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40 Free and Useful Android Apps

40 Free and Useful Android Apps
By
Freebies for Android Junkies

Welcome to our latest installment of our favorite free apps for Android devices!

The majority of apps available through Google Play, the online software catalog for Google's smartphone and tablet platform, are free. The true challenge is sorting the gold from the dross. Here's a list of 40 apps we've tried and loved. Hopefully you will too, especially since they'll cost you absolutely nothing to acquire.

See our full selection of Android Apps

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There are 38 Comments.
Other Comments
  • 1
    misry , August 19, 2011 10:14 PM
    I like the flashlight app!

    What can I say, new apps are getting few and far between. :/ 
  • 0
    killerclick , August 19, 2011 10:27 PM
    Yeah, only the flashlight seems useful for me, everything else is meh...
  • 0
    killerclick , August 19, 2011 10:30 PM
    Apps are a soon-to-be-dead concept anyway as HTML5 becomes widely supported. Who wants to write a separate app for every device out ther when they can have HTML5 apps that work on all phone OSes, Windows, OS X, Linux, etc?
  • 0
    Zagen30 , August 20, 2011 3:41 AM
    My friends laughed when I showed them flashlight app, but evidently it's not as stupid as they thought.
  • 3
    Userremoved , August 20, 2011 9:04 AM
    killerclickApps are a soon-to-be-dead concept anyway as HTML5 becomes widely supported. Who wants to write a separate app for every device out ther when they can have HTML5 apps that work on all phone OSes, Windows, OS X, Linux, etc?

    So you're saying all applications are obsolete because of HTML5? That's silly if that were true Flash would have done that years ago. Apps are good because most don't need an internet connection.
  • 0
    killerclick , August 20, 2011 7:56 PM
    UserremovedSo you're saying all applications are obsolete because of HTML5? That's silly if that were true Flash would have done that years ago. Apps are good because most don't need an internet connection.


    You need an internet connection to download them and then may or may not need internet connection to run those apps. Similar with HTML5, it will be able to store data thanks to the cache manifest feature.
    As for Flash, it's still alive because of the wide market penetration and its portability. Compared to the number of Flash enabled devices (including PCs), Android and iOS have a much smaller user base and will be replaced quite easily and quickly.
  • 3
    summitflier , October 8, 2011 2:27 AM
    If HTML5 really does replace apps, what web servers will these apps live on? Will the carriers be able to handle all this increased bandwidth? Do you really trust all your data to live in the "cloud" on someone's web server/database, or would you rather have it local on your device? What happens to all the handset app developers, there are hundreds of app developers for iPhones and android. Sure this causes a lot of duplication of apps, but we the consumers get to decide which apps are good and which are bad, what happens when you are forced to go to a specific HTML5 site,, and have no choice, what happens to the economy of all the app developers? Seems like a bad idea on many levels.
  • 0
    anonymous@guest , January 27, 2012 6:59 AM
    The problem with Tiny Flashlight + LED is that it wants too much information. It wants to read phone state and identity - that means it's giving out not only your phone number, but the phone number of the person you talk to if the app is active during a call. It makes sense that it wants to control the flashlight, but control the camera?

    I say find yourself a more privacy friendly flashlight tool. I use TeslaLED. It has a slightly weird GUI, but it has more respect for your privacy.
  • 0
    jaksun5 , January 27, 2012 12:53 PM
    The doom wallpaper doesn't count as 'useful'
  • 0
    brickman , January 27, 2012 8:05 PM
    Looking into buying my 1st tablet.
    Been looking around Android apps and sad to see there are so many flashlight apps. They claim theirs is brighter than the others... also HD light! Very pathetic I think.
  • 0
    anonymous@guest , April 11, 2012 4:44 PM
    Nice list. I use MedDose- medication reminder. it’s for free. Nice app. Reminders work great. I use it daily. You can find it on android market
  • 0
    catchercradle , June 21, 2012 9:05 PM
    So many apps don't seem to work on my aging htc hero. I might get interested when I upgrade. ( only have this phone because I was given it by someone who upgraded.)
  • 0
    ibboard , June 21, 2012 10:34 PM
    Somewhat "meh" list with some apps that are of a type that can be useful but aren't the best. I'm not even sure things like Instagram are at all useful.

    Don't bother with the unit conversion app, try Unit Converter (or Unit Converter Lite if you want to drop the Internet permission at the loss of the currency exchange).

    Why use the stock Twitter client? Twicca is way better for me - stylish, useful and extensible via plugins.

    I'd be interested to know how many of these are truly free and how many (like every single torch app I've seen) runs adverts and so needs an Internet connection permission (or more...like position!)
  • 0
    anonymous@guest , June 22, 2012 2:59 PM
    Is phone usgae apps capable to measure 2G data usage?????
    if yes then how!!!
    if NO then suggest the better apps pls......
  • 0
    marclee37 , June 23, 2012 6:02 AM
    does anyone know where is the original market enabler? not the one introduced in this article. original one has complete carrier list for choose, interface is much sophisticated. i can select whatever carrier i thought of. now this "new" market enabler only have a handful of carriers to choose (13 only)
  • 0
    darkchazz , June 23, 2012 9:57 AM
    "Quadrant"
    Hey Tom's... That's a really HORRIBLE choice for a benchmark, it is unreliable...
    There are far better choices, such as antutu, or better yet, cf-bench...
    There's also nenamark2, a great graphics benchmark.
  • -1
    anonymous@guest , June 24, 2012 8:59 PM
    Does HTML5 support GPS, gyroscopic sensors, cameras management, multi-touches sensors managements, wifi managment, blue-tooth management, and other device hardware managements like apps would have access to?
  • 0
    virtualban , June 25, 2012 5:17 PM
    "Sexy Vibes", that is *coughs* useful *coughs*

    On a serious note, though, "LED Light" I have found useful because the flash can stay on even when moving away from the App that started it, so I can start camera and record video with light.
  • 0
    Wolvan , June 25, 2012 8:13 PM
    Swiftkey rules the aftermarket keyboard for a reason. Its an outstanding keyboard that even my wife loves. Newest version just hit the market (3).
  • 0
    anonymous@guest , August 21, 2012 8:49 AM
    With me Android have more useful
    I can use it to store my business card with app of Cardfila.com
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