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Best Free Android Apps
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Best Free Android Apps - Page Index
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What's New
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New and Updated Apps: |
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Other Language?
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Read this article in Chinese |
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How To Use This List
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This is a multi-page article. To quickly find what you want, either:
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Introduction
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Since Android was introduced, more than 700,000 Android apps have been developed and most of them are available for download from Google Play—the online store hosted by Google—but not all are free. To help you get the best of the free ones, we have selected some gems in each category and added them here in a convenient list with clear and brief descriptions of each application item. Like the apps and want to give them a try? Search them by tapping the default Play Store app, or use one of the following ways to install the apps on your mobile device, quick and easy. Quick Access to Android apps on Google Play:
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Summary
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This list of Best Free Android Apps now includes 215 apps in 118 categories. To read brief descriptions of the applications, click a page number or a category icon below.
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Editor
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This list of Best Free Android Apps is maintained by volunteer editor Jojoyee. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or suggestions they might have by clicking here. |
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Tags
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best, free, top, android, droid, mobile, smart phone, smartphone, tablet, app, apps, applications, software, freeware, program, list, google, play, market, store |
- Article type:
- Review,
- PC Freeware,
- Cleanup & Tuning,
- User contributed lists,
- Desktop & GUI,
- Android,
- Disk & File Utilities,
- Home & Office,
- Educational,
- Games and Diversions,
- Image View and Edit,
- Internet, Email & Messaging,
- Multimedia (CD, DVD, Video, Audio),
- Security,
- System and Performance Info,
- System Utilities,
- Software list
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version


Android apps (short for applications) are mobile software designed for running on the Android operating system, which is one of the most popular platforms used in cellphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
Page 2. Home and Office
Page 3. Image Tools
Page 4. Multimedia
Page 5. Disk and File Tools
Page 6. Desktop and System
Page 7. Security and Privacy
Page 8. Internet and eMail
Page 9. Phone & Messaging
Page 10. Network, Website & Server
Page 11. Personal Development
Page 12. Games
Comments
I received a mail from Astrid yesterday morning announcing that it has been bought by Yahoo!. They say the app will keep working for 90 days starting from may 1st and it will be gone after that period. You have to visit the app's site for more info about how to download and clear your personal data.
Good info IO.Hazard. Astrid is now delisted.
My pleasure Jojoyee. BTW, you're doing a cracking job providing Gizmo's visitors with this constantly updated megalist.
Nice list!
I just got a tablet and I wanted to install an antivirus. This listing shows lookout and avast as the best ones but the best antivirus for android (your review) shows trustgo and avast as the tops choices. Who am I suppossed to believe? Does anyone else have some any suggestions?
Thanks for your kind comment DaRK.STaR. TrustGo Antivirus & Mobile Security is a new top pick selected by our fellow editor IO.Hazard in the review article. It's now updated in this mega list. Give it a try and hope that you'll like it.
Wow, that was a quick response! Thanks for helping me Jojoyee.
Once I read your response I installed trustgo but then I went the lookout way. Now I'm trying to make up my mind between the two :P
I love your QR codes scheme. I just point 'n shoot and I go to the app I want fast 'n easy. Great Idea!
in need of assistance...my phone has been hacked and ive tried so many downloads and even bought a new phone that i sleep with at night and somehow it keeps happening...im starting to go nuts like its my personal mission to stop this from happening...any help is greatly appreciated
BillPin which has acquired Billmonk just now has a good Android application for sharing bills.
This listing of Android apps is superb, as always, but I'd like to add a small note of caution about Ringdroid. It's a great program and works well, but when I repeatedly found icons for gambling and other unwanted applications on my home screen, I finally tracked down Ringdroid as the source. As a result, I uninstalled it, as I don't need to create ringtones regularly, and I can always reinstall it briefly if I want to create a ringtone, then uninstall it again.
If anyone has reliable information that this problem is no longer happening with Ringdroid, that would be good to know, but until that is known for sure, users should be aware that Ringdroid may install all kinds of junk apps on their phones.
just to visually clarify:
This is the good Ringdroid:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ringdroid&feature
This is the evil, crap, fake Ringdroid (Social Edition):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ringdroid.social&featu...
Both look like the same icon except that the Social Edition (the evil, crap, fake Ringdroid) has a white circle filled in with blue, & a white "in" written on the blue background.
I agree (as noted in my posts 106877 and 106897).
Thanks for your post.
hi yankiwi, i think you may find that you have downloaded a knock off copy of ringdroid from google play. it is called ringdroid (social edition) by song qinglin. a while ago i did the same as ringdroid had not developed their most excellent app for ice cream sandwich/jellybean at the time i needed it. it did exactly the same things as you have detailed..crap dropped all over my screens from airpush. i finally tracked this down with the excellent dr. web. as far as i know & have experienced ringdroid has never done what you have detailed. ditch the fake app & get the real thing. as you stated it is a great app.
