One of the most logical and useful groupings of applications are the Android news apps. It just makes sense to have one or more of these free apps on your phone so you can get the news you want when you want. Typically, all the bigger news sources provide their applications free of charge making these free news apps an even bigger no-brainer. This leaves everyone with one big decision to make: which one(s) to download. A secondary concern you should also consider is whether you want a local news app. Again, these are almost always free to download; however, the quality of these varies tremendously and it’s really a market-by-market issue. Of course, the bigger the market the better their Android news apps should be and this line of thinking usually holds true.

Regarding which of the many free Android news apps to download, the only way to figure it out is to learn more about them. Here is some periphery information about 10 of the best Android news apps:

FOX News

Like the TV channel and programming, this free Android app tends to provide its news from the more conservative point of view and spectrum. FOX News provides users with the latest news and updates from the people behind the FOX News Network. You can control the number of feeds and the type of news items you receive!

Tech Buzz Widget

Want to know the latest about technology, including any and all news about the Android OS, gaming, and mobile gadgets? If so, this free Android news app is the right app for you.

Phandroid

This is another app providing news on the mobile technologies niche. This one is more specialized toward information, news and rumors on all the latest about the Android OS and the Android Market.

Pulse News Reader

This Android news app will basically make you want to use your Android phone more and more for the sake of gathering news information. Its goal is to make reading your favorite news sources easier and more efficiently. It takes your favorite news sites and separates and orders them into a completely different look that’s easier to read and browse through. It really is a great app to have.

NYTimes for Android phone

This is one of the apps that nothing should need to be said about. It’s from one of the most trusted and popular news sources in the world. Now, you can read the famous NY TIMES articles without paying for the paper!

AP Mobile

This is one of the favorite free Android news apps of tens of thousands of users. AP Mobile gives you exclusive access to all Associated Press news feeds – the same source that provides news to every news outlet throughout the world.

BBC News

This app provides the latest headlines from one of the most trusted news sources in the world. It’s very compact and convenient; you will never miss an important world news event again with BBC News on your Android phone.

Express News

One of the most worthwhile free Android news apps around, Express News gives you instant access to more than 300 news providers all over the world. From the AFP and Associated Press to more localized sources like the Canadian Press. This list goes on and on and is great for those who like to take in the news from a multitude of sources.

USATODAY

The official USA Today app is definitely one of the best free Android news apps around. Get the latest news (current events, sports, weather, society and more) from one of the mot circulated newspapers in the United States.

NewsRob (Google Reader / RSS)

This free Android app is an RSS/Atom newsreader that syncs the most recent articles and content from feeds. It is auto-synced with Google Reader and allows for partial feeds in case you want to read the articles offline. Easily said, it’s one of the very best RSS/Atom readers available.

Competition is continually heating up between Apple and Google, even if both have worked together on past projects. The two Silicon Valley giants have collaborated previously on different projects including the Google maps app running on Apple’s iPhones and iPod Touches. Then Apple has faced criticism for its knockback of third-party Google Voice iPhone application and also, the official 2008 Google Voice app developed by Google.

Now competition is still at large between Apple and Google via versions of each of their app stores. One of the strongest rival for Apple’s Apps Store is Google ‘s Android Marketplace.

Comparing the two, I would say it’s a draw. Either one of the two app stores, have their share of benefits and drawbacks. The overarching difference however, is that Apple controls every single aspect of their app stores. You can’t get an app into the Application Store even if you spend millions of dollars on development. They have to accept you first, and even if you are in, they can still yank you out.

In comparison, Google’s Android Marketplace is much more loose. Anybody can put their app at the Marketplace. Google App Store just lets things go and flow, that finding what you need is a bit of a challenge. Anything can be put on there so there are some that I find rather questionable, rubbish apps.

With regards to the Apple Apps Store, there are a lot of apps there that are not recommendable for anyone to use. Now even though Google is more lenient in screening out their apps, they still have the power to eliminate apps from the Android Marketplace, same as with Apple’s Application Store, just more “open”. They may shut an item or an app developer down though.

There is no quality control in the Android Marketplace and yet there are a lot of cool apps in the it. Yes, there are apps available in both Google Android and Apple Apps Store that are sometimes designed and created by the same team.

Regarding design, I like it that the Google Android specifically the Google platform allows you to download and sets it in the background so you can download another and simultaneously. I also love the fact that before you install an Android app, you get the list of all the features of a particular application. In contrast with the installation process of iPhone Apps, when you install an application, when you click to download, it takes you back to the home screen which requires more effort if you want to download another app.

