Top 10 Apps for Samsung Galaxy S3 (Jelly Bean CyanogenMod 10)

If you've rooted your Samsung Galaxy S3 and installed CyanogenMod 10, here are my top 10 must-have apps! These are in no particular order...
How to Root Your Samsung Galaxy S3... and Why? Top 3 Root-Required Apps
How to Upgrade Your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S3 to Jelly Bean 4.1 (CyanogenMod10)... and Why?

1. GooManager - This makes keeping up with gapps updates super easy. With the specific configuration on my phone (ClockworkMod Recovery) the automated install/update functions don't work. However, searching for the latest version of gapps, downloading it, and rebooting into recovery to install it couldn't be easier. This is a great app to keep on hand and it is official, so it stays up to date unlike some other ROM management apps that check for updates of gapps.
2. Triangle Away - This is good to keep handy since the Samsung Galaxy S3 has a flash counter. This app allows you to reset the flash counter so that it appears your device has never been flashed. I suggest doing this ONLY if necessary. There are risks involved with running this tool. I keep it handy just in case I decide to flash back to stock and un-root my phone.
3. Titanium Backup (Pro) - This is a must-have for any rooted Android. This app is a life-saver when it comes to maintaining app data. You can backup and restore any app, even system apps. Same with data. You can even backup and restore bluetooth settings and accounts. Set an automated schedule for backing up apps and store a few versions at a time. You can also sync to Google Drive or Dropbox.
4. ROM Toolbox Lite (Pro) - This is a 'monster app' according to the developer. That is not an exaggeration as it basically includes the functions of 20+ individual apps. While I like the convenience, I still prefer to use the individual apps intended for these various functions. This app still makes the list though due to its epic feature list.
   • ROM Management is like ROM Manager: a tool for checking for ROM/gapps updates.
   • App Manager is a mix between Titanium Backup and the built-in Android App Manager: allows you to perform a number of operations against any installed app.
   • Root Browser is like ES File Explorer: allows you to browse the root directory and open/edit files.
   • Scripter and Terminal Emulator: allows you to create, save, and run command line scripts and Linux utilities.
   • Ad Blocker: directly edits your hosts file with the proper entries for blocking ads, porn, casino, and risky sites. Also includes a DNS changer tool and app level ad detection settings.
   • Auto Start Manager: like startup management for a PC, this lets you enable or disable broadcast receivers for any app on startup.
   • Configure Apps2SD: allows you to force all apps to install to SD Card or internal storage. Default setting is auto.
   • Rebooter: gives quick access to special reboot options such as reboot, reboot recovery, power down, or reboot the status bar only.
   • CPU Control and Kernel Tweaks: allows you to overclock or underclock the CPU to save battery or boost performance.
   • build.prop Editor: makes editing the build.prop file easy so you can alter the lcd density, decrease call ring delay, increase wifi scan interval, and more.
   • Memory Manager and Task Manager: this is an improvement on the built-in task manager to improve performance and save battery life.
   • SD Booster: makes read/write on the external SD faster by increasing cache size.
   • Font Installer: allows selection from over 150 fonts that can be applied for a custom look.
   • Boot Animations: allows selection from over 300 boot animations that can be applied for a custom look on bootup. You can also use your own custom GIF.
   • Theme Manager and Statusbar Icons: lets you customize your selected theme and install new ones
   • Theme Chooser: allows you to browse 100's of themes available for download (this doesn't work on the current version of CyanogenMod 10 for the AT&T SGS3)
5. ROM Manager (Premium) - With a ClockWorkMod Recovery rooted Android, this app is obligatory. It offers shortcuts and utilities for functions that can be performed through the actual recovery. You don't really need this, but it can come in handy to keep tabs on updates and to process backups/restores.
6. BusyBox (Pro) - This is a must-have for any rooted Android. Just install it, run the install process, and you're done.
7. ES File Explorer - This should be standard for any rooted Android. Install this to gain full read/write access to your internal storage, internal SD card, and external SD card. This (along with DroidEdit) makes tasks like updating the hosts file super easy.
8. Adobe Flash Player (apk) - Unfortunately, Adobe Flash is no longer supported in Android 4.1+. This means you'll have to download and install Flash from a source other than the Play Store. Luckily, it is super easy to do. The link goes to an XDA forum thread which has more details. It mentions installing Dolphin Browser, but simply installing the Flash apk worked to enable Flash in the default browser in my case.
9. Headseticon - After installing CyanogenMod 10, I no longer received a headset icon in the notification bar when plugging in an aux cable. This app fixes that and goes the extra step of letting you pick a an icon from an extensive list of options. You can also define a default volume level and even set an app to open when you connect an aux cable.
10. avast! Mobile Security - This is a must have app for any rooted Android. It combines top-of-the-line virus protection, firewall, phone locator, remote phone management, and more to give you the ultimate in security and control of your data's integrity.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Headphone Jack Not Working in Your Aux Input?

