The Great Android Conspiracy -- a thrilling ride through six back-to-school Android apps for students!

"It has apps that can help you get smarter. Apps that could legitimately justify the purchase of a three or four hundred dollar smartphone for even a cash-strapped student."

The vinyl booth squeaked painfully as Agent McCormick crossed his arms and leaned back in the high back seat to take in the revelation he had just heard. He was well aware of the tidy racket that alleged "smartphones" had made for themselves. The Android app store was filled with metric crap ton after crap ton of apps meant to suck up your free time or, as the publishers would have you believe, "Keep you Connected with your Friends." But apps that could potentially help someone succeed in school? This was something the veteran FBI agent needed to see for himself.

"Dazzle me."

Evernote (http://www.evernote.com/) - FREE

The informant began, "If you're a student who plans on writing anything, Evernote should be a go-to app for you."

"First, the latest version, 1.5, has a widget that can let you search or create notes straight from my home screen. Also, here's a feature that's only in the Android version of Evernote. Say I'm researching something for an assignment while on the bus, and I want to save the URL to use in a paper I'll be writing later -- 'Send to Evernote' to the rescue."

"And check this out, if you have Android 2.1 running on your phone, you can pinch to zoom and move around."

Agent McCormick rolled his eyes while muttering "Pfft ... all of the lists have Evernote."

"Wait, there's more."

Scientific Calculator by Kreative Technologies – FREE / RealCalc Scientific Calculator - FREE

"Well how about calculators?" quizzed the informant, "Here, check this one out."

"I don't know, kid. Aside from a few buttons at the top, this looks a heckuva lot like the 10 digit calculator built in ..." started the agent before being cut off.

"Yeah, but scroll up - see? Square Root, SIN, COS, LOG buttons, all there. The basics are all on one screen."

"Any drawbacks?" asked the agent.

"Well," replied his informant, before biting off the end of a shrimp egg roll, "when I installed the app from the market, it said the app would need to access the Internet, which I thought was a little ... strange."

"Strange. Yeah, why would a calculator app need to connect to the Internet?" asked Agent McCormick.

"Exactly, but I have a feeling it's just for 'sharing' the app over email or messaging under the menu," the informant explained. "I can't help but love the super simple UI on this, though. But a close second for me was the RealCalc Scientific Calculator. Again, it looks really nice, it's fully functional, and it could easily be my 'go-to' calculator app, but the buttons are packed in a little tighter, which makes it look like a real scientific calculator."

"Hmm ... that sounds pretty slick," remarked the agent. "What else ya got?"

Kaka Flashcards – FREE / Flash Card 101 (http://mypocket-technologies/flashcard/) - $1.99

"Here's Kaka Flashcards," the informant began with a slight, suppressed chuckle. "Using this app, it's easy to search for and download stacks of cards from StudyStack and Quizlet. You can download stacks by scanning a QR code, or you can import your own via a CSV file. Moving between cards is as easy as swiping your finger across the screen. Seriously, this one couldn't be easier."

"However," continued the informant as he poured a small cup of tea, "for some, it might be a little too simple."

"Sounds perfect to me," stated the agent, with a matter of fact tone. "It's just like a stack of 3 by 5 cards!"

"True," replied the informant, "but if you're willing to spend the 2 bucks, you can pick up Flash Card 101. It does everything that Kaka Flashcards does, but it'll track statistics, you can add pictures, include sound effects, ... it's all really top notch stuff, and it's useful for someone who wants the eye candy and the ability to track their progress. There's a catch, though. Unlike Kaka Flashcards, it only offers access to Quizlet, which I suppose isn't a huge deal, but remember, you're missing out on a whole 'nother library of flash cards."

Astrid Tasks (http://weloveastrid.com/) - FREE

"OK, so the best way to keep up in school is to stay organized, right?" started the informant as he clicked on the grinning red octopus on his home screen. "Well, check out Astrid."

"Here's my tasks. They're ordered by urgency and date, and I can give them milestones and due dates, or I can customize when and how often Astrid will nag me until I'm done. Talk about useful!"

Barely taking a breath, the informant continued, "Aaand to make things even better, it'll hook into Producteev and Remember the Milk if you want."

The agent pressed a curled finger to his lower lip. "That's a ton of features, but what if I ... uhh ... my son wouldn't need all those. What if he only wanted a simple 'Here's your list – get it done?'"

With muted excitement, the informant responded. "Yeah, that's the best part! All the extra stuff is completely optional. If you just want to make a list of 10 things and bang away on them, that's no problem. Also, if there are any problems, their site has a ton of helpful info."

"Hmmm...," Agent McCormick replied while munching on a pinch of fried noodles. "Got anything else?"

Math Alarm Clock - $1.99

"Sure! Alright, so every student has to balance three things – school, personal life, and sleep."

"Since sometimes you can't avoid having to take that 8:30am class after only getting to bed at 2:30 the night before, you need something industrial strength to get you moving, ... something insidious like ALGEBRA and the Math Alarm Clock."

"From what I remember of my algebra classes they weren't that bad," remarked Agent McCormick. "There were a few times when I fell asleep, though."

"Well, how about adding some really bad music along with your math? That'd wake you up, right?"

"Like the MP3s linked in that Wired article from a few years back," the agent rubbed his brow, " 'The Most Unwanted Music' and 'The Most Wanted Music' - THOSE would make me move in a hurry ... or break my phone in half."

"Yeah, now you can see why they're after me. This would get anybody out of bed."

"OK, here's anoth ..." started the informant before being interrupted by a lo-fi version of 'Ride of the Valkyries.'

The agent's cell phone was ringing (a Motorola i670, for those who might be interested), and from what he could tell by the intense scowl on the agent's face, it wasn't good.

"Our position has been compromised," snarled Agent McCormick. "We have to get out of here."

The informant only had time to grab his phone before McCormick dragged him out of the restaurant by his collar. They got out mere moments before the propane tank at the rear of the building exploded, engulfing the first floor in flames. The restaurant "staff" was spotted piling into a blacked-out van in a nearby parking lot; they were obviously eager to flee the scene of their failed plot.

Thankfully, Agent McCormick and his young informant were able to escape with only minor bumps and bruises. They had survived the day, but there was no word on what dangers the future would hold.