While the tech-loving world continues to debate the merits of the Droid following its launch on Friday, it’s pretty safe to say that the Android platform has seen a pretty hefty influx of users as of late. In the past two weeks alone, we’ve seen the aforementioned Droid, it’s cheaper, younger sibling, the Droid Eris, and the Sprint Moment all hit the shelves; if any of them sold even reasonably well, there’s a lot of new folk cracking open the Android Market for the first time right now.
Whether you’re an iPhone convert, an ex-Nokian, or just a stranger to smartphones as a whole, the Android Market can be a pretty daunting place. While Android might not have quite as many apps as the leading competition, it still has a bit over 10,000 – and that’s a hell of a lot for any newcomer to weed through.
For the sake of these nascent newbies, we’ve thrown together a list of a handful of apps we think are worth checking out right off the bat. Got a favorite of your own? Throw it into the comments below.
In no particular order:
Twidroid
What is it?: Twitter Client
Price: Free; “Pro” version available for around €3.39 (around $5)
Description: We’re seeing more and more Twitter clients hit the Android Market as of late, but Twidroid still seems to be the crowd favorite. The free version offers up all the basics (Tweeting, mentions, DM, search, image uploading, etc.), while the Pro version adds video, multi-accounts, and theming support.
Qik/Ustream/Bambuser/etc.
What is it? Video Streaming
Price: Free
Description: The plethora of video streaming applications on Android serves as a fantastic example of the strengths of Android’s open market. While such video streaming clients have been floating around in Apple’s moderation queue for over a year now (and are still only available on jailbroken iPhones), they were made available on Android almost immediately after launch. There are a ton of options available here – I’d recommend starting with Qik or Ustream.
Flyscreen
What is it? Lockscreen replacement
Price: Free
Description: You see that lockscreen each and every time you pull your phone out of your pocket – might as well put it to use, right? Flyscreen replaces the default lockscreen with a user-customizable canvas for widgets, with everything from Twitter to TMZ. It’s a wee bit buggy on the Droid, primarily because of its high resolution – but the Flyscreen guys have already confirmed that an update is on the way.
Nesoid
What is it? NES emulator
Price: $1.99, Lite version available
Description: It’s an NES emulator, and it works damn well – do we really need to say anything else? For obvious legal reasons, you’ll need to provide your own ROMs – but once that’s out of the way, it’ll handle just about any popular NES game you can throw at it. We’ve heard mixed reports as to how well this (primarily the Lite version) is working on Android 2.0, but I’m not seeing any issues with the paid version. You can read our full review on CrunchGear here.
Meridian
What is it? Media player
Price: Free
Description: As we mentioned in our Smartphone Showdown, media playback (especially video) on the Android platform is rather lacking. We’ve yet to find any third-party applications that really pull it off well, but the Meridian player is about the best we’ve seen so far. It’ll play back MP3, OGG, MP4, and 3GPP files, and offers up basic playlist and gesture support. It’s pretty dang ugly, but it gets the job done.
Flixster:
What is it? Movie times/trailers/DVD info aggregator
Price: Free
Description: Flixster does one thing, and it does it well: Movies. It keeps you up to date on everything new in the movie world, be it for the box office or the rental store, complete with movie times (by way of GPS), community-driven user reviews, and trailers. Flixster is one of the most well-designed applications I’ve seen on the Android platform, and is one of very few I find myself using regularly.
Barcode Reader:
What is it? Its.. a barcode reader.
Price: Free
Description: Barcode reader is pretty much an Android must-have at this point. Lets say you’re perusing a book store and stumble across a book you’re interested in reading – but is it really worth what the nearest big chain book store wants for it? Scan the tag on the back into Barcode Reader, which will pass the details into Google Product Search for a price comparison. At worst, you’ll find out that you’re getting a deal; at best, you’ll save a ton. I’ve saved a few hundred bucks overall by way of Barcode-based comparison shopping.
TED
What is it? Tons of amazing content, crammed into one app.
Price: Free
Description: This one serves as our reader’s choice app, so to speak. I reached out to my Twitter posse for some insight on their favorite apps, and the TED application was a resoundingly popular result. The Android TED application brings together a huge number of lectures from the annual Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, with talks from the likes of Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Larry Page, and more. Next time you’ve got 10-15 minutes free, why not spend it gettin’ some smarts?
3Banana
What is it? Notes syncing
Price: Free
Description: Sign up for a free account, then punch your credentials into both the Android client and your browser. Bam, note syncing! It’s not a substitute for a full-fledged file syncing service like Dropbox, but 3banana is a drop-dead easy way to keep your notes/images synced between your Android handset and your computer.
