There are a variety of apps available for note-taking on the Droid 2, each having their own level of functionality. One of the best apps on the market for this is 3banana Notes. 3Banana Notes is more robust than most of the generic note taking applications. Rather than just allowing for basic note taking, it has the ability to embed HTML tags and to add photos and links. 3Banana Notes allows you to pin notes or a widget to the main screen for easy editing and access. The barcode scanning option allows you to scan a barcode and have the number associated with it appear in the text note. Tags for notes can easily be created simply by adding a hash mark # in front of the tag. You can Geotag the location as well, allowing for a better understanding of the note.

Another beneficial feature on this Droid 2 app is the ability for it to sync up with Google. This allows you to create notes on the web or on the phone and automatically sync them with both places. This is very handy for creating notes from a work computer before leaving for the day. There are a few apps out that do more than 3Banana Notes, however most of those lack the user friendliness that this application has. The overall ease of use is a nice change from many of the other cumbersome programs for note taking, without giving up much in functionality. 3Banana Notes does not have an option to record voice files, but the rest of the bells and whistles more than offset the lack. A great productivity tool for the Droid 2.

Some Android apps are all about the function while others simply exude cool. The Layar Reality Browser for Android, using a technology that the developers call Augmented Reality, provides both. The way it does it seems like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Here’s how it works: Using the built-in GPS and compass the app determines the user’s location, and it then determines the user’s field of view using the on-board camera. Armed with that information, it can now retrieve everything that the device needs to know about the objects in that field of view. The user can then access that information via icons that app overlays on the camera view.

This type of technology is particularly useful when vacationing or on business in an unfamiliar location. The Android user can simple focus the device down the street they’re walking on and have instant access to store and restaurant names and even identifications of locations and objects of historic significance. Perhaps the best aspect is how intuitive it is. Even non-techies will have it working on their first use. There are a couple of drawbacks with the app. One, its usefulness is limited if you don’t travel much. If you usually stay in your comfort zone, you’ll play with it a few times, and then grow bored of it. Secondly, while the application itself is very fast, the actual data retrieval is slow at times. Another con is that not all layers of information work in all cities. So if you are buying this for vacation, find out it works where you’re going.

Google Sky Map is an interactive application for the Droid 2 and Android that allows users to scan and search the night sky in real time using the phone’s built in GPS. Utilizing an intuitive compass system, the virtual viewfinder within the phone zeroes in on almost any celestial spot within the sky, acting as a type of handheld planetarium. When the app is activated, the phone’s screen turns into a moving map that coincides with the actual sky, detailing over a thousand stars and planets within the earth’s solar system. The user simply points the phone’s screen towards the area of the sky they want to review, and Google Sky Map will outline the points on the map, moving as the device moves. The app works in both daytime and nighttime, adjusting any screen changes as needed.

An easy to use search function allows users to find stars and planets on the map. During search mode an arrow appears which prompts users to navigate to the object. Once the object has been found, the arrow then turns from blue to red and encircles the object. Points on the map can be zoomed in on and the map can be filtered to focus on selective grids such as deep space objects, stars, planets, and specific constellations by name. One slight drawback about the application is that at times it can be hard to align the screen against the night sky and find the correct location. GPS signals can also waver in strength according to location. The app will still work regardless of indoor/outdoor situations or weather visibility, however. The software calculates mathematical positions utilizing a sensor in order to find star’s locations rather than actually “viewing” the stars. The application is free and is available at the Android Market right now.

Goggle Goggles for the Droid 2 is basically a visual search application. This app allows android users to simply take a snapshot of something and then search for it on Google. All you have to do is focus the Doird 2′s camera lens on the subject of choice, and the visual search is automatically initiated. Google Goggles is in its beginning stages, so it is only effective at searching for specific things. It works well for recognizing landmarks, artwork, buildings, beverages (such as wine), and logos. This is an incredibly convenient app for those who travel. Imagine pointing your phone at a local landmark in a foreign country, and immediately find out everything about it.

