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Best Free Android Apps
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Best Free Android Apps - Page Index
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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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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.|
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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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|
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
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Comments
Hey, check out Lookout. It's a free antivirus, backup program, that also will help you locate your phone if you lose it.
What does stub only means ?
and u have not included angry birds .. is it because it is already very popular ?
and yes a mention of antivirus will be good..currently i am using norton security but its still in beta and for now it is free
i will keep an eye on this one as i now own an android :D
some suggestions
not categorised - amazon kindle , applock , dropbox,app2sd,sdrescan,smsbackup,wallswitch
photo editing - photoshop express,picsay
file manager - astro
messengers - ebuddy,skype
browser-opera mini,ucweb
music player - poweramp
image viewer - quickpic
Good suggestion, kendall. It's now in the list.
Thanks for sharing, Av_Crazy.
This couldn't have come at a better time for me, upgrading the family's phones with tax refund and getting several droids. I don't know if any of these apps have known issues, but for apps that secretly collect personal data (regardless if it's known how they use it) maybe a disclaimer could be added to the review?
I'd love to see android app reviews as a recurring theme here. Maybe even a list of the apps known not to play nice.
Uninstaller, AppMonster, Documents to Go, My Market, Evernote, Currency (XE), Springpad, Dictionary, Tunein Radio, Watchdog, World Clock, Startup Auditor, LCD Density, Quick Settings, & Yahoo! Mail. I also use Lookout like kendall, & a lot of the ones in Av_Crazy's list.
"Stub only" means that the review is basic and incomplete. As soon as Jojo is happy that the content detail deserves elevation to the status of a full review, he will remove the tag.
Android has so many great apps, it sucks my provider won't provide an update to Froyo for some time so I can install apps to the SD card. My favorite launcher out of the three popular ones is Go Launcher. You can choose the number of screens and designate any one as the home screen. It has a scrollable dock. The app drawer can be sorted into folders. It also has tabs showing recently used apps and ones currently running, displaying the memory in use and allowing you to close apps. It has many more features I haven't even fully explored. I miss the flyout effect from Launcher Pro, though.
Another app indispensable for me is SMS Popup. An incoming text shows as a popup with buttons for closing, deleting, or replying within the popup; among many other features. Thanks for sharing the ones I didn't know about. I just have to find room now.
Be sure to read the manual and user licence etc as you will have to give this program access to everything on your device.
"Call Confirm" is great for the occasional phone call that goes out inadvertently. Don't know about you but I have found that phone calls were completed when my phone is in my pocket.....kinda dumb, I know but it happens. Call Confirm's pop-up verifies that you do in fact want to make that call.
The best has to be AppBrain
- a simple web-based replacement for the awful market place. Simply install the app (via barcode etc) then on their website choose what you want to install on your phone, sync and hey presto all apps installed!
Also:
App 2 SD Free (move app to SD)
Elixir
Box.net
Barcode Scanner
ES File Explorer -far better and free - also connect to LAN and FTP!!!!!!
Documents To Go 3.0 - DO NOT USE QuickOffice!
AppBrain App Market
PayPal
Catch Notes
SMS Backup +
App Protector Lite
Official eBay Android App
Screebl Lite, ScoreMoble, NFLMoble, PalmaryWeather, AKNote Pad, Call History, Car Panel, Easy Answer Button, Fox News, Gmail, Gauge Battery Widget, GoMarks, ICE, MY Backup Pro, Rainy Days, Settings, Stocks, Volume Locker, Weather Bug, xScope, and Zillow
Taskos is a great voice to text app. for errands, etc. love it.
Hi!
I would like an app that let me easy add tasks and control my calendar... It takes too much time to use the phone.. Is there something faster than a paper and a pen?
And please, try these ones!
Handcent SMS >> replace of the basic SMS app
Call Meter NG >> measure call, sent sms, data transfered, etc... perfect!
MotoTorch LED >> control the flash's leds of the phone
Instant Lyrics Lite >> shows the lyric of the song that is playing on the phone
4 PLayer Reactor >> play 4 player game!
Sorry for my English!
Regards from Rosario, Argentina!
Great stuff here. ni am going for the barcode scaner
Oh man, there are sooooo many
Gesture Search -- from Google and has to be seen to be believed
Solitaire -- I'm addicted
The Weather Channel
Jorte -- My idea of a better calendar
Easy Answer Button -- solves the answer the phone problem
Flashlight -- The best!
LastPass -- Remembers passwords
Add:
Vlingo - voice to text
Google Googles - location identifier from a photo
Google Navigation
SportsTap or ESPN, both work good for up to minute action
Pandora
Advanced Task Killer to kill off unwanted apps
Flashlight - quick flashlight, but really drains battery fast
Will aka WmGoat
I will say the QuickMark QR Code Reader is better and much more faster than Barcode Scanner.
According to the most recent review
http://www.appbrain.com/app/camcard-lite-business-card-r/com.intsig.BCRLite
the application didn't get very high rates.
Gizmo, thanks for providing one of my favorite go to sites when I'm looking for good free software. Now thanks for recognizing another area that deserves guidance.