So you've got the new Samsung Galaxy S3 and it is awesome. Have you tried the headphone jack yet? Chances are it works great. However, for some unlucky SGS3 owners it doesn't work with their car's aux input. So far this issue has been documented best at androidforums.com in my opinion. It has also been discussed at bimmerfest.com and a few other car-specific forums.

What do you mean the aux input 'doesn't work'? What happens?

1. Plug 3.5mm auxiliary audio cable into the Samsung Galaxy S3
2. The headset icon appears and the phone is ready for audio output
3. Plug the other end of the 3.5mm auxiliary audio cable into the car stereo's aux input
4. The headset icon disappears and the phone plays music via the phone speaker as if there is no cable plugged in

Why does this happen?

So far, x3oiler over at bimmerfest.com has provided the best and most satisfying explanation I have seen. 

"I suspect the galaxy is detecting open circuit. It needs some impedance to activate the audio.
The aux connection wiring is simple, but complex. It has from memory a 200kohm resistor across the head unit inputs to trigger the AUX function in the head unit. But to protect this "AUX trigger" resistance level the AUX socket audio signals are then capacitively coupled to the head unit. If this was not done, any device connected could reduce the 200kohm thus disabling the AUX function. This means that any device connected to AUX does not "see" the expected 100kohm impedance. This is quite ok for device that do not have intelligent output switching. The galaxy does have automatic switching hence a problem. You could fix by opening the socket and connecting a 100kohm resistor from each input to ground. Or maybe there is a hack available for the galaxy to override the automatic headphone detection."

For what cars is this a problem?

• 2007-2009 Saab 9-3
• 2007-2009 Saab 9-5
• 2007 BMW X3
• 2007 BMW Z4 

What can be done about this?

There are some 'fixes' but none that have proven to be a true solution as of yet.

1. As x3oiler suggests, modify the connection to change the impedance by installing resistor(s). However I don't think anyone has documented this approach. If anyone has tried it, I haven't found a report on whether it was successful.
2. Along the same lines as above, you could try inline resistor(s) in the actual 3.5mm aux cable. However, I haven't found an example of anyone doing/trying this.
3. Download and run an app called SoundAbout (formerly called Headset Routing Fix) which allows you to force the audio output over the 3.5mm headphone jack or the phone speaker. While this can 'work' it is no permanent solution. Once you flip the headphone setting on, all audio comes out of the headphone jack. The volume resets to default headphone output levels. The music plays over the aux cable, but as soon as a song changes the audio output flips back to phone, then back to headphone once the next song comes on... and the volume resets again. This is an annoyance. Not to mention, you have to actually open this app and flip the headphone output on every time you want to use your aux output. You then have to flip the headphone output off to go back to normal. Unfortunately, my SGS3 wouldn't switch back to normal and was stuck on headphone out until I rebooted my phone.
4. Another option is to reverse the polarity of the aux cable. This eliminates all issues and the functionality works perfectly... except for the obvious your polarity is reversed. Your lefts come out of your rights and rights come out of your lefts. It is actually a pretty noticeable and undesirable effect. However if you are cool to settle on this little sacrifice in order to get the aux cable to work as expected there are a couple of tricks to pull it off. Weenrock came up with one at androidforums.com: simply take two aux cables, plug one end of cable 1 into the phone and plug one end of cable 2 into the car's aux input. Take the remaining ends and lay them over each other so the black rings line-up. Tape it all together and you're done. If you did this really tightly and cleanly with electrical tape, it might be somewhat acceptable visually. Working off this idea, I decided to try the same concept but using a 3.5mm to Female RCA Adapter with a 3.5mm to Male RCA Cable. Sure enough, plugging the cables in with the polarity reversed works! The setup is bulky, but I like the idea of being able to pop the adapter in and use it with normal or reversed polarity at my will. Unfortunately, normal polarity doesn't solve the issue at all. I have yet to try doubling up on this idea and reversed the polarity twice. It very likely won't solve the issue, but it just might alter the resistance enough to do the trick without reversing polarity in the end. Ultimately that test would require 2 of the RCA adapters and one traditional RCA cable. It is very doable, but I only purchased one adapter so I can't currently try that.
5. An interesting idea that I have not fully tested out is using an app called Headseticon which launches an app of your choice when it detects that headphones are plugged in. It also lets you set a custom headphone icon for the notification bar which is cool, but useless for this issue. Anyway, if you set it to launch SoundAbout, maybe you could better automate SoundAbout's switched of the audio output settings.
6. Finally, some have found success using a dock that outputs to the 3.5mm aux input via USB. To me, this is not a solution but it is indeed a way around the issue. The negatives here are that the dock is pricey and the fact remains that the 3.5mm headphone jack should work without issue.