25 apps for android
1. Google Voice
Google Voice is a service
that is so useful I consider
it one of the top benefits
of Android itself, especially
since Apple rejected the
Google Voice app for the
iPhone. It gives you a
phone number that can
ring to multiple places or
devices and it allows you
to access all of your
voicemail and text
messages over the Web.
The Android app
integrates even deeper. It
can make outgoing calls
look like they’re coming
from your Google Voice
number so that you can
keep your real mobile
number private.
2. Advanced Task
Killer
One of the realities of
having a multitasking
mobile OS in Android is
that you have to manage
your apps so that they
don’t hurt performance or
battery life. Advanced
Task Killer (or ATK) is my
favorite. It even comes
with a widget that you
can tap once to kill all
open apps.
3. Dropbox
Dropbox is a great cloud
service that automatically
syncs a folder of files
between multiple
computers (Windows,
Mac, or Linux). This app
extends Dropbox to
Android and interacts with
other apps (such as
Documents To Go) to
open the files.
4. Evernote
Once you get used to
typing on a virtual
keyboard (and it honestly
took me over a year to do
it), then these devices are
great for note-taking, and
Evernote is a great note-
taking app. It is similar to
Dropbox in that it saves
data locally but syncs it
across all your machines
and devices.
5. DroidAnalytics
For some reason Google
doesn’t have an official
app (for either Android or
iPhone) for Google
Analytics. The best one
I’ve found on Android is
DroidAnalytics. Another
good one is mAnalytics.
6. Documents To Go
The free version of
Documents To Go offers a
great little reader for Word
and Excel files. You can
upgrade to the full version
(for $15) if you want to
edit files and add
PowerPoint files to the
mix. If you do want
editing capability, I’d also
recommend taking a look
at QuickOffice.
7. Amazon Kindle
I never warmed up to the
Amazon Kindle e-reader,
but I’m a big fan of the
Kindle mobile app. Since it
was released I’ve read a
lot more books simply
because my smartphone
is always with me and I
can pull it and read a few
pages anytime I’ve got a
couple minutes free.
8. Places Directory
This is an awesome app
for finding shops and
services near your current
location. From restaurants
to movie theaters to
medical facilities to taxis,
this app is very accurate
and takes advantage of
the business information
from Google Local. This
app is better than the info
you get from a GPS unit
(or app) and better than
any of the similar apps
available on the iPhone.
9. Tripit
I dig Tripit. It is by far the
best app I’ve found for
keeping track of all my
travel itineraries. It runs
on some great backend
systems. You simply
forward your
confirmation emails for
your flights, hotels, rental
cars, and more to Tripit
and it automatically
organizes them into trips
with all your details and
confirmation numbers.
10. Seesmic
Twitter is an amazing
instant-intelligence engine
and it was made for
mobile browsing.
Although there’s an official
Twitter app for Android
now, Seesmic is still the
best Android Twitter
client.
11. FCC Speedtest
I’m obsessed with
running speed tests to
check my bandwidth in
various places, both to
see 3G fluctuations and to
check the quality of Wi-Fi.
There are a number of
really good speedtest
apps, but my new
favorite is the FCC Test
app.
12. Astro File Manager
Another one of the great
things about Android (if
you’re a geek or a
tinkerer) is that you have
lower-level access to the
system itself. Astro is an
app that lets you navigate
the Android file system.
13. Got To Do
There are plenty of to-do
apps to choose from on
Android but I prefer Got
To Do because of the solid
interface and the fact that
it can sync with the online
service Toodledo.
14. Gist
Many of us have contact
lists scattered across
various computers,
devices, and online
services. Gist is a Web
service that can bring
them together and even
pull in stuff from the Web
to help you stay up to
date with your most
important contacts.
There’s an Android app as
well as an iPhone app.
15. TED Mobile
TED is a fascinating event
that features a meeting of
the minds of some of
society’s most influential
thinkers. You’ll definitely
disagree with some of
them, because there’s a
large diversity of opinions,
but many talks are worth
listening to. What I love is
that they’ve taken the
videos from their
conference and made
them freely available on
the Web. This app
provides a great way to
access the videos. I hope
more conferences follow
TED’s lead on this.
16. Pandora
Pandora is a streaming
“radio station” for the
Internet age. You simply
search by an artist or
song and it will create a
running playlist based on
that one piece of
information. It
intersperses an occasional
ad between songs but the
ads tend to be fairly
localized and occasionally
even useful.
17. Shazam
If you want to impress
your friends with a mobile
app, show them Shazam.
Ever hear a song being
played at a store or on the
radio and ask yourself,
“Oh, what song is that?”
That’s where Shazam
comes in. Just hit the
button and let it listen for
15 seconds, query its
database, and then return
the name of artist and the
song. It has about an 80%
success rate.
18. Dial Zero
Are you one of those
people who dials a
customer service line and
just keeps pressing zero
until you get to talk to a
real person? Then Dial
Zero is your new friend.
