Nashville, TN - Christmas day will go down in history as the biggest day for smartphone activations. A record 6.8 billion devices were activated Sunday, about half were Apple devices, the other half were on Google's Android operating system. That means this past week, millions of Americans were trying to figure out what to do with them.
There are a lot of Android phones on the market and if you got one for Christmas, you're probably wondering what to put on it. Here are Jamey Tucker's top ten apps for Androids.
#10
Dolphin Browser - You’re not stuck with the browser your phone came loaded with. Dolphin is a free browser with a whole different look. It’s fast, uses bookmarks and instead of having to type in web addresses, just swipe. Draw a "g" to go to Google. You can add gestures for any website you use frequently.
Every smartphone needs a photo app, and my favorite for Android is #9,
Camera 360. It allows you to take a picture, add filters and share them with your friends.
#8. Is
Flashlight. Every smarthpone should have a flashlight for when you can’t see the lock on your front door, or navigate a dark room. there are several flashlight apps, tiny flashlight is free.
#7.
Google Maps. It turns your phone into a full-featured GPS including turn by turn voice directions.
#6.
Shazam. Have you ever heard a song on the radio or in a tv advertisement and wonder, what is that? Shazam listens, and then tells you the title, artist and even youtube videos of the song.
#5.
Astrid is a to-do list. Add the things you’ve got to accomplish and when, and astrid reminds you so you can get things done. It’s free.
#4.
Evernote lets you save almost anything. Notes, web articles, photos, even audio memos. Sign up for Evernote on your computer and it’s all synced to your phone and desktop so you can get the files anywhere.
#3.
Oovoo video calls. i-Phones have facetime, Androids have Oovoo. make a call to anyone else with Oovoo and start chatting over video. It’s free, and it’s fun to say.. Oovoo.
#2.
Hootsuite. If you do Facebook and Twitter, Hootsuite keeps you from having to switch back and forth between them. Post an update once, and Hootsuite sends it to both Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in.
#1.
Vlingo. This free app allows you to use just your voice to send a text message, email or facebook message. Look up a website, even directions. Vlingo is by far the most innovative app of the year.
All of these apps can be found in the Android marketplace.
Jamey Tucker is a freelance tech writer in Nashville.
All the cool kids follow him on Twitter.
