Best Android Widgets: 19 Apps With a Personal Touch

One thing that truly sets Google’s Android mobile OS apart from rival software like Apple’s iOS is its ability to use home-screen “widgets,” or applications that sit on your Android device’s home panels to display related information so you never have to open those apps, unless you want additional details.

Not all Android applications have widgets, but the best ones do—some great Android apps even offer multiple widgets. Keep clicking for a list of 19 of the best Android apps with widgets, most of which won’t cost you a dime. And for information on how to enable widgets on your Android device read, “Seven Ways to Get Around Your Android Phone Faster”. Then check out my Android super guide for a variety of general Google-Phone tips and tricks, how-to tutorials and much more.

The Google Search for Android home-screen widget gives you fast and easy access to Google’s popular search engine and to Android-Market app-searches. Since it’s located directly on your home screen, you never have to launch a Web browser to perform a search. The Android widget also offers a cool voice-search feature so you can avoid typing altogether if you’re clumsy with your thumbs.

Download Google Search for free from the Android Market

Pinch-pennies like a pro with The Coupons App for Android widget, which displays a variety of deals from popular retailers on your Android home screen. Simply click the app for additional information on each deal, and you can choose to enter in location information for access to local deals via the application and/or e-mail alerts.

Download The Coupons App for free from the Android Market

BattStatt Free for Android is a simple widget that shows your device’s battery-life percentage in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles. It’s valuable because the default Android OS only display battery life in graphic form, so you get clearer information from BattStatt. Clicking the BattStatt widget provides details on battery health, voltage, temperature, battery type and more.

Download BattStatt Free from the Android Market

Dictionary.com’s Android app provides a ton of cool, digital-dictionary features. One of my favorites is the Word of the Day home-screen widget, which displays a new mouthful-of-a-word each day. The widget displays the daily word, pronunciation information and a definition, all on your home screen. You can click the widget for access to more details, including audio pronunciation and additional definitions, where available.

Download Dictionary.com for free from the Android Market