Android Apps

Software designed for running on the Android operating system, a popular platforms used in cellphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Since Android was introduced, more than 400,000 Android apps have been developed and most of them are available for download from Google Play. Google Play is the online store hosted by Google. Apps on Google Play range include Freeware, Adware, and Pay Apps.

Web Browsers

Atlas Web Browser

reviewed 10/2019
Freeware (not adware)
JavaScript control
CSS / Text control

For an Android device web browser that functions well on a phone the Atlas Web Browser is about as good as it gets. There are many levels of control over elements of web pages which allows you to turn the modern annoying popup riddled and advertisement packed web into a fast and efficient information source like it used to be in the golden age of the web. Quick access slide out controls allow aspects of the page rendering to be controlled at a tap. Changes in the rendering take effect immediately. You can display pages as only text, a light mode with images, and full page rendering. You can tap to switch between device styles. Most useful is the ability to control text zooming and the text zooming overrides css styles built into the page. This makes it much easier to read text on web pages when using a small screen such as on a mobile phone. When tested on the Google Pixel phone the Atlas Web Browser performed faster than any of the 12 other browsers we tested.

DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser

reviewed 10/2019
Freeware (not adware)

The best feature is the immediate ability to burn all history and privacy data by a single tap. The lack of JavaScript control is the largest negative aspect of the browser and thus limits its usefulness.

Vivaldi Browser Beta

reviewed 10/2019
Freeware (not adware)

Claims to have a very high degree of user customization however in practice was very disappointing. Although there are some clever interface aspects the overall UI is confusing. It does have the ability to disable JavaScript by default or on a per site basis. However, the per site basis interface is rubbish. There is no ability to tap and add the current URL. You are required to character by character manually enter the URL into the whitelist. You cant even see the URL bar while you do this, so you have to remember the domain no matter how long and arbitrary it is.

Vivaldi developers need to add the ability to whitelist or blacklist the current URL with a single tap. Furthermore, the ability to have more control over what JavaScript elements run as well as the ability to tune CSS rendering. The text size control does not adjust text size for most web sites.

Vivaldi fails to offer the degree of control they promise in their description. The devs are political. The app comes pre-loaded with only the fake news outlets, no balance.

BitTorrent Clients

aDownloader

Freeware (not adware)
Supports IP filtering
Supports various search engines
SD card torrent directories
Can also work as an HTTP downloader

Native BitTorrent client for Android with a simple clean interface. Long press on any BitTorrent link and click on Share. Choose the aDownloader option, and torrent will download. Supports adding torrent files from SD card. The app is freely available for download from the Android marketplace.

The source [Best Native Torrent Client for Android with Better Download Speeds Best Native Torrent Client for Android with Better Download Speeds] talks specifically about the benefits of aDownloader.

aTorrent

aTorrent is adware.

tTorrent

There is a paid version and a free adware version. The free adware version is called tTorrentLite

Rutracker Downloader

Adware
No Speed Limitation

Email Client

K-9 Mail

K-9 Mail is an open-source e-mail client with search, IMAP push email, multi-folder sync, flagging, filing, signatures, bcc-self, PGP, mail on SD supporting IMAP, POP3 and Exchange 2003/2007 (with WebDAV).

You can find K-9's release notes at: http://bit.ly/new-k9
K-9 is a community developed project. If you're interested in helping goto http://k9mail.googlecode.com.

(ref: K9, K9 Mail, K-9 Email, K9 Email, K9 E-Mail, k9mail or k9email.)

Q: Does K9 mail support aliases / multiple identities like Eudora and Thunderbird PC Apps do?

A: This link (Issue 117: Multiple Identities) is to a support ticket opened by a K9 user. Although this user is using IMAP, it needs to be tested if aliases are support with POP3 accounts. Further update: tested and YES full alias support.

System Utilities

CX File Explorer

reviewed 10/2019
Freeware (not adware)
compatible with root
Samba / CIFS support

As of this review made in 2019 this is the best file explorer tested thus far. Quickly access any location on the phone file system and view regular or hidden files. Move files to a Windows network or personal computer share. Compatible with most NAS shares, versions of SAMBA, and Windows NT shares. It's a nice app! Clean, easy to use, not cluttered with a bunch of unnecessary useless features like many of the other file managers. It is a nice clean and basic app with the ability to connect your device to a local area network.

