For those of you who are new to Android, I have decided to give a few recommended top FREE Apps which you may find very useful. Note that this is just a few apps from the top Apps category on the market. If this is your first time on the Android platform and you are lost or confused as to which apps to use then you may find this thread helpful.I have decided to just include a few of the category on the market so all the categories are not listed. Those are the most used category and with some many different variation of those apps it's good to having an understanding or some sense of direction in terms of the top apps to use.
Note: This was started with the intent to help new users of the Android family get acquainted with a few of the top FREE Apps
Note: This thread is ONLY free recommended Apps, I will be starting a thread soon with the Recommended paid Apps for new users.
Finally: Note that other can use this thread to also share and recommend some of their most love apps to other users.
communication
Dolphin Browser HD
This is one of the best browser for android in terms of features and customization. This is most certainly a heavy favorite on the market to replace your default stock browser.
About:
Dolphin Browser HD2 highlights twice the speed, powerful add-on and innovative user experience. V2.1: +On Demand option for Flash (Android 2.2) +Cache to SD +Keep Screen On +Orientation option +Private browsing without history +Delete All bookmarks +FC Recovery +Set as default browser option(Android 2.2)
Google voice
If you're looking for a visual voice mail apps to replace your stock one or just need a good alternate option to manage your voice-mail, SMS and phone calls then look no further. If you already have a Google voice number then this app would be even more useful to you. You can set it as an option and use it as your outgoing calls rather than your default phone number.
About:
Place calls and send SMS showing your Google number. Listen to voicemail and read transcripts. Google Voice account required, currently only available in the US. v0.3.4 fixes several bugs. See http://goo.gl/zTy7 for details. IMPORTANT: You must open Google Voice at least once after upgrading to route calls.
New Version (2.1) FREE mobile video calls -1st ever on Android! Now: new devices X10, Streak +fixes fring gives you FREE Video Calls, voice calls & chat to friends over 3G & WiFi (Video calls only on capable devices) Communicate with friends on fring network + other services: MSN®,GTalk™,Twitter,SIP,Yahoo!™,AIM®& ICQ®
Handcent SMS
This is a more refine SMS/MMS app than most stock messaging app. This has so much more customization over your stock app that once you try it you may not want to go back to your stock messaging app. Note that if you use this apps you will need to display the receive notification in the settings of your default/stock app.
About:
Handcent SMS is a free sms tools for android,unleash the full power of your phone: Full support SMS & MMS ,great customize options,different style and power function(search sms,sms popup,speak sms & T9) Send animated greeting by handcent greeting View news.handcent.com for release notes *Independence day greetings added
MuiltiMedia
DoubleTwist Player
Double Twist is a default upgrade from your stock music player. This app can play both your music in an Ipod like interface along with your videos. You can also sync and play audio with makes it even more desirable than the stock media player.
About:
Free for a limited time! The doubleTwist Player is a fully featured music and video app that seamlessly integrates with the free doubleTwist desktop client on Mac/PC. Import your iTunes playlists, ratings and playcounts; sync and play your audio and video podcasts and more! Changes: http://twist.to/androids
Last.fm - Personal Radio
Personal radio just got better with Last.fm for android. This is another great streaming radio you can use along side Pandora. Remember you only get 30 hours of radio per month on Pandora so this makes last.fm a worthy option.
About:
Your personal radio station on your phone: Choose an artist or genre and Last.fm builds the perfect playlist just for you! Contacts are only used if you enable syncing on certain Android 2.x devices, logs are used by our bug reporter, location is used to find nearby concerts. Changes: http://bit.ly/lastfm-android
Pandora Radio
The famous radio is also available on android so get it now, enjoy hours of non stop internet radio. Choose your own station be your own DJ. Remember you got 30 hours per month with a free account so enjoy.
