Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 3 weeks or so.

This is the app roundup. The game roundup from this week can be found here.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Applorer: Game Recommendation

This week's app roundup is sponsored, appropriately, by Applorer. Though the Google Play Store has made leaps and bounds in usability, the sheer volume of games means that the average user (and Android Police writer) just can't weed through and find the silver in the dross. Enter Applorer, a curated meta-store which brings notable games to the forefront, not unlike our own Game Roundups. In addition to universal recommendations, Applorer features personalized suggestions based on the games you've already played, Netflix-style.

Have Fun Discovering The Best Free Android Games On Google Play Via Applorer. Applorer is the best game recommendation app on Google Play. We’re big fans of Android games so join us and immerse yourself in a world of never ending fun and non-stop mobile gaming. Applorer is the fastest and easiest way to discover the newest and best free games on Android. Rather than searching through thousands of games on Google Play, Applorer provides personalized game recommendation based on the games you play and how often you play them. We analysis your playing patterns and habits and recommend games that you may want to play next. We have also profiled over 10,000 of the best free games into new categories that you cannot browse in Google Play: action, strategy, puzzle, adventure, rpg, mafia, zombies, first-person shooters, simulation and many more. Even retro genres like Digimon.

Apps

Dolphin Jetpack

Android Police coverage: Dolphin Browser Updated To v9.0, Adds Support For 'Jetpack,' Network Diagnostic Tool, Night Mode, And More

Let no one say that the developers of Dolphin rest on their laurels. Just a short while after releasing version 8, version 9 is now available, with an upgraded rendering engine and a tweaked user interface. The Jetpack add-on grants you access to beta features for even faster browsing.

Get Dolphin Jetpack - the fastest and free mobile browser with the deadly combination of Dolphin Browser and Dolphin Engine. Dolphin Jetpack uses Dolphin’s very own HTML5 rendering engine that powers Dolphin for the best HTML5 web game and web app experiences. The nitty-gritty: Dolphin Jetpack is an improved webkit version with extensive canvas/GPU/JavaScript enhancement and behind-the-scenes technology, which makes Dolphin Browser the highest performing HTML5 browser according to a number of tests and benchmarks.

How fast? With Dolphin Jetpack, Dolphin Browser is:

• 5 - 10X faster than the default Android browser and 2X faster than Chrome

• Scored highest when tested on HTML5test.com (HTML5test.com is an industry respected tool for testing a browser’s su¬pport of HTML5)

• First and only browser to make it to the final ring of Ringmark’s benchmark test

iKnowU Keyboard FREE

Android Police coverage: iKnowU Keyboard Offers Phrase Prediction, Next Letter Highlights And Gestures To Make You A More Efficient Typist

Keyboards are one of the best arguments for using Android over some... other options, and the latest one is iKnowU. This contender differentiates itself with both word and phrase prediction, spelling correction, and syncing its user-customized data among all your devices.

iKnowU’s award-winning keyboard is the most feature-rich and intuitive you’ll ever use. Using state-of-the-art patented technology it knows what you’re about to type - letting you complete sentences at blazing speed. It’s so accurate, you’ll be amazed you ever typed without it. iKnowU becomes more accurate every time you use it, constantly learning about you and your style. Amazing features such as WordChunking™and Gesturing™ enable you to chain together phrases and create whole sentences in a matter of seconds, saving you precious time. iKnowU is more than just a keyboard, it’s an extension of your personality.

Showtime Anytime

Android Police coverage: Showtime Intros Showtime Anytime For Android - Watch Full Episodes Anywhere (FiOS And U-Verse Only, For Now)

Showtime is awesome. If you're not watching Homeland (assuming that you're both in the US and a Showtime subscriber), I pity the dull, tension-lacking Sundays you've spent. Like HBO and Cinemax before them, Showtime now has an Android app that will let you catch up on the latest Dexter episode any time you like... if you use Verizon's FiOS or AT&T's U-Verse cable, anyway.

SHOWTIME ANYTIME® - now available for Android™ phones. Get unlimited access to full length versions of your favorite SHOWTIME® programs – acclaimed Original Series, uncut hit movies, hard hitting sports, comedy, reality/documentaries and much more, right at your fingertips. With new titles added each week, there's always something great to watch. FREE with your SHOWTIME subscription through participating TV providers.

Kangerator

Android Police coverage: [New App] Kangerator Keeps AOKP Users In The Know And Up-To-Date

Android Open Kang Project is awesome. If you disagree, then I've got a rainbow-colored unicorn to show you. Dedicated AOKP users can now download official builds and Gapps from the unofficial Kangerator app, making it that much easier to get your latest dose of custom ROM swagger.

Always know what is up to date on official AOKP releases. You can read the change logs in this app as soon as we post them on aokp.co. No more running around the internet on your phone, this does it all for you.

CyanDelta Updater

Android Police coverage: Quick Hands-On: CyanDelta Updater Brings You Incremental CM Updates, Eliminates Nightly 200MB Downloads

What's better than timely ROM updates? Timely ROM updates that don't kill your bandwidth limit. CyanDelta does just that, by granting incremental nightly downloads to supported, official CyanogenMod 10 ROM builds.

