Top 10 Best Starter Apps For Your New Android Phone Or Tablet

Every new Android phone and tablet these days comes with the basic apps to get you started, courtesy of Google. So if you look in your apps tray, you should find Gmail for your emails, Chrome to browse the internet, Maps for navigation and so on. However, you really should download the following apps too, done by opening the Play Store app. You’ll need to sign up for a Google account if you don’t already have one, but then you’ll be free to download as many as you like. The good news is, all of the following apps won’t cost you a penny as well. One of the joys of having a smartphone is keeping in touch with the world wherever you wander, and the easiest way to do that, like it or not, is via Facebook. You can post updates, photos, videos and just rant at the world if you like, as well as seeing exactly what your mates are up to. The Facebook Messenger app allows you to to chat discretely with a friend or a group of mates, and you can also send them photos or even voice recordings if text just won’t cut it.

WhatsApp provides much the same service, with the added bonus that you can see exactly when your messages are delivered to your mates, and when they’ve read them. Alternatively, Google Hangouts should come pre-installed on your phone if your mates are all Google-heads, but if you’re unsure, there’s a greater probability that FB Messenger and WhatsApp are on your friend’s phones already. If you want to jump from text messaging to video chat, Skype is the easiest way to do it. Sign up for an account (or use an existing Microsoft account if you have one) and then add your friends and family to your contacts list; you can then call them for free over any WiFi network. Unless you’re already invested in another note taking app like Evernote of Microsoft OneNote, we suggest you give Google Keep a go. Whilst it doesn’t come pre-installed on every Android device, it is an official Google offering and makes jotting down quick notes or creating check lists wonderfully simple.

Although phones aren’t quite as susceptible to hacks and viruses as computers, it’s still possible to be done over by some horrific phishing scam, or lose all your data by accidentally throwing your mobile underneath a bus. Lookout not only protects you from online threats, it also backs up your data and helps you to remotely block or retrieve a lost phone. Your new Android phone is an ideal MP3 player replacement, especially if there’s a microSD memory card slot in there to accomodate extra storage. However, as well as copying across all of your music, you can also stream or download mixes and more from the likes of Spotify and Google Play Music. As well as streaming music, your Android phone is a great way to catch up with TV or enjoy a movie on the go. Netflix allows you to stream as much as you like for just a few quid each month, while the likes of BlinkBox charge you per film or show.

If you’ve been skinted by Christmas shenanigans, the BBC iPlayer app has loads of great content to stream or download (temporarily) for free too. This great little app can be used to block withheld numbers and pesky calls from spammers, such as those wonderful people who pester you about PPI. Set up your own block list to make sure you’re not interrupted by morons anymore. Reading on a smartphone screen may not be ideal, but if you’ve bagged yourself an Android tablet, we’d recommend downloading Amazon’s Kindle app. You can browse and download a huge selection of books, check out samples before you buy, and all of the obvious features you’d expect are present, including virtual bookmarks and the ability to take notes. If you’ve got a huge collection of movies or other videos sat on your home PC, the best way to enjoy them on your phone or tablet is with VLC. This handy media app supports a massive range of file formats and subtitles too, great news if you like obscure foreign films.

Not purely for cord-cutters you’ll have to sign in with your TV provider username and password to watch all available episodes from the FOX lineup. While plenty cool, Fox Sports Go isn’t purely a cord-cutting app as you’ll need a proper cable or satellite subscription to use it. That said, we really enjoyed the variety of sports that the channel provided. Known for their action sports, Red Bull TV is a great place to view everything from motorcycle racing and mountain biking to cliff diving and surfing. Gone are the days of kids’ shows coming on only at specific times of the day. Remember Saturday morning cartoons, While kids nowadays expect to be able to watch their favorite shows whenever they’re free, this is also a boon for parents as it’s now even more easy to keep them occupied. At least with PBS Kids parents can rest assured that the content is good. Next to apps, cord-cutters know that a capable web browser is a necessity. The Web Browser for Android TV app allows you to navigate the web easily with both your SHIELD remote and SHIELD wireless controller.