This app provides a
directory of a ton of U.S.
businesses and gives you
numbers to help you get
closer to a real person and
instructions for which
prompts to hit to speak to
a human being as quickly
as possible.
19. Google Goggles
This is a fun app that is a
little but ahead of its time.
It does visual searches.
You can take pictures of
things and then the app
tries to tell you what they
are. It’s limited in its scope
but it is pretty cool, and
it’s definitely a peek into
the future. One of the
coolest features is the
ability to take pictures of
text in a foreign language
and let that app translate
for you. In a foreign
country, this can help you
read street signs and
avoid going into the
wrong bathroom. :-)
20. Google Sky Map
Ever look up at the night
sky and try to tell your
kids the name of that
constellation you’re
pointing at, or try to
remember which planet
that is in the southern
sky? Google SkyMap lets
you point your
smartphone at it and get
the information. This is
part of a new breed of
apps called “Augmented
Reality” apps that layer
digital information on top
of real world experiences.
21. Tricorder
A lot of geeks I know like
to say that our
smartphones are
becoming more and
more like the Tricorders
on Star Trek. Well, here’s
a fun app that turns your
Android device into a
virtual Tricorder. It even
offers some useful
environmental
information, including
GPS data, wireless data,
and ambient sound
measurements.
22. FxCamera
Honestly, the camera
software on Android is an
area where major
improvements are
needed, but this app is a
great example of what’s
possible. It has solid
camera controls, full
customization options,
and offers some great
effects for photos.
23. Photoshop Mobile
Photoshop is, of course,
the best known photo
editor in the world and its
mobile app doesn’t do
anything to hurt that
reputation. But while the
desktop version is know
for having a zillion
features, the mobile app is
distinguished by its
simplicity. It’s the best
Android (and iPhone)
photo editing app for
simple crops, brightness
adjustments, and
sharpens, for example.
24. Bump
Bump is a fun (and useful)
idea for sharing info
between two phones
using the accelerometer,
and it works across
Android and iPhone. You
can use it to share contact
info (yours and others),
photos, and apps. You
both simply open the
Bump app, choose what
you to share, and then
hold the phones in your
hands and bump your
hands together.
25. Barcode Scanner
This app turns the
Android camera into a
barcode scanner. You
simply scan a product’s
UPC code and let the app
go to work to find it in
Google Product Search or
a search on the open
Web. You’ll be amazed at
how fast it works. This is
great for when you’re
shopping retail and you
want to check the price of
a product online before
buying to make sure
you’re paying a fair price.
Google Voice is a service
that is so useful I consider
it one of the top benefits
of Android itself, especially
since Apple rejected the
Google Voice app for the
iPhone. It gives you a
phone number that can
ring to multiple places or
devices and it allows you
to access all of your
voicemail and text
messages over the Web.
The Android app
integrates even deeper. It
can make outgoing calls
look like they’re coming
from your Google Voice
number so that you can
keep your real mobile
number private.
2. Advanced Task
Killer
One of the realities of
having a multitasking
mobile OS in Android is
that you have to manage
your apps so that they
don’t hurt performance or
battery life. Advanced
Task Killer (or ATK) is my
favorite. It even comes
with a widget that you
can tap once to kill all
open apps.
3. Dropbox
Dropbox is a great cloud
service that automatically
syncs a folder of files
between multiple
computers (Windows,
Mac, or Linux). This app
extends Dropbox to
Android and interacts with
other apps (such as
Documents To Go) to
open the files.
4. Evernote
Once you get used to
typing on a virtual
keyboard (and it honestly
took me over a year to do
it), then these devices are
great for note-taking, and
Evernote is a great note-
taking app. It is similar to
Dropbox in that it saves
data locally but syncs it
across all your machines
and devices.
5. DroidAnalytics
For some reason Google
doesn’t have an official
app (for either Android or
iPhone) for Google
Analytics. The best one
I’ve found on Android is
DroidAnalytics. Another
good one is mAnalytics.
6. Documents To Go
The free version of
Documents To Go offers a
great little reader for Word
and Excel files. You can
upgrade to the full version
(for $15) if you want to
edit files and add
PowerPoint files to the
mix. If you do want
editing capability, I’d also
recommend taking a look
at QuickOffice.
7. Amazon Kindle
I never warmed up to the
Amazon Kindle e-reader,
but I’m a big fan of the
Kindle mobile app. Since it
was released I’ve read a
lot more books simply
because my smartphone
is always with me and I
can pull it and read a few
pages anytime I’ve got a
couple minutes free.
8. Places Directory
This is an awesome app
for finding shops and
services near your current
location. From restaurants
to movie theaters to
medical facilities to taxis,
this app is very accurate
and takes advantage of
the business information
from Google Local. This
app is better than the info
you get from a GPS unit
(or app) and better than
any of the similar apps
available on the iPhone.
