[New post] 10 Must-Have Windows Phone Apps

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

[New post] 10 Must-Have Windows Phone Apps

10 Must-Have Windows Phone Apps

Jason Lefevers | May 31, 2011 at 4:53 pm | Tags: 10 best windows phone apps, must have apps, windows phone, windows phone apps | Categories: Guide | URL: http://wp.me/p1qH3U-en

With the Marketplace growing by leaps and bounds and now at an amazing 20,000 apps in just 219 days, it is becoming more difficult to really filter out the good from the not-so-good apps. Here is my list of the 10 must-have apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. They are all free, so feel free to head on over and give them a try:

ESPN is the de facto standard among sports followers. The app is a great take on the Metro user interface and features all of the major sports news, scores and standings. The scrolling is smooth within the app and the features allow you to setup your favorite teams and follow along with games and updates.

USA Today just recently released their app for Windows Phone and it is definitely a must-have app for readers of the publication. The main screen features the current top stories and there is also a section for the photos. You can browse the stories by category and even check the local weather within the app.

If you are a big reader and are not using Kindle's excellent devices or PC software, then you should really considering checking this app out. eBooks are outgrowing the market for books and Kindle is the king of the hill. The app is excellent and features the Whispersync technology which allows you to sync your books and progress among many Kindle platforms.

For cinephiles, Internet Movie Data Base is a wealth of information and this tradition continues in the app for Windows Phone. I often find myself puling up the app to find out information about an upcoming movie or just to find out who starred in which film. The app was released at Windows Phone's launch and remains one of the best-looking apps to date.

I grew up in Philadelphia and no longer live there, but I still like to listen to the local sports talk and music radio stations. The TuneIn Radio app for Windows Phone allows me to do this by aggregating many radio stations around the world into one place. The UI is very well-done and the quality of radio can be adjusted depending on your connection.

Travel apps is one app category which I'd like to see Windows Phone expand. There is currently one app that I use for Travel on my phone and that is the Kayak app for Windows Phone. The pivots and custom interface used in the app almost make you forget you are about to pay too much for a plane ticket. The app includes search information for both flights and hotels.

Amazon is everywhere and because of the deals often found when using the Amazon service, I figured this would be another great app pick by the company. The Amazon app is a great app for Amazon users and features the ability to browse and buy products through the service, right from your Windows Phone.

Being a Windows Phone user, I'm sure you want to stay up-to-date on the latest in news for the growing platform. The Windows Phone News app is from Seles Games and is part of the Weave family and is a great aggregator of Windows Phone news.

YouTube is a must-have app for any mobile device and because the bare-bones app that comes from Microsoft doesn't fully support all of YouTube's features, finding a third party ap which does is a must. LazyWorm's YouTube app is what Microsoft's offering can't be. It combines a stunning interface with many features, including high quality video and personal account options.

I needed to find a weather app with a live tile, so that i could constantly be aware of the weather in my area without drilling into an app. The Weather Channel ap for Windows Phone combines the convenience of a live tile which updates your local weather with a fully featured app. This is a must-have for users who want a weather app for their Windows Phone.

This is in no way a comprehensive list of must-have apps for Windows Phone. There are, of course, many great apps which are not mentioned here and the app count is growing everyday, so many more must-have apps will come.

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