Manual de servicio

1. Chase Mobile (Free)

Chase Mobile lets customers manage their banking 24/7 from their phones. View accurate account balances and viewing history, transfer funds between both savings and checking accounts, and make quick deposits no matter where you are. Search for the nearest Chase bank branch and ATMS. Connect with Chase representatives while on the go.

2. PayPal (Free)

Sending money is easy with PayPal Android app. It has the same basic features as other banking platforms, which include checking your balance and transferring funds. Take pictures of a check and add it to your savings or checking accounts for free. The "Local" function lets users connect with local merchants and pay them with PayPal. Financial information you add into your profile will always be safe and secure. Store owners will get paid directly and will receive a free card reader.

3. Bank Of America Mobile Banking (Free)

Bank of America Bank of America will help customers with their banking needs. Users can take pictures of a check and deposit it into your designated account. Push notifications sends users Bank of America alerts on branch closing, new merger etc. Get cash back in your account when you use your debit or credit cards for various purchases. If you owe someone money, send money by using an email address or mobile number.

4. Mint.Com Personal Finance (Free)

Mint.com lets users keep track of all their personal finance account in one place. Track spending, create a budget, and save more. Categorize transactions and see charts and graphs that show where you’re spending your money. If you lose your Android device, or misplace it, you can deactivate it from your profile.

5. GEICO App (Free)

6. Discover Mobile (Free)

Manage your Discover credit card account using Discover Android app. View your account information, manage rewards, and send money. Easily send money using Money Messenger by PayPal and set up your Cash PIN to retrieve cash from ATMs. Refer friends to Discover and earn more rewards.

7. Google Finance

Finance for Android allows users to stream real-time quotes. The app synchronizes with your Google Finance portfolios, gives access to charts and view market and company news.

8. Google Wallet

Google Wallet keeps all of your credit and debit cards safe and secure. Users can use any credit card from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover with the app. Make in-store purchases by tapping your phone. Payment information will be transmitted via NFC. Google Wallet has its own pin, so if you lose your phone, you can disable your mobile wallet.

9. USAA Mobile

10. E-Trade Mobile

Perhaps youve treated yourself to a brand new Nexus 5, or youre eagerly awaiting the moment when the latest flavour of Android hits your handset. However you get hold of Android 4.4 KitKat, youll notice some new features to get to grips with -- if theyre not all to your taste, heres how to undo the changes Google is keen to force upon you.

1. Replace Hangouts as the default SMS app

Hangouts is now Googles all-encompassing messaging solution, covering Web chats, SMS and MMS. Much like iMessage, however, the experience is not quite as smooth and user-friendly as it should be. This being Android, you can set any app you like as the default SMS handler. First of all, download a new app from Google Play -- Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS are two of the most popular choices, but there are plenty to pick from.

Next, choose your default app from Settings > More > Default SMS app -- Hangouts will gracefully relinquish its text messaging duties and stick to instant messaging instead. Make sure you configure the notifications of your new app accordingly to avoid missing any important texts (or getting multiple notifications for every SMS).

2. Reclaim your home screens

KitKat brazenly installs Google Now as the default left-hand home screen (making it one swipe away from your main home screen). There are two ways to get rid of it: one is to switch off Google Now entirely. Tap the menu button (three vertical dots) underneath all of your cards, choose Settings and then turn off Google Now. This means you wont be able to access Google Now from anywhere -- itll be gone completely from your phone or tablet unless you enable it again at a later date.

The other option is to install an alternative launcher. In the same way Android lets you install alternatives for texting, browsing, playing music and doing anything else, you can choose a different app to handle home screen and app-launching tasks. Most of these launchers are free and simple to use, and you can easily uninstall them again if you change your mind: Nova, Apexand Themer are among the most popular options, while KitKat Launchermimics the KitKat look without the Google Now panel. All of these apps have prominent options to enable you to set them as the default launcher on your device. If you install multiple launchers, Android adds a new Home option to the Settings app to help you manage them more easily.

3. Turn off Caller ID

When someone calls you who isnt in your contacts list, KitKat tries to work out who it is, primarily by scanning phone numbers for nearby places on Google Maps. Starting from next year, it will be able to identify individuals too, if those people have agreed to let Google associate their mobile number with their Google+ page and identity.

If you dont want Google to try and identify whos ringing you, open the Settings page from the Dialer app, tap Caller ID by Google and switch it off. The setting to stop people finding you through your mobile number is on the Web: log into your Google Account page, click the View option by the Phone numbers heading, and untick the option to help people find you.

4. Enable lock screen widgets

For variety, heres how to bring back a feature that KitKat disables rather than the other way around. The lock screen widgets popular with many users are switched off by default in Android 4.4, which means you cant immediately add handy widgets for tasks, emails and such-like to the lock screen (though the swipe-right camera shortcut is still in place).

Bringing them back isnt difficult. Choose Settings > Security and then tick Enable widgets -- this refers to the lock screen widgets rather than the standard widgets you add to your home screens. With the feature enabled again, you can swipe in from the left edge of the lock screen to add the widgets of your choice.

