Ask Slashdot: Best Free and Open Source Apps For Android?

First time accepted submitter aNonnyMouseCowered writes "One of my favorite freeware Android applications has been pulled from the Google Play app store. While I found a replacement for the app, I've decided to install only apps that won't become obsolete merely because of the developer's whim or lack of interest. With the exception of games, which I don't deem essential for work, I don't want to install potential abandonware even if they cost the pauperly sum of $0.00. My decision has thus far meant installing a relatively crude text editor like BusyBox's version of vi, rather than any one of those full-blown mobile office suites. I've found a short list of open source Android apps at Wikipedia, including the usual suspects, Firefox and the VLC media player. There are also links to two other sites at the end of the article. But even the more comprehensive listings have large gaps in them even when compared 'merely' to the programs available in a typical GNU/Linux repository. So can anyone recommend useful or even just fun Free, Libre and Open Source Software for an Android smartphone or tablet? Free virtual beer to those that can find links for FLOSS programs for editing audiovisual media (Blender for Android?) and documents more sophisticated than HTML."

F-Droid is your friend

[cerberusss]

F-Droid is the Android open source repository.

http://f-droid.org/ [f-droid.org]

Re:It seems arrogant

[characterZer0]

Even if the author abandoned an FOSS program, he can keep a copy of the apk and install it on whatever devices he wants to. If the author pulls an app from play.google.com, he is out of lock.

For this reason I only use programs for which I can download an apk file for any device.

Re:It seems arrogant

[vlm]

Its a "new device" problem. So you get a new device and you want to re-install XYZ, but the dev discontinued it and pulled it from the marketplace. Works fine, just got pulled / sold / merged into something you don't want / whatever.

If its OS I think you can assume it'll be downloadable forever as a .apk from "somewhere" perhaps your own desktop if nowhere else. May never be updated, but who cares if it works.

Great collection of F/LOSS security/privacy tools

[griffjon]

The Guardian Project develops and maintains a list of great security and privacy tools (Tor for android, secure chat, encrypted VOIP, PGP support for email... ). They're generally cross-posted on f-droid, and you can find play, f-droid and source links here: https://guardianproject.info/apps/ [guardianproject.info]

Re:Exercise in Futility

[characterZer0]

If an application is no longer available from play.google.com, he cannot download it to his next phone. If he downloaded an unrestricted APK from the author or f-droid, he can install it on his next phone.

http://f-droid.org/

[mrops]

That is your one stop shop for all open source android software. You won't find the f-droid app in the play store, but you can install it from http://f-droid.org/ [f-droid.org]

Other than that, two of my favorite are AirDroid and Skifta.

Plex is disqualified as its not free, but its great.

Re:It seems arrogant

[David_Hart]

The answer is, it depends. Some apps tie themselves to the system ID. Most will just re-download and re-install if your system ID changes. I recently unlocked my Asus TF700T tablet and one of the things that the Asus unlock tool does is change the system ID. Fortunately, I had Titanium Backup Pro installed and it allowed me to revert back to the original system ID.

Re:It seems arrogant

[Oliver Wendell Jones]

Without knowing which app, we can't know for sure if it was pulled. The App Store filters (by default) apps based on whether they are compatible with your device(s) -- if you de-registered your old device and only have the new device registered,then incompatible apps will not be shown.

Re:It seems arrogant

[tlhIngan]

Are not APKs from play.google.com restricted to a single device?

Depends. If your device is a pre-4.2 Android, there is no DRM in the APK (Play for Android 4.2 added DRM on APKs to prevent ripping and distributing).

An older one is where an APK will use Google APIs to get a license, but I believe the APK can still be ripped from your Android and moved to another, as long as it's still associated with your account. It just "can't" be moved to another Android phone and used pirated.

I say "can't" as there are many Android APK patchers that can remove the license check - often they have a heuristic scan to work in most cases, and some require extra patching to work properly.

It's been a reason why Android piracy tends to be fairly large - and why Google still hasn't made it possible to just get the APK on your PC without involving your Android device so you can have a backup.