
If you like to pass the time exchanging smiley faces and abbreviations with your friends through instant messaging apps, you ought to get a copy of Meebo IM. It's an instant messaging aggregator, incorporating AIM, MSN, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook, good old ICQ and more, serving everything up in one convenient interface. Typing in all your logins and passwords for everything is the only, very temporary, inconvenience. If you're into the slightly last-generation social networking site Delicious, you ought to get yourself organised with one of the many third-party Android apps out there that support the bookmarking tool. Such as Beelicious, which, once you've got through the slightly cumbersome initial set-up process, lets you simply send website links to your Delicious account via the Android browser's 'Share Page' sub menu. Carbon replaces another deceased entry on this list, filling in for Tweetdeck - which used to be a smart way of managing Twitter and Facebook feeds within one simple app.
Twitter bought it and killed it. The BBC came in for quite a lot of stick over its Android iPlayer app, with the code lacking some basic features and requiring Adobe's discontinued Flash Player in order to work properly. Happily, most of the issues have now been fixed in a recent update, while the BBC's standalone Media Player removes the need for Flash. It also works while minimised and with the screen turned off, so is actually usable as a radio player. Which was a big shame. There are plenty of replacement options on Android, though, with Feedly one of the best both in terms of desktop sync functionality and general look and feel on mobile. You sign in, import your Google Reader backup (you did remember, right,) and away you. Just like Reader, only prettier and more versatile. Like a younger wife. BT's incredibly clever FON network is often a lifesaver, letting you legally borrow Wi-Fi for free in many public places. And while standing outside strangers' houses.
The BT FON Android app (recently renamed BT Wi-Fi) lets you automate the sign-in process, so you can walk around towns and housing estates safe in the knowledge that your phone's always seeking out available Wi-Fi. You need a BT FON username, though, so sort that out before you venture out into the scary internet-free world. Amazon's Kindle app is a great e-reader, which is seamlessly linked with your Amazon account. Support for magazines and newspapers is limited at the moment, with only a handful of niche publications in Android-friendly format. But for books it's great, with plenty of screen and text display options to get it looking a way that hurts your eyes the least. Another exciting new way to collect classic novels you'll probably never get around to reading because there's the internet now. The free version of Endomodo is essential if you're sporty, or even if you just like using a GPS tool to stalk yourself walking around. You select an activity, initiate GPS mode and it'll keep track of you, time you and even whisper robotic words of encouragement at you, before generating a stylish map charting your achievements.