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 2 weeks or so.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Power Button FlashLight /Torch

Power Button Flashlight is a neat little app that lets you toggle your phone's camera LED (which everyone and their dog uses as a flashlight) by quickly tapping the power button. Three taps when the screen is on or four taps when the screen is off, and bam! Instant flashlight. It's actually a common feature of custom ROMs, but this app needs no root or modification. The app is free with a single in-app purchase to enable tapping the power button to toggle the light off.

Start flashlight by pressing phone's Power button 3 times within 3 seconds. Now you have the fastest flashlight - a hardware torch with an actual physical button for switch. Brightest flashlight you can get on Android - no doubt, this is as bright as flashlights can get. NO ROOT required.

  • Start flashlight for free by pressing Power button of the device 3 times.
  • Fastest flashlight - no need to unlock or even look at phone to start the flash light.
  • Power button flashlight always works - start it even if screen is off or device is asleep.
  • Flashlight stays on while doing other things or while screen is off.
  • Stop flashlight with 3 hits of Power button (in Full version only). Or just stop the LED light inside the app for free.
  • Shake to start flashlight only when screen is On.
  • The Power button flashlight toggle is optimized for performance and right user experience - see more settings inside.
[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo6ibpFgIQg[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brink.powerbuttonflashlight[/EMBED_APP]

Apps

YouTube Kids

Android Police coverage: [APK Download] YouTube Kids Is Official, Adorable, And Now Available On Google Play [Hands-On]

YouTube is great. It has lots of excellent videos for kids. It also has lots of excellent videos that are decidedly not for kids. This app shows a curated list of Google-approved kid content, not unlike the "kids mode" for Netflix. It also includes a simplified interface, though I wonder why that was necessary - kids are famously comfortable around video sites. Want to make sure the tykes aren't getting in to anything you don't want them to? You can disable search in the control panel.

The official YouTube Kids app is designed for curious little minds. This free app is delightfully simple and packed full of age-appropriate videos, channels, and playlists. YouTube Kids features popular children’s programming, plus kid-friendly content from filmmakers, teachers, and creators all around the world. We’ve taken out the complicated stuff and made an app even little ones can navigate — that means big buttons, easy scrolling, and instant full-screen.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ8MIVhfdPI[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.youtube.kids[/EMBED_APP]

Push Tasker

Android Police coverage: Push Tasker Is A Straightforwardly-Named Plugin That Expands On What Pushbullet And Tasker Can Do Together

Pushbullet and Tasker are two of the most popular power user apps on Android, allowing some crazy extended functionality between them. Now like peanut butter and trout, they make a great combination, strengthened with this cross-app plugin. Obviously you'll need both Tasker and Pushbullet to get anything out of it, but the combination of alerts and specific actions that you can make your phone operate automatically when everything is set up is mind-boggling.

You can trial Tasker for 7 days (http://tasker.dinglisch.net/download.html) Push Tasker is only usable as a plugin in Tasker. The main idea of ​​the Plug-in is to create a full complement of Pushbullet.
- Intercept notifications
- Send notes
- Send links
- Send addresses
- Send lists
- Quick Reply.
- Use variables to select the device.

ID (Quick Reply): It's the key that comes from the "Quick Reply" that was generated from the task. The answer generate 2 variables:

-% Pt_id: Returns the id
-% Pt_text: Return the answer

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlpteBpnaU[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gerus.push.tasker[/EMBED_APP]

Palabre (RSS, Feedly)

Android Police coverage: Palabre Is A New RSS Reader With A Simple, Material Design And Feedly Compatibility

The wind went out of the RSS reader market after Google Reader disappeared, but it now seems to be recovering. This RSS and Feedly API client comes from the same developer as well-regarded Twitter client Plume, and it features the same dedication to expanded features. The application looks good and works well for devotees of the format, including both magazine and list interfaces and a Readability function, but unfortunately there's no widget in the initial release.