This list of the most popular free Android apps run the whole gamut, showing the range and the power of free Android apps in general. These apps can really turn your Android phone into a stronger and more helpful device. Surely, you wouldn’t want to miss that opportunity? Here are ten of the most popular free Android apps available:

Compass

In a way, it would be very surprising if a run-of-the-mill compass app was on this list. Well, it’s not and this Android app is far more than a mere tool to tell you which way is north. To name a few of the features this app brings to the table will be enough to sell most on the idea that it’s a practical, handy app to have on their Android phone. Essentially this is a half compass, half GPS Android app. It tells you the direction, but it also tells you the speed at which you’re traveling, the exact coordinates of your location and more things that can be used for fun or to potentially save your life if you’re trapped somewhere.

Handcent SMS

Do you want to send SMS and MMS messages through your Android phone? Don’t get what I’m asking? More simply: do you text? If you do, you need to get Handcent SMS for Android. Basically, it takes your phone to entirely new level and texting dimension. Trust me, when you’ve used this app for a while, you’ll wonder how you lived without it for so long!

Facebook

I really shouldn’t have to say a single word about this app. I do feel it’s necessary to say that it’s the *Official Facebook App for Android*. Enough said!

Ringdroid

Perhaps one of the most hands-on free Android apps, Ringdroid allows you to edit various audio files so you can create your own ringtones and alarms. Tired of editing songs to create your own ringtone? Well, they’ve thought of that too! You can create ringtones for your Android phone from scratch as well (using the Ringdroid app on your phone).

Places Directory

This Android app does exactly what it sounds like. It allows you to find the nearest gas station, shopping mall, shoe store, movie theater, or even a great place for a burger. It is simple to use yet very efficient and effective: a must-have Android application!

Backgrounds

Do you want to keep your phone looking new and fresh every so often? Get Backgrounds, one of the most popular free Android apps that has more than 10,000 wallpapers for free. With this app, your phone will never look drab again.

Google Sky Map

Probably not the most useful on this list, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting. The Google Sky Map is exactly that: a planetarium right inside your Android phone. What’s more? No need to say more than it’s a Google program!

Astro File Manager

You wouldn’t know it from this app’s name, but Astro File Manager is among the top most popular free Android apps. It is a task manager and among Android’s best one at that. You will be able to manage files, read and open.zip files, send files, backup applications and much more with this amazing app.

Barcode Scanner

Perhaps one of the most ingenious free Android apps on this list, this bar code scanner app lets you access prices, reviews, and other related files by scanning the barcodes on various items in stores and elsewhere. Most importantly for Android phone users, it will easily decode the QR Codes attached to Android apps that you find all over many of the Android websites online. Just download this free app, click the icon and take a quick snapshot of an app’s QR Code. Next thing you know, you’ll be at the Android Market again, but this time at that app’s info and download page!

Shazam

Everyone loves music; well most of us love it. I’m guessing if you haven’t heard of Shazam and what it does by now, you’re probably part of the minority. If that’s the case, this app will nearly instantly identify songs playing, even in noisy environments. That’s the core of Shazam, but luckily for all of us, it’s spawned into much more than that! You’ll just have to download it (for free) to see all of the possibilities!

Smartphone users who think they won’t have many apps available to them on the Droid phone will be happy to know that Google’s Android Market offers just over 16,000 different apps for users to enjoy. Android market is, in many respects, just like Apple’s iPhone Apps Store. It is an international marketplace where people can login and purchase all kinds of apps, from the fun to the practical and useful. The Android Market application comes pre-installed on all Droid phones, so users can take advantage of apps right away. More and more people are looking to increase the flexibility of their smartphones, and apps like the ones featured on Android Market allow them to take the power of their desktop and laptop computers out of the office and into the real world.

The process of developing and marketing an Android application online is really no different from what iPhone developers do. An Android developer would first try to find a niche that a new Android application could fill, develop the application, and then sell it. There may be well over 16,000 apps on Android Market, but even though this is so, there is always room for innovation. New Android entrepreneurs become successful every day with well crafted, strategized, and marketed applications. When a new app enters the Android Market, it can grow very quickly into a passive source of revenue for its creator. In layman’s terms, this means you get to play golf much more often.