5. Not okay, Google

At the moment, shouting "OK, Google" to launch the search function on your KitKat device only works if you have your language set to US English. Presumably it will eventually roll out to UK English in due course.

If you dont want to have the feature available (it can use up battery life for one thing, and be hijacked by a passer-by for another) head to your Google Now Settings page. Untick the Hotword detection option and your handset is then immune from an "OK, Google" call to action.

Are you obsessed with trying to make it to “inbox zero?” Are you tired of using the standard Mail app on iOS? Heres a list of email apps found on the app store that could satisfy your inbox OCD.

1. Mailbox

Since its beta release, Mailbox has been the most popular third-party email client on the iOS App Store.

Users can add up to five Gmail or Google app accounts to their Mailbox account. Swipe messages and them to archive or trash. Scan entire conversations, snooze emails, and get push notifications for new messages.

You can download Mailbox from the App Store here.

2. Boxer

Boxer is an email client developed by Taskbox. Similar to Mailbox, users can use swipe gestures to read through new messages. See who your emails are from with profile pictures shown in your inbox. Use “like” to acknowledge a friends message, and use "quick" replies to send common responses while on the go.

Boxer supports Exchange, Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud.

You can purchase Boxer from the App Store here.

3. Gmail

With Googles official Gmail app, users can easily manage and organize their Gmail inbox. Get notified of new mail, see profile pictures as part of the conversation, and read email with threaded conversations.

Organize your mail by archiving, labeling, starring, delete, or report as spam. The new tab system has 5 different categories including primary, social, promotions, updates, and forums. Easily switch between 5 email account. If you dont like the new version, you can always switch back to the classic inbox.

You can download Gmail from the App Store here.

4. Yahoo Mail

Yahoo! Email is an email app developed by Yahoo! Instantly receive notifications for new messages. Scan messages in your inbox and swipe to delete, flag, move, mark as read and more. Attach photos while composing a new message, and preview photos at the top of the message. Auto complete email addresses when you type.

You can download Yahoo! Email from the App Store here.

5. Triage

If youre struggling to keep up with your email accounts inbox, you may want to check out Triage by Southgate Labs. When you login to your email account, new messages will appear as a stack of cards. Flick messages down to keep them in your inbox, or flick messages up to archive. Triage supports Gmail, iCloud Mail accounts, and Yahoo! Mail.

You can purchase Triage from the App Store here.

6. Dispatch

Dispatch is an email client app for iOS that makes it easy to organize, delegate, and archive your email.

Being a Mailbox competitor, Dispatch has its own unique benefits for those with inbox OCD. The app allows snippets, allows users to respond to emails with common responses, and even customize settings based on the account being used. There is great integration with other third-party apps 1Password, Due, Omifocus, Evernote, and more. For now, the app doesn’t feature push notifications or a unified inbox, which may be a dealbreaker for some.

You can purchase Dispatch from the App Store here.

7. Mail Pilot

Mail Pilot is an app that turns your inbox into a to-do-list. With Mail Pilot, new messages arrive in your inbox as incomplete. When you finish a task, mark the message as complete, and it will automatically be archived by Mail Pilot. Easily collect messages from multiple accounts at once, and manage newsletters, social media notifications, and upcoming events. Mail Pilot works with Gmail, iCloud, AOL, Yahoo, and other email service providers.

You can purchase Mail Pilot from the App Store here.

8. Group Email

Group Email is for users who frequently send...wait for it... group emails! This app makes it very simple to create distribution lists from your contacts, create and send email templates, and easily add photos, videos, and other files from cloud storage services such as Dropbox and SkyDrive.

You can purchase Group Email from the App Store here.

9. FindIt

Findit is a very simple file and email searching app that integrates with Gmail, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

Findit uses a very visual and minimal interface to search for items through filters. It can even search through several unique Gmail, Dropbox, and Drive accounts. Hopefully the developer will integrate with more services in future updates.

You can download FindIt from the App Store here.

10. OWA

If you have an MS Office 365 subscription, you have the benefit of downloading and using Microsoft’s OWA app, which brings all of the live panel goodness of Outlook on Windows Phone 8 to the iPhone. OWA for iPhone has all of the inbox and calendar features that are expected from Outlook. If you are an Outlook power user and an Office 365 subscriber, you can download OWA from the App Store here.

Animal lovers naturally want to keep their companions healthy and happy, and technology gurus are answering the call. Pet-centric smartphone apps make it easy to have key information at your fingertips. Apps are alphabetically ordered.

AqDiary

Fish aquariums require a lot of maintenance to keep the water levels just right for the type of fish you have. AqDiary helps you keep track of tank maintenance and add reminders.

Platform: Android

Cost: Free

BringFido

Traveling with a pet is made easier with the BringFido app. You can find pet-friendly hotels, places to walk your pet, and all types of pet-friendly businesses in the areas you are visiting.

