There are now thousands of great applications available for you to download, and many of them are even free. Let’s face it, it’s always better when we do not have to pay for it isn’t it? Here are some of the very best free applications available for Android phones such as the HTC Desire, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

Google Maps

This is the big one, the one that makes Android phones great for many people and it’s totally free, in full, for Android users! You never need be lost again if you have this on your phone as you simply type in where you are starting from and where you are heading to and Google Maps will take you there using the phone’s GPS for its turn by turn navigation. Also good enough to use as a sat nav in your car and also featuring plenty of new tricks including user reviews of amenities. A must have for any phone owner.

UK Jobs

This may not be the most exciting application ever but it is extremely useful. The job market today is in a bad way so if you are out of work, or thinking of changing jobs, this app can be a lifesaver. It lets you know straight away if a job is up on its database so you can search through in your own time.

Google Sky Maps

Point your phone at the sky when you have Google Sky Maps on and it will tell you exactly where the stars and constellations should be. A great aid for those of you interested in star gazing and for those with telescopes as it also shows planets and other celestial attractions. Will also show where stars will be on future dates.

• Refined multi-tasking.
• Support for video chat using Google Talk.
• Support for multi-core processors.
• 3D desktop with redesigned widgets.
• Optimized tablet support with a new user graphical user interface.
• Hardware acceleration
• Web Browsers enhancements, including tabbed web pages, bookmark, private browsing, auto-fill, and syncing with Google Chrome.

Honeycomb was shown on Motorola XOOM 10-inch tablet, which is powered by micro Tegra dual-core Ge-Force chip with 4G support on Verizon Wireless network. The one thing you will notice is that there is no dedicated hardware button for menu options; instead, it will be displayed on the screen. The system is designed to support 2D hardware acceleration and superior graphics.
Google has redesigned the home screen, widgets and other graphical user interface functions, and has also re-imagined the lock screen in Honeycomb. They have redesigned the GUI of Honeycomb to make it more usable for tablet. The application bar on the top changes when you interact with different applications and objects. The homescreen of Android 3.0 takes full advantage of large screen of tablets, which means that there are many widgets on the screen.
The multitasking is a key feature of Android v3.0. Users have a quick access to the system status, notifications and virtual navigation in the System Bar, which is located at the bottom of the screen. Google has also redesigned the camera application to take full advantage of large-sized tablet screen and users have fast access to the several camera functions like zoom, flash, exposure, focus, etc.
When compared with Gingerbread and Froyo, Honeycomb is a beast that will give tougher competition to Apple’s iPad. Moreover, Android is an open source operating system and tablets manufactures are allowed to add their own layers to the operating system. Therefore, there are chances that we will see different variations of the operating system.
It has not been officially released yet, but it will be very interesting to see that if it would give a tough competition Apple’s iPad.

According to Gartner report, the Android operating system will be the leading Smartphone in the next four years i.e. by 2014. The report also predicted that open source Android operating system would be second only to Symbian operating system in a worldwide operating system market share, both accounting approximately 60% of the mobile OS share. The statistics shown by them depicts that Android operating system in 2010 was having the 17.7% of operating system market share, while the Apple’s iOS was having the 15.4% of market share.

Many advertising agency are also being diverted towards Android Smartphones. In third and fourth quarter of the year 2010, Android advertisements request have been rise 141%, whereas Apple’s ad requests grew only 12%.  Moreover, Android applications are accounting 55% of revenue from application platforms.
The statistics given on Mashable website depicts that Android operating system market share is rising sharply month by month. The Android market share in 2010 was – June – 27.5%, July – 28%, August – 32%, September – 36.5%, October – 37.6%, November – 40.8%. You can see that it is rising sharply. On the other hand, Apple’s iOS market share was – June – 20.9%, July – 26.2%, August – 25.6%, September – 27.1%, October – 27.2%, November – 26.9%. It seems like Android will be the number one operating system for the Smartphones in the year 2011.

