'Appy Days' for Android

Here are my 10 favorite Android apps.

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Starting our fourth decade: Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously online for 30 years

'Appy Days' for Android

July 28, 2013

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2013, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2013, The Post-Standard

Tablet computing is fun, especially when you collect new apps. Many of them are free, and some of them have features you would have thought impossible just a few years ago.

With that in mind, here are my 10 favorite Android apps. Find them all at the Google Play Store, using your Play App. (Don't have a Play App? Check back next week for tips if Google has left you out in the cold.)

1. Aqua Mail Standard (free), Pro ($4.95). Many features, great on tablets. Pro version isn't necessary for most users, but it adds a few features that you'd expect only on fancy-dan desktop software. Be sure to check all the options; many might surprise you. For phones and tablets.

2. Chrome (free). Fast web browser that handles every kind of web page. The standard Android web browser is a Little Red Wagon and Chrome is a Ferrari. Great on tablets, with tabs and all. Also available for iPads.

3. Kindle (free). Superb e-reader with excellent organization of books you buy and PDFs you add to Kindle's library. Books can be stored on your device or in the cloud (and moved back and forth at any time). All the features of Kindle readers work on Android devices. In other words, you don't need a Kindle device to read and store Kindle books. For phones and tablets. Also available for iPads.

4. News360 (free). Rival for Flipboard, which has the biggest following, but I like News360 better. Easy to customize for your choice of news and features. For phones and tablets.

5. ePost-Standard (free app, but requires paid subscription). At last, a newspaper for the 21st Century. You can read every part of the paper in the app. This is the way online newspapers should work. For tablets only. Also available for iPads.

6. Snapseed (free). Brilliantly designed method of enhancing any photo in a dozen ways. Likely to be the standard against which mobile photo aps of the future are judged. Extraordinarily easy to use after 5 minutes of practice, and as powerful as anything you can run on a Windows or Mac system. Also available for iPads.

7. Touch Retouch (free) and Touch Retouch pro ($.99). You'll want to toss out Photoshop after trying this incredible touchup app. The best retouch method for any computing system -- and I've tried them all. For phones and tablets. Also available for iPads.

8. SpeakerBoost (free): Makes your Android device's tiny speaker(s) louder. Use with caution and follow the recommendations you'll see when you first run it. It's installed on all my Android devices. For phones and tablets.

9. Hi-Q MP3 Recorder Free (free) and Hi-Q MP3 Recorder Full ($3.99). Best on-location recording app and a great way to make voicemails. Free version stops recording after 10 minutes. Can send by email right from the app. For phones and tablets.

10. A&E, Lifetime and History (free): Free streaming videos of shows from those three networks. No fees or costs. For phones and tablets.