Top Droid X 2.2 Apps, Top Root Apps

Now keep in mind, my phone is rooted running a custom ROM, and I am not against paying for applications- some of these applications only work for rooted Droids, and some of them do cost money. The two biggest things I use my Droid for: games, and work productivity such as calendars, email, and schedules.

If you would like to learn how to root your Droid X 2.2 click here!

Here are the apps! Click an item in this list to be taken to a description, screenshot, and an additional link to the application.

• AK Notepad
• Angry Birds
• AnyRSS Reader
• AppBrain App Market
• Armored Strike Online
• Astro File Manager
• Bank of America
• Barcode Scanner
• Barnacle Wifi Tether
• CacheMate for Root Users
• Craigsnotifications
• Documents ToGo
• Dolphin Browser HD
• Handcent SMS
• Jewels
• Lightning Bug
• Mabilo Ringtones
• Mint.com
• MotoTorch LED
• Flixster Movies
• NFL Mobile Live
• Pandora Radio
• RoadSync
• Robo Defense
• ROM Manager
• ShootMe
• Slacker Radio
• Speedx 3D
• StumbleUpon
• Superuser
• SystemPanel
• Terminal Emulator
• Titanium Backup
• Touchdown
• Twitter
• Uninstaller Pro
• Wallpaper Rotator
• Winamp
• Wordfeud
• WordPress
• Zedge ringtones and Wallpapers

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All of these screenshots were taken by me, but I claim no credit for any of these mobile applications. All credit and thanks to the application author. More information can be found by clicking the application title below.You can then download each application from the linked site using Barcode Scanner (Click Install on the linked page, and scan the square barcode that appears) or by searching the Android Marketplace.

