15 best free Windows Mobile apps

Windows Mobile was the original smartphone OS and it inherited years of applications from the Pocket PC.

Phone manufacturers and mobile operators include a handful of apps on new devices but there are literally thousands of other Windows Mobile apps out there.

The best navigation app from the iPhone? It's been on Windows Mobile for years.

The problem is that there's no one place to look for apps: as well as the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile and the Handango store, there are hundreds of mobile software developers, large and small, with their own sites. This is our pick of the best Windows Mobile apps - and where to find them.

1. Skyfire

Skyfire could easily be the best mobile browser so far; it renders full web pages, including Flash, Silverlight, JavaScript, CSS and PDF - so it works with YouTube and BBC iPlayer and Google Docs and Hotmail, just like a real PC browser.

That's because it actually is a real PC browser; it uses the Gecko rendering engine from Firefox, running on servers in the cloud and sends a compressed version of the page.

Double-tap on the page (or double-click if you don't have a touch-screen) and it zooms intelligently to show you the picture, sidebar or paragraph you want. And you can get Facebook, Twitter and RSS updates on the start page. Worth using Windows Mobile for!

2. MyPhone

Phones break, crash and get lost, taking your photos and text messages with them; or you get a shiny new phone and wonder how to transfer everything across from the old handset.

MyPhone is a free service from Microsoft which backs up your contacts, calendar items, tasks, text messages, browser Favorites, photos, videos, music file and documents onto a web site (so you can read texts on the web or upload music to your phone without plugging it in).

Get a new phone and put the MyPhone client on it and all your information downloads automatically. Plus, if you think you've lost your phone you can see where it last synced from on a map (or pay $5 to see the current location, make it ring, lock it or wipe it). The only disadvantage is that you're limited to 200MB.

3. Skype

Free phone calls on your mobile phone: what's not to like? There are plenty of VOIP services you can use on your phone, like Fring, but Skype still has the advantage of numbers.

You get free calls to Skype numbers, free IMs and free file transfers to other Skype users plus cheaper calls to standard numbers and cheaper texts to international numbers (or home if you're roaming); but you'll want to make sure you're on a Wi-Fi connection or you're paying for the data (and probably not getting great sound quality).

4. Facebook

Avoid all the sheep throwing and Mafia Wars scams; Microsoft's Facebook app shows you updates from friends, incoming messages and your own profile details.

You can send a message or phone any friend who's put their number in Facebook, and you can update your status or upload photos and videos. You can't import the numbers into your address book, click links in updates or make comments - though you can click through to someone's profile and write on their wall.

5. Google Maps

Even if you don't have GPS on your phone, Google Maps can find you (with varying accuracy); you can search for nearby businesses or addresses, get directions to walk or drive to your destination (though not live, turn-by-turn directions) and see what the traffic is like or get the satellite view or street-level photos to help you work out how the map relates to the street you're on. Sign up for Latitude and Google Maps will broadcast your location, too.

6. Bing

Bing, the app formerly known as Windows Live Search, still does the same thing: locates you by GPS or cell tower, shows you maps, finds addresses and businesses and gives you directions.

These are easier to see on the map than Google Maps and you can move the map and get a route from a new location quickly if you take a different turn. Categories of canned searches help you find the nearest garage or coffee shop with minimum typing - and you can switch settings for the US and speak your search (and get more services).

7. Evernote

Jot down a note on your phone, look it up on your Mac or PC, or any web browser and vice versa; Evernote lets you type in, handwrite, take a photo, record a voice message or upload a file from your mobile and tag it so it's easier to find. You have to be online to look up notes from your phone but the free version is amazing value.

8. TinyTwitter

Need to get that Twitter hit on the road? TinyTwitter is a full featured Twitter client with an innovative collapsing interface, so you can see as many messages on screen as possible. You can load links in your favourite browser, and tweets can be collected at set intervals - or you can find out what's popular and who's tweeting nearby. Turn off the extra-loud alerts for new tweets, though.