Best Free Android Apps

NOt sure if this has been asked before - but can there be a special section or area for Android Apps that don't need special permissions? Even if the app does not have as many bells and whistles I think the NSP apps are preferred by a good deal of people. They are hard to find in the Market so a special section to keep them for future reference would be great.

Thanks so much...

Swiss army knife
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.digital_and_dreams.android.swi...

Reddionic
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.Young.reddionic&feature=search...

Network Monitor Mini
https://market.android.com/details?id=info.kfsoft.android.TrafficIndicat...

Best app lock right now
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.domobile.applock&feature=apps_....

Excellent selection of applications.

Some of us have to travel a lot and being surprised by a $2,000 phone bill can be a little bit rude. It would be nice to have a one click item to shut off all the applications that automatically use the internet or do any sort of automatic data transfer etc, then one click to turn it back on once you're back in the country where your phone service provider is located.

An item of this sort would make it easier to prevent huge phone bills when you're not at home and want nothing more than to occasionally sms people.

I don't know how long it has been available - a couple of weeks ago it wasn't and today it is - OneNote for Android has shown up as a free download from Microsoft and it works great. Installed perfectly on Galaxy Nexus phone and on Asus Transformer Prime Tablet (both running ICS). The sync was fast and accurate. I've been using OneNote for about 6 years to get rid of paper on my desktop. This android app is going to make my life easier. (BTW, I went looking for this app this morning to see if it finally might be available because I was having ongoing issues with MobileNoter not syncing properly and also with MobileNoter's somewhat awkward interface). If your OneNote 2010 is shared and synced on Skydrive through Live, everything works well. Hurray!

Hi everybody! Thanks for an exelent review! I love Android apps but there are a ton of them and i cant known them all. Thanks to you i have installed some damm good Apps.

I would like to recommend a media player far far better than the one you have recommended here: Mixzing player: It has equalizer, folder reproduction, cover and lyrics search, its light on resources, its free, it has headset control (something fundamental to me). Well, here is the link:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mixzing.basic&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5taXh6aW5nLmJhc2ljIl0.

And again thanks for a great list!

ssLauncher
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ss.launcher&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zcy5sYXVuY2hlciJd

Beautiful concept and Fast!

I would also like to suggest one more app in the category that follows with small review.

Best Free Task Switcher for Android
Smart Task Switcher by Kiumiu Soft
This app is an excellent task switcher with the ability to also be a launcher replacement. However it's strength comes it it's ease of use in managing tasks and being able to use a long press to kill any app that is running or changing to any running task with a short press on the app. I am probably only using a small portion of it's power as I find new functions as I use it. Overall it is very stable.

I think you could use some new categories you do not realize you need yet. See my Notes below for suggestions and quick reviews.

Best Wireless Network Analyzer
Fing - Network Tools by OVERLOOK
This excellent tool allows you to scan your wireless network and find rogue connections or items that do not belong. An excellent tool to help keep you safer. It can also be a great tool in tracking down network issues.

Best wi-Fi Connection Manager
WiFi Manager by Kostya Vasilyev
This app is a great way to manage your wifi connections, scan for networks and more. Includes a great desktop widget that will let you know about the network you are connected to.

Study and learn about the daily astrological influences that affect you - personalized for your birth date.

https://market.android.com/details?id=anywheresoftware.b4a.transits

Laputa? Really? You are recommending a program which is no longer being maintained, and can't be easily installed?

Moon+ Reader is OK, but nothing to write home about, in my opinion -- I tested several epub readers and found its full-formatting mode (what they call "publisher's formatting") -- which ditches any pretense of being an e-book reader and just loads it in a Chromium browser -- cumbersome and impractical.

One of the things that bother me about the whole e-reader market is that everybody focuses on flashy turn-page effects and the program's ability to overlay its own formatting over whatever the publisher has done, instead of checking how well it *respects* the embedded formatting. I mean, if the editor decided to highlight a passage by using a different font, there's a REASON for it. It shouldn't be all overridden by Droid Sans (which, by the way, in many readers can't even be made ITALIC, fer gossakes!)

Aldiko 2 and Mantano offer excellent support for fully-formatted books. Far better than than Moon+, in my opinion. Please consider them for the next update.

I suggest

Faster Drawer
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.snot.fasterpicker

The best drawer, because is fast,easy to use,quick search app. You can launch it via Home2 shortcut or Swipe starter that can be download from android market.

