Sunday, February 12, 2012

60 Fantastic Free Android Apps


A free Android app has no downside. Simply download it, try it out and – if you don’t like it – download another. But which free apps among the many are really the best? You’ve’ come to the right place. Save yourself some time and peruse this list – and then start downloading!

1) Stats Free
This very useful app lets you track all sorts of usage data from your Android device. It can even alert you if you're about to exceed usage limits or disconnect mobile data if necessary. Free.

2) GO Launcher Ex
This launcher app offers smooth and easy customization of your home screen with lots of beautiful themes, fast flip speed and tons of useful functions. Free.

3) Amazon AppStore for Android
This alternative app market is new but gaining ground fast. It doesn't hurt that it gives away a different paid app for free every day. Free.

4) Llama – Location Profiles
Do you want or need your phone to change its behavior based on where you are? Look no further than this app. It can change your phone's ringer and ringtones—and a host of other settings as well—based on your location. Free.

5) chompSMS
Want more control over your SMS app? The highly configurable chompSMS app gives it to you in spades. You can alter the style of your chat bubbles, add themes, a passcode lock, signatures and lots more. There are even blacklisting and Quick Reply features. Free.

6) GetGlue
Sometimes finding a new television show, movie or music that's up your alley can be tricky. That's where this app comes in. GetGlue is a social network for entertainment. You can check-in to what you're watching, reading or listening to, get recommendations based on your likes and dislikes and see what your friends are into. Free.

7) MightyMeeting
Manage a library of PowerPoint presentations directly from your Android phone with this app. You can use the app to share the presentations via e-mail, blog, Twitter and Facebook, and you can also start or join Web meetings using it. Free.

8) JuiceDefender
Is the battery on your Android phone consistently running on empty? JuiceDefender can help you extend it! The app intelligently manages your mobile connectivity and other battery-sensitive components to ensure your phone runs as efficiently as possible. For example, the default mode switches your phone from battery-intensive 3G mode to the less-draining 2G mode when you're not actually using the phone, and it turns of the Wi-Fi radio if the charge goes below a certain level. The Advanced Mode allows you to tune the app's triggers based on your individual needs. Free.

9) Seesmic
This Twitter client integrates streams from Twitter, Facebook and even Salesforce.com Chatter into a single client, allowing you to stay on top of all your messages from various sources. Unlike many clients, it supports multiple accounts, giving you the ability when composing a message to send it out via one of your accounts or all of them at once. You can also customize a large number of features. Free.

10) TiKL – Touch to Talk (PTT)
Turn your Android phone into a walkie-talkie with this app. It provides push to talk capabilities between Android phones without additional hardware and without using minutes. Communication is near instantaneous on 3G and 4G networks. Free.

11) Bluetooth File Transfer
With this app, you can explore and manage the files on any Bluetooth-enabled device, receive files and send contacts. It's built on FTP and Object Push Profile (OPP). Free.

12) Amazon Kindle for Android
Want to read an electronic book, newspaper or magazine but don't have your Kindle with you? Or don't have a Kindle at all? It's not a problem with this app, which allows you to read any of 900,000 Kindle-formatted books with your Android device. And Amazon's Whispersync that your last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights will sync across your various devices. Free.

13) Kongregate Arcade for Android
Want to stay up on the newest and hottest Flash games around? This app gives you free access to more than 300 games from the Kongregate community and fully integrates with your existing Kongregate Web account. Free.

14) Thinking Space
Thinking Space is a mind mapping application that allows you to visualize, structure and classify ideas. You can create nodes, add notes to them and arrange them, all with a UI that makes it a snap to work with. The maps you create with this app are also compatible with PC-based Xmind and Freemind. Free.

15) Evernote
This app allows you to log, index and search all manner of information, from notes to audio to photos. For instance, you can take a photo of a white board and Evernote will recognize the text in the photo, index it and then allow you to find it later by entering a search term from the information on the white board. It even synchs with the Web. Free.


16) EverPaper
EverPaper is a simple but excellent Instapaper client. It doesn't support folders yet, but it's under constant development. It also syncs with EverNote. Free.

17) Yelp
Yelp for Android determines your current location and then lets you search for nearby businesses, read reviews and so on. It also lets users filter by "Price," "Open Now," "Special Offers" and "Hot on Yelp." Free.

