16 Apps for every Indian Android phone

Let's be honest. We're way beyond the era where a mobile's job is to make a phone call. 

Once upon a time, we were ready to forgive Nokia even though the other mobiles had better features ( Sony - Sound, Samsung - clarity ), simply because Nokia had the better interface. Well, that ship sailed once smartphones stepped into the picture. 
And with all the crazy-awesome apps available for us today, I wanted to share my list of apps ( not games ) I feel everyone in India ought to have, irrespective of Quad-core/screen size/Android version. Remember, this is my own personal choice. You're more than welcome to add to the list with your own personal choices.

1. Evernote : 

Plus : For someone like me who loves writing-on-the-go, Evernote is heaven. It allows me to sync notes across the mobile and computer. So even if I get a good idea while travelling in a crowded bus, I can type and save it on the phone and it's automatically there in my computer when I get back. It also allows for easy tagging/searching across multiple documents. 

Minus : None that I can think of. Doesn't crash. Doesn't eat up memory.

2. Dropbox :

Plus : What Evernote does for your written thoughts, Dropbox does for your photos and documents.

Minus : None. Works just fine.

3. Opera Mini :

Plus : One of the best net browsers in a mobile, right from the Nokia days. Extremely handy if you're on a volume-dependant net plan as it cuts down page size by upto as much as 90% ( my own observation. )

Minus : Recent updates have shown the occasional tendency to crash.

4. awallet Password :

Plus : A place to store all your passwords at one shot. You can arrange them by categories ( online, credit cards, banking etc ). Does not sync online - this is a good thing because your passwords cannot be transferred online and so there isn't any chance of it falling into the wrong hands.

Minus : Can't think of any. Easy. Efficient. Doesn't consume memory.

5.  Rail Time :

Plus : Tired of having to depend on IRCTC just to find train timings ? This is the perfect app for you. It downloads the whole Indian train schedule so you can check it offline at your own leisure. It also allows you to check your PNR status and shows you the time the train reaches each station.

Minus : Again, no complaints.

6. JustDial :

Plus : I love how efficient this site is. You can ask them the address and phone number of anything and they seem to have it in their database. 

Minus : Needs a net connection. Also their own efficiency is this App's Achilles heel - they have an awesome phone service so who would need the app ??

7. AllIndiaBankInfo :

Plus : Totally offline. Click your bank, choose your state, pinpoint your town and you get the address, phone number and IFSC code. Brilliant.

Minus : Not many.

8. JiniBox - India TV Guide

Plus : For Tv addicts, this is your nirvana. Gives you the entire schedule of TV programmes across all the channels so you know when yiur favourite movie is coming on. Allows you to select personal favourite channels so you can view them at a click of a button.

Minus : Memory-guzzler. I'll be frank. I've uninstalled this app for this reason alone. It's as heavy as the Facebook app ( which doesn't find a place on this list for the same reason - why struggle with the Facebook app when I can view it on Opera Mini ?)

9. Whatsapp : 

Plus : Sigh. Remember those days when you'd cut down letters in your sms because an international sms cost Rs 5 ? Well, Whatsapp has done and dusted that for good. Free ( for the first year ), unlimited, rapid messaging across all platforms (Android, Apple, Blackberry ) across all countries. Awesome emoticons. Easy transfer of videos, music and more. Group conversations. Minimal memory and battery utilisation. What more can you ask for ?

Minus : Requires a net connection unlike traditional sms.

10. Local :

Plus : I believe this is nothing more than Google Maps. Either way, it is amazing. With GPS on, it made my life a hell of a lot easier in alien surroundings. I knew which building was coming, could see reviews of that restaurant around the corner and even find alternate routes when roads were suddenly converted into one-ways. I can also save maps of cities offline.

Minus : Of course, maps aside, you need the net for GPS and finding travel routes. That can eat up your battery life down to half in no time.

Honorable mentions :

11) Doctor at Home : Offline app which gives you good-ol' homemade cures for common ailments like acidity,asthma, fever etc ( Eg : Clicking 'cold' gives me bitter gourd, garlic, lemon, ginger and turmeric - clicking any of them gives the explanation as well as how to prepare it. ) The only thing missing is the nagging voice of your mom, telling you to 'just eat it.'

12) SweetNSpicy : Online app for recipes - both Indian and continental. I love cooking and I love the easy interface on this app and the 'Browse by Ingredients' section where you type in what you have in your fridge and they give you recipes you can make. For those who want the same features for cocktail recipes, head over to Mixologist ... uh, or so I've heard. Hic.

13) Noom : I just realised I haven't put a fitness-related app in the list and you all might find out the truth of my ( lack of ) an exercise schedule. Noom allows you to keep track of your daily meals and exercise workouts, logging in the calories based on the type of workout you are doing. Thoroughly efficient. Thoroughly demoralising for me.

14) Advanced task killer : For freeing up memory and shutting all the open apps with the click of a single button.

15) Tweetcaster : I use Tweetcaster for Twitter. Works well enough for me. I'm sure there are better options out there, but I have no complaints with this bird and its various colourful interfaces and options.

16) Pulse : This app allows me to read most of the international news/gossip/sports websites ( not Indian newspapers, mind you ) offline. It also lets me sync my google reader so I can read all the recent blogposts as well.

So that's my list. I haven't added any music-player app (I use Poweramp) and picture editor (Pixlr-o-matic) so feel free to chip in. 
Which apps would you like to recommend and why ? 


Readers add :

*Ritika - Instagram
*Avina - Go Launcher, Shush, Soundhound, Shazam, MusiXmatch
*Dr Mosyn - Camscanner, Onenote, Flipboard, Ngpay, Dominos, Aldiko, Aviary
*Dr Danny - Google Current, Latitude, Amazon Kindle
*Sonam - Mintm