Android Market Roundup: 5 Quality Apps You Can't Miss

Welcome to the weekly Android Market Roundup. If it's new, or newly updated and noteworthy, you'll find it here. Just scan the QR code next to each app with Barcode Scanner or Google Goggles to head right to the Market. This week we talk about an Android security app, a useful app for a retailer, a hotly anticipated game about displeased avians, monitoring your phone usage, and streaming video to the web. 

Get your phone ready, and check out these apps!
 

Seal

There are times when you are perfectly willing to let someone to use your phone, but that doesn't mean you want them to be able to poke around in every nook and cranny. When you're showing off your phone, you shouldn't have to worry about people snooping in your photos or SMS. This is where an app like Seal comes in. Seal allows you to set a password, or pattern lock that must be entered for any apps of your choosing to be run. This app comes with a number of interesting features that makes it an excellent security option. 

When you load the app for the first time, you will be taken through a tutorial that shows you the basics of how to use Seal. At the end you will be asked to choose either an alphanumeric password, or create a pattern lock. This is how you will access the app, as well as any apps you lock with it. You can choose a pre-defined number of wrong guesses before Seal locks down the app. The length of that lockdown can also be selected. The application list will be auto-populated with apps that Seal thinks you should protect. We believe it does this based on permissions used. You can add, or remove apps as you like. Each can be toggled on and off individually, or you can create situations (in the situation tab) to control multiple apps with one tap. Note: to control apps with situations, make sure they are enabled for automatic control (long press to toggle).

But you don't even need to tap to change these settings manually. Seal comes with a great Locale plug-in (it should also work with Tasker) to control situations. Just find the Local situation you want and add the Seal situation. Just pick either enable or disable and you're good to go. We have it set to toggle our main protected list on when we leave home, then turn it back off when we return. That way the locking only occurs when out and about (where a phone is more likely to fall into the wrong hands). The Seal situation can also still be toggled manually. Seal uses a persistent notification by default, but this can be turned off.

During the set up process, Seal detects if you are rooted or not. If you are, it allows you to run an enhanced mode. It was unclear exactly what this meant, so we reached out to the developer, and this is what we were told. The root method allows Seal to confirm an app is unlocked before it launches, and none of the app's code is run first. This is thanks to a tie-in with the Android OS that is only possible under root. Non-rooted users still get the benefits of locking, but the app will load first, then Seal will ask for the pass. The only difference is that the third party code of the app is executed.  

In testing on a rooted phone, we found the process to be incredibly smooth. There was no  discernible delay when launching apps. On a non-rooted phone, the experience was similarly snappy. Other lock apps have felt sluggish, or only worked intermittently. Seal is very much the sort of security app we've been waiting for on Android. The full version of Seal is €2.19 in the Market, and we think it's worth it. There is a free version that you can try for 7 days, but it will not let you lock the Market app. 

Target

You know a platform has made it when your local discount retailer has an app for it. In this case, the Target app is breaking the mold of retailer specific apps by actually being good. The app's main interface gives you access to the weekly ads, clearance items, as well as whatever seasonal items they are pushing. In the menu, you can set your local store. This will allow you to see if an item is available near you. In fact, it even tells you which isle it is in, which is kind of neat. 

You also have the option to browse through categories at random looking for interesting items. If you happen along something that is not available at your local store, you can search for it at other locations. On the main screen, there is a link to the embedded barcode scanner in the upper left corner. Just scan a barcode and you can find out if the item is available at a Target store. 

The app is well designed, and moving through screens is snappy. We wish there was a way to buy items online from within the app. It seems geared exclusively toward the in-store experience. Also, apps2sd would be great, as it does take up 2-3MB of space. Still, this app is free in the Market. 

