10 Hottest Free Android Apps – Barcode Scanner, ASTRO and More

Applications are really what make the smartphones a success these days. When I was looking to transition from the BlackBerry Storm to my Motorola Droid, my biggest question was “are there a sufficient number of apps in the Android Market?” Of course the answer to this question was yes..and then more. Currently, there are 37,631 available apps in the Android Market.

Thanks to one of my new favorite apps, aTrackdog, I can tell you the number of apps and which are being used the most. So, I’m going to take advantage of the capability of aTrackdog and begin publishing a weekly listing of top 10 free Android Apps. There just aren’t enough Android App posts out there, so hopefully you’ll find value in the list.

10. Ringdroid 2.3 (Multimedia) 4.5 Stars, 48k ratings, over 250k downloads

Create your own ringtone by editing a music track in your library, or record a new one directly from the phone.

9. Google Translate 1.1 (Tools) 4.5 Stars, 2k ratings, over 250k downloads

Use Google Translate to instantly translate text between more than 50 languages. Featuring Dictionary results, text-to-speech, voice input, Romanization (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji, etc), history/star favorite translations, access history/starred translations when offline. The translator is an essential travel and language learning tool.

8. Compass 1.1 (Tools) 4.5 Stars, 15k ratings, over 250k downloads

Android’s leading Compass, plus location display & geo-tagged notes. Reset magnetometer by waving your phone in a figure 8 motion several times. v1.1: GPS compass, night compass, true north, noise filter, calibration notifications, configurable note text, long press for quick notes, new BG and many new settings.

7. Places Directory 1.0.20 (Travel) 4.5 Stars, 14k ratings, over 250k downloads

Places Directory allows you to browse nearby places in categories like Restaurants, Movie Theaters and Hotels. Additional features: write reviews, mini-map, location picker, my favorites, photo gallery, compass direction and keyword search.

6. Facebook 1.1.3 (Social) 3.5 Stars, 45k ratings, over 250k downloads

Facebook for Android makes it easy to stay connected and share information with friends. You can share status updates from your homescreen, check out your news feed, look at your friends’ walls and user info, upload photos and share links. 1.1.2 adds the ability to browse your friends profiles and native photo integration.

5. Google Sky Map 1.3 (Reference) 4.5 Stars, 35k ratings, over 250k downloads

Google Sky Map: A star map for Android. Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the night sky.

4. Hancent SMS 2.9.31 (Communication) 4.5 Stars, 46k ratings, over 250k downloads

Handcent SMS is a free sms tool for Android. Unleash the full power of your phone. Full support SMS & MMS, great customize options, different style and power functions (search SMS, SMS popup, speak SMS & T9). Send funny or beautiful animated pictures with Handcent Greetings.

3. Shazam 1.3 (Multimedia) 5 Stars, 51k ratings, over 250k downloads

Create music moments. With Shazam you can identify music tracks, store them and buy them; plus you can learn more about the artist and connect to their MySpace page. Start your journey now.

2. ASTRO 2.2.4 (Productivity) 4.5 Stars, 24k ratings, over 250k downloads

Manages files, applications and tasks, read zip, tgz files, image and file viewer, selectable tool icons, shortcuts, task killer, SD card usage, backup and restore multiple public applications, send files as attachments, search and more.

1. Barcode Scanner 3.2 (Shopping) 4.5 Stars, 35k ratings, over 250k downloads

Scans barcodes on CDs, books and other products, then look up prices and reviews or search for a word in a book and find where it occurs. You can also scan QR Codes containing URLs, contact info, calendar events and more.

NEW: Non-autofocus device support, Google Shopper integration, email your history, new translations.

I’m a bit surprised by the list. Never expected to see ASTRO, Compass or Google Translate become so popular. All are excellent apps, but I didn’t see them appealing to such a wide audience. What’s your favorite free Android App? It’s hard not to love a few other Apps not on the list such as Google Maps, Pandora, Funny Jokes, Dolphin Browser and a few others.