Android apps for business users

The BlackBerry may be the most popular phone in businesses today, but the openness of the Google Android platform is attractive too. Most of the big-name apps from the iPhone world are now available for the Android. And because the Android’s Web browser is based on the same WebKit rendering engine the iPhone uses, Web apps built for the iPhone will likely require minimal changes to work on Android devices.

Programmers enjoy the freedom offered by Google’s looser reins, and this will make life much easier for any business that adopts the platform. The Android operating system and marketplace are both pretty open, something that makes life much easier for the IT departments that support the phone. Distributing an app to all internal clients, consultants, and customers is much simpler without the tight strictures of the iPhone world.

[ Also on InfoWorld: “Android apps for developers and IT pros” and “Android malware: How open is too open?” | Check out 10 Android apps that business users will love. ]

The Android Market is nowhere near as deep as the iPhone’s App Store, and it shows when you browse through the apps. But the lack of depth isn’t as important to a business user as it might be to the casual consumer or gamer. Many of the dumb apps filled with scantily clad models aren’t available for Android yet, and those are a surprisingly large slice of the iPhone marketplace.

Even though the market for Android apps is still emerging, there are a number of good apps for business users. Take InfoWorld’s quick, at-a-glance tour of 10 Android apps for business users that help you find where you’re going, track your expenses and exchange rates, overcome language barriers, view and edit Office documents, and connect remotely to a company database or your desktop PC.

This story, “Android apps for business users,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments on mobile computing and Google Android at InfoWorld.com.