However, Apple has recently launched its new iPhone4 on the Verizon Wireless network. It has created lots of buzz in the market, so only question is that will it change this statistics in the first quarter of year 2011.

The rumors got started with Pocket-lint blog, when they said that the Android 2.4 will be called Ice Cream and might be revealed in May at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. However, TechCrunch reported that Android 2.4 would be called Ice Cream Sandwich and not Ice Cream. It is still unclear that what will be the name and the number scheme (2.x or 3.x)of the next Android OS, but we are 100 percent sure that it will start with the alpahbet “I”. Since, names of the previous desserts of Android operating system were in alphabetical order – Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb.

As we have already seen the design, feature and performance of Honeycomb on Motorola XOOM tablet, we can accept that the next dessert of Google will be integrated with the same or some more features, but for our Android Smartphones. Even if Google has not unveiled any information about the upcoming version of Android Operating System, it is expected to come in the month of June.

Android 2.x or 3.x, codenamed Ice Cream or Ice Cream Sandwich, will surely bring more advanced and powerful features to our Android Smartphones. So, just sit back and wait for Google’s dessert to be served to you. The only question is, ‘what should we expect with the next version of Android operating system?’

• A ‘speaker HD’ dock.
• A standard dock for charging and display.
• A Leather case that can also be a stand.
• A Bluetooth keyboard can be purchased as well.

Motorola XOOM will be featuring –

• 2 megapixels front camera for video chat.
• 5 megapixels back camera with dual LED flash.
• Android Market for downloading applications.
• 10.1-inch screen with 16:9 aspect ratio, resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and 1080p quality.
• Mini HDMI and micro USB connectors at the bottom of the tablet.
• Google Maps 5.0 with 3D rendering of buildings.
• Mobile hotspot capability for up to five devices.
• Built-in accelerometer, e-compass, barometer, gyroscope and adaptive lighting.
• Adobe Flash Player 10.1 fully-intergrated support.
• 10 hours of battery life

Motorola XOOM has five homescreens, which looks very different and elegant, and will definitely be worth the wait once it arrives in the market. Search field and a button listing all the installed applications runs along the top, while a taskbar of favorite apps runs on the bottom of the screen. In the middle of the screen, you will see widgets that are designed to take full advantage of XOOM’s screen resolution. Several Google apps are tweaked in such a way that they can make the most of the tablets large screen.
Motorola XOOM will surely grasp the Apple’s iPad market, which covers around 70% of the tablets market. Motorola XOOM, no doubt, is hundred times better than the Apple’s iPad. See yourself-

• • iPad has a screen size of 9.7-inch and a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, whereas Motorola XOOM is having a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.
  • Apple’s iPad is powered by 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed processor with 256MB of RAM, on the other hand, XOOM has 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM.
  • iPad doesn’t support Adobe Flash, whereas Motorola XOOM has integrated Adobe Flash Player 10.1.
  • Last but not the least; Apple’s iPad doesn’t have any camera. However, XOOM has dual camera, one 5 mega pixels back camera and one 2 mega pixels front camera.

• Download the IP Webcam application from Android Market and install it on your Android device.
• After installation, run the application.
• Main Setting screen will appear on your screen with the following options –
  • Login – It is an optional field, but if you want, you can provide the login name.
  • Password – Enter the password.
  • Image Size – Set the resolution of an image. However, do not set the higher resolution like1280 x 720. Since, the picture and video quality will be affected. Therefore, it is recommended to use 800 x 600 or 640 x 480.
  • Frame per second – Leave this setting to default.
  • Image Quality – You can set the image quality here.
  • TCP port – Specify the port number, which should be used for the remote connection. Default port number is 8080.
• After that, click on the Start Server to get started.
• If you have set the higher resolution, then a warning message will appear on your screen. If you have a high megapixel camera, then you can ignore this warning. Otherwise, change the resolution.
• Then Webcam Server URL will appear on the bottom of your mobile screen. For example, server is running at “ http://123.111.64.23:8080.”
• Note down the URL and use that URL in the address bar of your browser (use Chrome or Firefox). Android Webcam Server page will appear on your screen, which will give you many ways for using your camera.
  • Open Stream in media player, such as VLC.
  • Use Java browser plug-in.
  • Use JavaScript to update frames in browser.
  • Use browser built-in viewer (not supported by all browsers).
  • Take immediate photo.