Tired of download 200 MB everyday to get your latest CM nightly? CyanDelta lets you update your CyanogenMod ROM by downloading just a small delta file (about 10 MB) instead of a big full zip file each time. With CyanDelta you can finally update your ROM in just some minutes even with a slow and expensive 2G or 3G connection. CyanDelta is a perfect “CM Updater” and “ROM Manager” replacement, since it can notify you when new updates are available and it can also automatically install the new zips via recovery.

PerfMon by Chainfire

Android Police coverage: [New App] Chainfire's 'PerfMon' Is A Floating Performance Monitor With A Unique CPU Metric

Wondering how that latest game is impacting your device performance, or whether that iffy app is running something unwanted in the background? Then try PErfMon, a floating "widget" that stays on top of your screen in any app, reporting on CPU, RAM, storage, and network statistics.

PerfMon is a "floating" performance monitor tool. It shows on top of any other app you are running. Aside from being useful for powerusers wanting to know what their device is doing, it is a great tool to use during debugging and profiling.

PerfMon offers you four categories of metrics:

- Foreground App

- CPU

- Disk I/O

- Network I/O

PerfMon - Performance Monitor Developer: Chainfire
Price: 2.49
4.2
Download

FPS Meter Root

Android Police coverage: [New App] FPS Meter Shows Just How Many Frames Per Second You're Getting In Any App (Root Only)

Serious gamers crave frame rate like a wino craves Thunderbird. Now they can measure their hardware performance on all those spiffy new games with FPS Meter Root - which, of course, requires root permissions to run.

* This app requires root. * FPS Counter. Shows how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen. Now you have opportunity to see your framerate both in system and in apps/games. Test your device, compete with your friends. NOTE: If app works partially (FPS freeze in games) try to set "Developer options" - "Disable HW overlays" option in system settings.

Google Calendar

Android Police coverage: Google Releases Official Google Calendar App On The Play Store (For 4.0.3+ Devices)

Google previously separated Gmail, YouTube, and others from Android to make sure we could get them from the Play Store when carriers and manufacturers drag their feet on OS updates. Now Calendar joins the list. If you're running 4.0.3 or later, go grab it now.

Experience Google Calendar on devices running 4.0.3 or later. The Calendar app displays events from each of your Google Accounts that synchronizes with your Android device. You can also:

- Create, edit, and delete events.

- View all your calendars at the same time, including non-Google calendars.

- Quickly email all event guests from a notification with a customizable message.

Google Calendar Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
4.2
Download

Zagat

Android Police coverage: Google Releases Dedicated Zagat App, Shows You Restaurants Near You In Beauty And Style

Ah, Zagat. Ever-present friend to the sophisticated urbanite who doesn't want to talk to locals. Google has surprisingly released its own first-party app for the restaurant and attraction rating service, free of charge. Get after it, foodies.

Find the perfect restaurant. Be a critic.

Now 100% free and re-built from the ground up. Browse over 30,000 restaurants in the world’s top dining destinations. Concise ratings and reviews you can trust.

- Explore the world’s top dining destinations

- Find the perfect restaurant

- Refine your search with 100+ filters, including cuisines, Zagat scores, cost, and dining features (e.g. outdoor seating, open late, child-friendly, etc.)

- Reserve a table

- Be a critic--your quote could be printed in our next restaurant guidebook

- Optimized for Android 10-inch and 7-inch tablets

Pinkberry

Android Police coverage: [New App] Official Pinkberry App Now Tempting You In The Play Store

If you're not in the know, Pinkberry is the Starbucks of frozen yogurt. ...and that's a lot better than it sounds. While you can't actually reserve a bowl for yourself with the Pinkberry app, you can refill and charge to your store card, or find the nearest location.

Enjoy rewards, helpful features and exclusives all in one convenient place.

•Receive a free small yogurt with toppings upon registration.

•Enjoy a free small yogurt with toppings after every 10th purchase.

•Get treated to a small yogurt with toppings on your birthday.

•Receive bonus rewards at any time

Pinkberry Developer: Paytronix Systems
Price: Free
3
Download

Isis Mobile Wallet

Android Police coverage: Isis Mobile Payments Start Today In Salt Lake City And Austin - Here's The Full Breakdown

Who's been looking forward to using the app that keeps you from getting native support for Google Wallet on almost every new Android phone? For the two of you that raised your hands, the would-be monopoly consortium Isis is finally ready. Click the widget below for AT&T, click here for Verizon or here for T-Mobile.

The Isis Mobile Wallet everything in your wallet now on your phone. By holding virtual versions of most things in your existing wallet or purse right on your phone, the Isis Mobile Wallet™ lets you:

• PAY WITH YOUR EXISTING CARDS – Store your existing, participating American Express or Chase card right on your phone (Capital One cards are expected to be available soon). Or use the free Isis Cash™ card that comes with every Wallet. Choose the card you want to use, tap your phone to the contactless payment terminal at checkout and you’re on your way.

• SIMPLIFY YOUR LOYALTY CARDS – No more over-stuffed wallet or key chains. Conveniently store your loyalty cards from participating merchants in one place so you always have them with you.

• SAVE WITH OFFERS – Send offers and deals directly to your Isis Mobile Wallet – no coupons to clip, no emails to print, nothing to forget.

