Let me present you today with some of the most wonderful Android apps that can help make your Android-powered phone even smarter than it is. As a sweet bonus, these apps are also FREE to download and use.

This way, you need not spend hours on searching the huge pool of Android apps marketplace in an attempt to find the best of all apps and games in Android Market, which are Free to use too. All these apps that I’m going to present below are hand-picked and are excellent at what they are supposed to do. So with out further ado, let me present the Top 10 FREE Android Apps available in the marketplace today. These 10 free Android apps should be any Android owner’s Day One installs…

Fill your Google mobile with today’s finest free Android apps

1. Seesmic:

Though there are already numerous Twitter apps in the Android market, even more are being introduced everyday. The most discussed of all is the Seesmic, which is probably the best right now with its excellent set of nice features. This app gives you a home screen widget which keeps you updated with the new tweets (so that you get to see every new tweets as they are tweeted in real-time). Also, Seesmic supports multiple accounts and it designed for professionals in a professional way.

2. AppBrain Market Sync:

If you use Android, unfortunately there is no way you can download your apps on the PC and transfer them later to your Android phone. Enters AppBrain Market Sync to your rescue! This app is solution to this issue as it lets you do the forbidden act. By help of AppBrain you can send your Apps (that you downloaded on the PC) to the Android phone. Isn’t that too cool for an App that is available for Free?

3. Task Manager:

If you come from a bit of a hardcore PC background, you’ll find Android’s lack of a blue X to close apps a bit of a worry. Which is why you need a good manual override tool to shut any persistent apps. It may help you save battery life, but most important is the feeling of control and empowerment you get from one-click closing apps. For this purpose, download this Task Manager app form the Android Market. This will make the task of closing any running app that you don’t need to run anymore very easy and simple.

4. Sketch Online:

This is an interesting game that involves gaming as well as socializing with fellow Android users. A user draws something and the other players try and guess what is drawn. Yes, it is as simple as that! Right now, a beta version is available and it is free of cost. Later, one might have to pay for enjoying the ad-free version of this game, though.

5. Google Maps Navigation:

If you are reading this article then you have probably already heard about Google Maps and this free Android app is amazingly brilliant. It guides you through the map turn by turn and with the help of voice navigation. With the help of charger, dock and accessories, you can make it your permanent navigator. It calculates the route in the very beginning of your tour so that data transfer is minimal and no difficulty is faced during the trip even if the signals drop. Isn’t that simply awesome?

6. Google Sky Map:

This is another Google application that gives you precise positions of the stars, using your phone’s orientation. In fact, the app is so good at its work that you will be taken by surprise. Pointing your Android phone towards the sky is all that you have to do, and this app will show you the visible stars and planets etc. on your screen. Point phone at sky, then learn what constellations are visible and if that’s a UFO or just Venus. Even works indoors, if you’re not keen on getting cold. A must have Android app for every star gazers and astronomy enthusiasts.

7. Swype:

This cool app is not yet available in the Android market but the good news is that you can still download it directly from the maker’s site. The idea is superb and helps you get rid of the conventional ‘tapping’ of keyboards. Now, you have to swipe your finger through the letters of keyboard according to the spellings e.g. put your finger at ‘A’, swipe it through the alphabets to ‘I’ and stop at ‘R’; you have just written ‘AIR’ by swiping your finger. This app also suggests words if there are typos.

8. Brain Genius Deluxe:

This is a great learning game that tests your knowledge as well as helps you in expanding it. You can choose from daily exercise, single exercise and bonus games. The game revolves around Observation, Memory, Calculation and Reasoning. This is a nice game to play, especially if you are someone who likes games involving problem solving and deduction.

9. Skyfire 2.0:

The USP of the Skyfire browser is that it supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects something like an embedded YouTube video. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire’s server, which does all the computery stuff – then sends the file to your handset. It also makes recommendations for media content for you according to your choice smartly. You can easily share what you want with only one click. Other features include pinch to zoom, choice between full desktop web pages and mobile optimized pages, anonymous browsing and multi-tab browsing. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but works like a dream on models with faster processors.

