Looking to take screen captures on your Android phone? The first start is to root after that it’s time to pick the right application to take screen shots.  There are 4, that I know of, available in the market.  The applications range from free to $2 and have different features.

Screenshot:

This was the first application I used for taking screenshots and is priced at $2 in the market.  This application uses the camera button as the trigger, while multi tasked, to snap a picture of your screen.  With a built in timer, you can forgo using the camera button even if it’s a bit of a hassle going back and forth between the screen shot application and the one you’re trying to take a picture of.

While using the camera button is intuitive, under certain apps it will just bring up the camera. As you can imagine, this gets frustrating when trying to write a review for an application (i.e. Photoshop). You also don’t have the ability to designate where the pictures are saved, they just end up in “../sdcard/dcim/screenshot/”

DroidCap:

When the camera button became an issue I found DroidCap.  DroidCap uses the accelerometer as a trigger, which can be frustrating while using auto rotate.  Still, it was free and could be put to good use.

My main complaint, however, is that it beeps before you trigger the phone to take a screen capture. Beeps loudly.

Again, you don’t have the ability to designate where the photos are saved.. “../sdcard/”

ShootMe:

ShootMe is another accelerometer triggered screen capture application, also free. This application utilizes the microphone as well, though I haven’t tried it (Screaming at my phone might be a little awkward). Being as free as DroidCap, this application is also a great deal for those interested in taking screenshots.

Again, it’s a little frustrating that all the pictures save to a predesignated folder, but it’s still free!

Screen Capture:

This application is $2.26 (or whatever 1.99 Euros is at the time of reading this) and is worth every penny.  This application uses an icon in the menu to trigger the screen shots, which is amazingly easy to get used to.  It’s also rare, though it does happen, that the interface is blocked by an application like the previous applications.  Some applications block the menu, therefore you’re not able to trigger the screenshot.

The awesomest part about this application is that it’s filled with options, starting with the fact that you can designate where the pictures save. Other options include deciding on what file type or prefix you want for the file.  You can even pick the quality, in order to use less space on the SD card.

Winner: Screen Capture.

I would chose Screen Capture because I think the options are exactly what’s needed. They all take the same quality pictures, however the options really make it worth $2.xx

For back up, for when you can’t access the menu, I would suggest DroidCap because it’s free.