Isn’t this application is fantastic, just try it out.

Google Shopper

Google Shopper is a shopping application developed by Google for your Android Smartphone, as well as for iPhone. It recognizes product by barcode scanning, cover art, voice and text search, and finds local and online prices, specs, reviews and more about that product. You can even share that product with your friends. You can download this application free from Android Market.

ShopSavvy

ShopSavvy is another cool shopping application for your Android Smartphone. Just aim the camera of your phone at the barcode of a product, wait for the beep and ShopSavvy will give you a list of local and online prices of that product. It is one of the best barcode applications for Android. The user interface of the application is very good and is getting better by the time. Download and install this free shopping application via Android Market on your Android Smartphone.

Amazon.com

Take a picture of the barcode of a product and Amazon application will show you the best price and direct you to a review of that product immediately. You can even search, compare prices and securely purchase from Amazon.com and thousands of other merchants. It is a very simple application, but very useful.

OI Shopping List

OI Shopping List is a simple, free shopping application for your Android Smartphone, which lets you keep track of your shopping items with quantity and price. You can also this application for making checklists or To Do lists. If you want to power your Android device with shopping list application, then it is the perfect application for you. So, do not wait, just download and install OI Shopping List from Android Market.

Out of Milk

Out of Milk is a free must-have shopping application, which allows you to create, manage and reorganize your shopping list directly on your Android Smartphone. You can even add products directly by using the barcode scanner function of this application in your shopping list. You can create multiple shopping and To Do lists. Just download and install the application to enjoy a more productive life.

Motorola Atrix will be featuring Android v2.2 operating system, Froyo, rather than Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. Nevertheless, it is full of new exciting and interesting features that will catch users eye. It has a 4-inch display and supports ‘qHD’ display at a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. It also supports 24-bit color depth that makes images livelier and clearer, and is able to play 1080p high definition video, when connected to a TV.

Technical specification of Smartphones –

It is a good-looking Smartphone, which is packed in a smooth black plastic with an attractive fade pattern on the black panel. One of the most interesting features of Atrix is its biometric fingerprint reader on the top, which gives you an option to unlock the phone with a swipe of your finger, rather than using a gesture of your phone.

There is also one more very interesting feature that makes it stand out among other Smartphones in the market, Motorola Laptop Dock, which allows you to connect your Smartphone into the laptop. It uses new software called as WebTop, which allows you to run applications and cloud-based programmes inside browser windows. Motorola Laptop Dock has three USB ports – one for a keyboard, one for a mouse and one for a HD video-out port.

Motorola Atrix 4G will also be featuring AT&T Mobile Hotspot service, which will allow users to connect additional Wi-Fi enabled devices. Motorola has taken a great first attempt at blending the worlds of Smartphones and computers. It will be very interesting to see, how the consumers from around the world will adopt it.

Overview

Google Nexus S, the first Smartphone to use the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Operating System, is a joint effort between Google and Samsung for the next generation of Nexus device. It was demonstrated by Google CEO Eric Schmidt on November 15, 2010 and was available for purchase on December 16 in the United States and on December 22 in the United Kingdom. It is also the first Android device to support NFC in both software and hardware. NFC, an abbreviation for Near Field Communication, is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology which allows the transmission of data between devices around 4-inches distance.

Google Nexus S is quite speedy, as it is powered with 1GHz Hummingbird processor. You can navigate around the menus and web pages smoothly and flawlessly, and also applications opens quickly.  It is as fast as the iPhone on modern hardware.  It has a dedicated GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), which allows games run faster. It is like having a pocket-sized multimedia and game console.

