NavFree is the latest step towards what would undoubetdly become a killer app for the iPhone – full, free satellite navigation.

We’ve seen similar products before, but they tend to be offboard solutions that require a network connection to download maps in real time as and when you need them. With NavFree that potential problem is taken out of the equation: all the maps are downloaded when you first install the app, and stored on your phone so you can use them whenever you need.

Of course the downside to this is that the app does take a while to download – it’s a pretty hefty 296MB so is something you’ll need to be installing via your desktop than directly over the air. But it is a one-time thing, so once you’ve got it you’re good to go.

The app was developed by Navmii, a company that has produced commercial navigation products (and, indeed, still does) so the routing engine is reliable, and you get the full range of navigation features including 3D views, postcode searching and Google integration. The maps come from the OpenStreetMap, a service that is often described as Wikipedia for maps, in that it is created by its users.

Where there is coverage it is good, and very accurate, but you will invariably encounter times when the coverage is somewhat sketchier.

So NavFree is not quite ready to replace a commercial GPS app for serious users, but for the more casual navigator it comes at a price that is hard to beat.

Price: Free
Verdict: 8/10

Business users have had only a few serious options in recent years. Windows Mobile devices offered tight integration with Microsoft servers for e-mail and scheduling, and BlackBerry devices provided a more robust messaging platform. In recent years, however, the idea of “mobile business” has changed.

Now, the Google Android platform makes it possible to stay in touch with your sales contacts, manage your task list, and perform regular back-ups of mission critical data. These apps go well beyond simple e-mail access and provide the modern corporate employee the required tools.

Astro File Manager
Business users have one great need: to move documents from one place to another. The Astro File Manager is the best method we’ve found. It shows you a complete list of files and directories on your Android phone, lets you view images as thumbnails, create Zip files, and generally manage files on your internal memory and SD card.

Documents to Go
The best viewer for documents is also a capable editor. You can perform rich editing on Word documents including bold, italic, font selection, and even highlight text. The spreadsheet editor supports Excel files and 111 functions. The slideshow app is not quite as powerful but does allow you to run presentations and control slides with a flick of a finger. PDF viewing (with bookmarks and text copy) included.

Scan2PDF Mobile
It’s perhaps not the most ideal scanning device, but the high-res camera on most Android phones doubles as a document scanner in a pinch. With Scan2PDF Mobile you can snap a photo and then save the image as a PDF – which you can then e-mail to a business associate. It works well for scanning legal documents, real estate forms, and other docs that need a signature. PDFs are compressed automatically.

ServerUP
For the IT folks in your company who need to make sure data operations run smooth, ServerUP is a lifesaver. The app shows you whether a company server or Web server is down and alerts you on your handheld. You can also perform basic networking tasks such as a trace route, WHOIS look-up and ping check.

Hello Expense
Expensing items on the road is the bane of every business worker. Fortunately, Hello Expense makes the job much easier. The app allows you to enter basic expense details such as lunch meetings and the associated expenses, attach a category (such as lunch) and track who was at the meeting (important for taxes). The app has a built-in calculator you can use for adding up expenses or determining your tip.

Skype
On the Android platform, Skype is an indispensible aid. The video chat and voice service runs over Wi-Fi or 3G and works reliably for calling other Skype users for free or, at a relatively low cost per minute, those outside the Skype network. The app includes good instant messaging and helps you avoid high cell plan overages.

SnowStorm Weather Widget
Free
SnowStorm is one of the best weather widgets you can download. Available to be installed on the home screen in 1×1 to 4×2 sizes, each widget can be customized to your selected country and provides high accuracy for the places we chose.

Agenda Widget Plus
Free for developers or $1.49
Agenda Widget Plus supports several calendar types, from Google to Motorola Droid Corporate (Exchange). You can create/customize separate calendars for each widget, with sizes ranging from 2×2 to 4×4 and set appointments/reminders from the widget itself or scroll through a long list of existing calendar entries.

Multiicon Widget
Free
Multiicon eliminates the frustrations caused by running out of space on your desktop by supporting icons 1×1 to 1×4. Each 1×1 allows you to put up to 4 icons in one space, but further edits allow you to expand this even further!.

Widgetlocker Lockscreen
$1.99
Widgetlocker Locksreen is a brilliant widget that allows you to add widgets directly onto the lockscreen. Additionally you can enable volume control or open apps with swipe gestures. Ideal for seeing Facebook status or listening to music without heading to the home screen.

BatteryLife
Free
Batterylife is a useful Battery widget that display your battery status as a large symbol on the home screen. It can also be configured with different colours and can display the health status of the battery, charging info, as well as the temperature, voltage and technology of your battery.

Despite the famous franchise and obligatory annual updates, FIFA  has never delivered the best footy action on any of its many formats. However, in its first appearance on the iPhone last year, it made an immediate impact – not least because the only serious competition was Gameloft’s Real Soccer. So how does the latest version fare?

In a word, brilliantly. Yes, the basic gameplay has not been radically altered, but FIFA 11 ups the ante in several areas, not least the massive increase in file size, most of which has clearly been blown on the graphics. I mean, just look at those screenshots!

We’re used to iPhone games looking great, but usually for their strange or surreal beauty, not for convincing likenesses of well known players or free-flowing sporting action that looks better than most sports games on a Wii, for instance.

Admittedly, the new controls take some getting used to, with different roles for the onscreen buttons depending on whether you’re in or out of possession, but once you get the hang of these it’s relatively easy to create fluid, fast-moving footy.

Most of this is down to the AI, with players making intelligent runs when off the ball and equally responsive to swiping the screen when you want to control their movements  directly. OK, this intelligence can occasionally fail during goal-mouth scrambles as the ball  bounces erratically between players (some of which can be blatantly offside) but it still makes for a fast and always entertaining game.

