Android as a Supers Tool

Not limited by design features meant to preserve brand identity, Android is an Operating System (OS) adopted by major smartphone manufacturers such as Motorola, HTC, Samsung and LG. Created by Google, the Android OS can be found in phones and tablets that resemble iconic BB’s and Apple designs, mash-up designs (i.e. flat-screen with slide-out keyboard), and new concepts altogether like dashboard computers in cars. Imagine what a stock Android OS could do for a mower or sprayer; fuel conservation and the IPM reporting process would be made effortless.

Apple may have trademarked “There’s an App for that!”, but Android is expected to surpass with number of Apps due to Googles “open source” policy. Basically, App-developers are able to create Apps, and sell as they please, with no approval process like Apple and BB. Critics say this will result in buggy Apps, while users believe this will result in tools to help destroy the competition. Currently, some of the best Apps for supers on Androids include:

My Maps Editor for Google Maps is a great free App that I’ve seen a few supers use on their desktops throughout the years but with very little hype and coverage in the industry. This App allows you to place “pins”, draw shapes, measure distance and area on an aerial image of your course. Is their a better way to communicate scouting info or plan a construction or renovation project then a photograph/diagram tagged to a geo-location?

Weather Reality is unlike any other weather App. For $1.99 you can point your phone at the sky and see local weather reports in the form of radar clouds.

Landscape and Garden Calculator provides calculators and tables for Plantings, Lawn Fertilizer, Lawn Seed, Aggregate, Pavers, Weight Conversion, Fraction to Decimal, Decimal to Fraction, Fraction Calculator and Frost Tables. Includes more complex parameters for predicting materials needed - $4.99


















WeatherBug Elite gives you a widget and live, local weather. There is also radar animation to follow weather developments and additional map layers for highly detailed information. For $1.99, WeatherBug also comes with a widget to place on your Android home screen for quick and interactive access.


The free Google Goggles is a simple idea - point your device at something, take a pic and Google will find all sorts of background info on your subject. In time, this App will be able to identify insects and find and order replacement parts, but for now your limited to translating text, immediately indexing business card photos to your contact list and identifying major tourist attractions.

Evernote is available on BB’s, Apple Products and the Android OS for free, with some premium upgrades. Capture images, voice notes, emails, typed notes and organize them to help you be more productive. Perfect for Supers doing five things at once.




Log-Me-In allows users to use any mobile device to log in to their desktop computers remotely. This is essentially the App that Toro’s NSN iPhone App uses.