If you have been following our site or listening to the AndroidGuys weekly podcast show, chances are you have heard of the Android Network Awards.  It was a small idea that started with 5 Android blogs from the US, but quickly grew to several dozen sites from around the world.

Our goal was to highlight the best of the best Android apps by allowing the community to vote on the winners.  We fell behind on some of our goal dates, but the ball is rolling now and we are set to begin next week.  Starting Monday, August 10th, we will open the polls and begin voting.

As with any awards event, there are sure to be some snubs, but we are going to allow write in votes for every category.  If you see any obvious errors, please leave a comment to bring them to our attention.  It is impossible to make everyone happy, but we are trying to be as fair as possible.

Visit our central site from your Android phone and bookmark it: http://androidnetworkawards.com/

For the latest updates, you can also follow us on Twitter: @AndroidAwards

The Categories

1. Best Widget

• Beautiful Widget
• Weather Widget (Android Apps)
• Twidgit Lite
• Battery Status (Android Apps)
• Sticky Note

2. Best Media Player

• TuneWiki
• Meridian Media Player
• Gmote
• RockOn Music Player
• LukLuk

3. Best Entertainment App

• Shazam
• Movies by Flixster
• Bubble Wrap Game
• Beebplayer
• Magic 8 Ball

4. Best Social Networking App

• Brightkite
• Pingdroid
• Babbler
• Bloo
• Wertago

5. Best Finance App

• PayPal
• Bank of America
• Quote Pro
• Budget Droid
• aCurrency

6. Best Communication App

• Handcent SMS
• YouMail Visual Voicemail
• K9 Mail
• ChompSMS
• Exchange by TouchDown

7. Best News App

• USA Today
• NewsRob
• Greed
• NewsDroid
• Express News (Handmark)

• Weatherbug
• The Weather Channel
• iMap Weather
• Weather Widget (Android Apps)
• AccuWeather

• I Tweet!
• Twitterride
• Twidroid
• Twitta
• Twidgit Lite

10. Best Reference App

• WikiMobile
• Translate
• Transdroid
• Wapedia
• Aldiko

11. Best WOW Factor App

• Shazam
• ShopSavvy
• Wikitude
• Qik
• Gmote

12. Best Organization/Productivity App

• Astrid
• AK Notepad
• 3banana Notes
• Note Everything
• Documents To Go

• Mobile Defense
• SIM Checker
• Lock 2.0
• Secrets for Android
• Auto Lock

14. Best Sports App

• NBA Game Time
• Pro Football Live
• FotMob
• SportsTap
• Plusmo College Football

15. Best GPS/Location Based app

• nru
• Qype
• Where
• a2b
• Aloqa

16. Best GPS turn-by-turn App

• Waze
• TeleNav
• CoPilot
• AndNav2
• Nav4All

17. Best Streaming Music App

• imeem
• Last.fm
• Streamfurious
• Gmote
• Tunewiki

18. Best Tool App

• Astro File Manger
• SMS Popup
• AnyCut
• Backgrounds
• MyBackup Pro

19. Best System Utility App

• Advanced Task Manager
• Toggle Settings
• Useful Switchers
• Better Cut
• Taskiller

20. Best Fitness App

• Buddy Runner
• CardioTrainer
• Calorie Tracker
• SportyPal
• WorkItOut

21. Best Home Replacement App

• aHome
• Open Home
• dxTop
• Sweeter Home
• Panda Home

22. Best Shopping App

• ShopSavvy
• Compare Everywhere
• Pkt Auctions eBay
• Key Ring Reward Cards
• Grocery King

23. Best Casual Game

• Abduction!
• Bonsai Blast
• Buka
• Trap!
• market Millionaire

24. Best Arcade Game

• PacMan
• Cestos
• SNESoid
• PapiJump
• Retro Defense

25. Best Puzzle Game

• Mystique. Chapter 2: The Child
• Battleships
• Brain Genius Delux
• Jewellust
• Puzzle Blox

26. Best Camera App

• Snap Photo Pro
• Camera Pro
• Camera Zoom