Best apps for Android on travel, social network, dining

CNET's list of the best apps for Android includes well-known classics as well as some downloads we've plucked from obscurity. All of them, though, have been tried and tested by our editors and come highly recommended. With apps to help you with everything from productivity to shopping, we're confident that our list can be both a great reference for experienced Android users and a perfect starter kit for anyone new to the Android ecosystem.

Social networking

Share photos, update your status, tweet, or hang out. Whether you're jumping waist-deep or dipping only your big toe into the social space, these apps are must-haves.

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  Facebook for Android

  The official Facebook for Android app is undoubtedly the best way to view Facebook on your Android. The overhauled app (which now closely resembles the iPhone version) offers a clean interface with a sliding navigation panel on the left. Meanwhile, the most-used buttons -- Friend Requests, Messages, and Notifications -- are right there at the top of the screen. This means you can respond to friends without having to leave the screen you're on. Read full review

  • CNET editors' rating4.5 stars
  • Average User rating:2.2 starsout of 18 user reviews
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Android outsells iOS, but developers stay loyal to Apple

                         


Smartphones running Google's Android operating system outsell iPhones more than two to one. And yet, even as Google's system has gobbled up market share, Apple has held onto one critical advantage - the loyalty of mobile app developers.


Many developers have continued to make applications first, and sometimes only, for iPhones. They find it easier to create software for Apple devices than for ones running Android, or it may be more lucrative. Their allegiance to Apple has helped make its devices the powerhouses they are for the company.

"Android may have a lead in how many handsets it ships, but it doesn't have a lead in how much money app developers are making from it," said Hadi Partovi, an investor in technology start-ups like Dropbox and a former manager at Microsoft.


On Monday, Apple will seek to strengthen its ties to mobile developers with a series of product announcements on the opening day of its developer conference in San Francisco, an annual ritual where the company tries to stimulate the creative juices of this important constituency. The company is expected to introduce a new version of the iOS operating system that powers iPhones and iPads, according to people familiar with Apple's plans who were not authorized to speak about them publicly.

iOS still tops Android with app developers

   

Despite Android's greater share of the smartphone market, Apple's iOS continues to attract greater support from app developers.

Nearly seven of every 10 apps being created in the first quarter of 2012 were for the iOS platform, with the remaining three going to Android, according to new data released today by research firm Flurry Analytics. iOS generates twice as many apps as Android despite Google's mobile operating system commanding 50.8 percent of the smartphone market compared with Apple's 31.4 percent, according to ComScore data release last week.

One key reason for Apple's popularity with developers is its dominance in the tablet market. Apple's iPad accounted for 88 percent of all tablet user sessions in the first five months of 2012, followed by Samsung's Galaxy Tab with 9 percent and Amazon's Kindle Fire with 3 percent.

App authors can also expect a greater payout from iOS compared with Android, with Apple's mobile operating system delivering developers four times the revenue as their Android counterpart per user, Flurry found.

"At the end of the day, developers run businesses, and businesses seek out markets where revenue opportunities are highest and the cost of building and distributing is lowest," Flurry said in its findings. "In short, Android delivers less gain and more pain than iOS, which we believe is the key reason 7 out of every 10 apps built in the new economy are for iOS instead of Android."

(Credit: Flurry Analytics)

Another contributing factor to developer disparity is fragmentation in software and hardware, which Flurry said appears to be increasing, making Google's platform more complex and costly for developers. The study notes that 17 of the top 20 Android devices in May 2012 had a share of 6 percent or less in consumer application sessions, meaning that each additional device supported by developers will deliver only a small increase in distribution.

Firmware is also a stumbling point, with Gingerbread, the third newest Android version, commanding 70 percent of user sessions, while newer versions Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich combined register on 11 percent of market penetration.

"This means that the majority of consumers are running on an Android operating system that is three to four iterations old," Flurry said.

From:http://news.cnet.com