The Goggles app is also effective at translating languages such as English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian. This is another useful feature for tourists who want to read menus and signs. Additionally, the text recognition is great for identifying books or any other written information.The drawbacks of Goggle Goggles is that it is limited when it comes to searching for specific subjects such as food, cars, clothing, trees, and other ordinary household items. However, Google engineers are working hard to take the app to the next level. For example, imagine pointing the phone at a leaf and then finding out exactly which type of plant it is. Google Goggles is a clever must-have app that’ll come in handy at unexpected moments.

The Calorie Counter app for the Droid 2 allows you to track everything that you would eat throughout the day. This app has a large database of foods from which you can match your meals. There is also a list of popular restaurants and chains whose menus are available in this database. In addition, you’ll find popular brands listed that can be found in a grocery store or supermarket. Every food item comes with nutrition information formatted just like you’re used to on cans and packets in the grocery store. You can track your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks easily and see a history of your food intake. This Droid 2 application also has an area for tracking your exercise progress. It records the activities, calories burned, and much more.

There is a diet calendar and weight tracker. More impressive, however, is the bar code scan feature where the app will automatically recognize items at the point of purchase. You can sync all of your data with the cloud and then to your computer with a minimum of effort. The interface is highly effective and easy to use. This Droid 2 app is an excellent tool to use in any kind of weight loss or gain program, both in terms of tracking calories in as well as out.

The app grants Droid 2 owners the convenience of downloading thousands of eBooks without the hassle of a subscription, computer, or cable. An added benefit to Aldiko is saving eBooks on the SD card – a wise feature considering the eBook catalogs provide thousands of free titles, each with reviews and in-depth descriptions. More to the point, the Aldiko app is easy to use, navigation as simple as using tap gestures and intuitive flicks of your finger. User options don’t stop there, this Droid 2 app lets you customize the margins, font, font size, background color, and display brightness. Aldiko users won’t find browsing through their large ebook selections a difficult task either. Aldiko Book Reader conveniently provides tags (Romance, Horror, Mysteries, etc.) to organize titles and you can create your own groups if you like. With additional features such as a search tool, night time reading mode, and single-tap access from the home screen, Aldiko certainly goes the distance.

This Droid 2 app is limited to the ePub format. Unfortunately, this limitation may prevent people from downloading new titles and/or bestselling titles. However there are plenty of free online convertors that can convert almost any ebook format to ePub. Text is fully justified by default which can be quite annoying although most users don’t seem overly concerned by this. That said, the app overcomes these drawbacks with outstanding performance, thousands of titles (most free), and a multitude of features. This wonderful ebook app is a must-have for Motorola Droid 2 owners.

SportsTap is a Droid 2 app that serves to keep a sports fan aware of events in their favorite sports. It’s extremely popular, even taking the prize for “Best Sports App” in the first-ever Android Network Awards; that speaks volumes for users’ satisfaction with the app. The interface works in a very simple way – once the app is launched, you’ll see a series of icons allocated to several sports, such as football, baseball, and several others. Even some less popular sports are available, like tennis and golf. Tapping on any of the buttons take you to another screen with game scores, top stories, and other news in the sport of your choice.

The system is intuitive; click a sport, and then it will take you straight to a news page for that sport. If there is new information about that sport, or new stories, SportsTap displays a corresponding number on the relevant sport’s icon, telling you how active things have been for that sport. One interesting and useful feature is the ability to keep track of your own personal favorite teams. It is a very simple matter to open up the settings menu and navigate by sport, league, and team to select the teams you want to keep track of. And if you do this, it even gives you the added bonus of an Android Widget for your homescreen that will keep you apprised of scores and events about those teams, a fantastic feature that lets you stay on top of your favorite sports teams without needing to launch the app every time.