18) SMS Backup +
This app automatically backs up SMS, MMS and call log entries to a separate label in your Gmail account. Free.

19) Fusion Voicemail Plus
Centralize all your voicemail boxes, including mobile, home and office, on your Android phone with this app. It can receive and display FAXes too. Free.

20) Google Voice
Streamline and consolidate your phones with this app. It gives you a single phone number that rings all your phones. In addition it saves all your voicemail online and even transcribes your voicemail into text. It offers a host of other features too. Free.

21) Skifta
This app turns your Android device into a global remote control. Certified by the Digital Network Living Alliance (DNLA), Skifta allows your Android device to stream onboard media to any DNLA-enabled device, include TVs, stereos, PCs and the Sony PlayStation 3. Free.

22) The Weather Channel
Keep up with everything you need to know about the weather with this app. It features hourly, 36-hour and 10-day forecasts and live video from the TV channel. Free.

23) Vlingo
Need to text, call, tweet or set your Facebook status and your hands are already occupied? That's no problem if you have Vlingo, which allows you to operate your Android phone with your voice. It even works with a wireless Bluetooth headset. Free.

24) Read It Later
A simple, reliable tool that adds Instapaper to your sharing menu, so you can quickly tag articles as you browse. Free.

25) Astrid Task Todo List
Get yourself organized with this todo list app. It features tagging, timers, reminders, smart task sorting and even tracks partial progress. You can sync your todo list with Remember the Milk, which can sync with Gmail. Free.

26) ActionComplete
ActionComplete is a robust task manager. It is built around projects you create, which are made up of individual actions that serve as milestones in the project. The app is based on the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology created by David Allen in his book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Free.

27) Mint
Manage your money and keep track of your budget while on the move using Mint. It gives you up-to-date information on your accounts and lets you edit transaction info right on your phone. And it's password protected to make sure your information stays safe. Free.

28) GDocs for Android
This editor/viewer for Google Documents allows you to create, edit, view, import, export, send documents and sync them with your Google Docs account. Free.

29) aCar
This app allows you to track the maintenance, fuel mileage and expenses of your vehicles. It provides notifications when it's time to change the engine oil, air filter, oil filter, etc. Free.

30) Dropbox
Dropbox is a client for the Dropbox cloud-sharing file storage service. It makes it easy to get files onto your phone without explicit synching. You can add files to it from any of your computers and then access them from any other computer or phone. Free.


31) Lookout
Want to protect your phone? Lookout does just about everything. It provides security against mobile viruses, malware and hackers, backs up your data and even locates your lost or stolen device on a map from the Web. And if you can't find it, you can use Lookout to make your phone "scream" or simply wipe out all the data on it. Free.

32) Memory Booster – RAM Optimizer
Keep your Android phone running at its fastest with this app. Memory Booster optimizes our phone's memory by recovering memory leaks, flushing temporary libraries and defragmenting your phone's memory. Free.

33) Dolphin Browser HD
Don't like the stock browser that came with your Android phone? The Dolphin Browser HD adds a boatload of features, including multiple tab viewing, full multitouch gestures, a thumbnail "flick" menu, gesture-based search and URLs, a YouTube downloader and browser extensions. Free.

34) Opera Mini web browser
Looking for more robust browser support? The Opera Mini web browser is super fast and adds features like tabbed browsing, multiple home page tiled Web sites, sync bookmarks between your desktop and phone and more. Free.

35) handyCalc Calculator
The app adds just about every calculator function you can think of to your Android phone, allowing you to put your scientific calculator in the drawer forever. Free.

36) News Republic
Are you a news junkie? Now your Android device can help you stay on top of all the breaking news with this app. Its feeds include many of the top news agencies, and it will organize relevant stories for you through its interactive interface. Free.

37) SlideScreen
This app replaces your traditional home screen with one that shows summary information for SMS, Gmail, phone calls, Calendar, Google Reader, Stocks and Twitter, making seeing all your important information at once a snap. Free.

38) MasterCard ATM Hunter
This highly useful app uses your phone's location to find the nearest ATMs. You can even sort according to criteria including: drive through, 24-hour service, wheel chair accessibility and surcharge fees. Free.

