The Droid Bionic - It's fast and worth considering as your next smartphone

I just realized that even though I’ve had my Droid Bionic for a few months now, I haven’t actually sat down to write a proper review of it.

Heck, I’ve already had enough time to break the darn thing (more on that later), I should have enough time to write a review.

Keep in mind this review will be from the standpoint of someone who uses the thing every single day – I’ve learned some of its little quirks as well as some little know features worth using.

So let’s jump right in. I’ll start with the 4G LTE antenna.

LTE – yeah, it’s fast.

I originally bought this phone because it was the first dual core LTE phone that Verizon released. That was enough for me. My original Droid was on its last legs so I knew I wasn’t going to have time to wait around to see what else was coming out.

If I’d have waited I might have bought the Droid Razr of Galaxy Nexus, but newer, shinier, better phones are released all the time so I bought a new phone when I needed it and the Droid Bionic was the best available at the time.

I don’t live in a current coverage area for LTE (I live out in the sticks) but I’ve found that many cities now have coverage and it’s blazing fast.

Speed & Performance

With a 1 GHz dual core processor and a full 1 GB of RAM, this phone has plenty of horsepower. I haven’t found anything that really bogs the phone down which makes the “guts” of the phone irrelevant and I can just use the phone.

That’s probably the best endorsement I can give to the performance of the phone – it’s fast enough that you don’t ever think to yourself, “gosh, I just wish it had a 1.5 GHz processor because it’s not fast enough yet.”

Battery

Like all LTE phones not named the Droid Razr Maxx, the battery life of the phone really isn’t great. You can get a full day with light to moderate use but that’s about it. If you’re going to use your phone a lot during the day, make sure you have a charger with you or a spare battery.

Locked Bootloader

On my original Droid I had Cyanogen Mod installed. It’s a fantastic operating system, but unfortunately it’s not officially available for the Droid Bionic since Motorola saw fit to lock the bootloader. This won’t be an issue for you unless you’re bit into the homebrew OS scene. Since you can still root the phone easily, it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me though I do still do occassionally miss my old Cyanogen Mod OS.

It’s Popular

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that if you want your Android powered phone to get the latest and greatest versions of the Android OS, then you should buy a popular phone.

The Droid Bionic happened to fit right into the upgrade window for a lot of people who purchased the first Moto Droid so this phone sold a lot of units and has a lot of unofficial support available and also means that the phone should continue to get OS upgrades in a timely manner.

FM Radio

You won’t see this in any official listing, but the Droid Bionic does have a built in FM tuner. That means you can listen to your local radio stations without needing to worry about streaming them so if you have a morning show you really enjoy or just want to listen to the radio, you can… you just need to download an app to access it.

It also means you don’t need to take along a separate radio when you’re at the gym and you want to watch TV while you’re on the elliptical or treadmill – just use your phone to tune into your desired radio station.

There’s a good app called “FM Radio” in the Android market that’ll run you $2. If you prefer free, you can down the Moto FM Radio APK from Droid Life, but only do this if you’re comfortable installing unofficial, non Android market apps.

Please note, these apps don’t work with all Android powered phones though they do work with all the new Motorola phones.

Camera

I don’t use the camera on the phone a lot, but it gets the job done when I need it. Is it the best smartphone camera on the market? No. Is it good enough for most situations? Yes. It does also record video in 1080p which is a nice feature as well. Once the Droid Bionic gets its Ice Cream Sandwich update, that should help improve the camera performance as well.

Display

I admit I had some reservations about getting a 4.3” screen – I was concerned that it’d be too big for my average sized hands. What I’ve found is that a 4.3” screen can make swiping your thumb from the bottom left corner to the top right corner a bit of a challenge if you’re only using one hand. However, I’ve only ever seen that become an issue when playing games and since I don’t play many games, it’s not a big deal.

Where I really like the size is when I’m using the phone for Navigation. The screen is bigger than a lot of standalone GPS devices and that just makes it easier to quickly read the display and the less time you have to spend looking at the display, the safer you’ll drive as you can keep them affixed to the road, as they should be.