10. RAC Traffic:

With this app in your Android phone, you don’t need to listen to radio for any news updates regarding traffic incidents. An official production of the motoring organisation, the app is dead simple – it guesstimates your location via the mobile signal, then pops up the current traffic alerts for your area. Much better than having to listen to the radio for the odd update about arterial blockages. Isn’t it? This is what I call as “intelligent computing“!

So here we go. Top 5 famous smartphones of recent days: (clears throat)

1. Apple iPhone 4

The name itself speaks for itself; ain’t it? Apple iPhone 4! They did some hard work this time and have managed to bring in many of the iPhone wishlist features. And what users get is a magnificent GSM cell phone which is first of its kind. This 4th generation device from Apple has 1 GHz chip and 512MB of RAM, two cameras, HD video and the most discussed Retina Display- the highest resolution screen we have seen ever on a GSM phone. There are even more. Apple has introduced iOS4, which comes with some degree of cool multitasking capabilities, which is new compared to its older iOS counterparts.

The Dark Side: Oh yeah! The dark side. Terrible hardware design, which has created enough of iPhone 4 haters already, micro SIM card, FaceTime video call possible only with WiFi, Poor loudspeaker performance etc can play the spoiler here. Did I forget to mention about the signal failure flaw  in iPhone 4 and how Apple has admitted it finally and bringing a software update to fix it soon?

2. Samsung I7500 Galaxy

We have recently seen a dozen of new handsets from the manufacturer Samsung. Samsung I7500 Galaxy is one of the most discussed phones of all. It’s said to be a Google experience phone with a 5 MP camera in it. Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and turn to mute are one of the best features, this gadget has on its cards. Internal memory is pretty high as 8GB with an external storage-micro-SD support.

The Dark Side: Lack of smart dialing feature, outdated camera features, lack of video calling, absence of multi-touch gestures and lack of availability of 3rd party software pulls the device back.

3. HTC Aria

It’s similar to HTC HD mini in design and runs Android 2.1. It comes with HTC Sense user experience, 5MP camera, supports BlueTooth, GPS and a lot more features than what you’ll probably need to just dial a phone. Summing of the Pros; lots and lots of features, nice layout, fast web browsing, good camera quality, real quick processor are to name a few.

The Dark Side: The dark side for this phone is At&T; they restrict the user from non-android marketplace applications. And yes, the camera doesn’t come with a flash.

4. Motorola Milestone

It’s really a Milestone in the world of Android cell phones; and a menace for its competitors. This device runs with Android OS v2.0 with kinetic scrolling and pinch zooming. Motorola claims to provide the slimmest Side Slider with full QWERTY keyboard till date. 5MP autofocus camera, Wi-Fi, GPS (with A-GPS), microSD slot, bundled 8GB card, accelerometer and proximity sensor makes the device perfect.

The Dark Side: This lacks Divx and XviD video playback, voice dialing, flash support for web browsers and FM radio (Radio; If you really need it in 21st century)

5. Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Camera lovers; this is for you. You don’t believe me? This is a kind of Smartphone which can challenge a professional camera. This gadget comes with 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection, geotagging and touch focus. The cell Phone come with microSD card (comes with 8-16GB card in the Box), built in accelerometer, Turn-to mute, TV-Out, Stereo FM Radio, Office document viewer and a lot more.

The Dark Side: LED flash is not so powerful to fulfill the camera’s desire, no office document editing (without a paid upgrade), no stereo speakers, No DivX or XviD support goes against this otherwise great smartphone.

Also Read: Top 5 Best Smartphone Alternatives to the iPhone. And follow the latest mobile phone news and releases with Dial a Phone. Their blog features all the biggest gossip in the mobile phone world!

PlanetBeing claims to have ported a debug version of Android to the iPhone itself, drivers and all, and you’ll find a thoroughly convincing demonstration of his bona fide dual-booting Apple device taking calls, playing music and even surfing the web in the video that follows. While the iPhone isn’t the speediest Google phone around, it’s not all that sluggish, either, and with the iPhone’s hardware buttons remapped to Android controls, PlanetBeing seems to get along just fine.

Video of iPhone Running on Android OS

Currently the hack only works on the original iPhone and it’s not flawless, but there’s hope that it’ll be perfected and implemented on iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS devices in the future. According to him, “it should be pretty simple to port forward to the iPhone 3G. The 3GS will take more work. Hopefully with all this groundwork laid out, we can make Android a real alternative or supplement for iPhone users.“

The Android-on-iPhone hack is a notable technical accomplishment, but it’s not likely to transform the industry or alter what mainstream users do. It does indicate, though, that the hacking ethos is alive and well despite Apple’s attempts to keep its gadgets locked down.

