New android smartphone or tablet and looking to load with the best app offerings on Google Play? So here we bring you the very best free and paid for Android apps available right now. Here's what delights we have discovered this month.
Sky Movies
The ultimate companion for Sky customers already subscribed to the Movies package, watch films from across the 11 channels from a compatible device, access remote recording and see trailers and cast lists for movies hitting your local Cineplex.
Price: Free (For Sky customers) | Platform: Android 2.2+ | Download Sky Movies Android app
Awareness HD Etymotic
Noise cancelling is great, until you miss your boarding call or someone has to grab you by the shoulder to get your attention at work. This app lets Etymotic headphone users manually adjust levels and the mic on the fly. Clever.
Price: Free | Platform: Android 4.1+ | Download Awareness HD Etymotic Android app
FitNotes
Making sure you don’t miss another Monday morning cardio session this simple tracker will help you build your training program in a clean interface letting you add custom categories and look back at training history to see if you need to add any more weight sessions.
Price: Free | Platform: Android 4.0+ | Download FitNotes Android app
MATERIAL (BETA)
There are plenty of apps out there that claim to provide you with the news you're interested in. MATERIAL does the very same thing, except it automatically picks up on your interests from your Facebook and Twitter activity, and then instead of bringing you news from the biggest sites, it expertly grabs interesting content from smaller sites you may not know existed. As you continue to use social media, your MATERIAL will evolve to your tastes.
Price: Free | Download MATERIAL (BETA) Android app
RBS 6 Nations Championship App
After England kicked off its Six Nation campaign with a win, this is the official app to see you through the rest of the tournament which is complete with pre and post-match coverage including live commentary, highlights from the game, in-depth stats analysis and it even supports French and Italian for our oval ball lovers overseas.
Price: Free | Download RBS 6 Nations Championship Android app
Epic Citadel
Previously only available for iOS devices, you can now take a stunning visual walk around a fictional world looks that like it has been carved straight out of from a high-end console. Painting a bright future for Android gaming, the Unreal Engine 3-powered demo now adds a Benchmark feature which will show you how capable your device is running the graphically impressive app.
Price: Free | Download Epic Citadel Android app
7X7
The slick puzzler which is all about matching more than five coloured squares to clear them from the board, makes life more difficult by throwing on random squares after each unsuccessful move to make the task more difficult. Visually it looks the part but most importantly you’ll find yourself glued to it after a few games.
Price: Free | Download 7x7 Android app
FlipaClip
One of the standout apps from the Samsung Galaxy Note S Pen App Challenger, the flipbook movie maker has now broken free from the Note shackles. Letting you make the animated flicks frame by frame, you can pick how many frames per second you want to use, and with the S-Pen draw more accurate pictures to bring to life. You can share flicks to Facebook and YouTube and then wait for the Likes and the comments to start streaming in.
Price: Free | Download FlipaClip Android app
Sky+
Already available for the iPad and iPhone, Android owners can now turn their smartphone into a touch screen remote and enjoy complete Planner manager management when away from home. As well as being to swipe to pause, play and rewind, you will also be able to delete six month old HD episodes of Eastenders clogging up the set-top box even without interrupting Walford’s finest as they play out on the TV.
Price: Free | Download Sky+ Android app
Pitfall!
Activision has marked the 30th anniversary of the Atari 2600 classic by giving the game a reboot for smartphones and tablets with 3D graphics, Temple Run-style gameplay and a frantically switching camera angles that makes the modern makeover worthy once again of its exclamation mark.
Price: Free | Download Pitfall! Android app
Flipboard: Your News Magazine
The news-reading app which turns all your feeds into a glossy digital magazine has only recently landed on Google Play and the latest update brings support for the Daydream Android 4.2 feature which means when you dock your device, you can see the latest stories floating around your screen as it charges up.
Price: Free | Download Flipboard Android app
Nike+ Running
It’s taken a while but having been an exclusive for iPhone users and Android customers on 02, the running tracking app is now available to download for everyone (well, almost). If you have a compatible device you can use your phone’s GPS and accelerometer to record run data and with the UI given a much needed refresh also see runs in greater detail with intergration for Nike’s Fuel Points system.
Price: Free | Download Nike+ Running Android app
BT SmartTalk
Letting you make calls from your smartphone at landline prices, BT customers can register up to 5 smartphones to benefit from dialling 0800 numbers or making calls abroad to the UK over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G and not getting a crippling phone bill in return.
Price: Free | Download BT SmartTalk Android app
Fitocracy
Rapidly growing as one of the most popular ways to make getting fit more of a game, Fitocracy has now come to Android which means you can workout and discover new exercises all while levelling up like real-life video game character.
Price: Free | Download Fitocracy Android app
Xbox SmartGlass
Microsoft’s second screen experience turns your Android smartphone (or tablet) into an slick remote to navigate around the Xbox 360 dashboard and interact with movie, TV and the new Xbox Music app. Gaming is surely where the true potential of SmartGlass lies, but currently only a handful games are compatible which include Forza Horizon and Dance Central 3. It's a start though and we expect to see more of SmartGlass in 2013.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download Xbox SmartGlass Android app
Curiosity
The first app offering from former Lionhead lead designer Peter Molyneux and his new 22cans studio, the aim of the Curiosity game (or social experiment) is to chip away at the cube to reveal the top secret contents. Molyneux says Curiosity is a test of the ‘psychology of monetisation’ which is clearly aimed at some pretty pricey in-app purchases to help you get closer to solving the mystery that lies beneath the layers.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download Curiosity Android app
PubQuix
Need to quickly locate the perfect place to flex your knowledge of pop music in the 90s and famous London landmarks? This pub quiz location app simply finds the nearest places to show off your smarts with integrated map information and details of the prizes up for grabs whether it's a shiny trophy or a drinks tab that has to be redeemed on the night.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download PubQuix Android app
Fluid Football
Separating the long ball merchants from the lovers of the tiki-taka, the finger-swiping football action has now arrived on Android. Former Sky Sports pundits Andy Gray and Richard Keys will comment on your best worked moves while the hint system will help out if you can’t breach that back line in under four passes.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download Fluid Football Android app
Whale Trail Frenzy
One of the surprise hits of the past year and worthy of its T3 Award App of the Year nomination, the psychedelic game is back looking simplistically beautiful once again with a soothing soundtrack courtesy of Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals. A Tiny Wings-esque continuous scrolling level mode has now been added and best of all, it's now free to play.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download Whale Trail Frenzy Android app
Easy Voice Recorder Free
Turns your smartphone into a basic Dictaphone. Start it up and you’ll soon be taping conversations covertly for use in future arguments.
Price: Free | Platform: Android | Download Easy Voice Recorder Free Android app
Pencil Sketch
Calling all aspiring artists who want don't want to put the time or effort in to create a masterpiece, Pencil Sketch takes existing photos from your smartphone or tablet and gives them a pencilled makeover. You can also save the images and share them on Facebook on Twitter to suitably amaze friends with your new-found skill.
Price: Free | Download Pencil Sketch Android app