Note: I recommend getting the Vehicle Navigation Dock directly from Motorola or through Amazon.com. It’s currently priced at $59.99, which at first glance seems more expensive than the Verizon version which is priced at $49.99. The one thing Verizon doesn’t tell you is that the charger isn’t included in the $49.99 versions so you have to spend another $20 or so to get one. Save yourself the $10 and just buy the $59.99 version right away.

How I Broke It

I did manage to break the darn thing already though that’s not the fault of the phone. I dropped it in a puddle of water and slush when getting out of my vehicle yesterday. I immediately popped the battery out and took it home and put it in some rice to help draw out any moisture that might have gotten inside the phone.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the battery out before the handset speaker shorted out. The rest of the phone works fine, I just need to use my Bluetooth headset to talk to people (or speakerphone, that still works) until my replacement arrives. Remember, your regular warranty won’t cover water damage, but the Total Device Replacement plan (provided via Asurion, the $6.99 a month plan) will once you pay your $99 deductible. It’s not cheap, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than replacing the phone at full retail price – $589.99 and cheaper than getting it off eBay as well – at the time of this writing, about $340 for a new device.

I wouldn’t say the fact that it broke is a knock against the phone. Only rugged phones can handle getting wet and still keep on ticking.

Little Things

With phones being so similar in features and specs these days, sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference.

One of the little things I really like about the Droid Bionic was that the Swype keyboard app came preinstalled. I had been using the Flex T9 app on my old Droid, but only because I had trouble keeping the Swype Beta apk I’d downloaded working. I haven’t had any issues whatsoever with Swype on the Droid Bionic, though. It works great and is my favorite keyboard app out there.

One feature that is also pretty neat is the ZumoCast app (already installed on the phone). The best way I’ve heard it described is cloud storage without the cloud. Basically, ZumoCast allows you to access files on your desktop computer or laptop and stream directly from them. So if you have a gigantic collection of music on your computer and it doesn’t all fit on your phone, it’s not a problem, just stream straight from your computer to your phone.

I do like the Motorola MOTOBLUR interface. I’ll be honest, I was on the fence about it at first but I’ve come to like it. I really do like the contact widget that comes with it called Quick Contacts. It’s kind of like speed dial in a nifty little interface.

I wasn’t a big fan of the extensive bloatware that came with the Bionic. I can’t figure out for the life of me why VZ Navigator and other crappy apps are installed on the phone when far betters apps (like Google Maps Navigation Beta) are already installed on the phone and are free other than it being a blatant, greedy money grab. Same goes with Visual Voicemail – just use Google Voice and you get FREE Visual Voicemail and virtually unlimited voicemail storage… not to mention Google Voice is just a far better way to do voicemail.

And don’t get me started on the City ID app. $2.99 a month? Are you kidding me? I like the feature a lot, but you can buy the app once your 30 day free trial is up in the Android Market for $1.99, and that’s not a monthly fee – it’s a one time payment.

One thing that was nice was that it came with NFL Mobile Premium. I’m not sure if that will continue for next year or not, but it was nice to be able to access all the premium video features of NFL Mobile without having to pay for it. Again, not a big thing, but a nice little perk.

Bottom Line

The bottom line for this phone is that yes, I’d absolutely recommend this phone in a heartbeat. It’s priced at $200 with a 2 year contract from Verizon.

In that price range, the Droid Razr & LG Spectrum (both are dual core, LTE phones) also certainly worth considering and since both feature faster processors, they just might be the phone you want.

Softphone Apps for the iPhone can vary in service, quality and savings. Some of these apps actually run on your phone while others are internet hosted. Some VoIP providers have apps you can use for free if you are already a subscriber.

Here is a list of the Top 10 VoIP apps for your iPhone:

SKYPE

The original Skype iPhone client came out just over 2 years ago. It was awesome then, and it is awesome now. They have added a handful of new features like 2-way video calling, which makes use of the front camera on the iPhone 4. Skype lets you use both 3g and Wi-Fi to make calls, including video calls. You can mute a call, accept calls only as audio and switch between both cameras on the phone. Through the Skype app you can also instant message, and chat via SMS.