Palabre is your unique source for daily/hourly news from RSS feeds and Feedly. By the author of Plume (Twitter client), Beautiful Widgets and Bright Weather. Featuring a modern material design, this application will help you reading news and articles from your favorite topics. Did you take a look at the screenshots? You will understand how much love we put in Palabre in order to provide a clean, beautiful and easy to use news application.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levelup.palabre[/EMBED_APP]

Disa Beta

Android Police coverage: Disa, A Messaging Client That Can Merge Conversations Across Services, Is Now Available As A Public Beta

Hangouts tried to consolidate our SMS and Google Talk messages. It works... sort of. Disa has more lofty ambitions: consolidating text-based messages across a (theoretically) unlimited amount of services. The beta version of the app officially supports only SMS and Facebook chat, but you can install plugins that allow you to consolidate a conversation with a single contact across Twitter, Google, Reddit, and any number of other services. Check it out if you want just one app to cover all your chat needs. Maybe.

This is the messenger hub we’ve all been waiting for. Disa will unite your messaging & communication services seamlessly while keeping your device clutter free. The design is clean, features are constantly being updated, and merging messages cannot be any easier. Over 36,000 private alpha-stage testers in the Disa Google+ community believe this app is ready for beta testing, so now we’re putting the app in your hands. Let’s get together and make this what a messenger service hub should be.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ay2VmbEc4[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.disa[/EMBED_APP]

AdWords

Android Police coverage: [Update: APK Download] Google Launches A Full-Fledged AdWords App For Android—Canada Only For Now

Google's AdWords platform allows customers to easily place short textual ads on relevant websites all over the web - you can probably see at least one on this page right now. This app allows customers to manage their account, including active campaigns, statistics, bids and alerts, and even access to live support. Oddly, the app has only been made available in Canada for the time being.

Available now in Canada, and launching globally soon. The Google AdWords app helps you stay connected with your ad campaigns from anywhere, using your Android smartphone. You can easily view your ads’ performance on the go with this simplified companion to your desktop account. So you’ll keep your campaigns running smoothly—no matter where your business takes you.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.adwords[/EMBED_APP]

Do Button by IFTTT

Android Police coverage: IFTTT Android App Becomes IF—Joined By New 'Do' Button, Camera, And Note Apps

Amid a re-branding for the If This Then That service (it's just "IF" now), we also get two new apps: the "Do" button and a notepad. The original app is still there, but this button thingy is basically a non-widget widget that lets you assign any IFTTT action to a single button.

Do Button empowers you to create your own personalized button with just a tap. Save time and control the world around you with Recipes that connect your button to Philips Hue, Google Drive, Nest Thermostat, and hundreds of Channels you use every day. Add up to 3 Recipes at a time and swipe between them to quickly change what your button does.

Do Note by IFTTT

Android Police coverage: IFTTT Android App Becomes IF—Joined By New 'Do' Button, Camera, And Note Apps

The "IF" Note app is basically a command line for the IFTTT interface, tied into a bunch of web services like Twitter and Google Calendar.

Do Note empowers you to create your own personalized notepad with just a tap. Save and share notes with Recipes that connect your notepad to Evernote, Twitter, Google Calendar, and hundreds of Channels you use every day. Add up to 3 Recipes at a time and swipe between them to quickly change what your notepad does.

iAnnotate

Android Police coverage: Branchfire Updates Popular iAnnotate PDF Viewer With New Play Store Listing, Asks Users To Get Off Old Version

This isn't a new app, just an updated app with a new listing. But Branchfire's popular PDF viewer has enough new stuff to justify highlighting. Including highlighting! While iAnnotate isn't really an editor in the classic sense (you can't actually modify the original PDF files), you can mark them up with various highlights, sketch tools, and footnotes. The new UI isn't exactly Material, but it uses the available space to much better effect, notably on tablets.

