My list of best Android Apps in 2017 [part 1 of 3]

I have been an Android user since more than 7 years now. During these years I have used a lot of Apps, however; only a few were maintained a deep good impression after years, months or even days of usage.

This is part one of an article describing how using these Apps made a difference in either my personal or professional life. It is also my first article on steemit, so don't expect perfectionism from the very beginning!

If you are an Android user then I invite you to give a try to these Apps or at least few of them. If you are an IOS user then, I believe you will find these Apps as well on the App store.

It is also worth mentioning that I am not affiliated with any of these Apps. I am just providing my fair review of each of these Apps which I personally used.

1. SleepTime [Medical -> Sleep Cycle Tracker].

Do you usually wake up tired and feeling deprived of good sleep? SleepTime will provide you with analysis why this might be happening and how to avoid such feeling every morning.

It is originally an IOS App that has been ported recently to Android. SleepTime monitors your sleep cycles and starts the alarm clock in the right phase of sleep. In other words, it wakes you up at the end of your last sleep cycle hence; it prevents you from starting a new cycle. This ensures waking up feeling fresh. To be honest, I was skeptical about the App when I first heard about it. However; when I gave it a try over few nights, I was surprised how fresh I felt when I woke up!

The Algorithm behind the App depends on the research done on sleep and sleep cycles. This is an area of science that is worth knowing about.

Check my sleep cycle during the past few days in the below screenshots.

1. Duolingo [Language learning]

Ever tried to learn a second language? How was this experience? Did you ever try self-paced learning or you only practiced learning languages in specialized language centers?

Well, for me I tried both ways and the results varied. Nevertheless, I find self-paced learning via Apps more effective than attending language classes.

I have used Duolingo to boost my French capabilities and I have to say that the App has an edge in two main parts

• Firstly; It allows you to focus on certain categories of words that you need to strengthen your skills in. For example, you can choose to practice the "food" or "clothing" or "occupation" or any other categories. In my opinion, this gives the App user the advantage to divide and conquer chunks of the new language.

• Secondly; it employs a lot of what I call "magnets" that keeps you attracted to the App. For example, you can see your rank among your friends, you get rewarded by Lingots (Duolingo currency that can use to buy various add-ons to the App, notifications/reminders to remind you of your daily goals). In short, it is a friendly language companion in your pocket.

1. Endomondo [sports tracking]

Endomondo is one of my favorite App. I have been using it since 2011 and during my continued usage of the App, I tracked more than 6300 kilometers in various sports such as running, walking, bicycling, and swimming. That’s only 500 km shorter than the length of the Amazon or the Nile.

Endomondo has been one of my favorite Apps over years now. One of its greatest features is monitoring your heart rate (via a Bluetooth connection to a heart rate monitor) which allows one to monitor exactly which zone he is practicing in. There are 5 different heart rate zones, so it is important to know which zone you need to practice to reach your own goal. This goal can be losing 30 pounds or increasing your stamina to run 10K or half marathon.

One of the nice features in Endomondo is the pep talks which allows you to send encouraging messages to friends currently working out. This is a great collaboration feature in addition to many other features such as challenges, training plans, various types of workouts.

Leave me a comment if you used any of these Apps before and how was your experience. If you haven't got the chance to use them, what are you waiting for? Go for it and share your thoughts.

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I will be posting parts 2 & 3 within a couple of days. Follow me if you are interested in Technology/programming reviews and best practices.