<p>I finally broke down and got a smartphone - a Samsung Galaxy G5. There are a bewildering array of apps. I’d love to hear which ones CC posters find useful.</p>
<p>Here are the apps I use
Amazon Kindle
Amazon mp3 player
Document scanner (uses camera to “scan” a document and generates a pdf)
Google earth
Google maps
Flashlight
Hi-Q mp3 recorder
Merriam-Webster dictionary
Opera (a better web browser)
QuickOffice pro (handles pdf, word, excel, and powerpoint docs)
Skype
Yelp
Youtube
app from my stockbroker
app that let’s me print on my printer
app from the airline I usually use</p>
<p>Waze for real-time traffic-based navigation (also on iPhone)
Stitcher for listening to podcasts</p>
<p>Trip Advisor city-specific apps for travel. New York Times for killing time when standing in line (the app has a better mobile interface than the web site). Starbucks app to pay using my phone. Where’s My Droid for finding and/or disabling the phone if it’s stolen.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas! Are these apps free, or do you have to buy them? If you buy one, is it a one-time fee? Where do you find them all? I looked at the Amazon app store this morning. The free app today is a graphing calculator.</p>
<p>My top favorites: iHeartRadio, Evernote (amazing web-based organizational tool - I’m a list maker :-), RunKeeper, Facebook & Pinterest.</p>
<p>BBC-News’, NPR’s and local public radio station’s apps.</p>
<p>Thanks to this thread, I’ve download the free Document Scanner, I think it’s call Cam Scan. I have to learn how to use it now.</p>
<p>Gas buddy is a great one. I use it a lot when we travel. It helps find cheap gas. I am pretty sure it is free.</p>
<p>Echoing Gas Buddy and Evernote - great apps! The only app I paid for is called Aurora Alert - it lets you know when northern lights are active and visible in my area (I’m in a northern state so it can happen!). It works well. I also like Messenger, which lets you see separately any Facebook messages. My kids message me when they communicate so it’s handy having the app (and notifications) separate from having to check FB.</p>
<p>The vast majority of apps are free. When you buy the paid version, usually it is so you don’t have to put up with ads. (I like Cam Scanner too. Almost don’t need a real scanner!)</p>
<p>Most of the apps I use were free. For a couple (Hi-Q mp3 recorder and Quick Office pro, I think) I started out with a free version and then upgraded when they proved to be useful.</p>