Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This post features only apps and live wallpapers - you can find games here and tablet apps here.

Apps

Vellamo Mobile Web Benchmark

Android Police coverage: Qualcomm Releases Vellamo: A New Web Benchmarking App

Vellamo is a new benchmark that finally measures what you actually care about rather than abstract values that are easy to cheat. Can we please start using Vellamo as benchmarks in reviews now?

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Introducing Vellamo, a mobile Web benchmark that evaluates browser performance on Android devices. Vellamo provides a holistic view into browser performance and stability, including networking, JavaScript, rendering, and user experience. Incorporating industry standard and custom tests, Vellamo is sure to entice you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eNWjE1qoqM&feature=player_embedded

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

DesktopSMS (Free Beta) by Koush of ROM Manager

Android Police coverage: From Koush, The Maker Of ClockworkMod Recovery, Comes DesktopSMS, A Gtalk/Gmail<->SMS Forwarding App

Any app that is made by the creator of ROM Manager deserves a spot on the list, especially when it's brilliant and has a 4.3+ star rating. There are many SMS related apps on the Market, but this is probably the first one I personally considered installing.

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Desktop SMS forwards your text messages to your GMail and Google Chat. And if you reply back, the recipient gets a text from your number!

You can use your favorite IM client (Beejive, Trillian, etc) or email client to send text messages from your phone number!

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

RoidRage

As an avid reddit user, I consider f7u12 rage comics a big part of my life. With RoidRage, I can actually make my own, on the go.

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Features:

- Huge selection of 'Rage Faces'

- Output clear high-res comics for sharing anywhere

- Painting functionality, be as creative as you like

- Add/Remove comic panels, from classic 2x2 to cool stories

- Full touch-screen scaling and rotating of Faces

- And more!

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Zaarly: Buy and Sell Anything

Zaarly is like a mobile-optimized Craigslist, and from what I understand the most popular one in its group.

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Zaarly helps you buy and sell with people around you - it's your local community marketplace to get the goods, services, and experiences that you want - with ease. Simply post what you want, when you would like it and how much you are willing to pay. Zaarly's unique, hyper-local platform connects you with other people who are able to bid on your request and cash in on the opportunity to help you out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfNEXXi6s5g&feature=player_embedded

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

VMware View

Android Police coverage: VMWare View For Android Arrives On Honeycomb Tablets, Allows You To Work Away From Work

VMware View Client for Android makes it easy to access your Windows virtual desktop from your Android with the best possible user experience on the Local Area Network (LAN) or across a Wide Area Network (WAN).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85uJqkn-UV4&feature=player_embedded

Localicious by WhitePages

An app by WhitePages and hey - they went Android first this time. The times, they are a-changing.

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With Localicious, 80,000 U.S. Neighborhoods and 21 million local businesses are just a tap away!

- Find the places you’re looking for fast with laser-focused neighborhood search.

- Auto detects your neighborhood to show the best popular businesses nearby.

- Realtime tips and hot spot alerts keep you updated on what's happening in your 'hood.

- Tap to map another neighborhood and explore across town or across the country.

- Foursquare users can pre check-in before arriving – just set it and forget it!

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Festivals by Last.FM

Android Police coverage: [New App] Last.FM Releases 'Festivals', Looks To Be In Your Pocket While You're In The Mosh Pit

Discover your perfect festival match with the Last.fm festival app. Get Festival tips, recommended lineups, full artist info, and get compatibility scores for hundreds of festivals.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

NASA App

Android Police review: [Review] NASA's Official App Takes Us To Infinity And Beyond

The Official NASA App for Android

Come explore with NASA and discover a huge collection of stunning images, videos, mission information, news, NASA TV and featured content with the new NASA App for Android.

Features:

- Thousands of images from NASA IOTD, APOD and NASAImages.org

- On demand NASA Videos from around the agency

- Current NASA Mission Information

- Launch Information & Countdown clocks

- Current Visible Passes for the International Space Station (ISS)

- ISS and Earth Orbiting Satellite Tracker

- NASA Twitter Feeds from around the agency

- News and Features from the NASA topic areas

- Facebook® Connect and Integrated Twitter™ client for easy sharing

- Live Streaming of NASA TV

- NASA TV and What's On Your TV schedules

- Map and links to all of the NASA centers

- Featured content section

Hexamob Recovery PRO (root)

I've used some PC tools for SD card file recovery before, but perhaps if I had Hexamob Recovery, I could have used it instead. I haven't tested this app, but it currently has a bunch of 5-star reviews. Requires root, so proceed at your own risk.