• CHECKOUT IN A SINGLE TAP – Seamlessly transmit your payment info, loyalty and offers at checkout with just one tap at Isis Ready™ SmartTap™ merchants. No more fumbling through your wallet or purse.

Philips Hue

Android Police coverage: Philips Hue Light Bulbs Have An Android Control App, Go On Sale Tomorrow, Let You Live In The Future

Philips makes Hue light bulbs that talk to your home network. Now they talk to your Android phone, too. This is more useful (or at least, more interesting) than it seems: you can control the dimmer values, colors, and on-off sets of different bulbs in different places. The app is free, but the bulbs will cost you a whopping $60 a piece.

Meet the hue app. The amazing way to control every Philips hue bulb in your home. All in the palm of your hand. It makes the light switch look like it came from the Dark Ages. With hue, you’ll see light in a whole new way. It lets you play with tone, contrast and colour to create any lighting mood you could dream of. It’s clever, intuitive and connected. It‘s so much more than just a light bulb. We call it PERSONAL WIRELESS LIGHTING.

HISTORY Here

Android Police coverage: A&E Releases 'History Here', An App That Highlights Historical Locations All Across The U.S.

Imagine a walking tour without the tour guide - that's the idea behind History Here. It's a GPS and map-enabled app that highlights points of interest all across the country, written and verified by the folks at A&E and The History Channel.

An interactive guide to thousands of historic locations across the United States. HISTORY Here is an interactive guide to thousands of historic locations across the United States, brought to you by HISTORY. The easy-to-use interface, photos, video and dynamic maps bring history to life anywhere in the country. Whether you're on vacation or just running errands, the app makes it simple and fun to get the facts on the history hidden all around you, including amazing architecture, museums, battlefields, monuments, famous homes and much more.

Dragon Mobile Assistant (Beta)

Android Police coverage: Nuance Releases Dragon Mobile Assistant, Asks, 'What Google Voice Actions?'

Google's voice recognition is great. The software from Nuance (of Dragon Naturally Speaking) is better. Dragon Mobile Assistant is their take on Siri/Google Now, and since it's free, you've got no excuse not to try it.

You spoke. We listened. The new Dragon Mobile Assistant builds on top of the popular Dragon Go. directed search experience, adding a totally new, conversational design and the most popular personal assistant features. Dragon lets you speak naturally to access a wide range of content, and makes it easier to do everyday tasks on your phone when your hands are busy. Dragon now offers completely hands-free controls, thanks to the new Driver Mode. When turned on, you can wake up Dragon with by saying "Hi Dragon," and the assistant will offer you more spoken guidance to help you out when you can't look at the screen. Dragon will also read your incoming messages aloud. Now you can access your favorite features in more places than ever before.

Xbox SmartGlass by Microsoft

Android Police coverage: [New App] Microsoft Xbox SmartGlass Released: Cross-Platform Goodness For Console Gamers

Wanna pause the movie playing on your Xbox 360, but the controller is an agonizing four feet away? Grab your Android 4.0+ phone and load up Xbox SmartGlass, to enjoy all the control and social features that Windows Phone 7 users have had for months. Finally, relief from controller-keyboard syndrome.

Use Xbox SmartGlass to enhance your entertainment on Xbox 360. Xbox SmartGlass lets your phone work with your Xbox 360 console to bring rich, interactive experiences and unique content about what you’re watching or playing, right to the device that’s already in your hand. Interact with your favorite TV shows, movies, music, sports, and games, and bring remote control to a whole new level.

Wildfire - American Red Cross

Android Police coverage: American Red Cross Releases 'Wildfires' App, Helps You Keep Your Cool When Things Get Hot

As someone who was temporarily deposed by one of the more than 100 wildfires in the American west this summer, I can say that I wholeheartedly appreciate the American Red Cross. Their new Wildfire app provides information for potential evacuees, including emergency numbers, current fire conditions, and an automated "I'm OK" message for friends and family.

Be ready for a wildfire with Wildfire by the American Red Cross. Get notified about active wildfires, as well as fire weather warnings, prepare your family, home and pets, let loved ones know that you are safe even if the power is out – a must have for anyone who lives in an area that is susceptible to wildfires or has loved ones that do.

Features:

• Step-by-step instructions let you know what to do even before/during/after an wildfire, even if no data connectivity.

• Get notified about current wildfires or wildfire-conducive weather.

• Let family and friends know you are okay with the customizable “I’m Safe” alert for Facebook, Twitter, email and text.

• Find open Red Cross shelters in your area when you need help.

• Stay safe when the lights are out with the Toolkit, including a strobe light, flashlight and audible alert functions.

• Prepare for the worst by learning how to assemble an emergency kit for your family in the event of power outage or evacuation.

• Empower your family to stay safe and remain calm in an emergency by learning how to make and practice an emergency plan.

• Earn badges that you can share with your friends and show off your wildfire knowledge with interactive quizzes.

• See an illustrated history of wildfires in your area.

