Top 25 First Apps for Your New Motorola Triumph from Virgin Mobile

Posted by Dana Rock on Aug 18, 2011 in Android Apps, Apps Lists, Browser, Camera, Homes & Launchers, Motorola Triumph, Music, Newbie Zone, Office, Reviews, Ringtones & Wallpapers, Security, Social, Tools, Video | 5 comments

Save $80 on the Motorola Triumph Android Phone at Virgin Mobile!

New Android Phone, Eh?

The Motorola Triumph is fresh out of the package, battery charged, and linked to your Google Account. You have right around one GB of free space to fill with apps — That is a lot of space if you are coming from another Virgin Mobile Android phone. In fact, it is about six times more space than the Samusng Intercept or the LG Optimus V.

The question is not which apps should we give some of our precious megabytes like it may be with the LG Optimus V or Samsung Intercept, but rather, we need to think about where to start to cover all of our essential bases.

What are the essential bases?

• Web Browsers
• QR Code Reader
• Flash
• Games
• Office Apps (pdf readers, office suite, etc.)
• Audio Players
• Video Players
• Photo Tools
• File Browser
• Bluetooth Handler
• System Tools (cache cleaner, uninstaller, apps2sd, task viewer/monitor)
• Antivirus
• Social Apps (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
• Home Themes
• Ringtone and Background Apps
• Ringtone and profile Manager
• Appstore browsers & alternative markets

Having listed all of these basic app categories, lets look at the best free apps that will do the job for each. Although, I’ll let you wing it for games — Just experiment!

Install these 25 free apps first, and you will have a great foundation to experiment with potentially hundreds of apps (yes, you can actually fit that many on the Motorola Triumph).

You may find an app that you like better to cover these basic functions after some experimenting — that is all part of the experience!

Let’s get started!

Web Browser

1. Dolphin HD

 

Dolphin HD is fast, add-on friendly, flash and hrml5 support, and just, well, freak’n awesome! I have been around the block with several web browsers and no matter how far I stray from Dolphin HD, I always come back again.

I particularly find using the LastPass add-on useful, as I no longer have to type in my user name or password in to any website with it.

You can print a page to a PDF file with another convenient plugin and even view that PDF you just made inside the browser with yet another add-on.

You can use the ever popular Bookmark to SD add-on that allows you to install all of your bookmarks from an html file on your sdcard as well as back them up to your sdcard.

2. Opera Mobile

Opera Mobile is the older heftier brother of the Opera Mini browser that is extremely popular on many different platforms. Opera Mobile knows a thing or two about speed and if you like to customize, there is a lot of extra options available in the “mobile” version compared to the “mini”.

The usual features of Opera web browsers are the same like speed-dial and Opera link. Opera link is very handy, as with it you can sync bookmarks and speed dials through an Opera account.

QR Code Reader

3. QR Droid

QR Droid is likely the most sophisticated QR code decoder and writer on the Android Market.

I particularly like that I can save a QR image to my phone and read it from the saved location. This may seem like it should be included in most qr code applications, but it is not.

Flash

4. Adobe Flash

What can I say about flash? It will allow you access to the entire internet experience, at least as far as video and games are concerned.

Facebook games can be played and all the videos that would never play before will now play as well.

This is the first Virgin Mobile Android phone to officially support flash — enjoy it!

Office Apps

5. Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader is free, and it works! I would not normally recommend this app for the LG Optimus V or Samsung Intercept, but since space is not a concern on the Motorola Triumph, it is a fine free PDF reader.

6. Documents to Go Main App – Free 

This Documents to Go app is the free portion of this extremely successful and well established mobile office suite. As the free version, it is only a viewer of major document formats and cannot be used as an document editor.

Audio Players

7. Amazon MP3

Amazon MP3 offers a stellar local music player, firsthand access to the Amazon MP3 store, and easy access to the free cloud streaming. If you buy one music album before the end of the year (even the cheap ones), you will get 20GB of cloud storage on Amazon’s servers and UNLIMITED storage of your music files!

8. Google Music

Google Music is AMAZING! You can upload thousands of songs and stream them from the cloud wherever you are. It is also a very sexy local music player as well.

9. TuneIn Radio

If you like radio, local radio, talk shows, podcast, then this is the app for you. It does an amazing job at streaming all of this content straight to your phone. It especially excels on the local radio front.

10. Winamp

Winamp is an excellent media player and has been around the media player block for a long long time. What is particularly unique about this player is that it has FREE wireless sync capabilities with your home PC. Others like DoubleTwist ask you to pay for that ability.

The Winamp desktop software plays nice with the Motorola Triumph as well.

Video Players

11. MoboPlayer

 

MoboPlayer will decode “all video formats” and provides numerous codec downloads. Popular subtitle formats such as SRT, ASS, and SAA and subtitles built in MKV, MPV, MOV, and others.