At a bargain price for this level of detail and with the promise of a multiplayer mode to come, FIFA 11 seems poised to get even better.

If EA continues to improve rather than just tweak the odd statistic as they do on other formats, the FIFA franchise will at last start delivering on its potential. Let’s hope so.

Price: £2.99
Verdict: 9/10

Written by Mike Anderiesz.

Mobile app store Getjar has announced a new program in partnership with Glu Mobile to give away millions of premium games for free.

GetJar+ makes premium paid content available for free with no ad insertions, registrations, or any other catches. The very same games one would pay for at other app stores will be available on GetJar for free for a limited two-week period to consumers all over the world.

How can GetJar afford to give away games for free?
GetJar is able to do this because of its size as the number two app store in the world with over 1 billion downloads to date across 200 countries which generates nearly 100million downloads/month. Only this level of scale can allow this new model to work – it’s the cinema versus a TV network or a music store versus a radio station. GetJar is the TV network or the radio station that doesn’t have to rely on making consumers paying for the ticket or CD. GetJar doesn’t need to rely on the revenue from the sale of apps – instead it relies on the sponsored app placements on its site, which allows it to then buy premium content from publishers and distribute this content to consumers for free.

Where can I get these popular games for free?
Initially, these free premium games will be found on GetJar.com’s homepage in the “Recommended” section and includes some of Glu’s most successful licensed and original IP such as: Brain Genius 2, Stranded: Mysteries of Time, Build-a-lot, and Race Driver Grid.

The games will be available across several major mobile platforms including Android, Blackberry and Java.

Once active, you point the phone at the sky and the app provides a real-time map of the stars, depending on your location along with extra information including the Star name, Constellation, Messier Objects, Planets, Grid Lines and Horizon. The utility can be used in standard automatic mode or manual which disables the compass and freezes the screen.

Great if the automatic mode is too sensitive for precise searches. You can still change screen orientation, however.

One of the best options in this app is the superb on-screen search function. Once you access the main menu, tap on Search and enter your required star or planet. A circle, sporting a rotating arrow, appears on-screen telling you in which direction the item lies. You just move your phone in that direction and the direction and location is updated in real time.

Once the item has been tracked down, the program, like some Sherlockian Bloodhound, proudly declares that it has been found. In addition, once you have found the heavenly object of your choice, you can zoom in for a closer look.

Price: Free
Rating: 9/10

One of the great things about this Twitter client is the fact that it uncluttered. Sometimes developers just can’t help themselves. They produce a top quality app and then laden the thing down with so many enhancements that the initial point of the app is lost.

Twidroyd allows you to handle tweets and images and it does it brilliantly. In a similar vein, the interface is straightforward and, although some might wish for more options, it is trouble-free. Best of all, Twidroyd is fast and works well as a multitasking app, checking for tweets while you play games or browse the Internet.

Price: Free
Rating: 8/10

Android lacks a top class sports scores app – with almost all being from unofficial sources they tend to lack the polish you might expect. Soccer Score Centre, although focussed on only one sport, is arguably the best of the bunch so far.

The look and feel is inspired by Sky Sports News, with a useful videprinter function showing all the latest scores in the bottom half of the screen, while featured games can be accessed through the top half.

Most major leagues and competitions are supported, and you can set up alerts for your favourite team or for individual matches. There are more advanced features showing league tables, teams, match commentary and a link to Sky Bet.

Price: Free
Rating: 7/10

For finding your way around
Google Maps (All platforms)
Not exactly a hidden gem, but if you’re not using Google Maps for Mobile then you’re missing out. Not only does it deliver the best pick-up-and-go routing for basic navigation but it is developed at such a great rate that every new version is almost a completely new app to the last.

The most recent new addition is for biking directions on Android, to go with the full turn-by-turn navigation. Across all versions you get location sharing, Wikipedia layers, Street View, live traffic and, of course, a powerful local search engine.

For making notes
3banana Notes (iPhone, Android)
Whether you want to add a reminder to a photo, or jot down an idea worthy of the next series of Dragon’s Den, you phone is a perfect notetaking device. The best apps go beyond being a mere digital Post It pad. There are two things that make 3banana a better bet than other established favourites like Evernote.

One is its integration into other apps, making it a breeze to grab info from web page, for example. The other is its use of hashtags for organising notes. A process that will be familiar to Twitter users, you simply append a keyword with a # symbol, and can then view all tagged posts together.

For dealing with calls
HulloMail (All platforms)
If, like us, you leave you phone on vibrate all the time, you probably miss more calls than you answer. It makes voicemail essential, and it’s a pretty sorry story: long-winded to navigate and very limited in function, barely changed since mobile phones were first invented. HulloMail is infinitely better.

Voicemails are diverted through the service, and accessed in MP3 format in your email, or even through a dedicated app on some devices. You can reply to them, keep them forever, or forward them on to others, as well as many more advanced functions, while still accessing the usual voicemail services like custom greetings.

HulloMail is seamlessly integrated into your phone service, uses your regular mobile number, as is completely free to use on any network. Truly indispensible.

Providing access to over 100 publications around the world, Newspapers is one of the most definitive news apps for the Android platform.It’s a basic tool, essentially just a collection of bookmarks to the mobile versions of newspaper websites, yet for that convenience alone it is worth a download.

Although light on features – there’s no widget or cached content, everything downloads in real time as you access it – and with a navigation system that could use a little improvement, Newspapers more than earns it space in your smartphone’s memory.

Better still the app is also available in an ad-free edition for a nominal fee.

Price: Free
Rating: 8/10