Platform: iOS

Cost: Free

DoggyDatez

DoggyDatez is a mobile social platform for dog owners and their dogs to make friends. The main idea is that you can "mark your territory" and see who else visits your spot. Youre also able to search for other DoggyDatez users by gender, age, dog gender, dog age and/or dog breed.

Available on iOS and Android.

iCam

If you want to see what your dog is up to in real-time, iCam is the app to get. You can watch your canine friend remotely, just to make sure everythings all right. This is especially useful if youre leaving your dog home for the first time, you recently moved or youre traveling.

Available on iOS and Android.

MapMyDogWalk

With MapMyDogwalk, you and your dog can get fit at the same time. You can log your walks, track your calories and map your favorite routes using GPS. The app also has sharing and geotagging features for photos and data.

Available on iOS and Android.

Pet Acoustics

Do you have a pet that needs soothing? Pet Acoustics has music that is made just for cats, dogs, and horses to help them relax when they are nervous or anxious. Great for car rides, going to the vet, thunderstorms, and more.

Platform: iOS

Cost: $1.99

Pet At Hand

Keep track of your pets’ information with the Pet At Hand series of apps for Windows phones. They cover any kind of pet and you can include a photo, birthday, foods, vets, expenses, and more. There are also Cat at Hand and Dog at Hand apps which are specific to those types of pets.

Platform: Windows Phone

Cost: Free; $2.99

Petfinder

All of the great stuff from the Petfinder website in an app. Search for pets that are looking to be adopted, find shelters and rescue groups, and read stories about pet adoptions.

Platform: iOS, Android

Cost: Free

Pet First Aid

Raising pets is fun, but its also a big responsibility, which means there can be some scares. If anything should happen to your dog, Pet First Aid helps you take the right steps to make sure hell be OK. Detailed videos and illustrations include restraint, muzzling, CPR, bandaging and more.

Available on iOS and Android.

Pet Minder Pro

Pet Minder Pro helps you keep track of your dogs actions, and its presented in an easy way so you can use it while interacting with your dog. By tapping custom buttons, youll never forget when you last gave your dog medicine, fed him, took him for a walk or took him to a play date. You can also track training phases for puppies, set up reminders and share information via notifications.

Available on Android.

Pet Names

The iPhone and Android pet-naming apps (Android, free; iPhone, free) are created by different companies but both will help you find the ideal name for cats, dogs, birds, gerbils and even turtles. Pet Names for iPhone allows you to browse by alphabetical listing, pet type or popularity; browse by list or at random for Android.

Pet Phone

The Pet Phone app lets you track your dogs health with ease. You can keep track of vet appointments, medications, allergies and food preferences for each of your pets, and the app can be synced with your calendar to get reminders.

Available on iOS.

Petoxins

Its tough, if not impossible, to know everything that is harmful to your dog. The Petoxins app from the ASPCA helps you out by having a impressive list of poisonous plants, and most of them you probably didnt know. For example, did you know that tulip bulbs are hazardous? Now you can keep similar vegetation out of your dogs reach.

Available on iOS.

Petsie Dog Breeds

Answering the question "What kind of dog is he?" isnt always easy, especially if your dog is a rescue or mix. As a tool, Petsie Dog Breeds can help you figure it out, but its also full of adorable photos and information. You can even use it as a fun social network by creating a profile for your dog.

Available on Android.

PupTox

Specifically for dog and cat owners, PupTox provides a list of over 250 items that can be toxic to your pet, with descriptions of how each item can cause harm.

Platform: iOS

Cost: $0.99

Tagg

Tagg is essentially a GPS attachment for your dogs collar, and because of its many features, it can give you peace of mind. The app will track your dogs activity and send you a message if he goes beyond the boundaries you set. Not only that, Tagg allows you to make sure your dog is getting enough exercise by measuring movement.

Available on iOS and Android.

Weather Puppy

Its useful to check the weather before you take your dog out for a walk, but Weather Puppy takes it to a new (and very cute) level. The app shows more than 100 dogs depending on the time and weather, and you can even add a pic of your own dog. Weather Puppy partners with non-profits and shelters across the U.S.

Available on iOS and coming soon on Android. In the meantime, a good Android alternative is Weather Dog.

I travel best when Im most relaxed, and Im most relaxed when I feel certain that everything is in under control. I like to pre-book hotel rooms, have at least a loose itinerary for most days when Im on vacation, and know how Ill be getting from here to there before I even leave home.

During the planning phase, and while in the midst of taking time off, you can rely on a number of excellent apps, websites, and services that can help put your mind at ease about your holiday.


Before you go, youll likely use some search and booking services to find great deals on flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. Nearly every search and booking service Ive seen comes with an app for Android, iPhones, and iPads, which is helpful when your plans change en route and you need to book a new hotel room, for instance.

Another batch of apps can help you stay organized during both the planning and traveling phases. Specialty apps for consolidating itineraries.

Other travel apps help you make the most of your time when while youre at your destination, providing offline maps, tips for sightseeing, and recommendations for local food, as well as family-friendly establishments.

