Written by Kristin on September 16, 2011
If you’ve an iPhone, Droid, iPad or other smartphone, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of apps out there. Fortunately for the budget-minded, many of the best ones are completely free to download! Whether you’re looking to keep in touch with your mates or find the best pub when you’re travelling, we have 45 great apps for you to try.
Social media
1. Facebook: Catch up with your friends, update your status, upload pictures and more from their mobile app.
2. Twitter: Tweet away on the go and follow your favourite celebrities, friends and companies.
3. Skype: Make free calls to other Skype users, including video.
4. Tweetdeck: Update Facebook and Twitter from one client, and organize your updates into columns for easy access.
5. Foursquare: Check in to your favourite places using your phone and earn points and bonuses (or just brag to friends about where you are)
UK-specific
6. Thetrainline: If you commute by train, this one’s fantastic to view timetables or see if your train’s late, without having to pay for the National Rail app.
7. Tube Map: If your old paper tube map is a bit tatty, go for the mobile version; you can even use a route calculator and find the closest station to you.
8. BBC News: Read the latest news stories, including videos and breaking news alerts
9. UK Traffic Lite: Check the roads before you head out and view incidents that might impede your trip.
10. UK B&B Map: Looking for a B&B or guesthouse? Search through over 20,000 of them in this free map.
11. London Map and Walking Tours: Explore London with walking tours to show you the city’s many sights.
12. The Economist: Non-subscribers can read some free articles, but if you subscribe you can read the whole thing right on your mobile device.
Reading
13. Kindle: Not only is the app free, but you can download loads of free e-books to your mobile (mostly classics).
14. iBooks: Similar to Kindle, but you can view your e-books on a handy little bookshelf graphic. Like Kindle, you also can find plenty of free downloads.
15. British Library 19th Century Books: This iPad-only app allows you to read historic books from the library’s collection.
Music & TV
16. Spotify Mobile: If you’ve a Spotify account, you can listen to streaming music right on your phone.
17. TVGuide.co.uk: Never miss your favourite TV show again with complete TV listings and reminders so you don’t forget about a programme.
18. Shazam: If you’re listening to an old tune and can’t think of the artist, or want to know the singer of that hot new song, just open this app and hold it near your radio or MP3 player and it will tell you the artist, plus where you can buy it.
19. Last.fm: Create playlists of your favourite songs and artists and listen to streaming music.
Travel
20. Skyscanner: Map out your next holiday or business trip and find the cheapest way to fly there.
21. Aroundme: This app uses GPS to show the things nearest to you, such as restaurants, hospitals, cinemas, petrol stations and more.
22. XE Currency: Quickly convert pounds to Euro, U.S. Dollars, Rupees or whatever you please.
23. Google Translate: Just speak into your phone and it will translate your sentence into whatever language you choose.
24. Plink Art: At a museum and want to know more about a painting? Simply snap a photo, and the app will give you Wikipedia info on it, as well as where to buy prints.
Shopping
25. eBay Mobile: Follow those must-have auctions or keep up on whose bidding on yours whilst on the go.
26. Red Laser: Scan bar codes whilst you’re shopping to compare prices at nearby shops.
27. Vouchercloud: Search for offers near you and find vouchers at shops, restaurants and more.
28. H&M: Shop the high-street retailer straight from your phone, plus get special discounts.
29. Our Groceries: Eliminate the need for paper lists and share your shopping list between any smartphone – no need to call your husband to remind him what else you need at the shops.
30. Twenga: Search for high street products and read reviews, compare prices and find where to buy them.
31. Amazon Mobile: Not only can you shop the Amazon site from your mobile device, but if you take a picture of a book in a shop, it will see if Amazon offers it for sale and show you the price.
Photography
32. Instagram: Use its many filters to add cool effects to your photos.
33. Picsay: Edit your photos with many tools such as cropping, exposure, colour or filters, then upload your pics to Facebook or other social media sites.
34. Photoshop Mobile: Although it doesn’t have quite the features as the desktop version, you can modify your photos and add some special effects from this app.
35. PicSay: Add graphics, speech bubbles or comedy beards to your photos – great fun for the younger set.
Food and drink
36. Bigoven: Stumped on what to cook tonight? Use this app to search through loads of recipes and make your shopping list.
37. Jamie’s Recipes: Learn how to make some of Jamie’s favourites, including video lessons.
38. NHS Drinks Tracker: Check the alcohol content on drinks and keep track so you don’t over imbibe.
Games
39. Angry Birds: This massively popular game where you use a slingshot to propel birds at targets is free for Android phones, but costs a small fee for iPhone.
40. Jewels: If you’re a fan of Bejeweled, you’ll love this gem shuffling game.
41. Titres: Basically, this is the same game as old school Nintendo favourite, Tetris.
42. Open Sudoku: It’s the same concept as playing Sudoku on paper, only without having to erase your mistakes constantly.
43. Words with Friends: This Scrabble-type game lets you play against friends or random opponents.
Miscellaneous
44. Google Goggles: Take pictures on your mobile and use them to search the Web.
45. Vinspired: If you’re looking to get out and volunteer, this app allows you to search and also apply for volunteering jobs.
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