Our staff is growing by leaps and bounds here at TechFanatix. Of course, we wouldn't be writing for this site if we weren't tech fanatics ourselves. With so many new faces around, how about a little look into what techie goodness we've been playing with this past week?
He're a look at what we've been carrying around this week, and a few of the apps we can't manage to put down.
What's in your bag that you can't leave home without?
Tony Robinson: My Verizon Wireless iPhone 4S. I was the first person in my hometown of Staunton, Va., to obtain the device. Sleek, sexy and polished it is with a great ecosystem of apps and accessories.
Patrick Campanale: My multiple phones. I always have more then one phone on me, sometimes for reviewing purposes, sometimes just for play. I still rock my Palm Pre 2 (Franken Pre2 running on Sprint!), and I normally carry around the amazing Nokia Lumia 800. Lately, I have journeyed into the land of Android (more on that in an upcoming post) with devices such as the Galaxy Nexus, Evo 4G LTE, and soon I will have the infamous Samsung Galaxy S III!
Adam Johnson: I always take my phone and occasionally my tablet. The phone I use is the LG Thrill on AT&T. I normally root and flash a ROM but I'm hoping to change phones in the near future. As for the tablet, I am carrying an Asus Transfomer Prime with a keyboard dock. It is my work station now as I use it with Google Drive to write up articles.
Heather Lindskold: I can't leave home without a book (sometimes an eBook on my phone, but mostly a treebook).
Doug Goldring: iPad: I bought the new iPad as soon as it became available to replace my original iPad and haven't looked back; Zune: Yes I said Zune. It is the best sounding music player available, or at least it was before MS stopped supporting it. And the software is much more user friendly than iTunes; Griffin Stylus for Draw Something; Mobile Cloth- It is hard to say you love a screen cleaning cloth, but nothing comes close to this one; HTC Advantage running Windows Phone 7.5 on Sprint.
Jesse Mendoza: I'm currently using an unlocked Galaxy Nexus w/ICS on a T-Mobile SIM. I took advantage of the $399 Nexus deal as soon as it went up in the Google Play store. I'd never owned an unlocked phone before this one, and have enjoyed the freedom of moving my SIM between this phone and my HTC Radar with Windows Phone 7. Coming from owning a Palm Pre 2, I couldn't get enough of the large screen on the Nexus. I don't think I could go back to using anything smaller.
The Gadget Mom: I'm kind of embarrassed to admit what's in my bag... My Macbook Pro, 2nd gen iPad, and iPhone. Before you call me a total fanboy... well. No. Go ahead and call me a fanboy. I use a Windows machine at work, but I always keep my Mac with me for blogging. Except for the statistical work I do, the Mac is the easiest machine to get things done (for me). I carry an iPad for use as an eReader. And for any of my kids who end up in my office for the day, as a simple means of entertainment for them.
Finally, my iPhone is what I use to do much of my heavy lifting throughout the day. It keeps me in touch with my kids via text messaging. I use it as my work phone. Check in with Twitter. Respond to comments on my blogs. And stay on top of personal emails that come in throughout the day.
What are your most used mobile apps this week?
Tony Robinson: Tweetbot for staying connected w/Twitter. WiFi streaming is a huge plus. Instacast for iPhone and iPad... for staying up-to-date on my fav podcasts which will include TechFX Radio very soon. Reeder 3.0 for iPhone... the best RSS reader for iOS devices by far. Fast, smooth and polished. Groove 2 is also a must have for a polished music player which has pretty much replaced the native Music app on my iPhone 4S.
Patrick Campanale: TweetCaster (Android): I am a heavy Twitter user, and TweetCaster is one of the best Twitter clients on Android in my opinion. Very clean, fast, and feature packed. Temple Run (Android): I am a mobile gamer. Most of my time on my phone is spent one of 5 ways: Twitter, texting, emailing, Google Talk, and games.
Adam Johnson: Google Maps (Android)- Always looking for new places to go, whether it's a new park to take my kids to, or good place to eat. Google Drive (Android)- I use this to type my articles as I can control it from basically anywhere. I'm embracing the cloud to the fullest.
Heather Lindskold: The two apps I've used most this week are Instagram and TweetCaster.
Doug Goldring: Quickoffice is by far my favorite word processing app. It is feature rich and able to reach all of my online storage. Manuscript is the best app for organizing your thoughts when getting started with a new writing project. Westlaw Next: Every attorney knows Westlaw for legal research. Westlaw Next puts all of that research right on my iPad so I can access all the latest court cases from anywhere in the world. Omnifocus: To be honest this one is a tie between Omnifocus and ToDo. Both are incredible and feature rich task managers. Cloud calendar: A simple interface that syncs flawlessly with Google. What more can you ask from a calendar app on your iPad?
Jesse Mendoza: BeyondPod (Android): I do love my podcasts, and enjoy listening to them while driving or while on a workout. BeyondPod has everything I need in an easy to use package. My favorite feature is creating Playlists- a great way to listen to my podcasts back to back without needing to touch my phone. Google Play (Android): Since moving all of my music to Google's servers, I've found it super convenient to be able to listen to my music everywhere I take my mobile device. I never have to worry about needing to plug in my phone to sync my music before I leave my house.
The Gadget Mom: The apps I'm using most these days are Reeder for the iPad and iPhone. It's an RSS client that syncs with Google Reader. It was updated to 3.0 this week and was a good enough update to sway me from the Feeddler Pro client I've been using for months. I love the gestures for marking articles read and navigating through screens. Another app I use heavily throughout my day is the Instacast app - for listening to podcasts. It is an excellent, reliable, consistent app that's been my favorite as long as I've been on iOS. The other app I seem to find myself on a little too much lately is Jumbline 2. It's a word game where the object is to make as many words from 6 or 7 letters as possible. Including one (or several) 6-7 letter words. It's mind-numbingly addictive trying to figure out every single word.
