Here is a list of top free Android apps for September 2011. All of these were personally tested on Android phones.
There are over 300,000 apps available in the Android Market, most of these apps being free as Google has a higher percentage of free apps compared to other app stores. Apple’s App Store comes in second with only 28% free applications.
Android’s market share in the US soared from 36.4% in April 2011 to 41.8% in July 2011 recording a 5.4% growth according to the latest comScore smartphone report. Now that Google acquired Motorola Mobility (less patent bullying from competitors) and the Samsung Galaxy S2 finally launches in the US (after being available in more that 100 countries) Android’s market share is expected to continue growing.
The following list is similar to the August top 20 Android apps list and contains only free entries unless stated otherwise. The apps are listed in a random order.
- Lookout Mobile Security
The first app that you should install on your phone is a security suite. LMS is a featured packed security solution that will keep malware away from your device. There are also other providers like AVG and Symantec if you are unsatisfied with this app. I have used it since the second half of 2010 and have never had a problem since. You should be aware that there are trojans and other malware in the wild that have the ability to read information from your phone and even charge your bill by sending SMS messages.
- YouTube
This is Google’s official YouTube app. You can use it to view and post videos on YouTube. The latest version, 2.2.16, includes some bug fixes for several devices.
- Tiny Flashlight + LED
This app will come in handy in dark places if you have no other source of light. It allows you to use the phone’s LED flash as a flashlight. If your phone isn’t equipped with a LED camera flash you can take advantage of screen light (by making all your screen white). You can also use Police lights, warning lights and others.
- Gmail
Gmail is the Android app for the popular web based email service that Google offers for free.
- Battery Indicator
This app shows your exact battery load percentage and also displays helpful information like temperature, voltage and time since running on battery.
The Facebook app allows you to share pictures with your friends, make Wall posts, change Status and most of the functionality that you would get by using a web browser.
Twitter is, as the name suggests, the Android client of the popular micro blogging platform. Version 2.1.2 includes account settings updates, translation updates, improvements and bug fixes.
- Google+
As Google+ is still in development it is not yet available for the large audiences. You will need an invitation in order to join (similar to the beginning of Gmail). You have the ability to use Circles so that you can share with exactly the right people. You can see your friends updates using Stream. Instant upload lets you immediately share media. Huddle is a feature that lets you instant message to every one in your circles. Version 1.0.6 let’s you reshare a post, increases support for a total of 38 languages and also contains bug fixes and performance optimizations.
- Market Enabler
If your phone is rooted you can use Market Enabler in order to circumvent restrictions of Android Market in some countries or in some cases, some telephony providers. The app works by temporarily changing the SIM issuer code so that you can download apps from the Android Market that would otherwise be restricted.
- Google Docs
Google Docs is the Android app for accessing the online productivity suite. With Docs you can create, edit view and share documents. You can also take pictures of your paper documents and transfer the to the cloud using the embedded OCR engine. Version 1.0.16 extends support to 46 languages, let’s you open documents with compatible apps installed on your phone and let’s you send documents as email attachments.
This app lets you connect with more than 120 million professionals comprising the LinkedIn network. Version 2.0.1 fixes some issues reported by users.
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NASA App
Fascinated by space? The official NASA Android app offers access great photos and videos from NASA missions. In addition to this you also get mission information, NASA TV content, launch info and countdown clocks and lots of other great stuff.
- Kindle for Android
This app gives you access to the exact same content that you would be able to access by owning a Kindle. There are over 950,000 books available in the Amazon Kindle store. There are also lots of free books, ebooks, newspapers and magazines up for the grabs.
- SoundHound
SoundHound is a service similar to Shazam. It lets you record a bit of music that you hear on the radio or TV or whatever external source. It then sends it automatically to their Internet servers after which the name and artist of the tune appears on screen. It let’s you share info about the identified track, search for the YouTube video and others.
- AccuWeather
AccuWeather is a service that provides weather information and forcasts.
Tags: Android, android apps, apps, free android apps, Google, phone
