Getting a tablet that runs Android is neat, but to really make the most out of your new Honeycomb-fueled wonder device, you need to run apps built specially for it. The blown-up look of regular apps won’t cut it, plus you need the best apps to really crank up the gadget envy from your friends and co-workers. Here are a few apps that both make excellent use of the greater screen real estate as well as taking good advantage of the extra Tegra 2 dual-core horsepower of your new tablet.
AirAttack HD (£1.79 or around $2.92, Free for the Lite version)
This game really wows with real-time 3D graphics, eye-popping backdrops and lots of neat details like destructible buildings. It’s been hailed by many a blog as one of the best Honeycomb apps to date and I agree. There is a free
lite version if you want to try before you buy but we assure you, you should get this if you want to really show-off what your Android tablet can do.
This 3D platformer proves that free doesn’t necessarily mean scrappy. The design really is amazingly intricate and as many a gamer has found, cute graphics doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for kids only. Utilizing the Unity3D engine of Android, this game really made me think I was playing the game on a console. If you need a game to entertain both you and your young ones, this is the one to get.
The premise of this game sounds like it’s straight from a B-movie: a group of kids suddenly find their town overrun by monsters and they have to kill them all off to survive. While it sounds hopeless, you do get to do some crazy shooting, chopping and slicing in 3D so it’s not so bad. And the cinematic cut scenes are a nice touch as well. So if you fancy the hack-and-slash genre and like blowing monsters to smithereens, Monster Madness brings it in a big way.
The unique take of this game couple with being optimized for play using Tegra devices makes it a must-buy for many tablet owners. The Unity 3D engine combines the manga-styled art with detailed characters to deliver both smooth gameplay and stunning graphics. Be warned though, this game has a lot of gore (blood everywhere…everywhere!) so keep that in mind when buying it for the kids.
Role-playing fans, don’t feel left out – we’ve got you covered! Spectral Souls gives you the Android fix you need. It’s a pretty big game though so don’t be fooled by the 2MB size the Market shows you. You will need 1.5GB at least on your storage to get this to work. That aside, this has some very detailed graphics and stays true to the genre with its soundtracks, attention to detail and hours of gameplay. Better plug in your tablet, this game will take a while to finish.
Once you’ve switched to using a tablet, you’ll find that most productivity tools aren’t well suited to the larger screen you now enjoy. Not so with Due Today, which is fully optimized for tablets and shows you all the information you need so you can do what needs to be done. With ToodleDo sync, GTD methodology and overdue reminders, it combines all the best task management features under a single app. It’s simple and lets you focus on tasks so you can do anything from plotting out your entire plan to conquer the world to remembering to get a card for your mom’s birthday.
If you haven’t tried to use VNC before, it’s high time you did. LogMeIn Ignition lets you remotely control your computer wherever you may be. Just connect to the net and you can browse your files back home or continue working on that spreadsheet at the office PC. The larger screen of a tablet plus the optimization for these types of devices makes it very easy to access your PC in times of need, or in times of laziness when you just can’t get up from the couch. It’s a bit pricey but well worth it for the simplicity and usability of this remote control app.
The fastest browser has come to Honeycomb and it is stunning. With the speed dials, smooth zooming and scrolling and a very helpful menu, everything you need in a browser is here. While the built-in browser does have its perks, I have always gravitated toward Opera for mobile platforms because it has always been easy to use plus it’s exceptionally swift when serving up webpages.
We already heaped praises upon this news reader a while back, and our comments still ring true: it simply is one of the best ways to consume content, most especially for Android tablet owners. It uses the extra screen space well, filling it up with snapshots and titles of your news articles as well as letting you read the story itself right beside it. It’s also quite snappy which is a must for me when reading my feeds. Best of all, it’s free.
If you really need to justify your tablet purchase, just say it’s for “work” and install QuickOffice Pro HD. You will soon find that you’re going to enjoy doing your spreadsheets and presentations in this app which packs in a lot of handy features your normal PC office suite doesn’t usually have. Take advantage of the text-to-speech capabilities, seamless access of cloud services like Dropbox and Google Docs and the ability to share files via SMS and Bluetooth. Cause you never know, it might come in handy the next time your boss needs a presentation ASAP.
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