[Android Apps and Games] jahnile:
For those of you who are new to Android, I have decided to give a few recommended top FREE Apps which you may find very useful. Note that this is just a few apps from the top Apps category on the market. If this is your first time on the Android platform and you are lost or confused as to which apps to use then you may find this thread helpful.I have decided to just include a few of the category on the market so all the categories are not listed. Those are the most used category and with some many different variation of those apps it's good to having an understanding or some sense of direction in terms of the top apps to use.

Note: This was started with the intent to help new users of the Android family get acquainted with a few of the top FREE Apps

Note: This thread is ONLY free recommended Apps, I will be starting a thread soon with the Recommended paid Apps for new users.

Finally: Note that other can use this thread to also share and recommend some of their most love apps to other users.

communication

Dolphin Browser HD

This is one of the best browser for android in terms of features and customization. This is most certainly a heavy favorite on the market to replace your default stock browser.

About:

Dolphin Browser HD2 highlights twice the speed, powerful add-on and innovative user experience. V2.1: +On Demand option for Flash (Android 2.2) +Cache to SD +Keep Screen On +Orientation option +Private browsing without history +Delete All bookmarks +FC Recovery +Set as default browser option(Android 2.2)

Google voice

If you're looking for a visual voice mail apps to replace your stock one or just need a good alternate option to manage your voice-mail, SMS and phone calls then look no further. If you already have a Google voice number then this app would be even more useful to you. You can set it as an option and use it as your outgoing calls rather than your default phone number.

About:

Place calls and send SMS showing your Google number. Listen to voicemail and read transcripts. Google Voice account required, currently only available in the US. v0.3.4 fixes several bugs. See http://goo.gl/zTy7 for details. IMPORTANT: You must open Google Voice at least once after upgrading to route calls.

New Version (2.1) FREE mobile video calls -1st ever on Android! Now: new devices X10, Streak +fixes fring gives you FREE Video Calls, voice calls & chat to friends over 3G & WiFi (Video calls only on capable devices) Communicate with friends on fring network + other services: MSN®,GTalk™,Twitter,SIP,Yahoo!™,AIM®& ICQ®

Handcent SMS

This is a more refine SMS/MMS app than most stock messaging app. This has so much more customization over your stock app that once you try it you may not want to go back to your stock messaging app. Note that if you use this apps you will need to display the receive notification in the settings of your default/stock app.

About:

Handcent SMS is a free sms tools for android,unleash the full power of your phone: Full support SMS & MMS ,great customize options,different style and power function(search sms,sms popup,speak sms & T9) Send animated greeting by handcent greeting View news.handcent.com for release notes *Independence day greetings added

MuiltiMedia

DoubleTwist Player

Double Twist is a default upgrade from your stock music player. This app can play both your music in an Ipod like interface along with your videos. You can also sync and play audio with makes it even more desirable than the stock media player.

About:

Free for a limited time! The doubleTwist Player is a fully featured music and video app that seamlessly integrates with the free doubleTwist desktop client on Mac/PC. Import your iTunes playlists, ratings and playcounts; sync and play your audio and video podcasts and more! Changes: http://twist.to/androids

Last.fm - Personal Radio

Personal radio just got better with Last.fm for android. This is another great streaming radio you can use along side Pandora. Remember you only get 30 hours of radio per month on Pandora so this makes last.fm a worthy option.

About:

Your personal radio station on your phone: Choose an artist or genre and Last.fm builds the perfect playlist just for you! Contacts are only used if you enable syncing on certain Android 2.x devices, logs are used by our bug reporter, location is used to find nearby concerts. Changes: http://bit.ly/lastfm-android

Pandora Radio

The famous radio is also available on android so get it now, enjoy hours of non stop internet radio. Choose your own station be your own DJ. Remember you got 30 hours per month with a free account so enjoy.