About:
Pandora Radio is your own FREE personalized radio now available to stream music on your phone. Start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a "station" that plays their music and more music like it. Already a Pandora User? Just log in to enjoy your stations
Photoshop.com Mobile
Need no introduction, it PS for Android get more option for managing and touching up your photos with this useful apps
About:
Edit and transform photos easily. Touch to crop, rotate, blur, add photo effects. Upload/Share photos with free Photoshop.com account. Needs SD card. From Adobe, the makers of Photoshop. By downloading you agree to the Terms of Use at www.photoshop.com/misc/terms.html. Developers, see mobile.photoshop.com/android/developers
Scanner Radio
Listen to live broadcasts from around the world, broadcasts from police,fire and other emergency signal in your area and around the country
About:
Allows you to listen to live audio from over 2,200 police and fire scanners, railroad communications, and weather radio broadcasts from around the world (with more being added daily). Audio is provided by volunteers, see the menu in the app for information on how to get your area added. Follow ScannerRadio on Twitter
Productivity
Dropbox
Have files and apps on your computer? wish you could sync them on your android phone? Then dropbox would be your best option. This allows you to view your files share files with other drop box users and more..
About:
The Dropbox app syncs your files between your computers and your mobile device. Now you can browse the files in your Dropbox folder from anywhere! Share links to files with your friends, save photos and video from your camera to your computers, and open files using your favorite Android apps. Small bug fixes.
EStrongs File Explorer
Just another file explorer for your android device. manage files, edit file names, compress files delete files and much more.
About:
V1.4.3(appear soon) ES Security Manager Donate Entrance, Please donate if you like it Free,Featured File manager & Appmanager & taskkiller which explores the phone & PC. *copy/cut move *thumbnails *multiselect *edit text *manage apps *send as *search *(de)compress *media on ftp *access home PC *bluetooth
LauncherPro Beta
A favorite for many users, this is a much smoother and customizable launcher than the stock found on your phone. Customizer your luncher, home screen and animation with this great Apps
About:
Based on the stock Android Launcher (Home app) - Super-smooth scrolling - Animated screen previews (like Exposé or HTC Sense) - Up to 7 home screens - App drawer (2D and 3D!) with a fly-in effect and smooth scrolling - Scrollable shortcut dock You can see the change log at my website below. For support, visit our forums.
Tools
Speed Test
The Famous speedtest.net is now on android. This is certainly an app for you if you are always concern of speed or would just like to know what your speeds are from time to time. Are you getting the best out of your 3g or 4G connection? you can surely use this app to find the answer.
About:
Speedtest.net is now available as a free Android application with no advertising! Use it to measure the network speed of your Android device. With over a million tests performed every day, Speedtest.net is the ultimate resource for bandwidth testing and related information. Visit it on your computer today to find out why
Google translate
Your favorite language translation right at your finger tips, now includes more voice inputs..
About:
Use Google Translate to instantly translate text between \u003e 50 languages. Featuring: * Dictionary results * Text-to-speech * Voice input * Romanization (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji, etc) * History/star favorite translations New in v1.1.1: * New voice input languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish
Reference
Kindle for Android
Kindle for android are more usefully on the bigger screen phones but nevertheless it's for us all, Sync, browser and purchase books right on your phone or android device.
About:
Read more than 620,000* Kindle books on your Android phone including thousands of free books. No Kindle required. Automatically synchronizes your last page read between devices with Amazon Whispersync. Adjust the text size, color mode, or brightness. * If you are a non-US customer, book availability may vary.
Dictionary.com, LLC
The name def.ly speaks for itself, just keep in mind you need a data connection to use this wonderful app.
About:
New: Bug fixes The Dictionary.com app delivers trusted reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. The app includes phonetic and audio pronunciations, spelling suggestions and our popular Word of the Day. 375,000 words & definitions 300,000 synonyms & antonyms Word of the Day home screen widget
Wikidroid for Wikipedia
Now you got Wiki on your phone, never be uninformed, features includes voice search. Great apps for doing your basic and quick research on your phone without opening up a browser.
