In this post I'll list some of the best, free Android apps I've found since getting my new phone last month. Everyone likes free, right?
I'll try and avoid the more obvious ones (like all the Google ones) and, instead, concentrate on the more obscure apps you might have missed or overlooked. I'll try and divide them into a few categories below:
Diagnostics
"Turns your android phone into a Wi-Fi analyzer!!"
If you use WiFi then this application is a must. What it does is scan for all the WiFi channels around you and then lets you see the signal strength and channel that they are broadcasting on. This then informs you as to which is the best channel to set your wireless router to broadcast on. For instance, I found that lots of my neighbours routers broadcast on Channel 11 which 'clashed' with mine, so I switched my router to 6 instead.
"You can view programs that are running for their power consumption."
This useful little app lists all running processes and shows you how much power they are consuming. This is handy for working out which apps drain your battery the most. A good companion to the Spare Parts app.
Media
"2player is a full-featured music player for Android that also acts as a remote control for DLNA and UPnP devices on your home network. Play music from your Windows 7 "My Music" collection directly on your phone; or play music on your phone on a DLNA TV; or remotely from your media server to your Xbox 360!"
2Player gives me access to my entire music collection on my Windows7 PC and allows me to stream it to my phone. Not only that, I can stream from my phone direct to my Bravia TV, too.
Zimly the Coolest Media Player
"Zimly was crafted to be the best media player for your Android. We work 24/7 to make it a reality."
A nice looking media player that beats the standard Android player hands down.
"Pulse takes your favorite news websites and blogs and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic."
There are a lot of RSS reader apps on Android, but Pulse is the best looking and has a really nice UI that is adapted perfectly to working on touchscreen. The latest version is also adapted to run on Honeycomb, so is perfect for tablets too.
"Our new Sky+ application gives you instant access to the 7-day Sky TV channel guide."
If you have Sky, this great little app lets you view and remote record any programme. Even if you don't have Sky, it's still one of the best presented TV listing apps around.
Travel & Local (UK)
"Find a National Trust place near you, wherever you are in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland with our handy app."
The National Trust owns some of the finest properties, gardens and country parks in England and Wales, and this official app makes it simple to find them.
"A navigation app using the Ordnance Survey Maps for the United Kingdom. Features smooth scrolling, compass, Augmented reality,paths and waypoints."
Great app, with full detail OS maps of the UK. The only drawback is that this free version has a data limit on it per day.
"Search for hotels, restaurants, cheap flights & more - wherever you are."
The Tripadvisor website is the first place I look when checking out hotels when I'm travelling. This handy app lets you find all the local hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and places to go wherever you are. Even if you are not travelling, you'll be amazed at what you can find here.
"Find vegetarian, vegan, veg-friendly restaurants, health food stores, and other types of vegetarian business nearby your location, or enter a location manually."
If you're a vegetarian (like me) or have veggie friends or relatives then you'll know that finding veggie-friendly food places is not always easy when you are out and about. This is where this handy little app comes in, with a database of vegan & vegetarian restaurants in 90+ countries.
Games & Fun
"PewPew is a multidirectional shoot them up akin to Geometry Wars. Expect retro graphics, megatons of ennemies, and a frame rate rarely achieved by other games."
A neat little game with some great old-school vector graphics and fast game play. Runs fine even on my budget phone. Controls take some getting use to, though!
"A classic platformer with a twist, Droid Odyssey takes you through an amazing world filled with mind-bending puzzles, fast paced action and beautifully rendered scenes where your little robot will distort the laws of physics themselves!"
Whilst this is incomplete, and still in beta, it is never-the-less a highly polished and original platformer with some nice graphics and gameplay. Very slick.
"Dropwords is word-finding puzzle that combines some elements of Scrabble and Boggle, with a dash of Bejeweled."
If you like Scrabble or word puzzles then this game will consume hours of your life! The short games make this ideal for a quick blast whilst waiting for a train or bus.
