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41. OnLive
The technically
astounding streaming
video gaming service
has now arrived on
Android, with an
official OnLive app
letting Android
users play console
titles on their
phones and tablets
via wi-fi. It's best
played on devices
with big screens,
but it'll still run
on something as
relatively modest as
an HTC Desire.
On-screen controls
are the big
trade-off, here -
but it will work
with OnLive's
Bluetooth wireless
controller, if
you've seriously
bought in to the
OnLive dream.
42. MailOnline
Quite a few official
news apps have
launched on Android
since we last
updated this list.
The Guardian has
one, The Times has
one, Channel 4 News
has one and so does
the country's
guiltiest pleasure,
the MailOnline.
It features offline
caching and lets
users specify a time
for it to sync pages
with the main site,
so you're in
complete control of
how and when you get
your faux scandal.
43. Sky+
The Sky+ app
has been on Android
for quite some time,
but it's recently
been given a superb
visual refresh and a
new custom interface
for those doing
their telly research
on an Android
tablet. The feature
set has been
expanding, too, now
including a nice
Showcase front
section, more
programme details,
plus, of course, the
Remote Record
features to set your
Sky+ box recording
through 3G or wi-fi.
44. eBay
Another app that's
been out there for a
while on Android,
the eBay tool
has also been
updated so much that
it's now a credible
alternative to the
desktop site. A
recent update bought
the ability to list
items direct from
the app, while
there's a simple PIN
system that makes
paying for your
winnings via PayPal
much simpler and
less convoluted than
it is on the full
blown web site.
45. Lovefilm By Post
There's now an
official Android Lovefilm
app,
which lets you
manage your account
through your phone.
You also get all the
peripheral nonsense
like reviews and
trailers, but the
key feature is the
ability to manage
your rental list,
shuffling the order
of your requests and
filtering out
categories you never
trouble.
46. Tesco Groceries
This isn't an advert
or a casual game
featuring Jamie
Oliver. Tesco
Groceries is
a fully mobile home
delivery shopping
experience, covering
everything from
booking your
delivery slot to
amending orders
already placed. It
uses voice input for
easily searching for
items, plus there's
barcode scanner
support for
identifying and
ordering stuff
direct from your
cupboard. Makes
buying toilet rolls
fun.
47. Path
Path is
an alternate social
network, designed to
make sharing things
with friends easier
and more...
personal. It does
simple stuff like
share your music
listening history,
then it does weird
stuff like track how
many hours you've
slept for. It's also
location aware, so
if you'd like it to
broadcast your every
movement, that's
possible. And if you
can't pull yourself
away from Facebook,
stuff from here can
be posted up there,
too, although posts
can also be locked
so they never leave
Path if you'd
prefer.
48. Sky Sports Live
Football Score
Centre
The latest Sky
Sports Live Football
Score Centre app
from BSkyB is an
entirely
sports-related
option, giving
access to live
scores, league
tables, match stats
and results, also
incorporating the
new Sky Sports News
Radio service for
listening in, live,
to the blokes in the
studio guffawing
away about free kick
decisions.
49. Yelp
Yelp gives
you a similar option
to Google's wide
range of social
place reviews, only
here you also get an
augmented reality
screen display, so
you can point it at
the skyline and see
what five-star
eating
establishments are
in the area. Places
are backed up by
user reviews, too,
making it easy to
get an up to date
opinion on how
generous a
particular cafe is
with the chips.
50. Odeon Cinemas
The Odeon
Android app is
impressive on a
couple of levels.
Being able to buy
tickets through your
phone is still quite
an exciting thing to
do, but this one
goes further by
including a
graphical tool that
lets you book your
specific seats. Plus
you get all the
scheduled film
showing times and
the trailers you'd
expect from
something that's
trying to encourage
you to endure
another
by-the-numbers
Hollywood product.
