My Entirely Too Long List of Apps for Android Tablets, Part 2

This is part two of my My Entirely Too Long List of Apps for Android Tablets article which was inspired by Meg who is a new member of the Android Legion with her Galaxy Tablet. In the first part, I offered my favorite Productivity, Security, Communication and Information apps.

In this part, I’m sharing my favorite apps in the Entertainment, Creativity, Games and Miscellaneous categories.

Entertainment

• Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Air and Adobe Reader: While Flash is steadily losing its animation and video throne, quite a lot of online content is denied to mobile devices that can’t access Flash. Free
• Astro Player Nova:  Audiobooks are one of my guilty pleasures. I’ll even switch back and forth between the audiobook and eBook version of a book. While many of the various audio players for Android can play an audiobook, I’ve found Astro Player Nova does a better job handling these large files than most players as well as offering nice perks like audio bookmarking, variable play speed and support for more exotic file types. Free and Paid version. Free/Paid
• Google Currents: This is essentially a news reader, but one with some very nice features. It reformats sites/article into a book or magazine like format, making them very appealing and readable. I wish it could update faster and was a little less of a system hog, however.  Free
• RockPlayer:  Great app for playing videos of various formats without having to re-encode for the tablet. Free/Paid
• Google Reader: After a weak start, this app has really done some catching up (passing some paid, alternative readers).  The ability to sync with its web-based counterpart is a must-have for heavy news readers like myself. Free
• Kindle: My ebook reader and format of choice.  Free
• YouTube:  Seems to be pre-installed in many Android devices, but I felt it was worth mentioning just in case. Free
• Perfect Viewer: If you familiar with the popular electronic comic formats CBZ/CBR, this is an Android app that allows you read those formats (and others) on your tablet. Free

Creativity

• Audiotool Sketch:  A sound mixing board for creating your own music. Paid
• Drawing Pad, SketchBook Mobile, Maple Paint, and Skitch: Several drawing and painting apps I’m dabbling with right now. Each seems to have its strengths and weakness, so my front-runners are listed here for you to choose from yourself. Free/Paid
• SPC Music Sketchpad: Simpler than Audiotool Sketch, but also a bit easier and more fun to use. Free/Paid
• Photoshop Express: This is really a photo editor, and ignores most of the non-photographic features found in its big brother on the desktop. Free

Games

• Osmos HD:  A very soothing and slow-paced game. A nice change from the manic play style of some games. Free/Paid
• Siegecraft THD: Let’s face it, after a relaxing game of Osmos, bring ballista and catapults to bear on castles and creatures is pretty cool.  Free/Paid
• PFRPG RD (PathFinder): Not technically a game, but a FANTASTIC game reference app for the popular tabletop roleplaying game, Pathfinder. Free/Paid
• Alchemy:  This game challenges you to discover recipes that combine the four elements into more and more complicated and interesting results.  Hundreds of recipes to puzzle out, with new ones added regularly. Free/Paid
• Angry Birds: All right, no real surprises here. I don’t play it much myself, but it is a real crowd pleaser for showing off the tablet or keeping kids entertained. Free/Paid  
• Apparatus: A neat game that challenges you to build/engineer mechanical solutions out of the provided parts. Free/Paid
• Cut the Rope: Another mini-strategy game requiring the user to manipulate objects and simple physics.  Free/Paid
• Jewels: An oldie but a goodie.  The classic desktop game recreated for the Android platform. Free/Paid
• Plants vs Zombies: Pretty bizarre concept, but utterly addictive.  A definite danger to free time everywhere. Free/Paid
• Random Mahjong:   I’m a big fan of Mahjong. It is a great way to while away some free time.  Free/Paid
• Where’s My Water?: Manipulate the subterranean world of pipes, pluming and liquids to deliver water. Free/Paid
• DroidDice or Dice Roller: Dice rolling apps for tabletop roleplaying games. Free/Paid
• Shortyz Crosswords:  Imports dozens of crossword puzzles from various newspapers and magazines. Clever interface for tablets and phones. Free/Paid
• Bouncy Mouse: You’ll either love or hate this little daredevil mouse as he tries to avoid dangers, navigate challenges and dethrone an evil cat. Free/Paid

Miscellaneous

• QR Droid: There are a ton of QR scanners out there, but this one hits my personal feature and usability needs.  Free
• Amazon Mobile: Scan barcodes, find deals, compare products, read reviews and, of course, shop. Free
• Amazon Appstore: This app goes hand in hand with Amazon’s Android App store, delivering app purchases and monitoring updates. Even if you’re just after the free app of the day, this app is worth the footprint. Free.
• Dual Battery Widget: This one is specifically for Asus Transformer owners, and lets you monitor both the internal and the keyboard battery via a handy widget.
• ES File Explorer: An enhanced File Explorer for Android that gives you more functionality as well as the ability to explore LAN and NAS resources. Free/Paid
• Thumb Keyboard: This is an alternative keyboard which integrated well with my tablet. I love how it allows us large-paws to split the keyboard to the corners of the screen and thumb type very quickly.

 

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