25 New Android Apps for 2011

Blogger

Cost: Free

The Blogger app for Android lets you publish blog posts via smartphone on the popular Google tool. The app upload posts with pictures, labels and location information, and also allows you to switch between blog accounts if you have more than one.

But while the Blogger app is an easy-to-use tool for simple blog posting, the program is still pretty rudimentary. For example, the app doesn't allow you to view drafts between its web-based Blogger platform and its mobile version, meaning you can't write a post on your phone and finish it up later on your computer.

The app also doesn't let you upload video or enable hyperlinks.

SnapTax

Cost: free to download, $15 to e-file via phone

Geared only toward folks prepping a 1040 EZ form -- a tax return for single and joint filers with no dependents -- Intuit's (Stock Quote: INTU) new SnapTax smartphone app allows users to file their taxes via phone.

Once the app is downloaded, users answer a series of quick questions to determine if they're a 1040EZ contender. If so, the app guides filers easily through the process, asking them to snap a photo of their W2 so the data can be automatically uploaded and filled out on their return. The rest of the steps are brief: To enter "Interest Income," for example, the app asks two questions: Bank Name and Interest Amount; things like charitable donations are found under "I have something else to enter."

Marking Intuit's continued move into the mobile devices space -- "We want to make sure we're able to help customers solve their problems through any device they want to use," CEO Brad Smith said on last week's conference call that followed the company's second-quarter earnings report -- the company hasn't announced any specific plans to make SnapTax available for more tax filers.

MyLawyer

Cost: Free

While launching a smartphone app might not be the first measure taken by someone involved in a car accident, MyLawyer provides a step-by-step guide on how to sort out such incidents.

When you first launch the app, it offers to dial 911 and instructs you what to do at the scene of an accident -- documenting witnesses, property damage and injuries. The app also stores photos of the scene so you have a comprehensive account of the incident.

Besides organizing this evidence, MyLawyer provides information on accident law in your state and includes a quiz to test your legal knowledge. In a worst-case scenario, the app also lets you submit your case for an attorney to review.

We found the app very straightforward and easy-to-use, but wish it focused on more than car accidents. What about tenant law or traffic law?