Related
As of Jan 3,2011...
If anyone can give information / review about how different apps save downloaded art, it would be very helpful. It seems that art can be embedded in ID3 tags, or it can have put in a folder. But different programs save in different folders or into an "album art" file...which may not be compatible with different programs. Also, how does iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media handle this? (Ive used each for my music collection, and so may have different types of cover art formats in my collection)
12/28/2010 I didn't mean to start making this into a bigger post. But let me first say what I'm looking at/for:
Features I'm paying attention to:
headset control
Lock Screen and homepage widget
General UI ( and in particular, ease of getting from a "playlist" back to the "Now playing" quickly
Features which are sort of cool to me:
lyric display
Folder / File Organization
Album art (it would help me if someone could tell me about the different types and options here. ID3 mode? Files?
(and a distant fourth in importance) Video player
Equalizer (I don
't care about this but everyone else seems to be)
Features are just can't get myself to care about:
Scrobbing (whatever the hell that is)
Social stuff
Any damn fraking thing that statistically analyzes my preference in order to help me decide what I like. I don't want to robotize my music.
So this is what I have looked at so far:
Samsung Default:
Great Status bar and lock screen controls. headset controls. Has equalizer. NO Folder Select (it scans all music on the phone and so will get unintended stuff into the library). Nothing special other than this, but it a good app. HOWEVER, I'm now using Darky's ROM which does not have the Samsung Lock Screen. The Samsung player's lockscreen widget is tied to the Samsung lockscreen. Also does not have homescreen widget, but this is more than made up for by the very good notification bar integration.
Meridian:
Plays video and music. Headset controls but no lock screen. Good gesture control. Edit ID Tags
Cubed:
Video and Music. NIce Lockscreen widget. Headset controls. Art download in ID3 mode. However I still don't terribly like the interface, but it works. Has a directory filter , so can play just a folder and keep out unwanted songs (like game songs). Downloads art in ID3...method. Don't know if that's good or bad. There really is no "Now Playing" screen. It just shows it super-imposed on the song library. Which is not pretty but its actually functional. For me, Cubed is a good free app.
MixZing:
Plays music and video. Options up the yingyang, including lots of social crap. I'm not going to detail here because lockscreen version is a paid app, and I'm focusing on not paying (it does have trial period though). Good UI. Can do folder view, and has good folder management options. Can switch between folder list and now playing very quickly. Has headset controls. Has Equalizer. Auto-download album art. The free version is staying on my phone because it plays video. Lots of damn social crap.
Winamp:
Just plays Music. Interface easy, but maybe a little dull (maybe there are skinning options?). Has headset controls and lockscreen. Ability to look up info and search on the artist. Ability to syn with Winamp desktop, so a good choice if you use that. Some social crap. No Equalizer
DoubleTwist:
Looks a little like Winamp, but also plays video. Has Lockscreen wideget and headset controls. With $5 purchase can sync with Itunes. No equalizer.
UI is mostly good, if not exciting. Does not do folder view(!). Not that many options. If I wanted to use one player for both music and video, and have the lockscreen widget and handset controls, this definitly works. It also has art download, but that's not so important to me. I also use iTunes Agent to file-sync anyway.
Miui:
Bare basic player. No equalizer. No lockscreen widget. No headset controls. What this does have is a) art download , and most exciting b) lyric read-along. I intend to use this app just for my KTV practice, so it will stay on my phone
(but I recently discovered Lyrics App, which allows me to see Lyrics of everything).
PowerAmp:
This has everything. But the free version is 15 day trialware, and I don't want to go through it all here. One thing I remember about this is that it allows fine customization of its widget appearence.
TinyPlayer:
As the name implies, a small player with minimum bells and wistles. My device is an SGS which generally has an OK time with demanding applications, so this is not for me. But for those who want a simple bare-minimum player, this works.
......
Others have mentioned apps which I need to pay for to try, such as Lithium Player... apps which have a social network focus (Tunewiki), and apps that I need to flash (CW Mod). I'm sorry I cannot add these to this list now.