Angry Birds Lite Beta

After weeks of anticipation, Angry Birds has hit the Android Market; albeit in a lite-beta form. It's a little sad to have to say this, but even at this early stage, Angry Birds is one of the best games on Android. In Angry Birds, you must use different types of birds to dispatch some greedy pigs that stole the aforementioned birds' eggs. These pigs will be taking shelter in increasingly elaborate structures, but you get increasingly useful bird projectiles. Oh, did we mention that you launch the birds at them with a slingshot? 

If you've played Angry Birds on the iPhone, it's much the same thing here. You have a predefined number of birds in each level. You must eliminate all the pigs to advance to the next level. To do this, the pig has to have something fall on it, fall off a sufficiently high ledge, or be hit directly with a bird. Some pigs are wearing protective gear to make your task more difficult. 

Several birds have special powers. For example, Blue jays can be split into three smaller birds in mid air with a tap. This lets them hit a larger area, but with less impact per bird. These types of extras keep the game interesting. Though, the lite version is too short to worry about getting bored. You only get 15 levels in this early beta. Links to the full version just load the developer's site for now. 

The graphics are great, and animations are smooth. Even the sound is a fun game element with all the squawking and other effects. This game will probably not run well on older phones like the Hero and G1. Also of note, this game is shipping with apps2sd already enabled. That's a big plus for Froyo phones considering the app is a 12MB download. Angry Birds Lite Beta is free in the Market. We'll keep an eye out for the full version. 

PhoneUsage

In these days of limited data and overpriced text messaging, it might feel like no one's on your side. Well, a new app called PhoneUsage is here to help. With this app, you  can track all aspects of your mobile plan usage including phone calls, SMS, and data usage. Just plug in your plan details and you can sleep soundly. 

In addition to the monthly limits, you can set the rollover date for your plan. This will automatically reset your monthly tallies for a more useful look at your usage. There are also settings for rules like how your mobile provider handles rounding minutes, and if you get free night and weekend calls. The main Home screen gives you a look at the overall usage. The other tabs let you drill down into calls, SMS, and data. Al these screen have a toggle at the bottom to set incoming or outgoing data.   
 
Some of the graphs can get pretty specific. For instance, have you ever wondered what the distribution of character length in your text messages is? PhoneUsage can tell you that. The notifications of high usage are only available for those that shell out for the pro version, but all the graphs are in the free version. 

Another benefit of the pro version is the large number of widgets available. There are 1x1 and 3x1 widgets for tracking any aspect of the phone's usage. You can choose from daily, weekly, or monthly totals to be shown. These very specific widgets are one of the most useful parts of the app, and make the price of a license worth it if you are worried about your usage. PhoneUsage is free, but the Pro key will cost you £1.49 in the Market. 

Justin.TV Broadcaster

Justin.TV has finally added an Android app to the Market that can stream video to the Justin.TV site. There are a few features that make this app stand out from the competition. First of all, the signup process for those without an account is very quick and painless. You can be up and running in about a minute.  

Your feed can be shared automatically through Facebook and Twitter if you choose to do so. Users will also be happy to see support for chatting with viewers right in the app by way of a popup chat window. The record button is large and prominently placed in the middle of the right hand side. The upper left corner shows you total broadcast time, as well as how many viewers you have. The status message can also be changed in the app. 

We tested this over Wi-Fi and 3G. The video quality looked similarly acceptable in both cases. The delay on Wi-Fi is about 10 seconds, but on 3G it was about 15 seconds. Might be a little disorienting if you are trying to chat with viewers at the same time. We only saw a one real bug: the viewer count is not updating, or if it is, it has a long delay.  

Justin.TV Broadcaster is free in the Android Market. Don't pay too much attention to some of the user reviews on this one. Many are complaining that they cannot view videos on Juntin.TV, but this is clearly a streaming app, not a viewer. 
 
 
That's the roundup for this week. As always, let us know if any of these apps improve your quality of life. There are always new things happening on Android, so keep an eye out and let us know if you think you've found the next big thing. Happy downloading, everyone!
 
Images via Flickr user Johanl