Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
This edition focuses only on new apps. The game roundup from this week can be found here and the tablet app roundup here.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here:
- 9 Android 3.0+ Apps For Honeycomb Tablets From The Last 2 Weeks (7/3/11 - 7/17/11)
- 21 Best New Android Games From The Last 2 Weeks (7/2/11 - 7/17/11)
- 36 Best New (And 5 WTF) Android Apps And Live Wallpapers From The Last 2 Weeks (7/3/11 - 7/18/11)
Apps
Total Commander
The greatest file manager on Windows now has a little brother on Android, and it quickly pushed both Astro and Root Explorer off my devices. It's free, it has root support, many advanced features, and, of course, 2 panes. It looks even better on tablets.
See our detailed coverage of Total Commander: [Total Nerdgasm] Total Commander For Android Is Very Real And Functional, With Root Support And Plugins - No Ads And Free Forever
Download v1.0 beta 10 from here.
Peel is a fun way to find TV Shows that you and your friends will love to watch.
Peel will free you from flipping through 100s of TV channels or scrolling through channel-listing grids to decide what you want to watch. Peel is the first and only app that combines state-of-the-art recommendation technology and a simple, visual & elegant user interface to put the shows that you will like right at your fingertips. As you are browsing through TV shows on Peel, pick a handful that you like or dislike and let Peel know about them. Within a couple of days, Peel will start pleasantly surprising you by suggesting TV shows that you will love. We call it magic!
Android Police review: [App Review] PC Monitor Allows You To Keep An Eye On Everything (And I Mean Everything) That's Happening On Your Windows Or Linux Computer
PC Monitor can securely monitor every aspect of multiple Windows machines remotely. It's the only app I've ever felt compelled to allot 6 screenshots of our real estate here (usually apps get 2). Simply amazing (though I'd absolutely love Linux support).
The list of features is very long, so hit up the Market to read it.
MoboPlayer, RockPlayer, VPlayer, and other Android video players have some new competition in town, and look - it doesn't look entirely like crap! MX VideoPlayer is free (ad-supported) and comes with 3 codec packs, depending on your architecture. Support for Tegra 2 and ARM with Neon instructions is provided by one of such codec packs, so the player should work wonderfully on newer phones and tablets. Check out the file formats supported below and jump to the Market description for more details.
MX VideoPlayer is the most advanced video player currently available on the Android platform. It plays almost every movie file including .3gp .avi .divx .f4v .flv .mkv .mp4 .mpeg .mov .vob .wmv .webm .xvid and more, with niche user interface.
Also it reads most of widely used subtitle files including .srt .ssa .ass .sub .smi .mpl .txt .psb and Matroska subtitle track(mkv). And with its unique Subtitle Scrolling feature you can easily move between subtitle texts.
Android Police coverage: BootManager Allows You To Install Up To 5 ROMs On One Device, Flashaholics Rejoice
This app lets you install up to 5 ROMs simultaneously and boot the one you want without having to go through the time-consuming nandroid restore. For a list of supported devices, see the Market description.
Boot Manager is the first Android Multi-Booter Application! The application installs up to four ROMs to your sdcard and you can keep one on your phone as well to allow you to boot up to five ROMs and switch between them with just a reboot. This is the must have application for any flashaholic and will finally allow you to keep up with those nightly builds we have all come to love or just boot your favorite ROMs from your favorite developers. The application is great for developers as well since you now have 5 slots for testing ROMs.
The application acts as your recovery for the four sdcard slots. Install your kernels, theme, and ROMs all through the app and use your normal recovery for your phone ROM.
Android Police coverage: New App: Dual File Manager XT Brings Awesome Dual-Pane File Management To Android
Similarly to Total Commander, Dual File Manager XT from Medieval Software features a 2-pane layout, the biggest difference being the inability to show both at the same time. Outside of that, this is a very decent file manager, though it's currently lacking root capabilities, unlike Total Commander. In my book, TC can't be beat, at least as of today.
Android Police coverage: Wikitude Drive US Is A Slick Looking Augmented Reality Navigation System That Rivals Google Maps, Retails For €9.99 ($14)
Seems like they took the trial off the Market, probably due to bad reviews, and the full version is almost $15. With a 15-minute refund window, you better be damn sure you want this app (bad move, Wikitude).
Wikitude Drive is the world's first mobile navigation app using fun and intuitive Augmented Reality to show you the way. Maps included: US. Maps are online and thus up-to-date.
