visual presentations initially from BusinessObjects BI systems, Salesforce.com, and Excel and CSV files. It now reads IBM Cognos, Microsoft Reporting Services, Microsoft SharePoint, the open-source LifeRay portal, and Google Spreadsheet.
Enterprise Business Analytics system vendors include:
APP: QlikView from QlikTech uses iPad native resolution.
ERP System Access
SAP YouTube Channel
SAP Mobility Solutions:
Overview Video
by Chris McClain
SAP Mobile Apps Are Here
SAP Mobilility Spotlight Video
SAP Travel Receipt Capture
SAP Cart Approval
SAP Leave Request
SAP Customer Financial Fact Sheet
Hands-on SAP Mobile BI by Nick Smith about biondemand.com/businessintelligence
Fleet management – GPS
Sales staff - data connectivity at customer site benefit: direct order entry, faster processing
Enterprise Email
Getting into corporate email systems, on Microsoft Exchange servers:
-
EXE:
Sync Google with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange
APP: MyPhoneExplorer (from FJ) syncs with Outlook, Lotus Notes, and others via WiFi, USB-Cable, or Bluetooth.
APP: Exchange for Android Pro plus the $19.99 key from Exchange for Android Pro TouchDown product from NitroDesk enables access to Corporate Email, Contacts Calendar and Tasks.
TouchDown defines a sandboxed container to run corporate email. It works with Exchange 2003+ and other enterprise communication systems that support EAS.
Android 3.x tablets and 4.0 devices (smartphones and tablets) support Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) security policies defined by administrators to enforce passwords and on-device encryption.
Enterprise adoption of Apple iPhones soared after iOS 4 added EAS security policies and API hooks for device management through third-party MDM tools.
Notes and Document Editing
There has been a gradual shift in flow of information from email to document files to websites (wikis) where groups of people can share a common workspace.
Mobile devices (Android, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) is accelerating this pace by providing mobile alternatives to PCs for viewing and editing several formats of presentation.
-
APP:
Evernote is hard to beat for its availability on all platforms.
APP: Onenote from Microsoft has more features, but is slower to catch on, largely due to its Microsoft-only focus and absence from the iPhone platform.
-
APP:
Notely enables editing of text on devices and also stores its data as Google Docs documents in the Google cloud.
But enterprise users with a ton of documents in the Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel format have a difficult time switching, so need these (usually pricey) mobile alternatives:
-
APP:
____
QuickOffice
APP:
____
Microsoft SharePoint?
Perhaps to avoid too much canibalization of its Office suite, Microsoft has developed OneNote for enhancing text notetaking with multiple media:
-
APP:
MobileNoter from
Businessware Technologies
reads and edits ".one" (Microsoft OneNote) files transferred from and back to PCs.
OneNote competes with visual note-taking apps:
-
APP:
Mindjet by
Mindjet from
Thinkingspace.net
Project Management
Many enterprises use
Microsoft's project management desktop application (versions 2003, 2007, 2010)
Larger organizations make use of Project Server or Planview or HP's PM server product.
-
APP:
GanttDroid Pro, $7.92 from Ratoconsulting exchanges files with
TOOL: Gantt Project, the popular open-source project management system which exports and imports to/from Microsoft Project.
Task and Time Management - Personal Productivity: Tracking Task Managers (Automatic Sync)
Still a long way to go - linkage to contacts, calendars, alarms, etc.
Until an all-in-one app appears, right now, there is a gaggle of apps that contribute in its own way to helping individuals become productive.
Maybe all one needs is just a louder and more intense alarm app:
-
APP:
Alarm Clock Xtreme by Angle Labs
is popular because of its many options to prevent excessive snoozing.
Extra-large snooze button on screen which when not pressed slowly increases in volume.
Optionally a solution to math problems is required.
Less time after successive snooze and
maximum number of snoozes can be specified.
Since tasks lists on MS Outlook on Windows PC's are what many use, apps that sync with it:
-
APP:
Wunderlist from
6wunderkinder.com
It's only on the iPhone/iPads, but $20 OmniFocus claims to do it all - a powerful app to track tasks by project, place, person and date, sending notifications about upcoming deadlines.
Another iPhone/iPad only app is http://culturedcode.com/things/
Many apps boast that it follows strategies in GTD (Getting Things Done), the book.
-
Actioncomplete is no longer free.
Remember The Milk (RTM).
-
APP:
Habit factor lite from Equilibrium Enterprises.
Investments
Contacts CRM
If you call international
-
APP:
Contacts Clean-up
reformats all phone numbers to follow a single format, such as +1.800.555.1212.