Power Manager
What is it? Battery life assistant
Price: $0.99, Lite version available
Description: While it’s getting better over time, the Android platform isn’t exactly known for its killer battery efficiency. Android allows users to run apps in the background – and a running application gobbles up battery, whether it’s visible or not. Power manager helps to improve your device’s battery life through profiles. Running on the battery? Dim the screen. Battery down below 30%? Kill the WiFi and the Bluetooth. The free version comes with 4 profiles (Battery powered, low battery, A/C powered, USB powered), while the 99 cent pro version allows you to build you own.
Know any apps that Android users ought to check out on day one? Let us know in the comments below.
the UI for some of these apps look like they were created with frontpage. at least apple knows how to make apps look sexy.
Fool.
He is quite right up to some point, though I don’t really care… and I wouldn’t compare it to frontpage.
Aside of that, a pity zombie, run is missing, its probably the only app which will actually help you physically.
I totally disagree. It’s more like notepad.
Battle for Mars – best game ever on Android.
fool
lol @ the style over substance dunce.
Go find an all Flash website and masturbate to it.
hahaha omg im cracking up right now…
The problem is Apple has BOTH right now. And once the substance is there, the style really does help in user satisfaction. Look at Windows 7/Vista–It’s main features revolve around Aero and eye-candy and the public eats that up.
Yet, apple users claim that Windows stole the whole Aero functionality from Apple. Hypocrite.
Apple doesn’t create the apps, developers do. As the Android platform gets more users developers will get better at making apps for it. The iPhone apps look good because developers have been working with the API for a few years now.
Actually, no. The apps on iPhone look good because Apple has better animation/graphics APIs that make it easy to make the UI look good.
Google has not focused on that at this point.
Actually the reason they look better is because Apple denies 99% of everything that gets submitted.
“the UI for some of these apps look like they were created with frontpage. at least apple knows how to make apps look sexy.”
That may be one of the douchiest comments I’ve ever read. So much so that I got one of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBelT-Xi1CY
Stop being a punk-ass bitch and stop rimming Steve Jobs you mac fanboi.
Also don’t forget:
- Verizon’s MyAccount App – super handy for checking usage, payments, etc. and
- FourSquare – Location based gaming from multiple mobile platforms
Other ones worth mentioning, though there were reasons not to include them on the list:
- Pandora (Popular enough that would have been worthless to mention)
- Evernote (It’s in beta atm – you can download the beta app here)
You forgot geodelic, the world’s first and best location browser
Hm… are these apps working with Android 1? Because I wanna buy a HTC Hero but as far as I know Telus here in Canada is only having one without Android 2.0 but the 1-Version. Or is there a way to install Android 2.0 on the Hero?
All of these should work fine on Android 1.5 and 1.6, one of which the Telus Hero will be running.
Also don’t forget Locale (an ADC app). Very useful for conditional things (as in, turn Wi-Fi on when you get home, silence phone at work, etc) based on location, battery, time, etc.
my fav app in Android is the iCommmuteLess ( http://bit.ly/androlibLink) app which is used to track the daily commutes from source to destination which gives intelligent feedback and describes me abt the route to choose on the given time . It has the a Autostart feature where one can set the Alarm and point the src and dst points , the apps tracks the commutes itself , no need for user interaction when it is in AutoSart.Cool feature in iCommuteLess is the TrackTrace .whr i can compare to commutes of diffrent routes and decide to choose the best one…
The one I use everyday is Tube Droid (http://www.siriusapplications.com/tubedroid/) Great for watching YouTube videos and the quality is fantastic.
Pretty decent list. I prefer Swift as a twitter app, but Twidroid is good, too.
I’d add:
– Advanced Task Manager, mainly to view (and kill) running processes
- Snap Photo, a great improvement on the stock Android camera app
- Useful Switchers, for quick access to toggles otherwise buried in various settings menus
- Google Listen for podcasts
- Google Voice, if you have a GV account.
+1 Advanced Task Manager, home screen widget is great for a quick tune-up.
Also Weather Widget. Usually first thing I install.
K9 the email app that should have come with Android and Visual Voicemail – a killer app that converts your normal VM into a visual vm.
For new users I recommend these free apps:
- Funny Jokes
- Google SkyMap
- Steamy Window
NewsRob – RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader.
+1 It’s one of my most heavily used apps.
I agree, NewsRob is really great for that dead time you get at the bus stop for example. I use it a lot, and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the news I want to without it :)
Try m:Mafia, m:Vampire and m:Racing from Moblyng- popular social games for Android.
m:Poker live is a live social poker game for Android and Facebook.
