App: Pulse News

For: Android

Ranking: 1

Cost: Free

Pulse News offers Android owners a visually pleasing way to catch up on current affairs and other web content, on and offline. Feeds are collated into a colorful and interactive mosaic homescreen, according to Mashable.

Sharing is simple, and the apps hosts read later options via Instapaper, Read it Later, Evernote and Google Reader, it says.

App: Glympse

For: Android

Ranking: 2

Cost: Free

New location-sharing service Glympse lets people know where you are - whether that's a static location or on the road - via email, SMS, Facebook or Twitter, according to Mashable.

With timing options addressing privacy concerns, it's a useful app for both work and play, it says.

App: AirSync by doubleTwist

For: Android

Ranking: 3

Cost: $4.99

Used in conjunction with the free doubleTwist desktop app, this app lets you sync your iTunes music, videos and photos from your PC to your phone, wirelessly over your home Wi-Fi network, according to Mashable.

App: Camera ZOOM FX

For: Android

Ranking: 4

Cost: $4.99

This is a comprehensive camera app for the Android platform. As well as the cool filters, frames and vignettes we've come to know and love in such apps, Camera ZOOM FX takes functionality further with special effects such as tilt shift, distortion and composites, according to Mashable.

App: Beautiful Widgets

For: Android

Ranking: 5

Cost: $2.89

One thing Android owners have over iOS users is tonnes more customization options. This app makes the most of them with a huge variety of ways to personalise your phone, according to Mashable.

As well as skins and themes, there's a wealth of widgets for the phone's clock, date display, toggle widgets and weather reports, it says.

App: Flipboard

For: iOS

Ranking: 6

Cost: Free

Combining content from websites, blogs and social networks, Flipboard has been a big success story.

Available for both the iPhone and the iPad, the "social magazine" is credited for changing the way people access online content, arguably making more of a stir in the digital publishing industry than paid-for, big name launches from established publishers, according to Mashable.

App: Snapseed

For: iOS

Ranking: 7

Cost: $4.99

This post-process photo editing app is available for both the iPhone and the iPad, but on the tablet's larger screen it really shines, according to Mashable.

Awarded "iPad App of the Year" by Apple, Snapseed will help you get the most out of your images with auto-enhancement edits, the ability to enhance certain areas, special effect filters and more, it says.

App: Path

For: iOS

Ranking: 8

Cost: Free

While major mainstream success is a ways off - although Path has seen about 1.5 million downloads to-date - the relaunch of this smart-journal-come-social-network was well-received, according to Mashable.

Offering both a digital diary and a way of sharing with a limited group of close friends, Path appeals to privacy-aware, socially savvy consumers, it says.

App: Instagram

For: iOS

Ranking: 9

Cost: Free

Apple's "iPhone App of the Year" combines creative photography fun with social networking. Its great results and ease of use means it's responsible for too many shots of our breakfasts/cats/boring commutes, according to Mashable.

With Instagram you can snap an image, process it with one of the app's awesome filter effects, and then share to not just the Instgram community, but to your friends, family and contacts on wider social networks, it says.

App: Stamped

For: iOS

Ranking: 10

Cost: Free

Innovative startup Stamped is a recommendation service with a difference. You can "Stamp" anything from films to food, see your friends' Stamps and build up an archive of things you love, to refer back to later, according to Mashable.

Stamped takes the clutter and anonymity out of recommendations, while keeping things private to the wider public, it says.

App: Tango

For: Windows Phone 7

Ranking: 11

Cost: Free

Somewhat bizarrely beating Microsoft-owned Skype to the WP7 platform, Tango allows you to make free phone and video calls over cellular networks and Wi-Fi to anyone who has Tango installed on their smartphone, tablet or PC, according to Mashable.

App: Metrotube

For: Windows Phone 7

Ranking: 12

Cost: $1.99 for premium version, free version available

Although already as popular as the previous "LazyTube" incarnation, Metrotube, re-designed and re-developed for Mango, is an improvement - and so much better than the native YouTube app, according to Mashable.

App: FeedWorm

For: Windows Phone 7

Ranking: 13

Cost: Free

While rival reader app Fuse brings good looks, FeedWorm is a no-frills Windows Phone application that syncs with your Google Reader account and makes it very simple to read RSS feeds on your phone, according to Mashable.

Offline support and a super-clean interface make it a must-have, it says.

App: Bubblegum

For: Windows Phone 7

Ranking: 14

Cost: Free

While Pictures Lab and Thumba Photo Editor still prove popular on the platform, new-comer bubblegum is the photo app du jour, according to Mashable.

Created by Microsoft programmers, bubblegum has all the cool filters and social options iOS and Android users have been enjoying with Instagram, but integrates beautifully into the WP7 platform, it says.

App: Mixtapes

For: Windows Phone 7

Ranking: 15

Cost: Free

Powered by 8tracks, Mixtapes offers free access to millions of songs in thousands of playlists, or to "mixes" made by music lovers all over the world, according to Mashable.

The app lets you listen to "what real people are listening to," and is great for both themed listening sessions and music discovery, it says.