Tasker ^[1] - unrooted automation.

RoboDefense ^[1] -- after a week of playing the free version ^[2] I HAD to upgrade. Much to my wife's irritation.

Locale ^[1] - killer app that lets you set "conditions" and then have "actions" occur when those conditions are met. For example:

• my Wi-Fi automatically turns on whenever I get home.

• my screen brightness changes when I have the phone plugged in.

• my Google Voice number gets routed to my desk phone when I am at work.

One of the best apps out there in my opinion.

LauncherPro is free but by donating through his site you can get a LauncherPro Plus code which adds some pretty handy widgets and the ability to resize widgets on the homescreen.

It was definitely worth all 3 dollars considering how frequently he updates and adds features.

Swiftkey keyboard ^[1] - this app offers really great text prediction and learns how YOU write. It noticeably improves typing speed, especially when using the touchscreen as your input method. I think that this is even faster than swype as an input method.
Swiftkey is on special offer at just £0.60 this week before going up to it's full price, which I think will be £2.50

I paid for, and loved, PDANet ^[1] -- no longer necessary for me with Froyo, but if you're on a carrier/phone that doesn't support or allow tethering, and you want a no-root option, it's well worth it.

Math Alarm Clock ^[1]: I have real trouble getting out of bed in the mornings... This dastardly alarm won't stop until you solve a maths equation; and, if you set it to a sufficiently difficult level then, by the time you have solved it, you will be awake. Genius. Oh yeah, you can't simply open up the calculator app (and cheat) or turn down the volume either!

Beautiful Widgets by http://levelupstudio.com/

This provides some nice HTC Style widgets if you decide to take sense off the phone. Skin support and regular updates.

Astro file manager ^[1] is a must have. The free version does everything, but it is so useful I paid for the pro. Pro just removes the ads, but it is such a great app that I wanted to make sure the developer got something.

Titanium Backup ^[1] (root) -- A must when it comes to backing up apps and restoring after a flash of the rom or you fucking things up. The donation version is worth it. Also its so good its worth the money.

SetCPU ^[2] (root) -- Keeps my system underclocked when I mostly don't use it (actually I run 50% all the time unless im playing an intense game) increases battery life. Donate to these fellas.

ChompSMS ^[3] -- Should be the stock SMS tool. Pay to get rid of ads.

3D Gallery -- Should be the stock Gallery. Find a way to donate to these guys, its amazing. Comes with excelent Picasa support (very rare on android #$@$#)

NewsRob Pro ^[1]

I live in my Google Reader account and have always been annoyed that the majority of apps for either Windows Phone or Android require a live connection - something I don't really get on the London Underground on the way to work. I don't use any Pro features except for the dark theme - I have an AMOLED screen so it saves power and helps me avoid headaches. Mainly I paid to support the developer.

Touchdown ^[1] - A better exchange app than the default Corporate Email and Corporate Calendar apps.

LauncherPro Plus. I don't use any of the extra features of the Plus version, I just wanted to support the developer. The launcher truly changes the way you interact with the phone (in a good way). I couldn't imagine going back to stock.

LauncherPro ^[1]

• Scan2PDF Super useful for taking care of paper documents while on the move.
• Action Complete This is just a GTD ToDo app, but I like it and it integrapes with a web app, so you can go back and forth.
• ROM Manager I do a lot of ROM hacking, so this is only useful for people who do that, when it is a must-have.
• Titanium Backup You'll wish you had the first time you install a new ROM

TransDroid ^[1]

It's very easy to manage your torrents with this little app

EasyTether is the best tethering app for OS X in my experience.

As an OS X user I originally started using PDANet with my Droid, but I had problems where my computer couldn't connect and would show a USB error until I restarted the whole machine. Nothing else helped, not even killing processes. I also found the menubar addition where you had to click connect to get it started with PDANet annoying.

EasyTether (on OS X) in contrast, just shows up as another device alongside Ethernet and AirPort in your Network Preferences. It has been absolutely trouble-free for me, I've never had any errors or issues. ("it just works!!") So for OS X users who need USB tethering on Android, I think EasyTether is the best choice. It is still useful even though I now have a Nexus S with 2.3.4 Gingerbread on it.

The reason it is still useful on Nexus S 2.3.4 is because the native USB tethering on the phone only supports Linux and Windows and NOT Mac OS X. You can of course use the Wifi hotspot with no problems, and the hotspot is super handy for iPad and other wifi-only devices (or for 2+ people sharing a connection), but when battery life is a major concern (such as in the car), the USB is still useful, and for me at least, the simplest way to make this work is with EasyTether.

One strange issue with EasyTether is that it does NOT support ICMP (ping) for some reason. I have no idea why this is. This drops it to a 9.5/10, but in reality even as a software dev ssh'ing into a lot of remote hosts, it does not bother me that much. If you absolutely must be able to ping and use other ICMP, you can do it via a remote SSH host, or you can actually run OpenVPN on your laptop and connect to an open vpn host on top of the EasyTether connection.

Hope this is useful!!

NOTE: I am NOT affiliated with the project in any way, I'm just very enthusiastic about software that does exactly what I need.

I know if we get into games the list will go for ever, but I'm anxiously awaiting the full release of Angry Birds and will absolutely pay whatever they ask for it. (the free beta is in the market now, but unavailable on AT&T)

I paid for Titanium Backup, because it's the non-plus-ultra tool for backupping apps and user-/system data. Although it is free in the basic version, you can donate some money via paypal for more features and faster backups

Today i've just bought SetCPU, because i think it will be able to save me a lot of battery power on my g1 and that is well worth to be paid the $1.99 it costs.

