The popularity of
Android phones exploded in 2011, with new device activations topping
over half a million a day worldwide. So it's not surprising that a
mountain of Android apps is out there, including plenty of quality downloads that don't cost a thing.
I weeded through
all kinds of new titles for 2011 that are available for free. The
categories ranged from productivity to social and sharing apps, photo
editing and management, and, of course, games. From that field, I came
up with this list of keepers. Let's start with music.
Smartr Contacts (productivity)
Smartr brings all
your contacts and social networks together into one easily searchable
and attractive place. Currently in beta for Android, the app draws
information from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter about everyone you
e-mail, text, and call, literally putting names with faces (and more).
Get Smartr
Facebook Messenger (communication)
Lots of messaging
apps are available, but the power and user base of Facebook makes a
difference here. You can message other users, send regular texts, access Facebook chat, create group conversations, and even easily add location and photos.
Skitch (photo management)
Skitch is all about
adding data and more to images. Fifteen years ago, the power to add
digital drawings to photos and other images was reserved for TV weather
people and sportscasters. Now Skitch, from the makers of Evernote, makes
it easy to scribble or draw on photos as well as edit and share them.
You can add names to photos and resize them, then post them quickly to
Twitter or Facebook, or even draw a map. Not surprisingly, anything you
do in Skitch syncs up to Evernote quite nicely.
Get Skitch
GoLauncher EX (personalization)
GoLauncher EX, an
extended version of the incredibly popular home-screen replacement app,
was released in early 2011 and has since been installed tens of
millions of times. Its personalized themes, widgets, and tons of other
options give you total control over your mobile experience.
Get GoLauncherEx
Words With Friends Free/Scrabble Free (games)
It was a good year for Android word freaks. Words with Friends beat the legendary board game Scrabble
to the punch with its app in the spring, but Scrabble followed with its
own Android launch over the summer. WWF remains more popular, but both
provide plenty of hours of entertainment for word nerds.
Get Words With Friends Free or Scrabble Free
Google Docs (productivity)
It's hard to believe an official Google Docs app
didn't make it to Android until earlier this year. The app provides all
the simple ways of accessing, editing, and sharing documents on the go
that you'd expect. Other cool features include the ability to photograph
any text with your phone and convert it into an editable doc, thanks to
its integrated optical character recognition.
Get Google Docs
Hanging With Friends (game)
This is a new
spin on the old-school game Hangman from the makers of Words with
Friends, another hit word game on this list. A social-based approach to
mobile gaming, Hanging with Friends introduces some features you might
not recognize from the analog original, such as strategy, goofy avatars
in danger, and trash talking.
Get Hanging With Friends
Google Translate Conversation Mode (productivity)
In January,
Google Translate saw a big update with the addition of conversation
mode. That means that Translate allows for a bilingual conversation,
with each party speaking in their own language into the device's
microphone and listening for a translation via the speaker. A fall
update expanded the alpha version of the mode to include more than a
dozen languages.
Get Google Translate
Drag Racing (game)
Drag Racing is
Pole Position for a new generation. One of the most-downloaded free apps
in the Android Market, this realistic racing game lets you try out more
than 50 cars and rise to glory against other competitors in its Pro
League.
Get Drag Racing
SpeakToit Assistant (voice assistant)
One of a number of comparable Android answers to Apple's Siri voice assistant on the iPhone 4S, SpeakToit is the best of the batch. While it might not be able to challenge Siri head-to-head just yet, the voice recognition and knowledge engine are a very good start for a beta version.
Get SpeaktoIT Assitant
FEMA (disaster preparedness)
Now we have an app for when disaster strikes. This emergency preparedness
app from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is worth having just
for the database of shelter locations alone, but it also provides
preparedness checklists, applications for disaster assistance, and volunteering information.
Get FEMA
Webroot SecureAnywhere Mobile (security)
While Lookout
remains the most popular name in mobile antivirus apps, Webroot is the
fastest-rising wireless security star. Both its free and paid apps came
out of beta this year and have received positive reviews (SecureAnywhere
is a mobile version of its paid multiplatform security product). One of
Webroot's strengths is its scanning speed, which comes from its
cloud-based approach.
Get Webroot Security Anywhere
MyWeather (information)
MyWeather claims
to be six times more accurate than the Weather Channel's app, thanks to
its ability to pinpoint more-exact locations using GPS rather than a zip
code. I tested it out for about a week, and it seems to live up to its
promise, at least in terms of forecasts and reporting of current
conditions that matched my home outdoor thermometer.
Get MyWeather
Defender (game)
The concept is simple enough—use arrows, magic spells,
and more to fight back the waves of monsters attacking your castle.
Easy game play, an old-school 8-bit aesthetic, plenty of action, and
just a splash of Dungeons and Dragons flavor makes for a hit in this
game that's already racked up millions of downloads.
Get Defender
Bonus Pick: Amazon Appstore
Not exactly an
app, this alternative to the Android Market offers a select paid app for
free every day, and is bound to become a source of more exclusive and
interesting new offerings in the near future as Amazon's new Kindle Fire
tablet takes off
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