As you might expect, there are problems with Android on the iPhone. “It’s slightly buggy because I didn’t bother to implement all the Android-specific driver extensions,” he said in the video demonstration. And it’s slow, since he is using a debug version of Android.

Want to help out with this? You can donate to planetbeing at planetbeing at gmail.com or go to #iphonelinux on irc.osx86.hu.

1. Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android (32 GB): The Archos 5 Internet tablet/portable media player offers a large, high-resolution touch-screen display, Wi-Fi, music playback, photos, Flash video and game compatibility, Bluetooth, e-mail, a Web browser, a built-in speaker, an integrated kickstand, GPS, and support for a limited selection of Android applications. hanks to the optional accessories such as the HDMI Minidock and the DVR Station, the ARCHOS 5 internet tablet will become your one and only media center, letting you benefit from the exceptional quality of your HD TV to watch movies like never before, at full resolution. And with the DVR Station, you can record your TV and thus transform your TV experience into a mobility experience. Last but not least, the ARCHOS 5 internet tablet lets you easily access over 1,000 webTV stations (and over 10,000 webradio stations).

On the down-side, GPS signal reception in Archos 5 Internet tablet is poor enough to make the feature useless; many popular Android apps are unsupported; Flash video support is hit or miss; no multi-touch support for keyboard or gestures; text copy and paste is a chore; and the glossy design shows fingerprints.

List price: $369.95

2. SmartDevices SmartQ V5 MID 1080P Player: A multimedia player that supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and can also connect to cellular service providers with an optional card. Not only can you play YouTube and listen to music, but the device also lets you read and edit documents in Microsoft Word/Excel, Open Office, RTF, HTML or TXT formats.

List Price: Sells for about $150

3. Ramos W7 “Blue Magic” MID: A MID with a bigger emphasis on the Internet, complete with a 4.8 inch touch screen display which connects via Wi-Fi. The device caused some stir in the fall thanks to its Android-specific 600MHz Rockchip CPU.

List Price: Between $200 and $400.

4. eviGroup’s MID Wallet: A 5-inch touch screen MID that includes a Webcam, Wi-Fi and integrated 3G. This device has been talked about for months and was initially supposed to ship in January, but as of press time, still didn’t seem to be available. Beyond a few basic hardware specs, details on what the device will do to distinguish itself are a bit sketchy.

At one time, it was thought it would use an x86 processor and be capable of running XP, but latest word is that it will use ARM chipsets.

5. Aspire One D250 Model 1613: A version of Acer’s popular Aspire Net book that runs Android on an Intel Atom processor with a 10-inch display. Weighs in at less than 3 pounds. This net book dual-boots into Android or Windows XP. (Windows with Android huh! Cool, isn’t it?)

Pricing: Less than $350 on Amazon.

6. Menq EasyPC E790: A net book from a company famous for making inexpensive net books. Sports a 7-inch 800 x 480 display and a Samsung ARM9. Word is that Menq is planning on selling this puppy for a mere $80. Although it’s not available yet, it will likely be sold through retail outlets. It is also supposed to be able to dual-boot Windows CE and Android. What’s more? It has got video gaming included into the feature lists, recently.

Pricing: About $80.

7. Compaq AirLife 100: Not only does the 10.1-inch HP Compaq Airlife 100 look like an scaled-down MacBook Pro, but it runs Android and has a touchscreen and a webcam and an SD slot. In other words, an iPad for the Apple haters. This is a tablet that is, in some ways, almost a phone. It features a 10.1-inch touch screen, and an almost full-sized keyboard, as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, a Webcam and integrated 3G.

This could be the first Android tablet (meaning touch screen netbook) by a major U.S. PC manufacturer, although Dell is rumored to be working on both an Android tablet and a netbook. It’s powered by a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor.

