Thursday evening, I entered the modern world and got a smartphone, a Motorola Moto X. I’ve figured out a few apps I want (the Caltrans Quickmap app, Waze, a QR code reader, and apps from our credit unions). Still, I’d like some recommendations. What are your “must have” apps for the Droid ecosystem? One note: no bandwidth hogs, and I’m not interested in games. I don’t plan on streaming music — that’s why I have an iPod Classic!
Some additional security questions:
- Do you encrypt your phone? (I see pros and cons)
- Do you run a mobile virus scanner, such as Avast Mobile Security? Is this unnecessary given the Motorola capabilities?
- Have you enabled the remote administration features for lost devices? According to Motorola, this allows you to find your device instantly when you’ve misplaced it. You can also lock and wipe your device remotely, and have it display a message asking for its safe return. To do this, however, you need to activate the device administrator?
I definitely think having a remote administration tools comes in handy. What I use is the native Google one, versus the OEM specific. Google’s allows you to see where your phone is on a map or ring it for 5 minutes regardless of whether it was muted or not. If you change your settings in the Google Settings app, you can also remotely wipe the phone (recommended). My boss has found these features in handy this week, sadly.
I don’t see a need to run a mobile security app though. Don’t be stupid with your phone (and you won’t be) and it’s not needed, IMHO.
I’ve always found it handy to have some sort of an office suite installed such as on Amazon.