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Applications
App Name	Description	Screenshot
AK Notepad	Simply the best app for note taking, it provides very acute control over notes by allowing reminders, sync, save, and home screen posting. I do not use  any of the “extra” features, but I do use it for all of my note needs.
Angry Birds	A VERY addicting and fun game- you must shoot various types of birds out of a slingshot in an attempt to slay the pig king and his henchmen. Tons of  levels available.
AnyRSS Reader	A simple RSS Reader. Can access Google Reader. The reason I like this app is for the widgets, which display very nicely on the homescreen with  transparency, which matches all of my other apps.
AppBrain App Market	This is a market “replacement”. Recent changes have caused the app to actually link you to the market, but their sync all apps feature is amazing. With  it, you can factory reset your phone- then you install the AppBrain app first. Log in, and install all apps, and all of your old apps will be restored. Also lists “recommended apps” which is a very useful way to find apps that go well with the apps you already have.
Armored Strike Online	A very well designed graphical tank game. You use a tank and factors such as pitch and wind speed to kill oponents. Play is online, against other players  around the world. There is a lite (free) version available here.
Astro File Manager	A very nice file manager which gives you more control and access than the defaul file manager. With it you can reach normally hidden folders such as  system, root, and sbin. Very useful for copy and paste operations, as well as rooted phones.
Bank of America	I wont plug this, but if you bank with Bank of America, get the app.
Barcode Scanner	I do not use this to scan in barcodes when I am shopping, etc. I DO use this to download apps quickly from online, by scanning my screen- which takes me  directly to the app download on the market.
Barnacle Wifi Tether	This app comes pre-installed on many custom ROMS, including Apex Focused which is what I am currently running. Not as nice as Wifi Tether, but it does  come with a ton of great options, controls, and security. Turns your phone into a mobile hotspot for free if your phone is rooted.
CacheMate for Root Users	This app frees up cache used by processes running on your phone. I know it works because I monitor my CPU usage with another app. For rooted phones, good  app to keep battery consumption down. There is a lite version but it seems it was just taken off of the market.
Craigslist Notifications	A browser for Craigslist- the best. You can set up searches by filter or keyword, and have your phone notify you when a new item is added. I got a  snowboard last week because I was the first person to call, thanks to this app.
Documents ToGo	While the default document previewer on Droid is ok, this one is better. With the paid version you can create edit, share, and print documents from your  Droid.
Dolphin Browser HD	What I consider the best browser for your Droid. Quick, sleek, customizable with many plugins and themes. Uses tabbed browsing, pinch to zoom, etc.
Handcent SMS	A text message replacement app. Offers themes, color customizing, font packs. Make sure to disable your phone default notification for text messages if  you use this app, otherwise you get two for each message. Love the bubble style and bubble color changing.
Jewels	A classic Jewels game, with online play. I love that you can drag the jewels, where some other versions of the game require clicks. An amazing lack of  some of the bonus features and items, but meh.
Lightning Bug	I use this for the rain setting to sleep when the traffic or construction is bad. Not necessarily the best, but the sound starts when I click the app and  the sleep times shuts it off without messing with my alarm.
Mabilo Ringtones	download user made ringtones, they have a ton. I use this as a backup ringtone finder for things I can’t get from Zedge.
Mint.com	An app that displays your Mint.com account info on your phone. Great if you use Mint.com.
Mototorch LED	A flashlight app for Droid. Has a strobe light which I never use. It can also do morse code in case you ever get lost in the dark, on a mountain, but  have a decent charge going on your phone.
Flixster Movies	The best app for movies. Can show local theatres, all theatres, release dates, rating and Rotten Tomatoe ratings.
NFL Mobile Live	The link is not for a download. This app (this version of it) is for Verizon customers only. Go to your Android Marketplace and look under the Verizon  filter.
Pandora Radio	Plays online radio stations, can be set up to use customized stations using your account and the web site.
RoadSync	An adon for Documents ToGo. Do not download this app, it is very difficult to remove and the application does little.
Robo Defense	Tower Defense. Best. Game. Ever. Pay for it, it’s worth it. Free version is here– you can also read one of my other posts on  how to hack the configuration file to cheat. I do not suggest this- beat the game first.
ROM Manager	The best app for a rooted Droid. It allows you to backup, restore, download, and install custom ROMS that are supported by your phone in seconds. To  support the author, buy the premium version here.
ShootMe	This is what I used to take the screenshots for this article. There is no picture, and this is only for rooted phones. Much better than Drocap.
Slacker Radio	this is a radio app, with more options than Pandora. I use it only to get news radio (ABC News), and i pay $2.99 a month for this station.
SpeedX 3D	A fun game, though not one of my favorites. I mostly use this game to show off my phone, as the accellerometer and graphics are nice.
StumbleUpon	An app that displays StumbleUpon items. Sign up here, set your recomendations, and start viewing some awsome  content based on your likes and dislikes.
SuperUser	For rooted phones- this allows you to grant applications and proccesses su permissions, which enable editing of the OS and root. comes packaged with ROM Manager as well.
SystemPanel	The best monitoring and task killing app I have found. Shows usage trends, statistics, etc. Available for free here.
Terminal Emulator	For rooted phones only, allows you to access your phones root through a Linux terminal. # su –
Titanium Backup	A comprehensive backup program, which allows you to backup application states. For rooted phones only.
Touchdown	An email/calendar/task/contact interface that works well for Exchange connectivity. Better than stock Android Corporate Sync. Find directions on how to  get this for free on my blog here.
Twitter	I am not a fan of Twitter, but to stay connected, use Twitter’s application.
Uninstaller Pro	A fast way to uninstall applications, removes some that the stock system can’t handle. Quicker than navigating to the stock application.
Wallpaper Rotator	Rotates your wallpaper on a customizable time frame. Can use Flickr pics or pics stored on your phone.
Winamp	A music player. I prefer the stock music player, but got this one to mess around with Winamp sync features to play music remotely from home.
WordFeud	Scrabble, played online across the world. Can play a bunch of games at once, with no timers, Tons of fun. Free version here.
WordPress	A nicely designed app to manage your WordPress blog or site. I use it to monitor this site. rooting my phone broke the ability to view site stats.
Zedge Ringtones and Wallpapers	In my opinion the best ringtone and wallpaper app out there. Lot’s of updated content.

UPDATE: I had some trouble with my phone, and had to do some major surgery- remove root, restore to 2.1 with SBF, upgrade to 2.3, re-root, etc. It was a pain in the neck But I downloaded and installed a new custom ROM, and so far I am VERY impressed! Check out: Liberty ROM for Droid x/2, courtesy of Kejar and Jrummy. Thanks guys! Here are some screen shots.

Homescreen, Liberty ROM, ADW Launcher, Minimalist Text

Notification Blind

 

Liberty Built In Theme Menu

Robo Defense for Android: How to Edit the robo_defense_full.bak for More Upgrades/Points

Credit to Lupis Labs for creating such an awsome addicting tower defense game.

