My Top 15 Android Apps
Published on Aug 12, 2009 (updated Sep 20, 2023), filed under misc (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)
This post is partially outdated.
This is a serious post, not one of those “the 1,000 best blah” ones. I think. I’m an Android user for a bit longer than December 2008, and I love my HTC Magic as much as the HTC Dream (aka G1) which replaced my BlackBerry Curve.
Just like with iPhone apps there are gazillions of Androids apps. The vast majority of them are… ahem I reckon, yet there are of course some “you cannot live without.” Despite being an apps purist, here are my 15 favorite apps, in alphabetical order:
AK Notepad: Always handy. I use it to store rather short notes; on my last U.S. trip, for instance, I used AK Notepad to maintain a list of all the towns and cities I visited (which then landed on the TripAdvisor map I cannot link directly).
AppManager: Very useful to manage applications, including SD card interactions. I only pull it out every once in a while, but it proved to be good to have already.
Barcode Scanner: Not that I use this one that often, either, but when I do I find it cool and fun. Beware of those QR codes. (Unless you generate them yourself… shouting out to UITest.com’s code generator section.)
Battery Widget: Can be a life saver for both humans and batteries. Quick access to the worst battery suckers. One of the few apps that actually made it on my phone’s home screen.
ConnectBot: That probably doesn’t need any further comment.
ES File Explorer: Not sure whether there aren’t any better tools for phone file management (and whether the link is actually correct), but I’m happy about ES File Explorer every time I have to make my hands dirty to clean up my phone.
Finance: So much about money.
Hiker: To be honest, I haven’t really used this one that often. I’m somehow sure it will prove valuable though. It combines a few great tools, some I actually installed separately in the past, like compass and pedometer.
Phonalyzr: First step to get to my grand goal of being confronted with my life stats once I die. Like to see friends catch up in my call lists, or setting goals to “decrease the number of missed calls by n%.”
Robo Defense: Oh gosh. This game is so addictive. Addictive as in so addictive. I’ll have to uninstall it… soon.
Sky Map: Just discovered this one… and it blew me away the instant I started it, at night. I love it.
SnapPhoto: I just like all the options, it seems to really enhance the system camera. Neat.
Trap: Got followed by Robo Defense as my favorite Android game, but it’s still great. Addictive, too. I learned a few tricks, most likely tricks just everyone already knows, but yet I might share them, one day, maybe.
Twidroid: Hah. Go tweet something, too!
The Weather Channel: Useful almost every morning. Instead of firing up my Mac I’d just open this app to check for the weather. Dress accordingly, I suggest.
Update (August 17, 2014)
This was 2009. 4 of these 15 apps have survived on my phone (ES File Explorer, Finance, Phonalyzr, and Sky Map), though Sky Map I only downloaded again during my travels. In any case, I just updated all app links, where I could, to point to Google Play. And I took a mental note to write an update to this.
Update (March 29, 2017)
In the eight years following this post, my favorites changed.
About Me
I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you’ve never heard of and companies you use every day, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)