As reported on Businessinsider.com
by Kevin Smith
While Apple’s store is usually the first choice for developers to launch their apps, others know that Android is the platform to push hardware and software to the limit.
Browsing through Android’s massive app library can be difficult as there are many apps that simply aren’t very useful.
But if you look a little harder you can find apps like BetterBatteryStats, which helps you to manage apps are draining the most power.
Check out the rest of the Android-exclusive apps we rounded up. They’ll change how you use your Android, for the better.
DeskSMS makes sure you’ll never miss a message again.
DeskSMS is a nifty app that allows you to forward text messages (and picture messages) from your Android smartphone to your desktop via Gmail, Google Talk, and the Chrome Web browser.
Price: Free
WiFi Analyzer lets you determine how strong a wireless network is in your vicinity
Have you ever been stuck on a slow wireless network?
WiFi Analyzer lets you see how strong networks are around you, helping you to pick the fastest, most reliable one.
Price: Free
Weather Bomb gives a data-intensive view of the weather on your Android device
Weather Bomb is an extremely detailed weather app that gives users seven days of data.
There are various views, but our favorite is the graph view, which gives the week’s rain, wind, and cloud forecast at a glance.
Other data includes rain, wind, cloud, temperature, pressure humidity and wave height.
Price: Free
Google Skymap lets you know exactly which star you’re staring up at.
Google Skymap is an open sourced app that lets you point your smartphone up at the night sky to decipher constellations, planets, and stars.
Price: Free
Llama Location Profiles uses where you are to change aspects of your phone like ringer and Bluetooth
KnowYourMobile
Llama is a nifty app that automatically switches specific phone settings depending on where you are. You can automatically silence your phone when you arrive at your office or turn Bluetooth on at 7 am to pair with your headphones for a morning run.
Best of all, the app doesn’t use your phone’s GPS, which can drain your battery. Instead, it uses cell towers in your area to figure out where you are.
Price: Free
BetterBatteryStats helps you spend more time unplugged.
BetterBatteryStats lets you analyze your phone’s behavior, pinpointing exactly which applications are causing your battery to drain. Once you know what the culprit is you can specifically fix the issue.
Price: $2.89
APP Lock password protects specific apps
The premise behind APP Lock is simple: password protect installed applications with a password or pattern. Now you don’t have to be nervous when someone else is playing around with your smartphone.
Price: Free
SwiftKey 3 will change how you type on your Android smartphone
Business Insider / Matthew Lynley
SwiftKey improves your productivity by helping you to type better.
Swiftkey gives much more accurate corrections and predictions than other keyboards. Very sloppy typing will make sense, even if you miss spaces, and SwiftKey 3 also predicts your next words.
Price: $3.99
Tasker lets you automate everything on your smartphone from settings to SMS
Tasker is an awesome app that lets you tweak specific phone features like turning the flash on for alerts. You can even cancel specific notification pop-ups.
Tasker features more than 200 actions, triggers, and even an app creation section for making your own app.
Price: $6.49
Friday helps you discover new things to do
Friday’s makers say that the app brings self discovery to your life by introducing the first passive auto journal.
Friday captures your entire life through your phone and builds a timeline of the things you do. You can even filter and search your life to find the exact information you want.
Friday allows you to share and log your favorite activities that you’ve been doing all day.
Price: Free
Robin is a great alternative to Apple’s Siri
Before Google Now, Robin was the first true Siri challenger.
We love the expanded capabilities of the newer virtual assistant. You can ask Robin for directions, local places, real-time parking, traffic info, gas prices, weather, your Twitter news, and much more.
Robin is disrupting the personal assistant arena, and we only hope that her existence pushes developers to make personal assistant apps feel more like true personal assistants.
Price: Free