A Few of My Favorite Things - Apps

   I recently (finally) got modern smartphone.  My previous phone was the "free" phone from over 2 years ago.  Even when I had a basic smartphone I very quickly found useful apps that used everyday.

   Someone was recently asking me what apps I use on my phone.  I thought it would be useful to make a list of some of my favorites here and focus on those that I use most.

   Note that I am an android fan.  So some of these apps might not exist in the Apple world.

   Apps I use every day:

• DoggCatcher (with the Presto Sound library) - for podcasts (blog post)
• Audible - for audiobooks (blog post)
• Google Task Organizer (GTO) - I've tried many list/organizers and like this best
• Google calendar
• Gmail
• HootSuite - mostly as a Twitter client - I like this one for scheduling posts
• UberSocial - mostly as a Twitter client - I like this one for the reading and link previewing
• LastPass - my password vault (blog post)
• Dolphin Browser - nice tabbed browser that also integrates with LastPass

 Other apps I use often:

• Blogger - for this blog
• Google Authenticator - 2-step authentication
• Google Maps
• GasBuddy - crowd-sourced gas price info
• Waze - social traffic navigation
• Google Play
• LinkedIn
• Google Play Store
• Amazon App Store
• xScope Pro - browser
• FotMob (soccer scores)
• Yahoo Sportacular - sport scores
• ESPN ScoreCenter
• NFL 12
• Lookout - mobile security package
• App2SD Pro - for managing apps, cache, SD card

Games (I'm not a big gamer but I have a few I play occaisionally):

• Angry Birds "suite" - original, space, seasons, star wars
• Router
• Doodle Fit
• Quell
• Cut the Rope
• idemolished

   I guess my main categories are: productivity, audio and social.  I do have other apps on the phone, but these are the ones I use regularly.

   I also like the news browsing apps like: Google Reader, Flipboard and Currents.  I use Google Reader all the time, but mostly from a "real" computer.  I have an 8" android tablet that I don't use as much, but have mainly the same apps.

   I have a mix of free and pay apps.  In general, if I like an app and it has a pay version I buy it, for two main reasons:  1. to support people who create good software, and; 2. free, ad-supported, apps can drain your battery and impact device performance.

   So what are your favorite apps?  Do you have any good recommendations for me?