Branchfire is happy to bring our Android users this new, updated version of iAnnotate. Get it now to read, mark up, and share your PDFs. Leave your mark with iAnnotate. Don't be afraid to get messy. Choose from the pen, highlighter, shapes and more to take notes on your PDFs. Because why focus on one thing when you can focus on eight? iAnnotate lets you work multiple PDFs at the same time, and easily navigate between them with tabs.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mfAIuOkRA

[/EMBED_YT]

Do Camera by IFTTT

Android Police coverage: IFTTT Android App Becomes IF—Joined By New 'Do' Button, Camera, And Note Apps

The Do Camera is essentially just for automatically sharing your photos to as many services as possible. You can also send directly to individuals via email or various social networks.

Do Camera empowers you to create your own personalized camera with just a tap. Save time and share your experiences with Recipes that connect your camera to Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote, and hundreds of Channels you use every day. Add up to 3 Recipes at a time and swipe between them to quickly change what your camera does.

ESPN Cricket 2015

Android Police review: ESPN Bowls Cricket 2015 App Into The Play Store, But Early Reviews Are Brutal

I'm told that cricket is a sport that includes both bats and balls, but which has fairly significant differences from baseball. About a billion people (mostly in former British colonies) are officially bonkers for Brit Baseball, and ESPN would very much like to collect some money from those people. The Bowls Cricket 2015 subscription includes mobile access to 49 games via this app.

Every four years the ICC Cricket World Cup is held between the 14 best teams in the world. Don’t miss your chance to see every amazing run by downloading ESPN Cricket 2015 for live streaming of every match. Participating countries include: England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and United Arab Emirates.

notifyier

Notifyer is an app that translates notifications from (theoretically) any app and pumps them out of your phone's speaker using text-to-speech. The applications are obvious for the hard of hearing, but it can also be useful for just about any situation where your hands aren't free: driving, cooking, working on an enormous LEGO set. The app lets you selectively enable and disable the service for each Android app.

Both hands tied up? Too lazy to reach for your phone and check who's trying to reach you? Worry not.!. notifyier brings notifications to you by speaking it out for you. Whether you're driving a car, riding a bike, going for a run, at office with your headset on, cooking, etc.. notifyier keeps you in the know by speaking notification to you. You get to choose what has to be notified.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ocelot.notifyier[/EMBED_APP]

SoundHUD

Remember Noyze? That cool app that let you put the volume rocker up in your notification bar? Well Noyze is dead. But thankfully it was open source, so now we have SoundHUD. It does the same thing, including lots of themes and tweaks.

SoundHUD is a highly customizable volume panel replacement that doesn't require root access. And maybe best of all: It comes with a true silent mode for Lollipop users.

• Multiple styles - choose between an expandable volume panel, a statusbar volume panel, or just a thin line that stays out of your way
• Lollipop silent mode - tired of the lack of a true silent mode for Lollipop? Yeah, so are we.
• Long press actions - launch any app simply by long-pressing one of the volume buttons
• No root required - leave the drill at home: no root, no Xposed - keep that sweet, sweet warranty.
• Volume stream lock - got a media tablet? Turn on volume stream lock to always adjust the music volume instead of having to deal with a useless ringer volume

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greatbytes.soundhud&hl=en[/EMBED_APP]

dadaviz

Infographics fans, this one's for you. This app is a news service that's filled with nothing but charts, graphs, and other visual representations of data (get it?). Feel free to use them to spruce up your school report, political campaign, or intentionally misleading Tumblr post.

Get prepared for what’s next with dadaviz mobile app. We bring you the right news in the right format every day. You’ll get the most relevant news in bite-sized and beautiful data visualizations. Forget about words, we are all about the data, so you are always in the loop.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadaviz.app[/EMBED_APP]

Lock Me Out

If you watch local news, you might have heard reports about "technology addiction." This malady is fake, and I can prove it to you in a 50-slide presentation I made on my tablet and presented via its built-in pico projector. But if you feel the need to step away from your phone for a few minutes, this app will force you to do so. Luckily a few basic functions are still accessible, including emergency calls.

