Android starter kit

In regards to apps, Android is most certainly the new kid on the block. The Android Market opened for business late in 2008 and now is home to several hundred custom applications for the Android platform.

While this number is far lower than the 15,000 apps on Apple's App Store, sorting through the available apps and finding the most useful can be a tricky task, especially for Australia with many apps having a US-centric focus.

The following are our picks for the best apps across a variety of purposes; from productivity, to photo editors, to travel tools and games. If you're interested in any of these apps, simply punch the title into the search field in the Android Market client.

Productivity

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Moxier Mail While it's still in beta and comes with limited features, Moxier Mail is the best way of syncing your MS Exchange email account with your Android phone to date. This is a bare-bones app and is really only good for reading and replying to incoming mail, but the interface is nice and easy to read.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

OI File Manager One of our iPhone pet hates is that we can't dig into the phone's file structure. OI File Manager gives Android users this ability, though be warned: this isn't for beginners.