Over the course of 2011, the Android Market has exploded with growth. The Market has reached over 10 Billion downloads and is gaining momentum by the day. Because of all the growth in for the Android OS, it can be difficult to find the most best applications for your needs. Below is a list of the most heavily downloaded applications in 2011.
Best of Games
1. Ant Smasher
Ant Smasher is a game that kids love. There are also a lot of videos on YouTube showing animals like Frogs and Dragons playing the game. The basis of the game is to squish all of the bugs that appear on the screen.
2. Angry birds
Angry birds is one of the most popular mobile games of all time. It has even transitioned into stuffed toys so you can throw them around the house.
3. Fruit Slice
Fruit Slice is a surprisingly addictive game. It is simple in theory, but can be pretty challenging too. You need to chop all of the fruit being thrown into the air while avoiding the evil looking bombs.
4. Defender
Your job is to defend the castle against the waves of attackers. You have a bow and arrow as your main weapon, but also have spells and other weapons you can buy and unlock.
5. NinJump
In this game, you start as a ninja running up a building. you need to jump over to the other building to avoid and kill your enemies. If you get hit or run into a balcony, you will fall to your demise.
Best of Productivity
6. Evernote
Evernote is a great note taking application. It allows access from pretty much anywhere with an internet connection. You can not only type in a note, but you can enter in audio notes, take pictures, make check lists and more. Evernote is like the Twitter of note management apps. There isn’t a right or a wrong way to use it, just your way.
7. Dropbox
Dropbox is pretty awesome. It lets you have 2GB of free storage with the option to add more. You can really use the storage however you choose. I keep everything I may need while away from my computer; files, a few songs, eBooks, etc. Being able to share files like a generic contract or resume while on the go is really handy.
8. GO Launcher EX
While Go Launcher Ex is the base application, there are a lot of other applications and widgets by the Go Launcher Dev Team. We have talked about Go Launcher Ex before. It is one of the smoothest operating, most versatile launchers out there; and it’s free too.
9. Google Goggles
Google Goggles offers a lot of handy features. Features like scraping the information off a business card and importing it into your contact list or even solves a Sudoku puzzles in the newspapers snapping a quick picture of the puzzle.
10. Battery Widget
While some may disagree with a Battery Widget being a productivity app, It sure makes it easier to get an exact amount of battery life versus that little battery meter in your notification bar.
Best of Photography
11. PhotoWonder
PhotoWonder is a pretty simple photo enhancing app. You can add some effects as you can with other apps. However, with PhotoWonder, you can enlarge eye, create collages and make it look like the picture you took was sketched.
12. PicSay – Photo Editor
PicSay lets you add annotations, text and effects to your pictures. There is also the option to change the saturation, tint and other editing tools to make the picture look great.
13. FxCamera
FxCamera strictly adds effects to pictures you take. The Fisheye and SymmetriCam can be fun for pictures you upload to your social accounts.
14. Adobe Photoshop Express
This version of Photoshop for Android is a very lite application. By that I mean it is not even close to the desktop application. It is however, a very cool mobile photo editing app. You can crop, add effects and edit the tint, saturation or even convert the picture to black and white.
Best of Music
15. Pandora
Pandora is a very easy to use streaming music application. The way it works is, you choose an artist or song and Pandora will play that artist and others who sound similar. So if you create a station to play Pink Floyd, you will also hear The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull.
16. Shazam
Have you ever been listening to the radio and heard a song you like but don’t know who sings it? Fire up Shazam will listen to the song and tell you who sings it. You will also see places to buy the song and you can search YouTube for the video.
17. TuneIn Radio
TuneIn Radio streams live local radio stations as well as internet radio stations and podcasts from all over the world. Great for people who travel and want to hear local stations from back home or if you want to see what songs are popular halfway around the world.
19. Slacker Radio
Slacker Radio is similar to Pandora. You can create your own stations, listen to a genre or listen to one of the preprogrammed stations.
Best of Social
20. Tango Voice & Video Calls
Tango lets you make free audio and video calls to other users. You can talk to anyone between Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and PCs. In one of the most recent updates, you now can leave video messages for someone.
21. myYearbook
myYearbook is an app to meet people near you. It is geared toward the teenage crowd. You can add pictures of yourself, buy items for your page or others with L$. You have the choice to see people near you or sift through everyone on the site when you are looking for new people.
22. Facebook for Android
The Facebook app for Android is becoming more like the website with every update. You can use Facebook chat, check in, send and receive messages, upload pictures and a lot more.
23. Google+
The Google+ application is getting better all the time. If you take a picture on your Android, you can have it instantly upload to your Google+ pictures (optional). Group messaging and being able to easily group people in circles are unique features for Google+.
24. TiKL – Touch To Talk
TiKL is a walkie-talkie app that works over the internet. Aside from having a device with TiKL installed and internet access, you do not need anything special to be able to chat with someone. You can chat with individuals or groups either by instant messenger or the push to talk feature.
25. TweetCaster for Twitter
TweetCaster is a Twitter app that offers a lot of features. You can narrow your Twitter searches with smart search, post to Twitter and Facebook at the same time, access multiple Twitter accounts and “Zip” (silence) people from your feed without unfollowing them to name a few features.
Conclusion
There are hundreds of thousands of applications in the Android Market. These few applications are not even the tip of the iceberg, they are a snowball on the tip of the iceberg. The best way I have seen to find applications is to search for something you need, download it and try it.
What are your most recommended Android applications for 2011?
Trevor is a freelance writer covering topics ranging from the Android OS to free web and desktop applications. When he is not writing about mobile productivity, He is coaching and playing the world’s greatest game… Soccer.
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