Here are the 15 best travel apps and services.

Search and Booking

Expedia

Available on: Android, iOS, Windows 8 and RT, Web 
Expedia has been long known as a travel search, information, and booking website, but its mobile apps have some unique deals. Using the Expedia iPhone app or Expedia Android app, for example, youre likely to uncover a few mobile-exclusive discounts on last-minute hotel bookings, in addition to having at your fingertips all the usual flight and hotel search functionality. I also like that you can sort reviews by "recent," "favorable," and "critical" to see if people tend to have consistent feedback or whether the cranky pants guests had too-high expectations.
 

Google Flights

Available on: Web only
Never turn down a free second opinion. Despite all the great travel search sites available these days, Google Flights (free) is one to add to your list of flight-search sites to check before typing in your credit card number. You can search for round-trip, one-way, and multi-city flights, but you have to link to another site to make the purchase. Regardless, its an invaluable service for checking the actual cost of a flight and looking to see if there are other days when the prices may be better. Sure, Kayak (our Editors Choice for travel searching and book) can do the same thing, but Google Flights does so with a different interface, and as I said prior, theres no harm in having a second opinion at no extra cost.

Hipmunk Flight & Hotel Search

Available on: Android, iOS, Web
Hipmunk may seem like your run-of-the-mill flight and hotel aggregation search app, but it does one neat thing that I havent seen any other travel app do: It includes non-traditional lodging, such as listings from Airbnb and HomeAway. (Those two services connect people who have rooms, apartments, and homes to let with travelers who want to rent them.) Progressive travelers on a budget will love Hipmunks iPhone app and the Hipmunk app for iPad for that feature alone. The one thing you cant do with it, however, is book flights or rooms.

Kayak

Available on: Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone, and Web 
Travel search website Kayak.com quickly became my favorite site for finding the best deals on flights in particular when it finally started to incorporate booking services. In its early days, Kayak only handled search (although it was one of the best at that end of the game), but now you can pre-pay for flights, hotel reservations, and even car rentals. Occasionally, Kayak sends you to a partner site to finish the booking process, but less and less so every day. Additionally, Kayak includes in its searches other aggregation services, like Orbitz and Priceline, to truly make sure you find the best deal.

Orbitz Flights, Hotels, Cars

Available on: Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, and Web 
Orbitz Flights, Hotels, Cars searches for the best travel deals, lets you book them, and offers a price guarantee if another user books the same travel as you for less. As a long-time Orbitz user, I must say that the companys reputation and history count for something, too (that "something" primarily being trust with my credit card). Orbitzs app is the kind that any iPhone owner would want for planning a trip ahead of time to find low prices, as well as last-minute bookings from the road.

SkyScanner

Available on: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Web
SkyScanners iPhone app has such a wonderful search interface for finding cheap flights. I love that you can look for a flight on certain dates from your home airport to anywhere in the world based on where it might be inexpensive to fly during that time. You can then adjust your search using a wonderfully intuitive and interactive graph to find the cheapest surrounding dates to travel. SkyScanner partners with a site called ebookers.com for the actual sale, and note that SkyScanners prices appeared for me in U.S. dollars while ebookers showed up in GBP.

Travel Guides and Location Info

 

City Guides, Offline Maps

Available on: Android, iOS
CityGuides, Offline Maps—thats the apps full name, but its easier to remember as Stay.coms mobile app. Stay.com lets you explore new travel destinations and cobble together a loose itinerary for what you might want to see, do, and eat when you arrive. Thus, the iPhone app largely does the same, while saving much of it for you to use offline. You can plan new trips from the app, as well as import itineraries youve designed on the website. The offline functionality, including maps, make Stay.coms app a superb resource for international travelers.

GateGuru

Available on: Android, iOS, Windows Phone 
If you ever have a long connection through Chicago OHare, youll want to go straight to Tortas Frontera for sandwiches. At San Francisco International Airport, theres a yoga room where you can decompress and stretch before your next flight. Of course, if you have the GateGuru iPhone app or the GateGuru Android app, you wont need to rely on my advice, as youll have all these great tips and lists of services to help you navigate the worlds best and worst airports.

Gogobot

Available on: Android, iOS  
Gogobot dishes up interesting things to do for any type of traveler across a wide range of cities around the world. It has suggestions for family friendly activities, stuff for outdoorsy people, in addition to the typical shopping/eating/site-seeing agenda. Save these activities to a Gogobot itinerary, and when you pull them up while traveling, you can search for nearby too, such as points of interest, restaurants, and hotels, helping you locate your next stopping point if need to make an unexpected change of plan.

TripAdvisor Offline City Guides

Available on: iOS only
TripAdvisor Offline City Guides pairs maps and suggestions for where to visit, shop, and eat together. You can download offline maps for your cities of choice, too. The app does not automatically install the maps locally (to save space on your iPhone), so just remember to download what you need before you leave an area with a Wi-Fi connection.

