Affirmative, soldier. We have identified the best Android apps of the week and are bringing them in for questioning and interrogation. What we have here are the finest examples of download-based tools and entertainment known to man – five razor-sharp Android Market purchases that make the competition look positively pathetic in comparison.
All you need do now is grab your standard-issue Barcode Scanner app, get those QR Codes in your cross-hairs and pull the trigger. Alternatively, if you want to get up close and personal, you can tap the app title to go direct to the Android Market page – route one, if you will. So what are you waiting for? Step to it, soldier!
Gameloft’s answer to Nintendo’s popular Zelda series impressed when it launched on the iPhone not so long ago, but if you’re a true gamer then the release of this Xperia Play-compatible version should be considered the real deal. Freed from the confines of a touch-screen interface, Sacred Odyssey really shines. The analogue touch pads are perfect for controlling the lead character, and combat is made infinitely more thrilling thanks to proper, physical buttons. Granted, the voice-acting is hammier than a large slab of gammon, but the graphics are breathtaking and the quest considerable. All in all, a fine way to start this week’s rundown of the best Android apps.
Is there anything cooler than massive robots blowing each other up? No, not really. And it’s this undeniable truth that powers this interesting mech-based Android game. From the makers of the similarly demanding X-Plane, Giant Fighting Robots is a highly complex simulation that allows you to strap yourself into a custom-made, two-storey war machine. You can tinker with pretty much everything from the legs to the guns of your robotic doom-bringer, and once you’re let loose on the landscape it’s a tense and surprisingly addictive contest of wits, strength and patience. The game is a little rough around the edges at present, but given how much X-Plane progressed in a short space of time, we don’t doubt that the developers will lavish an equal amount of effort on this (infitely cooler) concept.
We’re big fans of the Read It Later app, as it allows us to catch up on interesting content and make sure we don’t miss out on cool items just because we can’t read them there and then. However, Read It Later is purely concerned with the web, while Memonic is billed as a complete ‘collaborative’ application that not only allows you to share and tag web pages, but create notes, distribute images and control other information. In fact, the app is very much like your old, battered notebook from school – complete with doodles, scribblings and other piece of important data (although we’d imagine it stops short of naming who snogged your best mate behind the bikesheds and which football team’s lead striker couldn’t hit a barn door from ten paces).
It’s hard to believe the crushingly average Fast and Furious saga is now on its fifth instalment, but we’re not concerned with offering critical appraisal of cinematic fluff – we’re here to expose the very finest Android apps money can buy, and Gameloft’s high-octane racer certainly falls into that category. Using the experience gained from the popular Asphalt series, the developer has created an insanely fast title which boasts gorgeous visuals and a thumping soundtrack. Although it’s not likely to exercise your brain (just like the films, then) Fast 5 is so action-packed that your poor fingers may not survive the journey.
We’ve heard a lot recently about how eBooks are beginning to take over from physical books, and while digital downloads are incredibly convenient, we miss the person-to-person contact one gets from visiting your local book emporium. Staff and other shoppers can chip in with recommendations, ensuring that you always walk out with the perfect tome. Goodreads is an attempt to bring this kind of service to your Android phone. Users can sing the praises of publication they truly enjoyed and flag up potential snore-fests. If you’re in search of a good book but can’t decide what to download to your Kindle application, this is the perfect tonic.
Affirmative, soldier. We have identified the best Android apps of the week and are bringing them in for questioning and interrogation. What we have here are the finest examples of download-based tools and entertainment known to man – five razor-sharp Android Market purchases that make the competition look positively pathetic in comparison.
Gameloft’s answer to Nintendo’s popular 
Is there anything cooler than massive robots blowing each other up? No, not really. And it’s this undeniable truth that powers this interesting mech-based Android game. From the makers of the similarly demanding 
We’re big fans of the 
It’s hard to believe the crushingly average 
We’ve heard a lot recently about how eBooks are beginning to 
