Android Apps: 5 Free Apps You Should Install on Your Android Device (Based on ICS, Jelly Bean & KitKat)
Johnny Lee
There are a lot of Android apps available in the market which are grouped in various categories, depending on your needs. But among these apps, which are the ones you need the most?
With the recent release of version 4.x, including ICS, Jelly Bean and KitKat, the Android OS has since been improved with fresh functionality and more useful features added by default. And to save you time working out exactly which apps you need most, we’ve picked out five must-have free Android apps based on ICS, Jelly Bean and KitKat. So if you have these versions of the Android system running in your smartphone or tablet, you simply must install the following apps.
Do you like viewing articles in a browser but couldn’t finish them at a given time? With the help of Pocket, you can save interesting articles so you can read it later at your convenience.
After installing the app, you can ‘Share’ a page in a mobile browser via ‘Add to Pocket’, which will then save to your Pocket list. Run the app and it will present the articles from the list in a clean and readable view, removing unnecessary clutter from the page. And to make things easier, Pocket remembers where you left off in every article so you can continue reading from the same place. You can also download your saved items for offline reading, except for videos, when you’re not connected to the Internet. To save space, you can clear downloaded items with just a few taps from the app. Also, you can mark your favorites, adjust the font size for easy reading, or select items by articles, videos or images, and go through any other settings to tweak the app the way you like.
1Tap Cleaner
1Tap Cleaner is a must-have app for getting things done more quickly and efficiently, all in one place with just a tap of your finger. It’s a handy tool that contains four cleaners in a single app: Cache Cleaner, History Cleaner, Call/Text Cleaner, and Default Cleaner.
Tapping the Cache Cleaner will show you the total number of apps installed and the total cache sized used by the apps. You can easily clear all cached files with a single tap so you can save more space on your device.
The History Cleaner and Call/Text Cleaner are useful for cleaning up privacy traces in your Android device. The former helps clean visited history of a browser, clipboard content, and history records of any other apps; while the latter lets you clear logs for incoming, outgoing, and missed calls, the frequently contacted, as well as SMS and MMS threads.
If you have selected some applications to take certain actions by default, the Default Cleaner will summarize them in one list so you can clear all selected defaults in one go.
AirDroid
A phone screen is quite small and a tablet screen may not be as big enough as a desktop screen. But by installing AirDroid, you can use your PC to access and interact with your Android device wirelessly, over a local WiFi.
AirDroid is very easy to use. Simply run the app on your device, then enterweb.airdroid.com into a Web browser on your PC, and log in with the password given by the app for a session. On your PC, you can read, send or delete SMS, install and uninstall apps, transfer files or share text between the PC and mobile, browse photos, play music and videos saved in your Android device, edit contacts, and more. With AirDroid, you can fully enjoy your Android experience over-the-air using your PC with a large screen monitor, a full-sized keyboard, a mouse, and perhaps a superb surround sound system!
X-plore File Manager
A file manager is something most Android users have been craving for and yet it’s not built in. Unless you have a file manager added on by your device manufacturer, you would tend to need one to browse the files inside your device. If you’re not satisfied with the file manager provided for you, why not install one that’s most suited for you?
X-plore File Manager is one of the best free file managers for Android. If you like a dual-pane file manager with a tree view, this app is your best bet. It lets you transfer files easily between folders on the same device as you can have your device folder on one side of the split screen and your external storage folder on the other. The app will also show the total memory size and the amount of free space. Drilling further into a folder will show you file sizes. Apart from using the menu buttons, you can long press a folder or file to rename, copy, move, delete, create zip, show details, and more.
Other useful features include setting favorite folders, built-in viewers for images, videos, audio and text, sharing files, and cloud storage access to Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, and more.
360 Security
The ICS, Jelly Bean and KitKat versions don’t have anti-malware program pre-installed in the Android device. However, you can get one for free to protect your device.
360 Security is a great choice to secure your Android device as it has established itself as one of the most popular and comprehensive security apps to cover every possible security concern a user has. It has dual-layer antivirus protection, with its 360 QVS database and cloud engines to scan installed apps and local apk files in real time while monitoring each app that you’re installing on your device.
This app has a clean and easy-to-use interface as the various tools are distinctively laid out for you. Apart from scanning virus and unwanted malware, you can also use 360 Security to clean up junks, privacy leaks, and useless apks with a single tap of a button.
Despite its lack of anti-theft capabilities, 360 Security has an interesting set of features like an Accelerator and Power-saver, Call and SMS Blocker, App Manager, Contacts Backup, and Privacy Advisor. It also has a small floating window to optimize your device with just one drag straight away from home screens.
