Top apps for your new Android device - Part One of Three

The Play Store

If you've been lucky enough to receive a brand new Android device or two this Christmas, then you're probably trying to figure out just what apps to install. If you're new to Android – or smart devices in general – you might be struggling to find the best apps. Or perhaps you're just an old hand looking for a new toy. This is where we come in.

Here at AndroidNZ, we have researched long and hard to find a list of apps we can confidently recommend to you. These are all apps we use ourselves and recommend from experience. Some of these are free, some of them cost money; all of them are great.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then continue reading after the break.

To keep things simple, the recommendations have been broken down into manageable chunks per category. Since there are a lot of categories, there will be several parts covering different types of apps.

Part One (this part) includes the following categories in this article:

• Productivity & Web
• News & Reading
• Music & Multimedia
• Utilities & Miscellaneous

Part Two (now live) covers the following categories

• Social Media
• Cloud Storage
• Photography
• Location Sharing
• Customisation

Part Three will cover games with the following categories:

• Shoot 'em up
• Strategy
• Role playing game
• Puzzle
• Platform

Check back here to access Part Three - Gaming once it's available

Top apps for your new Android device - Part One of Three

Productivity & Web

Chrome 

The popular desktop browser Chrome (if you're not using your Android device to read this, you're probably using Chrome right now), which is also available on all Android devices with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher. Chrome is a fast lightweight replacement browser that can sync with your desktop - including bookmarks and open tabs. It offers a great interface, with swipe gestures to boot, and receives updates directly from Google. The only downsides: no Adobe Flash support, and, depending on your device, the stock browser may run a little faster. Chrome is available for free from the Play Store here.

Chrome2Phone

While the Chrome browser lets you sync bookmarks and open tabs, it can be tiresome to go through various menus just to open up a tab you already had on your PC. This is where Chrome2Phone simplifies things. You simply install the Chrome extension on your desktop browser from here and then install the Android application for free on the Play Store here.

Then it's simply one click and the page you're viewing on your PC is pushed to your Android device. You can use it to send text and other information, too. Have a play!

Firefox

Firefox is another popular desktop browser that has made the leap to Android. While it had a slow start with stability and speed issues, Firefox is now a formidable force on our favourite mobile platform. With Flash support, sync with the desktop version, and a clean interface, Firefox stable is available for free from the Play Store here; or the cutting edge beta version is available from the Play Store here.

TunnelBear VPN

TunnelBear VPN is an application and a service that provides VPN (Virtual Private Networking) functionality. A VPN essentially allows your device to pretend that it is in another country - thus bypassing regional restrictions - as well as maintaining a high degree of privacy. TunnelBear allows you to use a limited amount of traffic (think megabytes) for free, after which you can purchase more. Great for looking at regionally restricted web content - there are both US and UK options within the app. TunnelBear VPN is available for free from the Play Store.

Swype Beta

Swype is a new type of keyboard that lets you trace words instead of tapping letters. It learns from your vocabulary and is an incredibly fast input format for Android touchscreen smart devices. Swype Beta is  free but not available on the Play Store, and the installation method can be a little convoluted. (Come on Swype make this available on the Play Store already!)

SwiftKey 3

 SwiftKey is a highly customisable replacement keyboard with excellent predictive skills. It has multiple skins that can be installed, and learns words from your Facebook, Twitter and text messaging. SwiftKey 3 is Available for phone and tablet Android devices on the Play Store. The free one month trial for phone is available here, with the paid version currently $2.49 NZD on sale here. The free one month trial for tablet is available here , with the paid tablet version for $2.49 NZD on sale here 

SwiftKey Flow Beta

SwiftKey Flow is SwiftKey's competitor to Swype, adding the ability to trace letters as well as the traditional SwiftKey functionality. SwiftKey Flow is currently only available as a beta. The APK for the phone version can be downloaded here, while the tablet version is available here.

Kii Keyboard

Kii Keyboard is another Swype-esque keyboard with two pretty large benefits over it's competitors. Firstly it's highly customisable with themes, word prediction and even the ability to change key spacing. Kii is currently in beta so the premium features are all free - however I expect this to change in the future. Kii Keyboard is available now on the Play Store here.

Any.DO

 Any.DO is a slick to-do and task list application that syncs with Google Tasks and has a re-sizable interactive widget.
Any.DO is available for free from the Play Store.

News & Reading

Pinterest

I can't claim to be an expert on Pinterest, but essentially it's an app for pinning things you find on the web that inspire or interest you, and allows others to find and share what you pin.
Pinterest is available on the Play Store for free here.

Flipboard

Originally an exclusive for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3, Flipboard has been available for most other devices for a while now. It's an easy to use news/magazine reading app with a nice looking interface. Only downside? No landscape reading unless you have a tablet. Available for free from the Play Store.

