I'll be switching to an iphone soon. Are there any specific Aps highly useful for the hobby in China? Translation comes to mind but anything else that has been very useful?

If you have an SO, the location (gps) functions would not be a good thing for you.

Offline maps (if you care about your phone bill)! There are several free ones, but i really like HongKong Map. Easy to bookmark where to fing girls and you never get lost!

Just FYI, since you haven't taken the plunge yet:

Android seems to be better equipped for hobbyists ...

There are excellent call blockers / private SMS handlers for Android.  The very few listed in the iTunes apps store appear rudimentary and incomplete, and have poor ratings, by comparison.  

For private storage of files (e.g. pics) iPhone does have some Apps ... but Android Apps are tending to be more sophisticated (Android is more open, so the programmers can do more of what they want to do).

I've not particularly researched private browsing (maybe someone can comment here?) I'm not so clear ... it's not something I need or want to use ...
but my observation is on iPhone / iPad, you seem to be able to get different browsers, which on closer inspection appear to be just skins of the native Safari browser - i.e. you get only one flavour of browser working behind the selections.  Haven't researched Android myself, but given the good experience with call and SMS blockers I'd expect the functionality of 3rd-party browsers to be richer and more varied than on iOS.

I just read this....china trying to 'cock block' android.....

http://androidcommunity.com/chin ... gmail-app-20111010/

If you are going to use android that you can get firefox for the android.  Built into the android app is the ability to tell sites not to track you.  It acts just like private browsing and it erases the sites that you visit.  It works pretty well for me as I do browse this site from time to time on my phone.  If firefox doesn't work then you can get inbrowser which is another incognito app for the android environment.  SMS/MMS apps can be changes from the stock application to include various extra features like hiding/protecting SMS i particularly like GO SMS Pro.

@dkny888:  

Choosing a phone is very much a matter of personal taste and lifestyle.  

Personally I think Samsung have the edge at this time.  Judging by sales numbers a lot of people agree with me!!  
Samsung change Android less than other manufacturers, resulting in cleaner upgrades and a more familiar user experience (after you're familiar with Android that is).

The Galaxy S2 is excellent, very cool look and features, but battery life sucks big time, be ready for that issue.  

Galaxy Note is due out very shortly - we're starting to see pre-release advertising showing up, suggesting it'll be available before long.  If I was in the market right now I'd be waiting for that model ... again I know a number of people who agree.  

... others will probably vote for their own champions - HTC still make good phones, to name another.

but recently i heard the HTC had some issue with their security, something that can cause the phone to be easily hacked or something..
i'm also currently looking to get a new phone..and pondering on what to get..samsung looks like the best option but i don't like the fact tht it can't even last for a  day with moderate/slightly higher usage...
if they fix this issue tht would be my no.1 to get phone..

i have a samsung s2
i'm a lite user
functions i use: phone, calender, googlemaps (gps) & sms
i only charge the phone once a week (not even red yet)
when i travel, then it becomes heavily used, mp3 and camera
even then, chraged every second day

only time when it drains the battery is during heavy usage of 3g
that's when i need to charge it once a day

galaxy s2 is an awesome phone and works wonders for me
however, i'm hanging for the new nexus coming out end of the month
was SUPPOSED to be released today!

heaviest use = GPS.  This kills it in no time flat ... if you really want to rip the guts out of the battery, watch a video at the same time as running GPS or track your position on Google Maps with a high zoom so it's constantly drawing new data
next heaviest use = watching videos e.g. youtube = screen on + data transmission
next heaviest use = reading static pages, e.g. plain text = that screen is bright
next heaviest use = data download, e.g. 3G, or Wifi = don't instal new apps while you're expecting any long phone calls
not sure where on the scale making a phone call fits, but it's definitely less of a burden than the top three since the screen is off and GPS isn't needed ... it's probably a heavier use than social media, so I'm putting it here
next heaviest use = social media, e.g. facebook, msn, yahoo messenger, etc = they keep polling for updates on 3G

other stuff is much lighter on the battery

and yes, the difference between high and low usage is indeed whether the battery lasts until tomorrow morning, or does it give up shortly after lunch

Samsung products may look impressive but still it lacks the CHARISMA compared to the Apple products.

beautifully sums up the choice you have, and I'd be surprised if anyone disagreed with you!  

