Best Android Apps (Fun)

Flipboard (Free)

Flipboard is one of our favorite iPad apps and has spawned a number of copycats. The basic idea here is to create a magazine-like news experience by aggregating links from your Facebook friends, the people you follow on Twitter, interests you may have (like technology), and other favorite sites, and displaying them in a fun layout where you can flip through pages of new content anytime you want. The Android app has you swipe upward to flip through pages, but the concept translates pretty well to the small screen. Check it out. It’s free.

Instagram (Free)

If you’ve been on Facebook for the last year, you’ve likely seen a ton of retro-looking photos. Either they look faded out, or have any number of other effects on them. This is Instagram and iPhone users have had exclusive rights to it for quite some time. But that has changed. Instagram is now available on Android and its already one of the best looking Android apps. But hey, if you don’t download it no one is going to lose any sleep. Facebook recently bought Instagram for $1 billion.

Google Sky Map (Free)

This app from Google is frankly just really awesome. Using GPS, turn the app on while you are looking at the night sky and it will literally show you what to look for. The app depicts stars, constellations, and planets as you would see them looking directly at the night sky. Wonder what constellation those three bright stars are part of? Point your Android device in that direction and Google Sky Map will give you an answer.

DoodleDroid ($0.99)

Keep the right side of your brain busy with this sophisticated painting app for Android. It offers 21 different brushes to play with, speed-sensitive opacity (slower is darker), and multiple undos for all those accidental swipes.

Flixster (Free)

This simple app is a must for movie lovers, offering a clean user interface and accurate movie listings at nearby theaters, based on your current location, of course. Perhaps the best feature of this app is its integration with online movie critic Mecca Rotten Tomatoes. Users can browse what’s out in theaters, or what’s playing nearby and access the RT reviews in just one click.

Layar (Free)

Augmented reality hasn’t yet graduated to the point where we’re ready to call it downright useful, but there’s no denying the fun to be had with playing Geordi La Forge from Star Trek with Layar. It layers information in real time over images captured by your phone’s camera, like historical pictures of the city you’re in, nearby landmarks, and superimposed future buildings.