This is needed if you use
calling card software on your device, such as:
APP: Skype or
APP: Google Talk or
APP: Lingo (website Lingo.com
From this article by Ryan Holmes (CEO at HootSuite). HootSuite Mobile is an amazing app for handling social media on the go. Just like the web version, the app allows for publishing to all of your social networks - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc - from one interface. You can schedule messages for optimum times, attach files and photos and shrink links, all with a few taps. Advanced users can even set up streams for monitoring customer feedback on social networks, track clients and keywords across different platforms and more. But don’t just take my word for it. Says Mashable: “[HootSuite is] the premier dashboard for companies looking to get analysis of their social media efforts.”
Brewster: Instant Rolodex - Between Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - not to mention your email client - you likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of colleagues and customers you interact with. Brewster is a handy mobile app that pulls in contact info and other details from all of those platforms and creates eye-catching, in-depth profiles for each and every person. Using a “relationship algorithm,” the app automatically sorts contacts into “favorites,” “trending” and other lists, and even sends out gentle reminders when you’re falling out of touch with someone. Another benefit: Brewster is fully searchable - not just by name, but keyword, location and even photo.
Trello: Beyond to-do lists - Back In the early 1950s, engineers at Toyota pioneered a deceptively simple scheduling system called Kanban, based on index cards passed from one part on the plant to another. Trello takes this concept into the mobile era. Tasks (or Lists, in Trello lingo) are represented as columns on a virtual corkboard. Add as many cards as you want to a List, then customize each card with comments, checklists and attachments. You can loop in other team members and assign them cards and even drag cards from one List to another as a project moves toward completion. Uniquely flexible and collaborative, Trello is as handy for personal to-do lists as it is for coordinating complex projects among big teams - from managing sales leads to producing films.
Gesture Search (from Google Labs) uses your handwriting to search contacts.
Social Networking
- XING competes with Linkedin, is popular outside the US.
- Voicethread inspires collaboration and expression with 5 ways for group members to comment -- by computer microphone, telephone, text, audio file (MP3/WAV), and webcam.
- Glogster
- Animoto
- Prez
COMMENT: The irony of Social Networking is that it transcends content topics since it focused on each individual user self.
-
APP:
Cisco WebEx: Virtual Meeting
for seeing each other's screens has become a must-have for enterprise workers.
QUESTION: What about apps for alternatives: GoToMeeting, HPVR, etc.
-
APP:
TweetDeck 1.0.7.4 Size: 821k
and Seesmic, Touiteur, Tweetcaster, Twicca
APP: FaceBook
APP: Google+ takes the place of Google Buzz.
APP: FourSquare began as a location-specific game.
We are looking forward to apps from other social networks:
GPS and Travel Apps
To find where you are on a map and provide compass bearing:
-
APP:
Street View on Google Maps
FEATURE: Accept zip code to establish geolocation if GPS is not available,
To locate bathrooms, showing info and ratings contributed by users:
-
APP:
Sit or Squat is the first and most famous.
APP: Toilet/Bathroom Finder
APP: Find Toilets
APP: Bathroom Scout and
APP: Bathroom Scout Pro $1.38 by Mobilino UG
If you drive a car, get the lowest gas prices near a location:
-
APP:
YP (Yellow Pages from AT&T)
APP: Gas Buddy
APP: aCar by Armond Avanes tracks car expenses, maintenance, and mileage. It gives reminders for regular maintenance items like oil changes.
APP: $1.99 Mileage Tracker from Frank Android Software is needed for accurate business tax reporting of multiple vehicles.
To find restaurants, bars, andstores, then share them with friends:
-
APP:
Where prompts for special offers and deals at local businesses.
APP: TravelAdvisor.
APP: Yelp is not as feature-rich as its website Yelp.com
APP: Zagat is free for premium members of Zagat.com, yet it was purchased by Google.
Search for flights using:
-
APP:
Skyscanner from AndroidAppLabs.
APP: OnTheFly from ITA Software by Google. But doesn't book flights yet, like
APP: Orbitz
APP: Expedia
APP: Travelocity
To find public transporation:
-
APP
aMetro shows maps of subways worldwide, by Roman Golovanov
APP Heathrow Express enables travelers to buy ticket and receive on phone benefit: reduced issuing cost, simpler check-in.
APP SuperShuttle
$2.50 APP Washington DC WMATA Bus Finder
For international travelers:
-
APP:
ConvertPad (Mathpad) converts currencies real-time, in multiple second languages.
APP: Word Lens (from Quest Visual) translates foreign words inside photos, as in augmented reality. The app projects the translated words onto whatever sign at which you point the phone. On iPhone. Coming to Android.
Weather
Weather information is increasingly being incorporated into GPS and Travel apps. There are dozens of apps from a search for weather in the Google Play store.
APP: RadarCast - NOAA HD FutureCast from WeatherSphere dares to charge $2.99 when there are so many other free ones available. Its difference is it generates HD radar maps as it will be in the future, not just from the past (which is not useful unless you're a weatherman trained to make predictions). See the track of hurricanes like CNN shows. The app combines into one screen images from land-based radar images with NOAA satellites.
