Google Play provides Android device owners with thousands of applications to download and install on their smartphone or tablet. Here is a list of 5 must have applications for any Android device.

gMail (free)

The gMail application for Android is truly a life saver for both business and personal use. The app supports push notifications, meaning the user will receive an alert whenever they receive a new message in their inbox. In addition to push notifications, the app also allows the user to switch between their gMail accounts, view and save attachments, and set up label notifications. It is also possible to view conversations offline after they were cached by the system.

Categories that the gMail Android app supports :

  • Inbox
  • Priority Inbox
  • Starred
  • Sent
  • Outbox
  • Drafts
  • All mail
  • Spam
  • Trash

In settings, it is possible to confirm before deleting, archiving or sending an email. It is also possible to hide images in messages, and clear the search history that was saved by the application.

Google Chrome (free)

Do not feel limited to using Google’s popular web browser only on a Windows or Mac OS X machine. The web browser is also available for Android and it is free to download Via Google Play.

With the Google Chrome application for Android, users can surf the Internet at fast speeds, open multiple tabs for multitasking purposes, save bookmarks, clear browsing history and cache, use Google’s integrated voice search service (available offline as well), and much more.

Adobe Reader (free)

Quickly open PDF files with Adobe’s free, trusted Adobe Reader application for Android. The app allows the user to access their PDF documents from either an Android smartphone or tablet, while giving them the ability to manage and share a variety of PDF types.

Features of the application :

  • View password protected PDFs, PDF Portfolios, drawing markups, or annotations
  • Open PFD documents directly from an email or a web page
  • Organize PDF documents by creating folders, renaming, copying and deleting documents
  • Zoom in on text or images
  • Search for specific text
  • Fill out PDF forms
  • Select between single page or continuous scroll modes
  • Share PDF documents Via email as attachments or with other applications using “Share”
  • Electronically sign documents with Adobe EchoSign using “Send for Signature”
  • Easily navigate through PDF content

FaceBook Messenger (free)

Tired of only stalking friends on the ordinary FaceBook mobile website? With the FaceBook Messenger application for Android, it makes it possible for users to instantly chat with their friends, assuming that they are online and available. The app allows the user to send and receive messages using their FaceBook account.

Talking Tom Cat 2 Free (free edition)

Talking Tom Cat is one of the best and well known voice repeating applications for both Android and iOS. Outfit7 has made a free edition of the application for Google Play, although it will most likely be ad-supported.

To get started with the app, talk to Tom and he will repeat everything that was said in a funny voice. It is a fun little app to keep kids occupied and laughing for a couple of hours. The developers have also made it possible to play with the cat from the application for it to react to specific touches.

How to get Tom to react? :

  • Pet Tom’s head or belly
  • Poke Tom’s head, belly or feet
  • Slap Tom’s face either left or right
  • Pull or touch Tom’s tail

Note : after opening the app for the first time, an additional download of 5-39 MB is required.