10 Must-Have Android Apps

You have heard so much about Android from your friends and the Internet that you go and buy your own Android phone. Now the first thing you want to do is download an App! So you go to the Android Marketplace and voila! 400000+ Apps await you. Which app should you choose? Confused?? That's why I have made a list of Apps that you should download and use. I am excluding social networking apps like Facebook and Twitter because everyone knows about them and infact so many people test their marketplace by downloading the Facebook app for the first time! So it will be a waste of space if I include them in my list:

1. Viber : This app lets you call and message anyone in the world for free! The person you want to contact should have this app installed and of course should be connected to the Internet at that time. The voice quality is amazing and the UI is also very easy to use. The best part is that you don't have to register anywhere to use this app. You just have to enter your phone number ,so that you can be recognised by your friends using Viber. It automatically reads your contacts and checks if any of your friend is using Viber , and then informs you about it. Currently it is available only on Android and iOS, so you can use it to contact your android and iPhone friends. The only drawback is the absence of video calling. If you want to make video calls ,then you should checkout Skype.
   
2. GPS Essentials : As described on the marketplace , it is the Swiss army knife of GPS navigation! This App has very unique UI and allows you place as many as 45 widgets on it such as Speed,Accuracy,Altitude,Battery level,Satellites,Time,etc. You can use it check the accuracy of your GPS position or use it as Compass. You can also use it to measure distance between two points,create tracks,manage them and also view them on Google Maps. An extremely handy App.
   
          
            
   
3. Win-Remote: This App is extremely useful for people who want to use their smartphone as a remote for their PC. This app converts your smartphone into a wireless PC remote which can be used to perform tasks like exploring the contents of your PC,opening files,deleting files,copying files,opening applications such Internet Explorer,Windows Media Center,Notepad,etc. This app also acts as a mouse , providing you with a full touchpad with Multi-touch capabilities such as pinch-to-zoom along with Left-Click and Right-Click buttons. The best feature of this app is Remote Desktop which gives a Live view of your laptop on your smartphone.There are so many features of this app that it cannot be listed here, you have to go to the marketplace to see them. So next time you have a Power-Point Presentation in you office or college, no need to carry a wireless mouse to change slides,just use your smartphone! This app connects to your PC or laptop using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
   
     
   
4. Lock Screen Agenda : With this app you can put all your calendar agenda on your lock screen. You don't have to again and again unlock your phone,go to the calendar app to view your appointments. Simply check them out on your unlock screen! It displays your agenda in a very clean and simple way. Their are loads of customisation options such as changing the colours,transparency,etc. You can also enable it to view weather forecast on your lock screen along with your agenda.

5. Jeannie : So your friend just bought an iPhone 4s and showed you its famous artificial personal assisstant , Siri. Jealous? Don't be because Jeannie is here! Jeannie is best replacement for Siri on android. She is cute(:D),witty,has a sense of humour and is very intelligent! Talk to her,share jokes with her,insult her,apologise to her, do as many things as you can and she will respond back! You can do things like setting alarms,sending text messages,opening applications like facebook,opening any URL,searching google,etc. There a whole list of what it can do on their marketplace page.If you are getting bored,talk to her and I am sure she will cheer you up. 9/10 times she recognises what you are saying but there times when she doesn't understand you at all! Well you cannot blame Jeannie for this as it uses Google's Speech Recognition engine which is sometimes efficient and sometimes not! If you don't like this app you might want to check out Iris (which is not as good as Jeannie!).
6. HDR Camera : Not happy with you phone's dull photos? Then HDR Camera is for you. This produces High Dynamic Range photos with excellent colours and contrast. It takes 2-3 images at a time and combines them to produce a full-resolution image with amazing colours and contrast. You can controll settings such as exposure,contrast,noise,etc.

7. Lookout Antivirus : The first thing you want to do with your smartphone is to protect it from malwares and viruses. Lookout Antivirus does just that. It scans every application you download and report threats if any. It also provides features such as Remote Locate,Remote Screem and BackUp & Restore. Other features are also there but they are limited to the paid version only. It is a very nice app with a clean and simple UI.
8. Little Photo : With this app you can apply loads of effects on your pictures. There are other alternatives available in the marketplace but this app outshines others. The effects are very realistic trues. The interface is very simple and simple to use. There are over 70 effects like B&W,Grain,Blur,Sketch,etc. You can add effects,save it and share the image from the app itself.

9. Launcher 7 : If your are bored with the android's homescreen look, then you should definately try this launcher app. With this launcher, you can get Windows Phone 7's famous Metro UI on your phone. You can change the colour of the tiles, pin tiles,change the position of the tiles,few animated tiles,landscape support,etc. The UI is smooth and provides the actual feel of WP7's metro UI. If you are in favour of the Homscreens Look, then you should try Go Launcher.
   
10. Google Goggles : You see something but don't know what is? Or you want to read something important but its written in some other language? Don't worry! Just point your camera and let Google Goggles help you! This app analyses an image and finds all information about it. You can also use it as a barcode scanner. A must have for travellers!

All the apps I have included are available free of cost (or free with advertisements) in the marketplace.
So go ahead and try these apps and enjoy your android phone!