Android apps are spawning so fast it’s getting hard to pick the best. We’ve scoured the aisles of the Android Marketplace to pick some of the best Android apps going while trying to avoid recommending the Android apps you should already have on your homescreen (Facebook for Android for instance). Read on for our selection of the 10 best Android apps.
Android Invasion! Everything you need to know about Android phones
1 Google MapsPrice: £free
The Google Maps for Android app received a good going over this week which added a new search results page, a Latitude widget baked in and the ability to make a map of your current location into your wallpaper.
The Google Maps for Android app also has has turn-by-turn directions and a really simple main menu with four simple buttons – to search for place, get directions, call a location or switch to Google Street View. Watch out if you do turn your wallpaper into a live map though as it’ll burn through your battery pretty swiftly.
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2 Seesmic
Price: £free
While Twidroid was once the king of Twitter Android apps, Seesmic has recently stolen a jump on it adding features in its free Android app that are only available in Twidroid Premium like automatically shortening URLS with Bit.ly, J.mp or TinyURL.
The Seesmic for Android app also has some nifty features like jumping back to the top of your Twitter timeline with a tap, support for multiple Twitter accounts and cross-posting so you can tweet the same message on two or more accounts. There’s also in app photo and video posting via TwitPic and Youtube which is handy for making good use of your Android phone’s camera. Your Seesmic for Android app will also sync with the Seesmic desktop application.
3 Astrid
Price: £free
It seems a little odd to get excited about an Android app that is essentially a to do list and task manager but for all its simplicity, Astrid is one of the best Android apps to aid your productivity. Astrid lets you add tasks and jobs you need to complete and then assign them a date or time when you need to complete them.
Astrid adds audio notifications to tasks and there’s a timer so you can see how long you spend on a particular task. What makes Astrid the queen of the Android app productivity tools is the level of customisation – you can set different deadlines, hide a task until a certain date and integrate your list with Google Calendar. Astrid can also be told to keep quiet during certain times so you don’t get interrupted by your Android phone bleeping in the middle of work.
4 Google Listen
Price: £free
Google Listen is one of the best Android apps for grabbing podcasts on the go and subscribing to the ones you like. While the Google Listen Android app is still in Google’s testing grounds, Google Labs, it does a pretty reliable job of grabbing audio from the web and pulling it onto your Android phone.
Google Listen also queues up the podcasts you have downloaded and subscribed to meaning you can listen to a long stream of audio without needing to keep jumping back and choosing the next episode to listen to.
5 Doom
Price: £free
While there are lots of Android apps that emulate old game consoles like the NES and the Sega Megadrive, the ROMs they use are not exactly legal. Doom for Android stays on the right side of the law because the developers, ID, open-sourced the Doom game code to the shareware levels.
Because the Doom Android app hasn’t been optimised for touchscreen phones, you will need an Android handset with a keyboard like the Motorola Milestone at the moment but there’s rumoured to be an official Doom for Android app from ID on the way to follow the Doom iPhone app. In the meantime, the open-source version of Doom should keep Android app loving gamers happy.
6 Spotify
Price: £9.99/month subscription
Spotify for Android is one of the best examples of how Android app multitasking can beat the iPhone. Where Spotify for iPhone can’t run in the background while you do other things, the Spotify Android app can.
You’ll need to subscribe to a £9.99 monthly subscription to make Spotify for Android’s music streaming on the go magic work but if you do you’ll get a vast library of songs to choose from. Best of all there’s the ability to cache your playlists in offline mode in the Spotify Android app for when you’re out of 3G or WiFi range.
7 Meebo IM
Price: £free
Meebo IM is the the one IM Android app to rule them all. Integration with Yahoo!, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Jabber and Google Talk means you can message your friends in any of those services from one Android app.
The Meebo IM Android app also stores your chats so you can keep track of what you’ve been saying and runs in the background so you’ll be able to hop into other apps to check your mail or search for something without having to disconnect.
8 Wikitude
Price: £free
Wikitude makes the most of your Android phones love for augmented reality apps by overlaying Wikipedia information onto the real world. Unlike other augmented reality Android apps like Layar, we think Wikitude is already really useful.
Installing the Wikitude Android app is like putting a Wikipedia-enabled tourguide in your pocket. Point your Android phone at a building or landmark and the Wikitude Android app will use the GPS to locate it and overlay the Wikipedia information over your Android phone’s camera feed.
9 Carr Matey
Price: £free
Google Maps is arguably the best of the Android navigation apps but Carr Matey is an excellent addition to your Android phone which will make finding your car a doddle. Behind it’s fun pirate theme, Carr Matey lets you drop a GPS marker when your park your car, any other vehicle or even a tent at a festival. It’ll then help you navigate back to it.
Carr Matey also has a compass view for finding your way back across fields or in off road areas and a parking timer to help your avoid parking tickets. For a free Android app, Carr Matey packs in some canny features and we love that it stores your 5 most recent parking locations and has a Harbor mode to draw the level, colour and space number when you’re parked in a multi-storey car park.
10 Locale
Price: $9.99
Android is a pretty smart OS but Locale gives it extra brains, allowing you to tell your Android phone to change your ringtone and vibrate settings depending on where you are. The Locale Android app gives you the option to set custom settings for different locations so your phone can be on silent at work but automatically turn the ringer on once you leave.
Locale also allows you to set certain numbers as VIPs so they’ll always be able to get you even when the ringer’s off. When they ring the Locale Android app will turn on your ringer but keep it off for everyone else. Locale can also turn off power-hungry settings when your phone battery is low and remind you to recharge it when you get home.
Want more Android fun? Check out our Robot Romance videos below, part of Electricpig’s Android Invasion.
HTC Legend: Robot takes Android phone for romantic dinner
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10: Robot and Android phone snuggle up
HTC Desire: Robot falls in love with Android phone
Meet the Android Avengers