Wikitude Drive has two great advantages:
1. No maps are needed - just follow the line to reach your destination.
2. See the live video of what's ahead of you and therefore never take your eyes off the road again.
Android Police coverage: Video Identification App 'IntoNow' Makes Its Way To Android, Makes Identifying TV Shows Easy, [App Roundup] Five Apps From July 2011 That We Thought Were Awesome
I've been waiting for this app ever since it came out on iOS. The technology used is so good, IntoNow will likely identify most of the stuff you throw at it, even live programming. If you think there's little value trying to figure out what you're watching right now, you may be right - after all, you already know what you're looking at most of the time, and if not, just grab the remote and look at the guide.
The key here is eliminating friction in sharing exactly what you're watching with your friends and seeing what they're watching, creating a social network for TVs and movies. If I don't have to type out a long movie name or figure out the season and episode numbers, I am much more likely to check into a show or movie. IntoNow gets it close to perfect.
IntoNow is the best way to connect with your friends around the shows you love.
IntoNow makes engaging with your favorite TV shows easy, social, and fun. Just tap the green button when your favorite show is on and IntoNow will identify the show and episode; provide all data and links associated with it; and help you share on Facebook and Twitter. IntoNow also helps you see which shows you have in common with your friends — including whether they’ve seen the latest episode — and alerts you whenever you and a friend are watching the same show at the same time. Use it to discover new shows, discuss your favorites with your friends, and learn more about whatever you’re into now!
Features:
- Identify live TV, or anything that’s run on TV in the last five years, from your television, computer or mobile device.
- Get full episode and cast information.
- Receive notifications when your friends are watching the same episode or show.
- One-click access to IMDb so you can learn more.
- Add new friends using Facebook, Twitter, or “search by name.”
I really like the visual style of this app but I'm not entirely on board with the concept. I think there are other, better alternatives out there, like RTM (though not free on mobile), Taskos, Wunderlist, etc. However, people seem to be in love with Do It (Tomorrow), giving it a 4.4-star rating, so I suggest checking it out, especially considering the low price of free-ninety-nine.
Do you love procrastinating? Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? That's the spirit! Do It (Tomorrow) is the todo app for you.
Planning out your entire week is a bummer - Do It Tomorrow lets you give yourself reminders for today, but makes it really easy to push things off to tomorrow. Party today, do tasks tomorrow!
Features:
* Full virtual todo notebook experience
* Fastest todo entry
* Simple interface - just todo and just today and tomorrow
* Easily check off tasks as completed or delete them altogether
* Takes advantage of the latest hi-res displays
Special new features and settings, suggested by our fans:
★ Sync your Todos with cloud synchronization! (Free syncing and backup)
★ Reorder your existing todos.
★ Edit todos in-place.
Android Police coverage: [New Release] LauncherPro Dev's New Project, UberMusic, Leaves Beta
Can't say it's anywhere close to beating PowerAMP for me yet, but it's a great start, and it comes from a developer of LauncherPro, so you're know you're getting quality. If you're into that minimalistic look, definitely check out UberMusic.
UberMusic is a beautiful and highly customizable music player for Android.
You can change the entire user interface by applying skins, which you can find on the market by searching for "UberMusic Skin". The last three screenshots here show the "Metro" skin available for free in the Market.
Some key features:
- Fully skinnable (search for "UberMusic Skin" on the Market).
- Automatically downloads artist pictures and sets them as the screen background for that artist.
- 6 different widget sizes. The widget is fully skinnable too.
- Free live wallpaper included that shows album art from your music collection.
- You can click on the "Play" button next to an artist, album, playlist, etc. to directly play all the corresponding tracks.
- True shuffling (as opposed to just choosing a track at random) that avoids playing the same song twice.
- Super smooth interface with custom overscrolling on lists.
- Scrobbling support through the official Last.fm app or through ScrobbleDroid/SLS.
- You can choose which tabs to show on the Library screen.
- Custom minimalistic status bar that you can still swipe down to see your notifications.
Android Police coverage: The Economist Lands On Android, Brings Exclusivity And Class To Your Handheld
The Economist app is free to download and includes free access to the editor’s highlights - a weekly selection of must-read articles from each week’s edition of The Economist.
Digital and print subscribers to The Economist receive unrestricted access to each week’s full print edition on Android.
FEATURES
• Each week’s issue available from 9pm London time each Thursday
• Download each issue to your device to read without an internet connection
• Switch easily between reading and listening with The Economist in audio
• Store and access back issues
• Purchase single issues using In App Purchase
• Subscribe from within the app for full access to The Economist on Android, iPhone, iPad and The Economist online
Android Police coverage: DC Comics Partners With ComiXology, Unveils Their New App
Official DC comics Android app for the comics fans.
