The Best Android Applications

If getting a phone without any third-party applications is like getting a toy without batteries, then Google’s Android Developer Challenge was like giving onlookers handfuls of sweet, sweet AAs and nothing to put them in. Developers turned out in drove to delivers scores of creative, interesting and sometimes off-the-wall applications for an operating system that didn’t even exist on any commercial phones yet. But now that the first Android-based phone, the T-Mobile G1, is just around the corner, we revisited their creations to whet our appetites. Here are the top 10 upcoming Android apps we can’t wait to load up on the G1:

10. Beetaun

Ever stumble upon a hidden gem in your city that’s just begging to be discovered? Beetaun allows users to tag locations around a city, then browse through maps of what other people have found interesting. Unlike GPS units where points of interest are stores and other brick-and-mortar locales, Beetaun tags could be anything from a particularly picturesque viewpoint, to a farmer’s market, to a story about something that happened at a place. We dig the off-beat possibilities. (link)

9. ShareYourBoard

Some day, every complex flowchart you sketch out will be recorded digitally, and painlessly. Until then, we’ve got whiteboards, and they’re pretty tough to send to other people. ShareYourBoard makes it easier to pull all the sloppily illustrated (but brilliant) ideas that end up on those office whiteboards and spread them around on the Web. We know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t that just a digital camera?” Hardly. ShareYourBoard will detect the edges of the whiteboard photo you shoot, lay it flat, adjust the image for legibility, then thumbnail it with others for easy browsing. (link)

8. City Slikkers

Productivity tools are great, but at the end of the day, everybody loves a good game. Although the makers of City Slikkers have been somewhat vague about actual gameplay, the details we know so far make it quite unique. Android owners will play within the cities they actually live in, which will be represented to them using 3D maps tapped into GPS. The makers even envision people meeting up at real-life locations that represent in-game sites. There’s no question you’ll probably look like quite a weirdo playing this one, but then again, that’s why we love it. (link)

7. Wertago

If running around in a real city that’s standing in for a simulated city isn’t really your thing, maybe you’ll prefer Wertago as a way to relax, which is more like a sophisticated way to get drunk. Besides offering a directory of hot venues in any given city Wertago will allow users to swap messages and pictures, set up profiles, and ultimately, meet up on the town. OK, it’s a geeky way to flirt. But hey, at least the people you’ll meet are into Android, right? (link)