9 free must-have apps to pimp your Android phone

By | August 13

android_pimp The Android platform is gaining popularity every day and so are its applications. More and more applications are being added and keeping track of them can be really difficult. Especially if you are looking for apps which are useful and not only fun.

I have been using my Android (HTC Magic) for almost 3 months now and would like to present you my 10 must-have applications.

1. Battery Widget

  • Displays the battery status on the desktop (1-100% indicator)
  • If you click the icon you can toggle WIFI and GPS. Which is really cool as you do not require additional widgets for that.
  • Takes only 1×1 space on the desktop

2. NewsRob

  • Snycronizes your Google reader account with your phone
  • Automaically downloads (text, pictures, etc.) all articles for offline use
  • Notification about new articles in the notification bar (can be configured per feed)
  • Sharing, starring and keeping unread options are available
  • Very good performance and regulary updated! Great if you wanna read your news on the go and get it synced back into Google reader.

3. Sticky Memo Widget

  • Place sticky notes on your desktop
  • Sticky notes can take any size you want
  • Very useful for quick notes, reminders, todos, songs you need to download, books you need to buy, etc.
  • Compared to others it wins because of its simplicity. It just does what it should do “bringing notes to my desktop”

4. handyCalc

  • Powerful calculator with functions you’ve been dreaming of at school
  • Function solving, drawing graphs, unit & currency converting as well as basic arithmetical operation.
  • Even it is fully loaded with functionality it is easy to use.

5. Facebook Sync

  • Adds the persons facebook profile picture to your contact (if on your phone)
  • I just love this app as all my contacts are always up to date with the persons preferred profile picture.
  • Matches by firstname and lastname.
  • Really reliable.

6. Shazam

  • You are in a club and need to know which song is being played? Turn on Shazaam, let it listen for some seconds and it will tell you.
  • This application surprises me everyday. Why? Because it just works great! Even tried it on DJ mixes and it worked.

7. Skype

  • Not much to say here. It’s Skype in BETA.
  • Big drawback: Your account is charged if someone calls you.

8. PicPush

  • Allows you to post pictures to an online service such as Picasa, flickr, facebook, shutterfly, SmugMug, photobucket and Gallery.
  • Once setup you can “push” photos directly from your phones gallery or file system.
  • Fully configurable

9. Trap!

  • Oh my god, this is just my favorite game and I totally recommend it.
  • Draw lines with your finger to capture the screen while being carful of moving balls.
  • Lots of different power ups which make the game interesting.
  • Crack my highscore 3.796.665 (normal mode)