X-plore File Manager

You can browse Samba / CIFS LAN resources however there seems to be an incompatibility with the protocol which results in extremely slow file copy and errors. The CIFS version control option in the app might resolve this however further testing is required.

The interface is what is known as the Orthodox File Manager style (wikipedia's term) which is very familiar with traditionalists. Think of

ES File Explorer

last update to this review 10/2019
ES File Explorer is banned from Google Play Store due to violation of their terms
free
tracker uses advertising

File manager & App manager which can explore the phones & computers. Gathers data for advertising trackers, but doesn't display ads in main interface.

review: ES File Explorer is useful for navigation of the Android file system. Allows connection to PC file shares on a LAN! (the key feature). Allows bookmarking internal memory or SD card paths, and LAN paths. There are very few android apps capable of viewing and accessing files from a Microsoft Windows network share. ES File Explorer can access files on a Windows share in a view only, local caching capacity. Due to the advertising trackers and no pay upgrade option this app loses review points.

updated 2019: ES File Explorer is the victim of its own success and the greed of the developers. The app has turned into a big fat piece of bloatware. The devs violated Google Play Store's terms and are therefore banned from Google Play at current. Although this file manager still offers features that are not available from most of the other file managers, there's too much bloat that relates to unnecessary fluff as well as marketing and anti-privacy components. To get ES File Explorer you'll have to download the apk directly from the developer site. Use at your own risk.

PdaNet - USB Tether or Bluetooth DUN

Tethering. PdaNet supports both USB Tether and Bluetooth DUN. Your phone can connect to the data service, WiFi, or even through VPN and PdaNet will share it with your computer.

Shareware / Trialware - Once trial expires, you can continue using PdaNet for free. The only difference is that free edition blocks secure web sites.

android-vnc-viewer

freeware / no ads
connects to most VNC servers: incl TightVNC, RealVNC on Win and Linux, x11vnc, and Apple Remote Desktop on OS/X

See and control your computer's desktop from your phone with the VNC viewer/client for Android platform. android-vnc-viewer is forked from TightVNC viewer.

Documentation

review: control of remote host screen is difficult, takes some getting used to, and even then still leaves much to be desired. The deal breaker with this viewer is that it lakes a critical feature: no way to copy text or clipboard contents from the remote host to the Android device.

Ringer mode locker

no adds
no special permission
cost $1.20

Some phone models are easy to get in silent mode due to accidental swipe or pocket related button press. Important calls are missed when the phone is unintentionally in silent mode. This app overrides the phone ringer/vibrate/silent control to force the phone into the mode of your choice.

Ringer mode locker

Text and Document Editors

Jota Text Editor

freeware / no ads

Jota is a text editor designed for a long text file.

Google Play: Jota Text Editor

Ted (Text Editor)

freeware / no ads
open source

Ad-free, lightweight text editor, meant as a Notepad application, and not meant to edit big files.

Google Play: Ted Text Editor

Security and Privacy

Due to deficiencies in Google Play, and Google's unwillingness to address the issues of adware, spyware, malware, and trojans popping up in Android Apps available on the Google operated App web site, a rising number of Android users are victim. Android Security and Privacy is not nearly as good as Apple's devices. It is up to the user to be cautious about anything he or she installs on an android device. Google is not looking out for you!

Addons Detector

Addons Detector detects addons used by your installed applications and has tools to find push notification ads.

See what advertising agencies other developers use, and what tools they have integrated. Find the app that uses AirPush or similar push notifications, so you can remove it. Find notification spam, like the notification monitor.

Free app but to get all of the features you have to make a donation.

droidwall

Android Firewall is a front-end application for the powerful iptables Linux firewall. It allows you to restrict which applications are permitted to access your data networks (2G/3G and/or Wi-Fi).

Phone Locator, Monitoring, and Spy Apps

There are apps designed for security, to help you locate your phone if you lose it. If your phone is stolen, you can use an app to locate it, lock it, erase it, and help recover it. If you have teens there are apps to monitor them, where they are, and their text message conversations. There are even apps designed to help couples keep an eye on their significant other. The functionality and moral implications vary depending on the app. Some have even been banned from the Google Play market. Phone Locator, Monitoring, and Spy Apps are provided in a simple text list with some notes and comments.

Sources and References

Keywords: Android Tablet PC Samsung Galaxy Tab Two 2