Google Voice

With much anticipation from consumers, much uproar from phone companies and a little interference from the FTC, the Google Voice app is now available for iPhone. Unlike some of Google’s other applications, the Voice app runs native on the iPhone. The app lets you thread communications, so you can follow conversations. You can look up history. The app will also transcribe your voicemails so that you can read them as texts. Importing contact from your iPhone contact list is easy. Like with Skype, you have to be set up with the Google Voice to use the app.

Truphone

This was one of the first mobile VoIP applications offered in the app store and it remains one of the bestselling. Calls you make over a Wi-Fi network are free, as are calls between Truphone users. Calls to landlines are pretty cheap, even for VoIP service, so this is a great app if you make a lot of international calls. Installation and setting up an account can be a little tricky, but the call quality and customer service are above par. Plus, the app integrates with the iPhone GUI, so accessing contact and call information from your phone is easy.

Fring

Fring is more of a mobile aggregator since the app lets you access your various communication services. You can use Fring with your Skype, Google Talk, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo accounts. You can make calls either through your Skype account, or you can use SIP (a protocol) to make calls through any of a dozen VoIP service providers. Fring has a list of VoIP providers they work with, and signing up is easy and the calls are ridiculously cheap.

iCall

iCall lets you make calls from your phone that won’t count against your phone’s minutes, when you are connected to a Wi-Fi or 3G network. One of the major advantages with iCall is that if a phone call comes in to your phone over the regular cellular network and you are connected to Wi-Fi, you can transfer the call over. iCall is one of the few VoIP apps that is fully integrated with the iPhone. So you can easily access your phone’s contact lists.

About the Author: When he’s not out skiing the Utah powder, Greg Buckskin is a writer and blogger for Comcast.USDirect.com – home to  Comcast Deals.

And while Android didn’t start out being all that great for business users, there are now plenty of fantastic apps for the business user on the go.

Here are a few of our favorites and the ones we feel are the best Android Apps for business users.

1. Google Maps Navigation

When you’re traveling, you probably prefer to have as few of things you need and having a separate GPS is just another thing you can lose.  Fortunately, with Google Maps Navigation, you can find your way to wherever you need to go and all for free.

This app was actually the one that finally pushed me over the edge and made me decide I was going to give Android a try and I’m happy I did.

2. Google Voice + Google Voice Callback

When it comes to Voicemail, it’s hard to beat the unlimited storage of Google Voice and the free voicemail transcription is fantastic.  It sure beats checking a long backlog of messages just to see if there are any important ones.   And the price of FREE makes this one of the very best Android apps out there.

If you make a lot of calls but don’t have a lot of minutes, you can get an app called Google Voice Callback which will allow you to make unlimited phone calls using Google Voice.  The trick to making the whole thing work is to assign your Google Voice number to one of the phone numbers you’re allowed unlimited calling to with on a Friend and Family Plan.

3. Ringcentral

While this app is only useful if you’re a Ringcentral user, it sure is darn handy.  Since I run my own small business and have multiple different numbers and fax lines, this app allows me to manage all of them, including voicemail and faxes all from my cell phone.

4. It’s about Time

There are plenty of finance apps available on the Android platform, but if you’re a Quickbooks user, this is the one you’ll want as it is integrated with Quickbooks 2007 and later and allows you important and export information to Quickbooks.  If your business books are powered by Quickbooks, then you’ll want to have this app on your phone.

5. Dropbox

This is a fantastic little app for keeping files synced between multiple devices.  With Dropbox you don’t have to worry if a file is on your laptop, desktop, or cell phone.  All files put in your Dropbox folder are automatically synced between all of your devices.

6. Currency

For those traveling abroad frequently, having an app to do currency conversions for you is a handy thing to have.  There are plenty of good apps on the market that will do this task for you – we like the Currency app but get whichever one you like best.

7. Locale

Locale is a fantastic app that will prevent your phone’s ringer from going off when you don’t want it to – like in an important meeting.  You can set it to make sure you phone doesn’t ring when you’re in a certain location or during specific times.   You can even set up certain rules so that only certain people can call you at certain times while all others are sent straight to voicemail.

8. Google Calendar

This one is built into your phone so you shouldn’t need to download it, but I do recommend you use it as it allows you to see what’s on your agenda for the day a quick and easy task.  You can even setup a widget to see your appointments without even opening up the app.