Specifications

Design

The lustrous design of Google Nexus S looks very attractive and the black plastic body looks elegant. It has a 4-inch Super Amoled capacitive touch screen with a contoured design, which has become very popular in recent time after making its debut in Samsung Galaxy S. It has a maximum resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, and offers superb contrast and brightness and very deep colors. It is somewhat bulky when compared to Samsung Galaxy S and little bit heavier too.

There are four standard keys below the display – Back, Menu, Search and Home. The User Interface is faster, more responsive and looks much better. On the right side of the Smartphone, there is a power button while the left has volume rocker. On the bottom side of the Nexus S, there is a headphone jack and a micro USB port. The design on the rear side of the Nexus S is similar to the Samsung Galaxy S. It is curvier and the bulbous bottom has been plumped up slightly. It comes with a 5 MP camera with an image capture resolution of 2560 x 1920 pixels and has the opening for single LED flash that sits alongside the camera.

Noticeable Features

1. Internet Calling – Google Nexus S allows you to place Internet calls with a SIP/VoIP account.
2. Copy and Paste – You can use the new selection tool to copy and paste when viewing a webpage or entering a text.
3. Outdoor Viewing – Your pictures, games and videos look best even in the sunlight; there is a 75% less glare than on other Smartphones.
4. Rear and Front facing cameras – The front facing camera can take VGA quality videos and images. It can be used for making video calls. The 5 MP camera at the rear side is capable of taking images with a resolution of 2560 x 1920 pixels and 720 x 480 pixels for videos.
5. Google Apps – Google Nexus S is equipped with best of Google apps, such as Google Earth, Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps and much more.
6. Keyboard – One of the most noticeable features that Nexus S brings is a new on-screen keyboard. The new keyboard makes it easier to get to special characters, numbers and punctuations using multitouch.

Conclusion

If you are an Android user then you want this Smartphone, than any other. Google Nexus S has a lot of improvements over the Galaxy S and offers much more in terms of hardware. With heck lots of features and applications, it seems to be more like a computing device and less like just a Smartphone. However, there is no external memory (SD Card) support; it comes with 16GB of iNAND memory.

Even Nexus S is just an update of the Samsung Galaxy S, the curved screen and the shapely back make it comfortable and distinctive phone to use. You can twist and tilt the phone in any direction and you will still see everything clearly. Call quality on the Nexus S is excellent even on the speakerphone. Holding the phone in your hands feels like you have something substantial.

LG Ally
LG Ally is running on an Android 2.1 operating system and featuring a 3.2” touchscreen display and 3.2 megapixels digital camera. It is the worst Android phones ever made, the phone locks up constantly i.e. hangs regularly and you cannot turn it off. For switching it off, you need to pull out the battery, even that is not easy to remove; the battery is locked and cannot be removed with fingernail.

Motorola Cliq
Another worst Android phone, Motorola Cliq, which is having a good design and brilliant display, including easy to use controls and keyboards. The phone is running on an Android 1.5 operating system, which is a very old version of Android OS. There are many flaws in the phone, such as there is no flash support for camera , sometimes call quality is not good, Android 2.1 in not upgradeable, touchscreen sometimes, etc.

Garminfone
Garminfone which was launched by T-Mobile for $199. The Smartphone is loaded with Android 1.6 and featuring 3.5” TFT capacitive touchscreen, 3.2 MP camera and 4GB of internal memory. The phone is not only running on an old version of Android operating and system, but also does not have video capabilities. No one knows when it came in the Market.

Motorola Defy
Motorola Defy is an Android Smartphone featuring excellent music player, 800MHz Cortex-A8 processor and much more. It is sporting a 5MP camera, but there are much better 5MP camera mobile phones available in the market than this one. Video shoots at higher resolution feels very out of touch. It is having an internal storage of only 2GB and the microSD card slot is below the battery.