Check out the latest and greatest in apps for your Android smartphone with our monthly app roundup.
Moon+ Reader
More options than you can shake a librarian at.With phone screens getting bigger, and Android tablets about to explode (not literally) onto the scene, now’s a great time to start reading eBooks on your Android device.
My favourite eReader is Moon+ Reader. It supports txt, html, epub, umd, fb2, chm, zip, and OPDS, but, sadly, not PDFs.
You can forgive this however, when you see the app’s customisability: you can change font type and size, line spacing, alignment, margins, orientation, background colour or image, and set up hardware buttons to trigger actions such as next page (perfect for volume keys), day/night mode, bookmarking, read-aloud, or a host of others.
It also supports text-to-speech, online libraries, bookshelf-style browsing, page-turning animations, highlighting, annotation, and dictionary lookup.
The included 10+ themes run from the very practical yellow text on a black background, to the superfluous serene tree on a dusty lime background, with the classic faux paper look lying somewhere between the two.
The free version is all that most people will need, but there is a pro version available for $4.50 that adds in multi-touch, headset and Bluetooth key control, direct-to-book homescreen shortcuts, sharing of annotations, highlights & bookmarks (great when switching between your phone and your tablet) and a “shake to read” function.
Free or $4.50 > Moon+ > Link TripView
TripView, while only available for Sydneysiders, is a welcome relief from the 131 500 web site.
You set up your pre-defined journeys by either clicking on your stop on a map, or by searching for it by name. Once you have set these up, your next bus, train, or ferry info is but a single click away.
Best of all, for those of us on an unreliable network, the app downloads the timetable info locally, and notifies you whenever an update is available.
$2.49 (free ‘lite’ version available) > Grosoft > Link Cordy
Cordy is like Sonic the Hedgehog for this century. I don’t mean those tired re-hashes that have appeared on the Wii, but a genuinely fun, super-fast semi-3D platformer. I say semi-3D because it’s really a 2D platformer that occasionally turns a corner. This is a good thing.
Run, jump, push, pull, lift, throw, and swing your way to victory. Twelve levels are included, but you can purchase more through the wonders of in-app billing. Low-end devices need not apply.
Free > SilverTree Media > LinkWidgetsoid
There is arguably no more thorough a collection of widgets available in a single, free package than Widgetsoid. It has 40 toggles, widgets for direct call/sms/email of a contact, or for quick access to any application, activity, or bookmark.
You can customise backgrounds, icons, colours, transparency, labels, and indicator types, or even place the toggles in the notification bar, so that they are accessible from any application.
Also available is a $1.30 donation version, and a $0.70 alternative icons pack.
Free > jaumard > Link