Hi, mjuice7,
Thanks for the suggestion, but I just went to Google Play and checked out both Ringdroid apps. After reading them both, I'm quite certain that I had the one from the Ringdroid Team, and for three reasons:
1) Because of the obvious difference in the two icons (I'd never before seen the blue and white emblem in the "Social Edition" icon);
2) Because I've never heard of "song ginglin," but seem to remember reading something about the "Ringdroid Team" before; and finally (and most important),
3) Because I am cheerfully "anti-social" and heartily detest Facebook, Twitter, and all other annoying forms of "social media" or anything that even remotely smacks of that, so I would never download the "social edition" of anything!
Ringdroid is indeed a great app, but for now I'll play it safe and leave it off my phone unless I have a reason to load it in order to create a specific ringtone. I hope others enjoy it and find it "AirPush-free."
Thanks again for your post.
The Ringdroid app linked from here is not a blue and white icon. It is redish note with a yellow scissors.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ringdroid
the Rindgdroid app with a blue and white emblem is from a different developer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.media.ringtonemaker#?t.....
Hi, mr6n8,
Thanks for your post, but I understood that difference. I was simply trying to use that difference to explain to the previous poster that one of the reasons that I knew that I had downloaded the original Ringdroid app and had NOT installed the "social edition" version from the alternate developer was that I had NOT seen that additional blue and white emblem before. Just to be sure I'm being clear, the Ringdroid I downloaded was the original Ringdroid with the icon that had only the reddish note and yellow scissors you described and did NOT have the additional blue and white emblem.
I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.
Cheers
OK I misread your previous post.
Thanks for the feedback Yankiwi. So far I've not experienced unwanted app icons on the home screen resulted from Ringdroid. Check if you have installed Ringdroid developed by Ringdroid Team or the Social Edition by another developer, and if you have installed the app directly from the Play Store.
According to the developer, Ringdroid is an open-source project and it does not contain ads. You may also email the developer to find out more.
Hi, Jojoyee,
Thanks for the info. I've never downloaded any app from any source other than the Google Play Store, so I'm sure it was that version of Ringdroid. I scanned with AirPush Detector, which found that Ringdroid contained AirPush, because I'd noticed occasional app icons on my home pages ("Slotto" and others). The unwanted app icons would only appear occasionally while I had Ringdroid installed, but they have never appeared since I uninstalled Ringdroid.
As I said, I really liked Ringdroid; it's a great program, does what it says it will do, and does it well, but until I'm sure that it's not going to load junk onto my phone, I'll only install it long enough to create a ringtone (which I rarely do), then immediately uninstall it. However, if others have better or newer information to the contrary, I'll be glad to hear it.
Thanks for this great list!
aContacts hasn't been updated in over three years and its Play listing says "Not fully compatible with Android 2.0"
Best Android Navigation Apps
Add OsmAnd. By far the most powerful mapping App for Android.
Uses off-line OSM maps (no data download but online also available) and includes voice guidance, gpx track recording, contours, etc etc.
Just got my first smartphone which runs on Android. I've installed many of your suggested apps and they all seem to be high quality. Thanks for your work on this list.
Hello, JoJoyee...
The photos for Jetpack Joyride and Temple Run are reversed!
Thanx for a great piece of research! Keep it up.
Thanks pratomorone for pointing out. They are now fixed.
Great list Jojoyee!
I myself love to play games on my phone some now and then. I am a huge fan of racing games and I found GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+ to be one of the best free games around. It is a 400MB download, but if you have a WiFi connection it's worth downloading it.
Audiogalaxy no longer seems to be available on GooglePlay, and the website is also unavailable. This should probably be removed from the Best list. Does anyone know of an alternative?
Thanks for the feedback Luftmensch. It's now removed from the list as Audiogalaxy has been discontinued due to its acquisition by Dropbox. When available, a good alternative will be added to the list.
Update: added "Qloud Media Free" as an alternative to Audiogalaxy.
There's a game... I think it's called 3D Cats or 3D Flying Cats.... it's pretty addictive too but is a battery drainer. The cat meoows when you crash sometimes growls a bit, actumy feel bad for smashing his rocket into a wall.
Es file explorer is universally the best file manager in terms of simplicity and options. Have used it on both HTC and Samsung.
SuperSU is better than Superuser IMHO especially now with the new updates.
Google Drive is awesome for storage space and versatility as you can open and create virtually anything using docs without having to install office software. Kingston Office I think its called is an amazing free office manager of you want one.
Titanium Backup and My Backup are great apk and data tools. My SMS backup is handy too.
I use win amp for music player but Apollo is great as well.
Sorry, had to remove one of the games you mentioned, because it's not free. Please take care to suggest only free apps, as our site is about freeware.
Thanks for the suggestions.
While loitering around Google Play I found this app called SURDOC. This is basically an online backup app. They are presently offering a ridiculous 100GB of storage for a year . So if anyone is looking for a temporary harddisk online you may want to give it a try. Though the survival of the service remains to be seen...
Note :
1. The 100 GB is available via the app store only.
2. Last date to get that much space seems to be 15-01-2013.
3. Only Almighty knows the catch behind?