These games do not look right on Droid although if the formatting issues are fixed, should be great!
Don’t agree. I tried a couple already and realized, there is no entertainment here; it’s just about acquiring virtual stuff and pressing buttons. Basically all the detail that would make it fun – graphics, descriptive text, choices in fights and missions/quests don’t exist. It’s like you just roll a bunch of dice a lot, only you don’t get to see or touch the dice.
Don’t agree re: Moblyng. I tried a couple already and realized, there is no entertainment here; it’s just about acquiring virtual stuff and pressing buttons. Basically all the detail that would make it fun – graphics, descriptive text, choices in fights and missions/quests don’t exist. It’s like you just roll a bunch of dice a lot, only you don’t get to see or touch the dice. Plus the very idea of paying them for “gems” is such a scam.
Imusic – download music
Trapster – radar traps near u
Newsrob – Google reader app
Glympse – show ppl where u are
Great post. Is there a similar techcrunch list for iPhone apps that a newbie must have?
iPharted, iShooktheBaby, iCan’tbelieveIpaid$200forastatussymbolthateveryoneandtheirfingmotherhas, iWorshipsteveJobs, iCantcopypasteohwaititsfixediPhonerulz, iWanttolookatpicturesofjapanesegirlsunderpants, iMtoolazytolooksomethinguponlinesoiboughtanapptotellmesporstscores, iSpentallmymoneyonfartappssoineedtomanagemymoneysoicanbuytheiPhone3GS2whywouldtheycallitthe3gs2isn’tthatkindofunimaginitive?
There is actually a built in video player, put iTouch compatible vids on your SD card, in a Video folder, and use the Gallery app to navigate.
Vids converted with IpodME play full screen just fine, with seeking.
Check out Express News for the best news on Android
nice. those are all really good apps.
oh i forgot the Vibrator app – keeps the gf busy on long drives… and the benefit of android running multiple apps is i can still get my speedtrap notifications..
Snigger.
Calorie Counter
One of the highest rated apps and always first in health.
Torrent Droid. Scan a bar code of any DVD or CD in the shop, and a torrent is immediately added on your home computer. By the time you get back to your house, you already have a copy. Record industry’s worse nightmare.
Sweet…have to try that!
Can we make a new rule? Stop putting oid at the end of apps for android. Its retarded and makes your app sound dumb. Android is a pretty dumb name for a cell phone too and Verizon’s commercials just perpetuate that stupid image.
Yeah, it might be cool for geeks and nerds, but mainstream responds much better to a more neutral name. i.e. iPhone.
umm geek names have a way of working out sometimes….
see google…
Sure Jim — instead of putting the “droid” suffix at the end of Android-related hard/software, let’s just add an “i” prefix to everything we sell. How’s that? Sounds mainstream to me — come to think of it, my mainstream friends are always adding an ‘i’ before words ;)
My sentiments exactly. Finally folks that aren’t enchanted with the iPhone get a good phone and the iFanboys want to dictate how we should name our gear. iDon’t really care what the Apple fanboys think!
The “i” is just as dumb when it comes to apps. “oid” is no better.
You can have your mainstream conformist iPhone, Nintendo Wii and McDonalds. I prefer to “think different.”
what are you, retoided?
Android is a kick-*ss platform with awesome apps for each and everyone. I run 5 out of those 10 apps and I couldn’t be happier with them!
Android Market is indeed a bit hard to browse through, therefore I use FastApp. ( http://www.fastappstore.com ) Very easy to use and Fast!
too bad the Android Market doesn’t have an education category. I had to choose “Games/Brain&Puzzle” for PopMath, my kids math app.
this new droid traffic is really killing the server…
Another pretty sweet I grabbed recently is Celeste SE. It’s similar to google’s skymap but way cooler because it shows the positions of the planets and stars during any 24 hour period (slick graphics even).
It’s an AR app and probably one of the most responsive and accurate ones out there…
i saw Celeste in ADC2… amazing app, best AR app i’ve seen so far on Android. it’s actually responsive unlike wikitude or layar. it plots the sun’s path (and planets and moon) through the sky for a day (like a first down marker in Football). great show-off app. would love to see the developers’ take on wikitude’s content since wikitude is so slow. iirc, it has 10 5-stars and good reviews.
-C
You should also check out WHERE – a local search app. I’ve been using an Android for for a while and a few friends also like that app.
I used to use Where when they included Yelp reviews for local POI. Now Where opted to use Citysearch which is light years behind Yelp as far as actual reviews are concerned. Try Xeeku if you are a Yelp fan.
