Keeping track of Android apps can be a huge pain. With the
meteoric rise of Android to the top of the heap 850,000 Android devices
activated a day (and 450,000 apps in the Google Play Store), the landscape is
rapidly changing at an almost breakneck pace. Fortunately for y'all, you've got
a secret weapon on your hands: us. We're tirelessly dedicated to sorting
through the muck, and we've picked some of the best Android apps around. Hop
past the break to see some of Android's latest and hottest apps available
today.
Android has always been a hotbed for weather applications,
and as we put another year behind us, developers consistently upped the ante in
trying to create the perfect weather app.
We settled on 1Weather because of its gorgeous, intuitive
interface, Ice Cream Sandwich-like navigation, and overall ease of use. You've
got all the standard weather information at your fingertips like temperature,
humidity, and precipitation, but you can also add things like the UV index and
dew point.
1Weather can be found in the Google Play Store free of
charge, with an in-app purchase of $1.99 to remove ads.
We've sung mSecure's praises before, and for good reason.
For starters, it uses 256-bit blowfish encryption, so you know your data is
completely and utterly secure.
Next, it keeps all of your passwords, notes, clothing sizes,
and bank information (to name a few), all in one place, so you don't need to go
digging through app after app to find the login you need.
There's also Dropbox cloud sync, which lets you keep your
information in the cloud, which is perfect for device junkies like ourselves.
mSecure is $9.99 in the Google Play Store.
It's been a wild ride for Google Play Music (formerly Google
Music). When it first launched, it was little more than the default music app
installed on Android devices, but it's finally matured into a fully-featured
app worthy of its place on this list.
The selling point? Free cloud storage for 20,000 of your
songs, no questions asked. And if you hit a bad data coverage area? You can
also listen to songs stored on your SD card and make songs from your cloud
locker available for offline listening.Add in tight integration with Google's
push into selling media, and we'd say you have a winner on your hands.
Google Play Music is free in the Google Play Store.
.png "Best Android launcher: Nova Launcher (Prime)")
Yeah, I know it might be an Ice Cream Sandwich-exclusive, but
there's no doubt that Nova Launcher Prime certainly rules the roost in the
launcher replacement department.
It's built off of the native ICS launcher, so it's got great
functionality, plus a whole host of other bells and whistles like changing your
grid size, gesture support, and hiding apps from the app drawer.
The developer, TeslaCoil, has some pretty incredible tricks
coming down the pipe, too, so I'd buy in sooner rather than later.
Nova Launcher is free, and upgrading to Nova Launcher Prime
is $4.00.
Chrome BetaTwo Ice Cream Sandwich-exclusive apps on one
list? This is madness! Really, though, Chrome Beta is here because it handily
earned its spot, and for good reason.
With account syncing, keeping track of all your tabs opened
across all your devices, gestures to move from page-to-page, super quick load
times, and the questionable Incognito mode, what more could you want?
Really though, folks, Chrome Beta is excellent. If you're
using it, you know what I'm saying, and if you can't, you will when you can.
Chrome Beta is free in the Google Play Store.
Go SMS ProEver since the GO team landed on Android, they've
been both creating stellar Android apps and making waves. GO SMS Pro might be
one of the older apps on this list, but that doesn't mean it's any less
deserving.
GO SMS Pro is chock full of little customizations that help
tailor it to you, like custom themes for days, different animations as you
slide from screen-to-screen or menu-to-menu, and multiple conversation style
layouts.
At this point in time, I'd almost argue GO SMS Pro is part
of the Android old guard, and that makes it's listing all the sweeter.
GO SMS Pro is free in the Google Play Store.
PlumeDynasties rise and fall, and the Twitter app field is
already saturated to the brink. Plume has been a crowd (and personal) favorite
for quite some time, but were losing their edge as of late.
Then, in a brilliant move, LevelUp Studio updated Plume with
new, fancy Ice Cream Sandwich design guidelines and effects.
With an extremely easy to use interface, customization out
the wazoo (go colors!), and top-notch notifications, Plume is everything you'll
need in a Twitter clitent.
Plume is free (with ads) or ad-free for $4.99 in the Google
Play Store.
PocketCastsIn the world of the Highlander, there can be only
one. The Android app scene is a bit different, but if I had to pick only one
podcatching app, it'd be PocketCasts.
Search for podcasts you want to listen to, add them to your
list, and PocketCasts will let you know when there's new episodes to be had.
Set it to auto-download, if you so please, and you'll never
have to worry about making sure you've got the latest and greatest for your
listening pleasure.
PocketCasts is $2.99 in the Google Play Store.
IM+You're all hip and cool, Android smartphone in tow, but
what if you need to IM your friends? Enter IM+ for Android.
Like most all-in-one messaging apps, IM+ has an impressive
list of supported services (including our very own Google Talk), and battery
saving push notifications.
Unique to IM+, though, is Beep. Beep is SHAPE's stab at a
BBM/iMessage/Google+ Messenger-type service that's only usable with other IM+
users.
IM+ is free in the Google Play Store.
If you have got any other wonderful Android apps, feel free
to shall your apps with others in the comment part.
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