Recommended Android Apps (you might not know) – Part 3, Internet
This is a loose series of blog posts presenting my favourite Android Apps. This selection is naturally quite subjective, but you might find some apps you don’t know yet. If root access is required, this is mentioned, as well as free vs. ad-supported vs. paid.
This post lists apps for everything web-related.
BaconReader for Reddit
Reddit online reader
An app to browser reddit, rate articles, post comments and so on. There are some reddit reader apps but this one looks incredibly beautiful and is very fast.
- Beautiful and intuitive UI
- Preview links above comments
- All reddit features inside
Free, paid version available | Google Play link »
Boat Browser
Webbrowser alternative
If you are on Android 4 ICS, I’d recommend Google Chrome – but in case you’re still on 2.x try this one.
A tabbed browser alternative to the built-in Android browser. Boat Browser is extremely stable, has all useful features a browser needs and until now I didn’t find a website which didn’t work.
- Stable and compatible
- History, downloads, tabs – usefully integrated
- Good and clean UI
- Extensions (since the latest version)
Free | Google Play link »
Free | Google Chrome »
gReader
Google Reader (RSS Feeds)
The best Google Reader app out there. It has a nice layout, some very useful options like: Load images only when connected via WiFi, gestures and features a very good reader view.
- Very powerful RSS reader
- Synchronization with Google Reader, lots of options
- Read posts inside the app: Web view or special reader view – or read posts inside the browser
- Gesture support, intuitive UI
- Supports audio and video podcasts (Pro only)
Free, paid version available | Google Play link »
imo
Instant Messaging solution
The only IM client with all the protocols one would need: Skype, MSN, Facebook, AIM and so on. Simply works.
- Lots of account protocols
- Manage all your IM contacts in one app
- Chats work seamlessly, can be saved
Free | Google Play link » | Beta version on Google Play »
Pindroid
Best Pinboard.in tool
Since I develop the official Safari extension to pinboard.in (the best online boomarking site on the planet, see here) I’m of course using pinboard.in also an Android. This app lets you manage your bookmarks, tags and so on and is very well integrated – you can send webpages from any app right to your pinboard or the unread list.
- Great Android integration: Widget, Active folder, Shortcut, Android search, Send to..
- Good synchronization method
- Clean UI
Free | Google Play link »
1Password Reader
Official 1Password app
1Password is an application/service to store credentials. Just like a password manager but it has a plethora of useful features: There are extensions for Safari, Firefox and Chrome which work very good. There’s a desktop app for Mac and Windows. The data is synced across all your devices via Dropbox. And you can access your data also via your webbrowser by opening a webpage inside your dropbox folder.
The Android app is not yet perfect (it can’t yet save new logins), but it is indispensable if you need your passwords on the go (and who doesn’t?).
- Dropbox integration
- Customizable synchronization
- Automatic login (only inside the app)
- Integrated into Android search
Free | Google Play link »
Wikipedia QSB
Integrate Wikipedia into Android search
This is not really a standalone app: It integrates Wikipedia search into your phone-wide Android search.
To use it: Open Android search (usually: long press Menu), then click Menu > Search settings > Searchable items and select Wikipedia QSB
.
Free | Google Play link »
ConnectBot
SSH client
A great SSH/Telnet client which also lets you connect locally to the shell. Lets you choose different terminal emulations, setup keyboard shortcuts etc. And it’s open source.
Free | Google Play link »