39) Gasbuddy – Find Cheap Gas
This app provides comprehensive, real-time gas prices in your area (US and Canada) with maps. Users who pitch in by reporting gas prices in their area can win free gas. Free.

40) Dial Zero
Need to get in touch with customer service and don't want to wait on hold? Dial Zero maintains an index of more than 600 companies and how to cut through their automated answering services to get a live human being in no time. Free.

41) TV.com
This app from CBS Interactive turns your Android phone into a television. Use it to watch video, including full episodes, from CBS, The CW, CNET, ET, Showtime, CBS News, CBS Sports and more. Free.

42) Pandora
Start listening to free, personalized Internet radio on your Android. This app brings Pandora off your computer and puts it on your phone. It's fully integrated with Pandora on the Web. You can listen to all your existing stations and create new ones on your phone too. Free.

43) Twicca
Still hunting for a Twitter client for your Android phone? Twicca offers a massive number of features with a slick, minimalist UI. Users can add a series of plug-ins to customize Twicca to their own needs. Free.

44) Wikidroid
Use Wikipedia often? Wikidroid formats Wikipedia articles for your device with a sleek interface. It even includes voice search and bookmarks. Free.

45) ESPN ScoreCenter
Get comprehensive ESPN sports coverage on your Android phone with this app. It provides near-real-time scores and schedules. Free.


46) Words with Friends Free
Enjoying playing Scrabble? Take it to you phone with this game. Best of all, you can play your friends whether they're using an Android phone or an iPhone. Free.

47) Google Sky Map
Hold your phone up to the sky, and this app uses the location service and tilt sensor to figure out where you are looking and overlays constellations and astronomical object information. It's a fun tool for exploring the stars! Free.

48) Catch Notes
This app, formerly known as 3banana Notes, lets you capture thoughts and ideas in text, voice, images and locations. You can then synch and back it up for free to Catch.com. You can passcode protect your activity stream, set reminders, share content and even organize it with hashtags. Free.

49) Layar
Turn your phone into an Augmented Reality device with Layar. It uses your phone's camera, compass and GPS data to identify your location and field of view, retrieves data based on those geographical coordinates and then layers that data over the camera view. Free.

50) EStrongs File Explorer
File Explorer is a local and network file manager that provides a file explorer for both the local phone and your remote computer. You can view files on your phone and in your computer's shared folder and transfer files between them. You can even play audio and video, browse images and view text. Free.

51) Free Dictionary Org
This simple, no-nonsense English dictionary provides definitions, synonyms, pronunciation and spelling. Free.

52) US Traffic
US Traffic provides traffic reports about your neighborhood and works anywhere in the US. It supplies detailed traffic incident information. Free.

53) K-9 Mail
An open source project that has taken Google's standard e-mail client and enhanced it, K-9 Mail is a must if you want to do serious non-Gmail-based e-mail management on your phone, especially using IMAP. Free.

54) AppBrain App Market
Want to make managing your apps a little easier? With AppBrain, you can browse for Android apps with a Web interface on a computer, select them and then use the app to install and uninstall the apps you selected. It also provides notifications when updates are available. Free.

55) Kayak Flight and Hotel Search
This travel app lets you search multiple airline and deal Web sites for the best price on a flight. You can use it to book your travel, hotel and car rentals, and even to check the status of your flight. Free.

56) Barcode Scanner
Scan barcodes on books, CDs, and all sorts of other products and then look up prices and reviews. You can also read the QR codes (little square barcodes) that are popping up everywhere, allowing you to decipher the encoded URLs, contact information, Wi-Fi access codes, calendar events, etc. Free.

57) ShopSavvy
Scan a product's barcode and you can get reviews and price alerts using this app. You can also use it to create wishlists. Free.

58) AK Notepad
A simple, straightforward notepad application that features Websync to snaptic.com, it does one thing and does it well. Free.

59) Google Goggles
Google Goggles is a visual search app. Take a picture of the object, landmark, logo, etc. you want information about and Google Goggles will return relevant search results. It will even provide information about businesses by displaying their names directly in the camera preview. Free.

60) Ringdroid
Don't like the default ring tones that come with your Android phone? Ringdroid allows you to record and edit sounds and create ring tones from any song you like. Free.

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