Cool List

This page contains useful applications with a short description and a link to their PlayStore pages.

Some applications appear twice under different categories, as they are multifacetted like that.

info_outline This list is in the process of being updated, from ancient 2010 apps to a current 2016 listing.

NB: I'm not endorsed by any of these applications; they are just being extremely handy, great to have or otherwise amusing. I am not responsible for whatever those applications do to your device or otherwise. See it as a repository or treasurebox for your Android phone. All of the applications in this list are free. There may exists paid versions of the programs with more features, so be sure to discover gems on your own. Also, there might be a donationware version available to thank the author for a job well done.

Development

Emulation

Games

• Abduction! - Save your abducted cow friends by jumping up the platforms
• Andoku - sudoku game
• Armadillo Roll - 3D racing game rolling an armadillo down a track
• Bonsai Blast - shoot to match colored balls in groups of 3 or more
• Flood-It! - simple yet addictive strategy game in which you have to flood the whole game board with one color in less than the allowed steps
• Graviturn - tilt your phone to move the red balls out of the screen while keeping the green balls
• Mario Simulator - bounce around to the sound of Mario jumps and coins
• Pong - Pong!
• Replica Island - Professor Kabochanomizu needs your help! He has created you--a small green robot with rockets for feet--to locate a mysterious artifact on a bizarre island. Fly, stomp, and roll your way through 40 challenging levels to 3 unique endings

Location based info, tracking and GPS various

• Compass - compass application using the electronic compass in the phone
• Foursquare - keep track of your habits, parties and other interesting places
• Google Sky Map - show the stars and find other celestial bodies
• GPS Speedo - speedometer using gps information
• GPS Status - shows the position, number and signal strength of GPS satellites. Check your position, GPS accuracy, speed, acceleration and bearing
• Here I Am - find and send your current location
• Layar - show information about the area surrounding you; many layers available, like house prices, bars etc. Really nice augmented reality application
• Location Log - stores locations and allows you to view them on google maps or navigate to them using radar
• Movies and Showtimes - Show information about movies, like IMDb ratings, trailers, nearby theaters, and more
• My Tracks - records your GPS tracks and shows live statistics such as time, speed, distance, and elevation - while hiking, cycling, running or participating in other outdoor activities
• Places Directory - allows you to browse nearby places in categories like Restaurants, Movie Theaters and Hotels
• Wikitude - similar augmented reality application as Layar, but by the community

Networking, communication

For applications like a wifi analyser, see Tools.

• Androbex - allows sharing files (Audio, Images and Videos) and contacts by sending them over bluetooth using OBEX push
• AndChat - formerly known as AndroidIRC, this is a great IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client
• ConnectBot - ssh client
• Droidwall - firewall. It allows unrestricted WiFi access, however it blocks all access over the cellular network unless you add the application to the whitelist.
• EStrongs File Explorer - great file manager with build-in task manager, zip support, FTP and SMB (windows network), and more
• Hyves - Hyves client (social network)
• Linked - LinkedIn client
• Meebo IM - Instant Messaging client
• Seesmic - clean, feature rich Twitter client
• Sipdroid - VoIP client: place and receive voice calls over the internet through the phone's dialer
• Tunneldroid - OpenVPN connection manager with authentication prompt. OpenSource.
• Twicca - clean, feature rich Twitter client; you can colour-code the contacts
• wpToGo - Edit Wordpress weblog from your phone

News, information, weather etc.

• Het Weer - great Dutch weather app, including Buienradar images and more
• NewsRob - (offline) google (rss)reader client
• NU - nu.nl client, which also has tv guide etc
• TED - enjoy inspiring and edifying tedtalks from the technology, entertainment and design (ted) conferences on your android phone
• NOS Teletekst - Dutch tv teletext application
• Tvgids.tv Nederland - tv guide for Dutch TV (nicer and more extensive than the NU application has)
• Wapedia - the fastest way to access the 3 million articles of wikipedia on your phone

Productivity

• ColorDict - dictionaries, from thesauri to wikipedia addon
• Detexify - write the character on the screen and let it find out the TeX code
• Share Your Board - capture a whiteboard with the camera and make it into a readable image (de-warp, enhance contrast etc)

Phone admin

• Astro File Manager - great file manager with build-in task manager, zip support and more
• Battery Graph - graph the load state of your phone's battery
• CallTrack - CallTrack logs your phone activity to your Google Calendar
• EStrongs File Explorer - great file manager with build-in task manager, zip support, FTP and SMB (windows network), and more
• EStrongs Task Manager - task manager
• Linda File Manager - another file manager
• Locale - change settings and do other things based on time, location and more
• NetMeter - measures network traffic and cpu utilization. can be used to see if something is going on in the background, which might be draining the battery
• NetSentry - network traffic alert system for the android operating system
• Phonalyzr - show information about the calling history
• Quick System Info - Quick access of the basic system information for your Android platform, including information for CPU, memory, SD Card, running processes and installed applications
• SMS Backup & Restore - A simple App to backup and restore SMS Messages. Backup is stored in /sdcard/SMSBackupRestore folder. Now with Scheduled Backups
• Spare Parts - extra settings
• Task Manager - manage open applications and processes
• TaskPanel - (auto)kill background tasks. Includes widget
• Timeriffic - set mute, wifi settings etc based on time of the day
• Titanium Backup - backup all your apps, settings including market link etc. Requires root
• Xtremelabs Speedtest - test internet connection speed

Shopping, collections

• My Collection Pro - Manage your collection of DVD, Blu-Ray, XBox, PS3, Wii, books, Music CD, and other media you own and who you loan them too.
• Pricewatch Scanner - scan barcode of technical item and compare prices in the Tweakers pricewatch
• SnapTell - snap a picture of the cover of any book, dvd, cd, or video game sold in the us, and within seconds get links to amazon, google, youtube, wikipedia,...

Tools

• Aldiko Book Reader - Read and download thousands of books right on your Android phone. Browse huge catalogs of ebooks (most for FREE) or import your own ePub files
• Barcode Scanner - scan 1D and 2D barcodes and qr-codes
• BeeTagg - scan 1D and 2D barcodes and qr-codes
• Bubble - spirit level (NL: waterpas)
• Dropbox - now you can browse the files in your Dropbox folder from anywhere
• FBReader - ebook reader
• handyCalc - super complete and really great designed calculator and equation solver. Even does unit and currency conversions
• MyBackup - (30 day trial) Backup your data, to SD or server
• OI Safe - password manager
• SDrescan - force rescan of the SD card (helps against mediaplayers and such not getting update metadata)
• Shazam - recognise music playing around you
• ShootMe - screen grabber (screenshot tool)
• Wifi Analyzer - Shows the Wi-Fi channels around you. Helps you to find a less crowded channel for your wireless router.

Toys

• Comic viewer - read comics in CBZ/ZIP, CBR/RAR (beta), ACV, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF files

• Frodo C64 - Commodore64 emulator
• gStrings - chromatic tuner application measuring sound pitch and intensity
• Kids Paint - paint with your fingers on the screen
• Magic Marker - simple touch-paint program for writing and drawing neon-style on a black background
• Meridian - advanced Video/Music player. Search lyric, subtitle, gesture, ID3 edit, rating, extra info, and more
• Metal Detector - turns your cell phone into a metal detector, and makes people with iphones jealous
• Ringdroid - create your own ringtone by editing a music track in your library, or record a new one directly from the phone
• Robotic Guitar - Play guitar on your screen
• Steamy Window - get your phone steamy with this hot new app. The steam covers the whole screen and you can wipe it off again with your fingers