So the choice is
  Do you want a fashion accessory?
  Or do you want a functional tool?

Back when the iPhone was the only smart-phone, the answer to both questions was the same.  But now, very recently, Android has finally managed to do what Windows ME, Symbian, Blackberry, and other wanna-bees failed to do - it actually has functionality plus a library of 3rd-party add-ons that are more flexible and more functional than Apple.  And because the Android camp still has the vigour of catch-up mentality, that trend is likely to continue for a while.  

so ... at this time it's an either-or choice ...

Don't get me wrong, both have both charisma and outstanding functionality.  So you don't go wrong by opting for one over the other.  But each has more of one of the qualities than its competitor.

Ultimate killer app to watch out for, an application to find cheating spouse.

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When Apple released its new iOS 5 operating system to go with its iPhone 4S, it touted a new app called "Find My Friends" as a great way to track and meet up with friends. If they agree, you can see their locations on a map on your screen.

But the app's enterprising customers are apparently already finding other uses. If the online posts appearing on a chat forum at MacRumors.com are for real, "Find My Friends" may have already claimed its first marriage.

Saturday night on MacRumors, a man saying he lived in New York City posted this:

"Divorcing wife. Thanks iPhone 4s and Find My Friends.

"I got my wife a new 4s and loaded up find my friends without her knowing. She told me she was at her friends house in the east village. I've had suspicions about her meeting this guy who live uptown. Lo and behold, Find my Friends has her right there.

"I just texted her asking where she was and the dumb b---- said she was on 10th Street!! Thank you Apple, thank you App Store, thank you all. These beautiful treasure trove of screen shots [sic] going to play well when I meet her ... at the lawyer's office in a few weeks.

"thankfully, she's the rich one."

It has not been determined whether the story posted on MacRumors was, in fact, authentic, and the man did not immediately reply to a request from ABC News for comment. But more than 100,000 people have viewed the posts, according to MacRumors. More than 300 of them replied with expressions of sympathy, skepticism and -- this being the Internet -- a few less-than-savory jokes.

Arnold Kim, the editorial director of MacRumors, said it was "definitely a busy thread." MacRumors did not try to verify the man's story (if, in fact, it was a man), but said everyone who registers for its forums has to validate their email when they register.

"Find My Friends" uses the iPhone or iPad's built-in Global Positioning System to see your friends' locations on a map on the screen of your device. GPS can be accurate to within a few feet for civilian uses.

Apple says "The Find My Friends app is a great way to share your location with people who are important to you" -- whether you're trying to meet friends at a crowded concert or make sure your kids get safely home from school.

The man was back with a new post less than an hour later, including a couple of screen grabs showing the location of his wife was on East 65th St., though she sent him a text message saying, "Was hard to find stupid cab hate meat packing...."

The husband again: "She said she is in meat packing district which is on 12th street. I DONT THINK SO. Appreicate [sic] the support. not my finest hour here but going to get better soon."

The new iPhone 4S and operating system have been off-the-charts successes for Apple, which said this morning that it sold more than four million iPhone 4S in three days, and that 25 million people are now using iOS 5.

Technology watchers are particularly struck by Siri -- the voice-recognition "personal assistant" built into the new software that accepts spoken commands, answers questions, and is eerily intelligent in its responses.

There was a memorial service Sunday night for Steve Jobs on the campus of Stanford University, near Apple's corporate headquarters in California, amid widespread stories that he was deeply involved in the next iPhone -- the replacement for the iPhone 4S.

The presumably-jilted husband put up one last post Saturday night: "what really chaps my a-- is not the cheating but the fact that they were probably admiring and laughing over the new phone I BOUGHT. haha. well someone about to get the last laugh tonight."

And that was the last from him. The whole thing may have been a joke, or a domestic tragedy. Ben Crompton, who writes the Pocket Lint blog, said there have certainly been other apps before, such as Google Latitude, that let you track people through GPS signals, but Apple will make it trendy.

"The burning issue seems to be that it is a very powerful tool to have," he wrote, "bringing with it huge amounts of info to the user as well as delivering plenty of info about the user to others. For some this power will outdo the user's knowledge of how to use it properly."

"Still, on the up side," he concluded, "maybe Siri will be able to offer some marriage guidance advice."


http://gma.yahoo.com/cheating-he ... -man-140300843.html