Sunday, 25 December 2011

50 Best Chrome Web Store Apps

Although the Chrome Web Store hasn’t had the instant success Apple’s iOS App Store experienced, especially for developers, it’s still an awesome resource — and one that’s still maturing and developing.

It’s been awhile and the Chrome Web Store has matured and further developed, offering many more fantastic apps. A few from our prior posts are listed but many aren’t, and the last 10 on this list are really great games — especially for taking a short break from work. Take a look!



1. TweetDeck

TweetDeck; we all know it, most of us love it. One of the most widely used Twitter apps with versions across pretty much every platform.
From the developer: “TweetDeck is your personal browser connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Google Buzz.”

2. Springpad

Springpad is an awesome app that makes it super easy to save notes, tasks, bookmarks and whatever else you might want to save for later. Everything is automatically organized and enhanced with additional information, useful links and more, all by the app.

 

3. Aviary Advanced Image Editor

Aviary’s suite of apps hardly need an explanation as most of us know and have likely used at least one of their apps. Their advanced image editor (Phoenix) is an awesome and powerful in-browser editor that, for many people, eliminates the need for a desktop counterpart.
Also, don’t miss their newest, full HTML5 image editor, Rock, and our look at it here.
Zootool

4. Zootool

Zootool lets you bookmark links, videos, documents and images in a very visual way and even easily share your bookmarks. It’s interface is pretty dang sexy to boot.

Gpanion

5. Gpanion

Gpanion is basically a dashboard for your Google Apps. If you’re a heavy Google App user, you’ll want to check out Gpanion. It does more than just act as a dashboard so be sure to give it a look.
Grooveshark

 

6. Grooveshark

Grooveshark is one of the sexiest music related apps around and it’s all in the cloud. Easily stream music from a huge library, all in an instant. You can collect your music, create your own library, playlists and a whole lot more. Although it’s ad supported, you can easily ditch those for a small monthly fee.
See our review: The Search for Better Music Streaming: Grooveshark
  • Price: Free or $6-9/mo without ads
  • Developer: Escape Media Group
  • Install App

Sliderocket

7. SlideRocket

SlideRocket does what few web apps have been able to accomplish. It’s better than its desktop counterpart — PowerPoint. Seriously, if you or your company needs a presentation app, you really need not look further. It sports an HTML5 viewer for the iPad and iPhone, and you can even run HD web meetings all the while sharing your presentation(s).
See our review: Power Your Presentations with the New SlideRocket
  • Price: Free or $24+ per month
  • Developer: SlideRocket, Inc.
  • Install App
Myna

8. Aviary Audio Editor

There’s that Aviary again. No, seriously, Aviary’s suite of apps really are awesome. And this isn’t the last one that’s on this list either. Myna, Aviary’s audio editor, makes it a snap to… well, edit your audio. Mix audio clips, add sound effects, and a whole lot more — all within your browser, anytime, anywhere.
 
Evernote

9. Evernote

Evernote is one of our favorite apps. The best way to explain it is the way the Evernote team does; it’s like an extension to your brain. Bookmark media, create notebooks for saving just about anything, and even search text inside photos.
See our review: Don’t Forget: Use Evernote
  • Price: Free or $5 per month / $45 per year
  • Developer: Evernote Corporation
  • Install App

Read Later Fast

10. Read Later Fast

Read Later Fast is simple, but incredibly useful. Use it to quickly save sites you want to read later, read offline or even archive for later. It has a sexy interface and more features, so you should probably check it out.

LucidChart

11. LucidChart

Put together flowcharts, diagrams and a lot more in a snap with LucidChart, an HTML5 app. You can also use it to work with others, and in real-time to boot! It sports lots of other tools that make it quite an impressive web app.
  • Price: Free, $4.95-25 per month
  • Developer: LucidChart, LLC
  • Install App

Ajax Animator

12. Ajax Animator

Ajax Animator is an HTML5 powered animation app that also supports offline functionality. Though it’s not going to compete with full-on desktop apps in the same field, it does a bang up job at being a good, light alternative. Plus, it’s animation in the cloud!

Weebly

13. Weebly – Website Builder

Weebly sports a drag and drop interface to make building simple sites easy and sports lots of great features and extra functionality such as blogs, galleries and a whole lot more. This is definitely directed at those less familiar with building websites so web developers need not try.

Aviary Vector Editor

14. Aviary Vector Editor

I told you we had more Aviary apps on this list. Aviary’s vector editor, Raven, is yet another kick ass editing app this stellar team has produced. Use it to create logos, artwork and anything else you need in vector format.
 
Quick Note

15. Quick Note

Quick Note is a lightweight note taking app but also works well as a scratchpad, clipboard or even task and/or list manager. The important thing is that it’s quick.
 