12/27/2010
I'm in China and sometimes the market is problematic (although I could just fix that with a VPN). When I can download again, I intend to note the features of :
btunes
Astro Player
TuneWiki
Also, I will re-download all the above (I just wiped-flash Darky's awesome ROM for my SGS) and go back over the others and note down features I missed.
Here is a pic of the homescreen widgets.
Widgets (from top to bottom):
Meridian
Cubed
MixZing
Winamp
Doubletwist
I'll never understand why people say they don't understand "cubed" interface. What's confusing about it? It's the same thing as scrolling through albums with a little animation. The new update gives you control over the directory files, so it's not like it's different then any other player. Do people really get that shocked when they see something that looks different but operates the exact same?
Just scroll up or down, man. You'll see the albums or artist (depending on how you choose) in ABC order. You want to skip to a different letter, scroll side to side. That's literally the entire learning curve. Don't like the cube? Change the view mode to Morph Flow. Don't like looking at albums? Change the view mode to boring, it just gives you a list.
The only thing I can possibly imagine people being slow to realize is that to change the place of a song, you click on the dotted light thing at the bottom. To change from artist to album to song you drag the dotted bar in the bottom-middle to the right or left.
This all took me less then 2 minutes to figure out.
poweramp = iTunes . I'm off it. same **** different skin. Cubed can scan all the bands in your library and tell you A) when their upcoming release is and B) the next time their playing a show within 50 miles of you (you can adjust the distance). Now THAT'S practical application.
I appreciate you putting this list together. It is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
Hands down the best player is TINY PLAYER. It actually does REAL folder play like you're using windows explorer on your home computer.
Another great feature is the live font size option which lets me read long file names. Even Poweramp doesn't have that crucial feature. What good is it if I can't read what song it is. Especially true for Classical music with long file names.
PS - It is the ugliest ui ever tho lol. But I really don't care.
PS2 - Poweramp doesn't have everything. It lacks sleep timer and font size changing to read long file names. And no true folder play. Both of which are available in tiny player. and it is tiny at 64kb
I figured I would throw a few notes in the discussion about music players since music is a big part of my Android experience. I use two apps, one for playing music located on my phone, and another app for streaming from my home PC.
1) Mixing:
the main reason I bought this app was because of the lock screen abilities. Not only does it give you gesture commands from the lock screen, but it also has a setting that will make the lock screen come active for a few seconds each time a new song starts, showing the album art and song information. I like this a lot since it allows me to see what has just started playing, and mainly because it gives me a few seconds to skip the song if I do not like it ... instead of having to hit the power button first to activate the screen, like all the other music apps do ... it's one less step to distract you when driving. It is a small, nitch feature, but it is worth the money of the full version app for me. I have yet to find another music app that does this.
2) Audiogalaxy:
Hands down, this is the best app to use if you want to stream music from your home computer. This is great for people like me that have huge music libraries that will not fit on an SD card. All you have to do is download the app for your phone, install a small program on your PC, and sign up on their website. It is free, and it simply works with no hastles. I have tried many other apps that I could not get to work ... they all required me to **** around with ports and IP addresses, and I could not get any of them to work. Audiogalaxy was so easy my mom could do it. No screwing around with ports or IP's, just install, setup which folders you want to scan, and then wait for it to build your library. Great app!!
Hopefully Mixzing adds streaming ability into its code so I can just use one music app. Until then I will continue to use these two apps together. Together they make for an awesome music experience on the Android phone.
hi, nice list for reference.
just a quick note from me, i'm using miui and the lockscreen and heatset controls works on cm6 which has those tweaks modded on.
irish22022 said:
I'll never understand why people say they don't understand "cubed" interface. What's confusing about it? ...
Just scroll up or down, man. You'll see the albums or artist (depending on how you choose) in ABC order. ...
...Cubed can scan all the bands in your library and tell you A) when their upcoming release is and B) the next time their playing a show within 50 miles of you (you can adjust the distance). Now THAT'S practical application.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I should say I like "folder view". Or just Song List. I have a lot of songs from independents, songs un-attributed in the tags, songs from Chinese artists, etc. So I don't want to go to an Album or Artist, but rather to a folder. I'm sorry...I did not know the correct terminology.
