# Android application recommendations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 26, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029 "2010-07-26T10:15:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029/1 "2010-07-26T10:15:47Z")
Anyone have any apps they care to recommend? I am sure there are dozens of real gems out there that I know nothing about.
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### Author:  [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029/2 "2010-07-26T11:23:23Z")
[This site](http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l%253D252607%2526a%253D252605%2526po%253D0,00.asp?p=n) lists what PC Magazine thinks are the top 30 free Android apps.
I’ve downloaded and really like the following Android apps, all of which are free (but some of which your cellphone’s native apps may already handle):
Advanced Task Killer
Google Navigation (beta)
Dazzle (gives you multiple widgets for controlling your cellphone’s battery drainers, such as WIFI, GPS, Bluetooth, screen brightness, etc)
Battery Widget (displays your current battery charge)
Fractal Explorer (hey, I like fractals)
Schottgunn (turns your cellphone into a shotgun - hey, we can all be silly)
Being a golf addict, I’ve also downloaded and use the Skydroid app which turns your cellphone into a golf course GPS unit. Cost me $1.99 (the only non-free Android app I’ve ever downloaded), but I love it.
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### Author:  [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029/3 "2010-07-26T13:41:55Z")
I’d recommend:
**WaveSecure** (does all sorts of clever things if your phone is lost or stolen)
\*\*Dolphin \*\*browser
**ES File Explorer** (most people recommend Astro, but I prefer ES)
\*\*MixZing \*\*(a very good music player)
**MyBackUp Pro** (backs up everything on your phone and SD card either online or to your SD card)
another vote for **Google Navigation**
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### Author:  [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029/4 "2010-07-26T16:30:03Z")
This is my list of apps that goes on every phone:
Sports Tap
aCar
Handcent (SMS program, I like it much better than the stock one)
Google Voice
Flixter (movies)
Backgammon (paid app, but I used the free version so much that I wanted to support the developer - Odesys
Any Cut
Battery Indicator (widget)
Bubble (because it’s fun, but I’ve never actually needed a level
Flashlight
Google Sky
My Days (truly a woman’s only app)
NPR News
SMS Backup (author Christoph Studer) - will back up your texts to your linked Gmail account
Volume Control (RevoSolutionary Development) - will allow you to you create (3) volume presets (I have work, sleep, and home) and swap between them easily
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### Author:  [@ashenRiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashenRiot)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/android-application-recommendations/548029/5 "2010-07-27T05:50:52Z")
Here are a few of my favorite apps that have not already been mentioned:
3banana (notepad)
Barcode Scanner
Color Flashlight
Point Inside (mall directory)
Shazam
Pandora
ADW Launcher (tricky to setup but truly awesome!)
I also have a tip for you… back out of your apps using back instead of hitting home (exits instead of leaving app in background) and don’t bother with TaskKiller. Let your phone manage it’s own memory, it’s actually pretty good at it. I used to use TaskKiller and constantly had force closes, especially when returning to the home screen. I found this suggestion online, started backing out of apps and removed TaskKiller and since then I’ve had maybe 1 or 2 force closes over the last 3 or 4 months. YMMV but it worked for my girlfriend too…