10 Coolest Android Apps for 2011

By popular demand! Here is the list of ten coolest Android apps that I use most frequently on my Galaxy 3 (i5801).

Disclaimer: This is a personalized list. I do not claim the apps listed here within are best of the lot.  Also, installing and testing new apps from Android Market is my hobby, so the list may get enhanced / updated from time to time..

A) Management

All Samsung Smartphone users are aware of the extremely problematic, unreliable and buggy piece of software known as Kies. After searching for numerous alternatives, I zeroed on following apps to easily browse and manage my phone contents.

1. Remote Web Desktop: No matter how big your phone screen is, it certainly can’t be bigger than your desktop monitor! :) This app allows you to remotely utilize your smartphone’s functionality in a web browser, through WiFi connection on your PC. It offers a convenient and eye-pleasing GUI and lets you browse and send SMS, set wallpaper, manage multimedia content and more. Also includes WiFi keyboard utility. Truly outstanding!

Alternative-

* SwiFTP FTP Server: Simply configure your phone as an FTP server and browse + manage the contents using a web-browser. A no-frills alternative to remote web desktop mentioned above.

B) Security

Do you wish to protect personal / sensitive info from your nosy friends and colleagues? Now you can selectively lock things such as Messaging, Contacts, Gallery, Camera and anything else with one the following security apps. *Do not forget to EXCLUDE security apps from Task Killers!! *

2. App Locker II: Made by the same intelligent developers of Remote Web Desktop, this security app simulates a fake app crash when someone tries to access what they rather should not. You can customize this behavior as per your liking. Highly recommended! Free version allows only 3 lockable apps.    

Alternatives-

* Carrot App Lock: Password protect up to 3 lockable apps in the free version with no suggestive "this is locked!" prompts. Also includes a desktop widgets for fast locking. Recommended for newbies…   

* Smart app Protector Free: Similar to Carrot App, but free version allows up to 4 locakable apps and more customization options.

C)  System Tools

3. Sense Analog Clock: Mimics the Sense analog clock look and feel of HTC Smartphones very closely. Couple that with additional info of battery level, available memory, internal storage and SDCard storage, makes this essentially a 5-in-1 app. Very handy and available in many variants! Includes optional weather info too…

4. My Settings: Control all the most frequently used settings in one convenient full-screen view, via toggle buttons. While Galaxy 3 already has a pull-down menu that allows WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth toggle, this app ALSO gives you toggle buttons for brightness, auto-rotate, flight mode, auto-sync and many more. 

5. Easy Answer: Do not like the slider bar for accepting and rejecting calls? Use this app to replace it with (somewhat too) large buttons!

6. JuiceDefender: Given the generally weak battery life of most of the smartphones, this app is one of the MOST essential ones. Users have reported to gain up to 40% more battery life with this app..

7. Battery Indicator: After trying Juice Defender (or others), you need some sort to a indicator to know whether its actually working! Battery Indicator app sits in the notification area, thereby freeing valuable screen space. Not needed if you are already using one of the Sense Analog Clock variants mentioned above.

D) Multimedia

8. Dhingana.com: Like Bollywood music? Me too! This little app lets you listen to latest and not-so-latest songs from Bollywood, turning your phone into a personalized jukebox. The songs are neatly categorized and are of generally higher bit-rate. You will also find regional songs from Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil and more. Works best on WiFi.

9. Fliekie Wallpapers: My personal favorite app for browsing a vast collection of good quality wallapapers. It also auto sets the desired image as wallapaper without needing the crop.  

10. Album Art Grabber: Galaxy 3 is braced with one of the best audio players in the market. It displays the album art as background while playing the song, but uses random camera pics when it doesn’t find one. Use this app to grab missing album art. Very handy!

Feel free to comment on the list and also let me know which apps YOU find as the most essential and cool ones! Depending on the feedback, I will publish another list..

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5801)- My Android Companion! (Now with FroYo)

Android OS is for smart people? I would like to think so, now that I have purchased a smokin’ hot Android Smartphone for myself! ;)

UPDATE 1: Looking for the coolest Android Apss to try on your phone? Find them here! 

UPDATE 2: At last, Samsung has released an Android 2.2 (FroYo) update for our beloved Galaxy 3! Simply fire up Kies, connect your phone, and let Kies search for available updates. 

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5801) is targeted at medium-budget market and comes with Android v2.1, codenamed - Éclair. The next update (2.2, FroYo) is keenly anticipated and my phone supports that too! (Android is an Operating System for mobiles btw, similar to how Windows is for PCs)

For someone who had NEVER used a Smartphone before, let alone Android, this phone surprised me in many instances.  Touchscreen navigation was a breeze to use with no noticeable lag, and menus were placed intuitively and logically.  Colorful icons and animations aptly complemented the fast speed. Moreover, the phone offers plenty of customization to make it a showcase of your creativity. An open playground for tech-curious minds to fiddle around!

Hardware and features

Hardware-wise, Galaxy 3 comes with a 667 Mhz processor, 256 MB RAM, 3.2” Capacitive touch screen, 3G, Bluetooth, and WiFi-n, along with a 3.2 MP cam with autofocus (but no Flash). The smartphone supports external memory up to 32 GB and comes with a free 2 GB SD card. Sweet!  