The phone has thus far proven to be “a flop.” According to Flurry’s numbers, Google has moved only 135,000 units, in its first 74 days. By comparison, the iPhone sold one million units in its first 74 days, and the Motorola Droid sold 1.05 million in that time. The DROID had a rumored $100M marketing push, and the iPhone was a full $599 out of pocket at time of launch, which make these Nexus One’s sales figures even less impressive. For further context, the much criticized iPad just went on sale in an online-only mode and sold an estimated 152,000 units in just three days.

The Nexus One is available only through T-Mobile, of course, a significantly smaller network than Verizon and AT&T. And as per Google’s aforementioned unique sales approach, consumers can purchase the phone online only. So it appears that launching with the 3G bands of the #4 U.S. carrier and selling exclusively through a web portal is not proving to be a wise go-to-market strategy, in this case.

Interestingly, the likelihood of a stripped down simplified version of the Nexus One for developing countries like India and Russia now seem very practical . In fact, a slimmed down version of the handset is being positioned for launch in the last quarter of 2010, with a price of 24,000 INR being speculated.

Clearly, the Nexus One is not the big hit that many expected it to be but it is possible that the Nexus One’s sales numbers will hopefully (for Google) improve as it launches on Verizon Wireless and Vodafone in the coming month. But it is also possible that even on Verizon, it (The Nexus One) might never be a hit. What do you think of Nexus One sales? Are you surprised that they are as low as they are? Let us know!

Not that the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G or the iPhone 3GS launches were perfect, but people expected a perfect launch from Google Nexus One. I’ve heard this one before and lots of Nexus One users are waiting for an update to fix the 3G stability issues with the phone. According to Google, if the hardware is bad then the warranty will cover everything and if its a software problem then a patch will be released ASAP.

Now Google has opened their Smartphone support hotline. That’s right; After taking quite a beating in the blogosphere after the initial launch of the Nexus One, Google has officially launched phone support.

You can reach the support hotline from 7AM to 10PM EST at 1-888-48-NEXUS (63987) this is 1-888-486-3987. The search company, now also hardware vendor, acknowledged the touchscreen issue and said that its looking deeply into the problem.

However, the issues go away after putting Googles phone into sleep mode, and later on switching it on. According to the official Google Android forum, the Nexus One are having touchscreen-calibration problems after the handset was cold-booted. Sadly, some users are experiencing touchscreen issues with the HTC Nexus One.  This is exactly what Google didn’t need: another Nexus One problem.

However, I would say this (Google Nexus One Phone Support Hotline) will certainly help a lot of people. Not only you have web support, you also have ‘live’ people to talk to if you need one. Not much else to see here, but hey, way to go Google, now can you tell me why my Google Reader constantly freezes?

After Google released a smartphone with Android open source mobile operating system (Nexus One), What next?

Rumor mills suggest that a Google Nexus 2 is lurking in a research lab already. No sooner had the Nexus One stunned us all with Nexus One’s launch on January 5 than the inevitable  Google “Nexus 2” started appearing in online rumor pieces.

Thanks to Google itself that this rumor has emerged. With vice-president of product management Mario Queiroz commenting at the Nexus One launch that it was “the first in a series of phones”.

And indeed, a few days after the Nexus One’s arrival, Google’s VP of engineering responsible for Android, Andy Rubin, claimed that a QWERTY keyboard-wielding follow-up was indeed in development, with it would be focused on business users.

Since then, practically every handset vaguely fitting the bill has been touted as a potential Google Nexus 2. One of the issues clouding any talk of a Nexus One follow-up is that Google itself doesn’t make the hardware. HTC is its partner of choice for its smartphone debut, but some rumors are suggesting fellow Open Handset Alliance member Motorola may be favored next time up.

The Motorola Shadow – first outed at the end of last year – is the current insider tip as a potential Nexus in different clothing. It adds one of the few features the Google Nexus One actually lacks – a QWERTY keyboard. But that’s about all that’s known right now, and the single image being circulated appears nothing more than an artist’s render.

There’s talk of a next-gen Snapdragon 1.3GHz or 1.5GHz processor being lined up, along with the next Android update too, of course (which we know know will be called Froyo) but it’s anyone’s guess if either will be found in a Google-branded phone anytime soon. What do you think? Nexus 2 is just another rumor or is it for real?

The guys at FierceDeveloper have put together this nifty chart showing the top smartphone operating systems by number of active users in the United States in October, based on comScore’s data. The following chart is based on a list that is derived from a three-month average ending in October of U.S. mobile subscribers over the age of 13. ComScore asked respondents what type of phone they own, and derived operating system information based on those responses.

