While Android doesn't feature the same volume of apps in its Marketplace as iPhone users are used to, there are still loads of great Android apps to download.
Whether you're after the best free Android apps or the best paid ones, we've rounded up the top Android apps for 2011 in the articles below.
If you're short on time then you can also check out our brief video run-down of ten great Android apps for your consideration
50 best free Android apps
Most of the good stuff on Android is free, thanks to the work of developers who do it for love alone. These 40 free Android apps should be any Android owner's Day One installs...
Read 40 best free Android apps
40 best free Android games
We've worked our way through a whole load of Android games to reveal the ones you should download to your phone.
Read 40 best free Android games
10 best Android apps worth paying for
Don't panic because we're mentioning money here - the average cost of this little lot is around two dollars a pop. In return, you're able to tether, customise, share data and more, all in incredible style, thanks to the work of Team Android's finest people.
Read 10 best Android apps - paid apps
Top 10 best Android paid-for games
Android's a world of bargains - most of the finest examples of paid-for Android games come in around the psychologically negligible 'micro-transaction' cost level, with the majority of developers selling their works for a couple of dollars, tops. So, now you've been gently acclimatised to the possibility of having to pay for something, pay for these things - the 10 best paid-for games on Android today.
Read Top 10 best Android games - paid apps
10 best alternative Android apps
Even if you're using a phone layered down with a custom user interface like Sense or TouchWiz, there are many alternatives to your pre-installed tools and settings. These are our 10 favourite alternate Android apps.
Read 10 best alternative Android apps
10 best HTC Desire apps
HTC's custom HTC Sense user interface isn't to everyone's taste. Some of the supplied apps have been tweaked a little too much by HTC's eager-to-please software developers, straying so far from the Android norm they're totally unrecognisable. So, to redress the balance, we thought we'd compile a list of the best apps for the HTC Desire to help it hold onto its top smartphone status for another year.
Top 20 best free Android 3.0 apps
Got an Android 3.0 tablet? The number of apps designed for Android 3.0 is growing steadily, and we've picked our favourites.
Read Top 20 best free Android 3.0 apps
10 best free Android apps for kids
There are plenty of child-friendly apps in the Android Market. From educational apps to fun apps, we've rounded up 10 your kids will love.
Read 10 best free Android apps for kids
10 best office apps for Android
Android has a wealth of productivity tools at its disposal, ranging from free and simple text editors and "to do" lists up to impressively feature-packed and rather costly suites of document management apps that promise PowerPoint and Excel editing on your mobile.
Read 10 best office apps for Android
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Your comments (13) Click to add a new comment
niqpw
January 16th
13. Hey it's a bit confusing, but I found some apps I never heard of. My tip is a small app I use daily, Amazon Buzz it's saved me some money: https://market.android.com/details?id=zureus.amazon.buzzx
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084kathy
December 21st 2011
12. I'd like to mention about http://smslemon.com. For me it is one of the best app to manage sms by the website. I recommend.
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jdent2612
December 20th 2011
11. A few more I missed out.
Kobo/Amazon Kindle/Zinio (Books)
K-9 Mail/Nimbuzz (Messaging)
Layar/Google Reader (Augmentation Reality)
Dolphin Browser Bookmarks Widget
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jdent2612
December 20th 2011
10. Dolphin Browser (Essential - Makes mobile web browsing uber efficient, especially once you add all the plug-ins, bookmarks, gestures and customise the home page)
Wolfram Alpha (Wikipedia on steroids/guru)
AppBrain/BravoSE (Analyses app market trends - The best ones in my opinion)
Hootsuite/Seesmic (Social Media Allin1)
Buffer (Schedule FB posts/tweets)
Plume (Best Widget)/Tweetcaster (Twitter)
Friendcaster (FB)
Google+ (It will catch on eventually)
Path (Social Media Diary)
Banjo (See what people tweet around you)
Foursquare/Clingle/Glympse (Check In to places - Badge collecting addiction begins)
Get Glue (Check In to everything else - Books, Movies, TV Shows, Music etc)
http://app.bg/ - Not strictly an app but a bookmark that lets you see peoples foursquare tips/tweets and instagram photos around you!!!