The front body is metallic glossy and can even be used as a handy mirror! :) It’s a fingerprint magnet though. The back of the phone is plastic, which admittedly doesn’t look that good. Overall, the phone is compact and lightweight...and yet provides a firm grip and gives a nice feeling when held in hands. It also comes with an accelerometer and proximity sensor but has no dedicated camera key, which is really a shame.    

Galaxy 3 is exceptionally feature-rich for the price bracket (around 12k at the time of purchase). It offers multi-touch, GPS, Google Maps, Web browser with Adobe Flash support, pinch-zoom capability and text reflow, FM radio, superb audio player supporting 5.1 channel virtualization (in headphone mode) and equalizer, built-in DivX and XViD video playback support, Think Free office, which can read and edit Ms Office and PDF docs, Voice recorder, Layer browser, Swype and seamless integration with all Google services (Android is Goggle’s baby after all).   

The world of Apps!

Now let's talk about the thing that separates this phone from the other 'normal' phones…Apps!

The ability of customization and availability of numerous productivity apps/tools was among my primary requirement while purchasing a ‘Smartphone’. Android offers a HUGE HUGE HUGE variety of apps on the Market. In fact, the number of 'free' apps is the largest in the Android market compared to other stores, including Apple's App Store for iPhone / iPod Touch.

Apps, (short for applications), are pieces of code that add/enhance the functionality of your base Android device. Using apps, you can customize your phone as per your liking. Don’t like the default appearance of the clock? Want something more retro-looking? Download one freely from thousands of available clock apps! If you wish to record your phone calls, add dazzling effects to your cam photos, stream music from international FM stations (and police stations!) and even record them, use PC keyboard for entering text on mobile etc, there is an app for each of this…basically, an app for anything and everything! Well, not *everything*, but it's close! ;)

There are brain and puzzle games, sports, lifestyle, multimedia, and reference apps, finance and healthcare apps (you can measure your heartbeat rate), utility and productivity apps and some downright fun apps (there is this talking cat that mimics all that you say) and many many more. Some apps like Compass and Google Maps can prove extremely useful when you are lost in the city and don’t know where to go. You can jot down notes, take pictures, and sync this data to / fro your PC, all while on the move. You can also add widgets, sticky notes, and reminders on the screens and make your phone a feature-rich PDA, personalized and perfected!

It is easy to see that Android OS gives you the feel of desktop usage with all this customization. Since it also supports multitasking, you can use it as a mini-replacement for Netbook/laptop etc.   

I also have rooted (hacked, in other words) my i5801 to enable LIVE (interactive) Wallpapers and to benefit from super user apps. Rooting essentially gives you full control over virtually all aspects of the OS and you can tinker around with your phone with no access restrictions.   

Fielding complaints…

One complaint that is often thrown at Galaxy 3 is its apparently low-resolution screen (WQVGA, 240 x 400 pixels) . People spoilt by iPhone and the like are OBVIOUSLY gonna get disappointed, but they need to understand that i5801 costs 1/3 of the iPhone’s cost. Personally, I didn’t come across a single popular app that refused to run on my phone due to supposedly low resolution. On the other hand, HTC Wildfire, its direct competitor, definitely suffers from extremely low resolution and it restricts the app usage.

i5801 is, however, woefully incapable of playing heavy-duty 3D games and will not play HD (720p and above) videos too. I was disappointed only with the latter because as far as 3D gaming is concerned, I have PC and even better, a PS3! HD playback would have been welcome, but again, it's something too much to ask from a 12k device. Apart from that, general video playback is flawless with no lag or sync issues. Additionally, due to a (relatively) fast processor and plenty of RAM, the speed was never a bother for me. Indeed, if you open 10 apps at the same time and then experience sluggishness, it's not the phone’s fault.

The phone’s screen visibility isn’t very impressive under sunlight. You need to increase the brightness level all the way UP to have a decent readability. A slight annoyance if most of your time is spent outside.

Battery backup could prove to be a little troublesome as well. This is an especially glaring problem as my last phone, SE K810i Cyber-shot, had excellent battery backup. With some tweaks and judicious use of task killers, I have managed to extend the battery life to a tolerant degree.

Summing up...

Pros:

• 3.2” Capacitive touch screen with multi-touch, auto-rotate, and proximity sensor
• Plenty of connectivity options (GPRS Class 12, 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi-n, GPS, Mini USB)
• Android 2.1 (Éclair) OS, upgradable to 2.2 (FroYo)
• Built-in Swype and Think Free Office (which are otherwise paid apps)
• Fast Android web browser with Flash, text reflow, and pinch-zoom capabilities
• Excellent music player with 5.1-ch virtualization and many Equalizer presets
• Video player with out-of-the-box DivX / XviD support
• Stereo FM Radio and 3.2 MP Autofocus cam supporting various modes
• Extremely economical: all the above features for less than 12k !!

Cons:

•  Poor screen visibility under sunlight
• Battery backup could prove problematic (but can be improved with some tweaks)
• Incapable of playing 3D games and 720p+ HD videos
• No camera flash and no hardware camera key
• Somewhat spotty GPS (can be rectified using the GPSOpt app from the Market)

All in all, I am IMMENSELY satisfied with my purchase and would recommend Galaxy 3 to anyone looking for the BEST Value for Money Smartphone and/or who wishes to dive into the vast expanses of Android using a compact device!