Android Apps

With the announcement and release of a web-based Android App store (http://market.android.com/) this week, I thought I would take a minute to talk about Android Apps.

There are now around 50,000+ Android Apps out there...  Some are great, some are good, some are bad, and some are down right ugly.  This is mostly due to the fact that anyone (absolutely anyone) can develop apps these days and unlike the Apple App Store, which has an approval process for apps before they are per-se open to the public, the Google/Android App Store does not.  This means -- that even some one that just touched a computer for the first time this week could be creating an app that you will eventually download because it "looks good" or because it "does want I need it to do".  But this app, although not intentionally written to malicious, could just be writing very poorly -- meaning crashes, lock-ups, or even data loss on your Android Device.

So how do you tell which apps are good or bad?  Well, for the most part you can't, without downloading them and then finding out.  Some apps have been rated or commented on which can help, but not always.

Here is a list of some of the apps that I've used -- some I use regularly, some I've downloaded, run once, then discarded: (Feel free to add a comment with your own list or if there is a type of app that you are looking for and want me to research it let me know)

Top of the List
- Lookout -- Security/Malicious Scan for your Android Apps (I use the premium version -- $30/year)
- TweetDeck -- Same Social Network App that's available for Desktops
- Firefox -- although this is officially still in beta, I still think it's the best browser out there
- AK Notepad - Small Notepad type app
- Bump - Allows you to share contacts, apps, pictures, etc with other people easily -- just literally "Bump"
- YouVersion Bible -- Best Bible App out there
- BuzzBox -- Simple RSS App to read news from several resources on the net
- MyTasks - a simple todo list
- ScreenOn - allows you to set your screen to stay on when certain events happen (ex. A Phone call)

These are my top.  Now there are several other apps that I use regularly and I will add them here sometime over the weekend.  The other apps that are good right off the bat are those where the publisher is the company that you are looking for.  NOTE: NEVER!!!  NEVER!!! NEVER, Download or use an app that is made for a well-known company that is not published by that well-known company.  For Example: right now there are several apps out there for Netflix, but none of them are written by Netflix the Company -- hold off, wait for the "official app".  I'm not saying that these others are bad, but they are more likely to be versus an official app.

Some of the companies that I know about that have written official apps are:
Amazon (standard app, kindle app, mp3 app), Audible, Best Buy, Chase Bank, ebay, fandango, Kayak, Barnes&Noble Nook App, Pandora, Skype, Target, UPS, and Walgreens.

Again I'm certain there are more official apps out there, but these are the ones that I'm aware of right now.

Happy hunting for your Android Apps -- I will add more to the list soon.