9. Worldcard Mobile

If you’re sick of manually entering in contacts, this app makes it simple.  Just take a business card and take a picture of the card.  The app will then read the text on the card and all that information to your contacts – simple as that.

10. Cab4Me

Need to get a cab?  This app makes it easy to find cab companies wherever you are.

11. Google Translate

If you need real time translation, then Google Translate is the app to get.  If you just can’t understand someone, use this app to get your point across.  It also has text to speech capabilities so if you need to translate some text quickly, this app can do it for you.

12. TripIt

When it comes to organizing all of your travel information in one place, it’s hard to find an app that does it better than TripIt.

13. Basecamp

For project management, I love Basecamp.  While basecamp has it’s own mobile site, it doesn’t have it’s own official Android app.  There are plenty of third part apps out there to help you connect to your Basecamp account, though.   You can try Beacon, Proejct Schedule Free or Baby Milestones.  See which works best for you.

14. Gmote 2.0

I actually have an entire screen devoted to remote control apps but my favorite one is the Gmote 2.0 app.  While it has plenty of cool features, the one I find myself using is as a remote control for my Powerpoint presentations and since it operates over Wifi, I never have to worry about being out of range.

15. Documents ToGo

If you’re a Microsoft Office user and need to be able to use and modify files on the go, then ThinkFree Office Mobile is the app for you.  It works with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files as well as PDFs and Google Docs.

One thing that’s still missing – A Call Recorder

The only reservation I have about making an Android Powered phone your business cell phone is the lack of a call recorder.  If a call recorder is something you need to have, then you’ll want to hold off on getting an Android Phone.  When or if this feature will ever come to the Android platform remains a mystery so don’t hold your breath.

One workaround that you can use is to record incoming calls through Google Voice – just press “4” on your number pad and the recording starts and when you’re done it’ll show up in your Google Voice account.  Unfrotunately, it doesn’t work with outgoing calls, but it’s better than nothing.

If you can live without the call recorder, then an Android phone could serve you well and we’d highly recommend one.

What Do You Think?

Did I miss any apps that you feel are worthy of being on this list?  Got a bone to pick with one of our selections?  Let me hear about it in the comments below.

Updated 1/9/12

Since I did my last list of must have android apps, a lot has changed – we’ve gone from Android 2.0 to Android 4.0, the Android Market has gone from 70,000 or so Apps to over 400,000 so I thought it was time to make a new 10 best android apps (and all of these are completely free or offer a fully functional lite or free version).

So if you just got a new Android phone, here are ten must have apps I’d make sure to download immediately (though depending on which phone you have you may already have a few of them)