Below: the chart of comScore’s data. The yellow bars are the most recent statistics.

What’s interesting about comScore’s latest number is it’s the first time iPhone OS market share has surpassed Windows Mobile. According to the data, approximately 36 million Americans are smartphone owners, with 40% of those owning Blackberries and 25% owning iPhones. Windows Mobile share has shrunk to 20% and with the increasing popularity of the iPhone and Google’s Android OS, it’s not looking too hot for WinMo (Windows Mobile).

What is your personal favorite? What OS would you prefer for your Business Smartphone? Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone or Google Android (maye be Nexus One)?

Rumors have been circulating for a while now that Google is developing its own Android-based handset. The Wall Street Journal reports that the rumors are confirmed and that Google employees are currently using a prototype of the Google device, which will be dubbed the Nexus One, though the newspaper can only say that this is “according to people familiar with the matter.” The handset allegedly will be built by Chinese cell phone manufacturing giant HTC and will run Google’s own wireless operating system, Android.

Sources cited by Reuters have ‘confirmed’ that the phone will be available in the dual format, making it seem less likely that Google will shift that many from its own stock. The same source stated that the Google phone could be with us as soon as 5 January, likely directly from the search company. “In the long term Google will become a seller and get commission from operators,” the source said to Reuters.

Google Nexus One Phone Specs:
There are no specific details just yet, but there are ways to discover the spec details of this latest smartphone. “These Are The Droids” were able to analyze the Android 2.1 ROM, this is the operating system for the Nexus One, and it was from this that they were able to formulate what specs the Google Phone will have. The first and most important feature of any smartphone is its processor, this latest device will come with the powerful 1Ghz Snapdragon. This is twice the speed as the current CPU in the Motorola Droid.

The handset with its extra large screen is like the iPhone, as it lacks a physical keyboard. However, Google have included a 5-megapixel camera with LED and auto-focus. If you love to play games on your cell phones, then OpenGL ES 2.0 support is another little gem that will keep those gamers happy.

Google are to include an FM Tuner, something that Apple has left out on the iPhone 3GS. Most smarphones on the market only offer 802.11g support, the Nexus One will offer 802.11n. PC World explains that this is a bit much for this device, but at least you can get the best from your home network.

These are just a few of the spec details, for more visit These Are The Droids. If these are true, then have Google done enough to persuade you to purchase the Nexus One?

Microsoft has already announced that the first Windows phones, identified by the fact that they are running Windows Mobile 6.5, will be made available at retail stores worldwide on October 6, 2009. Microsoft is underlining that version 6.5 of its mobile operating system brings an improved user interface and that the Internet Explorer Mobile browser includes a new engine as well as built-in Adobe Flash Lite support.

Google’s Android 1.6 Donut has support for CDMA radios, QVGA and WVGA resolutions. Android 1.6 also brings Quick Search Box for Android which is fundamentally universal search that searches locally on your phone and through the internet at the same time, new text-to-speech APIs, and the beautiful new Android Market. The camera’s interface has also been updated with improvement to the camera’s loading time (approx. 39% faster), and a neat battery usage indicator that details which applications are using the most power. One of the most striking advancements is the introduction of CDMA support in the telephony stack which will open the door for Android phones to launch on Verizon and Sprint. Under the hood, Android’s Linux kernel has undergone a boost from version 2.6.27 to version 2.6.29, the most important smartphone-related change being the introduction of Intel’s open source WiMAX stack and drivers.

On the other hand, Palm has also launched a new update, version 1.2 of WebOS. One of the most remarkable advancements in this update is support for LinkedIn in the Palm Synergy synchronization service. Palm has also added the ability for users to input a credit card number in the App Catalog program, indicating that commercial software could be ariving soon. Quick Search, like Google Android 1.6 Search, isn’t something iPhone supports at the moment, but is something we hope Apple must be looking into if they need a way to survive the competition. Palm announced the release in an entry on the company’s official blog. A more detailed overview of the enhancements can be found in the release notes.

Being a smartphone user, which OS would you prefer? Google Android Donut 1.6, Palm WebOS 1.2, Windows Mobile 6.5 or the mighty iPhone?