Lock Me Out is a simple but powerful application that allows you to lock yourself out of your device so that you can enjoy some organic device-free, distraction-free time. It will change the screen lock PIN to a random number for the lock out period, and change it back to your chosen PIN once the lock out period is over. You will still have access to the lock screen and its widgets, so you can still make emergency calls, answer calls, and use the camera.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teqtic.lockmeout[/EMBED_APP]

USA TODAY Sports

This is a sports news app from the people who publish USA Today. That's about it - it has all the standard predictions, game coverage stories, highlights, interviews, a full set of scoreboards, and occasional video clips. If you really enjoy USA Today and want an app that's nothing but sports news, this is it.

USA TODAY Sports for Android. Packed with the stuff sports fans need to know about right now, the USA TODAY Sports app puts you at the center of the conversation so you never have to worry about missing a classic moment again.

  • A quick read on the news, formatted for your on-the-go lifestyle.
  • Live Event notifications when an in-progress game gets hot so you never miss a big shot or a crazy upset.
  • Trending News alerts so you’re the first to know when a buzzy story starts to go viral.'
  • The supercharged “Best. Scoreboard. Ever.” gives you a quick glance at what’s worth watching right now, why, and where you can see it. If it’s an awesome live sporting event worth watching, you’ll find it there.
  • Trending topic streams give you a quick but comprehensive overview of the stories everyone’s talking about.

ScreenPop Lockscreen Messenger

We've seen this sort of connected whiteboard-lockscreen combination before in the similar app LokLok. ScreenPop does pretty much the same thing: connect the app between two users and your doodles and messages will show up on their lockscreen and vice versa. ScreenPop ups the ante with photos and emoji.

Introducing the fastest way to communicate. Pop a pic to your friends' lock screens and it will be the first thing they see. Snap a photo right from your lock screen--get creative by adding text, emojis and doodles--then pop it right over to your friend’s lock screen. Don't bother opening apps to send photos and messages. ScreenPop is built right onto your lock screen to make sharing faster than ever.

Panoptic

Panoptic has the admirable but unlikely goal of connecting anything to anything. Its extensive collection of cross-device drivers allows for everything from backing up your local photos to view on your Roku to switching your connected living room lights on and off. The idea is the holy grail of connected living, but the reality will depend on your stuff, that' stuff's compatibility, and the availability of Panoptic apps and modules to control said stuff.

Panoptic is a mobile app that makes it easy to connect, control and monitor anything connected to the Internet. Our mission is to make integrating your Things easy, fun, and intuitive. Panoptic allows you to build your own Control Panels. Using your device, you can create, edit, and fully customize the user interface. Panoptic is more than an app, it's a platform. With our ever growing library of Drivers, your sure to find exactly what you need. Control is only a click away.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q5dWH1NKqo[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.scs.panoptic[/EMBED_APP]

MyTime. Appointments Made Easy

There's a simple way to make an appointment with a business: pick up a phone and call them. Most of them have phones, and if they don't, they usually have some kind of browser-based thingy to let you do the same thing. If all of that is too convenient for you, you can try to use this app to get an appointment in for those places that use its proprietary system.

MyTime is the most convenient way to book appointments with over 2 million local businesses, 24/7. Schedule an appointment for a haircut, massage, dog grooming, and hundreds of other services from nearly any business in your city. Don’t call…just click. MyTime lets you book anytime, from anywhere - right from your smartphone. You can also cancel appointments booked through MyTime without having to call the business.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.melianlabs.mytime[/EMBED_APP]

Emotar

Do we really need more emoticons based on your actual face? According to the creators of the unfortunately-named Emotar, we do. And we also need Game Boy Camera-style scenes to stick them into.

Still using an emoticon that looks the same as anyone? What is it? Introducing Emotar - we create fun, unique, personalized and animated stickers. How to play? Take a selfie picture in Emotar, and we generate your facial expressions FOR YOU. You can change hairstyles and select funny "bodies" - find the one that suits how you feel today.

