Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Fans Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.
So I've been playing with this Droid Maxx Verizon gave me. The best thing about smartphones is obviously the fact that you can install software on them. This comes in the form of apps. You'll get some insight into my personality checking out the list of apps I'm recommending.
1. The Standard Ones
Is there a more perfect marriage in 2013 than Twitter and smartphones? It's the perfect little diversion when you're waiting in line on riding the bus or whatever. I don't need to sing the merits of Twitter to you. If you're reading a blog, you already know. The other big deal is Facebook. I'm coming off an iPhone 4, which, as you may know, is a highly-lauded brand of technology by people who apparently hate technology. The Facebook app for iPhone is hot garbage. Slow, unresponsive, everything you don't want out of a quick little social networking diversion. That's not the case on Android. I don't know what they did to make it not suck, but boy howdy does it not suck! It's much quicker and easier to use. Why do they even still make iPhones?
2. Google Sky Map
Full disclosure: I love space. I love thinking about space. I want to know everything that's in space. This app was recommended somewhere on the internet as a map of space. "Big talk," I thought to myself. "How are you going to map out space?" Well, it turns out that between the precise GPS location and a very sensitive accelerometer, the phone can tell where you are and more importantly, what you're facing. So it brings up a map of the sky, and if you're out and night and you want to identify a constellation or something, you can bascially hold your phone up to it and look at the screen. It shows you a real-time map of what stars you can see. It's mostly useless but probably the coolest achievement by our species to date.
3. GBC A.D.
There's an app that plays Gameboy Color games. I no longer understand the concept of a "slow work day." The controls work smoothly (though they can be tricky to adapt to if you're playing a real-time platformer or something), the sound is great, and obviously the Gameboy Color library is phenomenal. It actually uses the regular file system on your phone (you have to get the ROMs yourself, because the man says so), a file system you can actually access and look at, another feature the iPhone lacks, as it doesn't need you poking around your own piece of hardware. The only downside I've found is that I can't get notifications from texts and such when I'm playing it. Not that I need people to so rudely interrupt me while I'm playing Pokemon Silver.
4. Sheetz
OH GOD YES. Sheetz made an app. It doesn't do much more than help you find a Sheetz and keep track of your Sheetz loyalty card thing, but what more do you want from a Sheetz app? Short of producing Sheetz fries out of the USB slot (note to scientists: make that a thing), it's just one more reminder of the thousands of dollars I've spent at Sheetz since high school. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I think I'll go grab lunch.
