The Android Market is a treasure trove of apps. But with hundreds of new titles added each day, finding ones actually worth your time and buck can be a real pain in the rear. Fret not: the Top10 team is on the lookout all month and has sorted the trash from the treasure.
1. We7 Radio Plus
We7 Radio Plus is a completely free internet radio application with over seven million tracks to listen to from anywhere while you're on the go.
Choose from dozens of ‘themed’ stations that have been created for you and are updated regularly, save the ones you enjoy the most, or simply create your own based on your favourite genre, artist or theme.
You can also ‘love’ songs that simply blew your mind and the app will play more like them. That way you can avoid the sort of trash mainstream radio would shove down your ears. Unless of course you’re into mainstream trash, in which case, more power to you.
Rest assured, unlike many internet radio apps which stop intermittently every time you lose signal, We7 will keep on rockin’ regardless of whether you have an active 3G or Wi-Fi connection or not, thanks to some clever buffering technology that makes for an all round uninterrupted listening experience.
2. Solitaire Challenge (Online)
Ever since the game of Klondike (Solitaire) was computerised, it has been a time-honoured time-waster for millions of bored office workers and commuters around the globe.
Solitaire Challenge (Online) continues that tradition with a new, no-longer-solitary, twist: the ability to take on other Solitaire freaks over the internet.
Fear not purists: there is no actual change to the format of the game. Each round simply requires both players to solve the same solitaire challenge and the first to do so it will win the game.
The more you win, the faster you’ll climb up the Elo multiplayer ranking system. And if you're in need of a real ego massage, you can check how you’re faring against other players in your country and around the world.
So if you’re tired of playing all by yourself and need a bigger challenge to fuel your solitaire addiction, pick up this gem without delay.
3. Time Recording - Timesheet App
Time Recording is an essential companion for anyone who’s self-employed and/or charges hourly for their services.
That’s because it helps you keep track of exactly how long you’ve worked by enabling you to ‘check in’ when you’re starting a shift and check out when you’re done.
You can create multiple tasks, which may be different jobs or projects you’re involved in, set an hourly rate where applicable, and the app will automatically calculate the total income from each shift you complete.
Additionally, you can also record overtime you’ve done and breaks you’ve taken, and add detailed notes for information that may be relevant.
Tasks can be viewed in day, week and monthly views, with date filters to let you see those you’ve undertaken in a specific period. Plus there’s a ton of configurable options such as date and time formats, first day of the week and month, bi-weekly reporting, target time by when a task needs to be completed and many more.
A handy widget allows you to access key functions directly from the home screen and with the ability to export data, and email it to your employer or client, in CSV, HTML or XML format, it’s an indispensable tool for any freelance or distance worker.
4. Guerilla Bob
Guerilla Bob is a hilariously fun twin stick shooter with an abundance of firepower.
You play Bob, a mustachioed, cigar-smoking mercenary with a badass attitude and vast arsenal of weapons that ranges from machineguns to rocket launchers.
The story campaign is divided into two modes: Arcade, where Bob fights for fame, and Mercenary, where Bob fights for fortune. Each is filled twists and boss battles a-plenty as Bob fights through a variety of locales such as treacherous canyons, scorching deserts and dangerous towns.
There’s also a Classic Survival mode where Bob must survive attacks from endless enemies for as long as possible, and Wave Attack mode where the gung-ho hero fights enemies in waves, with each wave being more difficult than the previous.
The real meat of the game, however, is in its multiplayer mode, in which you join forces with your chums over local Wi-Fi to take on the baddies together, even if they are playing on an iPhone or desktop. There’s also a ton of achievements to unlock on OpenFeint, plus online leader boards to climb and extra difficulty levels for seasoned players.
If you like shooters, you’d be foolish to pass this up.
5. Walkabout
In Walkabout, the goal is to help a little girl named Queenie collect all the magical stars without retracing a single step.
Each level is made up of tiles that collectively represent an environment. Moving a step causes the tile you were previously standing on to disappear, making it impossible to go back if you’ve made a wrong move.
Movement is simply a matter of swiping on the screen in the direction you want Queenie to go. Your job is to find the optimum route to collect all the stars in each level in the fastest possible time without becoming trapped.
There are 64 levels in total, spread across four different regions in Queenie’s kingdom. Levels get progressively more difficult, as you have to negotiate new obstacles such as multiple layers and hidden paths. You can also find keys to unlock a further eight bonus levels.