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Have you deleted your data? Hexamob Recovery PRO will recover it. Recover and recycle easily deleted files from the external sdcard and/or internal storage device (smartphones).

ROOT & BUSYBOX REQUIRED!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQJg-vbgYg&feature=player_embedded

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Historypin

Android Police coverage: [New App] Relive The Days Of Old With Historypin

A very cool concept for both tourists and locals.

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The official Historypin app reveals photos near your current location and allows you to view them layered over the modern scene in front of you. You can also explore Collections of some of the best old photos from around the world, wherever you are.

You can add your own piece of history and pin it to the map, too, by using your phone to digitise an old photo, capture a modern moment of historic importance, or take a modern replica of a photo on the app.

And if you shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture, your phone will bring up some of the best photos from all over the globe.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Yodlee MoneyCenter

Android Police coverage: [Hands-On] Yodlee Introduces MoneyCenter App For Android ($3.99), And It's The First App I Refunded In A Long While

Yeah, I was not a fan of this app, as a Yodlee user and relayed my review and feedback to their engineering team. They were receptive of criticism and asked for suggestions. I hope Yodlee v2 will be completely redesigned.

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Yodlee, the leader in personal financial management (PFM) software, brings you the convenience of Yodlee MoneyCenter for your Android mobile or tablet device. As the proven platform behind the world’s largest financial institutions and PFM solutions, Yodlee has always offered you the flexibility of easily managing and tracking all of your financial accounts, balances, transactions and investments in one secure place. Now, with the Yodlee MoneyCenter application, all of your accounts and corresponding transactions and balances are available in real-time on your device providing anytime, anywhere access. Key features include:

- Account Summary views

- Transaction views

- Expense Analysis views

- Ability to set Budgets by Category

- Charting

- Portfolio Management

The app also supports bill notifications via badges for upcoming or overdue bills to help ensure you pay your bills on time.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Brainshark

The Brainshark App provides powerful, interactive capabilities for viewers of Brainshark video presentations as well as free access to an existing library of eLearning content for businesspeople.

Enhanced Viewing

• Easily navigate through Brainshark presentations using the table of contents and slide thumbnails

• View Brainshark presentation attributes including title, description, length, view count, author info and more

• Download related attachments/documents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQbYrVEr8tM&feature=player_embedded

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

RunPee

Don't be afraid - RunPee is not some urinal arcade game and it doesn't belong to the WTF section - in fact, it's a very useful app for movie goers.

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The RunPee app lets you know the best times to run and pee during a movie without missing anything. A built in timer helps you keep track of all the peetimes and see at a glance how long you must wait for the next one.

It also lets you know if there is anything extra after the end credits along with a synopsis of the first 5 minutes of the movie in case you're running late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU7szsk95II&feature=player_embedded

Travelocity

Android Police coverage: Travelocity Comes To Android, Brings Another Way To Plan Trips From The Palm Of Your Hand

The official Travelocity app. Hotels, flights, destinations, deals, gas, travel booking.

Pho.to Lab Pro

Pho.to Lab Pro may look like yet another photo effects application, which it is, but the amount and quality of effects it offers elevates it to a level worthy of the roundup. Check it out yourself.

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With Pho.to Lab PRO you can easily create fun photomontages, cool contact icons, animated photo caricatures, e-cards and phone wallpapers. What you will especially like about Pho.to Lab PRO is “Photo to Caricature” effects that will turn your face photos into fun animated caricatures in one click.

Pho.to Lab PRO features and effects:

• photo to caricature effects: animate faces and turn your portrait photos into amusing caricatures.

• photorealistic effects: put your face onto museum walls, a soccer fans banner, in a hot off the press newspaper; airbrush yourself on exclusive cars or leave your face as a sand imprint on the beach.