My suggestions for a new category – Hardware Tools (i.e. that use the phone’s sensors. Not all phones or tablets have the same range of built-in sensors, but there’s nothing I can do about that)
A good range of free tools are provided by Smart Tools Co.
Screen Ruler: Puts a ruler on the screen, can be calibrated to correct screen size errors
https://market.android.com/details?id=kr.sira.ruler&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImtyLnNpcmEucnVsZXIiXQ..
Distance measurement: Uses the camera and trigonometry to calculate distance to an object
https://market.android.com/details?id=kr.sira.measure&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwia3Iuc2lyYS5tZWFzdXJlIl0.
Metal Detector: Uses the compass sensor to detect local magnetic interference i.e. ferrous metals
https://market.android.com/details?id=kr.sira.metal&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwia3Iuc2lyYS5tZXRhbCJd
Sound Meter: Reads the noise or sounds and gives a dB measurement
https://market.android.com/details?id=kr.sira.sound&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwia3Iuc2lyYS5zb3VuZCJd
Vibration Sensor: Uses the movement sensor to display the vibrations – lay the phone flat not in your hand
https://market.android.com/details?id=kr.sira.vibration&feature=related_apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwia3Iuc2lyYS52aWJyYXRpb24iXQ..

For the Calculation Tools category (or sub-categories?)
For architects, solar panel installers, photographers, gardiners:
Sun Surveyor Lite: 3D compass with the overhead path of the sun. Can change date to get winter/summer extremes.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ratana.sunsurveyorlite&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5yYXRhbmEuc3Vuc3VydmV5b3JsaXRlIl0.
Shadowfacts: a 2D compass with more accurate measurement tools
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.resmass.shadowfacts&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5yZXNtYXNzLnNoYWRvd2ZhY3RzIl0.

For engineers:
Frame Design 2D: a 2D frame structural analysis, allows versatile input, gives axial, shear, moments and reactions.
https://market.android.com/details?id=dako.dakosoftware.nl&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImRha28uZGFrb3NvZnR3YXJlLm5sIl0.
The same developer, CloudConstruct, also provides your frames to be backed up to a cloud server and generate QR codes for sending links to your peers.
https://market.android.com/details?id=nl.letsconstruct.cloudconstruct
Also a concrete section design module:
https://market.android.com/details?id=concrete.dakosoftware.nl
A steel section design module:
https://market.android.com/details?id=steel.dakosoftware.nl
and a few more handy gems. These are by default in Metric units but can be changed to US for people with 12 fingers, 14 toes , 16 teeth and who still hold a grudge against the crews who pilfered the goods on Atlantic voyages in the colony years.

On a different note, for video downloading, if you are tired of limitations of the default browsers compared to what you can do on your PC, there is a browser called VBrowser which has a greater range of streaming media decoders built-in and the ability to detect and download the video files. It is a little quirky in terms of the interface and is big on private browsing but the media features make up for this.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.vxbrowser&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS52eGJyb3dzZXIiXQ..

Gesture Launcher
https://market.android.com/details?id=jp.shinji.android.app.launcher.gesturelauncher&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImpwLnNoaW5qaS5hbmRyb2lkLmFwcC5sYXVuY2hlci5nZXN0dXJlbGF1bmNoZXIiXQ..

If you smart!? you will launch gesture launcher shortcut via double press home key by use home2 shortcut.

home2 shortcut
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.eikatou0.appspot.home2shortcut&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5laWthdG91MC5hcHBzcG90LmhvbWUyc2hvcnRjdXQiX

quick,quik,and qwik. The fast access.
:)

iSwing Lite
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.avalaa.iswinglite&feature=search_result

CMS
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.comodo.pimsecure&feature=search_result

Home2 Shortcut
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.eikatou0.appspot.home2shortcut&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5laWthdG91MC5hcHBzcG90LmhvbWUyc2hvcnRjdXQiXQ..

At last an Android App to read your tea leaves!
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.qsoft.android.tealeaves

Verry good service

Oh,yeah. I'm just forgot.
Please, add best free app drawer to the android list.

Faster Drawer
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.snot.fasterpicker&feature=search_result

The faster than drawer. :)

Some more apps
Befunky photo editor
https://market.android.com/details?id=air.com.befunky.BeFunkyPhotoEditor...

bacon reader for reddit
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.onelouder.baconreader&feature=...

Exdialer - seriously cool dialer replacement [ dialer one hasnt been updated in a year ]
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.modoohut.dialer&feature=search...

JAYS Headset Control - awesome
https://market.android.com/details?id=se.jays.headsetcontrol&feature=sea...

another photo editor
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.iudesk.android.photo.editor&fe...

