I am soon to be an Android user. I want to know some "essential" apps for Android. Or anything that is pretty cool, utility, etc.
Heavily depends on the phone and which version of Android your using. But I'll take a stab at a list anyway. These are essential for me, and I have an old Evo 4G running a custom version of Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)
Naked Broswer becuase it is the simplest, bestest browser evar! Google Maps. AdAway (needs root), Barcode Scanner, Pandora, Soundhound, Starbucks, and Android Music. I have a tendency to strongly dislike most music players due to my minimalism, and Android Music strikes a nice balance of features and resource consumption. Also, I have Torch, which came pre-installed with my ROM, which basically allows me to use the camera LED's as a flashlight. Not sure if they integrated that into Android yet... I'm pretty sure tethering it integrated, but I still use a 3rd party app for that because I like it better. Again, needs root.
I will have 4.1.1, Jellybean. I love minimalism myself as well. How exactly do you go about customizing your phone? I am only familar with iPhone, as that is what I used to have.
A lot of real customization comes from being rooted (Linux equivalent to Admin on Windows). For me, I tend to dig around at XDA Forums. They'll likely have a section dedicated for you're phone (especially if you have a popular model) that has custom ROMs, unofficial updates, kernals, Root methods, themes, apps, and just a bunch of good stuff.
Oh, and you'll naked browser if you're a minimalist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIZwuPbw3xU
And here is XDA Forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/
Really depends on what you want to do with the phone. some of my most used apps are: Poweramp for my media player, TeamViewer so I can get to my laptop and a few desktops from my phone, Kindle because I like to read, Youtube because I have a big data plan, Newegg goes without saying, Orbot and Orweb for online anonymity, Amazon if you like amazon, avast because i like AV on my phone, and dsploit, because it's nice to have a mobile hacking suite on your phone.
My essential apps are more geared towards flashing ROMs and managing root.
Titanium Backup: Because you can back up all your apps along with their data, and restore them, as well as the backed up data. Also allows you to freeze apps, set back up schedules, and sort/filter your app lists in any way you see fit.
Goo Manager: Everything you need to search for and flash custom ROMs.
SuperSU: Best SU app hands down. Worth paying for premium.
i had a lot of fun with this one
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cyman.android&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5jeW1hbi5hbmRyb2lkIl0.
Ultimate Rotational Control, $2.99 on the Play store.