I recently got a Nexus 7 tablet with Android 4.2 and together with my android phone i compiled this list, of what i think are the best apps for android.
News:
This is the most important section for my tablet. The first thing i do when i awake is read the news with this apps. I use all this apps but i have different uses for each. For example 'Flipboard' does everything the others do (exept 'Reddit is fun').
- Currents - This is the official news app from google. I normally use it to read the last hour news from my country and the world. Witch means i don't use it for my personal feeds.
- Reader - The official google app for goole reader. If you use google reader (if you don't you shoud) this is a must have. Great interface for keeping up to date to your feeds. Also, it has a greate widget.
- Reddit is fun - I was not sure if i should put this app on the 'News' category, but anyway, this is the best app for reddit users.
- Flipboard - This is the BEST app for news. With this app you can keep up with google reader, facebook, google+, twitter and more social networks. My favorite feature is 'Cover stories', witch puts together the most relevant posts from your social networks, and present it to you like a journal.
Music:
- Google Play Music - In my country i don't have access to the amazing cloud features of Play. However even without those features this is a great player.
- TuneIn Radio - This is probably my favorite android app. Every time i want to listen music i just go to a random music station and bam! I'm jumping around. It's great, and after you find a great station just add to your favorites. I'm collecting stations all around the world of different types of music, every time i want to ear a type of music i just need to go pick from my favorites. Also they have great widgets, even for the lock screen.
Productivity:
- AirDroid - I don't use this a lot but when i'm on Ubuntu and i want to transfer files from my computer to the tabler, or vice-versa, this is the best way. This app, together with a web app on your computer, creates interface on you PC of your tablet/smartphone. There are may things you can do with this: tablet memory, watching videos, manage contacts etc. I won't say much about it, as i don't use it much.
- Any.DO - after using so many to-do apps, i found this one to be the best fit for me. It lets you organize your to-do lists in groups and/or time. For example you can create a task to be done tomorrow, when tomorrow comes, the app automatically changes it to the 'today' group. The way to mark a task as done with a swipe of your finger is great to.
- Google Calendar - Not much to say about this app... it's the official app of google calendar, the best calendar there is.
- Chrome - I don't know if there is better internet browsers but the sync options is an awesome feature. All my bookmarks are already there, and i can just pull the pages i was reading on the computer instantly to my tablet.
- ConnectBot - If you need a SSH client this is the one (i don't know any others).
- Droidedit - If you like notepad++ or you want to program on your tablet/smartphone, this app has great syntax highlighting for a lot of languages. The pro version (this is the only app i actually got the pro version) lets you use your dropbox and lets you run external commands through SSH.
- Evernote - With this app is great to register stuff that comes to your head, like project ideas, grocery lists, etc. However not only with text, but with audio and pictures. Together with some web apps from this company, you can save parts of web pages, quick notes etc. Great to organize your ideas.
- Astro - The best file manager i found (but there are a bunch of them). The best features are dropbox, google drive, SkyDrive and facebook photos suport.
- GMail - the official app for the best email client (i'm a google fan boy :P)
- Mightytext tablet (smartphone)- This app is AWESOME! With the web app on the pc and smartphone/tablet app, you can send and receive text messages on your tablet or PC! I almost don't use my phone now. Every time i am on the computer i use mightytext to send and receive messages.
- Pocket - Pocket is such a great app. When you are browsing the web on your tablet, smartphone or PC (there is a web app) and you find an article that you want to read but don't have time, just add it to pocket. Later when you have time, open pocket and select you article, it will open the article but only with the text, formatted in a beautiful way for reading. And most importantly, what you add to pocket will be available offline.
Cloud:
This section has a lot of different cloud services, and this is because i use all this services. If you use other cloud service, there is probably a app on google play, and that is what you should use. (There are some apps that try to centralize all your cloud services, but i don't want to use those)
- Google Drive - The google Drive client for android, where you can save all your files on the cloud. Google Docs is also now part of google drive, so you can open a lot of different documents and edit text and spreadsheets on your tablet.
- Dropbox - The most known cloud service in the planet. If you have an account, the app is a must, if you don't you should.
- Ubuntu One Files - Another cloud service, this time for Ubuntu users.
Security:
- Google Authenticator - If security is important for you, this is a must have. This app adds another layer to your google login, making you enter a code after you login. (if you play online games like Starcraft2, DiabloIII or Rift there are similar apps)
- Prey Anti-Theft - This app will work silently in the background and if you get robed or you lost your tablet/phone, just go to the prey website or send a message to activate the app. After some minutes you'll get a report of your device. Where it is, based on gps, or a photo of the person using the phone. Also check the computer version
Entertainement:
- Ingress - I was not going to post games.... but this one is from google (did i tell you I am a google fan-boy?) and original. This game makes you, literally, get out of the house and explore you city. A super original and social game. The down side is it's still in close beta... but maybe you can get one invite (make a google search ;) )
- My boy! Free - I don't much about the best emulators, but if you want to play Pokemon or Super Mario on your tablet/smartphone, this will do the trick.
- Steam - If you use Steam on your computer everyday this is a great app to keep up with your friends when you are AFK, or when you don't want to miss any promotions.
- SeriesGuides Show Manager - If you're watching more than 5 different TV shows per week like me this app is great to remember when an episode comes out, what episodes you haven't watch and to alert you that a new season of a TV show you used to watch is coming.
- TwitchTV - You like watching video game pro players around the world playing in tournaments or just practicing? This is the TV of the e-sports.
Video:
There are two apps that I'm not adding here because they are in beta: XMBC and VLC.
- MX Player - This is a video player so you can watch movies and TV-shows on your tablet/smartphone. If your tablet has a HDMI port you can use it to watch movies on your TV with this app. There are alternatives but i found this one to work better.
- YouTube - This must be in your android. Is a great app to watch YouTube videos, nothing much to say about it.
EBooks:
- Moon+ Reader - My favorite app for reading epub and any type of eBooks It adds a nice style to the pages to make it look like a real book.
- Kindle - Another great app for eBooks. Kindle gives you access to the amazon store witch has a lot of free eBooks.
Social:
- Blogger - If you have a blog like this one and want to manage it or start writing you posts wherever you are this is a great app, simple and functional.
- Google+ - This is the best social app I've seen.... and by the way... the best social network :P
- Skype - Now that Windows Messenger is going to be incorporated on Skype, this turns out to be a very important social app for talking with text, voice or video, with your friends from Skype, Messenger and Facebook.
- TweetCaster - And for last but not least, an app for your twitter account. Reply, retweet, etc, everything works with a good theme and a great interface. The official twitter app is also great, if you don't like this one.
If you have more suggestions add a comment with your favorite app ;)
