Jared's off with something called "family" this week, (seriously, who has ever heard of that?), so I'm filling in for him. Anyway, every week the folks at Android Central like to share with y'all, the best darn Android community on the internet, what it is we fancy, app-wise. Jump after the break to see what our selections are, and let us know what you're digging in the comments!
Sean Brunett - NHL 3D Live Wallpaper (free)
The NHL playoffs are in full swing and there have already been several intense game 7s. One way to show your support for your team is to put a live wallpaper of that team as the background of your phone.
With NHL 3D Live Wallpaper, you get access to each and every team in the NHL. The app is free to download, but each team costs $1.99 via an in-app purchase, though it does come with a free general NHL wallpaper.
Once you have set the live wallpaper, you can change the camera angle and view your team all the way to the Stanley Cup. [Google Play Link]
Alex Dobie - Angry Birds Space (free with ads, $0.99 ad-free, $3.00 HD for tablets)
Through a series of bizarre coincidences, I ended up back with a Samsung Galaxy Note this week, so I decided to take the latest chapter of the Angry Birds saga for a spin.
Angry Birds Space extends the simple artillery shooter genre, taking the action into space and introducing new birds and some crazy gravity-based gameplay. Instead of simply falling to the ground like they do on boring old Earth, birds, pigs and everything in between gravitate towards the nearest planet, asteroid or moon.
And some levels take place in complete zero-gravity, meaning there's no limit to the amount of avian carnage you can dole out.Sure, it's still Angry Birds, but the space setting is more than a visual gimmick, with plenty of new gameplay tricks to keep the experience fresh.
Angry Birds Space is available on Google Play and Samsung Apps for phones running Android 1.6 and up. There's a free, ad-supported version, as well as a paid option if you'd prefer not to see any ads. In addition, there's a tablet-optimized HD version, which will set you back a little more. [Free, ad-free, HD for tablets]
Richard Devine - Apex Launcher for ICS (free/$4.06)
I've previously been a champion of Nova Launcher, but in this game you have to try out the alternatives as well. Enter Apex Launcher, and my new launcher of choice.
It offers many similar features to Nova. Lots of customizations, that stock ICS look and feel, and the ability to set custom lists in the application drawer and hide those bloatware Apps you don't want to see.
You also get notifications to messaging, phone and Gmail as well as the ability to add 1x1 widgets to the dock. Yesterday it received an update that added one feature in particular that pleases the terminally lazy like myself. They call it root helper.
The application has to be installed to system to add widgets from the app drawer, but which requires root access. I'm not averse to a little tinkering and tomfoolery, but I am lazy. The root helper does the work for you, et voila! Widgets can be added from the application drawer.
Launchers are always down to personal preference, but you can try this for free, so there's nothing really to lose. [Google Play Link]
Jerry Hildenbrand - AfterFocus (free)
Ever notice the nice blurred background in a good portrait picture taken with a quality DSLR camera? The kind where the subject is crisp and clean, while the rest of the image is blurred and de-emphasized. It's a good look a lot of the time, which is why it's a popular effect.
While we can't change the format size, focal length or f-number on our Android phones, we can use software to compensate. That's what AfterFocus does, and it does it fairly easy.
Using smart image mapping magic of some sort you simply sele ct the part of the picture you want to stay in focus, then select the parts you want blurred a bit. It's a lot like the smart selection done with Photoshop, but on a smaller scale.
Once selected, you have a handful of filters to apply that actually make the photo look better instead of hipstergrammed. It's free, and works on any phone or tablet running Eclair or higher. Check it out! [Google Play Link]
Chris Parsons - Hookt Messenger (free)
Ya, I know. There is a ton of cross-platform messenger services out there. Some are goo d, some -- not so much. That said, Hookt is one that I've been using for quite some time now and it pretty much seems to be the only one that gets synching across multiple devices correctly.
It has group chat, read notifications, push notifications and some fun things like stickers which is their name for really cool emoticons really. There is BlackBerry client, Android client and iOS client so if your friends are spread out you may find this is a great option.
Plus, they offer an web version as well through their site, so when you come home you can pick up right where your chats left off without ever even having to pick up your device. If you're in need of a cross-platform messaging client, give it a look. [Google Play Link]
Kevin O'Quinn- FriendCaster(free)
With all the hubbub about Facebook updating their app and adding some uninstallable icons for their services, I thought I would tell you about my favorite Facebook app.
Friendcaster is awesome. It does everything that the official app does, and more. Upload pictures, share links, tag friends, you name it and you can probably do it.
Now I'm no diehard Facebook user, so I'm sure their might be a few things that it doesn't do well, but I haven't found them. It has pull down to refresh, which is honestly one of my favorite features of any app. (Google+ is still missing this, why?)
Of course you can also view your notifications , but there's more. Friendcaster does push notifications, and they are reliable. I've never had reliable notifications from the official app.
If you don't want to be bothered by a bunch of Facebook notifications, you can set it to poll, too, and you can customize which notifications you want to be alerted to. All-in-all this is my favorite Facebook app. It does things really well, and best of all is free. Oh, and it doesn't add any extra icons to your app drawer without asking. [Google Play Link]
Anndrew Vacca - Songbird (free)
I have to be completely honest: I really hate Google Music. Its unintuitive, bulky, slow, and downright ugly. For streaming music in the cloud, it just passes for acceptable; for playing music stored locally, its unusable.
And as someone who spends a large part of his day traveling underground in the subway, its important for me to have music that doesnt depend on an internet connection. Thats why on my Galaxy Nexus, I use Songbird. Its benefits are twofold: first, Songbird for your PC or Mac automatically imports all of your music from iTunes into a respectable, easy-to-use interface.
From the desktop app, you can create playlists and sync the music to your phone with ease. The other benefit is the Android UI. Playing music on your smartphone is a lovely experience, one that works and looks infinitely better than Google Music.
It can integrate with your Facebook account but hon estly, I use it simply for its playback features. If youve got HTC Sense or Samsungs TouchWiz on your device, you probably have access to a native music player that cant be beat. If youre running stock Android 4.0 and must rely solely on Google Music, grab Songbird and never look back. [Google Play Link]
Joshua Muoz - Tasks ($0.99)
If there's one thing I'm a pretty big stickler for, it's meeting the Android design guidelines. Why, you might wonder? Because apps designed with the design guidelines in mind are, as a whole, gorgeous!
Take Tasks, for example. It's an app that syncs with Google Tasks, but, unlike many other similar apps before it, looks great while doing so. (And this is coming from a guy who never really used Google Tasks before.)
Simply sign in with your Google account and all of the lists you've made previously will pop up. Creating new lists is as easy as creating new tasks, and moving from list-to-list means you'll only be swiping left to right, just like the Android design guidelines say to.
When you've completed a task, simply tap the checkbox on it and it'll cross itself out (but remain onscreen). Once you've got some completed tasks on your list, a small popup will briefly appear at the bottom of the screen giving you the option to clear all completed tasks. If you choose to skip that, a setting in the menu also gives you the option to clear tasks.
With both a light and dark theme, Tasks is the real deal. It makes sy ncing your Google Tasks both efficient and stylish, and does so with one of the easiest interfaces to use I've seen yet. Tasks runs on Android 4.0. [Google Play Link]
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