Skyvi/Vlingo (Siri for Android - Essential)
Chomp/GO! Chat (Messenger)
Traffic Counter (Data/Call/Text monitor)
Last.FM/Spotify (Music subscription £10/month)
Mp3 Music Download/Shazam/Youtube/Soundcloud/PowerAMP Player/TuneInRadio (Music Primary)
Deezer/Soundhound/DoubleTwist Player/We7/TinyShark/MuseBox/Pure Lounge/SoundTracking (Music Secondary)
TV/Sky+ Guide/BBC IPlayer/Vevo/TED Talks/TED Air (TV/Video)
Kobo/Amazon Kindle/Zinio (Books)
Taptu/News360/Pulse/Feedly/RSS Demon/Press Reader/StumbleUpon/ReadItLater (Essential News Apps and Widgets)
Camera Zoom FX/FX Camera/Camera + Lightbox/Retro Camera/Colour Touch (Photography)
Evernote/Any.DO/Springpad (Notes)
Google Reader/Google Earth/Around Me/Layar (Maps)
Barcode Scanner/VoucherCloud/Vouchers/VouchAR (Shopping)
AllRecipes/BigOven/Epicurious/Recipes/Mixology/UrbanSpoon (Food)
Endomondo/Jefit/My Tracks (Fitness)
Lightning Bug/Relax&Sleep/Sleep (Sleep/Alarm)
Dictionary/Brilliant Quotes/Sickipedia (WOTD/Famous Quotes/Jokes widgets)
Lookout/AVG/Mobile Security/Vaulty/Smart App (Security)
Juice Defender/Juice Plotter/Easy Battery/Easy Task Killer/Speed Booster/Task Manager (Battery)
GoWidget Transparency Theme&Dock
Go Widget Switch/Task Manager/Calendar
Touchpal Keyboard/Go Locker/Backgrounds/Helios 3D Wallpapers/Zedge (Full Customisation)
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techimanu
December 6th 2011
9. Top 160 is way to much. Why not first start with Top Ten?
http://thelunchtalk.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/top-ten-must-have-android-apps/
http://thelunchtalk.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/top-ten-free-android-apps/
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androidmaster
November 12th 2011
8. aOS Launcher is what I started using recently and I just love it. Sports iPhone like Dockbar and big sharp dock icons. Supports practically unlimited app icons customizations.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.andromobi.aos
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linuxuser
November 10th 2011
7. 160 apps? I've made a list of 10 must-have android app: http://goo.gl/aDx8W
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rad
October 24th 2011
6. I'd like to recommend our new radio app for Android to you. We've just launched it and we'd like to know what you think. The app is for free and offers more than 4000 international radio stations and podcasts. We are constantly adding new stations and if you can't find your favorite we'll add it for you. Hope you enjoy! www.rad.io/android
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lukas80
September 12th 2011
5. I use SmsLemon.com. This is new app to manage smses by the website. I like it because is very useful and simple. You should also try :)
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adizo
September 11th 2011
4. my app of the month is Tattoo Yourself (Tattoo Booth) :)
hours of fun!
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tsharky
September 8th 2011
3. My favorite new app is called Voodoo Your Buddy. You can take a picture of anyone you know and make them into your own Voodoo Doll. You can even put pins into them and hear them scream lol.
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matthewdeal
August 25th 2011
2. The content on this article is good but it is an utter mess to try an navigate between these different pieces. It also doesn't make a lot of sense to write about Android apps specific to one phone model (e.g. HTC Desire. Laying this article out in a list format would be a lot more effective I think.
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michelle259
May 18th 2011
1. iPhone offers more apps than Android but still Android is running slightly ahead in the apps market. iPhone 4 alone offers 65,000 apps but the Android apps are better than Apple's.
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