So whether you have that nice new (and free until 21 April 2012) Nokia Lumia 900 or the equally functional HTC Titan II Windows Phone, which were both launched this past weekend, one of the first things you will want to do is browse the Windows Phone Marketplace and add install some apps.
While you are in there poking around looking here is a list of apps that I have found to be my automatic installs on a new handset. One thing all of these apps have in common – they are all FREE!
- SkyDrive (1,481 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) – 25GB of cloud based storage that you can access not only from your Windows Phone but your desktop PC, laptop, tablet etc.
- YouTube Pro (453 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) – this is what the included YouTube app should have been. Ability to record, view, download, sync to your PC and many other features.
- Flashlight XT (176 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) – everyone needs a flashlight app on their phone right? Free, no ads and easy on and off.
- IMDb (1,391 ratings averaging 4 stars) – the Internet’s grand old girl when it comes to movie and TV information.
- LastPass (93 ratings averaging 3.5 stars) – my password manager of choice and syncs anywhere I have the LastPass browser toolbar installed. Great at managing random passwords for all of the sites you access for better security.
- Webtone (106 ratings averaging 4 stars) – the best ring tone tool for Windows Phone. Helps you upload and use your own unique ringtones.
- rowi [lite] (737 ratings averaging 4 stars) – my new favorite Twitter app for Windows Phone.
- RAD Now! (283 ratings averaging 4 stars) – quick and handy weather radar app. Lets you see where weather is and where it will be heading.
- Package Tracker (281 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) – the trial version lets you track 3 packages for free. Easy to add and includes a web based interface as well.
These recommendations come from Twitter followers when I asked them what other must have apps are for their Windows Phone:
- ESPN ScoreCenter (1,478 ratings averaging 4 stars) – get all your sports scores and news in one place. Live updates across most sports.
- Amazon Kindle (1,630 ratings averaging 4 stars) – works with Amazon e-books whether you have a Kindle or not.
- Weather (3,506 ratings averaging 3.5 stars) – from The Weather Channel and the top weather app for Windows Phone.
- Adobe Reader (2,598 ratings averaging 3 stars) – makes it easy to read PDF files on the go.
- ISS Tracker (8 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) – helps you find the brightest object in the night sky except for the moon. Plus this one has 6 people living on it most of the time.
- StickyTiles (151 ratings averaging 4 stars) – lets you put tiles on your Start Screen as reminders. Customize text size and color.
My thanks to @nikovrdoljak, @PB_333 and @sbrown23 for their suggestions.
A final recommendation for you if you are a trivia and sports fan is the collection of Windows Phone Apps developed by Neuralnet. They now have 42 highly rated apps in the marketplace and pay a lot of attention to detail in their work. Check them out as well for some new app ideas.
Any other must have apps recommendations? Please share them in the comments below for everyone to see.