MyFord Mobile

Android Police coverage: Ford Releases Very Cool MyFord Mobile App For Android, Works With Ford Focus EV And C-MAX Energi

Eat your heart out, BMW. Ford's latest addition to its impressive digital lineup is the MyFord app, which interfaces with two of the company's electric and hybrid cars. The most useful option is the ability to view the charge state of your EV without having to check the dash, but it can also find charging stations and set the heater or AC to "on" so you arrive to a toasty or cool car. And if you're an exhibitionist jerk, you can share how far you've driven in your environmentally-conscious EV on Facebook or Twitter.

The MyFord Mobile app will be available for all Ford plug-in electric vehicles and allows consumers to manage vehicle functions with their Android device. This will work in tandem with MyFordMobile.com to give access to customers in the method which works best for their lifestyles. consumers will initially receive MyFord Mobile free of charge at purchase and for a fee after the initial subscription subsides.

Fontly

Android Police coverage: [New App] Fontly Gives Font-Nerds Something To Type Excitedly About

Fortune favors the bold. Destiny prefers italic, whereas Luck quite fancies underlined. Fate, however, absolutely hates all caps. If you've ever given serious thought to the pros and cons of Adobe Garamond versus Georgia, Fontly is for you. It shows off some classic typography in major cities, complete with a map view and uploads. It's like Pinterest for typography nerds.

Use Fontly to capture, map, and explore the world of vintage typography. Collect and share typography all across the globe. Create a living, collaborative, and digital archive filled with examples of unique type and signage that speak of a bygone era. Share the best of our world’s ghost signs, neon, architectural, foil lettering, hand-painted, and other typographical wonders. Preserve this invaluable part of our visual heritage.

Hotels by Orbitz

Android Police coverage: [New App] Orbitz.com Launches Hotels By Orbitz App – Discover, Explore, Book Hotels On The Go

Oh, wow - Orbit has an app! Now I can look at that sexy British chick while I... wait, what? Hotels?

An ultra-fast way to book a hotel, esp. for tonight + get mobile-only deals Simple, powerful, fast and fun. The free "Hotels by Orbitz" app gives customers an intuitive search-and-book experience designed specifically for Android. It offers travelers the entire selection of Orbitz hotel properties, exclusive mobile-only discounts, powerful comparison tools and secure booking in just three taps.

Redbeacon

Android Police coverage: Redbeacon For Android Helps You Find The Right Home Improvement Professional For Any Job You Need Done

I can root an Android phone in three minutes flat. Need a new desktop built? Gimme an hour. But when it comes to home improvement, I'm not Tim Taylor. Next time my door sticks or my shower explodes (showers do that, right?) I'll use Redbeacon to find local handymen, complete with reviews and job estimates.

Now there’s a great way to find a trusted pro for your home project. Redbeacon.com connects you with price quotes from qualified home-service pros in your area. And best of all, it’s totally FREE. Just how does it work? 1. Our brand-new Android app simply walks you through giving a few details about the job and allows you to quickly attach photos or video of the space. 2. You’ll be alerted on your notifications bar of new incoming quotes from pros in your area. 3. With just a few clicks, you’ll be able to select a quote and book a pro right from the app. Each pro is backed by Redbeacon’s Home Service Guarantee, which means that your job is backed up to $1,000.

Flip Launcher

Android Police coverage: [New App] FlipLauncher Is An Ultra-Quick Way To Launch Apps From Anywhere

Here's an interesting one: embed up to five folders with four apps each, accessible anywhere, with FlipLaucher. The defaults are kind of ugly, but there's a lot of customization to be had - you can even make them invisible if you like.

More convenient to your smartphone. FlipLauncher. Flip Launcher is a launcher app that makes your smartphone more convenient. Open designated apps and shortcuts with a single flip. You can assign four apps & shortcuts to each flipper on Flip Launcher—24 apps & shortcuts in all. Web browsing, email, games, Facebook, Twitter, LINE—any app or shortcut can be opened instantly once it's registered with Flip Launcher. No more trudging back to the home screen or shuffling through your app list.

Skypath by ImageShack

Android Police coverage: ImageShack Releases Skypath For Android, An Automatic Cloud Backup Tool For Your Photos

You take a photo. You save a photo. It gets synced with Dropbox or Google Drive. What's wrong with this picture? Absolutely nothing... assuming those are your backup options of choice. Now ImageShack users have a photo-syncing service of their own in Skypath, which integrates with the already-available desktop version.

Skypath synchronizes your photos with ImageShack Service. SkyPath is absolutely free to use. Combined with Skypath Desktop application, Skypath for Android allows you to share your mobile photo library with the ImageShack Cloud Service, which in turn mirrors your Android's photo library photos right to your Skypath folder on your PC, mobile photo library backup never been easier.

Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Loud Crow

If you don't like Peanuts, then go f- er, go think about your wasted childhood. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is perhaps the most beloved Halloween special ever, and now it's an interactive storybook for Android. Narrated by none other than the real Charlie Brown, this app is a must-have for kids and the young at heart.

Oh, Great Pumpkin. Where are you? This Halloween, hang out with Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang to find out for yourself. While Linus and Sally wait for the Great Pumpkin, you can create your own Peanuts character and join Charlie Brown at his first-ever Halloween party. Choose from millions of hilarious costume combinations and dress up to trick-or-treat with Lucy, Pigpen and the rest of the gang. Carve your own pumpkin, play a little ditty on Schroeder’s piano and bob for apples with Snoopy — just watch out for dog germs, blech.