Are these the best apps Android has to offer? I guess I will stay with my iPhone.
Nothing stopping you…dude you have enough lube to get it up your ass? Want someone to call you once the phone is nestled snugly next to your prostate?
Ah, yes, but these apps will keep running if you want them to.
android has a fart app too if that’s what you are in to.
How about adding the following to the list:
Bonsai Blast (free game – lots of fun)
Astrid – best to-do manager (free also)
handyCalc – calculator on steroids (hey wait it’s free too)
WeatherChannel – up-to-date weather for your location and other locales that you specify (free)
- Pandora for Music
- Mediafly for podcasts/media
- Wifi On/Off (battery life.. hah!)
- CTA tracker to get around in Chicago
Solitaires by Softick. Best version of solitaire on the Android Market in my opinion. Also the BofA app. If you bank with them.
test drive google android on your pc.
http://www.zjtechlive.com/try-android-2-0-on-your-windows/
http://www.zjtechlive.com/test-drive-google-android-os-on-microsoft-windows/
My Favorite FREE Apps: (No particular order)
Retro Clock Widget- Similar to HTC Sense clock
GPS Status- A bunch of cool GPS stats
Astro File Manager- Great file manager for your SD card, etc
Movies- Of course! Best for showtimes, trailers, etc
Flashlight- Does the job! White screen with highest brightness setting…
AK Notepad- Great Notepad app. Good enough to be default
Ringdroid- Make ringtones out of mp3 files on your phone!
Backgrounds- Thousands of cool backgrounds
Robo Defense Free- My favorite Android game
Speedtest- Decent network speed test (takes 30+seconds)
USA Today- Instant access to the McPaper!
SMS Backup- Backs up your text messages to your Gmail account so you can view and search them.
FML- Fmylife.com humor app. Kills tons of time!
PingDroid- Connects to ping.fm so you can do one status and have it go to all your social networks
MixZing- Great alternate music player with genius style features.
Bible- Great app with all the translations of the Bible with no ads or B.S.
Best of the Best:
Advanced Task Killer- Must-have task killing app. Only app I bought the paid version of so far
SpeedDialer (Widget)- Awesome widget that allows you to one-touch dial selected contacts from the home screen
Battery Life (Widget)- Always gotta know your battery life!
Last.fm- The best music streaming service IMO in mobile form
These are my favorites of the free apps and I have used almost all of them on my Droid with 2.0. Enjoy!
I guess I might name some great apps which are available in both Android market and iPhone’s App Store (Shazam and Shop Savvy come to mind) or those (like the music player TuneWiki) where the Android version is simply superior. Instead, here are a few Android exclusives that I use almost every day.
Toggle Settings: combines a handy set of one-click switches for power management (plus airplane mode), plus application monitoring/management with force-kill. Adware app.; donate for ad-free. Available in Cupcake and Donut versions. (http://preview.tinyurl.com/qm669z)
MyTracks: Record and save GPS records of outdoor activities like jogging or cycling. Tracks distance, direction, time, speed, elevation, etc. Publish to your Google account or share with friends as private map files. Free app. (http://mytracks.appspot.com/faq)
Mobile Defense: Super LoJack for your Android phone. Free beta. (https://www.mobiledefense.com/tour)
Hope this helps.
Essential: Flexilis Mobile Security. It offers protection for your phone. It offers aboslutely necessary anti-virus/malware protection — especially if you download apps from places other than the Android Market.
It also helps out if you lose your phone. From their website you can find it with a locator “scream,” locate your missing phone on a map and wipe if it was stolen. It continually backs up your data so you can restore it to your new phone when you get one.
Does android sync w/ Macs?
Android sync’s with Google by default. All gmail contacts are imported.
You can convert / store your addresses in vCard format and import them into Gmail Contacts.
Basically, with android, it’s always in sync with Google. Lose your phone, you don’t lose contacts.
Not sure what the aim of this list is. It’s not the 10 apps I would recommend.
1. TasKiller Lite (free, util)
2. Google Listen (free, podcasts)
3. Astro Filemanager (free, util)
4. Bonsai Blast (free, game)
5. Facebook official (free, social)
6. Twidget Lite (free, social)
7. Google Sky Map (free, astro)
8. Video Player (free, video)
9. Photoshop Mobile (free, image)
10. Google My Maps Editor (free, maps)
And how about “aCar”? It’s an application to track your vehicle expenses, fill-ups, maintenance and so. Plus it provides bunch of charts and reports for you… Give it a try!
