(no subject)

[randomness]

I have just acquired an inexpensive Chinese-made dual-SIM Android phone. It has a miniscule amount of internal storage (2GB), so I am impatiently awaiting the arrival of the 32GB microSD card I've ordered. Until then I'm just charging the phone.

Suggestions on what apps I should download and (even more importantly, avoid) from the Google Play store are welcome. I think I'm going to start with transit apps like NextBus and HyperDia, but also possibly messaging apps like WhatsApp.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[muffyjo]

So, there's a great deal of malware in the world and much of it comes pre-installed in many places, including China. I'm not sure what brands it affects or what you can do about it if you did. I'm not an expert but I work with many who are and it seems like you might, since it's brand new, fiddle with it a bit.

References:
http://www.scmagazineuk.com/chinese-android-smartphones-now-shipping-with-pre-installed-malware/article/436631/

http://news.softpedia.com/news/24-chinese-android-smartphones-models-come-with-pre-installed-malware-490930.shtml

https://public.gdatasoftware.com/Presse/Publikationen/Malware_Reports/G_DATA_MobileMWR_Q2_2015_US.pdf

https://grahamcluley.com/2014/06/chinese-android-malware/

[randomness]

Thanks for the heads-up!

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Firefox! You can sync with your Firefox Account if you have one.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

The same being likely true with Chrome as well.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Correct, but there are many things not true of Chrome that are true of Firefox, for example, a commitment to user privacy, not tracking where the user goes, not attempting login when doing a web search, etc.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Good points. I haven't installed a browser yet other than the one that came with my phone.

Thanks!

[nathanjw]

For any particular purposes? (Is this your first Android device?)

Barcode Scanner, good at decoding random stuff (including QR codes).
Transit is my usual app for real-time location and stop-finding. I kind of liked the Nextbus mobile site better than their own app, and just have a shortcut to it in my "Travel/Nav" folder on the home screen. If you have the Play Store and can get Google apps, you should really give Google Maps a whirl for navigation.

I like having the Dropbox app (if you have an account) and Plain.txt as a Dropbox-based quick text notes app.

SeeClickFix is a pretty good way to report municipal issues, in a surprisingly large number of municipalities (Somerville and Cambridge DPW both respond to issues there, for example).

The GPS Test app is a good raw-location (and speed) app and is also good for figuring out if the GPS in your device is functioning well at the moment.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

For any particular purposes? (Is this your first Android device?)

Yes to both questions. This is my first smartphone of any type. I got it largely because I need a phone which will work in Japan and South Korea and my current feature phone does not. I found that out the hard way when my phone battery discharged as the phone searched for a nonexistent roaming partner in Tokyo during an overnight layover. As I was depending on it for my morning alarm it was a bit of a bad surprise. Fortunately I still made it out of the hotel in time to catch my flight.

The phone is inexpensive and has two SIM slots. Those were both pluses. Minuses include lousy battery life and minimal internal storage. This probably won't be my permanent phone but I hope it'll be useful on my next trip.

I have the Play Store and have already downloaded Google Maps. I've also been downloading lots of transit apps to check them out.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[metciola.livejournal.com]

(http://playreplay.me/video/50197.58a0bb790e8c89802ba6b9f0241e)