The Grint

Trying to lower your handicap, or just impress your office friends on the green? The Grint can do both. It's a fantastically complex scorekeeper app for golfers, showing every personal stat you can imagine and tracking your progress as you play multiple games.

Our sole purpose is to facilitate the way golfers track their Handicap and Stats. Write your scores on a PAPER scorecard, take a picture and load details from "The Grint" app and your scores will be uploaded for you. It's quick and easy. We believe in pencil and paper scorecards, our app and service allows you to avoid the use of any devices and distractions during your round. Once you upload your Scorecard Picture, you can visit our website at www.thegrint.com and you will be able to track your stats and Handicap, connect with friends, view their scorecard pictures, and plenty more...

Spacedraw

There are still a few things that you absolutely have to have a full-sized computer to do, including 3D computer-aided design (CAD. Or... not. Spacedraw aims to close the gap with a full-featured Android CAD suite, complete with multitouch support. The free version only saves limited models, and keeps a limited history of your actions - but the unencumbered Spacedraw will cost you just five bucks.

multi-touch 3d-graphics - new ways of viewing, drawing, modeling

full-featured 3d-modeling software

designed for tablets & smartphones

viewing / drawing & constructing / polygon & patch modeling / texturing / 3d-painting

efficient and intuitive use of multi-touch and motion-sensors throughout

adapts to almost any Android-device, highly configurable

Calenta

MMORPG players will know this phenomenon: find all the stuff you've gotta do in a particular map, knock out the objectives one by one, then reap that delicious experience. Calenta is that, for real life. And adults.

The next dimension for your calendar - View your events on a map, in a glance. Ever wanted to visualize your daily schedule spatially rather than chronologically? Looking for a new way share your calendar with your social network? You can now do that. Calenta is the next layer for your android calendar - see your calendar events laid out beautifully on the map, automagically in a single tap.

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Zooper Widget

Some of you out there get way too serious about customizing the look and feel of your devices. And we love you for it. So does the developer of Zooper Widget, which brings those classy all-text widgets to your homescreen in clock and battery versions. Layout, font, background, and the text itself are all customizable - even the orientation.

Minimal, classy, extremely customizable and battery friendly Clock Widget with all the data you need, at once. If you like the widget and want to support the development please rate it. If you have issues or requests send me an email, I CANNOT answer comments. Zooper Widget has been built from ground up with battery in mind, nothing will be done while your phone sleeps, no weather will be updated if you have no weather information on screen, no location will be updated if you do not ask to.

ReNotify

When I need to remember something, I set an alarm or create a calendar notification. But not everyone leads the leisurely-paced life of a tech blogger. If you need a reminder that's both ultra-quick and temporary, try ReNotify - it'll only stay around until the next time you turn on your phone, but sometimes that's all you need.

Imagine you're walking along and you remember you have to do something. You want to leave yourself a note. How long are you going to stand there awkwardly with your phone trying to create a reminder? 30 seconds? The idea of ReNotify is to set notification reminders ridiculously fast when you're on the go. You can take your phone out, set a reminder, and put it back in your pocket quicker than you read this sentence, seriously. Put the app on your home screen on lock screen, and all you have to do is open it, immediately type your message and press a button, and your reminder will be waiting for you next time you look at your phone.

Renotify Notification Maker Developer: Liam Lang
Price: Free
4.3
Download

TunnelBear VPN

There's simple... and then there's overly simple. TunnelBear is a VPN client unlike any other: there are only two options, on/off and US/UK. They're both indicated by the animated bear. You can use the in-app purchases for more VPN time or bandwidth, or upgrade your encryption for better security.

Rawwr. VPN made simple with TunnelBear. Indigenous to the internet, TunnelBear VPN provides safe-passage and privacy for Android tablets and phones to experience the internet from other countries. A free TunnelBear gives you a hearty amount of free “tunneling” each and every month. Upgrade your bear and receive unlimited tunneling and even stronger “bear-grade” encryption. TunnelBear is your Android’s digital companion on an increasingly fenced and monitored internet.

TunnelBear VPN Developer: TunnelBear, LLC
Price: Free
4.3
Download

Pinger: Text Free + Call Free

There are a lot of VOIP options out there, and the newest and perhaps most promising is Pinger. Ignore the inexplicable title: you get a standard phone number, free text messages, and free incoming calls. Outgoing calls are free for the first ten minutes, then you can refill them via an in-app purchase.

TEXTFREE + FREE CALLING = PINGER

We started with the USA’s #1 free texting app, added free calling, and created a whole new mega app. Introducing Pinger for Android. Let freedom ring.

FREE SMS PLUS FREE CALLING TO ANY PHONE

Pinger gives your Android phone free text messaging AND now free calling to any phone, including landlines and non-smartphones, in the US and Canada. Your friends don’t need Pinger to receive -- they don’t even need to have a smartphone. You get your own real phone number that you can use to call and SMS any phone number in Canada and the US, even if you don’t have a calling plan.