There are other venues for selling Droid phone applications, but none of them are nearly as well-recognized or sought after as Android Market. One might want to make the comparison between Ebay and every other auction site. Because Ebay started off popular and has the most aggressive marketing plan, nobody even comes close to touching it.

If you have an idea for an Android application, Appiction’s team of strategists and marketing specialists will take all of the right steps to ensure its success on Android Market. We have been in this business for years and were there when Android Market first opened its doors to developers looking to sell their innovations. We know which combination of application strategy, development, and marketing will be the most profitable on Android Market with the lowest possible cost. The smartphone world is going through a revolution that will make all of our lives more fun and easy. Appiction is here to help you to profit from it.

Learn More About Android Application Development [http://www.appiction.com/android-application-development-articles?utm_source=ezine&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=android]

The Appiction management team is comprised of highly qualified and experienced leaders in business, advertising, eLearning, digital media, strategy, network engineering, technology development and deployment and have proven capabilities in directing media and technology communications.

Android devices, such as the Motorola Milestone A 854 and HTC Desire 6275, use the Android software stack which was purchased by Google, who then made it open source enabling it to be used by any developer working on software for mobile devices. Android was built on the Linux Kernel, and can be used to develop mobile applications that make full use of the true potential of a mobile handset, and enable developers to combine the various functions that a handset is capable of providing.

Using Android, your phone’s core applications can combine with third party applications to offer services not otherwise possible, such as combining internet data with that on your cell phone, which would not be possible without Android. You can design your phone to match your interests, and make full use of mobile broadband and wireless internet applications. In other words, by using Android a developer can enable you to use your phone in ways not possible without it.

Because it is open source software, anybody can use it, and it is currently installed on a number of Android devices, including smartphones marketed by Acer, Cherry, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, and also on some tablets and e-readers. Where installed, full use can be made of the Android Market, offering a number of applications such as the free Time Mobile, offer the latest from Time Magazine and Sports Tap, also free, providing the latest sports results and stats.

To make full use of Android devices you will need Wireless internet and Mobile broadband (such as in the Motorola Milestone X MB810). With Wireless internet, or Wi-Fi, you can access the internet through ‘hotspots’ allowing wireless access to a router wired to the internet. Mobile broadband, such as 3G, allows internet access from anywhere at any time, and most mobile phones these days have mobile broadband technology integrated into their software.

Mobile broadband offers wireless high-speed internet access by means of a portable modem, cell phone or any other device that can access a wireless signal. It is available to laptops via a USB ‘dongle’ that provides a connection, and other Android devices that can provide mobile broadband connections are PC cards, notebooks with built in mobile broadband modules and all leading laptops.

One of the advantages claimed for Android is that because it is open source, more developers will use it because it’s free, and the fact that it is implemented under an Apache license enables Android to be more easily used in software development. You should thus be able to connect your smartphone to car radios and many other Android devices.

A smartphone using Android always knows where you are, and one of the apps on Android Market is known as Aloqa. No matter where you are, Aloqa will make real time recommendations to your phone based on your choice of preferences in respect of restaurants, music, hotels, events and activities close to where you are at the time. This can be done because Android enables developers to interface the location of your device with other devices that can offer you this type of information.

Naturally, this also makes use of wireless internet or mobile broadband. Without either of these connections, Android would be extremely limited in application, as would other smartphones that don’t use it such as Blackberry. Blackberry has its own platform and its own version of some of the apps on Google’s Android Market.

So the obvious next question is which is better – Android devices or Blackberry or even Apple’s iPhone system. If sales matter, then the Android platform phones are selling better in the USA than iPhones, while Blackberry (RIM platform) and Window’s Phone 7 (Windows Mobile platform) dropped even more. Android phones now have 33% of the American cell phone market. It’s not a matter of how they compare technically, but how many phone manufacturers are using each platform.

Naturally, you will find the best selling platform will have most apps, and Google is expanding its range of apps on Android Market. Not all are free, but a good number are. Among them are the highly rated games Robot Defense and Spec Trek. Both are extremely popular, but why not pop over to Android Market and check out what they have. Some are free while others are not so free.

Most Android devices therefore, such as the LG Axis 740, will also offer a WiFi internet connection and likely mobile broadband to enable you to make the most of the Android platform and apps downloadable from Android market. There must be some reason for most cell phones being supplied with Android, and Google is currently tightening up the rules regarding its use so that it less fragmented with more interoperability between applications and Android devices.