Software

Full Office suites on Android don't often come cheap or easy. If you just need to view, and not edit, Office Documents Viewer is a free download that lets you read just about any sort of Office file. It's ad-heavy, but it certainly works in a pinch.

The most prominent aspect of the reader is that it sticks animated ads in any file you try to read with it. They usually don't get in the way, but it's still annoying. Office Documents Viewer displays text and HTML files smoothly, but it has to convert other files … Read more

Has your carrier yet to bless you with Android's latest operating system? This launcher makes your home screen look and feel like you have Android 4.1 instead of an older version. There are a few weird hitches in the execution, but Jelly Bean Launcher is a nice compromise if you don't want to root.

You can make this launcher your full-time home screen by making it the default app. The launcher grabs a few widgets from your current app's menu to paste on your home screen. It doesn't check your current home-screen layout, though, so … Read more

Flashlight apps are a must-have on just about any smartphone. That's why they tend to top the Google Play charts. You won't find IQ Light up high with them, though, and that's not just because it isn't in the Play Store. This app fails so soundly at doing what you need it to that it isn't even worth downloading.

This app isn't available from Google's official market, so you need a side-loader to install it. Instead of using your camera's flash to light up the dark, this app turns your screen bright … Read more

Insta-anything tends to carry a lot of weight in the smartphone world, but this app seems to only be capitalizing on the success without brining anything to the table. It's a photo-editor in name, but it doesn't really do anything.

The goal of InstaSize is to find the "perfect" size for your photos. In reality, it just shrinks them a few pixels without even caring about the content of the picture. When you tap the button to "resize" your photos, you're hit by an ad before the app gives you results. Ads actually … Read more

Editing your photos doesn't have to be a PC-only experience. However, Insta Photo Editor will require plenty of patience. You have to sift through ads and tons of other junk to get to the goods this app offers. Once you find them, you'll probably be disappointed.

Before you use this app, you have to page through two different ad requests. These want to put ads on your browser, status bar, and more. You can only say no to one of them, and it keeps coming back every time you load the app if you do. As for the … Read more

Text messaging makes sharing a secret in the digital age remarkably fast and easy. If you're trying to keep the texts themselves a secret, Hide SMS can help. It's a stylish lockbox for all of your text messages. Sadly, it only works with plain texts. Apps, contacts and even picture messages aren't included.

This app shows up as different names in the Google Play store and in your apps locker. You may see it referred to as Hide SMS, Keep SMS or KeepSafe depending on how you're looking at it. Once you load it, you have … Read more

Old-fashioned cardboard photo cutouts are now on your smartphone! Funny Photo Effects offers to put your face on all sorts of goofy characters. Sadly, it seems way more interested in hitting your phone or tablet with ads than helping you laugh.

Funny Photo Effects is supposed to find your face in the photo you submit and paste it on the cutout you want. However, the facial recognition sometimes takes forever to complete. More often than not, it will tell you your photo won't work and won't even bother to try to find a face. What's worse than … Read more

It's hard to get excited about a folder-downloading app until the exact moment you need one. Folder Downloader for Dropbox does exactly what you'd think it would, but lacks all of the style and form of Dropbox's own app. However, if you need an app like this, you'll love it.

In case you couldn't guess from the name, this app does require access to your Dropbox account to work. Giving it the right permissions only takes a few seconds, though. How fast the app actually does its business depends heavily on your connection. Folder Downloader … Read more

Usually when you talk about eyes in photo editing, it's all about red-eye removal. This app goes so much further than that to make your eyes look any color in the rainbow. Eye Color Changer looks a little cartoony and bizarre at times, but that's probably the effect most people are going for.

This app's menu could use some major editing itself - it's quite the eyesore. It houses eight buttons, but only two of them actually go to features in the app you really want to use. The rest beg you to rate the app … Read more