1. torndownunit's Avatar
    Hey guys. I am a 15 year Apple product user, and my iPhone is my only device that runs apps. I am loving the Playbook, and looking for some app suggestions to match up with what's on my iPhone. I have learned to sideload, and have filled a few gaps.

    Tunein Radio - it doesn't appear to be available sadly. It's one of my favourite apps. What is a good alternative?

    Task Lists - What is a good task list app? I'd like something that can email me tasks, and give alerts.

    SkyView - absolutely amazing app. Point it at the sky and it gives you info on constellations, planets, satellites, the space station etc and allows you to track them. This app would be incredible on a tablet. Or something similar?

    MotionX GPS - I mainly use this app because it has a great path tracker. EG I can hike and record my trail with stats etc. Same applies to driving.

    Thanks for any input guys.
    Last edited by torndownunit; 03-08-12 at 06:33 PM.
    03-08-12 06:05 PM
  2. erodenero's Avatar
    skyview - try whats up

    i dont know about the other ones but you might want to try slacker radio for a tunein substitute, never tried tunein but slacker works good for me
    03-08-12 06:08 PM
  3. narci's Avatar
    Skyview...try what's up.

    Radio, try nobex or slacker.
    03-08-12 06:10 PM
  4. erodenero's Avatar
    lol ^

    10char
    03-08-12 06:17 PM
  5. kozmo68's Avatar
    I have nobex and slacker radio apps but I find I'm using slacker radio pretty much esclusively.. It's assume! I use the free version and the ads don't bother me at all. whats up seems ok. I have a BB phone so i use the task list through the bridge. works great for me..
    03-08-12 09:26 PM
  6. PlaybookPlayboy's Avatar
    Also don't forget that Pandora's web site works pretty well...
    03-08-12 09:45 PM
  7. adrenaline_x's Avatar
    Grooveshark.com works on the Playbook.. Or it did when i tested it a while back.
    03-09-12 09:29 AM
  8. apengue1's Avatar
    I don't use gps or tasklists very often.. So I have no recommendations for that.. But as far as radio I use Nobex.. And there are a couple constellation apps.. What's up seems to be the popular one amongst users. Welcome to the PB.. Really hope you enjoy it. We know it doesn't have as many apps.. But there are workarounds and plenty of other things that just make it rock compared to other tablets. Hopefully you end up appreciating it as much as we do! This forum is great for help as well in case you ever need it, so dont be shy!

    One piece of advice though: Get used to using the browser much more often. It has many capabilities compared to owning an app, like YouTube or pandora etc.
    Last edited by apengue1; 03-09-12 at 12:39 PM.
    03-09-12 12:36 PM
  9. torndownunit's Avatar
    I tried out slacker radio today, and the audio plays all garbled. Anyone come across this before? Going to look into nobex.
    03-09-12 01:17 PM
  10. pkcable's Avatar
    The TuneIN website works well also on the PlayBook. TuneIn: Listen to Online Radio, Music and Talk Stations
    axllebeer likes this.
    03-09-12 01:21 PM
  11. kbz1960's Avatar
    I found nobex works a lot better on my phone than tune in does.
    03-09-12 01:28 PM
  12. torndownunit's Avatar
    Thanks for the tips guys.

    What's Up is an ok app, but not even in the same ballpark as SkyView. SkyView tracks everything in the sky from the Space station and satellites, to commets. I guess that is one I will just have to wait and cross my fingers on.

    I am using the TuneIn website, but quite a few stations I normally use won't work. Mainly the "Big R" stations. It says that Windows media player is required. It's odd, they work fine in the TuneIn app on iOS. Going to try the free version of Nobex next to see how it goes.

    As for my audio garbling, it was happening in all apps. I did a hard reset and it went away.
    03-09-12 02:31 PM
  13. torndownunit's Avatar
    Hey guys, one more to add to the list. Is there a good app for finding free wifi hot spots? I have an app. I have WiFi Finder on my iPhone which is pretty cool.
    03-09-12 06:47 PM
  14. BuzzStarField's Avatar
    Thanks for the tips guys.

    What's Up is an ok app, but not even in the same ballpark as SkyView. SkyView tracks everything in the sky from the Space station and satellites, to commets. I guess that is one I will just have to wait and cross my fingers on.

    I am using the TuneIn website, but quite a few stations I normally use won't work. Mainly the "Big R" stations. It says that Windows media player is required. It's odd, they work fine in the TuneIn app on iOS. Going to try the free version of Nobex next to see how it goes.

    As for my audio garbling, it was happening in all apps. I did a hard reset and it went away.
    This is a fair assessment of my work in progress. I really am amazed at the maturity of science, medical and all sorts of augmented reality apps on IOS. As you noticed, they have not arrived just yet and It'll be a while before you see that kind of maturity on PlayBook.