Tripomatic

Available: Android, iOS
Tripomatic can help you plan what do to and see on your next trip, and on which days. Tripomatic has more than 40,000 attractions listed in 300 destinations. The app syncs with the website Tripomatic.com, so you can tinker with your itineraries on a full sized screen if you prefer. Many top destinations are available offline—maps, photos, and visitors guides (in-app purchase required). One holdback: You cant save your mapped daily itineraries offline, making it less than ideal when youre actually on the road. If you do use Tripomatic, pair it with an offline map app.

Viator

Available on: Android, iOS 
Looking to save some money but still do some interesting site-seeing? Viator (free) shows you deals and discounts either nearby or in the place youre going to visit next—provided that location is in Viators list of potential cities, regions, and countries. Its great for ideas of what to see and do, especially when youre feeling clueless, although the quantity and quality of the deals varies dramatically by place.

Organizational Apps 

AwayFind

Available on: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone, Web
AwayFind acts as a gate between your email inbox and you, that lets through only message you want to see and alerts you of their presence by phone, text message, IM, or through its the AwayFind mobile app. Busy professionals trying to squeeze a little R&R into their time off will love AwayFinds ability to let them stay connected, but only for email messages that truly matter. Its a worthwhile and reasonably priced service (freemium; from $4.99 per month).

Packing Pro

Available on: iOS
Packing Pro is a mobile app made for super list makers. It helps you remember what to pack and can also serve as evidence of what you packed if your luggage were ever lost. You work from one of many sample lists of items to pack, or you can create your own and tick off items as they go into your luggage. It has a handful of other reminders, too, like booking reservations and watering the plants before you leave home, which you can save into checklists to guide your harried soul while youre running around your apartment like a chicken with its head cut off worried that youll miss your flight if you dally a moment longer. The $3 app may seem like overkill to those who have packing down to a science already, but it can be an excellent tool for parents who are packing for multiple family members before leaving on vacation.

TripIt

Available on: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone
TripIt is a mobile app for Android and iPhone that connects to your email accounts to compile all your travel information for you automatically. It searches our confirmation numbers for flights, hotels, rental car reservations, and even restaurant bookings. If you worry about not having all your details in one place, TripIt is a wonderful organizer to have on your side.

The Google Play app store has exploded in recent years, with a proliferation of apps that can cater to your every need. The problem is: there are just too many of them.


Even with Editors Picks, Featured and Best Selling, Top Paid and Top Free categories there to help you out with your downloading decision its still a difficult task finding the best apps around.

And thats why we made this list. Like you we want the best apps for our Android phones. The apps that are going to revolutionise functionality or, at the very least, offer something so great that it becomes one of the must-have apps that has to be downloaded whenever you get a new handset.

The following apps are a mixture of paid and free ones and have been chosen by our Android experts. So, even if you do dip into actual cash for one of these apps, you are safe in the knowledge that it is a worthwhile purchase.

1. BBC Weather

Free from the BBC, which arrived late to the weather app party in 2013 and delivered a completely stonking, triple-A meteorological experience. A variety of stylish widgets, long-range forecasts, location-aware settings and support for multiple locations make finding out how much its raining everywhere a joy.

2. Kabbee 

Winning fans all over London is this, with the Kabbee app aggregating local minicab firms and attempting to match your late night drunken ferry needs to the cheapest available nearby operator. The idea is to create competition among operators, with the result being some substantial savings over the usual black cab rates.

3. Easyjet

This isnt just some corporate effort full of cross-selling and adverts, it really works. You can book your flight through the simple interface, pay, check-in, then have the app generate a QR code boarding pass to wave at the ticket desk. Paper is entirely eliminated, therefore dealing with printers is entirely eliminated, making life substantially better. Just dont run out of battery power on the big day, else youre stuffed. If EasyJet doesnt fly to your destination then Kayak is a great alternative for global globe trotters.

4. Barclays Mobile Banking

The first wave of mobile banking apps were rubbish, mostly composed of skins that pointed you to some terrible mobile web site. But not in 2014. Go through the fuss of verifying yourself with this one and the Barclays app is extremely useful, listing and managing all your accounts, and even able to function as a replacement for the physical PINsentry card reader thats required to access the full desktop banking site.

5. Sky NOW TV

Skys ramped up its Android app selection in spectacular fashion over the last year or two, with all manner of streaming, on-demand and specialist services available. Sky NOW TV is the best and most useful of the bunch, letting users buy access to its sports channels on a PAYG basis. Dead handy for cherry-picking the occasional big event without needing a full subscription.

6. BT Wi-Fi 

If youre a BT Internet user, this is a must install. Feed the app your BT account master password (this will be the one you thought up on a whim eight years ago and wont be able to remember), and itll automatically log you in whenever youre in range of a BT hotspot. Given that there are trillions of them in the UK, it means automated access to properly useful Wi-Fi connections when out and about, avoiding the spam £6-an-hour merchants.

7. Vine 

The movie-making sensation took a little while to appear on Android, then took a while for the numerous bugs to disappear – but now its all good. Its a simple recording/stop-motion/animation tool, letting you shoot live video on your phone and share it via social networks. The app is also the best way of browsing Vines from others, as the categories and pages mean you can leaf through it like telly, favouriting users.