• photomontages with automatic face detection: turn yourself or your friend into Darth Vader, Rambo, a Na’vi from Avatar, an astronaut or a pirate of the Caribbean!

• photo filters: Neon Glow, Fire, Jigsaw Puzzle, HDR, Pencil Drawing, Oil & Impressionist Painting, Chalk & Charcoal, and more.

• photo effects for the stylish and trendy folks: put yourself on the Forbes, Vogue or Playboy cover next to Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lady Gaga and Dr. House!

• collages: put yourself and your sweetheart or even all your friends into one photo collage.

• new effects: get all the brand new effects immediately after they are released. Be the first to use them and surprise your friends!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSCCwUSfKL4&feature=player_embedded

News360 for Phones

Android Police coverage: Popular Tablet News Aggregator 'News360' Now Available For Phones

One of my favorite tablet apps is now available on phones.

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News360 for Android Phones aggregates more than 4000 different news sources around the web to bring you news stories in a concise and useful stream, along with photos and video covering the story. The semantic analysis technology behind News360 allows you to get background information and dossiers about all the companies, people and locations that make the news, and to personalize the news for your location, and create feeds based on your specific interests.

Key highlights:

• Enjoy English-speaking news streams, live, from respected sources around the globe and around the corner

• Read the hottest stories from an ever-expanding range of sources, political, cultural and social, collected by sophisticated linguistic algorithms

• Dive deeper into the details about people, companies and brands, with hyperlinks to detailed dossiers

• Get local news by using your phone's GPS or WiFi connection to find your location

• Connect to TripIt to keep up with fresh local news from your upcoming destinations

• Save stories for offline reading

Spott

'Spott' is a worldwide map of famous and iconic scenes from films and TV shows. You can browse it by location, what's 'near you', or by film, TV show, or actor.

- Find 'Spotts' - famous scenes from Films and TV shows

- Find which Spotts are near you

- Become a 'Spotter' - submit your own Spotts

- Search a particular city or area for iconic scenes

- Search all Spotts by film, TV show or actor

- Submit photos of yourself at famous Spotts and add to our image gallery

- Suggest updates and improvements to existing Spotts

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Pixamid

With Pixamid, create stories together with your friends - instantly sharing photos with your friends and others at the same event. Available for both iPhone and Android.

★ Send your photos instantly to your friends and others with you at the same event

★ Invite your friends and get their photos, seconds after they take them.

★ Post your story to Facebook, or send by e-mail

★ Upload your photos instantly, so you can view them online at pixamid.com - keep these private, or share with the world.

★ Have your photos organized in a much better way, with info on who you were with and where you were.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Redfin Real Estate

Android Police coverage: [New App] Redfin Real Estate Comes To Android, But Only In Certain Areas

Redfin's MLS-powered real estate app gives you the same information used by real estate agents - on the go. See photos, full details, property history, agent notes and more. Redfin automatically syncs your favorite homes, notes & photos, and home tours with the website so you’ll never miss out on the home of your dreams.

Features

• MLS powered, up-to-the-minute home search

• Easily find nearby homes and open houses using your GPS

• Fully synchronized with your Redfin account - your personal favorites & x-outs, notes & photos and tours come with you

• Beautiful full-screen photo gallery of every home

Important Note - Only available in:

• Southern California, Bay Area and Sacramento, Seattle and Western Washington, Chicago Area, Washington DC and Baltimore, Westchester County and Long Island, Boston Area, Atlanta Area, Portland and Western Oregon, Phoenix Area, Austin Area, Dallas Area, Denver Area, Las Vegas Area

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJkXHY9UDY&feature=player_embedded

RootzWiki Forum (Free)

This is the official RootzWiki forum application. RootzWiki is an up-and-coming site dedicated to rooting and modifying Android. Some devs already moved away from xda to Rootz, so if you're interested in following the RootzWiki forums on your Android device, download this app.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Zinio (now with support for Android 2.2+)

Android Police related coverage: Zinio And NVIDIA Team Up To Bring Hardware-Accelerated Magazine Reading To Tegra Tablets

Zinio now supports Android phones (2.2+).