As for internet-related content, you may have seen I call that stuff "social crap". I have no idea what scrobbing is. The artists don't come to China. And even if I was in the US, I really could not care to share my music tastes with others... let everyone find their own muse.
nghj said:
hi, nice list for reference.
just a quick note from me, i'm using miui and the lockscreen and heatset controls works on cm6 which has those tweaks modded on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. Sounds cool. I don't want to have to flash something just to get that function though. But having lyrics is fun.
AlexNC75 said:
I figured I would throw a few notes in the discussion about music players since music is a big part of my Android experience. I use two apps, one for playing music located on my phone, and another app for streaming from my home PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just focusing on Apps that I can use outside. But thanks for those comments. Does AudioGalaxy allow non-streaming, regular functionality? FYI some of the other players above (I think Meridian) also have streaming, but I didn't review this because its not something I look for. I need to update for this feature I guess.
I will now download tinyplayer and add this to the review. I also hope to download (from somewhere) the stock Android player.
Right now probably Doubletwist will be my main player, only because its a music and video player that has lockscreen widget and headset controls. OR I will try to reinstall the Galaxy SGS player (which is uninstalled after flashing Darky's ROM). Funny thing is Doubletwist's main sell-point is iPhone integration, and I don't care enough about that to purchase it.
If I was going to spend money (which I may just do), then Mixing is the best of what I have reviewed so far. I don't know if its worth $5 for now.
I personally use 2 music players
1 standard CyanogenMod player
2 Lithium player
I normally do this because I will have music on lithium, and podcast download through methods other than my podcast player in t he CM music player.
since nobody mentioned lithium and it's a pay app I would mention a few things..
Pro: Looks great, UI is great and has nice things like volume built in, multi-colors/customizations and the #1 reason I bought it is it grabs album art for with a few clicks!
Cons: The ui for FF/RW skips to big of a segment in a 2 hour, or 2 hour podcast (not a big deal, it's a music player not a podcast player) and one semi-major issue for me is the program NEVER shows up in tasks (holding home), or previously used programs (etc). For some reason android doesn't recognize it as a program and the CM lockscreen music controls don't work for it.
To me the pro's outweigh the cons so I purchased it even if just for the album grabber.
I still really like bTunes.
I know it's abandonware, but it's only $1.49.
Looks like the iPod player (may be a good thing or a bad thing), it's very simple to use, it has a nice widget and even though it hasn't been updated in some time, it works great on froyo and never crashes on my phone. I don't think it has an equalizer.
TuneWiki is my fave, actually one of my fave Android apps.
Music Player Pro is still the best for me, I wish PowerAmp gets some of MPP features to use only one.
Thanks for the comments about the apps you tested
Tinyplayer for me on the Inc. Half the players can't find the built in memory. Most of the others can't restrict themselves to a folder so a bunch of sound files that aren't music and belong to games.
dvdivx said:
Tinyplayer for me on the Inc. Half the players can't find the built in memory. Most of the others can't restrict themselves to a folder so a bunch of sound files that aren't music and belong to games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking at Mort Player now and it also does folder selection but has a lot more options, (headset control for one)
I'm still using the basic player ...
I've tried some of the more robust apps, but damn if they don't chew up a bunch of runtime memory, causing lag. I'd like an equalizer, but I don't want all the extra garbage that comes with an app, when I don't need it.
Have gone through various music players but Power Amp is the best it's worth paying for in the market.
Rockbox is absolutely the best choice. Equalizer, actual playlist support, themes, lockscreen controls, and plays every codec at the highest quality you throw at it. Just missing widgets, but it's a little buggy at the moment and it's still early in development.
i think u forgot TTPOD
A nice feature is if it is compatible with Last.FM scrobble apps
Nice summary atm i use Winamp becausr it has a esay ui and i love the shoutcast Radio Feature but maybe i switch to Double Twist because of the wifi sync i dont know yet...