9. Tripit
I dig Tripit. It is by far the
best app I’ve found for
keeping track of all my
travel itineraries. It runs
on some great backend
systems. You simply
forward your
confirmation emails for
your flights, hotels, rental
cars, and more to Tripit
and it automatically
organizes them into trips
with all your details and
confirmation numbers.
10. Seesmic
Twitter is an amazing
instant-intelligence engine
and it was made for
mobile browsing.
Although there’s an official
Twitter app for Android
now, Seesmic is still the
best Android Twitter
client.
11. FCC Speedtest
I’m obsessed with
running speed tests to
check my bandwidth in
various places, both to
see 3G fluctuations and to
check the quality of Wi-Fi.
There are a number of
really good speedtest
apps, but my new
favorite is the FCC Test
app.
12. Astro File Manager
Another one of the great
things about Android (if
you’re a geek or a
tinkerer) is that you have
lower-level access to the
system itself. Astro is an
app that lets you navigate
the Android file system.
13. Got To Do
There are plenty of to-do
apps to choose from on
Android but I prefer Got
To Do because of the solid
interface and the fact that
it can sync with the online
service Toodledo.
14. Gist
Many of us have contact
lists scattered across
various computers,
devices, and online
services. Gist is a Web
service that can bring
them together and even
pull in stuff from the Web
to help you stay up to
date with your most
important contacts.
There’s an Android app as
well as an iPhone app.
15. TED Mobile
TED is a fascinating event
that features a meeting of
the minds of some of
society’s most influential
thinkers. You’ll definitely
disagree with some of
them, because there’s a
large diversity of opinions,
but many talks are worth
listening to. What I love is
that they’ve taken the
videos from their
conference and made
them freely available on
the Web. This app
provides a great way to
access the videos. I hope
more conferences follow
TED’s lead on this.
16. Pandora
Pandora is a streaming
“radio station” for the
Internet age. You simply
search by an artist or
song and it will create a
running playlist based on
that one piece of
information. It
intersperses an occasional
ad between songs but the
ads tend to be fairly
localized and occasionally
even useful.
17. Shazam
If you want to impress
your friends with a mobile
app, show them Shazam.
Ever hear a song being
played at a store or on the
radio and ask yourself,
“Oh, what song is that?”
That’s where Shazam
comes in. Just hit the
button and let it listen for
15 seconds, query its
database, and then return
the name of artist and the
song. It has about an 80%
success rate.
18. Dial Zero
Are you one of those
people who dials a
customer service line and
just keeps pressing zero
until you get to talk to a
real person? Then Dial
Zero is your new friend.
This app provides a
directory of a ton of U.S.
businesses and gives you
numbers to help you get
closer to a real person and
instructions for which
prompts to hit to speak to
a human being as quickly
as possible.
19. Google Goggles
This is a fun app that is a
little but ahead of its time.
It does visual searches.
You can take pictures of
things and then the app
tries to tell you what they
are. It’s limited in its scope
but it is pretty cool, and
it’s definitely a peek into
the future. One of the
coolest features is the
ability to take pictures of
text in a foreign language
and let that app translate
for you. In a foreign
country, this can help you
read street signs and
avoid going into the
wrong bathroom. :-)
20. Google Sky Map
Ever look up at the night
sky and try to tell your
kids the name of that
constellation you’re
pointing at, or try to
remember which planet
that is in the southern
sky? Google SkyMap lets
you point your
smartphone at it and get
the information. This is
part of a new breed of
apps called “Augmented
Reality” apps that layer
digital information on top
of real world experiences.
21. Tricorder
A lot of geeks I know like
to say that our
smartphones are
becoming more and
more like the Tricorders
on Star Trek. Well, here’s
a fun app that turns your
Android device into a
virtual Tricorder. It even
offers some useful
environmental
information, including
GPS data, wireless data,
and ambient sound
measurements.
22. FxCamera
Honestly, the camera
software on Android is an
area where major
improvements are
needed, but this app is a
great example of what’s
possible. It has solid
camera controls, full
customization options,
and offers some great
effects for photos.
23. Photoshop Mobile
Photoshop is, of course,
the best known photo
editor in the world and its
mobile app doesn’t do
anything to hurt that
reputation. But while the
desktop version is know
for having a zillion
features, the mobile app is
distinguished by its
simplicity. It’s the best
Android (and iPhone)
photo editing app for
simple crops, brightness
adjustments, and
sharpens, for example.
24. Bump
Bump is a fun (and useful)
idea for sharing info
between two phones
using the accelerometer,
and it works across
Android and iPhone. You
can use it to share contact
info (yours and others),
photos, and apps. You
both simply open the
Bump app, choose what
you to share, and then
hold the phones in your
hands and bump your
hands together.
25. Barcode Scanner
This app turns the
Android camera into a
barcode scanner. You
simply scan a product’s
UPC code and let the app
go to work to find it in
Google Product Search or
a search on the open
Web. You’ll be amazed at
how fast it works. This is
great for when you’re
shopping retail and you
want to check the price of
a product online before
buying to make sure
you’re paying a fair price.
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