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Zinio is the premier app for magazines on Android, featuring top titles from around the world in pure digital form. With Zinio, you can browse the world's largest newsstand, download digital subscriptions or single issues of your favorite magazines and sync your library on multiple devices. You can read what you like wherever and whenever you want.

ABC News

Take ABC News with you while you're on the go! Get one touch access to Top of the Hour video new briefs, local videos, daily top stories and pictures, breaking news and more! Download the ABC News Android application and get the news the way you want it.

Participating local news stations:

*Chicago, IL

*Flint, MI

*Fresno, CA

*Houston, TX

*Los Angeles, CA

*Minneapolis, MN

*New York, NY

*Philadelphia, PA

*Raleigh, NC

*San Francisco, CA

*Toledo, OH

SWISS International Airlines app

The official Swiss International Air Lines app.

GO Book by GO Dev Team

The amazing GO Dev Team can't go a week without releasing a completely new app, so here goes - their take on ebook readers.

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The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Spotify

Android Police coverage: Review: Spotify For Android (US) - Is It The Music Streaming Service You've Been Waiting For?

Spotify is finally in the United States (read our U.S.-centric review above), so while Spotify is not new to Europeans, U.S. users who sign up for a premium subscription will be able to utilize this app to play their music on the go.

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Spotify opens up your Android to a world of music. Take your existing Spotify playlists with you on the go - listen to them during your commute, in the gym or on a flight. With ‘Offline mode’ you can listen even when no connection is available. Wirelessly sync your local files to your phone to merge your catalogue with ours, no cables required.

NOTE: Requires a Spotify Premium subscription - you may be eligible for a free trial.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Nosh

An interesting concept - like Yelp but for foods rather than restaurants. Will it take off? We'll have to wait and find out.

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Nosh is a fun way to share what you eat and find out what's good everywhere.

+ Rate and review dishes, not places. After all, it's the food that matters.

+ Keep up with friends and see what they're eating. Follow friends, or anyone so long as they have great tastes!

+ Find out "what's good here". No more relying on the waiter.

+ Browse menus by the highest rated items, what your friends have had, or any other way you choose.

+ Check out photos of the food before you order.

+ Comment on friends' food experiences.

+ Track what you've had and where. Never forget a food adventure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFdvqe13u34&feature=player_embedded

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Zoho Invoice

Android Police coverage: Zoho Invoice Released For Android, Allows You To Make Money From Your Phone, Not Spend It

Zoho Invoice is the best way to invoice your clients and get paid fast. It makes invoicing and following-up really easy so that you spend less time billing and more time on your business. The simple, intuitive design makes the Zoho Invoice a class apart. All your invoices, estimates, customers and items are at arms reach, literally!

* Create great looking invoices and quotes with our ready to use templates

* Record, invoice and track reimbursable expenses

* Accept online payments from customers

* Track payments; automate overdue reminders and payment thank-you mails.

* Transact globally with Zoho Invoice’s multi-currency and multi-lingual capabilities.

SPB Brain Evolution

PB Brain Evolution is an intellectual software game that helps to train the brain and improve memory, logic, arithmetic, and puzzle-solving skills. The application is a suit of 12 games, which have to be played in sequence: only good results in a game, unlock the next one.

Features:

- 12 development games

- Skills evaluation mode

- Brain fitness progress reports

- Step by step games unlocking

- Increasing difficulty levels

- 'Nobel Prize Winner' certificates

- Online highscores

- Separate profiles for several players

- Full game statistics and user recommendations

EggDrop by EggCartel

Remember the Zaarly above? EggDrop is pretty much the same thing, just not as popular. At least for now.

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EggDrop is your neighborhood marketplace app. Now you can post items for sale, discover great deals, buy and even arrange pick up directly from your iPhone or Android phone. It’s super easy to host your garage sale on EggDrop or find great bargains nearby. We help users to save money, make money, reduce, reuse, and connect with neighbors in a safe and friendly environment.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

National Post

National Post Mobile delivers the latest content from National Post's core news channels, including the day's top stories and business news from Financial Post.

PopOut! Tale of Peter Rabbit

Android Police coverage: [App For Kids] The Tale Of Peter Rabbit Is A Beautiful PopOut Book For Your Android Device

I would have never featured a regular book in this roundup, but when Loud Crow Interactive says it's the award-winning book app of the year, they really do mean it. If you have kids, you absolutely have to get this app - just watch the video to see what I'm talking about. Hell, I even kind of want to read it now.