APP: Weather Channel from WeatherChannel.com was done very well.
APP: FEMA from FEMA of the US government fema.gov
APP: AccuWeather from AccuWeather,com
Personal Finance
Manage the money you have with these personal finance apps:
-
APP:
Money & Bills by
Pageonce
combines investment portfolio and personal bill management with flight itineraries,
cell phone minutes, and monitoring your Netflix queue.
If you'd rather not expose to malware a way to move your money,
APP:
Mint Personal Finance, from a division of Quicken software for accounting and taxes,
is good for tracking expenses, budgets.
But it doesn't integrate completely with sites.
Shopping
This category of apps can save you money:
-
APP:
ShopSavvy scans bar codes on packages and displays price comparisons and local inventory.
Winner of the first Google Challenge for Android. And rightly so.
APP: RedLaser scanner results to eBay and its affiliates, so doesn't include other retailers like Walmart, Target, etc.
APP: Google Offers
APP: Groupon?
Health, Fitness, Medical
Apps that can save your life:
-
APP:
iPharmacy from Sigmaphone.com
identifies pills based on shape, color, score marks, and imprint text.
It then presents details about each drug. Enjoy!
APP: Healthcare Blue Book from Careoperative provides what many high-quality providers accept from insurance companies as payment in full, which are usually less than the "billed charges" on bills. Use this to negotiate with providers, especially when paying cash at time of treatment.
Education/Training
Schools are getting rid of lockers (a problematic aspect) after students have ebooks on laptops or tablets.
-
Flashcard apps are a great use for mobile devices.
APP: Gmote 2.0 from Apps by Marc Stogaitis & Mimi Sun turns your Android into a remote control for your computer, starting and pausing music and movies from a distance.
The vast majority of apps are game apps.
But there are products called "serious games" which seek to teach through play.
News Readers
Every major news outlet offers an app: WSJ, NY Times, LA Times, Economist, etc. But they all report on the same stories.
-
APP:
Zinio by
Zino is also on iOS as the "world's largest magazine stand" made digital.
Maybe that's got something to do with it not being compatible on Amazon devices?
APP: Pulse by Alphonso displays as a mosaic websites you pick and it stores on the SD card on your device. Great for tablet screens.
APP: Skygrid aggregates the various newsfeeds about each story for you to follow.
APP: ProPublica reports the real stories that major outlets avoid. BTW, this outfit (ProPublica) is funded by public donations, so their investigative reporters are free to tell the real truth.
APP: GReader (Google Reader) reads RSS feeds published in web pages and other feeds.
Related to reading:
-
APP:
Magnifying glass to view objects like a jewler's loupe.
eBook Readers: Alternative Markets, File Format Conversion, USB (a Use Case Study)
I paid money for downloading (from the AppBrain market website) Moon+ Pro for its use of Android's TTS (Text to Speech) feature which reads text aloud.
Amazon Kindle tablet devices read .azw and .prc files downloaded from Amazon. The Amazon Kindle app can download and read what I've purchased. Such files are usually encrypted for DRM (Digital Rights Management).
I download the Calibre PC application to convert file formats. But its comprehensive features include download of DRM-free books and conversion of .mobi to .epub and even PDF formats.
Amazon's store has free books with expired copyrights. But those same books are available elsewhere.
Other free books are available from Gutenberg project, such as The Messiah in Moses and the Prophets by Eleazar Lord. Download the p34580.mobi file to the External SD.
The files need to be transferred to the /Kindle folder in Android's internal drive. So install a file manager. I think Linda File Manager is easier to use than IO File Manager or Astro. etc.
Close the Kindle app and start it again, or install and run SDRescan to force a scan to recognize .mobi files pasted into the Kindle folder.
Enable TalkBack in Settings > Accessibility.
Voice Output (one Accessibility Feature)
Audio recordings of books (previously on cassette tapes) can be played by these apps:
-
APP:
Audible plays aloud rented audio recordings.
APP: OverDrive Media Console plays titles available thru local libraries.
APP: Google Listen plays podcasts.
APP: Beyondpod (7 day trial)
WEBSITE: Boopsie publishes an app specific to each library system.
Individual sounds:
-
APP:
How To Say by Andrey Moiseev
pronounces all words in the world, as compiled by
WEBSITE:
forvo.com
Many Android apps make use of Android's TTS (Text To Speech) feature for navigation while driving, getting alarms, reading, translation, etc.
The Moon+ eReader recognizes shaking to turn on and off reading.
The default speech synthesizer engine Pico (from eSpeak), as selected in Settings -> Voice Input & Output -> Text-to-Speech settings.