Lollipop_Lawlipop said:
Rockbox is absolutely the best choice. Equalizer, actual playlist support, themes, lockscreen controls, and plays every codec at the highest quality you throw at it. Just missing widgets, but it's a little buggy at the moment and it's still early in development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will check it out. Widgets is a must-have for me, unless it also has a status bar control option (which is even better than widgets.
jonny68 said:
Have gone through various music players but Power Amp is the best it's worth paying for in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree, but I'm not sure how much money I want to spend on my phone. Part of me wants to get an iPhone and never have to fudge around with settings and roms again. Part of me hates the iPhone because I can't do with it what I want. So I'm trying not to invest more money in my phone unless I get something really really must-have. As the default player with the SGS is good (and now can use it with Darky's ROM), I'm good.
phoezies said:
i think u forgot TTPOD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will check it out and update.
Zalastax said:
A nice feature is if it is compatible with Last.FM scrobble apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in China and so have missed the social network craze. I think if I was in USA, I still would have missed it.
Poapfel said:
Nice summary atm i use Winamp becausr it has a esay ui and i love the shoutcast Radio Feature but maybe i switch to Double Twist because of the wifi sync i dont know yet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Winamp's UI is easy, but Double Twist is very similar UI IMO.
Hey gang-
I've learned alot in 48 hrs. I rooted my phone and added vegaN gingerbread.
I have a problem with my clock not being correct after each reboot. Could anyone help me out.
Also was curious what music player likes intunes for ipod that you guys use to store and create playlists in.
And what movie player works best for avi movies I download.
THANKS, Love the fact I have a tablet that I paid $225 for and it is getting massive use! oh, oh, oh how do you check your speed like I see everyone posting. 1900 etc.
sorry after the fact I... posted in the wrong spot.
First thing I would check on the Clock would be have you installed a task killer? Make sure you ignore the clock in that app if you have.
Is it a widget thats not updating, or the clock in the status bar? I've had all my widgets just stop updating before. They all had to just be removed, and re-added.
For music I would recommend PlayerPro for locally saved files.
Really the best music app though is Subsonic. You install on your pc, and then the app on the tab, you can stream or download any of the music on your pc from anywhere. Even better is the server thats running on the pc also creates a web interface which can be accessed from any web browser on any machine.
For video, I've had the best luck with Rockplayer.
And lastly, don't worry about benchmarking. It provides a number but doesnt really do anything. Especially with gingerbread, theres no hardware drivers, so all it's gonna do is dissapoint you.
If you must.. The main ones are antutu, quadrant, and linpack.
I never had a smartphone so may look like a stupid question
I know you can do many great stuff, like browsing net, listening music, using skype, watching movies, etc. But is there something really cool? I know there a thousands of great apps to download but most of them you don't need. I mean yeah you can have cool weather app in your phone but who cares, you can just go to web and look what the weather will be.. It looks like smartphone is just an expensive toy, or?
I plan on buying SGS2 and I like browsing net, watching movies, so I definitelly will find what to do with this phone, but I wonder maybe it's something cool what I still don't know
once you have a smartphone you will soon learn to rely on it for everything....it becomes a necessary evil lol
don't think of it as a phone, more like a handheld computer that can do everything you desire and still make phone calls
Games
I use mine as a to replace my psp, mp3 and usb stick. But the most useful is web browsing
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
GAMES...it's freaking me out every time playing mobile games on a touching screen
have full control ..........
Well games are something what I really don't plan to do on smartphone. Unless really cool games comes up
You do everything on it... quick computer needs, write notes, keep schedule, check mail, send mail, read news updates, play games while riding the bus. You know, the usual stuff.
I find it impossible to go back...
Convenience. What else?
You can do pretty much everything: play games, listen to music, take pictures, record video, browse your internet, download lots of useful apps from the Market, root your phone, install custom ROMs, and even make your own ROMs!
Games, Movies, Music, GPS, Camera, Calendar, Internet and more and more... and this is why it is so needed. There are so many things to do with a smartphone and i'm sure when you'll get one you won't sorry and you'll know what to do with it.