TEXTING IS UNLIMITED; EARN MINUTES FOR FREE OUTBOUND CALLS

As always, texting is totally free and unlimited. Incoming calls are free. You get 10 free minutes to start, then you earn minutes for additional free outbound calls. And if you run out of minutes, it's easy to buy super cheap minutes.

Sprint Direct Connect Now

It's been a long time since Sprint and Nextel advertised Push To Talk, the walkie talkie feature that was popular in the mid-2000s, presumably with foremen and various gruff men in coveralls. Their new Direct Connect service is an attempt to bring Push To Talk into the new smartphone era - though there's no way to bind it to a physical button, like my old HTC Touch Pro did. You'll need to add the service on to your Sprint plan ($5 a month) for the app to work.

The Sprint Direct Connect Now app brings Sprint® Direct Connect® push-to-talk (PTT) communications to select Android powered smartphones. The Sprint Direct Connect Now app enables push-to-talk communications with Sprint Direct Connect and Nextel Direct Connect devices including best-in-class features such as 1-to-1 calling and group calling all with the convenience of touchscreen controls. Simply download the app and sign up for Sprint Direct Connect service which is included for no additional charge on many service plans or available for an additional $5 per month for other plans (excludes Sprint Surcharges and taxes).

App Picker Classic

If you hate progress and new ideas... well then, you're probably still running Froyo. But if you're in the minority of 4.1 Jelly Bean users who just can't stand the new app picker interface, then install App Picker Classic to go back to the good 'ol days of late 2011 and Ice Cream Sandwich.

Don't like the new app picker in Jelly Bean? Tired of having to tap two times to start your browsers? App Picker Classic creates a UI similar to the one in ICS where you only have to tap once to select the browser. Works with mailto links too for email. In addition, the app resolves some common short URLs (t.co, bit.ly and goo.gl) taking you directly to the app of your choice, for instance Instagram, Google Play or YouTube. Fallback to native app picker for if you haven't picked a default yet.

Bamboo Paper by Wacom

Need a digital canvas, but don't want to spill the cash for the Wacom-equipped screens in Samsung's Galaxy Note family? Then get a load of Bamboo Paper, Wacom's free notepad app meant to promote some of its graphics tablets. Of course, it works best with an S-Pen or stylus, but you could give it a shot with your pudgy digits as well.

Note taking on your smartphone made easy Do more with your ideas – sketch or write them in an authentic paper-like digital notebook. Enjoy realistic inking and a fluid interface to make quick notes, sketches or drawings. Feel in control of what you write or sketch with our responsive and fast inking that follows the movement of your hand.

The Baker App

If you're a dedicated baker and an Android Police reader... you're probably in the minority. But with the breadth of Android apps, even your specific tastes are served: the appropriately-named Baker App presents new recopies, and allows you to add your own or buy new ones from a curated market. Best of all, the app is surprisingly beautiful, and should be easy to read on any device.

A new way to bake on Android. The Baker App is the first fully featured baking app for Android. Beautifully designed, with practicality in mind, it is created by people with a passion for serious baking. Basing everything on the Bakers’ Percentage format that any good baker swears by, it can be used in any type of kitchen, no matter how busy or messy, and is adaptable to the needs of anyone from a beginner to a master.

Musicovery Player

It's hard to stand out in the mobile music crowd. But Musicovery manages to add some new features: one, it has a "mood" rating for each song, both local and radio, which you can use to create playlists. And two, it (finally) caches some local tunes when you're playing form the web, so you can have at least a few minutes of music without a mobile connection.

Musicovery Player on Android: the easiest way to listen to your own music library and discover new songs, wherever you are even without mobile connection. The app plays the Mp3s from your own music library and songs recommended by Musicovery. Recommended songs are streamed or transferred to your device, and are constantly renewed. Even without mobile connection you can play recommended songs. When your finger rolls over the mood pad, samples are immediately played from the position of your finger. When you are satisfied with the song/mood, by lifting your finger from the screen, a playlist is generated from the last song rolled over.

Beat Bang

We've all seen the somewhat annoying "idea clouds" that futurists seem to love. Think of Beat Bang as a musical version, with the added benefit of actual music. Albums separated and connected by artist and influence include both profile information and audio clips.

Bang Beat is an app that invites you to play in order to discover hundreds of electronic music references from 1988 to today. The essential of the electronic music on your smartphone or tablet With Beat Bang, the Médiathèque presents hundreds of electro music leading albums, from 1988 to 2012, illustrated with musical excerpts of 30 seconds, artist profiles, articles, links ... Beat bang is the history of electronic music from techno to the industrial dance floor, classified according to a single criterion: the BPM. As its name suggests, Beat Bang is this magical moment in time, right in the heart of the musical texture, where an explosion occurred and continues to produce its effects.

Timeline - Art Museum

You know who's awesome? Alphonse Mucha. You know who doesn't know enough about Alphonse Mucha? You don't, dear reader. To learn more about some of the world's best paintings and the men and women behind them, check out the free Timeline Art Museum app, It features massive scans of famous pieces and information delivered in an expansive timeline. More scans can be bought via a cheap in-app purchase. The only thing it's missing... is Alphonse Mucha. Drat.