So let’s get started…

1. Pandora – Pretty much ever “top ten” or “must have apps” list includes this program.  Who am I to argue?  If you like music, get this app.  I actually canceled my satellite radio subscription (which I loved) and spent the $36 a year for a Pandora One subscripton because I almost exclusively use Pandora for listening to music these day.
2. Chrome To Phone – This is one of those little known apps that is so incredibly useful I’m amazed that not everyone and their brother has it already.   Ever been browsing a website and wanted to send that page to your phone?  How about looking at a map or directions and just wanted to load it onto your phone?  With this app you can if you’re using Google Chrome.  Just press the chrome to phone button on your browser and a couple seconds later that page will be loaded on your phone.
3. Voice Actions / Voice Search – While pretty much every Android phone (and just about every smartphone in general) has voice search and voice commands, they don’t have anything like this. With this program you can send emails and text messages all with one command.  It’s called Google Voice Actions but will show up a “Voice Search” when you look for it in the market.   It’s not a Siri clone, (that app is called Iris, neat but still not useful enough to use on a regular basis) it’s been around for a while and allows you to use voice dialing, send texts, play music, and even set alarms on your phone.  It’s not quite as cool as Siri is, but it’s still pretty nice.
4. Doubletwist – This program likes to bill itself as iTunes for Android.  I say let’s not get carried away but this is easily the best program for any iTunes user to put their playlists on their Android phone.  It will read your playlists from your current iTunes and syncs to your Android phone just like iTunes syncs to an iPhone or iPod.  If you want to listen to music on your phone, then this is the app to get.   There is a premium version that offers wifi syncing, which if you listen to a lot of music might be worth the $5. 
5. WiFi File Transfer – Ever wanted to transfer a file from your computer to your phone or vice versa without having to hook up your USB cable?  There are a few apps that allow you to do just that – I like this one best because it makes it easy to do.
6. Carr Matey – I went to a college football game last weekend and I parked quite a ways from the stadium.  I made sure I used this app so I could remember where I parked after the game.  It’s a pirate themed car locator – sure there are other car locator apps out there but how many of those other apps allow you to “drop anchor” and “find your vessel” and displays an old fashioned looking compass telling your how many yards you are away from your vehicle?  (It’ll show you a regular map if you prefer but that’s no fun)
7. Google Voice – Let’s be honest, Google Voice is great and if you have an Android powered smartphone, it’s a no brainer plus you get free Visual Voicemail with it. 
8. Google Maps Navigation – this is the app that originally got me to take the plunge and buy a Droid in the first place.  Up until that point I’d been happily using my Motorola RAZR and didn’t feel the need to buy a smartphone.  However, when I learned that Google had released a free GPS navigation app for their Android powered devices, I was sold.   While it’s not quite as good as Navigon for the iPhone or as good as top of the line devices from TomTom or Garmin, it’s still makes my list as one of the top apps for any Android device… and the FREE part is hard to sneeze at.
9. Swype – This app was developed by Samsung and is of course included on all of their Android phones as well as some others, like the Droid Bionic.  It replaces your current keyboard with their very cool Swype technology.  It’s a little difficult to explain so just watch this video if you’d like to see it in action.  You won’t find it in the market but a little searching for the “Swype APK” will get you the file you need to add this keyboard to your phone – I put it on my original Droid and was thrilled when I got my Bionic and it was already there. 
10. Barcode Scanner – I was reading an article not too long ago that said even among college students, a lot of them didn’t know how to scan a qr code using the camera on their smartphone.  This app is a QR Code Scanner.  The last time I went to Sears I used this.  My friend and I saw a product that looked like it’d be nifty if it worked like it said it does so I scanned the barcode using my phone’s camera  and we were able to find the product online and more importantly to read user reviews that alerted us that the product was garbage… so we put it back on the shelf.

28 More Apps I Like

I probably won’t go into depth about most of these but I get asked about which apps I use so often that I figured I’d just give you a list of ones I’ve actually found useful even though they didn’t make my top ten list.