I dont use it as phone. More of a pocketable laptop.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
IMHO is a complete replacement of a pc
Games, Music, Ebooks, ..... But it can't replace a PC
Hi, i just updated my Galaxy tab to 2.3.3 Gingerbreab, and i want to install some good apps.
So, can someone tell me which app is better for my Galaxy Tab?
First, i want a good browser. Which is better: Dolphin HD, xScope or Stock Browser ?
Then, i want a good music player. I used playerpro and poweramp, but i didn't know which is better.
I want to watch some xvid and mkv movies and i don't know what player to choose.
How can i see when my tablet is fully charged ? Can you recomend me some good apps or widgets ?
Thanks.
Web browser: Dolphin HD
Email client: K9-mail
Launcher: Go Laucher Ex
Backup: Titanium backup
RSS reader: Pulse
Browser: Dolphin HD is very powerful and has a very good UI. For a lighter, cleaner and potentially quicker browser without the functions, try Miren Browser. (Sorry, but i found xScope to be pretty crap on my Tab)
Music Player: Although PlayerPro is pretty good (and has the neat ratings transfer function), PowerAMP is amazing so it definitely takes the prize here. See http://goo.gl/7Zyny
Video Player: This is a very personal choice and I would advocate trial and error to see which one can play your particular files the best. As a shortlist I would try out VPlayer, Vital Player, QQPlayer, RockPlayer and any others you see around the Market with good reviews.
And I would suggest Smart Battery Monitor for your battery needs. Very effective.
Hope that helps
battery solo widget looks great. it changed his color while charging and
when you tab on it, it shows the temperatur of the battery.
AlexTrofosila said:
Hi, i just updated my Galaxy tab to 2.3.3 Gingerbreab, and i want to install some good apps.
So, can someone tell me which app is better for my Galaxy Tab?
First, i want a good browser. Which is better: Dolphin HD, xScope or Stock Browser ?
Then, i want a good music player. I used playerpro and poweramp, but i didn't know which is better.
I want to watch some xvid and mkv movies and i don't know what player to choose.
How can i see when my tablet is fully charged ? Can you recomend me some good apps or widgets ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Browser I recommend Dolphin Mini, lightweight counterpart to Dolphin HD.
Music player, Power Amp hands down.
Movies, Moboplayer is the one. (I personally like all my movies in one "universal" format that everything i have plays, mp4, so I have a habit of converting everything as I download them to mp4, HD or SD.)
Battery Indicator Pro is a great battery monitor/status app.
I'm not a Widgets person.
Sent from my SCH-I800
Thanks for the help.
I installed Dolphin Mini, ProPlayer, Vplayer, K9-Mail, but i still didn't know which app is better for battery.
I like Battery Indicator Pro, but i have some questions:
1. That timers: Light usage left, Heavy usage left, i can set them manually or they will be set automatically?
•ADW launcher
•dolphin HD
•thumb keyboard
•greader
•kindle/aldiko
•mobo player
•poweramp
•tweetdeck
Just a couple of suggestions based on my tastes
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
What app for network monitoring should i use ?
AlexTrofosila said:
Thanks for the help.
I installed Dolphin Mini, ProPlayer, Vplayer, K9-Mail, but i still didn't know which app is better for battery.
I like Battery Indicator Pro, but i have some questions:
1. That timers: Light usage left, Heavy usage left, i can set them manually or they will be set automatically?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are automatic estimates (guess-timates) based on current usage. It's like your laptop telling you how much battery life you have left based on your usage (power profile). It's not something that is to be "set manually".
videoplayer = moboplayer, best i've ever used, even play asf when samsung stock player cant open it (dun even know what kind of format is that, but i got from a friend)
browser i prefer opera mobile
musicplayer, i like that wp7 player with a nice ui, i use samsung stock for concert hall mode on, power amp is good for equalizing
while launcher, i like the sophstication of windows phone 7, so i go with launcher 7
not really practical, but for me its cool
Root Uninstaller
AlexTrofosila said:
Hi, i just updated my Galaxy tab to 2.3.3 Gingerbreab, and i want to install some good apps.