The Opera Mini Browser is a new and convenient app for the Droid 2 and Android. It is designed specifically to give Android users the capability to surf and browse the internet from their phone, while not using up much of the phone’s bandwidth, allowing for simplicity and speed. This Droid 2 app is free – aside from the normal charges associated with your mobile service provider for using the internet, the user does not pay a cent for Opera’s program. It has a pretty impressive assortment of features that are ready for use, even for those who are not the most experienced with gadgets.

The Mini Browser automatically compresses every web page it goes to in order to use less bandwidth and allow for faster load times. In fact, it uses as low as 10% of the bandwidth for websites, thanks to this compression. The browser itself is very easy to use. The address bar is very visible, just beneath the title bar of the program. Another helpful feature is the ability to use predictive text to help type in website names. The most common websites visited usually pop up after just a few keystrokes. In one example, just typing in “www.f” gave the option of “www.facebook.com”, one of the most popular web destinations. The simplicity of the browser’s features is really the best selling point of this free app.

There are other browser apps for the Droid 2, but only the Opera Mini Browser application offers webpage compression that speeds up browsing. It has a multitude of features that make browsing the internet from your Motorola Droid 2 quick and effective.

With more than 500,000,000 active users, the popular social networking site Facebook is now available anytime on your Droid 2. The free Facebook for Android app shares many of the features your regular Facebook has, including the ability to check friend requests, messages, and notifications, “like” a friend’s post, update your status, or view a video. After a recent update to the Facebook for Android application, most of these tasks are made easier and available directly on the application; where users once had to navigate away from the Facebook for Android application and instead use the Facebook mobile site, most of the site’s features are now available directly via the application, making this new version much faster to use and more functional.

With the update comes the ability to RSVP to an event invitation as well as event support. The new photo drawer at the bottom of the application provides easier photo and video access from the newsfeed, which can now be streamed (or commented on) directly from the application. This photo drawer, containing the latest updates from your newsfeed, also contains thumbnail images of any links posted. Status updates from the main page and “likes” can be made now with a single click. Upon opening the application, notifications are now present in a notification drawer at the bottom of the page, letting you know immediately how many notifications you have, instead of hiding under another menu.

While the update brought with it some much needed change, there are still a few glitches and missing functions within the Facebook for Android application. Although users can see their notifications using the new version, they complain doing so often launches the Facebook mobile page, instead of showing notifications directly on the application; from the menu bar, notifications are only visible for event invitations, friend requests, and messages. If you want to see if somebody wrote on your wall, you’ll have to check it yourself. Also missing from the new update is the ability to use Facebook Chat, which the cousin application for the iPhone has. Despite these few glitches, if you want Facebook with you everywhere (and you do), the Facebook for Android application makes it possible. This is one of the must-have Droid 2 apps.

With social networking tools such as foursquare on the rise, app builders for the latest smartphones are quickly creating new programs such as Loopt, which allows Android users the opportunity to connect and interact with friends through realtime location updates. Using geolocation, Loopt lets users “check in” at popular locations and see what their friends are doing at the moment. The main interface is easy to navigate and registration only takes a few moments, after which it’s possible to view maps of the surrounding area and see profiles and pictures for contacts. An interesting feature in Loopt is the ability to post event notices, publicizing exciting functions to contacts. And in keeping with the most current trends, Loopt also provides built-in integration for Facebook and Twitter, giving users the option to post content to each respective service.

The latest update of the software allows users to set their visibility when the app is running or idle, even presenting the ability to manually set a location for those who do not wish to constantly broadcast their whereabouts. As more individuals register with the service, interaction opportunities will only increase further. With a variety of similar programs available on the Android Market, Loopt thankfully includes a convenient method for inviting friends to the service via their mobile number, which means making contacts isn’t a painful experience. Where Loopt wins points is with its ease of use. The quick registration and simple interface lets users leap straight into taking advantage of the software. Yet, as online social networking tools continue to rapidly multiply, Loopt has some ground to cover in pursuit of its big name competition, foursquare. Building a member-base with so many options available to smartphone users means convincing others to migrate to a new system, which might take some time. Until then, Loopt users may find themselves a bit lonely.