Hootsuite

16. HootSuite

HootSuite is another social app that likely needs no introduction. It’s one of the best browser-based Twitter clients I’ve ever used and offers features for teams that other web apps simply don’t. It’s fast, works incredibly well and rivals even TweetDeck’s desktop app. Try it, you have nothing to lose.
  • Price: Free or $5.99/mo
  • Developer: HootSuite Media
  • Install App
 
280 Slides

17. 280 Slides

280 Slides may not be anywhere near as powerful as SlideRocket but that’s actually where it excels. It’s simple, it’s interface is drop-dead gorgeous and it will cover the needs for most general presentations for students, the occasional presenter and the like.

mflow

18. mflow

mflow makes it easy to find new music, stream and even share it. It’s also available for other major browsers, including the iPhone and iPad. It’s not on par with Grooveshark but it has it’s own unique take on things that makes it a great choice.
  • Price: Free
  • Developer: Digital Distribution Networks Ltd.
  • Install App
 
Good Noows

19. Good Noows

Good Noows is a sweet little app that makes it easy to consume and share the latest news from your own sources with a really great interface.
See our review: Brighten Your Day With Some Good Noows

Pixlr

20. Pixlr Editor

We love Aviary’s image editor but Pixlr is too good to leave off this list. Pixlr has many similarities to Photoshop so if you’re familiar with Photoshop’s interface, you’ll be right at home. Pixlr can even open PSD files and sports lots of easy photo editing features for things like red eye removal.

Audiotool

21. Audiotool

Though I haven’t used Audiotool, it has fantastic ratings and lots of users. It’s a powerful and creative app for creating music, working with effects, and even sharing your tracks with the community once you’re finished.

Todo.ly

22. Todo.ly

Todo.ly is a task and todo list manager that’s simple and intuitive. Aspects such as filters are designed with the ever popular Getting Things Done way of doing things. There are many task managers out there but it’s hard to say which one will suite you best, so if you’re in the market for one, give this one a shot.

Audodesk Homestyler

23. Autodesk Homestyler

Interior designers will love Audodesk Homestyler, an app that lets you create, furnish and style your virtual home. Maybe you want to remodel but you aren’t quite sure on all the details; this app will help you figure all that out. It’s a fun app even just to play around in to create your dream home and interior.

Kodigen

24. Kodigen

Kodigen is a development environment with tools for code editing, database administration, file collaboration, FTP and even cloud hosting. It supports multiple programming languages and even works with other editing apps like Aviary’s image editor and Pixlr. Web developers, this one is for you!

deviantART

25. deviantART muro

muro is a different kind of drawing application and seems to encourage a more artistic flow. It supports layers, pressure sensitivity, and a whole lot more. If you’re into drawing, definitely give this a try.

wikiHow

26. wikiHow Survival Kit

If you’re into survival stuff or just want to learn how to survive certain situations, this is an awesome app for you. It offers lots of information on basic survival skills like CPR, first aid and choking and even gets into situations most of us will likely never encounter such as bear attacks, surviving a riot and more.

Sketchpad

27. Sketchpad

Sketchpad is a digital painting tool with paintbrush, texture, stamp and many other tools that each offer additional settings to get your desired results. It’s definitely fun, creative and artistic.

Ge.tt

28. Ge.tt

Ge.tt isn’t just another file sharing service; it actually lets you begin sharing files before they’ve even finished uploading. It also offers real-time stats on files you’ve shared, doesn’t have file size limits and doesn’t require any plugins since it’s entirely based on browser technology (nope, no Flash necessary).

HuffingtonPost NewsGlide

29. HuffingtonPost NewsGlide

This is the official HuffingtonPost app.
Developer description: “Get up to-the-minute reports, blogs and analysis with quick-view articles from all sections of the Huffington Post. Its made to be an ultra fast news experience. You can share to your social networks, share to email, read comments and glide through the news experience.”
  • Price: Free
  • Developer: TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
  • Install App

Graphic.ly

30. Graphic.ly

Graphic.ly is a digital comics platform and this (the Google Chrome version) app offers a more immersive and enjoyable experience than you’ll find in other apps. If you’re into comics, definitely check this one out.

3DTin

31. 3DTin

3DTin is a 3D modeler, though it isn’t really high-powered but rather fun-powered. You build models with blocks and can later apply smoothing to your model if you would like. It takes advantage of WebGL but can fall back to HTML5 canvas if necessary. It’s a pretty neat example of what today’s web technology is capable of.

NYTimes

32. NYTimes

There’s not a whole lot that needs to be said about the NYTimes app other than it gives you access to the New York Times news and sports a great interface, uses HTML5 and offers offline capabilities. It’s one of the best, if not the best, news apps in the Chrome Web Store at the moment.