Here's some of my favorites:
Advanced Task Killer – Keeps background processes to a minimum
Android System Info – Provides vitals of the resources
AnkiDroid – Great flashcard quizer
AppBrain App Market – Better Market replacement
Application Protection – Password protect apps from others
App List Backup – Creates download list for installed apps
App Referrer – Found a good app, send info to a friend
Apps Organizer – Creates folders to reduce icon clutter
Call Confirm – Eliminates pocket dialing
Cardio Trainer – Fitness tracking software
Dolphin Browser – Great internet browser replacement
Dropbox – Share files from your PC and others
ES File Explorer – App, file and task manager
Graffiti – Good keyboard replacement ala Palm
K9 Mail – Gmail replacement
Pandora – Streaming online music
Park Droid – Now where did I park my car
Password Safe Lite – Encrypted password manager
Swype – Replacement keyboard for fastest input
Weather Bug – Great weather data
Zedge – Looking for a ringtone or wallpaper
Not one mention of my favorite drawing, sketch, painting app....
PaintJoy. I've actually done some sophisticated work with it, even with obvious limitations.
[Moderator's note : Commercial details removed]
Thanks for providing this category. However, I don't think launcher pro is ready for prime time. I just installed it and tried to make a phone call. I got "continue this action using...". I selected launcher pro, then I decided I wanted to go back to the home screen and I could not unless I selected the standard android launcher. I don't need this app getting in the way when I want to make a simple phone call. I also couldn't find it in my app list after install. That was enough for me. I'll stick to home switcher for the time being.
Let me second a couple of programs that were already mentioned.
AppBrain is a great app manager because it lets you use the app market from a regular computer and select apps to install or bookmark for later. It also makes reinstalling apps on a new phone much easier since it synchronizes the app list on your phone with your online account,
Springpad is the ultimate information organizer. Notes, tasks, bookmarks, web page content, recipes, lists and almost everything under the sun can be saved to your online account. Most importantly, everything is instantly synched, so using a computer and phone together is seamless. Evernote is also solid in this category. I prefer using Springpad, but Evernote is better at sharing with others.
Frozen Bubble is great for phones with trackballs, but for the others; not so much.
Multi Mount SD-Card Free
Photoshop Express
Most of my other favorites for phones are already mentioned above.
For tablets like the Nook Color, Musical Lite and xPiano are fun to have.
AlpineQuest Uses Mobile Map Creator (Java on PC, Mac etc) to download maps from anywhere in the world. Includes OS maps for UK. Copy the maps created to your Android. Not a navigation guidance tool but as the GPS shows where you are it is ideal for walkers and cyclists. Free version doesn't track where you have been but still very useful.
Lastpass - the Android client is quite usable and the application generally is very worthwhile. While I think it is a more than reasonable price, continued access to any mobile client (e.g. Android) is part of LastPass Premium which is $12/year. Again, well worth it, but not free :^).
Google Reader - if you are an RSS addict (ahem) you will absolutely love Reader on Android. I have tried other Reader clients and this is as good as it gets (as close to desktop experience as you could ask and ideally optimized for small screens). If you don't use Reader, but follow lots of different (or even just a few) websites, you should try Reader - it is a very efficient way of browsing large amounts of information and only getting the details on things you really want to know / see.
TweetCaster - much better than official Twitter client version and the free/ad supported version is not irritating. So good, you should probably part with $3.99 for the pro version just to support the developer.
Google Shopper - too cool! Use your camera to view almost anything that you are thinking about buying (a book cover, UPC code of almost any product, etc.) and it brings up competitive pricing and product reviews.
I agree with others on Soduko Free, official eBay App and DropBox.
Looking forward to more entries and categories here.
The 12 best apps for your new Android device
The Gentle Alarm looks quite useful.
PdaNet
Toss It
Talking Tom
FourSquare
MyTracks
Google Sky
Google Voice
Metal Detector
Meebo
I love this site, and now it has an Android category - brilliant!
Doit.im - Task / todo manager using GTD methodology. Cloud data, sync between Web, Windows, Mac, iPhone.
Mini File Manager - But haven't tried your recommended Astro yet.
MyPhoneExplorer - Downloaded to get phone data backup facility, but it does so much more. You can even send SMS or place phone calls from your PC (through the phone).
AppBrain - Agree with others on this, very good.
MyTracks - I record bike rides. Records the usual including elevation / profile. Upload to Google MyMaps.
DropBox - Access to 'cloud' files from smartphone. Mentioned in another PC category.
Google Maps - Works well. Now with navigation so can be used as SatNav.
Maps (-) - Similar to Google Maps, but uses OpenStreetMap and its cycle maps. Shows bike paths - yay! (at least in Oz) I'm pretty sure it caches maps on phone to help reduce data traffic.
Blogaway - Blog from your Android phone.
Reduce Photo Size - I used this to reduce the size of images uploaded to my blog. Instead of picking up an image from the Gallery (HTC) or camera, you pick it up from this which then gives basic editing options.
WebSharing Lite - Simple file sharing between phone and PC through wifi instead of using USB. Had this before MyPhoneExplorer which seems to have more functionality.
AndTidWiki - A bit specialised, allows editing of TiddlyWiki files on Android. TiddlyWiki files are HTML files with the editor built in (Javascript).
You've certainly got you work cut out now, Jojoyee...
Thanks Pete for the good suggestions. I'll look into them and many other products mentioned in the comments section here.