June 01, 2011
Top 10 Android Apps |
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While the number of available
Android
applications is smaller than that of iPhone applications, it is
still a huge number and growing fast. This is our list of Top 10 Android applications.
It is very difficult to select only 10 out of so many worthwhile apps.
After some consideration, we have decided to limit the field to
media, travel, communication, reference, and productivity. We have also
stayed away from such obvious apps as Google Maps or Facebook (we love
Google Maps
but probably everybody has them by now). Here we go:
1. MOG
by Mog.com. $9.99/mo for computer + mobile service. Free trial
available. It was new when we reviewed it last August, but now it's
been recognized as the best streaming music app by Billboard,
TechCrunch, and others. Great
search, playlists, social discovery, user
interface. We liked the slider functionality of the MOG radio where you
can control the diversity of the artists starting from one-artist radio
(something you don't get with Pandora). You
can download playlists to your mobile device and play them without
wireless access. You pay for MOG but we think it's worth it (try it for
free and decide for yourself). We look forward to comparing MOG against
Spotify (when Spotify comes to the US), but for now MOG is our top
media app and #1 overall.
2. Google Voice
by Google. Free. Gives you one central number and voice mailbox for all
of your phones. The number is truly portable - just point the service
at whatever phone you want to use that day and your calls arrive there.
Plus you can make cheap international calls. Includes SMS messaging and
automatic address book sync between the phone and the Google Voice
desktop account. Google Voice would also transcribe your voice mails
for you.
3. Factbook
by Urbian. Free with Ads. Detailed demographic information of almost
250
countries around the world: Map, Geography, People, Government,
Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, Transnational
Issues. Based on the CIA World Fact Book and United Nations data and
statistics.
4. Kayak by Kayak.com. Free. Helps
you find travel deals online by pulling information from hundreds of
travel sites. You can search for flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals,
vacations. You can also check flight status and learn more about the
airline you are considering. You can synchronize Kayak app on your
Android phone and your PC.
5. Foursquare by Foursquare.com.
Combine social networking with quasi-GPS functions and integrated maps
of Android phones and you have Foursquare. Makes it easy to find and
socilaize with your friends. Features integration with Facebook,
Twitter, and Yelp. Helps you to discover new places around town.
6. Documents to Go by Dataviz. Free viewer version.
The viewer version lets you read Word and Excel files without any
server conversion. If you want to be able to edit plus add PowerPoint
and PDF capabilities, you can upgrade to the premiun version (now
$14.99).
7. Pandora Radio
by Pandora Media. Free. The best free music app. Create your own
personalized
radio to
stream music on your iPhone or iPad. Just 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. What
separates Pandora from the rest is their ability to find "similar" (as
subjective as it is) music, it will lead you to other artists
which you would probably never find out about otherwise.
8. Google Goggles
by Google. Free. Google Goggles is a visual search app. Instead
of using words, take a picture of an object with your camera phone and
Google will attempt to recognize the object, and return relevant search
results. Goggles can also recognize English, French, Italian, German
and Spanish words and allow you to translate to other languages. As can
be expected with visual search, it's not 100% accurate - but it's still
pretty good.
9. GasBuddy
by GasBuddy.com. Free. With gas around $4, it pays to find a
cheaper gas station. GasBuddy helps you find the cheapest gas prices in
your area - in one click, locate gas stations near you and see their
current gas prices.
10. Google Sky Map
by Google. We could not resist, so we included one somewhat fanciful
app. Point your phone at the sky, and Google Sky Map will show the
stars, planets, constellations, and more to help you identify the
celestial objects in view. You can also browse the skies in manual mode
and search the sky for your favorite planet.
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