Write Space

33. Write Space

Write Space is a simple and customizable text editor that helps get rid of distractions so you can get down to writing. It offers persistent auto-save, offline capabilities and much more. With over 20,000 users, it’s definitely popular and must be amazingly useful.

Scribble

34. Scribble – Stickies on steroids

Scribble is a simple note taking app with offline access and even notifications. I tend to jump to text files for quick notes but this is a much better option with cloud-sync and other features. Like they say, it’s like stickies on steroids.

Jolicloud

35. Jolicloud

Jolicloud is basically a web OS, your desktop in the cloud. It’s built in HTML and supports over 1000 apps with lots of other features. It’s definitely a great way to maintain a simple app desktop that’s accessible anywhere you go.

Rdio

36. Rdio

Rdio takes music and walks into the social world, enabling you to follow people with similar music tastes, find new music, create playlists and even collaborate with friends on theirs. And, of course, you get unlimited access to their library of music for immediate streaming.

Graph.tk

37. Graph.tk

Graph.tk is what it sounds like — an online graphic calculator app. It’s open source and eliminates the need for an expensive graphic calculator.

Peacock

 

38. Aviary Filter Editor

Another Aviary app, Peacock, does all sorts of crazy, cool, fun stuff — all with images of course. It’s a little hard to really explain exactly what it does other than it does awesome. It’s fun, you should try it.

imo instant messenger

39. imo instant messenger

imo instant messenger lets you connect to most of the major chat services such as Skype, AIM, MSN, Facebook and more. It enables you to access your typical desktop chat abilities from anywhere on the web, including sending and receiving files, video and voice chat without any required downloads and a lot more.

Zoho Writer

40. Zoho Writer

Although Zoho Writer is a lesser known app than it’s competition Google Docs, I felt it was fair to include Zoho instead. Many of Google’s apps will have great Chrome-built versions in the future and are already well known. However, Zoho has some pretty great offerings and are definitely among the web’s best. They have a great suite, definitely worth trying.

 

Games

The Fancy Pants Adventure

41. The Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2

When I first tried this game I thought I’d get bored within a few minutes but became strangely fascinated by it. I find it great for taking a break from work and playing around a bit. Even if you get bored with it quickly, it’s fun to at least play for a bit.

Sinuous

42. Sinuous

Sinuous is a really simple game, like that of classics such as Asteroids, where you move your mouse through an advancing screen to avoid hitting red dots. There are other fun features like a shield, gravity field and more. Give it a run, it’s pretty fun (please excuse the rhyme).

SparkChess

43. SparkChess

Online Chess in 3D! Okay, I’ll admit, I was in a Chess club. If you like playing Chess or perhaps want to learn, this is a great app to try. SparkChess also has multiple other versions for other platforms including Mac, Linux, Windows and Android.
  • Price: In-app Payments
  • Developer: Media Division
  • Install App

WGT Golf Challenge

44. WGT Golf Challenge

Like Golf? Give WGT Golf Challenge a try. You’ll get to play on championship golf courses from around the world with great graphics for an online game.

Mahjong Butterfly

45. Namco Mahjong Butterfly

If you like playing Mahjong, this should be fun — though I haven’t tried it myself. It does, however, have over 7 thousand users and great ratings.
Developer description: “Match mahjong tiles to collect caterpillars and transform them into beautiful butterflies! Keep making matches to feed your caterpillars and help them grow. Take some time off to relax and play with your butterflies in the conservatory.”
  • Price: Free
  • Developer: Namco Networks America Inc.
  • Install App

Canvas Rider

46. Canvas Rider

Canvas Rider is a simple and clever HTML5 and JavaScript game with simple controls and new tracks being added all the time. This is another great game for your breaks away from work.

CityVille

47. CityVille

Popular online game developer, Zynga, brings CityVille to Chrome, where you create your city from the ground up. It’s pretty much like the classic Sim City and many of it’s users say it’s very addicting.

Sketchout

48. Sketchout

In Sketchout you protect your home from alien invaders in an outer space setting. It’s simple, fun, and sports good web graphics.

Word2

49. Word^2

Word ninjas, this one’s for you! Word squared is a massively multiplayer online crossword game and everyone is playing on a board that is apparently infinitely big. You can jump right in with your Google, Facebook or Twitter login credentials and save your progress for later.

World of Solitaire

50. World of Solitaire

World of Solitaire offers 52 different types of solitaire games with great graphics, smooth animations and more. It’s a great replacement for the classic solitaire we all used to play on Windows (or at least those of us that used Windows).

Posted by at Sunday, December 25, 2011

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