• ChompSMS – I use this for my text messaging instead of the default “Messaging” app.  The old messaging apps used to be pretty crappy and though it has improved I still prefer ChompSMS to the built in Android text messaging app – another good alternative that I’ve been testing out and like is GO SMS – try one of them out and see which you prefer.
• Netflix – The Netflix app isn’t perfect and isn’t available for every Android phone.  However, you can get it on most phones and all of the new ones.  If you have a Netflix subscription, this app allows you to take streaming movies and TV shows with you in your pocket so the next time your sitting in the dentist office waiting to be called, you can watch a TV show instead of paging through a magazine.
• Listen – This is another official Google App for listening to Podcasts and such.  Personally, I use and love PocketCasts for all of my Podcasting needs (I use that app nearly every day) but since PocketCasts isn’t free, it doesn’t make this list.  I’ve found Google Listen to be the best free Podcast manager.
• Google + – I don’t use Google + very much.  Heck, I use it so little that there’s really no point in adding me to your circles, but the reason the Google+ app is neat is that whenever you take a picture with your phone, it’ll automatically upload it (privately) to your Google+ account meaning your pictures are now easily and automatically transferred from your phone to the cloud where you can access them from any computer once you login to your Google Account.
• Google Currents – I’ve been playing around with this for a little while and I’ve decided it’s not quite spectacular enough to make the top 10 list, but it is worth mentioning.  Essentially Google Currents is Google’s attempt to translate rich magazine content into something that can be easily read on your smartphone.
• Hipmunk – I don’t use this app very often, but if you frequently need to search for airline tickets or hotels on your phone, this app is fantastic.  You won’t miss your computer.
• WaveSecure – Should your phone ever, heaven forbid, be stolen, this is the app you’ll want to have installed as it makes recovery more likely and can help you lock down your phone remotely so even if thieves have your phone, they won’t be able to access your personal information.
• SportsTap – A great app if you want to keep up with the score of the game (for just about any sport).  I use this all the time during football season to keep up with all the scores.
• NewsRob – If you use Google Reader to keep up with your favorite blogs, this is the perfect app to use to read them on your phone.  I use this app several times a day.
• Slacker – This is another music discovery app.
• Last.FM – Yet one more music discovery app.
• SoundHound – Absolutely one of my favorite apps.  If you’ve heard of Shazam, then you already know what this app does… excpet this app will let you sing the song you’re thinking of or hum the tune and it’ll do it’s darndest to identify it for you.  Next time you can’t think of the name of a song, give this app a try and no, you don’t have to be a good singer for it to correctly identify the right song – just know the lyrics or be able to accurately hum the tune.
• Rehearsal Assistant – My favorite voice record app for Android
• MotoTorch LED – Uses your camera’s LED flash as a flashlight – you’d be surprised how often this app comes in handy – make it easy to use by putting the widget on your phone’s homescreen.
• Ringdroid – I don’t use this one all that often but this app allows you to take any part of any song on your phone and turn it into a ringtone, alarm, or even as the text message alert sound.  Never pay for another ringtone!
• Astro – Best file manager for Android.
• Where’s My Droid – Ever forget your phone but you’re not sure where you forgot it?  If you have this app installed, you should never lose your Droid again (or at least not for very long).  Send it a specially coded text message (from your computer or friend’s phone) and it will tell you where it is by sending you its GPS coordinates and a link to its location on Google Maps.  If it’s in your house or apartment but you have it set to silent, you can also send it a text message that will turn the volume up to maximum so you can figure out which couch cushion your phone slid under.
• Google Voice Callback – I did a post on this a while back on how you can get unlimited calling with your Android Phone by using Google Voice and this app.  If you find yourself always running out of minutes, this is a good app to try.
• KeepScreen – Ever get annoyed when your phone’s screen times out and goes dark when you’re trying to watch or read something?  Just install this app and you can select apps where the screen will always stay on even if there is no activity.
• Layar – Looking for the nearest coffee shop, pizza place, bar, hotel, or just about anything else.  Just load up this app and your phone will take you to it using their augmented reality browser.  It’s a little hard to explain, but download it and give it a whirl, you’ll probably like it.
• Notepad – exactly what is says.
• Owner – What happens when you set your phone down somewhere and someone else finds it and would like to return it to you?  Well, if you have this app installed, as soon as they turn on the screen for your phone they’ll see your name and who to contact to return the phone.
• Places Directory – Another app made by Google and pretty straightforward.  Allows you to find any category of business wherever you are and find not only the closest one but also to view contact information and reviews of the business you’re considering going to.
• Seesmic – Yes, Twitter has it’s own official app… but Seesmic is better and doesn’t suck up as many resources.
• Startup Cleaner Pro – Sometimes your phone can get a little bogged down with too many apps loading during startup.  Download this app and tell some of them not to load on startup – just like using msconfig in windows!
• What Zip – Now that just about every phone has a GPS antenna in it, they can all tell you where you are but what about what zip code you’re in?  This app does just that.
• Lookout Mobile Security – This one has been advertised in Verizon’s latest commercials for their Droid X and Droid 2 phones but it’ll work on any Android Phone.  This free app will scan your phone for viruses, backup your phone’s information, and can help you locate your phone in the event you lose it (though it’s not nearly as good as Where’s My Droid in my opinion for this task – for the other two, it’s pretty sweet).  If you want an app that’s similar and adds in the functionality of allowing you to block SMS messages (something Android doesn’t have built in functionality for) try out Webroot Mobile Security
• Groupon – I can’t think of the last time I actually went to Groupon’s site to check the daily deal and that’s coming from a person who works on their computer all day.  I always check it with this nifty little app on my phone.

What do you think?  Any apps that I should have mentioned?  Any that shouldn’t have made the list?    Let me have it in the comments section below.

One thing that business users expect on a smartphone is the ability to record a phone call.

