Top 5 free communication apps for android- 2011 ~ Teck Baba

The sun is soon to set on yet another eventful year for technology. So much so, that mobile and tablet arena have seen a major boom this year in terms of gadgets (read iphones, Samsung S2s, HTCs) and platforms (androids and mangos and OS5s) It just hit me to put together a small & quick list of some of 5 apps for android which I liked, for their simplicity and idea in the communication category. I could have done this list as “Top 15” or “Top 20” but then I plan to do a smaller set across different categories. Also gather more inputs from you, as to what are your thoughts and what are your 5 favorites apps.
Whats app Messenger	*Whatsapp* has lot of rivals in the market, since this idea has been executed well by many companies as well. One of my favorite counterparts to whatsapp would be Voxer which does the same job, and manages the content quite well and neatly. Do try out Voxer* for its promising performance. Voxer Detailed Review coming soon.*
A very efficient app, which lets you send infinite number of messages to another whatsapp user over the internet, and this offline chat is extended further to provide you option for sharing images, voice messages and much more. The walkie-talkie like feature does quite well, and I enjoyed the fact that the previous conversations are stored on your phone, for later hearing as well. I love the fact that this app is available for every possible platform, making it a great app for everyone and the numbers for that app stand for it. Using this service, the first year comes free and then charges a meager 1.99$ per year. A great app and a great idea executed well.

Pulse Read the complete review of the app here. We reviewed it just couple of days back. The app has been there for quite a while, and another extremely impressive and well executed app. My reviews would show how I am all praise for this app. Very smartly, you can create feeds from your favorite websites, pull story updates and manage them based on your taste. A very pulsating experience I must say.

Dropbox	Another app which has lot of competition with enormous number of sites providing similar space and services. One of the mantra which I feel has done the job for Dropbox is continuously evolving the app. With bug fixes reported by users to performance issues and recently upgrades to the UI to make navigation simpler. Dropbox team has been ever evolving the app.
Another one from the time tested and performing set of apps on android. When years down the line, one would talk about some of the nicest apps which came onboard when android became a rage, Dropbox would always be there. The app lets you share your content over the internet, and also let you create download centers at the place where this app is downloaded and logged into. Files which require regularly sync can be put on Dropbox and then you can work on those from any of your laptops, desktops, tablets or mobiles, and Dropbox would sync it back at all the places. coolest app.

Where’s My Droid	A great idea and power packed idea with lot of offer. Some areas it still doesn’t influence, but that we would leave to be discussed in the detailed review.
The next two apps are my favorites in the field of thought process. For starters, the app lets you search for your phone. It may be under the couch or sitting over the fridge and you aren’t able to find it. Send an SMS from your wife’s phone with the “keyword” to your number, and the phone would start the siren out loud. As you look closer, the app gets down to serious business. In case of theft, it would even let you wipe the data off phone, send you update if someone changed the SIM number to a configurable number and also send GPS location.

Glympse	You don’t require any sign-ups and it’s a straight forward app. The only downfall to it, or something which I was wondering was, that if my family or friends can see me where I was or where was I going, what next? May be we have to search for this in a detailed review of this app. But for starters, a great idea and good, no frills attached execution.
I tested this app yesterday and boy I was impressed. The idea is simple. With other apps, you share the location were at or the location you visited. With Glympse, you share that in real time. You create a real time window based on number of hours, send invite to one or many contacts via email or SMS and they can track you in real time about where you visit. The app works extremely well with GPS on and the location reporting is quite accurate.
I am hoping that you liked this quick collection. Do share which were your favorite apps in this communication category. It would be great to hear from everyone and do share how did you like this article.
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