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One of the most revolutionary digital books ever created has finally arrived for the Android market. PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the first installment in the PopOut!™ series of unique interactive digital books.

Relive this age-old classic tale of a mischievous rabbit's romp through a grumpy farmer's field as pull-tabs, spin-wheels, and spring-mounted elements bring each of Beatrix Potter's wonderful original illustrations to life.

Rick Steves’ Audio Europe

If you're traveling to Europe, download this free app by Rick Steves, a famous travel book writer and listen to his descriptions and stories, organized by location. Perhaps it'll even save you 10+ Euros on an audioguide you won't need to get. The app has offline caching, so download beforehand and listen without requiring a data connection.

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This app organizes the vast and varied library of Rick Steves’ audio content into geographic-specific playlists so that travelers can enjoy ready access to the information that relates specifically to their travel plans. Many tracks provide general cultural and sightseeing information gleaned from his public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. Other tracks are self-guided tours to great sights and historic walks. While we travel there’s lots of down time, and this application can both entertain and teach. Rick Steves Audio Europe will hopefully make your European travels more meaningful and more fun.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

dealnews

The official dealnews.com app.

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Swiftly browse hundreds of daily deals from thousands of reputable retailers. Save money at your favorite stores with coupon codes. Save deals for later use, or share them with your social network.

Golf Digest Course Critic

Your guide to America’s 100 Greatest, 100 Greatest Public and best courses by state. Rate courses and share your opinions with Golf Digest and friends.

Features:

• Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Courses and 100 Greatest Public Courses

• Golf Digest’s Best courses by state searchable by name, state and location

• Tool to rate and rank courses by 7 Golf Digest criteria

• Ability to build and share lists of favorite courses, great courses played, you're your "wish list" great courses you'd like to play.

• GPS Directions to each of Golf Digest-ranked courses

• Course length for all Golf Digest-ranked courses

• Course architect for all Golf Digest-ranked courses

Live Wallpapers

Earth At Night 3DLiveWallpaper

Unique look to our planet at night from a satellite view. You can adjust earth rotation speed as well as satellite view position by moving up and down, align the best position for your home screen with this perfect 3D Live Wallpaper.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Pixel Rain Live Wallpaper

Pixel-styled rain drops fall on your home screen and make splash effects as they collide with the ground.

Pixel Rain is now very customizable:

-Multi-color rain drops

-Number of active rain drops

-Size of rain drops(now includes random sizes)

-Falling speed of rain drops

-Length of rain trails

-Optional glow

-Optional shatter

-Optional alignment

-Background color

-Shatter on touch

WTF Apps Of The Week

Abstinence

Read in deep movie guy voice: "The fate of the uterus lies in your hands, can you prevent the sperm from impregnating the egg?"

Cow Plop

"Shooting poop at a unicorn has never been so entertaining" - indeed it hasn't, not that I've ever had the pleasure. Complete with video - it's our lucky day!

The Holy ****ing Bible

It's the Lord’s ****ing Prayer, everyone.

"You’ll be getting down with G-to-the-****ing-O-to-the-***ing-D with style and class in no time with “The Holy ***ing Bible.”"

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

Bloody Penguin Baseball

Someone really-really-really hates penguins.

P.S. Apparently, this started out as a good-old Flash game back in the day. Still a WTF in my book.

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CRUSH PENGUINS! BEAT PINEGUINS BLACK AND BLUE ALL OVER!

Do you like to beat penguins with spiked clubs and use them for batting practice? If so, then you are truly a twisted individual. But the good news is that you will love this game.

The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch

SuperNinjaSkydivingPlusZombies

Where do I even begin? So you're a skydiving ninja. And it's raining. ZOMBIES. What do you do? Go.

Oh, and they quoted our tweet in the app description. True story.

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Play the role of a hungry, skydiving ninja living life to the extreme. Blast your way through over 40 levels of zombie slashing action. Awesome sound track! Over 130 challenges!

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www.androidpolice.com

"Bes​t name evarrr?"

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Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago

it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].

1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.