Manufacturer and Tie-in Apps

HTC Service—Video Player

Android Police coverage: HTC's Video Player Makes Its Way To The Play Store To Facilitate Faster Updates

Here's a video client. It's not for you, unless you use an HTC phone. Or a tablet. But HTC doesn't make tablets anymore. Except the Nexus 9, which doesn't get access to this app on account of not having any HTC software. The app has a few basic editing features thrown in as well.

HTC Video Player offers smooth playback for streaming content online and videos saved on your phone thanks to powerful decoding capabilities. It also features unique gesture controls—try swiping side-to-side with two fingers to fast forward or rewind and swiping up with three fingers to share media with friends.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.htc.video[/EMBED_APP]

Office 365 Partner Admin

If you're an administrator for your team or business' Office 365 accounts, this app allows you to retrieve and reset passwords, update support tickets, and the like.

Office 365 Partner Admin provides key functionality of the Office 365 Partner Admin Center on a mobile device. Microsoft Partners are able to reset user passwords on behalf of Office 365 clients, view client Message Centers, view and update client Support Tickets, and view recent client Service Incidents. Office 365 organization Admin credentials are needed to log into the app.

595d0f2cf7f26b6762edc0df77bd698bb34e98d40fbd3fa8628863c7a62da4d2

Mobile Passport (US CBP auth.)

Android Police coverage: Mobile Passport Lets You Streamline The US Customs Process... At Exactly One Airport For Now

This app allows US and Canadian citizens to fill out their customs declaration form (NOT their passport) on Android at supported airports. Which, right now, includes Atlanta. And nowhere else. Yay?

Skip the line at the airport when entering the USA with MOBILE PASSPORT. Officially authorized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, MOBILE PASSPORT allows travelers to submit their passport control and customs declaration information via their Android device and bypass the regular line to enter the United States. This app effectively replaces the traditional blue-and-white paper declaration form required of all travelers entering the U.S. by air.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.mobilepassport[/EMBED_APP]

Kore - Kodi / XBMC Remote

Kore is a remote control for Kodi (AKA the Xbox Media Center). It's not a first-party app, but it does include pretty much all of the functions you need to control your set-top box, no matter what configuration it's running on.

Kore is a simple, easy to use and beautiful Kodi / XBMC remote that lets you control your media center from your Android device.

  • Control your media center with an easy to use remote;
  • See what’s currently playing, including relevant information about it (movies, TV shows, music, pictures and addons);
  • Check and manage the current playlist;
  • Change subtitles and audiostreams;
  • View your media library, with details about your movies, TV shows, music and addons;
  • Works with XBMC (Frodo and Gotham) and Kodi;
  • All in a nice and easy to use interface, with multiple themes.
[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.syncedsynapse.kore2&hl=en[/EMBED_APP]

SmartEyeglass

Android Police coverage: Sony Releases A SmartEyeglass Companion App In The Play Store

Sony's version of the Google Glass augmented reality hardware isn't even available yet, but you can check out this companion app if you need help deciding on a pre-order. Need even more help making that decision? It's going to cost a little more than $800 USD.

This is the official Sony application for SmartEyeglass”SED-E1". With this app, you will be able to control various settings of SmartEyeglass and use (extension) apps for SmartEyeglass. To use this accessory app, you need to install Smart Connect on your Android smartphone. NOTE:This application will not appear in your application screen or home screen.Open the application settings via Smart Connect or via the phone status bar.

[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7O_h09HKA[/EMBED_YT][EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sony.smarteyeglass[/EMBED_APP]

Fiestable

This app controls a compatible Sony Home Audio System (basically Sony's Sonos knock-off). It's an official Sony app, despite the name.

Fiestable is an app which controls the party features of Sony’s Home Audio System with intuitive and fancy user interface. Even if Fiestable is installed, the Fiestable icon is not displayed on the smartphone/tablet home screen. Embedded in the SongPal app as a plug-in. Control DJ Effect (Isolator/Flanger/Wah/Pan), Sampler (Drums, Voice, etc.) and EQ of your audio system. Change the color and flashing speed of your audio system.

[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sony.songpal.dj[/EMBED_APP]

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.