8. Dropbox

Pretty much essential for anyone juggling a work PC, home PC, laptop, tablet, phone and internet fridge, Dropboxs key power lies in letting you access any files anywhere. It can also automatically upload photos taken on your phone to your account, meaning that, after a bit of uploading and downloading, all your shots are *right there* on your desktop without any tedious cable connecting. 

9. Speedtest 

Get angry about how slow your internet is. Get smug about how fast your internet is. Spy on the network speeds of your friends and neighbours. If one of your frequent conversations with your mates is how fast your internet currently is, you need this. You can do unlimited broadband up/down speed tests on any boring weekday evening.

10. eBay 

The app itself isnt what youd call attractive, but it lets you browse, watch items and buy stuff, integrating a Paypal sign-in for quick getting of things. Better still, now Android phones all have immense cameras on them, its a doddle to sell items straight through the app - take a photo, upload it, have most of the listing data pre-filled for you. The app is better as a selling tool than the desktop site, in fact.

11. Feedly

If you felt a bit lost and disconnected from the News Borg when Google shut down its Reader RSS aggregator, Feedly will help. Its a more glamorous and swishy-slidy way of getting data from RSS feeds, with numerous ways of displaying site snippets and navigating through your unread pile of possibly interesting things.

12. BBC iPlayer 

Took some time for the BBC to gradually power this up to full parity with the iOS release, but its just about there now for the vast majority of popular Android models. A piecemeal approach to introducing offline download support has annoyed some users, but it remains a superb way of using your phone as a modern portable telly for the bedroom, as long as your broadbands up to the task. 

13. Carbon 

The official Twitter app is a rather weird, ever-changing affair, that often introduces more annoyances and quirks with each new redesign. So best avoid it and enjoy the thrills of third-party tweet app Carbon, which, with its recent 2.0 update, enhanced an already posh experience with new gesture input, more hardcore shortcuts and a handy widget.

14. Tweedle

Or, if Carbons hardcore skills are a bit too much to handle, try Tweedle. Its a vastly simpler Twitter app that covers the basics. You get three columns for the timeline, your mentions and direct messages, plus its super-fast to load with only the occasional advert on the image preview pages to tell you that the developer wouldnt mind getting paid a bit for his work.

15. WhatsApp

The instant messaging behemoth is an essential Android install, especially if you can convince the people you message most frequently to use it too. The concept is simple - it takes over text messaging on your mobile, routing messages through any Wi-Fi connection instead. Which means no more SMS allowances, no size restrictions, plus images are sent at a decent resolution.

16. DealPad 

Another unofficial app we prefer to the official option, DealPad takes the feed from bargains portal Hot UK Deals and presents it in a much simpler, less fussy (and less iOS) style. If you like to while away the evenings thinking about prices of various solid-state hard drives and planning your bulk biscuit purchases for tomorrow, get it on your phone.

17. Amazon Appstore 

Its a bit of a fuss to get this on your phone as Googles not too keen on rival app stores popping up on Google Play, but its worth doing. Mainly for the freeloading aspect, as Amazon sticks up a paid-for app for free every day. Most are a bit rubbish, but some properly decent paid apps do occasionally pop up. Add it to your daily trawl, just in case.

18. Google Keep

Googles so proud of its cross-platform note-taking tool that its recently started pre-loading it as part of the core Android feature set. It comes with a stylish widget, integrates voice dictation for those Alan Partridge moments of creative inspiration, plus if you use Keep on a Chromebook it seamlessly syncs with mobile notes saved there. A great way of coordinating mobile and laptop lives.

19. Spotify

No, wait. it is free. Sort of. Spotify now comes with a stipped-down playlist-cum-radio combo for users who dont pay for the service but still want to use it on mobile, accompanied by a swish new tablet interface that has much more in common with the free desktop browser player. So yes, its free. hobbled a bit, but free.

20. BT Sport

Skys footie competitor arrived in the UK in 2013, with a day-one Android app letting BT subscribers stream Premier League matches and more to phones and tablets. The app also doubles as an EPG to let you know whats coming up, although you will need to be using a BT Internet account login in order for it to be of any use.

21. Airbnb 

A posh B&B listings service designed specifically around mobile app use, the selling point of Airbnb is that it personalises the hosts, so if you really want to stay in Glasgow with a cheery looking alternative lifestyle man called Dave snoring in the next room, its ideal.

22. DashClock Widget 

This is a stonking addition to any Android phone running version 4.2 of Googles code or higher, as it adds new active plugins to the lock screen. This means your lock screen can have a torch button, the weather, unread text messages and more, plus theres a development community out there building new extra features all the time.

23. Instagram 

One of those services you might as well start using because everyones using it. The Instagram Android app took a while to appear, but is now live, looking good and offers a simple way of taking and editing your square photographs of lunch, sunsets, cats etc. Plus it now has fashionable effect tilt shift for making things look small. Not that thats ever something weve wanted. Quite the opposite, usually.

