What ho! We’re here to bring you the best Android apps of the week, and what a collection of classic downloads we have for you this time around. We’ve got apps for messaging, apps for phone security and even apps that strip out your handset’s dull user interface and replace it with something a little more sophisticated. As always, our mission is to offer you the best Android downloads on a silken cushion, saving you the tiresome inconvenience of having to sort the wheat from the chaff yourself. Read on!
The QR codes below will take you to the app’s page on the Android Market, but you’ll need to make sure you have Barcode Scanner installed first. Alternatively you can click the app title for a web link to the very same destination – the choice is yours.
We never thought we’d find ourselves including a download that costs a tenner in our weekly run-down of the best Android apps, but SPB Shell 3D is just too impressive to ignore. It’s unfair to merely describe it as an application – this download is complete replacement for your home screen launcher, and effectively re-skins your phone’s entire interface. It comes with a whole host of unique widgets and animations, but the coolest thing is the ability to navigate your home screens using a 3D rotational menu. More extensive than other app launchers like Launcher Pro and SlideScreen, SPB Shell 3D is the perfect way to give your phone a fetching facelift – although the steep price means you’ll need to be absolutely sure you can afford the surgery.
We’ve already picked up on the greatness of this instant messaging application thanks to its iOS incarnation, but Android users aren’t getting left out. With support for Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Skype, MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Jabber, and Myspace, imo certainly has all of the IM bases covered, but its most enduring feature is the fact that it doesn’t force you to register to use it. All you need do is sign up with your existing IM accounts and you’re away. Factor in notifications for new messages and a slick interface that makes it blissfully easy to toggle between open chats, and you’ve got what is arguably the king of instant messaging on Android.
Ever found yourself reading a particularly interesting website and then realising you’re late for work, and have no option but to make a mad dash for the door, leaving the aforementioned article unfinished? Or perhaps you’ve been stuck at work and spotted something that you’d love to read at a later date, but have no way of reminding yourself? Sounds like you need Read It Later, the Android edition of the web bookmarking tool that has already proven to be a massive success on the iPhone. The premise is simple – once you’ve established a Read It Later account, you can tag pages on both your phone and your web browser. Unread pages appear on both devices, so you can finish reading either on the way to work or when you return home. The best thing is that Read It Later even remembers how far you’ve gotten in a particular page, and allows you to pick up from exactly where you left off. Genius.
Malware and virus attacks are two of the more tiresome elements of home computing, and the unstoppable technological progress of smartphones means that these unwelcome issues are slowly crossing over to the mobile arena. Webroot is like a trusty guard dog that keeps watch over the security of your beloved handset – not only does it sniff around attachments and weblinks to ensure they’re 100% clean, it also investigates your phone’s setup to identify any potential holes, as well as thoroughly perusing app installations to prevent anything unsavoury being granted access to your most precious information. You can also use Webroot to remotely wipe your phone should it fall into the wrong hands – priceless for national security if you happen to be James Bond, but rather less exciting if your phone simply gets lifted by an oink in a grubby Adidas tracksuit.
Just one game in this week’s list of the best Android apps, but it’s a proper blinder. Crafted by the same chaps responsible for Fruit Ninja – a game that has done great things to eradicate productivity in the Electricpig office – Age of Zombies is a twin-stick 2D shooter which has already enjoyed a rapturous reception on the PSP, where it was voted the best PSP Minis title of 2010. There’s one rather large caveat with the Android launch, however – it’s currently an Xperia Play exclusive and won’t be available for other Google phones for at least a few weeks. If you’ve been lucky enough to pick up Sony Ericsson’s much-hyped PlayStation phone then this is unquestionably one of the first games you should download, as it makes excellent use of the device’s twin touch-pads.
What ho! We’re here to bring you the best Android apps of the week, and what a collection of classic downloads we have for you this time around. We’ve got apps for messaging, apps for phone security and even apps that strip out your handset’s dull user interface and replace it with something a little more sophisticated. As always, our mission is to offer you the best Android downloads on a silken cushion, saving you the tiresome inconvenience of having to sort the wheat from the chaff yourself. Read on!
