What’s On My Tablet?
Since I got the N810, I wanted to set it up with the minimal of applications. I have a bad habit on mobile devices of installing nearly any application, just to see how it looks or what it does, or if it does something better than another app. As such, on my N800, I have 4 different media players, 3-4 image viewers, etc. To keep my N810 as snappy as possible, and also to reduce my own headache, I’ve determined to have only applications I actually use installed (games excepted). So, what applications do I have on my N810?
The first and foremost is Maemo Wordpy. This was recently updated to v0.6, which includes support for multiple accounts and Flickr uploading. I am (obviously) a blogger by trade, and thus being able to blog from my Tablet is the utmost priority. I write on 4 different sites, three of which use Wordpress, so I can perform roughly 60% of my workload completely on the Tablet, with Maemo Wordpy.
The second thing that I installed was the new Messaging Beta Upgrade. To install this, you’ll need to follow the (dead easy) instructions here. Once installed, you should go back into the Application Manager, Check For Updates, and scroll down till you see RTcomm as an entry, and install that. This allows you to skip Pidgin and sign into whatever IM protocol you fancy, be it MSN, AIM, or Gtalk, as well as SIP support. I use Gtalk and MSN almost exclusively, so this is a big plus for me.
Next up is Vagalume and Mplayer. These applications bring me most of my media requirements for the Tablets, and I wouldn’t leave home without them. Vagalume is a Last.FM client that also supports Pandora-like Artist Radio. I can give it an artist, and Vagalume will use Last.FM to create an entire radio station around that artist and other similar artists. It’s fantastic, and even allows me to tell it if I love a track or hate it, so it learns what I like. Mplayer is simply a better media player.
Mauku is not far behind, as it helps me to keep up with Jaiku throughout the day. Henrik is awesome at updating this killer application, so props to him, keep up the great work. OmWeather is also high up on the list, offering me quick one-glance access to current and future weather conditions, from my desktop.
Obviously Skype and Gizmo are on there, though honestly I don’t sign in on either very often. It’s more just so that I know they’re there when I need them.
I can totally vibe with you in terms of not installing a ton of applications on your tablet (or other devices). Part of getting the most out of devices is using them as is for a while and running from there.
I’ve yet to do Wordply, but that’s definitely in my list of things to download. I’ve added a spellchecker extension for MicroB, and at some point will find the patience to deal with command line and install Rapier (failed download issue there).
Vagalume was the only reason I’ve tried last.fm; and so far (when I’m connected) its sweet.
I’ve got all those installed, Vagalume is great, used driving 200 miles to work this morning via my n73 on 3G.
Additional apps I’ve installed and use are:-
Transmission (Torrent Downloader)
VideoCenter (Used for Audio & Video podcast downloading)
Mnotify (Gmail notification status tool)
Simple-launcher (Add shortcuts to the desktop, its a OS2007 app, but works on the OS2008)
i’m with you as well on not intalling apps when not necessary… even the default map program is fine by me. i still swear by pidgin tho because the AIM protocol in the beta messenger upgrade handles the contacts all wrong… it can’t even display who is online correctly.