What criteria did I use to determine the top three? I used the following complex formula:
1) I thought: what are the three productivity apps I like best?
2) The first three that popped into my head won.
Research complete:
If you're looking for a great source for news and information, you'll love Pulse. Easy to navigate, lots of content, many categories (top news, technology, fashion, entertainment) and my favorite feature, when you want to read the entire story from the web, it loads right into the Pulse interface, rather than making you open a browser to go to the web. Read my entire review here.
Vlingo Personal Assistant
This app is incredibly useful and they keep making it better and more responsive to voice commands. I use it for hands free texting (just say "text Joe followed by the message" and it does it all), I use it to make calls ("call Jim on mobile") and I use it to open other apps rather than having to search for them ("open stopwatch") Read more here...
Square Credit Card Processing App
I still think this is revolutionary, even though the competition is getting thick (review of Intuit coming soon). Imagine being able to accept a credit card, swipe it into your Smartphone, and have the money deposited into your bank account and the receipt sent to the buyers email, text or you can print it out for them. All with no monthly fee. Only pay when you process a sale. Too cool. Read all about it here...
So, there you have it. If you don't already have these apps, download them now. They are all free, fun and/or useful.