Android’s Best of 2011 (So Far)
Looking for some inspiration as you hunt for new apps to enjoy on your Android device? I’ve selected my top 20 from dozens of great new apps for Android phones and tablets launched this year. And here’s the best part: They’re all free.
Words With Friends
A long-overdue Scrabble clone, Words With Friends allows you to play the game with both your Android-owning buddies and your iPhone-toting pals.
ATM Hunter
MasterCard’s ATM Hunter app finds the nearest ATM anywhere in the world via GPS location, and even tells you whether the machine will charge you for any transaction.
Netflix
If you have one of the supported devices (HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung), you can stream any Netflix movie to your phone for free, as part of your subscription package.
Hound
With Hound, you can speak the name of an artist, band, or song to bring up a wealth of related information and photos, including tour dates, lyrics, and song previews.
Tap Tap Revenge 4
The latest Android version of the rhythm game features popular tracks from the likes of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars–all for your finger-tapping pleasure.
Sleep as an Droid
Sleep as an Droid helps you track your sleeping patterns, and determines the best time to wake you with a gentle alarm.
Epistle
A simple-to-use text editor for your Android phone, Epistle has a few extra perks such as Markdown language support and Dropbox syncing.
µTorrent Remote
µTorrent Remote gives you access to torrent files downloading on your computer, including start/stop commands and on-the-fly downloads. µTorrent Remote works with µTorrent 3.0 Alpha running on your PC.
Foodspotting
In love with food? Check out the nearest and best foods around you with the help of user-generated photos, or read reviews from a particular restaurant. You can share your own food experiences, too.
Google Translate
The latest Google Translate update takes the app to the next level: Speak the words you want translated, and you’ll get the result instantly, either spoken or on screen. It can be useful when you are abroad, if you have data roaming enabled.
Kongregate Arcade
This collection of more than 450 free casual games for your phone offers everything from strategy to racing to card games for your entertainment. The more you play, the more badges you get.
Androidify
Customize your own Android avatar to share with buddies or to use on social networks. They’re cute and fun–try it!
Jajah
Jajah allows you to call your Facebook friends for free when they are online. Friends get a chat message when you call, and they don’t even need to have the app–just click the link to start a conversation.
Viewdle SocialCamera
Viewdle SocialCamera allows you to automatically upload your mobile photos to Facebook and Flickr; you can also tag people in the photos without leaving the app.
PhotoWall Live Wallpaper
PhotoWall creates a live wallpaper for your Android phone with your own photos (from the camera gallery, Facebook, or Picasa) displayed with various effects of your choice in the background.
Meganoid
Meganoid offers dozens of levels of retro-game nostalgia, with pixel-art graphics. Don’t be fooled by the simple looks, though: This game is very challenging.
Grocery iQ
For Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets
Grocery iQ is a shopping-list app on steroids, with listings for thousands of products plus coupon and savings-card support. You can sync the shopping list to your Android phone, as well.
TweetComb
For Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets
TweetComb is simply the best-looking Twitter client for Android tablets, with TweetDeck-like columns and all the features you would expect.
Google Body
For Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets
Explore the intricate complexity of the human body with beautiful, interactive 3D models. The app offers different anatomical layers, and you can search by bones, muscles, or other parts.
Amazon Free App Reminder
Never miss another freebie! Amazon’s Android Appstore offers a free app every day, and this reminder tool will make sure that you never forget to have your daily fix of free apps.