Timeline brings to life the paintings of such masters as Botticelli, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Monet, Courbet, Klimt, and 73 others in an eye-catching and easy to navigate format.

App Features

‣ Complete details of the work including the title, year of completion, actual dimensions, creator, current gallery location, etc. paired with a high-resolution digital image.

‣ Brief artist synopsis including date/location of birth/death, completed works, and more.

‣ Slide navigation at bottom of screen allows for quick scanning through years, artists, and their paintings.

‣ Swipe with a touch of the finger to jump from artist to artist.

‣ Supports Portrait and Landscape modes.

‣ Currently details 80 artists.

Perch

Most of the people who read AP are obsessive about tech news. If your obsessions is focused to the small businesses in your town, then you'll probably want to check out Perch. And then get a new hobby. Local businesses signed up with Perch will show up in a feed of both promotions and deals.

Put your business in the know. Perch delivers a live, personalized stream of social media and promotion activity for businesses in the neighborhood.

Save Time - Quickly access a feed of the online activity for nearby businesses, and pick the ones you want to watch.

Stay Aware - Discover and track how other businesses are engaging with their followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Be Effective - See the trends and details about nearby promotions - we bring you current daily deal activity across hundreds of deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, and current Foursquare check-in specials.

Bistri - Private Sharing

You know the problem with social networks? All those pesky people wanting to follow you and be your friend. Bistri solves this "problem" by creating isolated, exclusive social networks, ideally between just a few friends and family. Share updates, photos and Dropbox folders among your limited elite. It's kind of like a Google+ circle.... without the rest of Google+.

Bistri is the best way to share privately with your closest friends & family. Bistri is a private social network. We believe most stories are meant to be private and not to be shared with all of your contacts. Bistri is the best way to share things such as photos and files from your Dropbox with your closest friends and family. Just share things like you already do in real life in a one-to-one private conversation. Share with anyone you like, even if they don’t have Bistri installed. They will still be able to see what you share with them via email or text.

Color Grab

You're walking down the street in Boston and you see the absolutely perfect shade of off-red on a brick wall. You must have it for that totally indie band site you're coding, but you're meeting with them in three minutes and they're all would-be designers. How do you get the RGB, CMYK, web and Pantone colors all at once? With Color Grab.

*Color-Grab lets you pick, detect and recognize colors instantly with the camera. The app is designed for graphic designers and color-blinds. Color name, Hue, RGB and HSV representation.

Color Grab (color detection) Developer: Loomatix
Price: Free
4.4
Download

Tapestry

Think of Tapestry as a mobile slideshow creator. Because that's basically all it is. Sure, you can view your photos Gallery-style, but the real meat is creating a collection of them and sharing them with your contacts.

Tapestry is a synchronized photo show-and-tell app that allows you to share your photographic memories with friends/family "close" to you.

  • Synchronized photo slideshow with your family and "close" friends who are gathered near-by.
  • Synchronized photo pinch-to-zoom.
  • Synchronized photo panning.
  • Swipe down on your device to directly download the photos you love from your friends.
  • It is FREE.

ComicBook!

DeviantArt kids spend hundreds of hours trying to copy the rasterized look of comic books (usually for their profile pics). Now you can do it with a simple app, complete with Jack Kirby-approved storyboard and annotating capabilities. ComicBook! (note the exclamation point!) is $1.99.

ComicBook. is your FULL featured comic book creation app. In just seconds turn yourself and your friends into comic heroes or villains. Star in your own comic book adventures. Realistic comic styling with a wide selection of: image filters, comic fonts, customizable captions, a library of classic comic graphics and over a dozen multi-panel page layouts. ComicBook. features 9 different comic photo filters: Comic, Sketch, Vibrant, Manga, Sink City, Poster, Moody, Rock and Hope.

Snapchat

OK, I'll be honest: I have no idea what "Real time picture chatting" is. Maybe it's like a video call with a really low framerate? In any case, SnapChat lets you send photos (with or without text) to a friend who uses the same app, but it puts you in control of how long they can see it. Think Mission Impossible: this message will explode in five seconds. Politicians and sports stars take note - this app could save you some embarrassment.

The first real-time picture chatting app is now available on Android. Real-time picture chatting is finally available on Android. Snapchat is the fastest way to share a moment with friends. You control how long your friends can view your message -

simply set the timer up to ten seconds and send. They'll have that long to view your message and then it disappears forever. We'll let you know if they take a screenshot.

Snapchat Developer: Snap Inc
Price: Free
4.1
Download

PHOTO PUNCH

Photoshop users will be familiar with the Magic Lasso tool, and PHOTO PUNCH [sic] is pretty much the same thing. Grab an element from one photo and stick it onto another, for better or worse, then share it with the usual suspects.

Making hilarious, stunning, shocking, moving, and other types of evocative Photo Mashups has never been easier. Actually, it’s never really been possible before now. Photo Punch makes it so easy to cut-out exactly what you want from one image, and paste it into another. Now you can make incredible photo mashups like a pro in just second or less. With Photo Punch, now you can “Punch” out precise portions of images instantly. It’s as easy as drawing a circle. You just draw a circle around the area you want to “Punch” and voila.

easyFocus

Spoiler: you can't focus and defocus a photo from a traditional camera after it's been taken. But with EasyFocus you can fake it, putting a digital depth of field effect onto any picture, along with the standard enhancement tweaks. Share it to your preferred social network when you're done.