    Developers just need (a lot) more time. And we need a lot more talented developers to jump on board. I think RIM is doing some things right in this area but up to now they have done nothing to promote apps with real WOW-power. Heck, the magnetometer was only just exposed in an official API and I'm hard-pressed to complete even phase one of my app. An app like mine without "point and view" is the pits - you would have thought that RIM would have made it a priority. Now that is actually possible to use the compass, I'll be adding bells and whistles over time.

    Another thing that we need is a lot more knowledgeable consumers like you who help long-time BB users understand the kinds of things they are missing on PlayBook. I'm grateful for all the 5-star ratings but I know that expectations are quite low right now. I really have to pull up my socks and earn the praise that I've been getting. So my hat goes off to you for starting this thread and being kind to us yokels.
    03-09-12 10:29 PM
  15. kdna's Avatar
    Tunein Radio - it doesn't appear to be available sadly. It's one of my favourite apps. What is a good alternative?

    ...

    Thanks for any input guys.
    I like Nobex Radio.
    03-09-12 10:33 PM
  16. Skimpy's Avatar
    I use Jango for online radio. It's like Pandora, with no limitations. The Android app works really great, just look for the bar file and sideload it to your PlayBook. Way better than the Grooveshark "app".
    03-10-12 07:22 AM
  17. torndownunit's Avatar
    This is a fair assessment of my work in progress. I really am amazed at the maturity of science, medical and all sorts of augmented reality apps on IOS. As you noticed, they have not arrived just yet and It'll be a while before you see that kind of maturity on PlayBook.

    Developers just need (a lot) more time. And we need a lot more talented developers to jump on board. I think RIM is doing some things right in this area but up to now they have done nothing to promote apps with real WOW-power. Heck, the magnetometer was only just exposed in an official API and I'm hard-pressed to complete even phase one of my app. An app like mine without "point and view" is the pits - you would have thought that RIM would have made it a priority. Now that is actually possible to use the compass, I'll be adding bells and whistles over time.

    Another thing that we need is a lot more knowledgeable consumers like you who help long-time BB users understand the kinds of things they are missing on PlayBook. I'm grateful for all the 5-star ratings but I know that expectations are quite low right now. I really have to pull up my socks and earn the praise that I've been getting. So my hat goes off to you for starting this thread and being kind to us yokels.
    I definitely didn't mean any slight towards What's Up, which you didn't take it as judging from your post. It's a nice looking app, and a great starting point. At this point it and SkyView aren't really comparable apps though. I look forward to following your progress.

    When trying to fill some of my 'app voids' I am always open minded to finding a few gems that may even be an improvement. EG with the radio apps in particular. But his is another area where the options available for iOS are far superior at this point in time though. There are several amazing radio apps available for iOS. TuneIn, which is one of the best apps I have used, is only 99 cents. And it has several alternatives that are stiff competition for the same price, or that are even free. I am still going to give Nobex a good test though.
    BuzzStarField likes this.
    03-10-12 07:43 AM
  18. torndownunit's Avatar
    I use Jango for online radio. It's like Pandora, with no limitations. The Android app works really great, just look for the bar file and sideload it to your PlayBook. Way better than the Grooveshark "app".
    Thanks, I'll look up this one as well. I have never heard of Jango before.
    03-10-12 07:44 AM
  19. torndownunit's Avatar
    Ok guys, another to add to the list. What is the going recommendation as far as media players? I have searched threads, but most of the threads are more related to issues with various media players. I mainly watch .mkv and .mp4 files. What is the best option for playing those?

    Thanks again.
    03-10-12 08:07 PM
  20. BB10Apps's Avatar
    You can try the grooveshark app it's in app world now. Although its just the html5 website turned into an app it works well though very smooth. It's in beta. I like it finds all the songs I want. Hope that takes care of ur music. Also check my website to see if there are any apps you might be interested in.
    03-11-12 11:09 AM
  21. torndownunit's Avatar
    Hey guys, a follow review of Jango. For the genres of music I listen to, it seems to repeat songs very quickly. I also seem to have problems with it skipping songs after only about 20 seconds of playing them. So far not a great experience.
    03-19-12 03:12 PM
  22. torndownunit's Avatar
    Hey guys, hoping for a couple of more suggestions.

    What is available as far as Podcast apps? Are there any anyone recommends?

    Are there any of the 3rd party web browsing apps that have any type of ad blocking capabilities?
    03-21-12 08:11 AM
  23. kbz1960's Avatar
    Not sure about podcast and I guess the default one isn't working for you?

    Simple browser + has some ad blocking but think it also needs an update which should be coming soon.
    03-21-12 08:35 AM
  24. torndownunit's Avatar
    Not sure about podcast and I guess the default one isn't working for you?

    Simple browser + has some ad blocking but think it also needs an update which should be coming soon.
    The native podcast app works... but that's about it. The interface is horrible on it and I find it very cumbersome. I am not preaching iOS here, but Podcasts are something iTunes has 'right'.
    03-21-12 09:16 AM
  25. OttawaGabe's Avatar
    For Tasks, try Wunderlist, the app is native to iOS but there's also a webapp and email reminders.

    GPS is a hugh gaping hole for now.
    03-21-12 11:51 AM
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