Got apps? We do, and we love to share them with you. The market continues to grow, but we all know that it can add a bit of confusion to finding apps. Hit the break with us while we take a look at some of our favorites again.
Jason Bauman - SketchBook Pro ($4.99)
Are you a talented artist looking for an app that will let you sketch from your shiny tablet? I am not 
an artist, but I still love to sketch so I picked up Sketchbook Pro a few weeks ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's a feature-rich sketch application, complete with multiple brush types, layers, and the ability to detect "pen pressure" if you use a capacitive stylus. As you can tell from my pitiful attempts, it won't make you a great artist, but it's still a lot of fun to play around with and it has the options there if someone with more talent than me wishes to utilize them. The app is $4.99, but a free version, Sketchbook Express, is also in the market if you want to try it out for a bit before buying the full version. [Market Link]
Alex Dobie - SpeedX 3D (Free / $1.50)
SpeedX 3D is an Android game that's been around for a while, but over the past few months it's been updated with new content and features, including stereoscopic 3D support for phones like the 
HTC EVO 3D, LG Optimus 3D and LG Thrill 4G. The premise is relatively simple -- SpeedX is an accelerometer-controlled tunnel racer which tasks players to make it to the end of a series of courses without hitting the colored blocks on the track. Later stages up the challenge by increasing speed, throwing in blackouts and unraveling the track. Additional replay value is provided in the form of challenge and survival modes, along with OpenFeint support, which allows you to track your progress compared to your friends'. SpeedX is available for free with ad support, or as a paid download costing around $1.50, which removes the ads and enables the stereoscopic 3D option. [Market Link]
Richard Devine - Pocketcasts ($2.81)
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Most of my days entail getting up, getting in the car, and spending a lot 
of time in the car until i get to wherever I'm working that day so i get plenty of time. Pocketcasts makes organizing your podcasts simple, and attractive and while it's a paid app, it's worth the upgrade from something like Google Listen for the bug free experience. Every time the app is launched it automatically checks for new episodes and the on board catalog has plenty of quality content, including of course the worlds greatest Android podcast for you to subscribe to in a couple of clicks. [Market Link]
Anndrew Vacca -Orbitz (Free)
Labor Day is a short two weeks away, which means you're running out of time to plan that end-of-
summer weekend getaway. Instead of feverishly refreshing your browser for that sub- $200 flight, grab the Orbitz mobile app from the Android Market, free of charge. I personally think Orbitz consistently has the lowest prices of all travel sites, which makes this app a must have for bargain hunters. It offers all of the functionality of the website, with the ease of booking a hotel, flight, or car rental right on your smartphone. With an easy-to-use UI and quick access to the best travel prices, you'll be able to keep your eyes on the prize and catch that hot deal you've been waiting for all summer. [Market Link]
Reader comments
Android Central Editors' app picks for August 20, 2011
Sweet...was looking for a game like Retro Revolution 2 on Android.
Pocketcasts is great love it
i feel like the picks for apps are becoming weaker, is android market going down the same way apple is?(all fart apps)
Thanks for revisiting Speedx I would not have realized they added 3D support to this app, and therefore would likely not have purchased it.
I believe revisiting apps adding support for new hardware features, or with significant changes, makes sense.
Just joined a few hours ago and learned a lot from the articles in the forum as well as following up to a recommendation for a great game which I purchased about 15 minutes ago (Speedx 3D). I'm very impressed. :)
Speedx does not support glasses-free 3D for the Evo 3D. You have to have 3D glasses for it to work.
how do you set it up? When I try it, it only gives me cyan/red and magenta/green options. Both just display like they wood when you are watching a 3d feature on your tv without glasses.
It runs in 3D by default.
You got the paid version? This is the one that supports 3D on the ƎVO.
Also be sure to launch the new app after download. Initially after I purchased the app I was still launching the free version with no 3D.
SpeedX is amaaaaazingly fun, it gets addictive (although you hear that claim with pretty much ANY mobile game these days). Seriously though, it's fun!
How many apps are there now in the market? In the app store? C'mon, coming up with something new and exciting is as hard as popping teeth out with a toothpick. Most apps that really mean anything have already been developed, copied, then copied some more, and if that's not enough, copied again. So the only thing developers can do is make what they developed better. That's why there are 10,000 notepad apps, 10,000 fart apps, 10,000 farting notepad apps, and etc.
That's only half true. Apps only take advantage of hardware capability and API's. Have you noticed that over the past year and a half, Android apps have gotten much better, more powerful and aesthetically pleasing. Thats because over the past year and a half more powerful phones have been released with more API's for the developers to use. Over the next few years, smart phones will be using super high speed data connections on a regular basis, gaining more environmental sensors, getting more powerful CPU's getting more RAM and internal storage, better display technology (such as true HD and glasses free 3D displays) and other hardware advancements that we can only imagine today. Then, the API support will follow. So, developers will continue to make new innovative apps that take advantage of these new technologies.
SpeedX is an awesome game to play whenyou're bored. knock out the usual music and put in some jet set radio music and you can play for hours on ends.
I've been a Doggcatcher user for a long time now. Is it worth the switch to Pocketcasts? Are there any features that justify the purchase of a new app?
to all the naysayers about quality new apps & bad app choices I say you should put your money where your mouth is. I easily find at least 2 to 3 cool new apps or games every week, and that's with just barely perusing the market & only looking at free apps since I'm on a tight budget.
If you don't like the editors picks, why don't you go find something better and tip them or suggest it in the comments. At least this way you're helping to improve their picks for next time. Otherwise your complaining and whiney commentary is just like their "bad app picks," just useless information.
Really if you have nothing productive to say, then the article and its readers probably are better off without your comment. I'm sure you will all mark this as spam, but I could easily say the same about your whine comments.
Personally I think the writers of Android Central are doing an awesome job. I know I've already suggested a few apps to some of the writers. Keep up the good work guys, I love AC!