DC Comics is the biggest and best North American comics publisher, featuring a wide variety of characters and genres. Renowned for the World's Greatest Super Heroes - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and many many more - DC has thrilled readers with fantastic tales from the DC UNIVERSE in dozens of languages around the world for decades.
Publishing more than 80 comic format titles monthly and over 1,000 comic books and graphic novels annually, DC also presents different flavors of graphic storytelling through its diverse imprints.
With the official DC COMICS app, you can download and enjoy great comic books from our current weekly offerings plus our vast, legendary classics library. Powered by ComiXology, this app enables you to take advantage of the unique Guided View reading experience or enjoy the pristine, classic full page view. What's more, you'll be able to conveniently manage and read your entire collection anytime, whether you're at your desk computer, laptop or on the move. Experience the amazing world of DC Comics wherever you are.
If you own a headset with buttons, definitely check out Headset Droid. It offers an incredible amount of customization and can actually help resolve issues with apps that take over the headset button. Check out the full description for all the options - there are way too many to list here.
Headset Droid allows you to customise how the buttons on your headphones work.
A nice competitor to something like Kayak with a very pleasant interface.
Need a cheap flight, fast? Compare over 600 budget and scheduled airlines and more than 700,000 routes around the world in seconds with the free Skyscanner Android app; saves money, saves time. Buy air tickets direct from airlines or travel agents and get the best deals. It’s simple, independent and finds the lowest fares with a few quick taps, wherever you want to fly.
Why Download the Skyscanner Android app?
• Skyscanner is the world’s best flight site
• Search every flight anywhere in the world
• Search over 600 airlines and travel agents
• Find ALL your flight options in one easy app
• Busy? Email flight details to yourself for later
• Joint trip? Share your flight details with friends, family or colleagues with one tap
• Skyscanner is 100% independent and shows ALL airlines including low cost carriers and scheduled airlines
• Available in 23 languages
• It’s FREE!
Display the Changelogs of your recently updated apps in one place - nifty if you are tired of clicking around the Market all the time, although the new Market positions the changelog a lot closer to the top, so I'm not sure I care enough to install this app. Interesting idea nevertheless.
If this is how we're going to book doctor's appointments in the future, then sign me up - I want to live in that future. See the list of cities with appointment booking support below.
With ZocDoc, you can search for a doctor by location and insurance, see profiles for doctors that match your needs, and read reviews from real patients. Then make your appointment right from the app! Finding great care has never been this easy.
Appointments are currently available in New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.
Features:
- Find a doctor and book an appointment.
- View doctor locations on a map.
- Read patient reviews of doctors before choosing the right one.
- Check your upcoming appointments or look at your past appointments.
What a name for a browser, eh? And those pics are not suggestive or anything at all ;-]
Beaver Lite is a tabbed internet browser with a hidden, password protected image and bookmark stash as well as extensive privacy features. Beaver is ideal for viewing adult websites, dating sites, gift shopping, banking, and saving images and bookmarks with complete privacy.
- Fast, full featured tabbed browser with plugin (Flash) support, popup blocker, and user agent switching
- Automatically clears all browsing history when you close the app
- Download images from the web and save bookmarks into a hidden, password protected stash
- Beaver looks and functions like any other innocent browser, until you enter your password into the address bar, which reveals your image and bookmark stash
- The contents of your stash is hidden from other apps (such as gallery or camera) and not viewable on a computer
- The image stash contains a gallery of all your private images, as well as a complete picture viewer with full zooming and slideshow support
- Import pictures from your SD card into your image stash
- Polished, simple design makes the most of your screen size
- Tablet support
An Android app for http://www.stopdroprave.com. If you're into electronic music, you will want to check it out.
- Browse the Stop Drop Rave blog anywhere and stay up-to-date with the latest posts and music.
- Play our playlists anywhere, anytime. Great for parties.
- Create your own rave with the built-in strobe function
Visually driven, intuitive and simple, We Are Hunted seeks to be a daily destination for music lovers looking to discover their next favourite artist. Stream the We Are Hunted chart on demand with full length tracks. We listen to what people are saying about artists and their music on blogs, social networks like Facebook and MySpace, message boards and forums, Twitter and P2P networks to chart the top songs online everyday.
A bar finder with a male-to-female ratio and average age in real time? Where do I sign up (oh, right below of course)?!
Update: Chicago only apparently. You'd think they would have mentioned this little detail in the description. Hopefully more cities are coming in the future.