Heartz deluxe a best app??? Seriously??? I used to love this app. But a recent update has made it hoRrible. It is unpalyable now. It is so.bad i had to uninstall it. Its too bad cause i really did like it. Not any more. Remove this one from your best list. Anyone thinking about installing it -DON'T. Youll be sorry.

JuiceDefender - be VERY careful with this application. I installed it, played with it a bit and uninstalled it. The result of this sequence of action was that mobile data on my Samsung Charge was permanently disabled and I needed to do a factory reset to get it functioning again.

I am looking forward to some great apps ths year and i have already been treated with FreePhoo .... amazingly simple yet very cool. sound, clarity and connectivity right up to my expectations!

Is it time to do an in-depth review of the security packages and setting control options for Android? I have to admit I'm still a novice when it comes to how the Android OS works, and whether the same rules apply to anti-virus as with a PC i.e. will two anti-virus apps wreak havoc on one-another or not? Most technical sites are currently a little too technical, and the tendency is for the experts with Rooted devices to hold the floor. As my phone is a company phone, I cannot take the risk of attempting to Root it in case I end up with a brick.

The apps which I have tried are all free and many provide additional services and features to confuse the issues. Most if not all are very self-contained when it comes to actually providing technical information, with the result that the user clicks to Scan option, gets a note to say everything is OK and assumes the job is done.

Lookout - as recommended by this site. Scan shows a progress bar and notes each app as it checks them. Additional features (free version) are to back-up data to myLookout.com and a GPS trace if your device is missing.

AVG Antivirus - click the big picture of a pill, and it scans. Additional features (free) includes a File Scanner, to check individual files in the haphazard file system, a non-automated task killer, a battery and memory usage tool, and a data wiper (looks too powerful and dangerous to even click)

Samsung mobile security - free for me from Samsung Kies as my phone is a GalaxySII. Has a splash screen, thats all. TBH the quality of apps available through Sampung Apps is suspect - many are bulky, will not migrate to SD card and since trying out some kids games apps I am getting some spam in the status bar. Although I have not found a way to determine the source or cause of this so cannot really point the finger at any particular app or source.

Comodo mobile security - the firewall of choice on my PC. Just launched about a week. Health Check scans apps for virus, malware and potentially unsafe settings, whatever that means. Additional features include an app manager (uninstaller) with a password protected app protector, and SMS/Call blocker, Private space for call/SMS privacy and a scheduler to run anti-virus daily.

Additionally I am trying to conserve battery by controlling the apps that auto start randomly in the background (I have uninstalled the facebook app as the worst offender I have come across). For this purpose I am trying:

1Tap cleaner - automate to clear the cache on an hourly basis

Advanced Task Killer Free - has three levels of detail for novice through to advanced users. Can tell it what apps should NOT be killed.

Auto Memory Manager - has a slightly more technical way of categorising apps by their prioritisation in the Android OS. Can set to an interval of 5 mins, which will either really keep the running processes down, or cause strange behaviour...

Juice Defender - in my opinion the settings page for JD is a bit messy, and could do with an overhaul. It features an activity log, so at least it has some transparency compared to other apps.

GoLauncher Task Widget - shows up to 12 of the apps running and allows you to close them off the home screen with a touch.

Dolphin HD companion - I installed this as it promised to optimise browsing by controlling battery usage while the browser is open, also links in with WOT for safer browsing. However it can be set to optimise battery usage 24/7 with a power profile and a one-clock optimise button. I believe it also adjusts some settings for the user without really telling you what's going on or giving many options - after one-click, my screen was dimmer, and timed out after 5 seconds. Good for battery, but bad if you had certain setting just the way you like it.

The trouble with all the apps and their options for Android is knowing what is going on in the background - sometimes I pick up the phone and find I have to unlock the SIM card again - is it a crash or has the setting in one app switched to Airplane mode? Which one? When and why did this occur? Are two apps conflicting? etc.

What I would really like to find is a logger - that records what apps have started up in the background, what they have done, what information they have sent and to where. Some apps have very suspect sounding permissions, but there may be a genuine reason, or maybe they are free because they have sent all your contacts numbers or email addresses to a spam database? Time for a blacklist? Or a WOT style user rating system?

To find out a little background info, I am trying Permission Friendly Apps, which gives each app a score against the permissions it requires when installed. Also Doctor Permission, which breaks down app permissions by category (network communication, hardware controls, phone calls etc.) They seem useful but the onus is on the user to determine what is a genuine function of what the app does vs. a free-app/privacy trade-off.