24. Kindle 

Amazons Kindle app connects seamlessly with its online book shop services, letting account holders send books to the app, sync existing libraries via the cloud, and access books across the many Android phones and tablets people have kicking about the place these days. Of course theres also a shop in it, as flogging you books is the reason Amazon is offering this comprehensive cloud reader for free.

25. Strava Cycling 

Tries to "gamify" the sports tracker experience, by breaking down routes and making them into publicly shareable challenges. This means some cyclists end up racing strangers for virtual trophies, with the times of other app users appearing for you to try and beat. Its quite an addictive experience having some random rider to beat around a local loop. Better hope they werent doing it on a moped, or you might die trying.

26. Endomodo PRO 

£1.99 ($4.99, $AU3.68)
The popular sports tracker covers every sport you can think of apart from curling, managing to track your runs, rides, kayaking journeys, hill walks and other excursions with ease. The paid PRO version unlocks more stats and a handy terrain chart, letting you see how steep the hard parts were – and providing a useful excuse for poor performance.

27. SwiftKey Keyboard 

£2.99 ($3.99, $AU5.53)
This one pioneered the concept of the alternative keyboard, with SwiftKey the first to offer to learn your writing style and attempt to predict your next word. The hope being that, with practice, itll know what phrases you commonly use and might save you quite a bit of fuss in typing a simple message to a friend.

28. FlightRadar24 Pro

£1.99 ($2.99, $AU3.68)
One for the flight nerds, this pulls in open data from air traffic control departments of the world, letting you see exactly what flights are up there generating that attractive vapour trail. As well as listing all local flights, the app can also use Androids positioning tools to work out what youre looking at, making it dead simple to point your phone at the sky and get flight details pinged straight back.

29. Swype Keyboard 

£2.42 ($3.99, $AU4.48)
As rival SwiftKey invented the concept of word prediction, so Swype did the same for gesture input. The concept is simple - you write "hello" by pressing the H, then swiping a line through E, L and O. Hopefully, if you were accurate enough, the software guesses this right and youve just written a word easy-style. A similar system has been adopted within newer versions of Android, but if you have an older phone this gets you into the line-writing fun, too.

30. Plex

£2.98 ($4.99, $AU5.50)
The idea behind Plex is that it assimilates your existing media collection and serves it up, through one standard interface, via the cloud. Its a bit of a struggle to get going as you need a free account on Plexs servers to access your stuff, but once its all up and running it offers streaming and transcoding of files, meaning everything ought to play everywhere. Supports Chromecast too, if youve bought into Googles own media-managing dream.

31. Camera Zoom FX

£1.79 ($2.99, $AU3.25)
A complete replacement camera app for your phone or tablet, layering on the extra options and adding features like burst mode, custom shutter buttons, overlays and a horizon level to phones that ship with more basic camera apps. Its worth the price alone for the sound activated shooting mode, an infinitely better option than running around and hoping you get your smile right in time for the self timer. And once youre done, it has heaps of filters to apply.

32. Apex Launcher Pro

£2.49 ($3.99, $AU4.50)
The thing a lot of enthusiasts love about Android is the ability to switch to a new launcher. In laymans terms, this means you can whack an entire new frontend on your phone, replacing the user interface with an entirely custom skin. Apex Launchers one of the oldest and most highly thought of, using the default Android look as a base for numerous tweaks and additions. Its free to try, with the separate Apex Launcher Pro key unlocking the full version.

33. Paper Camera 

£1.19 ($1.99, $AU2.20)
One of the first decent image manipulation tools to hit Android, Paper Camera does a couple of cool things. It replaces your phones standard camera app with a hand-drawn alternative, also adding in plenty of live filters that give photos a line drawn or painted appearance. Its a novelty, sure, but a very clever one.

34. Runtastic PRO

£4.99 ($4.99, $AU9.25)
A hefty price, but what cost you not dying of obesity at age 52? That fitness promise is what you pay for here, with the GPS sports tracker able to map you, track you, automatically cheer you on, generate live feedback and more, also covering interval training and letting users create their own regular routes to attack again and again. Serious stuff for competitive people. 

35. Tasker

£2.99 ($2.99, $AU5.53)
Tasker is one of the first, and best, task managers for Android. It does it all. Turns stuff on or off depending on location, manages multiple schedules for changing phone state depending on the time of day, even letting users have their phone automatically reply to text messages if its set to a quiet state. Its complex, vast, and youll wonder how you lived without it.

36. Photoshop Touch for Phone

£2.99 ($4.99, $AU5.53)
Adobes official Android imaging app is streets ahead of the competition in terms of features, letting arty types manage layered PSD documents on the go, import fill textures live from the camera, with cloud support for saving images on your phone - then continuing the editing process on desktop. Or on your tablet. Or on your other phone.