About:
View all of Wikipedia's articles formatted perfectly for your device. Never be without the answer to an argument again! Features: - 64 languages - Jump to a random article - Share articles over email or SMS - Voice search - Search suggestions - Add bookmarks + home screen shortcuts to articles Keywords: wiki encyclopedia
Google sky map
Need to know more about the sky? The cosmos? Then Google sky map is for you.
About:
Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the night sky. New: 1.5.2: Move app to sdcard (Android 2.2 users) Find us elsewhere: http://www.google.com/sky/skymap http://twitter.com/googleskymap Keywords: planetarium, astronomy, skymap
Hope you find a few of these apps useful and again I will be starting a thread for recommended top PAID apps soon...
aldiko is better than kindle and adw launcher is better than launcherpro but besides that great list
Arcus Dictionary i think is better then Dictionary.com, it doesnt require a Data plan to do look ups and is very fast
launcherpro is ok, zeam is better imho.
themapleboy said:
adw launcher is better than launcherpro but besides that great list
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Click to collapse
Having tried both, and several others (Zeam, Sweeter Home, and touchwiz) I stuck with Launcher Pro. Personal preference.
E_man5112 said:
Having tried both, and several others (Zeam, Sweeter Home, and touchwiz) I stuck with Launcher Pro. Personal preference.
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Click to collapse
True. Launchers are completely down to personnal preference
Thanks for the list! I'll have my first Android phone (Captivate) coming in the next day or two so this will be very handy to refer to!
Thanks for the list! I just got a notice from VZ that I'm eligible for an upgrade (over a year early, so I guess they're really trying to sell those already unavailable Droid X and Incredibles...), and I'm planning on getting a new Android phone to replace my HTC Touch Pro2. Now I'll have a list of a few apps to try out!
Besides Dolphin browser, I would reccomend xscope. It is a free alternative to the regular browser and is pretty much just like Google chrome. Even set up to look like it. Not as much in the customization area as dolphin, buy definitely very easy to use, and most definitely faster.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I can't find Pandora Radio. Does it still exist?
Pandora radio is still on the market, if you can find it then use the link provided below to install it. You will need to use a barcode scanner app to scan the barcode. Once this is done it will take you directly to the app on the market and you'll be able to install it.
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/multimedia/pandora-radio_bcmb.html
Sent from my EVO using XDA App
themapleboy said:
adw launcher is better than launcherpro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it's the other way around. LauncherPro is WAAAAY better. IMO
HTC Legion said:
I believe it's the other way around. LauncherPro is WAAAAY better. IMO
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Click to collapse
I agree, but Federico's work needs some work before its perfect.
Xiialive a lot better streaming music app than pandora, last.fm, or slacker. Pick from over 100 channels on shoutcast. So, less repetitive than the previous mentioned apps.
good list!
I like Gmote for streaming music from my home PC to my phone. You can do it over data connection (3g and 4g) or LAN. The only shortcoming is that it won't stream remotely via wifi, only LAN.
It also works as a remote control for your PC. Great for media servers!
jahnile said:
Pandora radio is still on the market, if you can find it then use the link provided below to install it. You will need to use a barcode scanner app to scan the barcode. Once this is done it will take you directly to the app on the market and you'll be able to install it.
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/multimedia/pandora-radio_bcmb.html
Sent from my EVO using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they can't find it on the market, another link to the market won't help. Could be Pandora is protected and their phone isn't showing protected (and likely paid) apps.
Do try out my free apps here:
http://slideme.org/user/mlbl
What i think stock browser is best as it uses less resources
and also will not cover more memory
and if you want an alternative then opera is best if you want web page to load faster
and dolphin for fast browsing and best HTML5 and java script support
And MINI versions of both are better than Best
And What You Think
REPLY
for me Firefox is the best..maybe because I used to it
Which browser is best for Android
This is a reply (and not a new thread right?) I hope so.
For me, dolphin browser works best. I can set the text to be HUGE and text reflow works great.
I really like the idea of a night mode -- but the add-on available is just terrible, in fact I made a thread about it.