TIP: I like English (UK) voices because, as an American, they sound more classy and less like a robot.
Ivona TTS has the teenager US Salli and Ivy child voice. Their US Chipmunk voice is hillarious. Their UK Brian voice is like having a proper English butler.
TODO: Suggest changes to the pronouciation of a particular word on Ivona's web page.
WARNING: Each voice uses 30MB of space, yet can't be moved to external SD card.
WARNING: TTS processing uses a lot of battery life. Even on the most powerful device, talk sometimes lags, so it's not great for navigation.
SVOX Classic, has a sexy (breathy) Victoria UK voice, one of 30 voices in 25 languages available for $2.99 each. English (US) voices include the squeaky __, Dark Lord, and Ghost. Fun. This Swiss company was acquired by Nuance May, 2011. On YouTube as SVOXSpeechSolutions.
TIP: Go to ___ and delete languages and voices you don't use.
Other alternatives include the $5.58 Loquendo, Acapela voice as a service. Supported since API 2.2 (Froyo).
code.google.com/p/mobileaccessibility has several apps built in cooperation siwth Washington.edu to leverage sensors smartphones already have, such as Magnifier, Color Namer, Morse Code, VibratorBraille.
APP:
Teleprompters
Android Teleprompter needs a remote control, such as a foot peddle
bluetooth controller made by AirTurn.
Photo Apps
Never underestimate how much time people can waste:
-
APP:
LOLCats from GreenRobot is one of the most downloaded of iPhone apps.
Video Watching Apps
To make a plug for peace, posperity, and fun:
-
APP:
TED Air shows, with closed captioning in several languages,
short yet inspiring talks by the brightest minds in the world, as shown on
WEBSITE:
ted.com.
Stand-alone video files players that recognize MP4 and other formats:
-
APP:
Mobo Player plays back both audio and video, with subtitles in files such as
SRT, ASS and SAA for video formats MKV, MPV and MOV.
APP: Seaman Player plays HD files H.263, H.264, AVCHD, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid, WMV, MJPEG, MSVIDEO, SVQ1, SVQ3 and others. It of course plays Mp4, Flv, AVI, MKV, OGM, OFF, WAV, 3GP, FLAC, MPC, AMR, ALaw, MP2, Midi, ADPCM, etc..
APP: mVideoPlayer from afzkl for ICS tablets
Movie Watching Apps
- http://www.everyhue.com/
- http://www.lynda.com/Business-Home-Small-Office-tutorials/Home-Techonomics/164990-2.html
If you want to blindly absorb what Hollywood feeds you:
-
After
Netflix opened its database via OAuth,
developers have taken to it, creating several apps better than the
app from Netflix.
While you watch a movie, educate (and thus annoy) those you're with by using
APP:
IMDB and
WEBSITE:
IMDB.com
reference app for looking up people in the biz.
APP:
Flixter is the mobile app associated with
WEBSITE:
Rotten Tomatoes aggregator of reviews by critics.
Fandango and Moviefone are sponsored by theater owners.
TOOL: Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper
APP: Huey from Rokaway Labs analyzes colors and sounds so it can change the colors shown by Phillips Hue colored LED light bulbs (because a giant screen is not enough to look at).
One alternative is a lighting scheme to be part of the media player, such as the open-source XBMC controlled by the remote app with the script.xbmc.hue.ambilight add-on for lighting effects. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU5ZvXzXmrU
These apps uses wi-fi communication to a Phillips Hub bridge, which in turn communicates with bulbs via the ZigBee wireless network. Each Phillips hub can finely control 16 million color and saturation level in up to 50 Hue lighting accessories.
Syfy iPhone app (but no Android) provides sync signals via the public internet from website syfy.com during re-airings of movie Sharknado and the Twitter frenzy during premiere of Sharknado 2 July 30th, 2014 at 9/8c on the Syfy Channel.
I think the least distracting approach to this geek thing is ambient lighting behind the screen from a flexible 6.56-foot (2 meter) 8 watt $90 LED light strips and $77.50 Bloom spotlight both shine at 120 lumen. Good for under and/or above the TV screen.
Or if you like being distracted during a movie: There are two light bulbs with built-in wifi. The A19 puts out 600 lumens. The BR30 puts out 630 lumens. About what a 50 watt bulb puts out. The $46 BR40 uses 14.5 watts to put out 90-watt equivalent light. Phillips Hue color light bulbs
Music Apps
APP:
Pandora Internet Radio
runs up your data download unless you are mostly on a wi-fi signal.
CAUTION: Many don't install it because it asks for permissions to access person information such as Contacts.
APP: DoubleTwist gets music into your phone.
APP: Shazam Encore 3.5.0-BB73046 Size: 1.5M and ($4.99 ad-free version) listens to music and identifies who is singing it.
iTunes on Android ???
Amazon MP3