37. Sixaxis Controller

£1.65 ($2.53, $AU3.00)
Been eying up one of those Bluetooth controllers to make the playing of your favourite games a little easier? If you have an old PS3 Sixaxis or DualShock 3 lying about, it might be an idea to try this first. It allows a decent number of Android phones to connect to a Sony controller via Bluetooth – plus theres a free compatibility checker app on Google Play too. Your phone or tablet must be rooted to use it, though, so its a hardcore option only.

38. TuneIn Radio Pro 

£2.40 ($3.99, $AU4.40)
Forget the physical side of radios, the best way to listen to random tunes and the occasional bit of travel news is online. TuneIn Radio is the most comprehensive internet radio player by far, offering masses of stations, favourite lists, and, in this paid upgrade, the ability to record direct off the radio.

39. Pocket Casts 

£2.70 ($3.99, $AU5.00)
The podcast is another option when it comes to being entertained through your ears, with the stylish Pocket Casts one of the newest listening apps to hit Android. It comes with simple cloud syncing of your favourite subscriptions, variable speed playback for skipping the boring bits, themes auto downloads and… everything.

40. SoundHound

£3.99 ($4.99, $AU7.39)
SoundHound is best described as a companion app for music, letting users ID tracks by recording a clip and also attempting to guess the names of songs you sing and hum to it. It can also stream in lyrics, sell you stuff and bring in news feeds covering artists you like, making it a really swish hub for people who are into music.

41. Jamies 20 Minute Meals

£4.99, ($7.69, $AU9.25)
Bosh this beauty on your phone, right, yeah? Its a fiver, but there are 65 recipes, photographs so you dont get the aubergines and cucumbers mixed up, plus a guarantee that you can have something a bit fancier than cheese on toast for dinner in 20 minutes. As long as youve got more things than cheese in your fridge to start with.

42. Press 

£1.93 ($2.99, $AU3.50)
Press is a super-stylish RSS reader, one that comes with support for several of the services that sprang up to replace the sadly departed Google Reader. Import your stuff from Feedly, Feedbin and others, to see it presented in a huge variety of layout options. Offline support, background syncing and the ability to save articles to Instapaper and Pocket make it a superb hub for serious news fans.

43. gReader Pro

£3.19 ($4.69, $AU5.95)
A more traditional method of scouring web site RSS feeds, gReader successfully updates the simplistic style of Googles Reader, compete with a custom layout for reading on tablets, offline reading, gesture actions, a widget and much more. Its properly jam-packed with ways to stare at endlessly updating lists of words.

44. CrossDJ

£3.29 ($4.99, $AU5.80)
Describes itself as a pro DJ app for people who enjoy nodding along and pumping their fists in the air while someone elses record plays. The app comes with specialist features such as BPM tracking, pitch shifting and a split audio output for previewing tracks before theyre mixed in, with filter effects in here too for adding a bit more oomph to whatever party youre ruining with your rubbish music.

45. UK Bus Checker 

£2.99
The sensational sequel to London Bus Checker, this one switches the action to the public transport system of the entire UK. It has one huge boast to it, claiming to show bus times and route maps for every single bus stop in the country, which it combines with the bus networks GPS data to show exactly when your bus might show.

46. Reddit Sync Pro

£1.69 ($2.00, $AU3.00)
That internet site you may have heard about, the one that does good things, interesting things and bad things, doesnt have an official app. But it does have heaps of unofficial ones, including this simple, pretty option that has the killer ability to sync threads for offline access. Never miss a celebrity pandering to the masses to promote a film or book again.

47. Biophilia

£8.99 ($12.99, $AU16.66)
The odd arty album project from Bjork brings you some music accompanied by videos and quite a few interactive elements that are part games and part modern art. Its like the future of music or something, especially if you like weird ambient tunes.

48. Electrum Drum Machine 

£2.49 ($3.99, $AU4.50)
A simple yet relatively powerful rhythm sequencer for Android, Electrum lets users load up to 16 samples (including your own ones in WAV format), then bounce the results together in whatever musical genre you wish. It even supports USB MIDI controllers, for sticking your phone or tablet at the heart of a DIY budget mobile studio.

49. Camera 2 

£1.79 ($2.19, $AU3.30)
The rather bold name is quite appropriate for this impressive app, which manages to adds loads of effects in real-time to your cameras viewfinder – including a live depth of field effect for tilt-shift action. It can even add effects to video clips, plus its filters can be retroactively applied to your existing image roll.

50. DSLR Controller

£5.94 ($7.99, $AU11.09)
Got a posh camera to go with your posh phone? Get a load of you. If so, you may as well blow a further bit of cash on this, a beta but still fully functional method of controlling a Canon EOS camera from an Android device. It allows masses of options to be configured remotely, altering the focus and accessing image previews, plus control of the aperture, ISO and pretty much everything Canon sticks in its high-end cameras. 

Your Android smartphone has all the photographic and processing power youll need to snap up those docs and get them into the cloud where they belong.

Here are a few mobile document scanning solutions we put through their paces.

1. CamScanner

2. Document Scanner

3. Droid Scan Pro PDF

4. Scan to PDF