10 free and incredibly useful Android apps you can't get on the iPhone

If you're using a phone with a skinned version of Android, like one of Samsung's or HTC's phones, you can install the Google Now launcher to make your home screen look a little cleaner. The Google Now launcher also lets you access voice controls more quickly by simply saying "Ok Google" from the home screen.

People share links on Facebook and Twitter all the time, but each time you tap one you're taken away from your social feed and into a browser. Link Bubble Browser lets you continue browsing Facebook or Twitter while your link loads in the background.

If you find yourself constantly reaching for your phone at work to answer text messages, here's some good news. MightyText lets Android phone owners answer any text messages on a PC, Mac, or Android tablet.

FoxFi is a free Android app that lets you use your phone as a hotspot without having to pay the extra fee from carriers for a tethering plan. It just takes data from whichever plan you've paid for from your carrier. It's unclear exactly how FoxFi does this, but blog Droid Life speculates that it could be using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, to mask activity from your carrier.

EverythingMe is the app launcher for people who want to stay organized. The launcher comes with a universal search engine and automatically sorts apps into designated folders.

Sliding Explorer has been noted by both PCMag and Infoworld as being among the best file explorers out there. A file explorer is an app that lets you access files stored on your phone's SD card the same way you would a computer. So, if you transfer a video directly to your computer to your phone, a file explorer helps you find that video. Sliding Explorer is one of the easiest file explorers to use.

Aviate is a simple yet attractive launcher for Android, but what really makes it stand out is a feature called "Spaces." These are different contextually aware categories that appear in the upper-left-hand corner of your home screen depending on where you are. So, if you're at home, the space shown on your screen may include Netflix or some similar entertainment app.

AirDroid is a little bit like MightyText, but instead of only forwarding text messages from your Android phone it lets you also see all notifications and share files.

ES File Explorer is another great file explorer for Android. Like Sliding Explorer, it lets you control your Android phone the same way you would navigate a PC. There are also a few features for advanced users that need to access files on their Android phones from a PC.

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