Android has crept into businesses and boardrooms in a big way, easily
competing with Apple and gaining popularity as time goes on. But which
apps will make you more productive and efficient in the workplace? With
so many apps to choose from, it can be difficult to find the best tools
to make your life easier.
So, around the office, I feel like I’m known as the app guy. I’m always trying to optimize my workflow, and all but one of these apps were totally new to everyone here. Some of these are available on iOS as well, so if you’re using an Apple device, you can still have some fun.
Everyone loves free stuff. And there's plenty of it on Android, with more than 927,000 free apps available in the Google Play store right now. We know, because we counted.
The beauty of Android is choice. Unlike other software operating systems, which limit what apps can be offered in an app store, Google allows for duplication of the apps it develops itself for Android. Given that, it can sometimes be confusing which app you’re actually using. For example, Samsung offers its own Gallery app for its photos taken with the camera smartphone, while Google offers Photos which can be backed up to your Gmail account with unlimited and free storage. Another example of duplication can be Samsung’s own web browser which is different from Google’s own Chrome and this duplication can cause confusion between users.
But a word of warning - much of it is rubbish: a frustrating mix of non-official rip-offs, shonkily designed bedroom projects and, in the worst cases.
Android vs. Apple, Apple vs. Android. It’s one of the big technological showdowns of the 21st Century, and it’s already clear that there never will be a definitive winner. Apple will always have the prestige and slick reputation, while Android will always have the raw numbers and geek appeal thanks to its openness and combustibility.
Developers publish an uncountable mountain of apps in the Android Play Store every day, but few of them are worth using long-term. The problem is finding the truly good ones hidden amidst all the junk, but we've been paying close attention. There were some awesome apps released in 2015 that deserve your attention. If you missed them when they were first released earlier this year, now is the time to give them a closer look.
Another app I find useful is Google Docs which is a powerful replacement for Microsoft Word(word processing tool) and is completely free of charge. It offers full cloud backup, which means if you start a document on your smartphone, you can access it later on a tablet or computer with an internet connection at anytime. If you want to add a photo to your document, just access the photo from Google Photos and you avoid having to use micro USB drives to transfer files. Just like MS Word Google Docs allows to change fonts and colors, has built-in spell check and offers the ability to translate your document into another language to name a few of the major features.
Biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best, of course, and the sometimes questionable quality control in the Play Store has made room for tens of thousands of useless, or even virus-riddled, apps to appear. To avoid the bad eggs, and feast only on the digital equivalent of succulent little quail eggs, check out our list of the best Android apps you need to get in 2016.
One of my personal favorite Google apps is Google Opinion Rewards which is a simple survey app that ask you a few questions from time to time. The best part is Google actually deposits money into your Google Play account which can then be used to buy games, movies, TV shows, books, magazines and apps.
My personal favorite non-Google, tablet-friendly Download Free Android Apps are Evernote, OneNote, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, YouTube, and Pocket. That's it. I use an iPad Pro as my primary tablet, though I also use a Google Nexus 9 (for occasional work and app testing) and an Amazon Fire HD 8 (for reading in bed). If I were a full time Android tablet user, I'd likely have a longer list of apps to recommend.
So, around the office, I feel like I’m known as the app guy. I’m always trying to optimize my workflow, and all but one of these apps were totally new to everyone here. Some of these are available on iOS as well, so if you’re using an Apple device, you can still have some fun.
Everyone loves free stuff. And there's plenty of it on Android, with more than 927,000 free apps available in the Google Play store right now. We know, because we counted.
The beauty of Android is choice. Unlike other software operating systems, which limit what apps can be offered in an app store, Google allows for duplication of the apps it develops itself for Android. Given that, it can sometimes be confusing which app you’re actually using. For example, Samsung offers its own Gallery app for its photos taken with the camera smartphone, while Google offers Photos which can be backed up to your Gmail account with unlimited and free storage. Another example of duplication can be Samsung’s own web browser which is different from Google’s own Chrome and this duplication can cause confusion between users.
But a word of warning - much of it is rubbish: a frustrating mix of non-official rip-offs, shonkily designed bedroom projects and, in the worst cases.
One reason why is that it's not always easy to tell if apps in the
Google Play store are specifically optimized for tablet screens. The "Featured Apps for Tablets" section in Google Play helps, but only 63 apps were featured at the time this post was written — and most of them were games.
Android vs. Apple, Apple vs. Android. It’s one of the big technological showdowns of the 21st Century, and it’s already clear that there never will be a definitive winner. Apple will always have the prestige and slick reputation, while Android will always have the raw numbers and geek appeal thanks to its openness and combustibility.
Fortunately, for every 10 bad apps there's
at least one good one. Which still leaves 92,700 good apps out there.
We'll be honest, we've not tried all of them - but we have rounded up 40
crackers for you here.
While duplicate apps offer similar functionality, you might actually be missing out on some features that Google bakes into its own programs. Google Photos is
a rarity in photo backup as it offers free unlimited storage of photos,
as long as they are kept to a certain size(still high-resolution).
These photos are accessible when you’re using Chrome on your desktop or
laptop, which makes it easier to share your files with friends and
families, versus using the Gallery app that came with your Galaxy
device. Sometimes photos or videos are too large to send in an email, in
which case Google provides a hyperlink to avoid that problem. Google
has a lot of manpower developing apps and usually offers the best
options over the duplicate apps.
Developers publish an uncountable mountain of apps in the Android Play Store every day, but few of them are worth using long-term. The problem is finding the truly good ones hidden amidst all the junk, but we've been paying close attention. There were some awesome apps released in 2015 that deserve your attention. If you missed them when they were first released earlier this year, now is the time to give them a closer look.
Another app I find useful is Google Docs which is a powerful replacement for Microsoft Word(word processing tool) and is completely free of charge. It offers full cloud backup, which means if you start a document on your smartphone, you can access it later on a tablet or computer with an internet connection at anytime. If you want to add a photo to your document, just access the photo from Google Photos and you avoid having to use micro USB drives to transfer files. Just like MS Word Google Docs allows to change fonts and colors, has built-in spell check and offers the ability to translate your document into another language to name a few of the major features.
Biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best, of course, and the sometimes questionable quality control in the Play Store has made room for tens of thousands of useless, or even virus-riddled, apps to appear. To avoid the bad eggs, and feast only on the digital equivalent of succulent little quail eggs, check out our list of the best Android apps you need to get in 2016.
One of my personal favorite Google apps is Google Opinion Rewards which is a simple survey app that ask you a few questions from time to time. The best part is Google actually deposits money into your Google Play account which can then be used to buy games, movies, TV shows, books, magazines and apps.
My personal favorite non-Google, tablet-friendly Download Free Android Apps are Evernote, OneNote, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, YouTube, and Pocket. That's it. I use an iPad Pro as my primary tablet, though I also use a Google Nexus 9 (for occasional work and app testing) and an Amazon Fire HD 8 (for reading in bed). If I were a full time Android tablet user, I'd likely have a longer list of apps to recommend.