This is a blog entry dedicated to uber geekdom at it’s finest.  Why? Because I’m Queen Geek and I just have to enjoy it!!

In my last blog post, I mentioned debating between a Droid with Big Red (AKA Verizon) or an iPhone with ATT.  I asked for people to chime in. Seems I got a whole lotta Droid love. I must admit, there’s something I like about open source. Yes, I’m still a linux lover even though I’ve defected to the lovely Macbook we refer to as The Macalyn.

Before I get to the geekieness of the title, let me fill you in on some of my reasons for sticking with Big Red and voting Droid, just in case anyone wants to know why we looked in that direction.

Cost. Plain and simple.  Droid is the only thing that I can see competing with iPhone awesomeness. What I live tech wise about Droid over iPhone is 1. removable batteries. IPhone has none. There’s something to be said about that. Of course this is Big Red and need I remind everyone of the “We no longer sell your battery, just upgrade” attitude.  2. Expandable memory.  Hello? Goes to 32 gigs super easy? LIKE IT!

Still? Cost.  Here’s what Big Red offers me: BOGO! That’s right! Buy one get one free! Um. Uh. Plus $100 off for my new every two. And $100 rebate (I hate those btw but still it’s there).  This takes my cost for TWO Droid phones down to $100. ($200 out the door with $100 returned in ??? timeframe.)  NICE!

So here’s my dilemna… apps. I like the idea of apps. I love iPhone’s apps.  A lot of the really good ones are there on the Droid.  Facebook, Shazam, Mobile Banking.  I knew I’d be golden.  Unfortunately? No Mafia Wars for time killing godness. HA!

Here’s the two apps that I most want though (I know, I do need FB and email and whatnot, but I knew those were no brainers and gonna be there): LDS Scriptures App and Mormon Radio.

The first is there. It’s by the same creators. So I am good to go. Yay! This gives me the full Standard Works of the LDS Church at my fingertips. (That would be the King James Version of the Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price for you non-LDS readers.)  It also gives me the monthly magazines, the semi-annual conference addresses from our general leaders, and all the class manuals.  In. My. Pocket. Anyone who has ever hefted my Scripture bag can tell you, this is the greatest thing for a Mormon since pretty much The Book of Mormon. I’ve used this on my previous PDAs and I luvs it very much. Trust me, it is important to me.

The second app deals with Mormon Radio.  This is a service put out by the LDS Church itself. It pipes from Salt Lake City, Utah.  It’s a 24 hour stream of music, shows, conference addresses, you name it.  (Feel free to look at the whole line up on the web, where you can also listen.)  They air it over HD Radio, actually in my area.  No, the Oz-Mobile does NOT have one of those in it. (Trust me, I’ve debated replacing the radio just for this. I AM that crazy!)  There’s a beautiful app on the iPhone for this service and I love using it on my husband’s work iPhone.

There’s apps for the other handheld OS’s.  Looks like they are working on covering all the bases.  Android is not listed on the website but I found an official page through my mighty Google-Fu that shows one is in production. I’m not sure how long said production will take.  

What’s so great about the app? Well it let’s you also on demand audio scriptures, General Conference Addresses, that sort of thing. Nice feature. Plus it’s very visually pleasing. I’m a girl. I like pretty things!

Well, I’m a girl and I DO like pretty things, but I’m also a wee bit stubborn.  Anyone who’s met me will vouch for that, I’m sure!  I was determined there must be a way to pull in the feed on the Droid for the time being while I waited for the glorious app.

Bring on the Google-Fu! I surfed. I searched. I read. I screamed. I very nearly wept. It seemed as though nothing would work.  But, like I said, I’m determined.  I was not going to believe the many message boards of my fellow Church members saying it was just NOT happening.

I finally figured it out. So here I am to share. Other LDS Droid fans NEED this information.  It took some working but check this out:

Step 1: Download the free app: A Online Radio from the app store. A Online Radio is a great streaming radio program. Has good reviews.  It will search the sharecast network and whatnot.  What it also does is let you input a URL for a radio station that you enjoy streaming over the web.  

2. In the program scroll to “ADD CHANNEL”.  This is where you can add in your own url.  Trust me, this was not easy to find.  You want to put in http://mp3radio.lds.org/mormon  Voile! It will automatically put it in your faves and now you can pull it up any time you want!  It’s only the 24 hour radio feed, none of the extras, but Huzzah!

If you want the schedule, you still need to go to the website. Sorry.

The nice thing about the Droid over the iPhone is that you can then leave the A Online Radio and surf the web, check your messages, drive down the road, whatever and it will continue to play.  Droids multitask. Yay!

So now you know.  All the Droid LDS people out there, you are welcome. Believe you me, it was difficult finding these two simple steps out so I knew I simply HAD to share.

Now, help a sista out… Droid apps vs iPhone apps… what’s your take? Got any Must Have apps on either system? I’d love to hear!

–Lady O

Originally posted on ladyozma.vox.com