Focus, defocus... the easiest way. Produce SLR camera like focus and defocus effect with your photos. Just open your pictures in easyFocus, play with the tools, create stunning focusing effects and save the creation. Its easy and simple.

easyFocus Developer: ColorBracket Technologies
Price: Free
3.5
Download

AOL On

So you're just as addicted to web video as everyone else. But you're religiously against Google, so YouTube is out. And you somehow use Android. My hypothetical situation for wanting this app is quickly collapsing. In any case: AOL On puts all of AOL's videos into a single app, from entertainment posts to blogs. Also, there may or may not be something about you having mail.

The AOL On App is designed for you to easily discover and view the latest and most premium web videos. Our AOL On newsroom is constantly updating the site in real time to feature the most popular entertainment videos, breaking news and trending topics online, making it easier to sort through all of the news of the web to find entertaining, informative and relevant videos to watch on your phone or tablet.

• Watch all of the most current videos on the web in a beautiful experience

• Find videos from breaking news to the latest TV clips

• Get access to 14 channels with videos ranging from Style to Tech

• Share your favorite videos with your friends easily

• Watch originals from AOL like the award-winning Home of the Brave or the laugh-out-loud funny Fetching

• Find all the top videos from around the web programmed and edited for easy viewing

Live 140 by OneLouder Apps

This app description features a special Android Police contribution from Grandma Rice. Be nice, everybody.

Those dang kids, watching their TV while they tweeter on their Droids. It wasn't like this in my day - when we watched Mr. Andy Griffith on television, we gave it our undivided attention! It's only gotten worse with Live 140, an app specifically designed to merge Twitter with your favorite shows and stars. Dagnabbit, we aughta go back to radios - The Shadow never needed no smartphone to get the bad guy.

The Ultimate TV Companion App. Live 140 is the ultimate TV companion. Every show has stars, analysts and fans "live-tweeting". Live 140 curates these tweet streams for each show and displays them in real time, giving you an unparalleled TV experience. Simply turn on your favorite show, open the app and pick your show. You'll find a live, real-time feed of Twitter commentary from the most relevant actors, critics, and analysts on Twitter, making you the FIRST to know the inside story.... and inside jokes.

Live Wallpapers

Bestiary

A funny creature of your choice will come alive on the screen. The Middle Ages gave birth to the Bestiary – a collection of articles about real and fictitious monsters. Initially, most of the fictitious monsters frightened people. With time, however, they changed and became friendlier. Thanks to the modern Bestiary, all kinds of monsters – big and small, fancy colored and bright, cute and bizarre, horned and furry, big-eyed and big-toothed – will come alive on the screen of your phone and make friends with you.

YourCity 3D

YourCity 3D is a fully computer generated city. The city is built up pixel by pixel, polygon by polygon. Take an aerial tour and fly through the streets of your own personalized city while taking in the bright lights and colorful displays.

Your City 3D Developer: inHause Games
Price: 1.49
4.5
Download

Halloween Video Live Wallpaper

Inspiring video wallpapers that won’t drain your battery or slow your device. Alive stops when another app is running or your device is idle, so it uses no more battery than a photo wallpaper. It automatically saves new clips to the SD card to prevent memory problems.

Tornado 3D

Tornado is one of the most destructive weather events. His mighty power destroys everything. At the same time attract of human of his beauty, majesty and strength. This 3D wallpaper can admire the tornado in 3D on your phone, from a safe distance :) You can create your own tornado theme. Change the colors of tornadoes, clouds, ground, dust, mud and stones in tornado

Tornado 3D Developer: maxelus.net
Price: 0.99
4.7
Download

WTF App(s) Of The Week

ThrowMeApp

If you frequent photography blogs, you know the high-exposure spin shots are a fun and potentially disastrous way to take interesting photos. The same principle applies to ThrowMeApp, which will only take one photo, when the phone is in the air and facing down. You might want to restrict its use to phones with MicroSD cards... considering that the phone might be dead before you can retrieve the picture from internal memory.

Throw your phone into the air to take aerial pictures of you and your friends. Explore a new aspect of photography. Throw your smart phone into the air to take aerial pictures of you and your friends. Haven't you ever wanted to capture the facial expressions of your friends when they see their new Galaxy S III flying 10 meters above the ground? Also throwing your own S III without causing motion blur can prove to be more challenging than expected. Just try to hold your hand steady, keeping in mind that if you don't catch your precious phone you will be collecting the pieces from concrete.

Should I Wear Pants? *FREE*

If you need help on what to wear beyond looking at your weather widget, you're probably beyond the help of any of us here at Android Police. Amazingly, this app has free and paid versions, with advice on more garments in the latter.

Say goodbye to the Stone Age. Do you spend half an hour every morning looking at weather websites in order to determine what you should wear that day? Or, even worse, do you sit and wait for your local newscasters to tell you what the weather is? Should I Wear Pants? is an app that will tell you, at a glance, what you should wear. It does this based on your current location, current weather, and preferences as far as temperature tolerances for assorted garments.

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.