Other features include:

• Multi-audio streams and multi-subtitles
• Playlists and continuous play on same type files
• Videos streamed through HTTP, RTSP protocols
• Media libraries and sort videos by type
• Thumbnail displays of videos

Photo Tools

11. QuickPic

Over time switching to your pictures after taking them gets REALLY slow – This makes it fast.

12. Retro Camera

 

You just have to try it to understand, but Retro Camera allows us to experience old camera technology through our spiffy phones. Its a bit ironic really!

There is a paid version that I also recommend, as Retro Camera is a lot of fun!

File Browser & Bluetooth Handler

13. Bluetooth File Transfer

Bluetooth File Transfer is my favorite Bluetooth manager, but it is also a killer file manager for the Motorola Triumph. It is like the other popular file managers like the Astro line, but it also manages Bluetooth flawlessly.

I was first introduced to this app with the LG Rumor Touch, and it was incredible in java app form for that phone. It is even better for the Android.

System Tools

14. SuperBox 

Superbox is absolutely essential. It is the app you will use to clean your cache, move apps to SD, check your battery life, check your memory, clear your history, manage files, monitor security, and on and on and on. It is like a Swiss Army Knife (as they claim on their market page)!

15. DefaultApp Reset

This makes setting undoing a “use as default” action easy by grouping all the programs you have set defaults for in one place so that you can easily see your options.

16. DiskUsage

If you have not already had an experience that made you ask “What the heck is taking up all that space?”, you will someday. DiskUsage is the small app to have on hand when you do ask the question. It will examine both your microSD card and your internal storage and show you graphically where the big chunks of data are that you may have forgotten about or are the result of a rogue operation.

I use DiskUsage regularly in my monthly cleanups. It is well worth the time (very little) learning to use it to your advantage!

Antivirus

17. AVG Anti-Virus Free

AVG Anti-Virus offers the most features and a trusted record in the malware and virus protection world. My second choice is Lookout Mobile Security.

Social Apps

18. Google+

Everyone is doing it! Get in with Google Plus – If you STILL do not have an invite, ask!

19. Twitter

The Motorola Triumph comes with Twidroyd pre-installed, but I find that it crashes a lot. The actual official Twitter app is very stable and works very well. I highly recommend it over Twidroyd anyday!

Home Themes

20. Regina 3D Launcher

This is a super sexy show off launcher that makes your phone look good with 3D effects. There are several free widgets and additional themes worth checking out as well.

21. Go Launcher EX

I could rave about Go Launcher EX all day long. For my taste, it is my favorite customizable launcher. Some people prefer others like the ADW.Launcher, for example, but Go Launcher EX just seems more “fun”. Try it out, and make sure you mess around with all the themes created by “Go” and other developers. The apps produced by “Go” are also very good, such as Go Contacts and their messaging app.

Ringtone & Backgrounds

22. Zedge Ringtones & Wallpapers

Zedge is my favorite ringtone and wallpaper finder app. The app has grown a lot in the last year, and it continues to see regular support from its developer and many regular improvements.

You can use the app with or without an account – an account is only used to track favorites really, and to access the additional website features from a browser.

Sound Profile & Ringtone Managers

23. Ringo Lite

Ringo lite is the answer to the question “how do I give Frank his own ringtone and Jessie his?”. You can specify contact level ringtones, notification tones, etc. If is important that any app you have installed prior to Ringo Lite have its notifications set to “silent” or you will end up with dueling tones.

24. AudioGuru + Widgets

This is a sound profile program. I came to Android from the Blackberry world where “profiles” are the norm. This feature is not built in to Android in the same way as in Blackberry and many others. The desktop widget makes it quick and easy to switch between home volumes/vibrations and work settings.

I would be forced to press way to many buttons without this extremely useful application.

AppStore Related

25. AppBrain

AppBrain is the best alternative browser for the Android Market out there. It was one of the first to take the bull by the horns before the Android Market got its act together and started looking and working like a modern website (we are still in “just months ago” land here).

Because AppBrain rocked the house at making the Android Market usable, it has a fairly large following even today. I would argue that it is still the best Android Market browser out there even with all the improvements Google has made to the official Android Market website in the last few months.

Got All That?

In case that was not enough apps to get your started, here are a few non- Android Market AppStore apps.

Amazon AppStore

Offers one paid app for free everyday. You have enough space to install them ALL with the Motorola Triumph, but you do not have to install them if you do not want to — however, installing the appstore makes it easy to “collect” these daily freebies for possible future use even if you have no immediate plans to install them on your Motorola Triumph.

GetJar AppStore

 

GetJar has started offering free paid apps each week. I’ve had some reports that GetJar will not detect some Motorola Triumphs, as the device is not currently in its database. However, the LG Optimus V is also not in its database, but if you lie to it, it works fine. Just tell them you are a Droid X or something similar, and it should work.

What Would You Add?

Leave a comment with your favorite apps you’ve installed since buying the Motorola Triumph.