One way Android has been able to gain what market share it has from the long reach of Apple’s iPhone is with its well-designed touch screen. As with the iPhone, many developers look to find ways of incorporating the touch screen into their Android apps to enhance the user experience.
Here are a few Android apps that we found have gotten the use of the touch screen right, from mobile games to completely overhauling your phone’s interface.
Reading and Phone Navigation
FeedrR News Reader is a feed reader that will help you power through all those blogs and online publications you like to read on a regular basis. The 99-cent Android app offers search and previews, with easy navigation that lets you thumb-scroll through your mobile news hub in a flash.
The Aldiko Book Reader Premium costs $1.99, but it gives you mobile access to thousands of books. Use your touch screen to highlight text, flip pages and bookmark your place. For Android users, mobile book-reading and navigation doesn’t get much better than this.
Open Home can give your phone a complete makeover, changing your home screen, icons, clock and more. While the free app itself doesn’t do much with the Android’s touch screen, it does enable you to make better use of it based on your personal needs and style preferences.
Better Keyboard is from the same company as Open Home (Better Android), and offers a free Android app that will transform your device into something that makes more sense for your needs. The keyboard options replace those that come standard with the Android for improved navigation, typing and commands.
Sherpa is already a great location-aware tool for finding nearby venues, but it also makes things fun. The carousel motif included in this free Android app lets you quickly thumb through venues, filter through categories, or scroll down the list. The only time-wasting aspect of this Android app is waiting for the search results to load.
Fun & Games
Jewels is an Android game quite similar to the iPhone game favorite Bejeweled. The free Android game requires nothing but the use of the touch screen in order to swap jewel positions in order to win (or lose) the game. Simple and quick, Jewels can be played with one hand.
For fun photo-editing, try PicSay Pro. The $2.75 Android app gives options for adding speech bubbles, image stamps, themes and photo highlights. Using the touch screen to enhance your photos before sharing them with the world makes it a truly hands-on experience.
For those times when you pass your phone along to your kids, the Coloring Book Kids Game will keep their grubby paws entertained for a while. Free, this Android app turns your phone into a digital coloring book. Just make sure to clean their hands before they start tapping and rubbing away at your phone screen.
Discover more Curated Android Apps handpicked by users like you.
