HTC's two new Android-based PDAs, the Desire and the Legend, are going to be available for purchase imminently. Running "Eclair", version 2.1 of the Android operating system, these devices support new features over older models including:

• Support for Bluetooth file transfer
• Support for VPN connections
• Version 3.1 of the Android WebKit browser (with "pinch & zoom")

HTC's Exchange email client also supports additional security features including:

• Support for remote device wipe from the Exchange server
• Support for password usage enforcement

As well as the ability to set out of office status and edit out of office response messages, as well as obviously the ability to synchronise email, contacts and calendar with your Exchange mailbox over the air.

The Android 2.1 operating system also supports the latest versions of Google's range of Android applications, including the Android Market, Google Maps, Google Mail, Google Listen, Google Voice (US only currently), Google Talk, Google Translate, Text to Speech, the list goes on.

So besides all this built-in goodness, what other applications will you install on your device? I have been fortunate enough to play with an advance device and have found the below to be of use...

Installing Applications

For those of you who are new to the Android platform, before I run through some apps you might want to install onto your new Android device, it may be helpful to know how applications are installed.
There are a number of ways of installing new programs, but the simplest and most elegant means by far is to use the Android Market, a client application installed on the device by default and which can display a list of all available applications automatically using your Internet connection based on what you search for:

Available applications can be listed in a number of ways, including by price:

Selecting an application's entry will display information about the program:

And before installing the application you will be advised that hardware and software elements on the device the application will need to access:

Selecting the option to Install will download and install the application automatically, after which the new program will be listed in the menu. Simplicity itself.

Not all applications are listed in the Android Market, and can be downloaded from the Internet as standalone application packages, or APK files, using the device's internal browser, or to your PC.

These can be loaded onto the device from a Windows PC using HTC's application loader program - part of the HTC Sync suite (included on the SD card that ships with the device - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/synchronise-htc-hero-microsoft-outlook)

From a Mac the file can be copied to the device's SD card, either by mounting the device as a USB storage device:

Or by using the Android SDK's file transfer utility - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/transferring-files-and-android-device

Once the file is copied to the SD card, it can be launched from a suitable file explorer application (available from the Android Market)

In the application manager will be the option to Install (or uninstall if already present)

Before installing applications that are not listed on the Android Market, you may need to enable the ability to install "Unknown Sources" in the Application Settings:

Applications can also be located using QR Barcodes (QR = Quick Response), like this one:

Barcodes are scanned using the device's on-board camera. Before you can scan barcodes you will need to download and install the "Zebra Crossing" barcode reader (http://code.google.com/p/zxing/):

So now we know how to install applications, let's look at some cool stuff you can do with your Android phone...

Google

Being Google's platform, Android naturally has a lot of Google-related applications available. Some are included by default but it is worth checking in the Android Market for available updates.

Google Maps

Google's navigation application is available for a number of platforms but undeniably works best on Android - with its multiple layers it can display location-based contextual data based on where you want to go, what is happening where you are now, what happened historically where you are, who is writing about your current location in social networking services...or the always popular "where am I??"

Google Translate

As its name suggests, this is a client version of the popular web-based service that allows you to translate from and to multiple languages in real time, and even have the foreign response read back in that language via the device speaker - especially useful if the answer to the above question turns out to be a foreign country!

Google Listen

Google Listen is a free client application that allows you to search for and subscribe to a wide variety of RSS and Podcast broadcasts:

Google Voice

Unfortunately this service is not available outside of the US currently, but for any US readers Google Voice is well worth looking into - be allocated a telephone number for life, replace your operator voicemail service and have messages transcribed on your device, define rules for delivery of phone calls based on caller, time of day, and much more:

Google Talk is a free-to-use instant chat client for use with Google' own chat service which can be integrated with Google Mail.

Voice over IP (VoIP)

Fring

Fring is a free-to-use chat, voice and video calling client that integrates with other services including Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ and others:

For access to corporate SIP-based IP PBX installations both SIPAgent and SIPDroid are useful applications that can be configured to access most standards-compliant systems:

SIPDroid

I have blogged about this application before (http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/sipdroid). Now in version 1.4 the application includes a number of additional features including the ability to define a separate ringtone for VoIP calls, simultaneous outbound dialling, and much more:

SIP Agent

SIP Agent is another free application that can be used to register your Android device as a remote extension of a SIP-based IP PBX, such as Asterisk:

Remote Connectivity

Not relevant to most people, but this is a technical blog after all and the ability to remotely access a Linux server via SSH based on private key authentication is a bonus for some IT professionals, even if only locally via WiFi rather than via a proper VPN connection. ConnectBot is a free SSH client for Android:

A variety of FTP, SFTP and VNC clients are also available from the Android Market:

Entertainment

Beeb Player is a free Android equivalent of the BBC iPlayer that allows you to stream both live and previously aired programs from the BBC.

Other applications to look into include:

• Layar Visual Reality Browser (not currently available for the Legend, but a version is allegedly being worked on)
• Google Goggles (again not currently available for the Legend)
• Shazam
• TuneWiki
• Last.fm
• Qik
• Spotify

Miscellaneous

Installing a Task Manager on your Android device may help to consume battery performance and general keep the device running optimally:

Adjusting the screen brightness will also improve the battery life of your device:

Let us know what applications you use and think we should mention.