So, can someone tell me which app is better for my Galaxy Tab?
First, i want a good browser. Which is better: Dolphin HD, xScope or Stock Browser ?
Then, i want a good music player. I used playerpro and poweramp, but i didn't know which is better.
I want to watch some xvid and mkv movies and i don't know what player to choose.
How can i see when my tablet is fully charged ? Can you recomend me some good apps or widgets ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Buddy,
If you want some performance for all your interested apps try "Root Uninstaller" and get rid of unused stock apps. It will improve tab's performance + bat life.
THankz
Good Luck
Post any, who doesn't like new intriguing apps.
For me its
-Zeam launcher so smooth and clean no junk
-Hdr camera turns your crappy 8mp into a professional camera, pics come out great
-agile lock, its a sense type of lock screen super smooth
-multiicon widget , lets you fit 4x more icons on your screen
-Springpad. Lets you save notes, tasks etc. And they'll never erase unless you want them to be erased.
- pulse, basically the best newsfeed widget.and that's it you guys post some cool new apps that you know of. That would be great
Sent from my SCH-I510
And has anyone tried nemus launcher I heard it was smoother than launcher pro.
Sent from my SCH-I510
Another pretty sweet launcher is Regina 3D Launcher. I like everything about it but I can't go back to an aosp dock with 3 non customizable icons.
Sent from my HUMBLE by Danalo1979 using XDA App
Minecraft now exists on the market =D
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Minecraft Pocket Edition = Great time killer, no survival however
Mobo Video Player Pro = Insanely superior replacement for the stock video player
QuickPic = Insanely superior replacement for the stock Gallery app
PowerAMP = AWESOME(and as an audophile i mean AWESOME) music player! With the built in equalizer and loads of presets(i love the "soft bass" preset) + Voodoo Control Plus(for voodoo sound drivers, i don't think you need the plus version for the drivers but i felt Supercurio deserved, at the very least, the slight revenue for the great work with everything Voodoo) + .flac format songs + nice quality headphones = LOL WTF! HOW DOES IT SOUND SO GOOD ON MY PHONE!?
I also heard Neutron MP was good. I tried it a few times and it was too complicated so I went back to PowerAMP :]
HDR Camera+ or Pro HDR Camera are nice apps(like previously mentioned a few posts up) to make your camera look great! I thought pictures were high quality before but ****, this takes it to another level. I don't even know how it's possible.
Fast Burst Camera = take like 100 pictures in 4 seconds. It just takes burst shots so you can capture pictures very fast. It's instant, no focus time etc.
Emulators, Ataroid, Gameboid, GBCoid, N64oid etc = great ways to bring that Nostalgia back. Playing Pokemon Blue on my Charge has killed so much time when I'm bored waiting for class to start
Cut the Rope is an awesomely addicting game, hasn't gotten old yet(like Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds has). Another nice time killer. Fieldrunners HD is also a very addicting Tower Defense game.
Flashlight + LED = nice flashlight app. I think it has a lot of unecesary permissions but the widget is very useful. I use it at least once a week.
Dolphin HD = great browser replacement
Chainfire 3d = video driver replacement.
RealCalc = awesome scientific calculator
K9 = email app replacement
ColorNote = nice app to quickly jot down notes
GO SMS Pro = replacement for your messaging app, miles ahead of it.
That's it for now! I already posted a thread similar to this and it went pretty in-depth but i haven't updated it in a while >_< Check it out for some apps i may have forgotten about.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1205428
edit: just skip to part 4) if you're only interested in the apps.
Treasures of Montezuma 2. Awesome game.
Sent from my HUMBLE by Danalo1979 using xda premium
ADW launcher (although it hasn't been updated in forever)
Drag Racing. Once you get good its really addicting.
Voodoo Plus. Sounds good man.
Mobo Player. Supports EVERYTHING!
Sent from my Droid Charge running Infinity Beta