Android apps of the day

Apps of the Day: SyncSMS, Live365 Radio, and More

Today Larry Page announced that the Android Market now hosts a quarter of a million applications. That’s 250,000 apps for Android users to scour through in hopes of picking out a few gems. Here at Phandroid, we make it our duty to help you find the apps that matter (and some that don’t). Today’s edition of Apps of the Day gives tablet users a way to send and receive text messages, highlights an augmented reality game, and dissects an app launcher that just misses the mark. Read on for more.

SyncSMS – Love your WiFi Android tablet but hate that you can’t use it to send and receive text messages? Then SyncSMS is for you. Using a Dropbox account (you’ll need to be signed up for one), SMS messages are synced with your Android smartphone and displayed on your tablet. When sending a message, the opposite process occurs. You can see a few setbacks here — you need both an Android phone and tablet, as well as a Dropbox account — but if you fit the bill and need an SMS solution for your slate it provides just what you need. [Market]

AR Blitz – AR Blitz might not be the most polished or deeply engaging game we have ever seen on Android, but for the price of free it provides a pretty cool experience. Print out the accompanying AR marker, aim your handset towards it, and play a game that seems to take place in the space behind your phone, rather than inside it. Game play is simple enough. Match up and shoot at shapes that emerge from the AR marker. Definitely worth checking out if you want to get a taste of Nintendo 3DS style AR games without paying a single cent. [Market]

Speedlauncher App Launcher – It’s like speed dial for your apps. Not necessarily the most elegant thing we’ve ever seen accomplished on an Android device, but it does what it says. Assign number codes to your most-used apps, enter said number codes, and launch your apps. A cool concept, but for the space the widget takes up on your homescreen you could just place shortcuts to the apps you get the most use out of. That and the current version is a buggy mess at best. [Market]

Live365 Radio – Who says radio is dead? Live365 provide access to over 7,000 free radio stations from across the world. Much of the content is user-generated, as Live365 provides tools and services that allow anyone with a computer and the internet to broadcast to the masses. If you are a fan of that sort of thing or want to see what’s going on in the pirate radio underground, this app is for you. [Market]

Categories: Android, web