51. Sky Go
Access Sky's sports
and film channels
(and even Sky Arts
if you're trying to
impress a date)
through wi-fi and 3G
with Sky
Go,
which is free to
download and use as
long as you're a Sky
subscriber. Those
with Android phones
that have been
"rooted" and are
running custom
software are out of
luck, though, with
Sky limiting access
on hacked models due
to "security
reasons." Apart from
that annoying
caveat, it's great.
52. Chrome
Everyone's new
favourite browser is
now represented on
Android, with Google
putting a full
mobile version of Chrome up
on the Play Store.
It's a little
limited in scope for
users of older
devices as Android
4.0 or higher is
required to run it,
but if your phone
ticks that box
Chrome on Android
offers unlimited
tabs in a nice
pop-up list, desktop
bookmark and open
tab syncing, offline
saving of pages and
even that
occasionally very
useful incognito
mode for covering
your weirder tracks.
53. Rightmove
After a massive
period of iOS
exclusivity and the
previous disastrous
launch of a rubbish
web browser wrapper
app, there's finally
a proper nativeRightmove app
for Android. It has
a modern, Android
4.0 style layout
(but works on
anything with
Android 2.1 or
higher), offering
simple property
searches, a Google
Maps visual results
interface and Street
View integration.
It's fast and lovely
to use.
54. TED
The series of tech
talks by boffins, in
which they try to
explain high
concepts in a way
the likes of us can
understand, is now
represented on
Android. TheTED app
lets users browse
its database of well
over 1000 TED talks,
all free to download
and try to get
through in one go
without having your
brain explode.
55. ISSLive
Let's be honest - ISSLive looks
awful. But beneath
the clumsy interface
and geeky layout sit
all sorts of facts
and coverage from
the International
Space Station, with
plenty of live
feeds, mission, crew
and experiment data
and even a 3D
recreation of
Mission Control down
there in Houston
to... look at. An
oddball collection
of the interesting
and the mundane,
like an episode of
The Sky at Night.
56. London Bus
Checker
London Bus Checker is
a very well designed
and attractive app,
which pulls in live
data for all London
bus stop display
boards. It's almost
certainly of most
use to people who
live in London, who
get full route maps,
diversion and
cancellation
updates, GPS support
for finding the
nearest stop and an
arrivals widget. All
the fun of actually
hanging out at a bus
stop, basically.
57. Met Office
Weather Application
Find out where
there's likely to be
any drinkable water
left this summer
with this one, the
official weather
checker from the Met
Office.
It's about as
comprehensive as a
weather app can be,
offering Home screen
widgets, a five-day
forecast, severe
weather warnings,
maps just like on
the telly and the
"feels like"
temperature so you
know if a jacket is
required.
58. Netflix
As soon as the
streaming service
hit the UK, so did
its accompanying
Android app. And
the Netflix app
does it all,
offering access to
the full catalogue
of digital film and
TV rentals,
presented in a clean
and simple layout.
The only fancy
features are PC
syncing so you can
pick up where you
left off on mobile
if it's getting near
bed time, plus
Facebook sharing so
everyone can keep up
on how your Secret
Diary of a Call
Girl marathon is
going.
59. Wikipedia
A new way to look at
the pleading face of
Jimmy Wales. The
officialWikipedia Android
app is very nice to
use, presenting a
simplified version
of the desktop
site's content, plus
an ever-useful
offline saving
option if you need
access to pages when
out of reception
range. You also get
location aware
features, making it
easy to randomly
browse for
interesting things
in your vicinity.
60. FitBit
If you're still
struggling to lose
the Christmas weight
heading into Easter,
you may benefit from
having a bit of life
coaching on your
telephone. FitBit's
main feature is a
Food Plan that keeps
track of how many
chocolate Brazil
nuts you've had
today, plus a
logging feature that
tracks your claims
of exercise and
adjusts your eating
allowance
accordingly. You'll
be like the woman
off the Special K
adverts inside a
month.
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