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I finally got my grubby hands on an Android smartphone (a HTC Hero) a few weeks ago. The first week was spent feeling outsmarted by my latest gadget acquisition and the second involved installing as many apps as I could find on the Market. Over the next two weeks it started becoming fully apparent exactly how much this little device was going to change the way I work. My app frenzy subsided and I began to realise that there were a few applications which really brought the smartphone into a league of its own.

So I thought I’d put together a list of my favourite Android apps (which all happen to be free, an additional bonus). Please feel free to add your thoughts on your favourite Android apps to the comments, I’m very interested to see what’s made the most impact on you…

7 Free Android Apps to Get Excited About

1. Toggles. Yes, this isn’t really an app in its own right, it’s more a class of application. But these widgets are fantastic and one of the apps I use the most. Turn your bluetooth, wireless, GPS on/off with a touch of the screen, toggle your ringer between silent, ringing and vibrate with a simple tap. It seems lazy and uninspiring but toggles really show that the best applications don’t necessarily need to be feature packed. Sometimes doing one thing well is all it takes. There are a number of toggles available on the Market. But, to name names,  Curvefish and Rounded Labs are 2 of my favourite app developers in this area.
2. Facebook. Ok, I’ll admit it… I’m a Facebook addict. But for those who prefer a different flavour of social networking, all the major players are represented on the Android platform so don’t despair. Coming from using facebook on a non-touchscreen phone, Facebook on Android is just fantastic.
3. gTasks. This application is another example of simple excellence. For ages I’ve wanted a way to get my Google Task list on my phone. It just made sense to have your To-Do list accessible on the go. Yes, you could use the mobile web interface but a synchronised local copy is just That much better. gTasks is made by SSI.
4. NewsRob. Love Google Reader? Well NewsRob takes it to the next level by synchronising a local copy of all the feeds you have on your Google Reader account. It brings all your favourite feeds to your phone and allows you to get those bite sized pieces of information even when you’re not able to access mobile data. NewsRob is developed by Mariano Kamp.
5. Thinking Space. Mind mapping is one of those areas where touchscreen smartphones really come into their own. When I first got my phone, I installed a number of note taking applications. But this seemed slow and clumsy in relation to just quickly jotting notes on paper. But then I discovered Thinking Space and it all changed. A mind map can be infinitely more useful than a flat note and furthermore, it’s something that you can do on a smartphone easily, quickly and in my opinion, in a better fashion than you could on paper. This is the kind of app that smartphones were made for. Thinking Space is made by Charlie Chilton
6. wpToGo. Being able to blog on the go is just great. I used to scribble blog ideas down in a writing journal and then have to try and recreate my thoughts later on when I finally found myself in front of a PC. Yes, you’ll never be able to make long eloquent posts from a phone as easily as you can on a real keyboard but short posts or even draft posts are easy enough. wpToGo is a WordPress blogging application for Android, but if you don’t use WordPress there are many more blogging apps available supporting other systems as well. wpToGo is developed by Roundhill Labs.
7. Flashlight. Be honest now, hands up all those who use their mobile phone as a makeshift flashlight when fumbling around in the dark? I thought so. Well, if you’re a “mobile phone flashlight” veteran you’ll know as well as I do that sometimes your choice of a pretty background, dimmed backlighting and a quick screen shutoff can leave you tripping over things just as you would have in the dark. Android Flashlight app to the rescue! Yes, it’s as simple as they come… It’s just a bright white screen that doesn’t turn off automatically. And it’s brilliant. As with the toggles, there are many different flashlight apps available on the Market (some even give you coloured flashlights… why?) My favourite is made by Devesh Parekh.

So, that’s the roundup on my 7 favourite, most used free Android applications. Leave a comment with some of the apps that you can’t live without!