In 2013 technology and marketing professionals are as busy as they have ever been.
We’re juggling projects, clients, deliverables, deadlines, and tons of data. Our phones have become the hub for much of our professional communications and a growing percentage of our productive work.
With all of this data usage, phones can get clogged up with clutter pretty quickly. Recently I have been doing research into apps that help with both automation (to save me time) and cleaning out the crud that builds up from heavy use of my phones.
Here’s a list of 10 free and paid Android apps to make your life easier and help take back some of your time and space. The apps are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card
- Uninstall Apps
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history)
- Battery Saver
- Back-up and Restore
Android AutoClean
Android AutoClean is one of my favorites on this list for two reasons: the ability for me to schedule my phone, SMS, and web search history to be cleared is a lifesaver, and the one-click to move apps to my SD card is really convenient.
Developer: Ascentive Software
OS Requirement: Version 1.6 and up
Size: 1.2 M
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: YES
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: NO
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): YES
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: YES
Norton Utilities Task Killer Lite
Task Killer Lite is really useful for uninstalling apps, making it much easier than the native workflow – but beyond this simple function, there’s not much in the lite version.
Developer: NortonMobile
OS Requirement: version 1.2 and up
Size: 4.7M
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES (manual)
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: YES
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: NO
Norton Utilities Task Killer Full Version
The full version of Norton’s Task Killer automatically scans and removes unused application elements, freeing up memory and speeding up the overall CPU.
Developer: NortonMobile
OS Requirement: version 1.2 and up
Size: 4.7M
Price: $9.99
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES (automatic)
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: YES
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: YES
- Back-up and Restore: YES
Super Task Killer Free
Super Task Killer is fantastic at exactly what you would think it should be, automatically scheduling apps and tasks to be killed. If you’re like me and open up loads of apps on a daily basis, this is a great app to add, every 1-6 hours based on your specification it will kill the specific apps that may be running.
Developer: NQ Mobile Security
OS Requirement: version 1.2 and up
Size: 513K
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: NO
- Uninstall Apps: NO
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: YES
- Back-up and Restore: NO
Android Booster Free
Android Booster Free is another great app for freeing up memory and speeding up your CPU, although not automatically – but it is free.
Developer: NQ Mobile Security
OS Requirement: version 1.2 and up
Size: 3.6M
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: NO
- Uninstall Apps: YES
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: YES
- Back-up and Restore: NO
Clean Master
Clean Master is the go to app for securely cleaning all of your private usage and contact data off your phone once it’s no longer needed.
Developer: KS Mobile
OS Requirement: version 2.1 and up
Size: 2.5M
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: YES
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: NO
GO Task Manager EX-Clean
The Go TaskManager is just like your Windows task manager, but on steroids. It gives you a snapshot of what’s running and where your total CPU usage is at. Kill apps and watch your CPU usage dial down.
Developer: GO Launcher Dev Team
OS Requirement: version 2.0 and up
Size: 4.2M
Price: FREE/PAID
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: Paid Version Only
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: NO
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: NO
SystemPanel Task Manager
SystemPanel is my favorite on this list in terms of user interface; they have created a slick looking dashboard that feels like you’re looking at the control panel for a small spaceship. With only a few clicks you can see all of your CPU usage sources and get a quick idea of what’s slowing down your phone.
Developer: NextApp, Inc.
OS Requirement: version 1.5 and up
Size: 710K
Price: FREE/PAID ($2.99)
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: NO
- Uninstall Apps: Paid version only
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): NO
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: NO
History Eraser
History Eraser takes the cake for ease of use in terms of freeing up space. This app is intelligent enough to scour through your activity logs and figure out where there’s room to free up space.
Developer: InfoLife LLC
OS Requirement: Varies with Device
Size: Varies with Device
Price: FREE/PAID ($1.99)
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: NO
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: NO
- Uninstall Apps: NO
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): YES
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: NO
All-In-One Toolbox
Considering this is a free app, the All-In-One Toolbox stacks up to most of the paid versions on this list. I’m not crazy about the scheduling features, but it does just about everything.
Developer: IMOBLIFE Inc.
OS Requirement: 1.3 and Up
Size: 1.3M
Price: FREE
- Adding / Removing Start Up Apps: YES
- Freeing Memory / CPU Usage: YES
- Moving Apps From Phone to SD Card: YES
- Uninstall Apps: YES
- Clear History (call logs, SMS, search history): YES
- Battery Saver: NO
- Back-up and Restore: YES
Summary
I’ve noticed on my Android phones that when I get close to my max CPU usage, everything slows down – apps, Internet connectivity, and even at times, my native search engines. Keeping your phone clean of clutter is essential to ensuring you have the best, fastest experience possible.
What are some of your favorite Android apps for improving efficiency?