We thought we’d give you a timely reminder of the best Android Apps available during the month of December, as the year draws to a messy, snow-bound conclusion. Armed with this topper selection of pocket-sized smart phone bliss, you’ll find that the usual monotony of the family Christmas meal simply glides by, and the typically painful observance of the Queen’s Speech will be nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
As always, before you go gleefully tugging on your Christmas cracker, make sure you’ve got the Barcode Scanner application downloaded and ready to go. You can then scan the QR Codes shown below and zip directly to the relevant page of the Android Market.
Best Android apps of all time: Top 100
Angry Birds Seasons (Free)
Rovio’s mobile marvel is easily one of the most popular Android apps of the 2010 and this Christmas-themed edition is equally as sought-after.
In keeping with the tone of the holiday season, Angry Birds Seasons features 25 different challenges, each of which is unlocked – advent calendar-style – as the days roll by.
Of course with the big day almost upon us the vast majority of the levels are available to play right away if you’ve not already downloaded it, which is sort of like scoffing the entire contents of your chocolate-filled calendar all in one go. Yum!
Google Reader (Free)
Another one of the best Android apps of the month has been a first party one: Google’s excellent Reader program. It syncs with your Google Reader RSS feed account and delivers reports of unread posts from all of your favourite sites.
Many of these can be viewed within the app itself, which saves you having to visit each site individually to absorb the info.
With this app on your phone, you’ll have no trouble whatsoever sitting through Grandad’s “amusing” story about the time he burnt the Christmas Pudding (you know, the one he’s told every year, for the past 25 years). Just keep your head down, look at the screen and occasionally nod and chuckle, and he won’t notice you’re sifting through your Electricpig updates rather than actually listening.
Waitrose Christmas (Free)
As much as it goes against the insubordinate, left-wing rebel within us, we can’t help but be drawn in by the middle-class charms of Waitrose’s unique seasonal application.
You might assume this is merely an online shopping portal with a bit of tinsel draped over it, but you’d be very wrong. Operating like a virtual magazine, Waitrose Christmas features an interactive advent calendar, a turkey timer app (so you don’t burn the bird on the big day) and several much-loved Christmas recipes. What’s more, it’s more polished than one of the baubles on your tree.
Windows Phone Android (£1.90)
Let’s say for a moment you’re a little sick of your Android phone (perhaps you’ve been saddled with an Acer Stream) but you’re locked into a lengthy contract and can’t jump ship just yet, so treating yourself to a new-fangled handset this holiday season isn’t on the agenda.
One solution is to download Windows Phone Android. As the name oh-so-subtly suggests, this clever home screen replacement makes your Google phone act and operate like Microsoft’s much-hyped mobile OS.
Although the tiles aren’t currently animated (tapping them simply fires up the relevant application), the look is incredibly authentic, and your buddies down the pub will be none the wiser. For the asking price, this is pretty much the cheapest way to get that ‘new phone’ feeling this Christmas.
Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front HD (£3)
No matter who you’re spending Christmas with, it’s almost inevitable that you’re going to have to endure some telly you don’t want to watch.
Be it Diamonds are Forever (which you’ve seen for the millionth time, and all those views have occurred on a Christmas day, bizarrely) or the festive edition of Eastenders, there’s no denying that you need some top-notch Android-based gaming action to relive yourself during these testing times.
Epic gaming experiences don’t come much bigger than Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front, which is one of the best blasters outside of Call of Duty: Black Ops. You’ll discover high-resolution graphics, explosive set-pieces and a gripping plot – all of which make Sean Connery’s spy craft look tame in comparison.
The only word of warning we’d give is that like the vast majority of Gameloft’s titles, Brothers in Arms 2 isn’t available on the Android Market. You’ll need to point your phone’s browser in the direction of the company’s dedicated store.