I have had my G1 since it launched in the UK and two of my must have apps are:
ShopSavvy – Use the camera on your phone to scan product barcodes and the app will not only search the main web stores for the best price but also local stores. This is a great app for making iPhone users green with envy as none of their apps come anywhere near.
Layar 2.0 – The ultimate Augmented Reality app. Overlay the virtual world on top of the real one you can see through the camera. Absolutely amazing.
Bummer that Layar is not supported on the Droid…
http://layar.com/verizons-new-droid-is-currently-not-supported-by-layar/
For those in UK then Beebplayer, free BBC iplayer and live tv is king, LukLuk for free full length movies, are tops.
Looking for an augmented reality app to try out with AR ads and posters if anyone knows of one?
Loving Android!
The style is kept simple though amazing…
http://www.msoft-technologies.com
http://www.msoftwebtemplates.com
Most of these apps have droidful interfaces… and even Android itself looks like it needs some human skin.
Great user experience isn’t just about functionality – but making something that doesn’t look half-baked.
Function and form, not just ugly function.
The problem is Google has no sense of style… most of their apps lack any common style and are often ugly.
This is why I’ll stick with the iPh – Apple are one of the few consumer electronic companies to deliver goods that make ‘user experience’ feel like a human experience.
I’m not a robot, so I won’t be using Android.
Man! Could someone put these iPhone worshipers out of their misery? Since their phone is about to get crushed by the Android Army, the only thing they can say is “My apps are shiny!” Or “We have more fart apps!” Give me a break. Your camera is pitful, your screen is boring, your keyboard sucks, and your network is garbage. If you want to subscribe to the totalitarianism that is iPhone app development, then by all means, handcuff yourself. I prefer the freedom that is open-source. It’s the American way.
Here is my list for newbees:
-aContacts- DRAMATIC upgade to the contacts app.
-Hancent SMS-DRAMATIC upgrade to the SMS/MMS client.
-Power Control- Widget that saves battery (no download needed, it’s already in your widget list)
-CalWidget- provides real time onscreen calendar
-Weather widget-provides real time home screen weather.
-Visual Voicemail or YouMail- FREE visual voice mail
-iMusic- Free searchable MP3 downloads
-LukLuk-Free streaming movies
-TuneWIki- Awesome music player with lyrics and videos.
-Tv.com -Free streaming television
-USA Today- Great news app
Oh hrm…I thought this was a thread about recommending Android apps, not telling everyone why you dislike Android. Don’t you have anything better to do?
If TPTB at Apple ever get a carrier with a decent 3G network, I MIGHT actually consider getting an iPhone. Until then, I’m more than happy with the Droid. Doesn’t matter how many apps are on what’s known as the “i-can’t-Phone-home” around here if it spends most of its time in paperweight mode.
Ahhh Foolish, Silly Little droidful-interface…
Say what you will, but I can do many things with my DROID that aren’t even possible with the iPhone:
1. Skin the GUI in anyway I choose w/o ridiculous jailbreaking’ (aka risking voiding my warranty), effectively freeing myself from the low-resolution Romper Room inspired gigantic gridlock of icons that is the iPhone GUI.
2. Take full advantage of that gorgeous 854×480 (2.69 times that of my iPhone) DROID display.
3. Write useful applications w/o having to jump through a multitude of tyrannical Rotten_Fruit_littered hurdles.
I guess that’s what happens when a company rest on its laurels too long, and technology races passed them – Oh Well
D R O I D!
At least Google doesnt pull applications off it’s store simply for having the word “Android” in it’s title.
I like to use the simple note sync tool Any Clip.
I use it to send address, link etc from my PC, then run map or browser from the app directly.
Locale, also a good alternative to Power Manager and a preemptive battery saver if you know how to use it. I.e. in combination with APNDroid v2.0 beta I disconnect the 3G – among the 3 heavy battery drainers – when I arrive to the office, as I already have everything I need in my desktop computer until I leave office again, when Locale enables 3G again (well, only if my battery is over 30%, also defined in Locale). Another example, if I’m at home and at nigh on a workday the phone sound is muted (i really enjoy to sleep)
definatly gonna have to look at this again, really want an android phone
Twitter tops the list.
Other nice apps:
- My Tracks (for runners or cyclists among you)
- Gem Miner, a fun game that keeps you busy
- Plazes Directory (a must have)
Immigration Civics Study Guide is a study guide for people studying to become citizens of the United States.
http://www.ubiquitous-software.com/uscis-civics/
Tip Big is the simplest tip calculator on the market.
http://www.ubiquitous-software.com/tip-big/
Percent Off is a price calculator for calculating sale price of items on sale.
http://www.ubiquitous-software.com/percent-off/