SceneTap is a social network designed to provide an exciting new nightlife experience. With the tap of a button, you can view how full a venue is, the male to female ratio, and the average age of the patrons, all in REAL TIME! Combined with our deals, specials, commenting features, social media integration (with facebook, twitter, foursquare, and google), and more, you will find whatever you are looking for with SceneTap! SceneTap answers the question, "What's going on tonight?"
SceneTap services include:
- Real-Time demographic information (check out the Scene)
- Hot Deals (real-time)
- Deals (recurring coupons)
- Bar Specials (drink/food)
- Ratings (Bars, Specials, Deals) - You can now find the highest user rated bar/deal/special!
- Location based functions (know whats going on in your area, walking/driving directions, etc.)
- Social Forums (post a message to the bar, get a response from the bar or anyone else on the network)
- Checkin (checkin to SceneTap, Facebook, Foursquare at the same time!)
- Social Network Integration (post messages to SceneTap, Facebook, and Twitter)
Android Police coverage: Viber For Android Leaves Private Beta, Now Available For Everyone On The Market
Viber is an Android* and iPhone application that lets you make free phone calls and send free text messages to other users that have Viber installed. When you use Viber, your phone calls to any other Viber user are free, and the sound quality is much better than a regular call. You can call any Viber user, anywhere in the world, for free and now also text them. All Viber features are 100% FREE and do not require any additional “in application” purchase.
BuyWithMe is a Groupon competitor that sometimes has better deals. I personally opt in for their daily email, but if you are THAT into it, you may go for the Android app - it's actually quite nice.
We help you enjoy all the good stuff in life thanks to 50-90% off local restaurants, spas, events and more. Plus, you get seven days to decide – no impulse buying here! So, download the free BuyWithMe Android app for deals that keep up with your schedule and travel plans. You can buy deals, access vouchers, find offers nearby and redeem electronically. Go on, experiences are waiting.
Access your files, music, and photos with your Android device. Open and view presentations and documents, stream media, and show off photos stored on your My Book Live.
It’s all about access.
Your real life is dynamic and now your digital life is too. With the WD 2go app, you have access to just about any file stored on your My Book Live personal cloud storage with your mobile device. The WD 2go mobile app with My Book Live is like having up to 3 terabytes of extra storage for your device. Use your smartphone or tablet to view stored files, stream music, and enjoy video clips in palm of your hand.
The GoFlex Media™ app allows you to access all the photos, videos, music and documents stored on your GoFlex Satellite™ mobile wireless storage device.
App requires a GoFlex Satellite™ mobile wireless storage device to access media files.
•Access your media library stored on the GoFlex Media mobile wireless storage device wherever you are – no Internet required.
•Stream HD videos and begin playback almost instantly.
•Enjoy your music collection, photo albums, and documents too. GoFlex Media allows you to take it all with you.
•Automatically organizes all your digital media into videos, photos, music, and document folders
Uhh, you want to charge $3 for an app that connects to your top of the line router, NETGEAR? Really??
ReadySHARE™ Cloud App on your Android helps you access, store and share any file on a USB Hard Drive in your home connected to a NETGEAR Router enabled with ReadySHARE™ Cloud. Now, you can store, share, upload and protect your data from your mobile devices using Wi-Fi or 3G service wherever you are and have a connection.
It is your personal Cloud storage with the following benefits.
1. Keep all your files secured at home but available anywhere, anytime!
2. No need for creating website storage accounts and then upload files to transfer, access, and share!
Key Features of ReadySHARE™ Cloud App are:
- Access files stored on your USB Hard drive plugged on to a ReadySHARE™ Cloud enabled WiFi Router (like WNDR3800) as you would natively on your home network.
- Upload photos from your iPhone directly to your USB Hard drive in your home when you’re traveling, or Email photos stored on your USB Hard drive.
- Download music files to your mobile device anywhere using Wi-Fi or 3G connection directly from your USB Hard drive in your home
- Modify files stored on one USB Hard drive and Upload them to save a copy securely at home.
Note: Works with only the ReadySHARE™Cloud enabled Router (like the N600 Dual Band Wireless Gigabit Router – WNDR3800)
The rest of the apps are coming up separately in part 2, as this page would grow out of control otherwise.
Widgets And Themes
Coming up in part 2 of this roundup.
Live Wallpapers
Coming up in part 2 of this roundup.
For Tablets
We posted the tablet roundup separately - see here.
Games
We posted the game roundup separately - see here.
WTF App(s) Of The Week
Coming up in part 2 of this roundup.
Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!
If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.
Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.
- the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
- it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop
Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.
1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.