Both apps require a rooted phone.

Remember the Milk - The UI has some small glitches, but it is worth it.

Edit: you can contribute translations fixes through this page: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/translate/. The portuguese translations had some typos, I submitted a fix and they went into last update.

Gotta include Screebl Pro. Makes a huge difference, particularly when used with Locale. Nice app...

Twidroyd Pro ^[1] - although it was Twidroid when I paid for it.

Vignette ^[1] is a superb photo app. Love it!

I have really enjoyed HexDefense ^[1]. A very entertaining game.

PowerAmp ^[1]! Here's the unlocker that you pay for ^[2]!

Seriously, give this guy your money. PowerAmp is so much better than the stock music app in every single way, and even includes a preamp and EQ feature that work perfectly.

Also, it's pretty.

I've donated five bucks to Cyanogen for his ROM ^[1]. I'm running 6.2.1 atm and as soon as he releases a stable, non-RC version of 7 I'll be flashing that.

I know it's not an app, but I think it deserves to be on this list for being so damn good.

Touiteur Premium - it has been my favorite Twitter app and has one of the best widgets.

I've paid for about 40 apps over the course of my Android tenure, some of which I realized I don't really need and subsequently uninstalled (Task Killer, SetCPU, etc), some that were fun for a while and got tired of (most games), a few that I still have and use on a regular basis.

LauncherPro is probably the one that I've gotten the biggest bang for my buck. The free version in and of itself is phenomenal, coupled with the features provided by the paid version, it's absolutely unstoppable. I've tried many home replacements, LauncherPro is by far the best, IMOHO.

Lookout Mobile Security

I'm on a samsung galaxy and much work has been done to FIX this phone so I donated to Voodoo for fixing the sound and the filesystem and giving us access to the hardware EQ. Brilliant contributions!

I also paid for WebSMS as I send international texts and this saves me quite a bit.

Last one is Thinking Space. It's a lovely mind mapping app with "cloud support" as in you can save mind maps online. It's also compatible with a few major desktop mind mapping apps.

Another vote for Titanium Pro. Will add links later, must rush now.

• Feedr ^[1] - Great newsreader app that syncs with Google Reader.
• Twidroyd Pro ^[2] - Best Twitter client out there.
• ASTRO File Manager ^[3] - This was a donation, rather than outright app purchase.
• Paperdroid Pro ^[4] - Great for offline caching of articles I want to read. Integrates with ReadItLater ^[5].

Update As pointed out in the comments below, Paperdroid Pro is now abandonware, and the developer no longer responds to email.

Baby ESP ^[1] (Eat, Sleep, Poop) -- as of writing, my son is 1 month, 1 day old (it says so, right at the bottom of ESP). My wife and I use this app to track feedings, diaper changes, medicine, sleep patterns, etc. We each had to pay the $3.99 but the sync feature make it well worth it. The feature-list is great, development is on-going, and support is fast.

Blow Up. Maybe not as addicting as RoboDefense was at first, but it's a fun game if you like blowing up buildings and pandas.

Appbrain link ^[1].

QR code:

I haven't paid for any applications from the Android Market yet - only being able to use Google Checkout and my frugalness mostly contribute to this. Maybe the rumoured PayPal intergration will change this.

This is one advantage the iTunes Store ecosystem has over competing platforms, the sheer marketable audience with claimed 160M linked 1 click payments ^[1] is attractive to developers. Android Market paid applications are also available in many countries ^[2] as opposed to most.

I just paid for SlideIt keyboard app and it's immense. Here's how you can use it to improve your typing skills: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xboot5_amazing-slideit-keyboard-for-androi_tech

Smart Keyboard Pro is amazing.

Tower Raiders GOLD is amazing.

Titanium Backup PRO is absolutely essential if you're into flashing ROMs.

Choice Dialler Plus - a brilliant voice control application

Ringleader Pro - in conjunction with Tasker Pro they make a brilliant combination.

Oxford Dictionary ^[1] from Handmark.

I like the good old Oxford, though this app is expensive ($20). None of the free dictionaries satisfy me ... they seem more like thesaurus when you get down to defining closely related words.

Copilot maps ^[1] when I travelled in the US. Have a HTC desire and it was the perfect companion and lot cheaper than a traditional GPS!

Have bought several, but rather than decide which one might be most useful, I'll just tell you the first one I bought (and still find useful) -- Advanced Call Blocker ^[1]. Handy for blocking unwanted marketing calls and suchlike.

Wave Launcher ^[1] is one of the only apps i was willing to shell out for. i was a WebOS lover, so that makes me partial to this, but this is by far the easiest way to increase your app-switching productivity.

I guess I will go with Javadoc app ^[1]. For Java developer its good to have Javadoc handy... That's why I wrote one :)

GPS Status ^[1] - I don't use it all that much, but ... it's nicely done.

Unlock with Wi-Fi ^[2] - Simple and convenient.

RealCalc Plus ^[3] - So much better than the built-in calculator.

JuiceDefender Ultimate ^[1]

It's an upgrade for the free JuiceDefender ^[2].

JuiceDefender is a powerful yet easy to use power manager app specifically designed to extend the battery life of your Android device. Packed with smart functions, it automatically and transparently manages the most battery draining components, like 3G/4G connectivity and WiFi.