Name:  Exchange by TouchDownPublisher: NitrodeskPrice: 5 day free demo, $19.99 for the key

Description:With TouchDown™, your office email, calendar and contacts are available right at your fingertips. You can choose how long to retain your email on your phone. You can choose to download ALL your exchange contacts to TouchDown™ any time you want, but get all changes automatically every time you check your email.

You get quick access to your day’s agenda, optimized for viewing on your phone. You can choose to dismiss past events to simplify the view. (Taken directly from the TouchDown website)

Introduction:While Android’s integrated corporate E-mail and calendar functions will be sufficient for most users, in our organization we found them to be lacking in a few areas. First, there was no task syncing with the Exchange server. Second, E-mail attachments were unable to be downloaded to our handset. This led to some searching for alternatives. That’s when we came across Exchange by TouchDown.

After installing from Android Market, and starting the application, just click the gear button to access the setup wizard. If you’re your own IT department, you should know all of the answers right away. If not, contact your IT department.  Once setup, Exchange by TouchDown will handle all of your corporate E-mail, calendaring, contacts, and tasks.  If you’ve had E-mail and calendar setup on your handset previously, you’ll either want to disable them or remove them completely.

Pros:E-mail, task, contact, and calendar syncingSupports syncing by Exchange 2003, Exchange 2007, ActiveSync, and USB to OutlookDownloads E-mail attachmentsEasy to use once setupFour widgets (universal, E-mail, calendar, tasks)

Cons:Price (while most companies that can afford an Exchange server won’t notice the hit, users purchasing the software themselves will)Setup can be difficult if you’re not aware of the settingsWould like more widgets with more size options (I find 3×2 annoying)

Features Rating: 4 out of 5 starsUsability Rating: 4 out of 5 starsSetup Rating: 3 out of 5 starsWidgets Rating: 3 out of 5 starsOverall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Final Thoughts:While this application was nice while I tested it, I found that I personally didn’t need the extra features.  I’ve uninstalled it.  Out of the four users in our organization, only one runs TouchDown.  That being said, for 25% of the DROID users in our organization, there was a need, and TouchDown met it with flying colors

Widgets: Bluetooth OnOff, GPS OnOff, WiFi OnOff, LockPattern OnOff, AutoRotate OnOff, Brightness LevelPublisher: CurveFish

IntroductionThe CurveFish OnOff widgets were the first widgets I downloaded when I got my new Motorola DROID. I needed to have complete control over my connections to save on battery life, and found a few little fun widgets along the way. And to have found a publisher that has released multiple widgets of the same theme excite the OCD inside me.

Bluetooth OnOff, WiFi OnOffThe Bluetooth OnOff and WiFi OnOff are just that, great widgets for controlling the state of your Bluetooth and WiFi connections. Straight forward and usable.Bluetooth OnOff Rating: 4.5 out of 5 starsWiFi OnOff Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

GPS OnOffThe GPS OnOff widget is very much like the Bluetooth OnOff and WiFi OnOff widgets, with the exception that it must be linked to another service. I originally linked it to the Bluetooth service, but the GPS froze and never turned on. I linked it to the WiFi, and seems to work, but I hate losing my WiFi connection just to turn my GPS on or off.GPS OnOff Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

LockPattern OnOffLockPattern OnOff is nice for configuring whether, once your phone locks, it unlocks using the slider or lock pattern. I use it to switch between being home, and away from home, as I don’t need anyone having that easy of access to all of my data.LockPattern OnOff Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

AutoRotate OnOffI honestly don’t enjoy my phone rotating from landscape to portrait without me explicitly telling it to. This is where AutoRotate OnOff comes into play. If your keyboard is retracted, your phone’s display is set to portrait. If your keyboard is extracted, your phone’s display is set to portrait. And putting your DROID in the car dock in portrait mode overrides the widget, which is perfect.

AutoRotate OnOff Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Brightness LevelWhile not specifically an OnOff widget, it works with with the battery saving features of the OnOff widgets by allowing you to EASILY change the screen brightness, saving you battery when you don’t need the screen on, or don’t need it bright.Brightness Level Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Final ThoughtsOverall, very satisfied with these widgets. So much so that I have a desktop devoted to geek tweaks, and they occupy the first six positions.Overall Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Game:  Crystallight DefensePublisher: Smartpix GamesPrice: Demo available, full version $2.99

Description:Crystallight is a game of “tower defence” genre with extensive online rating system and hours of exciting gameplay. (taken from the Crystallight Defense website)

Introduction:While searching for another defense game in the Android Market that I’d been told about, I came across Crystallight Defense. It looked pretty good (I liked the graphics, honestly) so I opted to download it. After installing, I went through the tutorial and had a rather difficult time grasping the game. I started playing through individual battles, and to be quite honest, I struggled. It took me a couple days to beat the first battle (I left it on the default 40 waves). After beating it once, I started through the story mode, and found it rather easy. I’ve been hooked on the gameplay, and found myself enjoying it for hours when I have better things to do, like sleep.

Pros:Addicting gameplayMultiple levels of play in demo, and 40 levels in the paid versionOnline rating system

Cons:Tutorial leaves a bit to be desiredGame should have an “Additional Help” option that opens the website up in a browser

Graphics Rating: 3.5 out of 5 starsGameplay Rating: 4 out of 5 starsTutorial Rating: 2 out of 5 starsOverall Rating: 3.17 out of 5 stars

Final Thoughts: What started as a time killer to “play one before bed” turned into a bit of an addiction.  So much so that now, when I’ve found myself at a level that I’m unable to beat, I find myself frustrated and playing three or four times before giving in for the night.  It’s quickly become my favorite game to play on my phone, and the only game I’ve been addicted to more than this one was StarCraft.