The story is straightforward but sweet and the graphics are colourful and charming. If a break from shooting or killing things is what you seek, then this would be about as good a place to start as any.
6. Catch Notes
Tired of forgetting things or worse, struggling with remembering too many things? Then Catch Notes might be just what that doc ordered.
It’s a simple but feature-packed note-keeping application that teams an intuitive user interface with an array of options with which you can easily capture information, such as text, images, voice and locations.
Notes can be shared or password protected, plus organised and made easily searchable using #hashtags on keywords.
You can also set reminder notes to pop up at a given time or access them instantly using the home screen widget.
Better yet, notes can be automatically backed up and synced to Catch.com, meaning you’ll be able to access them through another web-enabled device. Don’t have time to head to the site? Simply email your note to note@catch.com and it will be posted on your account.
Nifty, isn’t it?
7. Thinking Space
Thinking Space is a mind-mapping application that helps you to organise and plan your thoughts and activities using words, tasks or other items linked-to and arranged around a central theme or idea.
Although it can be easily mistaken for a brainstorming tool, which it could very well be, its uses are much greater for potentially any number of situations. Whether you’re organising your study notes or planning a trip to South America, with Thinking Space you can create a mind map for exactly what you’re trying to accomplish.
Create different types of ideas using colour-coded notes and icons. Connect them using links where it makes more sense, or expand them further with a single tap where it doesn’t.
It’s also compatible with a range of third-party mind mapping applications such as Freemind, Xmind, MindManager and MindMeister. That means you could jot down your thoughts during a commute and have them put up on the projector for a meeting.
It’s easy to use and it’s free. What’s not to like?
8. MoboPlayer
MoboPlayer is a video player application that will play virtually any video format you throw at it without requiring any conversion whatsoever.
No, really. Hard as it may be to believe, we’ve so far been unsuccessful at making it not play something, and therefore we can only assume that it’s magic.
That’s not all. Unlike many past efforts at creating a truly universal video player, this will actually play your videos with a stable frame rate.
Organising your videos is pretty straightforward too. Simply copy and paste your folders and MoboPlayer will automatically organise them in the media library by file types and with thumbnails to boot.
Support for multi-audio stream and multi-subtitle is also onboard, which means all you foreign flick lovers are well covered. There’s also playlist support and continuous play files of the same type.
Sounds great, right? It’s free, too. Oh you like being spoilt, don’t you?
9. Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner
Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner is the official app from one of the biggest recipe sites around.
With thousands of top-rated recipes across dozens of categories, plus reviews, tips and recipe variations from members of the community, planning a meal has never been easier.
Looking for a bit of inspiration? Choose from an array of dishes, such as appetisers, main courses, desserts, etc, and the app will automatically display recipes for you. If there’s a particular ingredient you’d like to check out?, you can do that too.
Pressed for time? Just select the desired ‘ready in time' option to cook short-order meals to a T. Of if you’re extremely patient or simply have too much free time, go with slow cookers to fill out your day.
And if you’re completely unsure or looking to spice up your appetite with something you might not cook normally, give the app a good shake to get a random selection of dishes you can cook.
It’s incredibly easy to use and just as useful whether you’re an experienced cook or just getting started. So go on, give it a spin.
10. Angry Birds Rio
Ok, so may be this one is a tad predictable. But before you haters cry fowl, just hear us out while we explain why the world really needs another Angry Birds game.
It’s because unlike previous instalments in the ‘Seasons’ spin-off series, Rio is the result of a special collaboration between Rovio and 20th Century Fox to coincide the release of Fox’s star-studded animation film of the same name. And that adds a really fresh feel to the title.
The birds have been unexpectedly kidnapped from their habitat and transported across the world to the magical city of Rio de Janeiro, leaving their beloved eggs unprotected from the greedy pigs.
As you can imagine, the finches are a little angrier than usual given their dire situation. They promptly break free, only find themselves trapped in a warehouse surrounded by countless other caged birds, including Blu and Jewel, two rare macaws and protagonists of said film.
The only way home is to help free these fellow avians, and in the process, obliterate their villainous captors.
While the core formula and game play of the franchise remains virtually unchanged, it is the melding of two universes and a much-needed break from the usual battering of pigs to hell that makes such a refreshing change in the franchise.
With two episodes packed with 60 brand new levels, along with new achievements and hidden unlockables, there’s plenty here to sink your teeth into for even the most dedicated players. And if you think you’ve seen enough, then Rio will help you realize that there is still more to come. Frankly, we can’t wait.
