5. Google Drive
Google arrived a little late to the cloud storage party, but is making up for it by trying very, very hard to ensure Google Drive becomes as ubiquitous and popular as its rival Dropbox. What's unique about Google Drive is the way you're able to integrate Google documents within the app, making it a simple way to fire up a word processor file, edit on your phone, then turn it off, safe in the knowledge Google's data elves will have saved a copy to the cloud that you can continue accessing from desktop at a later date. Plus it supports Google's clever group-editing features, so several people can work on the same file. Only they're at a desk and you're in the garden using your phone and therefore BEST at being a modern person.
6. VLC for Android Beta
The popular desktop media player's been tagged as a work-in-progress on Android for over a year now, with its keen coders gradually piecing together one of the best performing and most feature-packed mobile media players out there. It's ideal for Note II users who are looking for a way to play some of the more exotic movie files they may have downloaded over the years, also supporting network movie streams, separate subtitle files, letting you manually adjust the aspect ratio and much more. It's loads better and more robust than the self-effacing Google Play listing suggests.
7. Sky Go
If you have a Sky account, you'd be mad not to download the Sky Go app. It lets you access your TV packages on the go, bringing the joys of the Sky One daytime TV schedule to your office Wi-Fi connection. All the movies and sports channels are joined by up to 300 live TV feeds (depending on how many your Sky account lets you access), plus there's a selection of slightly old (but useful to have in an entertainment emergency) films to stream on-demand as well. You have to pay more to access the Sky Go Extra additional feature that lets you download and cache stuff to your phone for offline viewing, though, which sours the experience a little. Still, it's good for using your Note II as a spare TV when there's Big Important Sport on and it clashes with what's being watched elsewhere in the house.
8. Antivirus Security - FREE
We're not going to go down the road of suggesting Android's a piracy hell that enables clever Chinese hackers to access your phone and steal your bank account login details, as that's not really true in the slightest. However, if you're in the habit of downloading apps from sources other than the official Google Play store, it won't hurt to give apps a cursory scan before install -- as accessing apps from external sites is the weak point in Android's defences that can cause you trouble. Also, Android AVG includes a phone location and remote wiping service, which is genuinely useful for peace of mind, regardless of your thoughts on the much talked about Android malware situation.
9. Snapchat
A weird one, this. Seemingly aimed at the marital infidelity market, Snapchat lets users send each other messages within its locked-down system, with a time limit attached to each so they expire once the reader's read them. The idea being it's good for messages you don't want passed around the school, office, home, or local police station. As the app's listing suggests, though, it's not impervious to being beaten, as Android lets you take screen captures of what you're looking at, and the Galaxy Note II then lets you augment these and share them in a multitude of ways, so... it's still best to keep the sexy and secret stuff to handwritten letters you can later burn.
10. Real Racing 3
EA's "console quality" mobile race game stirred up quite a bit of controversy with its in-app purchases and ludicrous "grinding" approach to earning enough stuff to actually play the game, but... it's free. If you can live with some of the more miserable aspects of how big corporations are trying to monetise mobile games, you can at least see what the fuss is about when it comes to the look of the thing. It's extremely polished, akin to a top drawer PS2 game, great fun to play and looks dazzling on large screens. Just expect the fun to be regularly punctuated by pauses and requests to pay for nonsensical car upgrades.