There is plenty written about the legality of recording phone calls, and if you’re trying to secretly record calls, you could be asking for trouble.  However, not everyone wants to record phone calls for nefarious purposes.  Here’s a good resource about recording calls.

For example, I was just on a call this morning with a client and he wanted to know how we could record the conversation because he couldn’t keep up with everything I was saying and wanted to be able to go back and review the apparent wisdom I was pontificating.

We were on Skype at the time, so I just turned on Pamela (that’s what the software suite I used is called) and recorded away.

But how do you record a call if you’re on an Android powered phone?  There is sadly no built in functionality to do it, but fortunately a few apps have come to the market that get the job done nicely.

But first let’s start with the free option.

Free Call Recording With Google Voice

You can record calls with Google Voice.  Unfortunately, that means you can only record incoming calls, not outgoing.    However it’s simple to do –  just press 4 on your number pad and it will start recording the conversation.  You’ll find the conversation in your Voice control panel within a few minutes and you can send the recording to the other party easily from the control panel.

This is the easiest way to record calls on any Android powered phone despite the limitation of being able to only record incoming calls.  If you need to record outgoing calls… then read on as things get a little trickier.

Best Call Recording Android Apps

There are a lot of so called call recording apps on the Android Market.  The problem is that a lot of them don’t work.   I’ve found that none of the free apps on the market are worth downloading and after testing out several different call recording apps have settled on AllCallRecorder Deluxe.  It’s a $2.95 app and there’s a free trial version you can test out before you have to buy anything.  Keep in mind it doesn’t work with all phones, but it does work with a lot of them and works well with almost all of the popular devices.

One other app you may want to take a look at is Super Call Recorder – I haven’t personally tested it out but it has good reviews and might work for you in case AllCallRecorder Deluxe doesn’t and also has a free trial version so you can verify that it works before you pay for it.

While paying $2.95 for functionality you think should be built into your phone isn’t ideal, I think it’s a lot better than having a Blackberry because then while you can easily record phone calls, you have to suffer with having a Blackberry.  :)

If you have an app that you’ve been using that’s working well for you, please post in the comments along with the model of phone you’re using.

I was actually hoping it would allow me to record outgoing calls on my phone, but alas, it didn’t turn out to work that way.  I did, however, learn it gives me the ability to make unlimited calls provided I have a few things:  A Google Voice Account, A Friends and Family Plan with unlimited calling to certain numbers, and an Android Powered phone.

As it turned out, I met all the requirements.  :-)

I remember thinking that Google Voice was relatively useless to me when I first got it but decided I should get a number anyway especially while the good numbers were still available so I did and there it sat until December when I upgraded from my Razr to a Droid.  Now I find Google Voice indispensable and this latest little trick only makes it more awesome.

Basically, this little app logs into your Google Voice account and uses the three way calling ability of the program.  First it calls your cell phone from Google Voice (basically you get a phone call from yourself, then as soon as you answer the call, it initiates the call to the person you were calling.)  It takes an extra ten seconds or so to make a call using this method, FYI.

Now the magic comes from that unlimited calling you get to certain numbers with your Friends and Family program.  Just make your Google Voice number one of your favorites and now you can call people anytime for free.

I already have a pretty beefy calling plan on my phone since I work as a consultant and spend a lot of time on my cell phone, however, I still manage to burn through my minutes pretty quickly, however, with this little trick I never have to worry about running going over on my minutes using this system.

I’ll probably still make most calls using my cell phone but any conversation that I know is going to take a while, I’ll go through the extra step of using the Google Voice Callback system… now if I could just figure out a way to record those calls…

I’ve seen a lot of people making lists of “must have” Android apps, and then they go and include stuff you definitely don’t need, but is certainly cool.

For example, on my phone I have the Tricorder and Lightsaber apps.  While they’re both cool, if you deleted them tomorrow, I’d be sad, but I’d survive.

On the other hand, if you took away my Google Voice Visual Voicemail (note: this is how you get Visual Voicemail for free – don’t pay for it, just get this App and a Google Voice account), I’d be without Voicemail.

So here is my list of what I think are some “must have” Apps.  Keep in mind that while I’m fairly tech savvy, I’m no expert on what should or shouldn’t be on a smartphone – I think all the features are cool.

