Android Starter Kit

Slacker Radio

CNET editors' rating: 5.0 stars

Slacker Radio, Pandora, and Last.fm are three free music services that help you find and groove to live-streaming tunes. Though each contains a strong element of discovery, we enjoy Slacker Radio's human-curated stations, the lyrics in the pro version, and ability to cache station for offline listening. Preexisting Last.fm users will prefer the eponymous Android app for staying connected to its social network.

Disclosure: Last.fm and CNET are both properties of CBS Interactive.

SoundHound

CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars

Are you not sure which song is playing? Crack open SoundHound (free or $4.99 for the premium version) or Shazam (free) and hold it near the source long enough for the app to get a fix. Each will return a match and give you an opportunity to do more with the song, such as read artist information or make a purchase. SoundHound's more advanced app offers five ways to look up artist information to Shazam's one method, and it also throws in song lyrics and limitless song ID-ing, where Shazam's app limits you to five "tags" per month.

Photoshop.com Mobile

CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars

If it's a quick crop, color correction, or effect you need on your image, Adobe's free Photoshop.com Mobile editing app has you covered. Its intuitive controls let you edit locally stored images or photos you might keep on Photoshop.com--no registration is required to use the editor if you don't use Photoshop.com. Notably, some users have noticed incompatibility with some phones. The app worked flawlessly on the Nexus One, but it didn't recognize photos on the HTC Droid Incredible, so be forewarned.

FxCamera

CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars

You don't have to have a 5-megapixel Droid to get good results with FxCamera. The fun, free app contains a set of filters that simulate photo treatment from a Polaroid or toy camera effect to a Warholesque snap. Our favorite? The SymmetriCam view, which drops a flipped copy next to the original image. Autofocus helps keep photos sharp and a sharing feature helps spread the word.

Ringdroid

CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars

The free Ringdroid ringtone app creates tones, alarms, and notifications from a variety of music files, and with a swipe of the finger. Most of Ringdroid's controls are out on the interface and all respond to touch. You can set the start and end notes by sliding arrows along the timeline, by pressing Start and End to record the point, or by typing in time stamps. Zoom buttons help set precise marks on the timeline. While the app is missing some looping and fade features we'd like to see, Ringdroid's ease of use makes it a great choice for people to create free ringtones from their own music collections.