Dolphin is fast, easy to use, and just seems to work great. I tried firefox, but I don't know if they support add-ons, and if they do,
can anyone tell me if they have a night mode setting? In fact, can we make a thread about browsers with a dark night mode setting or addon?
I like Chrome, it's well designed and has a nice interface and features.
Try to Dolphin Browser. For me the fastest and the best browser
Dolphin is incredibly fast, no doubts about that! I find it very rough & jerky though for some reason, for lack of better words (just a personal opinion). Chrome, idk, never been fond of it, but it's pretty good & stable. My personal favourite is Firefox (with addons) - takes care of everything what I want!
Dolphin my preferred browser. It supports Flash, unlike Chrome, and unlike Chrome and Firefox, it doesn't do weird text size formatting things on certain webpages.
Please use this thread for any further discussion:
[DISCUSSION][REVIEWS] Consolidated App Reviews, Recommendations & Discussions Thread
:good:
Hi guys and girls.
Just wanted to let you know about a nifty browser that's on the up.
I've been using it for a while now and I must say, it is very impressive.
Especially the stack window opening is great (it means your browser window opens in a sub window and does not close your current app)
Give it a whirl and tell me what you think, or better yet, support the developer as he's really interested in feedback and very fast with response to feedback.
This browser is on the up, so if there are any browser features you are missing in your current mobile browser, now is the time to try and get the developer on board
Few screen shots attached... but for best result and reviews, of course visit the play store or the dedicated web site:
http://javelinbrowser.com/
Thread has been closed.
The main thread for Javelin browser is here: [APP][2.1+] Javelin Browser - Adblock, KitKat Transparency, VPN, True Multi-tasking There was a thread for Javelin browser in this forum before and it was deleted by a senior moderator. For that reason I am closing this thread.
Ghost
Tabor
Tabor provides a fast, integrated, and familiar web experience than other web browsers. Tabor uses Google Chrome's latest feature custom tabs. With light weighted Tabor you can open web links inside using app with out leaving the app.
Main Features
★ Google Chrome's custom tab used.
★ Multiple search engines- Google, Ask, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, Start Page.
★ Search Suggestions support by Google
★ Material design support
★ Easy customization.
★ Light weight app.
HTML:
Download now
What are Chrome custom tabs?
Chrome custom tabs give apps more control over their web experience, and make transitions between native and web content more seamless without having to resort to a WebView.
Chrome Custom Tabs allow apps to pre-load, cutting the time it takes to load a webpage in half.
Custom tabs benefit from Chrome’s advanced security features, including its multi-process architecture and robust permissions model.
Following are the features of Chrome custom tabs:
- saved passwords (No need to login to websites again),
- auto-fills the form,
- Tap to Search,
- Synchronized AutoComplete,
- Chrome's data saver feature
How to use?
Chrome custom tabs is now generally available to all users of Chrome 45, So install the latest Chrome (45 or above) and
set Tabor as default browser (Through Setting). That's it experience the ultra speed web experience with Tabor.
Download here:
HTML:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bloggingfeed.taborbasic
Feather Browser is the lightest yet fastest web browser for android! Weighting in at only 18kb, it takes up virtually no space, yet is a fully functional web browser!
Features:
•Fast
•Light
•Compact
•Simple
•Vibrant
•No website history
Recommended for:
•People who want a fast user experience
•Phones with minimal storage
•Simple people (Grandparents)
•Developers for testing
Yes, you can download the apk, but if you enjoy the app, please, please go to the Play Store link and purchase the app, it is the only way I can pay my bills and keep my lights on to make more awesome apps right now, thanks!: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.feather.browser
Here's the apk, but please, if you enjoy it, do the above : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7S6ou836i7AdXF5TFZJcVJyRUN4dS1WMWFxNzBhNll4YjVZ/view?usp=drivesdk
Duplicate thread, original here https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-feather-browser-lightest-browser-t3623486
Thread closed
Dan - forum moderator