Oh, and one more thing.  I’ve seen some people complain about how the phone (Motorola Droid and other Android phones like the Nexus One and HTC offerings) lacks certain features out of the box.  That’s the cool part – if you want to do it, there’s probably an App for that, and if there isn’t, you can create one!  It’s infinitely customizable to you.  That’s the real appeal to the iPhone and Android phones.

Anyway, must have Droid Apps…

1. ChompSMS or HandSent2 – The built in SMS on Android sucks donkey balls.  It didn’t allow me to send a text to multiple people at once or to groups.   ChompSMS fixes that little snafu.  It’s the app I use most often.
2. Contact Owner – Ever left your phone somewhere, but can’t for the life of you remember where it is?  I know I have.  And if not for the person how found it being ambitious enough to call contacts in my phone, I wouldn’t have found it.  This app is quite simple – it displays your name and contact info (including alternate phone number and email address) on the phone with an “if found, contact” message.  If someone finds your phone, they’ll know how and who to contact to return it.
3. Wave Secure – Smartphones are expensive even when heavily subsidized by your phone company.  What would you do if it got stolen?  Well, being careful is the best way to make sure nobody steals your phone, but if they do, you’ve got WaveSecure.  If your phone is stolen, this App can help track it back down and will even notify people (that you pick) that your phone has been stolen.  It can even lock the phone down so that the thieves can’t access your personal information.
4. Home++ – Android has three screens by default for putting shortcuts and icons on.   Honestly, once you start playing around with your phone, you’ll find yourself wanting more screens to better organize the apps you use most often.  For example, on my phone I have a screen just for music programs and one just for all the various programs for going online.  Home++ allows you to have up to seven screens and it does some other cool stuff too, but all I use it is for the extra screens.
5. Pandora – While Android is certainly not iPhone for music, it’s certainly a capable device.  I really like my customized Pandora radio stations and being able to listen to them while I’m driving in the car (or wherever I happen to be) is awesome.  Last.fm and Slacker are also both good music streaming clients if you’d like more options.
6. Voice Recorder – The Droid has no built in voice recorder.  No problem, just download “voice recorder” or “rehearsal”, problem solved.
7. FoxyRing and Locale – There are two apps that have a similar function and Locale is definitely the more ambitious of the two, however I don’t need all the features and find FoxyRing is exactly what I need.  You’ll probably want at least one of them if not both.   FoxyRing is an app that measures ambient noise and adjusts the ringer volume accordingly.  In a loud bar?  Then the ringer will go off at it’s loudest volume so you can hear it.  Sitting in your living room reading a book?  Then the ringer will go off at a much lower volume so it doesn’t scare the bejesus out of you.   It also features a “silent” mode.  You can set times when the phone simply won’t go off.  In class at a certain time every day?  Just set the phone to be in silent mode.   Don’t want to take phone calls in the middle of the night?  Again, silent mode.  However, you can set the phone to allow certain emergency contacts to get through.  So if you want your mother to be able to call in case of a family emergency, but not your drunk friends, this is the perfect app for that.
8. Mototorch – This is another simple app.  It uses the LED flash on the camera as a flashlight.  It’s simple, but handy.
9. Gtask – Another simple app that synchs to Google tasks in your Gmail account.  There are a ton of “to do list” apps and really cool ones like “don’t forget the milk.”  For me, this simple one is all I need and the fact that it synchs to Gmail, which I use all day long is why I chose it.
10. KeepScreen – This is an ultra handy app – and all it does it keeps your screen from turning off.  For example, if you’re playing music, but want to keep the controls up without having to unlock the screen every time, this program will do it.  You can set it so that when certain programs are running, the screen simply doesn’t turn off.  Be careful as leaving programs run will drain your battery faster than two shakes of a lambs tail, but it’s great when you just need the screen to stay on without having to touch it every few seconds.

Oh, and while this one is built in, if you use Google Calendar, you can have it text you a reminder if you have anything scheduled you don’t want to forget.  I didn’t know about it until recently, but now I use it regularly.

Those are some of my favorite “must have” apps.

I’ll probably make a list of ones that are “nifty” and “spiffy” but not quite as practical in the future, but that’s all I’ve got for today.