By far the app/widget I use that attracts the most interest is Beautiful Widgets. Every time someone sees my Galaxy Note 2 phone or my Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet the first question they ask is, "what is that cool home screen widget?"
Beautiful Widgets is a customizable clock widget that can turn your device into a work of art. The hundreds of downloadable themes vary from the pure whimsical to the simply elegant, and every aspect of the appearance is user-configurable.
In addition to the clock widgets, the package also has weather widgets and system control widgets for turning things like wi-fi on and off from the homescreen. There is also an integrated weather app, accessed by tapping the weather section of the widget, that is excellent for seeing the forecast from your favorite weather service.
The Live Wallpaper shown in the image above is part of the package and besides being attractive, it shows the current weather conditions. The wallpaper changes with the weather condition so rain, snow, and other conditions are displayed to show the weather at a glance. It also varies with time of day, so the wallpaper slowly changes from daytime to night to provide an attractive screen that never gets boring.
Beautiful Widgets Pro — $1.99 (free version available with limited feature set)
Android works well with Google services, especially Google Calendar. This is a great calendar app that syncs with Google Calendar and has an attractive interface for doing everything you need to do.
In addition to the nice calendar app, a number of widgets are included to display whatever calendar events you want to have on your home screen. They are customizable so you can have a widget as big (or small) as you want on your home screen.
Digical+ Calendar and Widgets — $4.95 (free version available with limited functionality)
Key features:
I discovered this utility when the Nexus 7 was released. That tablet had autorotation that would switch from portrait to landscape orientation when the tablet was rotated. Google chose to only display the home screen in portrait, even when the tablet was rotated to landscape.
This was extremely annoying for me as I want my home screens to always reflect how the tablet is being held.
Enter Ultimate Rotation, an app that forces phones and tablets to have the rotation behavior that the owner wants. It can override the OS, and autorotate or not depending on the settings. This simple control is very useful on any device.
While my current Android devices autorotate as expected, Ultimate Rotation lets me put a widget control on the home screen to temporarily override that behavior when it makes sense. I usually tap the control to disable autorotation when I'm reading a book on my device, as I only do that in portrait.
Ultimate Rotation — $2.99 (7-day free trial available)
If you like to take notes on your Android phone or tablet, Papyrus is a great way to do so. It's strength is handling handwritten notes, and if you own a device with stylus support you will love Papyrus.
Those without stylus support needn't fret; the app allows handwriting notes with a finger tip. This works much better than you might think.
Papyrus — Free (Premium features are available via in-app purchase)
Key Features
If you spend much time on Reddit, you must get this app. BaconReader for Reddit is designed to bring the far-reaching areas of Reddit to your device. It features an easy-to-use interface that lets even the most experienced Redditors find what is of interest.
BaconReader Premium for Reddit — $1.99 (free ad supported version available)
Features:
Pinball. On your Android device. Great fun. A host of pinball tables are available for purchase in the app, and several nice tables are in the free app. Game play is great, especially on my Galaxy Note 8.0.
Pinball Arcade — Free (extra pinball tables available for in-app purchase).
Android has great support for audio, and Poweramp is a fantastic way to listen to anything on your Android device. The app is a great graphic equalizer that happens to have a great music player wrapped around it.
Poweramp handles a wide range of audio formats and should handle anything you throw at it.
Poweramp — $3.99 (15-day free trial)
Features:
This simple app puts a sidebar on the screen that gives easy access to your most-used apps. It also functions as a good task manager for those who like to keep on top of that.
It is fully customizable to make a system that best fits any work style.
Sidebar Pro — $1.99 (free, limited version available)
Features:
The NASA app is a fantastic way to keep up with everything going on in space. With stunning graphics, detailed explanation of ongoing space missions, and general coolness, you'll find yourself getting lost in space every time you run this app.
NASA — free
Features:
A friend recently convinced me to join the online social network for book readers and I'm glad she did. Goodreads is a wealth of information about books for those who love to read. It is a wonderful way to discover books of interest that would otherwise never be found.
The Goodreads app is a marvelous way to work with the social network. It is tailor-made for the Android interface and a joy to use. If you are a Goodreaders member, run, don't walk, to the app store to get the app.
Goodreads — free