About:

Pandora Radio is your own FREE personalized radio now available to stream music on your phone. Start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a "station" that plays their music and more music like it. Already a Pandora User? Just log in to enjoy your stations

Photoshop.com Mobile

Need no introduction, it PS for Android get more option for managing and touching up your photos with this useful apps

About:

Edit and transform photos easily. Touch to crop, rotate, blur, add photo effects. Upload/Share photos with free Photoshop.com account. Needs SD card. From Adobe, the makers of Photoshop. By downloading you agree to the Terms of Use at www.photoshop.com/misc/terms.html. Developers, see mobile.photoshop.com/android/developers

Scanner Radio

Listen to live broadcasts from around the world, broadcasts from police,fire and other emergency signal in your area and around the country

About:

Allows you to listen to live audio from over 2,200 police and fire scanners, railroad communications, and weather radio broadcasts from around the world (with more being added daily). Audio is provided by volunteers, see the menu in the app for information on how to get your area added. Follow ScannerRadio on Twitter

Productivity

Dropbox

Have files and apps on your computer? wish you could sync them on your android phone? Then dropbox would be your best option. This allows you to view your files share files with other drop box users and more..

About:

The Dropbox app syncs your files between your computers and your mobile device. Now you can browse the files in your Dropbox folder from anywhere! Share links to files with your friends, save photos and video from your camera to your computers, and open files using your favorite Android apps. Small bug fixes.

EStrongs File Explorer

Just another file explorer for your android device. manage files, edit file names, compress files delete files and much more.

About:

V1.4.3(appear soon) ES Security Manager Donate Entrance, Please donate if you like it Free,Featured File manager & Appmanager & taskkiller which explores the phone & PC. *copy/cut move *thumbnails *multiselect *edit text *manage apps *send as *search *(de)compress *media on ftp *access home PC *bluetooth

LauncherPro Beta

A favorite for many users, this is a much smoother and customizable launcher than the stock found on your phone. Customizer your luncher, home screen and animation with this great Apps

About:

Based on the stock Android Launcher (Home app) - Super-smooth scrolling - Animated screen previews (like Exposé or HTC Sense) - Up to 7 home screens - App drawer (2D and 3D!) with a fly-in effect and smooth scrolling - Scrollable shortcut dock You can see the change log at my website below. For support, visit our forums.

Tools

Speed Test

The Famous speedtest.net is now on android. This is certainly an app for you if you are always concern of speed or would just like to know what your speeds are from time to time. Are you getting the best out of your 3g or 4G connection? you can surely use this app to find the answer.

About:

Speedtest.net is now available as a free Android application with no advertising! Use it to measure the network speed of your Android device. With over a million tests performed every day, Speedtest.net is the ultimate resource for bandwidth testing and related information. Visit it on your computer today to find out why

Google translate

Your favorite language translation right at your finger tips, now includes more voice inputs..

About:

Use Google Translate to instantly translate text between \u003e 50 languages. Featuring: * Dictionary results * Text-to-speech * Voice input * Romanization (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji, etc) * History/star favorite translations New in v1.1.1: * New voice input languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish

Reference

Kindle for Android

Kindle for android are more usefully on the bigger screen phones but nevertheless it's for us all, Sync, browser and purchase books right on your phone or android device.

About:

Read more than 620,000* Kindle books on your Android phone including thousands of free books. No Kindle required. Automatically synchronizes your last page read between devices with Amazon Whispersync. Adjust the text size, color mode, or brightness. * If you are a non-US customer, book availability may vary.

Dictionary.com, LLC

The name def.ly speaks for itself, just keep in mind you need a data connection to use this wonderful app.

About:

New: Bug fixes The Dictionary.com app delivers trusted reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. The app includes phonetic and audio pronunciations, spelling suggestions and our popular Word of the Day. 375,000 words & definitions 300,000 synonyms & antonyms Word of the Day home screen widget

Wikidroid for Wikipedia

Now you got Wiki on your phone, never be uninformed, features includes voice search. Great apps for doing your basic and quick research on your phone without opening up a browser.

About:

View all of Wikipedia's articles formatted perfectly for your device. Never be without the answer to an argument again! Features: - 64 languages - Jump to a random article - Share articles over email or SMS - Voice search - Search suggestions - Add bookmarks + home screen shortcuts to articles Keywords: wiki encyclopedia

Google sky map

Need to know more about the sky? The cosmos? Then Google sky map is for you.

About:

Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the night sky. New: 1.5.2: Move app to sdcard (Android 2.2 users) Find us elsewhere: http://www.google.com/sky/skymap http://twitter.com/googleskymap Keywords: planetarium, astronomy, skymap

Hope you find a few of these apps useful and again I will be starting a thread for recommended top PAID apps soon...