Currents

This is Google's take on news and magazine reading on Android. Unlike Flipboard it supports landscape mode on both phones and tablets. It also has a widget to view current articles. Get it free from the Play Store.

Pocket

The artist formerly known as 'Read it later', Pocket is all about saving articles for reading later. It syncs between desktop and mobile device and allows for offline reading. What more can you ask for?
Available for free from the Play Store

XDA

If you're keen on Android device hacking and customisation then XDA Developers Forum might be the place for you. This handy app lets you read, create and post in forum threads on XDA.
Available in free, premium and premium HD (for tablets) from the Play Store.

The Verge

Tech news lovers will enjoy The Verge app which lets you view the latest articles, listen to podcasts and watch videos from the crew over at TheVerge.com
Available for free from the Play Store

Kindle

Probably the most popular eBook reader, the Kindle is not just a hardware device. Now you can read books on your Android device too. Kindle for Android has all the good stuff you'd expect, including the ability to read PDF files and sync books across multiple devices. The only downside is the inability to side-load EPUB files for DRM free eBooks. Kindle for Android is available for free from the Play Store here. 

Aldiko Book Reader

Aldiko is arguably the best eBook reader for Android. It comes with a plethora of customisation options and has the ability to load EPUB, PDF and Adobe DRM files. It also has nifty features like selecting a word and performing a dictionary search right from the book. Aldiko is available on the Play Store as a free version here, and there is also a premium version here. Additionally, you can Sync books using Dropbox with Aldiko Sync - available here (Note that this feature now requires root access unfortunately.

Moon+ Reader

If you're finding Aldiko doesn't support enough formats and the lack of sync is driving you crazy then check out Moon+ Reader. It supports many formats of ebooks and has built in syncing with Dropbox - including keeping your page position across devices. There are a ton of other features so check out the free version on the Play Store and if you want extended functionality you can purchase the Moon+ Reader Pro for around $6 NZD here.

Adobe Flash

While Adobe Flash is not officially available from the Play Store any longer, the APK (Android Application Package File) can easily be side-loaded to most devices with an easy download and simple change of your device settings.
If you head over to AndroidCentral you can read the guide on how to download and install Adobe Flash Player.

Music & Multimedia

DicePlayer

DicePlayer is a fast video player for Android which supports hardware acceleration for a multitude of video formats on a large number of devices. If your stock video player won't play it, DicePlayer likely will. Additionally, DicePlayer supports picture-in-picture so you can watch a video while you browse the web. DicePlayer is available here on the Play Store for a grand total of... free.

MX Player

MX Player is another great video player for Android, claiming that it can 'play everything'. While this may or may not be true, it can definitely play most file formats, including anime encoded in Hi10P using software decoding (which is no mean feat).
MX Player is available on the Play Store in both free and paid versions.

PowerAmp

 PowerAmp is a must have music player for Android, with an array of features, including a 10 band equalizer, gapless playback, FLAC support, album art downloading and of course the ability to pump out music like nobody's business. PowerAmp is available as a 15 day trial, after which you can get a full version unlocker for $4.79 NZD.

SoundHound

While not strictly speaking a music playing app, SoundHound is very useful for working out any song that is playing where you currently are. Simply open the application (or press on the widget), and as long as you have an internet connection, SoundHound will be able to tell you what song is playing. There is a free limited and a paid unlimited version ($8.29 NZD) available on the Play Store.

Plex

If you are the kind of person that has a massive media collection on your home PC and don't want to carry it everywhere, Plex might be the right app for you. Essentially Plex lets you set up a server on your home PC and then you can stream it to your Android (or iOS/WP7) device as long as you have an internet connection (yes it works over 3G/4G). Plex is available on the Play Store for ~$6 NZD here and you can read more information about it at http://www.plexapp.com/

Utilities & Miscellaneous

AppSales

AppSales is, put simply, an app for finding apps on sale. It works great, and there's a short review you can read right here at AndroidNZ.
AppSales is available for free on the Play Store right now.

Google Translate

If you ever wondered how an Android smart device could change your life, Google Translate is a pretty good indicator. It is a seriously amazing app that allows not just for translation between two languages, but it has a conversation mode for back-and-forth translation, and it can even translate photos of text in a foreign language (!). Google Translate is free on the Play Store.

Google Goggles

Google Goggles is similar in concept to Google Translate, but instead of translating written or spoken language it translates images or barcodes into a web search. Take a photo of any well known place, image or object and Goggles will find similar images from all over the web. Google Goggles is free from the Play Store.

If you found these app recommendations for your new Android device useful, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Parts Two and Three, covering off a variety of other app categories - including games!

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