And thanks to AndroidAndMe for letting me use this picture:

Robo Defense

So I have been playing Robo Defense for a while now. Great game- the best, actually. I had tens of hours put into upgrading weapons, so that I could survive level 40-60. Then I decided to root my phone, and destroyed the game. Back to zero.

Rather than play the game back up spending more time getting back to where I was, I decided to investigate a bit. when you install the game it creates a file named robo_defense_full.bak on your sd card- not in a folder. So I pulled that file to my computer and set about exploring. I tried to open it in a variety of programs, to no result. I then opened it in a Hex Editor named XVI32. It’s freeware, and located here.

I copied the robo_defense_full.bak into an email using Touchdown (you can also transfer it via USB, but I didn’t have a cable with me), and sent myself a copy. I downloaded the backup file to my computer, and opened VXI32. I then selected Open, and clicked on the backup file.

Voila! I saw some familiar items- names that I recognized from the game.

VXI32

I spent the next several hours attempting to edit this file, each time saving it from VXI32, and then copying it to my phone. I finally figured it out, but rather than tell you how I figured it out, I’ll just tell you how to do it.

Open robo_defense_full.bak in VXI.

Look at the text in the right window.

Right Window

Look for phrases. You will see some like this:

ADAchievement:Complete Any Mapw

ADReward:Health Rewardw, and many more.

After each string is a black square with a circle in it. Then three blank spaces, then an upside down L. then three blank spaces, and one character that can be many different shapes. Then lastly a t.

The space we will be working with is the space directly before the lower case t.

Character

This particular before-t-character comes after the ADReward: Longer Flame Burnw. Editing this space will change the LEVEL of my flame burn upgrade. You may notice that there are not a lot of rewards listed: they do not exist until you upgrade them to level two.

Anyhow, you need to change the hex number to something that translates into a decimal. So go to this website, and enter the number 14 in the HEX value window. You will see the decimal of 20 displayed underneath.

Hex to Decimal

You can change the hex number to change the decimal number to whatever you want. We will stay with 14.

Go back to XVI, and put your cursor over the space before the lower case t. You will see a corresponding space in the left window highlight. To double-check the lower case t equals 74 in the left window, so your cursor should be next to the number 74 on the left.

Now click on the number in the left window, in the space before 74. Enter the HEX number of 14.

Save the file. Go to your phone, uninstall Robo Defense. Go to your SDCard with a file browser, and delete robo_defense_full.bak.

Reinstall Robo Defense from the market. Open the game once- and check to make sure you are at level 1 for every upgrade with no points. Exit the game.

Transfer your modified robo_defense_full.bak file and replace the one there- either by USB or email or bluetooth.

Re-open the game and you will see your Flame Burn Duration at level 20.

The problem with this is that you must upgrade each item once before you can edit it. So I thought I would mess around with the points, which would let me buy one upgrade of each item. then I would edit it one more time, and increase all the items to what they were before I erased my phone.

To edit your Score/Points:

Locate the string in the right window: ADReward Pointsw………

Find the lower case t following the string. Click on the t, and you will see the left window number 74 highlighted. The three spaces before the 74 in the LEFT window are your points. You can’t enter any number here, it has to work with hexadecimal. Go back to our conversion website, and mess around with numbers untill you find a point value that suits you.

If you do not know what to put in, switch numbers out using the existing numbers from the left window as a guide. If you don’t see it there, don’t use it. There are no 11’s, so I did not try 11. I put 60 in the second block, and then AA in the third, which gives me a score of 24746. This was too low. Lets go for a million.

Edit Score

Try 1D60AA, which gives you 1 mill, 900 thousand points. Save, rinse, repeat. You now have enough points to buy an upgrade for each item, then edit and increase the level for each. You can continue to explore- I did not have the time to figure out how to add achievements, etc.

As Requested, here is my own robo_defense_full.bak.

Download robo_defense_full.bak from FileFactory.com 

• 1739476 Reward Points.
• Stronger Bullets: 23
• Stronger Explosives: 23
• Faster Rocket Reload: 26
• Faster Antiair Reload: 25
• Faster Artillery Reload: 23
• Longer Flame Burn: 23
• Longer Slowdown: 23
• Health Reward: 29
• Starting Cash Reward: 27
• Unlock Teleport and Mine Towers: Unlocked

As a warning, with these stats the game is easy. I can beat up to level 90 without losing life, and level 100 a few get through. don’t ruin the game for yourself!