AotD: AntennaPod - A Free Open Source Podcast Manager for Android

One of the first apps I missed when switching over to Android from iOS was a podcast manager.  There are quite a few for Android, one that I come across a lot is Pocket Casts ($4), but I was looking for a free alternative.  I recently stumbled across AntennaPod and has gotten the job done so far.

It's easy to use, looks good, and best of all it is free.  It is in beta so you stumbled across a few bugs but so far it has been solid for me.  They might charge in the future when the work out all of the bugs, but for now it is free so go grab it.

AotD: Grooveshark - Free Music Streaming App on Android

UPDATE: Since Grooveshark has shut down this service no longer works.

For those that don't know, Grooveshark is one of the many free music streaming websites available similar to Rio and Spotify.  Unlike those mentioned, you do not have to pay when you want to stream to your mobile device.

The problem with Grooveshark was there are no longer native applications on the Google Play Store or the iTunes AppStore. While you can use the mobile browser to listen to music via HTML5 the experience is slightly laggy and not as fluid as you would find on a native application. Luckily someone was nice enough to create a native application for users on Android and it looks amazing.  You'll need to allow the ability to install downloaded APK's.  Click the image to take you to more images and the APK file.

Thanks to Bejan Kanga for his hard work.

AotD: Weatherlove - A Free Clean & Simple Weather App for Android

Weatherlove is a clean and simple Android app yet delivers the information you need.  It is beautifully done and offers many customization options including icons and a few themes.  There are various widget sizes and includes the option to display the temperature in the status bar along with providing 3 days worth of forecast in the notification menu.  My pesonal favorite widget would probably be for the lockscreen allowing you to display the weather in the style of Cyanogenmod.

So if you are looking for a new weather app that is clean, simple, and informative, with a ton of customization options, I would highly recommend checking out Weatherlove.

AotD: Google Opinion Rewards, Earn Play Store Money by Answering Surveys

There are probably a lot of apps out there where you can do certain simple tasks on your phone and make some money, albeit a very small amount.  Well, Google released an app where you can take survey's and they'll reward you with free Google Play Store credits.

The survey's are usually really short and are most of the time multiple choice.  While you won't be able to quit your day job, this is a really simple way to add some credits to your account, which you can use towards some new apps you might have been eyeing.  The first survey I answered netted me $1.  I've answered a few more and have received a smaller amount, $0.80 one time, but free is free, and it literally took a minute to answer the survey.  They're random, so you might receive one two days in a row, you might not receive one for two weeks.  Again, it's just some extra money that can be easily acquired in a short time span.

*I was having some issues submitting my surveys and found out that an app, Adaway, on my rooted device might have been the culprit.  If you are also having that issue and have Adaway installed you might want to remove it/pause it if a survey is available.

AotD: wRotatr, Rotate Your Own Pictures as Wallpapers

So I've written blog posts about 2 other types of wallpaper apps.  Auto-wallpaper (for reddit) which allows you to subscribe to subreddits and rotates your wallpapers automatically on a set interval.  There's Blur which allows you to blur your existing image creating simple, unique, and color backgrounds that you are able to use.  If you wish to automatically rotate your own pictures from your gallery then you might want to check out wRotatr, which is from the makers of Paranoid Android.  This app will allow you to add images to a list and automatically rotate through them in order or randomly.  You also have to option to track certain folders which will it will then choose to rotate through.  Unfortunately it is a paid app at $1.36 so it won't hurt the pocketbook too much.

Google Play Store Links:
Auto-wallpaper (for reddit) - Free
Blur - Free w/paid option
wRotatr - $ w/no Free option

AotD: Blur, Create Minimalistic Wallpapers with Existing Photos

If you're not into picture (landscapes, buildings, etc) wallpapers that other apps like Autowallpaper (for reddit) provides and like the more simpler and colorful wallpapers you might want to check out Blur.  It's a simple idea, the premise of blurring pictures, but by simply doing so you are able to create neat looking backgrounds which reminds me of some of the early default Nexus wallpapers.  

It's free in the Google Play store and I would recommend checking it out.  There is also a paid version for $0.99 which allows you to adjust colors and is ad free.